Research & Development

I hate when people look at me as if they're upset at me for happening to walk in the same direction and them being scared. Just because I'm a young black male does not mean I want to rob you. I cannot help that we're walking in the same direction to the bus at 6:30 in the morning (and if I could help the fact that I was black, I wouldn't). I'm trying to make an honest living and still I deal with the looks. And believe me, I've gotten it enough times to know what "the look" is. I wonder if 5'8" 155 pound white guys get the same look. I'm just curious because I've never heard one of them complain about it. But I walk past cars and often hear the doors lock. And I wish it only happened when I'm in my black workout gear but I've had it happen when I'm in slacks and a tie or even a suit. This is frustrating.

And I don't even blame these people individually because it's not just whites. I've had just as many black people give me the look. We are scared of our own because we are scarred by our society. Western culture is anti-Afro (closest thing I could get to a direct opposite of Eurocentric). In order to promote the "White is right" school of thought, there must be an antithesis... "Black is wrong" is that antithesis. It makes sense though; black is a direct opposite to white, both in color schemes and in the physical world. While some white people come as white as the background on this BlackBerry e-mail, some black people come as dark as the shell which protects the interior of the device. So it was an easy contrast to draw that even the simplest person could comprehend.

Now, many may say that I am biased but I am actually far from it. I am nothing but an objective realist. That is what those in power lack - objectivity. Why accept an unjust reality when you know that injustice will challenge your morals which will cause your conscious to push you to push for equality? So let's act like everything is just. I actually love white people because I love people and they fit into that greater demographic. Some of my closest friends are white. The person I have the most in common with at work is a 35+ year old white lady. Race is a nothing but a brand which we have researched, developed, marketed, and bought into as a society.

Well, it's time to get to work so I can make this honest living. Lock your doors before I walk by next time. Thanks.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry