I am a Black man. There is a lot in that statement. One of the greatest things, a person can know is themselves, particularly their identity. However, with that trip is a bag of bitter candies. Sometimes your badge of honor can be a badge of shame.
Recently, I was at a movie theater and I was leaving the theater and my car would not start. I knew I needed a jump. There were two white females in front of the theater talking. I walked up to them about half way where my car was and ask if they could help me with a jump. They simply ignored me. Was it my skin color? Was it my gender? Was it both? One lady turned and quickly walked away, while the other jumped into her car and sped off.
To say I felt like crap would be an understatement.
I called a friend and vented my frustration. Before I go further, I did ask someone else, a white guy and his girlfriend for a jump and they happily obliged. Now back to this. I called and friend and vented. She simply told me that she would have basically done the same thing. I'm like what? She was like they didnt know you and do you watch the news.
The news. Really?
So its the media's fault I couldnt get any assistance? Paranoia? Fear?
Ah, fear. The devil's biggest weapon and America's biggest cash cow.
So how does a guy in my position supposed to feel?
Am I to be understanding? Am I to be pitied? What exactly or how exactly am I supposed to think or feel? Its possible that they reacted out of fear. Yet, how am I as a Black man supposed to take that. As an insult. Or do I need to just shut up and deal with it.
I dont want to make seem like the the model citizen of the world but I am a college graduate, a bible teacher and minister. Those things of course are not visible to the naked eye. So in some jacked up way, it is what it is. Reminds me of a quote Malcolm X once made. "What do you call a Black man with a PhD? Nigger.
Not fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment