I've been thinking about this for the past few days. In discussing the Chris Brown interview on Larry King, Tyler Perry rewriting and directing the film version of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuf, the ongoing slaughter (that includes kidnap and rape) of black women and children in the United States by black males (not some far off land and NOT by de evil white males), the very public attacks from other black men who insist black women are not worthy of anything and shouldn't expect anything from anyone and the number of black women who don't seem too upset by any one of these things I wonder if those of us who DO have a problem with this are fighting a battle that's already been lost?
The excuses I hear online and in real life are very disappointing to say the least. I think this is probably more related to a situation I need to distance myself from offline but it is mirroring situations that are being covered online. That's in addition to the political kowtowing of our current President and the state of the economy. Either people are in denial, opposing the wrong things or are just plain overloaded. This is when being a woman in a patriarchal/racist society gets to be burdensome. I'm working on having my support systems and preferred lifestyle in place though!
Opposition is one thing. That lets me know my contribution to dismantling this hierarchy of pain and confusion is working. After all I had questions about the status of black women, why things had deteriorated for so many and how it could be addressed. I was greatly relieved to find answers from more than one source. Now I had to discern what would work best for me and yes I needed to change my thinking AND have it reinforced from time to time. It was always my choice though and I took the time I needed, asked questions and made my own decisions about what mattered most.
Apathy is something else. I cannot and will not subscribe to the theory of things being the way they are for many as being normal - or necessary. It's why many black female bloggers who speak of empowerment or leaving a mentality behind or seeking out men from other backgrounds to marry or not being physically/mentally tied to all black people 24/7 or choosing differently or telling about the specific acts of violence against black women & children that aren't covered on the evening news spend so much time discussing these things.
It isn't because there aren't other things they could be doing! I think there's a saturation point and I may have personally reached mine. I'm not sure yet but I know if I see someone bleeding on the street my instinct is to try to help them not walk away. Yet if they insist it's all in my head or worse yell at me for being alarmed then honestly why should I bother? **When I've had enough of this I doubt that I'll announce it.**
I leave with you with something encouraging from my maternal grandmother's favorite singer.
