Beneath the Spin*Eric L. Wattree
EFFICIENT
THOUGHT IS THE KEY TO BLACK EQUALITY
.
I RESPECT AFRICA AS THE CRADLE OF MY CULTURE,
BUT MY ANCESTRAL HOMELAND IS WATTS
.
I was recently in a discussion with an individual who insisted that in order to be a
proud Black man I was required to love and embrace Africa. Now, I have no problem with Africa, the problem I have is with that narrow-minded point of view. I'm a realist. I don't believe in either group-thought, litmus tests, or caving in to the beliefs of others just
to be a part of a tribalist knitting circle. All Black people don't think alike - and thank God, because it's the uniqueness of our varied intellectual perceptions that contribute to our greatness as a people. So the fact is, while I take
great pride in my African heritage, I recognize that in the final
analysis, that's all it is – my heritage, not my identity.
.
The truth is, Africa is just another name on
the map to me. Yes, it's the cradle of my culture, and I appreciate that, but on a strictly personal level, I have no more connection with Africa than I do China. I have more of a personal connection to the Los Angeles General Hospital where I was born than I do Africa, but I don't love it either. It's just a hospital, and I don't love buildings any more than I do plots of land.
.
The people who like to spew this theory of African homage like to call themselves "woke". But the fact is, they're anything but. They're so desperate to escape the shame of slavery in their past that instead of exploring what it really means to be a proud African-American they're scouring the world in search of a false identity. Some of these people are so desperate to redefine themselves that they'll hear one speech by Farrakhan and the very next day show up in a bow tie. That's neither independent thought, nor Black pride - that's gullibility, and the tendency to delude themselves into trying to be something they're not. In addition, any man who is
willing to give another man's ability to think priority over his own is a
weak-minded fool, and a group of fools do not provide a strong foundation for a proud
and illustrious people.
.
We don’t need one voice and
one intellect speaking for millions, we need millions of intellects speaking
with one voice. That's what makes a people great. Following the thoughts of one man limits our intellectual potential. Since we all have unique and varied experiences, we all have unique areas of brilliance and unique perceptions into reality. So, we shouldn't waste that valuable resource by following the limited perceptions of one man. There's no such thing as a "Godologist", so we should all use the common sense bestowed upon us by God to become teachers as well as students. We should all learn from one another. So, any preacher, potentate, or so-called "leader" who thinks he's been chosen to speak for God is not only arrogant, but deluded.
.
So, I'm sorry if my attitude tends to offend some people, but it is what it is. Part of being an efficient thinker is not dealing in bullshit, so I’m not about to
diminish myself by trying to lie, or getting all misty-eyed over Africa just to make some dashiki-clad ideologue happy - a person who in all probability has taken on an African name and has completely skipped over the sacrifices of our slave ancestors as though they are something that we should hide in shame - so, who's the one who is brainwashed? I love my African-American heritage, while they've been brainwashed into being ashamed of who they are - and let there be no doubt about it, they're definitely a product of slavery, regardless to how exotic-sounding the new name they choose to give themselves. Are they ashamed of Frederick Douglass as well? Look in that brother's eyes and tell me what it is that they're ashamed of.
.
We're deluding ourselves by looking to Africa for our heroes. Douglass is the kind of brother we should be honoring. If we did, maybe we'd take more pride in who we are as African-Americans and do more to repair the Black community. Douglass, an escaped slave, stood before America eight years BEFORE the Civil War – during a time when they
would lynch a Black man for just looking them in the eye – and said the following:
.
“What, to the American slave, is your
Fourth of July?
I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the
gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your
celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national
greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless;
your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty
and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and
thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, mere bombast,
fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which
would disgrace a nation of savages.”
.
Douglass also encouraged President Abraham Lincoln
to establish the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a Black unit during
the Civil War that was organized for the specific purpose of exacting payback for
slavery, and his two sons were its first recruits. So why do we feel the need
to reach all the way back to Africa for our heroes? I’ll tell you why, because
many African-Americans suffer from a serious problem of self-esteem, and that, along with our failure to educate ourselves, are two of the primary dysfunctions that’s holding us down.
.
