Pride and prejudice

You know what this country needs a lot less of?

Pride. Especially "Black Pride". It's good to be proud of who you are. It's quite another to think that your shit don't stink and to make sure that EVERYONE knows it. I actually had a black girl snap her fingers at me and demanded to know what time it was. Do you know what would happen if I'd called her on it? Or worse yet if I snapped my fingers back at her? There'd be hell to pay. When I walk down the street, 90% of the time if someone moves out of another person's way it's usually me. The other person is usually black, quite often female. They make absolutely no effort to be courteous, they just barrel on through like they own the sidewalk...and God forbid if you should actually bump into them. You'll get a rant on how the white man has oppressed "my people". Hey, dumbass, I'm not a slave owner, O.K.? My family hasn't had anything to do with that in multiple generations, if at all. But I'm not allowed to say anything, I just have to sit there and take it. As a white male I'm not allowed to speak up for myself. Minorities have not only taken to speaking up about it, they take you to court for it. Either that or you get a tirade about "the white man". White men have become the brunt of everyone's anger. Blacks. Hispanics. Women. I realize that in the past it has been mostly white men in power, but is that what you're "pride" is all about? "You did it to us, so now we're going to do it to you." What is this, Kindergarten? When did I personally ever do anything to you? Do I deserve lifelong punishment for something someone did 150 years ago?

I'm not white, I'm light tan. Do I get offended or upset if someone calls me white? No. So what's wrong with calling you black? Would you prefer I call you dark brown? And yes, descriptive words like these are needed in life. It would be like taking offense to being called blonde or brunette. It's simply the color of your hair. Nothing more, nothing less. I do not judge you by the color of your skin. I judge you by your actions.

But this trend doesn't end with just whites, many blacks seem to be at war with each other. A black teenage boy was killed in Brooklyn by another black teen for his I-Pod. He was stabbed to death, multiple times. You constantly hear of gang activity in areas like Harlem and Compton. Black against black. East coast versus West coast. Killing each other over nothing. Deifying rap stars who are little more than thugs, and even call themselves thugs. Tupak Shakur has been raised to the status of a Christ figure. Why? These highly regarded figures record albums that tout how they like to smack their bitches around, or how they're "gonna pop a cap in your head" if you look at them sideways. Albums with titles like "Cop Killer". These pussies are probably about as tough as a newborn kitten.

Martin Luther King hoped his children would "live in an nation where they are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". What do you think Dr. King would think about that "character" if he were alive today? I think he would be appalled and disgusted. He wanted equality. He wanted racial harmony. He wanted understanding. What is happening in the world today is not what he gave his life for.