Oftentimes, when the Black community is faced with criticism relating to certain negative stereotypes and stigmas we tend to leap to our own defense and claim they are experiencing racism without fully analyzing the overall situation in question, or the supposed racists in question.
One example of this, I find, are the many people in America who are against welfare and government aid in general because they feel as if the only people receiving it are deadbeats.
They also believe they are people who don’t try to look for jobs, rely on the government to give them whatever they want, and ultimately abuse the system.
This, in and of itself, is a huge stereotype that many people have about the Black community.
It’s absolutely no surprise to me that many people who have a stance against people receiving government aid are racist, because they believe everyone who receives these services are families living off of food stamps, and that they lie on government forms about their income, etc.
It is sheer ignorance.
African Americans are not the leading recipients of government aid. In fact, Caucasians are.
However, it is important to note that everyone who is dead-set against government aid are not all racists. Many of these individuals are simply hardworking individuals from different ethnicities who simply feel that their own work in life is being considered less worthwhile versus the many recipients of government aid who don’t work or even try to work, yet are still able to afford the same luxuries as they do.
This is but one example of the importance of having a true perspective. It is this focus on perspective that we in the Black community must work to better ourselves on.
It is not enough to simply defend ourselves time and time again as it relates to our image being judged incorrectly day by day. We must not become like the oppressors and the racists that we despise. If we generalize all people and assume they all have the same negative views about the Black community, then we are no better than the true oppressors and racists that we so despise.
It is in this manner that true acts of racism and oppression can and have become minimalized to the point that it becomes difficult for society to accept it or act on it. We must offer that perspective in any way we can, so as to uplift the image of the Black community outside of our own view, and branch away from the negative connotations and stereotypes that have become ingrained in the whole world’s view of the Black community.
America, the way it is today, simply takes things for what they’re attached to. It’s difficult to grow as a person, let alone a community, because so many people have had a specific negative view towards us for such a long time. That being said, it is not enough to expect other races see our viewpoints without recognizing their viewpoints also.
We must open up our minds to their viewpoints and truly look beyond their race and the privilege they may or may not have as a non-Black person.
It is through this compromise that we can all truly eliminate, at the very least, some of the harmful stereotypes and stigmas that have been placed upon us, and make a step forward toward a more accepting America for the Black community.