Plight of the African-American Woman

As opinionated as I am... Im surprised I've never considered this before. Letting you into my cerebral cortex, as it were. I wont bore you with the details of how I came across it, but I must credit [ http://melperry.blogspot.com/ ] with the creation of THIS blog. I've read plenty of blogs before... but this is the first time I've considered doing one. This is all still very spur of the moment, lets see how long this holds my (very short) attention span. Anyone who knows me, knows just how opinionated I am. On a variety of subjects. I will keep my "Seinfeld-esque" comic adoration or sports obsession off of these pages... and spend most of my time ranting about politics, economics, social issues, and the like. So many retards... so little time... *sigh*... trying to promote logic, and rational thought (over the illogical emotions of the right hemisphere of the brain) has NEVER been so fun!

So, in her honor(?) I shall kick this off with one of the MANY topics that frequents my brain but is never truly discussed. The plight of the black female in America.

The African-American experience is very unique. Former slaves, who make up a fair percentage of that nation's population... who live in "relative" peace with their former slave masters. That may sound surprising to some who hear me harp on social issues in this country, and there are definately things that need to be improved... but in comparison... I'd much rather be black in America rather than Palestinian in Israel. (future topic, btw) People complain about race in America, but noone ever proposes leaving... thats all I'm saying. And while issues with our slave past (future topic, btw) cause self-inflicted wounds in our community on a regular... this gender issue is a relatively new problem... and I dont know where it originated.

As a man, I hear things about women all the time that women dont hear from us directly. I've been going around asking people (mostly men) why a country that thinks its so progressive (which its not!) has never had a female president... and I've gotten a lot of surprising answers. It makes me wonder what whites and hispanics say about blacks and others... when only they are around... I wouldn't mind being the proverbial fly on the wall for that convo, but thats another issue for another day. Anyway, back on task... there is no secret... that regardless of race... gender was, is, and ALWAYS WILL BE a big issue. With people of all backgrounds. It just seems to be a larger issue in the African-American community.

We, as African-Americans... make up only 12% of the population of the United States. Twelve percent. Why are we 50% of new (annual) AIDS cases? Why are we 40% of total AIDS cases? (Astounding!) Why are more than half of our children growing up in single parent homes? We are the only community that has more children growing up with one parent rather than two. The only group. The only group. Lets try that again... THE... ONLY... GROUP! That alone should make you cry. A generation of children who dont have the example of a proper family structure. And of those black single parent homes... why are 90% matriarchal? If you look at white or hispanic single parent homes, they are always majority female, however, its usually 60/40 or 65/35. Somewhere in that ballpark. Not 90/10!!! So, we're the only group that has more than half of our kids in single parent homes, and NINETY PERCENT of those single parent homes are run by women. Where have all the brothers gone?

Why have 40% of black women NEVER been married? Compare that to... I believe its like 11% of the white women in this country. There was a recent survey done that showed sexual habits and broke them down by race, age and gender. Why were the African Americans having sex a few years younger (on avg.) than all of the other races... and having significantly more sexual partners (on avg.) than the other groups?

I dont know when it started... but you can go back (census) and see that there were far more two parent homes in the black community 30 and 40 years ago when the socio-economic climate was SIGNIFICANTLY more adverse and antagonistic. I also find it interesting, that even though hispanics are in a very comparable economic situation, there social structure is not nearly in the same shape... which, I must admit... was initially a shock to me.

The African-American community has a crisis in terms of how we view sexuality, promiscuity, and masculinity. Is it cool to be the race that has the most sexual partners? Is that something to brag about? Is it any wonder that we are 40% of AIDS cases? I'd also like to thank Black Exploitation Television, for permeating this view of sexuality to our people... even our children... as early as 10am everyday.

"Hey kids... you ready to learn how to be pimps and hoes?"
"Yeeeeeaa." (children in unison)

I find it interesting when I hear black men speak ill of black women based on some shared behavior. How is it logical (a recurring theme in my brain, sadly not for everyone else's brain) to say that "she is a hoe because she let me..." when you are engaging in the same act?

Lets try and break this down...

If its TRULY okay for men to have sex with someone they just met... and simultaneously... its NOT okay for women to have sex with someone they just met... then... apparently there is this large underground of gay black men humping (and respecting?) each other on sight. When will we as black men take some responsibility for our actions? We are the quickest to label women hoes (and Im not denying that there are unfit women out there)... the quickest to accuse them of not being responsible... that is to say "she let me do it... so im gonna do it... but that doesn't make me bad... it makes her bad." Thats illogical, stupid. If you view women as hoes... then why marry? You wont. Could this be a major reason why almost half or our women never get married? What makes you fit? Why are you worthy? It can't be your judgment. You just slept with a woman you just met, now you have two kids you dont stay with, and you've had several different STD's. Why are you marriage material? I'm glad I dont have any sisters, and I'm hoping I dont have any daughters, because I do not feel like dealing with this crap. [I wont even get into the financial benefits our community would see if far more of us were married, rather than trying to play the field.]

The weird thing is... its almost 2008, and... in terms of the statistics... they're getting worse. Even compared to the 80's. Remember the 80's? When a retarded novice republican governor (foreshadowing?) ran for president. Good ole Reaganomics. But our structure was better then! This seems like an issue for the 1300's or something. Something that should have been resolved 500 years ago. The idea of race and gender still being an issue should have died with the enlightenment of the 1800's. Just further proof that people aren't as smart as they think they are. That whole... "she let me, so its her fault" thing still has me livid. We're trying to win the... "least responsible mo'fo's on the planet award" or something.

Speaking of responsibility... if people believe that the men are the head of the household... why dont we take some responsibility? So many guys sound like the youngest sibling. "They let me do it." If our family structure will be revitalized... it needs to start with the man. We need to take responsibility for our actions, make better decisions, and LEAD (yes... its a crazy concept... LEEEEEAAAD!) rather than pointing and blaming those we CLAIM to be superior to. You have to love that irony. I look down on her, but I expect her to hold all the responsibility. *sigh* Just let that concept MARINATE on the brain for a moment. If I think Im superior to someone, yet give them all the responsibility... which one of us is truly working with inferior equipment?

The BIGGEST IRONY in all of this... in terms of all around responsibility, there's no question that black men... ON AVERAGE... are far behind the sisters. There are more black women than black men in colleges... and from a financial/social standpoint... there are black women who have a hard time trying to find a (economically) "successful" male-counterpart... and not the other way around. Im not a proponent of either group attacking the other, but if we're going based purely on merits, achievements, assimilation, social evolution and the all that comes with it... who really has the better LOGICAL gripe with the other gender? Hmmmmmm... a lot of prideful men wouldn't like that answer.

What happened to black love? 70's soul? Its US against them... not... me versus you. What happened to the black family? Those who were for Jim Crow, segregation, separatism, second class citizenship and the like... they have to be absolutely GIDDY right now. They dont need to actively try to destroy the black community... in-fighting has us destroying the family on our own. If we're gonna claim to be men, we're gonna need to take some responsibility. I'm sick of this bull...

:(

Next probable topic: Why most American's are now FASCISTS and why the world did NOT change after 9/11.