THE BLACK DILEMMA

Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree 

EXCELLENCE IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY

 

THE BLACK DILEMMA: 
OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IS NOT THE WHITE MAN, 

IT'S HOW WE'VE BEEN TAUGHT TO THINK - 

OR WORSE YET, NOT THINK.

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Black people can't just sit back and wait for people to be "nice" to us. If we want justice, we're going to have to unite as a block and DEMAND it. We represent a large enough block of votes to influence ANY election, but we don't take advantage of that. We have far too many bigot huggers, White wannabes, and non-voting whiners among us, people who'd rather stay home and Twerk than vote. Yeah, they’ll get out and demonstrate, because they see that as a social event. But when it comes to going out and standing in line to vote, they’d rather stay at home, get high, and watch reruns of Soul Train - and then, they want to know why people don't pay any attention to us. People ignore us because we're making ourselves irrelevant.   

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The African American community controls $1.1 trillion in spending power. That’s more than the Gross National Product of Germany, the third richest industrial nation in the world. So why are we whining to the White man to provide for our needs? If we would use that spending power effectively instead of passing right by Black businesses to take our money to Walmart, we’d not only get the White man’s attention, but HE'D be out demonstrating for us. But with the way we handle our money, the White man doesn’t have to pay any attention to us, because he knows we’re gonna bring him our money whether he treats us like dogs or not. 
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So, if we're not getting justice, that's our fault. When we decide to come together and grab justice by the throat, we'll get it. But as long as we just sit back and whine about how other people are not coming to our rescue, we're gonna remain on our asses. That's how life works. You get what you work to obtain. We can't just sit around and wait for daddy to get home. Those days ended when we became adults.  .

MILES COLTRANE JACKSON
AND DANA

I was gratified to see that my daughter and son-n-law, Smokey, has already taught my grandson, Miles, that lesson in life. He just graduated from high school and got a job to buy him a car. So, I told him, listen, "Miles, you just check into college and I’ll buy you are car. That way, all you have to do is go to school. You and Dana have been together for years, and she's already in college and working in a hospital, so you've got to keep up with your woman." He told me, “Poppi, I can’t let you do that. I’m grown. I have to handle my own business.”
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When I told my daughter what he said, needless to say, she pulled his coat, because that damn sure wasn't her philosophy when she was in college - and she was married at the time. She got together with her mother and they made running games on me for money their indoor sport. My late wife, Val, came to me one day and told me that Kai needed a computer or she might have to drop out of school. So I bought her one, and they cost a piece of change back then. Then I went by her house about a week later and she had bought a widescreen television that was bigger than mine. She let me buy her computer, and then she used her money to buy the widescreen. Yeah, I raise hell, but actually, I didn't mind, because that was my baby, and secretly I admired how she and her mother worked together to play me. But I digress.
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So, Kai told Miles, "Man, that's your grandfather, so buying you a car ain't charity. He enjoys doing things for you. He sees it as his job." Obviously, she made her point, bigtime, because when I asked him what kind of car was he looking at? Without battin’ an eye he said, a BMW. My daughter laughed and said, “Well, you asked.” But I told him, "Man, your name is  Miles Jackson, not Miles Davis. I was thinking more in terms of a Volkswagen, or something in that price range. Think about it, Miles. "With your taste, and as fine as Dana is, you need to be thinking about law school, because she's up there at that hospital rubbing shoulders with young doctors." Then I went out and bought him Psycho-Cybernetics, the book that sent me to college to major in psychology.
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LATE WIFE VAL AND HER
GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER AUBRI

And my daughter was right. We have to take care of one another, and not rely on the White man. I've move in with her and we're having my home refurbished and adding 3 units in the back yard so none of my five grandchildren will have to worry about paying the White man that high-ass rent just to survive. My grandson, Byron, just became a father. So, I now have a great granddaughter, Aubri, and he and Amaya are paying some stranger $2000 a month. Why? They have their own family assets. They could be using that money to help build the family's wealth - and I ain't losing a thing. So why should they have to struggle until I die and leave behind some chump change? They can be utilizing our family assets now, when they need it.
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Now that my wife is gone, I don't need a 3-bedroom house. On the other hand, I'm sitting over here with my daughter with my own space and being spoiled rotten - all I have to think about is when is diner ready. Life is so sweet that I feel guilty. Everybody is waiting on me hand and foot. And I don't have a bill in the world, so I can take some of the burden off my Kai - but she's still in training. Somewhere she's gained some pride, so she's as bad as Miles. I tried to sign a check over to her the other day and she refused to take it, and I even took her to the bank and put her and her brother on my bank account so they wouldn't have to go through any changes if I suddenly dropped dead. We're also looking at a 5 bedroom house with plenty of space and a pool that we can buy together and make it a family compound - and with my veterans benefits we don't even have to pay anything down. 

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So, Kai will come around. I know her. She damn sure didn't refuse nothing in high school and college. I know my baby. She's her mother's daughter, so believe me, she'll be coming around, bigtime. Once I explain to her that, that's the way it's done, and that's the way we should handle our money as a people, she'll be tearing my pockets off in no time. And I'll be loving it, because I love seeing my family happy - and besides, what do I need with money? All the foxes I know have reached the point where playing hard-to-get is a thing of the past. 