I guarantee you there are going to be some Black people
who are going to be intrigued by the title of this article, and then glance at
it and say, “Oh, hell, naw. I don’t have time to read all that.”, and then move
on to read a piece on twerkin’. That’s a major part of our problem.
.
Far too many of us consider ignorance a moral obligation of our culture. Any attempt to free ourselves from ignorance is considered "uppity", or "tryin' to be White." The reason for that is during slavery the only slaves who spoke anything close to proper English were the house slaves, and many of them had a tendency to look down their noses at the slaves who worked the fields. As a result, to this day, many Black people have a hostility towards literacy and the pursuit of knowledge. They consider it "un-Black." Even the phrase "Stay woke" is a perversion of the English language, but they think it's cool, because it celebrates the sound of illiteracy, or what they consider being appropriately Black. That attitude is destroying our children, and the Black community as a whole, because it shuns the African-American's most valuable asset - our intellectual creativity.
.
So, the fact is, I feel the way I feel, and I completely ignore the popular Black delusions about Africa. I consider it mindless dribble. I don't love any plot of land. I love people, not geography, and I don't know a soul in
Africa, so what is it about Africa that I'm supposed to love, other than a fantasy and the need to compensate for a lack of self-esteem regarding what it means to be an African-American? Absolutely nothing.
.
I’m not into
fantasies. I deal in reality, but for some reason many of our people are into playing silly little closed-minded games - you
know, the same kind of games the White man loves so passionately. Their attitude is, if you
don’t look, think, and act like me there’s something wrong with you. That's what keeps us divided and unable to work together and move forward. It's also narrow minded and bigoted thinking that betrays their ignorance and limits their growth. So while they're talking Africa, they're thinking exactly like their White slave master taught them. Thus, I don't even like to waste my time with such ignorance. They’ll say things
like, “If you don’t love Africa it's because you’ve been brainwashed by the White man. Every other culture loves their ancestral homeland, why don't you?” My response is simple - So do I, but my ancestral homeland is Watts.
.
But because such people tend to be more ideological than thoughtful, what they don’t seem to understand is other cultures have a direct connection to the lands
of their various cultures. They have love ones,
experiences, and memories of the land that forges a connection. But the African-American culture is a new culture that’s
indigenous to the United States. We’ve had absolutely no connection to the
continent of Africa for over 400 years. So, to claim to have a passionate love for Africa is just a
flat-out lie designed to reap props in the hood. It's simply a form of "me too-ism" in a desperate attempt to be like other cultures. If these people's passion for Africa wasn't a lie, more of them would be living there, but you couldn't even banish such people to Africa. As they were being transported back they'd be kickin' and screamin' bloody murder. So, the real difference
between myself and people like this is, I don’t believe in lyin’ for props - I'm an African-American, I love living in America, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Period.
.
I'm fully capable of being a strong and prideful Black man without lying about loving a place that I know absolutely nothing about, just like I can love God without caring anything
about religion. So the fact that Africa is just another place on the map to me doesn’t make me any less
Black, it simply means that I’m a strong, Black, African-American man who takes pride in my own cultural experience - slavery and all - and I don't indulge in delusional bullshit.
.
Engaging in delusions about Africa like the one above is both a major
cause, and symptom, of Black dysfunction. First, it teaches us to be delusional and less than
efficient thinkers, and secondly, it sends a subliminal message to our children
that says there’s something inherently inferior about the African-American culture. It sends the message that we’re nothing more than tarnished and impure Africans, but that’s far from the case. In
fact, African-Americans represent the evolution of the Black man. So, we need to take more pride in who WE are, not Shaka Zulu, or scouring the Earth looking for a sense of false identity.
.
Like any other species in nature that’s faced with overwhelming
adversity that threatens their survival, nature steps in and provides them with
the necessary capabilities to overcome that adversity, or to evolve. So, the
fact is, the severe adversity of the African-American experience has caused us to evolve
into MORE, rather than less.
.
