What would Amy Chua say?
This hidden camera footage of a son who happens to be black playing a prank on his father where the former confesses that he impregnated an underage teenage girl is hilarious. At the end of the clip, said young man's father grabs the Vorpal Broom of Black Respectability Politics and prepares to teach his wayward son a lesson in common sense.
I do believe that pops ought to be made into a high-end action figure. I would most certainly shell out the money to purchase it.
Whenever there is racism against people of color, or white vigilantism such as the kind encouraged by Stand Your Ground laws, a standard Right-wing bloviating talking point is that African-Americans have broken homes and communities, and that "the failed black family" is responsible for white people shooting and killing black
White vigilantism against random black strangers has nothing to do with whatever sociological and communal dynamics may be occurring among some homes and communities in some parts of these United States.
Moreover, the deflection of reasonable and factually grounded observations about enduring white supremacy through tired appeals about how black folks have "bad culture" is very curious: by comparison, there is no acknowledgement of the "failed" white family. There is also no discussion by these same members of the White Right about how white people are also sucking on the proverbial government tit in both the form of the submerged state and (more obvious and publicly stigmatized) welfare programs.
The father in the lede clip is not atypical in the black community as I know, see, and have experienced it. I grew up with parents and other people in my life who would have used (and in some cases did) the Vorpal Broom of Black Respectability Politics if I brought shame to me, them, the broader community, or my family. And yes, some of them were white folks.
I am convinced that those white conservatives--and others--who deploy the "broken black family" and "bad culture" talking point as a Swiss Army knife carry all utility tool that they use to simultaneously deny white racism, while wallowing in white victimology, do not personally know any black people outside of perhaps those buck-dancing shoe shine black face political race minstrels known as The Black Conservative.
White conservatives have gleamed their racist understandings of "black people" and our "pathologies" from cartoon and real Uncle Ruckus and Clarence Thomas types. Instead of acknowledging how black folks in mass are moral, dignified, and that we simply have the good sense to realize that the Republican Party is a White identity organization--thus our not voting for Republican candidates--it is far easier to listen to black conservative liars and enablers who tell their white masters that African-Americans are "confused" and stuck on some type of "Democratic Plantation".
Black fathers such as he who was about to wield the Vorpal Broom of Black Respectability Politics on his supposedly libidinous and irresponsible teenage son are not outliers or anomalies. Of course, those who receive their understanding of black authenticity and humanity from the mass media believe otherwise.
We cannot change such a perspective; narratives of black inferiority pay huge dividends for the psychic wages of whiteness. One has nothing but "white" skin in the game, quite literally, and he or she gets a nice emotional and self-righteous boost to the ego and self-esteem.
Who would not accept such a bargain?
Most importantly, where can I buy that action figure?
16 comments:
This is right on, based on many frustrating and upsetting conversations I've had with members of my family over the years:
"White conservatives have gleamed their racist understandings of "black people" and our "pathologies" from cartoon and real Uncle Ruckus and Clarence Thomas types. Instead of acknowledging how black folks in mass are moral, dignified, and that we simply have the good sense to realize that the Republican Party is a White identity organization--thus our not voting for Republican candidates--it is far easier to listen to black conservative liars and enablers who tell their white masters that African-Americans are "confused" and stuck on some type of "Democratic Plantation"."
LOL - loved the video!
There's an analogy with how the US portrays other countries' human rights violations, anti-democratic practices, etc. but refrains from showing Americans its own atrocities. Duplicity, I think, is the right word for that.
Related: The Myth of the Absent Black Father (link)
Facts is facts, and knowing blacks you'll know these facts:A staggering number of African-American children are raised in single parent homes, compared to the rest of America, and the rest of the world. A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that 25.8 percent of American children are raised by a single parent, a number high above the 14.9 percent average seen in the other 26 countries surveyed. Among African-Americans the rate nearly tripled, with 72 percent of black children relying on a single parent.
