internalized oppression = mental shackles

i have said it before, i will say it again. i love quotes. the universe knows this and quotes find me constantly as a result, i believe. the latest one to cross my path is easily one of my favorites---so far. it is by Earl Nightingale and reads as follows:

“whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”

this particular quote really resonates with me. in great part due to a recent experience that i had.

i, with purpose seek to put myself in all black environments. it causes me no worry or shame to freely admit that at times i feel just plain tired of seeing white folks. they are everywhere. EVERYWHERE! despite being the world minority- one has to try real hard to get away from them. they are on t.v., in the movies, in the white house, in Africa, in the newspaper, and even God is commonly depicted… as a white person. with all of this “integration”, you can even go to a black family reunion, soul food restaurant, poetry reading in the heart of the “hood” and presto!… there they are. usually trying to dominate the situation or tell someone else how they should think, feel, behave, refer to themselves, vote, etc.

i, personally, get tired---real tired--- after awhile. i am not trying to be politically correct here folks, just honest.

sometimes, i just wish they would all just go away; the closet kkkers, the good intentioned ones-puhleeze take your good intentions back to your neighborhood and talk to your people---not me- i get it already---those with well developed superiority complexes, the guilt ridden apologetic ones, the ones that want to touch me or my locks without invitation, wished they were black ones, the always wanted to grow locks how long will it take ones?---really--- all of them.

i get tired of having to help white folks back into regular human place (ever notice the superhuman entitled place most white folks want to occupy?), tired of working over-time to maintain my right to move freely and powerfully without concern for that person feeling “intimidated”, i don’t want to be appointed the spokesperson for all black people-i haven't met all black people, informed by the liars that they don’t see my color and therefore don’t consider me black, etc. etc. etc. i will stop there but i really could go on and on and on with the non-stop silliness that is a regular part of consciously dealing with white folks.

it all strikes me as extra and it quite frankly makes me tired and somewhat irritable. as a result, i am not offended when whites just want to be with themselves. in fact, i find it annoying when blacks are so upset by honest whites that will say it. i am annoyed because we refuse to acknowledge what a total validation of white supremacy it is to constantly beg to be in their presence, included in their institutions, and wishing to have our humanity acknowledged and validated by them; despite centuries of evidence that it is an exercise in futility. think about it. we don’t need white folks. they need us. they need our labor, our flavor, our possessions, our love and our adoration. meditate on this…

…if we kept all of our labor, flavor, possessions, love and adoration for ourselves-worldwide- all people of color would automatically have a different experience. think about it. for those black folks that have appointed yourselves to the committee to ensure fair treatment of white folks, please understand, i am NOT advocating inhumane, ungodly treatment of whites. (for whatever the reason, treating ourselves well resonates and registers as treating whites badly for quite a few black folks)

i know that i am weird. it seems to me that quite a few black people feel that white people are necessary in order for something to be good or “legitimate”. of course these black folks will never admit it in words, however, in deeds they are screaming this belief. just pay attention. look. see.

now that we are are on the same page; yes, i digress, i know. i was saying that i purposefully put myself in all black environments. especially since i don’t see myself in my neighborhood that often. please check out my Thanks to My King post for an explanation and know that we are working on re-locating to a warmer more colorful place really soon. really really soon.

i will spare you the details of what happens most times when i do encounter other blacks in my neighborhood. suffice it to say, they seem to want to be the only black one around and it makes me sad. nevertheless, i feel compelled to stay connected, active, and involved in the black community. in a recent experience, i was in an all black environment in a volunteer capacity.

in this environment, i was surprised and alarmed to notice the non-stop language of oppression. i will flip it in the interest of speaking blessings rather than curses. i believe that words are powerful and that we shall eat by the words of our mouths. for this reason i guard my mouth and am cautious, at all times, to speak blessings not curses.

as such, black people are not irresponsible. all black people are not always late. black people are not inherently disorganized. black people are capable of unity and able to work together to achieve their common goals. in black organizations white people are not necessary. human beings cannot "own" other human beings; they can only inhumanely, viciously, and violently enslave them, white people should definitely not hold key positions of power in black institutions-just as blacks don’t hold key positions of power in white organizations.

we must steadfastly refuse to accept and practice the language of oppression. words are powerful. once they leave our mouths and reside in the universe, the very universe itself shifts to manifest those words. refuse to allow anyone to speak oppression into your existence unchallenged.

we must learn quickly to emulate only those things that make sense and lead to the collective advancement of our people. we must accept that we are only as strong as our weakest link. right now, we are doing the opposite. we emulate quickly, expensively all that will be to our personal and collective detriment. we sell our group out, so a few can be prosperous; as if our blessings don't come from God. this is an enslaved mentality. God has abundant resources and made enough for everyone; despite all the lies to the contrary.

it seems to me that asserting our freedom; rather than waiting for it to be bestowed upon us, as well as insisting that our white brothers and sisters afford us the respect of fellow human beings would be the best course of action. instead of worshipping the violently greedy dominant few with the futile hopes that they will do anything other than niggardly share their criminally, inhumanely acquired wealth. additionally, we must make ourselves economically and politically strong; which will afford us the position to insist that our white sisters and brothers learn to behave humanely and peacefully share the world with the majority people.

our refusal to accept these truths and act accordingly, results in the national community laughing all the way to the bank at our expense and seeing it as corroboration of our historically "scientifically" proven intellectual inferiority.

if one does not respect themselves, no one else will respect them either. those of us that have been blessed with committed, connected, present parents learned this truth as children. those of us that were not, must learn this truth now and be thankful that it is better late than never.

only we can or will free ourselves from our internalized oppression. we must learn to love and trust each other, again. we must get back to being happy to see one another and respectfully addressing one another, working with one another and building our communities. a by-product of our internalized oppression is the violence that we see that we perpetrate against each other, daily. it is up to us to stop it. we must free ourselves from internalized oppression.

how can we bring back black love? what can each of us do daily? we have “relaxed” for forty years. do we agree it is time to take care of business? what can each of do to bring back black love? i make a point of speaking, sharing with, and helping as much as possible all black people that i see. i have trained myself to see me in them. when i get "crazy eyes"- i smile and keep on pushing; understanding that they have not yet been able to see themselves in me. what can/will you do? how will you make a change/difference?

SELF LOVE~SELF ACCEPTANCE~SELF RESPECT