Having to deal with racism, injustice, and bigotry from the time we open our eyes in the morning until we close them at night has given us an intellectual muscularity. It's like spending every day at the gym - Every day, all day. It's given us the ability to deal with bigots while on autopilot and without even having to think about it. In my own case, it's gotten to the point where dealing with bigots has even become a form of recreation. So it’s simply up to us to recognize our ability, take pride in who we are, and begin to develop
our evolving capabilities instead of wasting our time twerkin’, partying, and engaged in other frivolous pursuits. Because what we
call, “soul” is nothing less than Black brilliance straining to set itself
free.
.
The White establishment recognized that fact when they had us in slavery. Initially,
they brought us here from Africa to be mules, but it wasn’t long
before they began to recognize our astonishing intellectual creativity, and ever since that
time the White establishment has tried to move Hell and Earth to keep that knowledge from us, and
to also keep it in check. That, and Bacon's rebellion, is what ultimately led to all of the oppressive
laws and traditions designed to “keep Black people in their place”. Thus, racism is not based on hatred, it's based on fear.
.
So, while it is always good to stay in touch with one's roots, the
fact is, the African-American culture has long since ceased being purely
African - even though the continent of Africa will always define the core of
our being. But any connection that we may, or may not have had with Egypt, Nefertiti, and/or Cleopatra is tenuous and remote at best, at least, in a strictly
cultural sense. It's as though we're going around, hat in hand, desperately
searching for a piece of history to call our own. But we shouldn't place
ourselves in that position – it's undignified, pathetic, and wholly
unnecessary.
.
We must begin to understand that we are a new culture. We ceased being Africans
when it became necessary to adapt to the fields and ghettos of
America, and neither
are we simply Americans - we became something more than simply Americans when
it became essential that we become more than simple Americans for our very survival.
We are a brand new culture - a culture conceived in pain, delivered into
turmoil, baptized in deprivation, and weaned on injustice. And since adversity
is experience, and experience translates into knowledge, we don't have a thing
to be ashamed of. The uniquely pointed adversity that the African-American has experienced makes
us more, rather than less. We are a culture that is only now in the infancy of
its development. For that reason, we cannot hope to compete, lie-for-lie, with the
more ancient cultures relative to history, since our history is only now being
written. The African- American culture is a culture of the future, not the past,
and for that very reason, we don't have to try to compete for historic
greatness, because we're writing our history today.
.
But the fact that we are a new culture doesn't mean that we are anything less
than the older cultures; it simply means that our greatest contribution to man
lies before us. So we don't have to look back to antiquity to find a source of
pride, all we have to do is study the life and times of our parents, our
grandparents, and that generation of African Americans born between the turn of
the century and WWII.
.
In less than 50 years, the Black people of that generation went from
housekeepers and flunkies to the boardrooms of multinational corporations. In
less than 50 years, they went from playing washboards and tin cans on the side
of the road, to becoming some of the greatest musicians the world has ever
known. In less than 50 years these people have gone from the defenseless and
nameless victims of public lynchings, to laying a foundation that led directly
to Barack Obama becoming the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth - and
that is a chapter in history that is verifiable.
.
The most cursory glance demonstrates that there is something unusually unique
about this new culture. While social scientists have indicated that all
minority cultures must assimilate, dilute, and subordinate themselves to the
dominant cultural soup, there is clear evidence that the African-American
culture has had a much greater impact on the dominant culture than is the
reverse.
.
Members of the dominant cultural group under fifty years of age have more in
common with the African-American culture in terms of attitudes, style, and
personal taste, than they have with their own grandparents. Black music - Jazz,
Blues, Rap, Gospel, and, yes, Rock n Roll - is the predominate music, not only
in the United States, but in the entire world. Every time a Rock group steps on
stage, they sing a tribute to nameless slaves moanin' in the fields - and just
to turn on a radio or television set anywhere in the Western world, is to pay a
tribute to Duke, Bird, Miles, and Diz.
.
In addition, the United States of America has honored only four men in history
by declaring the day of their birth a national day of celebration -
Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, widely accepted by many as the father of all mankind; President
George Washington, the father of this nation; Christopher Columbus, the man
credited with discovering the Americas (along with the native Americans who
were already a part thereof); and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man whose
forebears were brought to these shores in chains.
.