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But Miles has the right attitude in life. He wants to be his own man. But it's just kicked in a little too early. He needs to let us get him on his feet first. We owe it to him to give him a running start, because life in America is about money and clout. So, we have to use our family assets to help our babies hit the ground running - and he's the baby.
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As Black people, we've got to learn to strategize as a group. We can do the exact same thing as a community as I'm trying to do with my family. Then once we do that, we won't have to beg for nothing. We'll be in complete control of our own fate - a nation within a nation.
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We've got to get our churches to stay open 7 days a week, and have the preachers get the retired professionals within their flock to hold workshops in various disciplines, like computer programming, clothing design, music, etc. They could hold talent shows and other things to draw our young people in. And we could also use our clout to pressure the various awards shows to honor the people who are contributing most to our community, instead of honoring the same entertainers year after year. We should be honoring our young scholars, and making them the superstars of the Black community. The chanced to be honored on national television would give our young people the incentive to explore their intellect and demonstrate their creativity in doing things outside the Funky Chicken. It'll send them an important message - You don't have to be a rapper to be a star; you're mind can bring you stardom. And we can use the entertainers to do what they do best - entertain, and pass out awards. So, they'll still get the pub they seek.
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Money and clout means everything in America, and we've got to learn how to use ours effectively. Even Trump’s mindless bigots understand how life in America works, at least, with respect to clout. Look at how they've got the Republican Party by the throat. They’re a minority of White folks, but they recognize that they have large enough numbers to vote politicians in or out of office, so they’re damn near running the Republican Party - at least, they were, until they made the stupid mistake of attacking the capitol. But as a result of their mindlessness, now they've lost all of their credibility, hordes of them are being round up and jailed, and the rest are headed for the ash heap of history along with Trump. And now that they have to face the consequences for their actions, a lot of them are already in jail crying - "We just did it because 'our President' told us to." But that's no defense, because once you’re grown, daddy can’t help you - as Trump clearly demonstrated by pardoning his political cronies and leaving his supporters in jail to rot. Once you’re grown you're responsible for your own actions, survival, and growth - and that goes for individuals, as well as groups. The Trump gang is about to find that out. Because once the American people come out of shock, and it sinks in just how horrendous a crime Trump and his crew committed, they're all going to jail. 

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So that should be a lesson for us. We must be self-sufficient, handle our own business, and THINK our way to justice and liberation. Violence is for idiots who lack the ability to think, and so is just sitting around and waiting for people to be nice to us. That has never been a viable plan in the history of mankind. So it's time for us to put on our Big-boy pants, get serious, and start DEMANDING what we want. And when any politician begins to think he or she is our leader instead of our EMPLOYEE, we should come together and kick their asses out of office. It's as simple as that. We tell THEM what we want; we don’t allow them to tell us what we can or cannot have. They work for us, and if they don’t recognize that fact, they've become too big-headed.to remain in office. 

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If a cop is abusive to Black people, we shouldn't whine. We should simply  get rid of the police chief. That’s the way it works. Ask the Jews – they learned the hard way. And as for any Black idiot who’s a bigot hugger, a White wannabe, or brag about not voting because "the Democrats ain't doing nothin' for us either", we shouldn't even argue with them, because that's all they want, attention. We should just ostracize their asses - forever - because they’re obstructing the interests of our people.
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It's important that we recognize that we can't obtain justice by breaking windows, throwing our fists in the air, or banging on people’s doors in the middle of the night. That’s what the establishment expects, and they’re prepared for it.  All that's gonna do is get many of us killed, and others thrown in prison. We can't out-fight the United States military, so we might as well quit flo-showin'. We must THINK, and give educating ourselves priority over all else - and that includes partyin', chasing women we can't afford to support, and struttin' around and trying to impress others like we're already on top. And we must organize, make our demands known, and vote. We must utilize our buying power, and then talk softly and carry a baseball bat directly to the voting booth. And we must prepare our children to own the racetrack, instead of taking pride in being the horse. Now that, is something the White establishment is not prepared for. 
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I can't wait until my great grandbaby can talk, so I can start teaching her to read and think. That's the way we have to deal with the White man. We must out-think his ass - and we've got a leg up in that respect, because he wants to be superior so badly, we know him much better than he knows us.
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I made a good living in life just by letting the White man underestimate me. As a result, my kids never wanted for a thing. The dumber the White man thought I was, the more I loved it. So, don't try to prove yourself to the White man. His stupidity is your most valuable asset. Let him think you're inferior, and then kick him dead in his ass. 

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So, Black people, let's get on it, because what we so casually dismiss as "soul", is actually intellectual creativity straining to be set free. So let's invest our assets, and knowledge, in our children to give them a leg up, and then, get out and vote to protect their future.

Eric L. Wattree 
Http://wattree.blogspot.com 

Ewattree@Gmail.com 
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA) 
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.