Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Who is The Man?? : Putting a finger on who 'the white man' really is.

It came up in a recent conversation, that it is important to identify Who "the man" is.

When blacks complain of systems put in place by 'the man' to benefit white people, while damaging blacks, they are not speaking about 100% of white people, as 'the man'. They are referring to the handful of whites who make the decisions when it comes to Culture Impacting events.

Please keep in mind that when I speak of Culture - I am speaking of something generated, cultivated, nurtured, grown, created - African Culture prior to slavery was totally different from Afro-American culture of 2007 ... Hell, 40 years ago in 1967 Afro-American Culture was different from what it is today; it did not Include many of the things that are now 'common place' in todays society.

We must keep up with events - we must understand the past, as the events of the past tell the story of why things are the way things are, today.

So, who is The Man??

The man is a collection of White decision makers; The Man is the President, deciding what funds go to where. The Man is the Record Executive deciding what artists will get money and funds for distribution, advertising, and promotion. The man is the TV producer who decides which videos get air play - or the radio producer who decides what songs will play in their daily rotation.

The man governs the funds of the school board, deciding which schools will get what amount of money to improve and grow the minds of that community. The man hires the teachers, who care more about money than their job. Who want raises when test scores are dropping; when performance is sinking - teachers who could care less about molding minds of the future; and are more concerned with paying the bills of last month!

The man is not the white guy (or sometimes black, hispanic, etc..) who delivers the nightly news - the man is the one who decides what news stories will be reported, by the guy he hired to Deliver it, to the people watching.

The man decides what television shows will run this season; which shows are coming back for another season, and what shows will be coming soon; The man gave the green light to Tyler Perry to put "House of Payne" on tv; a dry unfunny, modern day minstrel show, that takes every opportunity to remind people living in America, that black people are only concerned with laughing and entertaining; being loud and out of control; going to work for a paycheck, not actually to work

Ok I'll admit I only watched it once, and was sick of it so quickly; reviews have not been so well either. There are many others out there who share my sentiments.

The man, includes the slave owners who put the wheel in motion (so to speak) - who set forward a generation that would raise future generations to think, talk, and behave a certain way; A culture that was further influenced through images; published by The Man who owned the printing press which released 'propaganda' - images defining what it means to be black...

...perceptions, ways of viewing the world, their world, their place in this world, this country, this ... american Culture. Ideas which often conflict with the law; These ideas are put into the minds of black men and women at young ages, and after years of having these ideas put into their minds, naturally, they carry them out; Some more than others...

I look at Micheal Vick being indicted today, and feel sorry for him; A part of black 'culture' - dog fighting, has put him in an uneasy position; Already it would seem that he is guilty from how 'the man' is reporting the story; and yet, we do not know to what degree he was responsable for the events that supposedly went on at his house in Atlanta.

It's his house... but that's really all we (the people) know - that, and of course everything else 'the man' has told us...

But, the man wouldn't lie - would he??

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