“The in-work poverty is higher in the U.S. than other OECD countries, because at the bottom end of the labor market, earnings are very low,” said Willem Adema, a senior economist in the group’s social policy division. “For parents, the risk is higher because they have to make expenditures on childcare costs.”
No doubt the prevalence of divorce has introduced single-parenthood as common place in the U.S., but the figures are disproportionally high for African-Americans. Reasons for the disparity among blacks could stem from any number of reasons, ranging from the American justice system, to pregnancy among young unmarried couples. In addition to the number of black single parents, almost three in four black children are born outside of marriage. The reality is that recognizing or even curbing the trend does not work to the benefit of young single mothers already raising children.http://atlantablackstar.com/2012/12/23/72-percent-of-african-american-children-are-raised-in-single-parent-homes/
The problem with respectability politics is it assumes white, anti-black racism as a black problem, rather than the white problem that it is. Whenever I hear anyone, black or white, attribute white racial animus to whatever "dysfunctional" black cultural trend is dominant at any given moment, I can easily shut down such claims simply by articulating the observation that sagging pants, gangsta rap, and all other excuses have only existed for a couple of decades. What, then, explains the previous 400 years?
White people? Bad culture? What are you talking about!
Do they actually say that with a straight face or is it just parroting the Fox News Limbaugh idiocy?
They're just struggling, you know, the economy, Obama, Affirmative Action creates white unemployment, integration ruined our schools, black and Mexican gangs are selling white folks drugs...
it's all black peoples fault, don't you know.
Yes, most definitely. Additionally, one cannot overlook the fact that animus and systemic discrimination have also been waged against other, non-black groups who, presumably, have not and are not "influenced" by hip hop/gangsta culture. What each group has in common is that, at particular moments in history, they constituted a threat to hierarchies of power. It just happens that black folks have presented a perpetual threat.
Thanks for the link! Bookmarked and kept at the ready!
Thanks. I've been saving it waiting for the right time to post it.
Yup. And even in communities where there wasn't overt violence, redlining was practiced just about everywhere. This kept middle class blacks from purchasing real estate in more desirable areas, with the effect of preventing them from increasing their family's inter-generational wealth. If you were black you could buy a house in Los Angeles County (not all parts), but certainly not in most of Orange County. The price difference for a modest house in Newport Beach and Compton at the time was not that great. The prices now are staggering.
I haven't heard the word "plantation" used in this respect among my kin, but I've heard the tropes of "bad culture" and black folks voting Democrat solely to get "hand outs" for decades from the mouths of my relatives. From what I saw, the emergence of Herman Cain just made this worse, since the folks saying these things felt like they had cover from being accused of racism by virtue of an endorsement from a certified black man. I've actually been meaning to write something about how Cain and his ilk are received back in my white, uber-conservative homeland.
I have heard the word "plantation" used by some of the crazier conservatives. Usually the black ones.
exactly the same thing in my fam. but if any of them use government assistance it's because they needed it. generally though people are both addicted to government assistance and scamming the system.
Many of them are overtly racist, not believing that they are not racist at all. They take the Sandy Rios route and say black dysfunction is the reason they are racist. "Black people make me racist"
I wonder if there's been any writing done, academic or popularized, on the phenomenon of American black women marrying African or Carib black men? Those few such families I know seem quite Ozzie & Harriet-ish to me, seemingly more robust and resilient than many American+American pairings. I would never wish domestic unhappiness on anyone, and I don't presume to diagnose why anyone's marriage fails or never comes together in the first place. But possibly this influx of African men might be the shot in the arm the black family needs to heal.
That is an interesting question. Beyond anecdotal evidence as I have seen some messed up African and Caribbean families, maybe we should see what is wrong w. the American family in general, and then ask the foundational question--what is going on with American families, and are the dynamics any more different among the "black" family or are we just seeing adaptations to many of the same dynamics--income, broken economy--that is now belatedly hitting the white middle class?
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