That says a lot about that humble black man - and it says just as much about
his people. In spite of the fact that Dr. King began his life burdened by the
inherent disadvantages of being blessed with black skin in a Jim Crow environment,
his words, his intellect, and his deeds so inspired the heart and soul of
humanity that America saw fit to set aside a day for this nation - this world -
to thank God that he was allowed to walk among us. His was a soul with such
strength that it served to lift the rest of mankind to a higher level of
humanity. That's not only a testament to one black man's ability to pull
himself from the dust of his humble beginnings, it's also a testament to the
capacity of his people to meet the test of greatness - and that's a history
that is verifiable.
.
And we must also take pride in our own personal journeys, and realize that in
our own journey through life, history is also being made. You don't have
to be a world conqueror to have an impact on the history of mankind; you simply
have to make decisions in your personal life that helps to enhance and move
your people forward towards their appointment with destiny - and every time you
face life's obstacles with courage and perseverance, you meet that challenge.
After all, you don't make decisions in a vacuum - every decision that you make
in life becomes a public decision. People are watching, your children are
watching, and if you nurture your children properly, they will make the
character of your decisions an indelible part of the public record.
.
Thus, the character that you reflect in your daily conduct carries the seed
that your children will carry with them for generations. For that reason, I
don't regret one moment of my youth that I spent stumblin' through Watts on
whatever drug happened to be convenient. Those years were part of a personal
journey that stands as a monument to who I am today. Of course, I related those
struggles to my children as stumbling blocks to be avoided at all costs, but
they were also related as examples of perseverance, and the determination to
overcome the obstacles in my life, and by overcoming those setbacks, it allowed
me to relate those experiences with just as much pride as the White culture
relates the experiences of General Patton to their children. George fought his
battles, and I fought mine, and as far as my children are concerned - as far as
I'm concern - one was no less heroic than the other.
.
So I don't let others dictate to me what I'm OBLIGATED to think in
order to prove who I am. That's group-think, and group-think is not thought at
all, it's a sheepish accommodation to the beliefs of others. So, anyone who
resent the fact that I don’t think like they do can go to hell. I have better things to focus on, like how am
I gonna move forward right here, and right now. I consider anything else a petty
and frivolous waste of brain power.
.
Some people tell me that if I don’t know anything about Africa, I should take
the time to become informed. My response to that is, why? I'm not an anthropologist. I'll leave that to people who are interested in such things. We only have so many seconds here on Earth.
How is wasting those seconds learning about Africa going to benefit me when I
can spend that time learning more about math, physical science, or epistemology? I could
become the world’s greatest authority on Africa and still be on my ass. On the
other hand, if I put that time into becoming the world’s greatest mathematician,
that’ll get the world’s attention.
.
I tried to get that point across to many of my brothers when we were in college.
They simply wanted to get a degree, any degree, but I already had a young family, so I was there to gain useful knowledge.
So, when they asked me why I wasn’t taking classes in Afro-American history (a quick and easy way to gain credits), I
told them that struttin’ around in a dashiki spewing tales of the illustrious history
of the African diaspora may make them superstars in the hood, but in the long
run it’s only gonna lead to making them the most enlightened brothers in the
welfare line, and my prediction turned out to be right on the money.
.
So, while taking pride in our heritage is undoubtedly a good thing, the realities of
survival in American society makes practicality a far superior pursuit. But due to our natural tendency to be
entertainers, and our need to impress upon others the pride we take in being
Black, many in the Black community have yet to recognize that fact, and that’s
why we’re struggling.
.
Black pride is not about lip-service regarding how much we love Africa or subject
to any other kind of litmus test, it’s about intellectual development,
independence of thought, and the confidence and strength of character to be
your own man and avoid feeling the need to cater or kowtow to the beliefs of others –
Black or White.
.
Thus, what it means to be a
strong Black man is having the insight to understand the importance of
knowledge, the strength and independence of thought to become your own hero,
and the confidence to never allow anyone to remove your cape.
.
Neither scholar nor the head of state,
The most common of men seems to be my fate;
A life blistered with struggle and constant need,
As my legacy to man I bequeath my seed.
.
More fertile, more sturdy these ones than I,
This withered old vine left fallow and dry;
The nectar of their roots lie dormant still,
But through their fruit I'll be revealed.
.
And that, is verifiable.
Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
.
Posts
