Emotional Manipulation is the New Racism
I recently attended a community meeting to discuss how the current and proposed education reform legislation puts many African Americans in Louisiana at a disadvantage. I will be the first to admit that part of the discussion was reactive in nature (because what’s done is done), but with regard to future endeavors, there is a golden opportunity to be proactive, and create a plan for the future that doesn’t heavily favor whites in the upper-income bracket, while disproportionately impacting poorer African Americans.
As those of us who were present got into the mechanics of the situation, the Lone White Guy in the room said a couple of things that I thought were – beyond a doubt –disrespectful:
Thing 1: “I’m the angriest person in this room. I don’t understand why no one else is as angry as I am”.
Thing 2: “Why do you (Blacks) want to be separate?
Allow me to put Thing 2 in perspective: there’s a rumor (from a very credible source) that there is a plan for southeast Shreveport – the part of town that has the strongest tax base and political influence – to create its own independent school district (ISD), which would make Caddo Parish a district comprised primarily of inner-city (mostly failing) schools. The kicker is that three of those inner-city schools – Byrd High School, Caddo Magnet High, and Caddo Middle Magnet – are among the top schools in the state.
The belief is that southeast Shreveport’s ISD map will “somehow” find a way to include those three schools, even as none of those schools are located within its geographic boundaries. With those three schools gone, Caddo Parish will – on paper – be a district filled with “D” and “F”-rated schools, leaving them vulnerable to becoming part of Louisiana’s Recovery School District, which will, in effect, bleed the district dry.
To be sure, there are problems aplenty within Caddo Parish, and there is more than enough blame (real or imagined) to go around. That doesn’t mean, however, that African Americans – the majority of whom live in the inner-city areas that would be most affected by the policy – should be left holding the bad end of the public policy stick.
Which is why, during the meeting, creating an ISD plan of our own was part of the discussion.
That we had to explain to the Lone White Guy that advocating for the interests of African American students (which was, after all, why we were there) doesn’t make us “exclusionary” nor “reverse racists” in our advocacy made me realize this: As long as we are being bullied or otherwise coerced into advocating alongside others in support of their objectives, we’re the most cooperative and understanding people anyone’s ever come across, and everyone will say so.
But, the second we decide to advocate for dismantling public policies that negatively impact us and the members of our communities, EVERYBODY – white folk, especially – goes all “Can’t we all just get along?” on us.
“You’re ‘strange fruit’. We can’t get married. Denial of rights is denial of rights, right?”
And, that my friends, is racism, disguised as bullying and emotional manipulation. Other groups (whether political, ethnic, or social) get to have problems with whatever they have problems with, and no one ascribes a hidden meaning to it. But, when we have a problem with something, it’s always “You should be the first ones to understand what we’re going through/why we’re doing this, because of slavery”.
Do you not get how insulting it is to compare some of these issues to slavery? For example, can you please explain to me how the gay marriage issue and over 400 YEARS of direct and indirect oppression are even remotely alike?
How does not being able to legally marry equate to 400 years of being raped, mutilated, tortured, terrorized, being discriminated against through the mechanism of public policy (Jim Crow, Segregation) sold like food or so many bottles of water, de-humanized, humiliated, and being written (and unchanged) in the Constitution as “three-fifths of all other persons”?
It DOESN’T. It ain’t even in the ballpark, and you KNOW it.
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I can’t believe there aren’t any comments on this piece.
Anyways, I TOTALLY agree with several points made. I say this all the time about how it seems like Black folks are always pressured to identify and push these issues, and that once these issues get resolved or some sort of foothold, folks disappear. We get used.
Geraldine,
First off, let me thank you for taking the time to read and respond to our post. ALL support is greatly appreciated.
With regards to the lack of comments on this piece, I really think it has more to do with the fact people may be thinking these things, but really don’t have the guts to say them out loud, because they are more concerned with what others will say/think than they are with the TRUTH.
