Let's Talk ABout Black Rage

The one subject that hasn’t been broached, in the midst of Black History Month, is the rage and constant anger that far too many blacks harbor toward civility. It is the elephant in the center of the room that few are willing to admit exists. And, even when there is an admission of its existence, the blame for it is deprivation caused by whites.

With that said, there is no tangible example of black rage more conspicuous than the poisonous contempt many blacks exhibit toward those who do not view life through a prism of victimology. Sellout, Uncle Tom and Oreo are the common epithets that roll from their mouths more easily than saying hello and goodbye.

But are they really angry at blacks who refuse to wallow in the brothels of immiseration, or are they envious of our freedom? What logical rationale can be offered to explain the raw, rabid rage we see so many blacks direct at other blacks who, in a free world, exercise the greatest freedom of all, i.e., the freedom to choose fundamental ideologies?

One of the most egregious examples of this rage was captured when Memphis radio host Thaddeus Matthews savagely berated Republican congressional candidate Charlotte Bergmann for being a black Republican – even going so far as to refuse to shake her hand because, as he put it, he didn’t want her “whiteness” to “rub off” on him. (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/radio-host-loses-it-with-female-gop-candidate-get-your-stupid-a-out-im-scared-your-whiteness-might-rub-off-on-me)

I don’t recall a whisper of contempt coming from those who are quick to decry the most innocuous comment as flagrant bigotry. I guarantee that the reason he treated Ms. Bergmann with such vulgar contentiousness was not only because he believed what he was saying, but because he knew his listening audience believed it as well.

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The tragedy is that this is not uncommon. I was a guest on a show recently where the black host referenced blacks as the sons and daughters of slaves. I advised him that my mother and father, nor their parents, had been slaves, so by definition alone I was not the son of a slave. The interview ultimately concluded with the co-host unable to debate me on issues, choosing instead to call me the usual assortment of pejoratives. The question I ask is, how did that help her? I don’t believe it made her feel better, and it certainly didn’t elevate her status.

I believe that part of the reason for this is that if they do not condemn those of us who choose to think for ourselves, they will have to admit they are their own enemy. I recall an incident at a Dollar General Store, where a black customer publicly berated me when I questioned the Puerto Rican checkout girl about the accuracy of the price for tire cleaner I was buying. When I politely assured him that my inquiry pursuant to the correct price was not his concern, he flew into even greater rage. In front of everyone in the store, he called me several different kinds of nigger and said I even dressed like a white person. Even the black store manager joined in the chorus of insults.

As I later thought about the experience, I realized that part of the man’s poisonous rage was based on his personal feelings of inadequacy. That’s not my fault, any more than the rage Matthews displayed at Ms. Bergmann was her fault, nor should we take responsibility for those suffering from those feelings.

Rage and contempt are part of the composite that poisons many in the black community. The mithridate, i.e., the antidote, for same is as glaringly simple as it is complex. The easy part of solving this is for every black person given over to directing rage at blacks who do not share their views is to ask themselves, “Why do I feel this way?” They must ask themselves what those feelings have accomplished for them. That may seem overly simplistic, but to answer those questions honestly requires great introspection – which is why I submit, that the very first step to improving one’s personal situation is an honest examination of self. No person can improve until he is willing and able, and sees the need for that first step.

Pursuant to accomplishing this, two immortal quotes by Booker T. Washington come to mind: “I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him” and “Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” (“Up From Slavery”)

There is one more thing Washington said that I will close with: “The thing to do when one feels sure that he has said or done the right thing and is condemned, is to stand still and keep quiet. If he is right, time will show it.”

I’m willing to follow his sage advice.