I do not own any of the GIFs.
As promised, here are the main toxic social norms in the Black community. Let's go!
1. The Oldheads Always Come With Their...Negativity
It seems that the only thing elderly Black people enjoy doing more than checking their blood pressure (no tea, no shade) is throwing dirt on the younger generations. Now when I say elderly, I don't even necessarily mean people that are nursing home-bound. I'm speaking more of the people in their late forties, early-to-mid fifties. I was in the car with my boss the other day screaming every note of "Love on the Brain" for obvious reasons, and my mans really got hot. "All y'all do is steal!"
He then went on rant about how Rihanna's sound is super familiar to Prince and other artists before her time. I guess influence was supposed to expire or something? He went on to say his generation was "inventive." Okay. Me trying to be a different kind of Andrea, I've decided to try and figure out why the old folks are so...goddamn...bitter. If you are as clueless to the issue as I was, feel free to check out this insightful article that helped me put a few things into perspective.
https://melmagazine.com/why-gen-x-is-so-pissed-at-millennials-fdc1f2cc2e2c
2. We Associate Discipline With Abuse
-Trigger Warning With the Video Link-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3708682/Official-investigate-mom-livestreamed-daughters-beating.html
Whippings? Fine. Normal. I understand not every child is a "time-out" or "let's just talk about it" type of child, but around the time I was eleven, I started getting hit in my face and before that was being called out of my name. The same oldheads that gave birth to our parents are the same ones that believe abuse is okay and marvel in sharing tales of how if they had done the things my generation does, they'd have been "knocked on the floor" or in prison. (On a sidenote, I'm not passing judgment on the mother in the video. From what I recall about the mother-daughter duo, their relationship was fine after the incident and the daughter recognized where she was wrong in her own actions. I believe what happened sincerely came from a place of love, concern, and fear. In the mother's mind, it was better her daughter have some welts and bruises than a teenage pregnancy or an STD/STI.) Every situation is different, and I respect parents' intentions as I truly believe for the most part they do mean well. A good bit of parents, however, are abusive and are able to blend in with the parents that are just concerned about their children and drive it to extremes. The only way to know the difference is to stop condoning extreme measures of "discipline" that are interchangeable with abuse.
3. We Condone Physical Violence and Other Abuse in Our Romantic Lives
In all honesty, I passionately dislike Facebook just because prior to deleting a lot of people off of my page, I saw nonsense being shared so regularly such as images where women's faces would be beaten and there would be some b.s. story about how the woman cheated and her man came home and caught her. You've probably seen them. Along with the bogus, poorly written backstories come all the people (men and women alike) flooding the comments with approval. To top it off, there is a Twitter thread where an alarming number of men shared their own assault wounds that had come from scorned lovers. It goes on and on even to the extent where people brag on social media about destroying their significant other's personal belongings. Even I have an ex that I slapped on a couple of occasions (He gave me permission to when I was angry at him, but it was still wrong.). DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER!
4. We Shame Female Sexuality
We shame female sexuality! We shame female sexuality! We shame female sexuality! Black women are not allowed to have (and this is the disgusting part) consensual sexual relationships and enjoy them. From the time little Black girls are old enough to walk, however, they are being made to seem like seductresses instead of children. "She's going to be fast. Need to watch her. Put on some pants. Your brothers/uncles/cousins are here." Black women that are sexually active are shamed and labelled by Black men AND women alike regardless of their age, social status, etc. At the same time, men are expected to sleep around and even taunted if they don't.
5. The Black Community is High-key Still Homophobic AF
No matter how many Pride parades we have, gay marriages that ensue, or gay cousins no one talks about, Black people still just can't let go of homosexual slander. Black men especially have low tolerance for homosexual men and bash lesbianism (only if it's a stud or dyke since they picture having threesomes with fems-what a joke) constantly. Black families are quick to cut off gay family members but will allow shady ass Uncle Mike to babysit their children.
In conclusion, as a community we have a lot of growing to do. Thanks for reading. Be sure to comment, share, and have open discussions with one another!
SIKE! You thought I forgot?
6. BLACK PEOPLE THINK CHRISTIANITY IS THE ONLY RELIGION ON THE EARTH AND HAVE NO TOLERANCE FOR OTHER RELIGIONS, DEISM, OR ATHEISM. BLACK PEOPLE JUSTIFY EVERYTHING WITH THE BIBLE, YET ARE TYPICALLY HYPOCRITICAL AND LIVING IN OBVIOUS SIN BUT JUSTIFY PASSING JUDGMENT ON OTHERS BY IT BEING THEIR "CHRISTIAN DUTY." WE HAVE TO STOP.
*Clears throat* Thank you for reading and until next time...