There is NOTHING wrong with voicing concerns about the way you are being mistreated, ESPECIALLY when said mistreatment negatively impacts public policy, as it is applied to you and the members of your community. I’m not upset with the gays for advocating their position, because they have the right to do that. We seem to be the only race who believes – for whatever reason – that we don’t have that right, that we should just “suffer proudly”, because proud suffering is in our bloodline.
And, like you, I’m a little tired of hearing that whole “if you’re advocating for Black folks, that means you don’t like people from other racial/social backgrounds”. It’s so interesting that OTHER people make OUR frustrations with the way WE’VE been treated ALL ABOUT THEM, and – on top of that – have the AUDACITY to try to make us feel guilty because of it.
As long as we remain silent, and don’t CHECK people on their DISRESPECT, situations such as these will only continue; the NAACP backing us into a corner with regards to this issue hasn’t helped.
This is an excellent article. Well written and very true. Another example is African Americans are expected to support “freedom of choice” yet planned parenthoods entire mission has always been eugenitics, and the elimination of blacks. And look where most of these clinics are and how many African American children have been killed. Add that to the unjust jailing and lack of educational support and it’s no wonder why the community is in such disarray. America always wants African Americans to “get over it” yet they have never addressed “it”. They have continued to use up the African until he is of no use to them, then they just throw him away.
Franklin,
Thank you for taking the time to visit our site, and to comment on our post. I agree with you on the whole “freedom of choice” thing. While I DO NOT agree that the Government should tell a female what to do with her body, I ALSO DO NOT believe in, nor do I agree with, abortion. “Freedom of Choice” might as well be called what it truly is: Genocide. If people of color are aborting their children, then there will certainly be less people of color in the world, and we know that’s what Margaret Sanger really had in mind when she founded Planned Parenthood.
If we could perhaps EMPOWER our Black females to make PROPER selections of a mate, choosing substantive qualities like Spirituality and Culture over superficial ones like money, materialism, and status, the abortion rate would drop drastically. But, that will take A LOT of work, and there are TOO FEW OF US out there who are willing to do it.
However, I suspect that you are one of the few, and I applaud your willingness to do what you can, the best way you can.
Look forward to hearing from you.
-Kameko
I agree with you on many points in this article. I, too, fail to understand why when we advocate for ourselves it is perceived as reversed racism. Do they (other races) really think we are suppose to allow them to make decisions for us? Seriously? Did the Lone White Guy really think the three of you were just going to go along with whatever he said? I applaud you and the others for making your voices heard. We must have a plan of action ready to execute. As we can see, they do. Rumor or not, I am sure they have something in the works which will leave our children out in the cold.
Alynetta,
Thank you SO MUCH for your support. We appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read our posts, and respond.
As far as Black folk advocating for themselves goes, these days, it almost seems like an exercise in futility. I just read a couple of days ago that Rev. Al Sharpton is pushing African Americans to accept that civil rights for gays is the same thing as civil rights for us. He’s wrong on both points.
First of all, the AFRICAN AMERICAN struggle has ALWAYS been for HUMAN rights. Secondly, how disrespectful is it for Sharpton to DEMAND that we turn a blind eye to so many of the issues within our own community that have YET to be addressed, in order to form an alliance with people whose views we neither share, nor agree with? Are we really expected to stupidly and happily support people who have YET to begin to reciprocate even a little bit of the same support that they DARE demand from US?
Let the gays argue and advocate for their own causes; I’m not saying that they can’t, nor am I saying that they shouldn’t. What I AM saying, however, is that they need to STOP comparing their issues to SLAVERY, WHITE SUPREMACY, WILLIE LYNCH, and JIM CROW. There’s NO WAY that ANYBODY with a lick of sense should agree with this kind of gross DECEPTION and MINIMIZATION of our collective experience in this country.
“The only thing evil needs in order to prosper is for good people to stand around, and do NOTHING.”