Some days it’s just hard to write to a blog. I know, many of the bloggers out there are reading that and laughing. Of course it’s hard. Reading news, figuring out what story or concept gets you most motivated and then creating a fluid and expressive statement that others might want to glance over. Once you do get consistent readers the pressure to be consistent, topical and timely grows exponentially.
I’m not complaining. I currently write to 8 blogs, with varying degrees of consistency. I cover a diverse range of topics, from NASCAR, to Presidential candidates, to my thoughts and Black issues among others.
But I am annoyed. There is so much that should be written, and I don’t have the ability to cover the scope of it. Anger versus Islam, racism, stereotyping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Presidential election, global warming and more. There are just so many topics.
But I notice something. The issues that often catch my attention deal with the negatives that affect African Americans and Latino/Hispanic Americans. Generally it is because my anger is invoked, or because I think a lot is being obscured but overall it is just negative. I wonder where the good news is.
I see constantly news on OJ Simpson, or this rapper committing another crime. I read about how Blacks aren’t making it to higher education, that the Black middle class is disappearing, that the segregation among African Americans is worse than from other sources. I see videos that showcase booty-shakin and drugs, or viral videos that promote violence in schools. I observe how the Black community is a commodity for sale from generally non-black corporations. All of this and I get tired.
Why is it that BET can’t provide programming that other cable networks seem to have little difficulty creating? Why is it this nation can’t stop being angry about OJ getting an innocent verdict? Why must 90% of all references about violent or drug related crime, or welfare and social assistance must have African American faces on it? What drives the media to place events featuring African American entertainers and celebrities of a negative aspect on the front page, but charities and positive actions get about 30 seconds of coverage?
Some say it’s because the Black leadership has focused the news this way. That’s crap. There are no African American leaders. When was the vote? How did anyone get registered for it? Who counted? It never happened.
Rev. Al Shaprton, Minister Farakan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and several other notables have been proclaimed leaders yet I know I have never been asked about it. They are just the guys that the media decided to follow and promote. That’s not leadership, it’s attention. The difference is vast.
Continued in Part 2...
No comments:
Post a Comment