Ratings?

When I walk around town or in black inner circles I never hear any black people quoting the hit TV show "Friends," although I'm sure that there are Black fans of Friends, I don't hear them quoting Chandler or dressing up like Phoebe for Halloween. But shows like Chappelle's Show and The Boondocks have a White following, that generally don't get the satirical content of these shows. I was just wondering what's the fascination with Black culture? I was on http://www.boondockseries.com/ (Season 2 of the Boondocks is excellent by the way) and the Tag Board was filled with posters using White Supremacist monickers. They were expressing how much they love Uncle Ruckus (A Black character on the Boondocks who hates Blacks and Loves Whites.) We're not as excessive or obsessive about White popular culture as Whites are Black popular culture. I guess that's how it's always been. Look at Rock N' Roll. Elvis Pressley, The Rolling Stones, and other iconic rock bands first hits were covers of songs by Black artists. Black artists cover White artists all the time. Jimi Hendrix, The Temptations, and Aretha Franklin all have covered Bob Dylan songs but that was after they were established, those hits didn't get them their first major hit and start them on their road to fame. Which is major props to those artists who wrote that hit music. Sam Cooke signed off on the Rolling Stones using a song written by Bobby Womack, that song, "It's All Over Now," became the Rolling Stones first UK hit.


We don't focus on Whites in television or the media because most of us are trying to be White in reality. (What do you think the great melting pot means? What do you think the quest of the American Dream is?) I don't think we have to even look at television or the local newspaper to see how White people live. We already have this notion in our head that they're doing way better than we are. I'm generalizing but we tend to associate wealth, high class, and higher education with being White. Without watching a minute of "White" television. Television and other media outlets being the bridge between the two communities. I believe (as I continue to generalize) that Whites believe just the opposite, they have a perceived notion of poverty, ignorance, and unintelligence with our community. As affirmed by the roles that Blacks play in the media, and our thoughts are affirmed by the role of Whites in the media. We don't have to watch a second of television to realize what being White in this nation is all about.


If all you see is a our people being villafied along with the role of our people in this society for over 400 years what is a young White kid in Alabama or Maine supposed to think when he listens to 50 Cent, or watches "The Wire?" I'm not saying that 50 Cent or The Wire are bad influences I'm saying why does that have to be the model for a Black person in America? Why isn't taken for what it is? An artist expressing himself (although exploitively) and a television show telling a story. The majority of our people are very hardworking, intelligent, loving, caring, just trying to feed pur families, and accomplish our dreams people. The narrowmindedness of a few bigots and the unwillingness of networks and record labels to endorse positive Black anything haunts the rest of the race. When it shouldn't, if a black man fucks up at a job, that company may not hire another black man for years, as Chris Rock said. Black people fucked up. If a white man fucks up at his job; Larry fucked up, Bob Fucked up, or Chet Fucked up. He's judged as an individual.


Why does the the criminal act of one person or a few people become the representation of the race? We're all branded with these stereotypes, stereotypes that just keep getting more acclaimated to the minds of people outside of our community by the media. Even people in our community are starting to believe the stereotypes, our community does need help (we need to help ourselves), but to suggest that most of our people are "criminals" or are involved in some type of "criminal" activity, is an assumption of an ignorant mind and an assumption of the media. I'm not excusing crime, but both criminals and criminal in quotations because if the drug dealer on the corner is a criminal then so is Coca-Cola, Starbucks, HMO's, Pharmaceutical Companies, Philip Morris, Nike, Haliburton, and Budweiser. We get so wrapped up in language that we lose track of why laws were made in the first place, and that's to determine what's right and what's wrong and to govern society according to what's believed to be right and what's believed to be wrong. Selling crack and selling cigarettes are both wrong, but all the government has to do is place the "legal" stamp on cigarettes, and it's the number one industry in the United States and also is responsible for killing the most people annually in the United States.


All the government has to do is put freedom on something and instead of it being a prolonged Terror Attack on Iraq it's propagandized by the media as Operation Iraqi Freedom. Wrong is wrong, no matter what kind of language it's wrapped up in. It's the hypocrisy, the government villafies our entire culture because some of us are acting just as they act, doing just as they do. Exploiting and killing people for personal gain. Ours just isn't in the realm of legality. The government also dominates the plane of Illegality as well, the prison industry is the second largest industry in the United States behind tobacco. Enslaving our brothers and sisters is big business.


I hate using the words White and Black, but it's unavoidable in this society. Race is such a taboo issue but is thrown in your face everyday. The words White and Black are natural divisors. They're immortal opposites, and in this society that's exactly what Whites and Blacks seem to be. An assumption the media backs oh so well.

I just did to White people what I was criticizing them and the media of doing to us, I took the actions of a few to describe the feelings and sentiments of the multitude. Eye for an eye I guess. I hope they don't lock me up.

Sunshine!