I can't pinpoint when I came to this revelation, I think back to 2008 when Obama was running for president. When I heard about it my response was simply "Oh...that's cool" then I went back to myspace macking and listening to Nas' latest album. Seeing as I lived in the south, I wasn't surprised everyone was in a frenzy. I mean, chances are if there's a black family that lived in the south for generations they were the slaves that never escaped ( :( ); I understood they were excited. Then I noticed everytime I turned on the t.v. or listened to a song everyone was wet about Obama. I didn't realize how much I didn't care at the time because, well, I didn't care enough to think about it.
Throughout high school I've seen a lot of my niggas get in altercations with white students over racial shit. I'd sit in the back dying laughing while egging them on (bitch it was high school, don't judge me) but in the back of my mind I knew I was laughing AT them. The fact they were so insecure about their black history that they had to practically beg others to respect them saddened me. Don't get me wrong, I take pride in my blackness; I don't take pride in OTHER's blackness though. Which brings me to election day.
For those who don't remember, there was a huge inauguration ceremony welcoming Obama into the white house. As the ceremony begun, Aretha Fucking Franklin "My Country, Tis of Thee" to honor Barack. This was by far the blackest thing to happen in the White House since The Coolest President Ever played the saxophone. As I looked at the tv screen showing Aretha singing her heart attempting to melodically fellate the president, I turned to the side to look at my mom (who begged me to watch the ceremony) with tears in her eyes.
I felt nothing. Literally nothing.
If my mom's tears can't move me to give a fuck either I'm a horrible person or I don't care about black people.
What I mean by that is, Obama's successful presidential campaign has nothing to do with me, he doesn't represent me as a black male. The same way Chief Keef's music doesn't represent me as a black teen. I don't base my achievements and failures on what other black people are doing. I don't live vicariously through their melanin.
When I see a bad representation of black people in public I don't feel ashamed, they're not me. If I see a black man achieve I'm not going to cry tears of joy because a black person won. I'll congratulate them as a man and keep it moving.
Which brings me to present day, 4 years after Obama got elected it is time for yet another election. I still havn't registered. I never liked the idea of voting. The bullet is stronger than the ballot, if people really want to make a difference......nevermind. My parents were unsurprisingly upset that me and brother choose not to vote for the lesser of two evils. We got the typical "blacks have died for you to...." speech.
Let's be real, for some blacks, this isn't about politics, it's about Black vs. White. Be honest with yourselves, we all talk about Obama vs. Romney meanwhile the minor parties probably have "better" candidates and you probably couldn't even name one.
There's a time for everything. There's a time for "Us vs. Them" and then there's a time to be an individual. When the revolution starts holla at me, until then, shut up and vote for another wack politician and pray to white jesus. Whatever.
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