The Black Family of the 21st Century

[TheRevenant]

In my opinion is the anti-parenting hub of the future. Believe me I'm aftrican american myself and come with first hand experience. Before I post anymore information on the subject I'm curious as to what the community thinks about pour black family today? 

[Drew.]

When I was growing up, there was a show on television called the Bernie Mac Show. It was a running gag that he would give his adopted niece's kids a whoppin'. This was supposed to be a humorous element of the show, and I think it speaks to how normalized striking children is among black communities. Though, I accept that this could be totally wrong, as where I grew up was particularly white, and if there was someone who wasn't European, they were either Latin or Asian.

 

Edit: And as I think about it, there were plenty of shows that involved white families and child abuse, the Simpsons being one of them.

[aviet]

Some things never change:

 

 

But some things do. At the moment there is some hope with a rise in the number of black conservatives and libertarians. There is a real battle to get blacks out of victimhood mentality and it will require a lot of perseverance on the part of yourself and the aforementioned. You need to unrepentantly go against the grain, the peer pressure and insults to bring people the ideas that if they listen will transform their lives and more importantly their children's.

[Toys4]

It was a running gag that he would give his adopted niece's kids a whoppin'. This was supposed to be a humorous element of the show, and I think it speaks to how normalized striking children is among black communities. Though, I accept that this could be totally wrong,

 

 

 

You're not wrong, you're right.

[TheRevenant]

Thank you all for the insights keep them coming! I think this is a tremendous topic that needs more attention, simply because I see so much creative potential in our communities consistently being snuffed out.

 

From what I have observed, there are three main prongs with which young black men like myself are stabbed with from the first breath:

 

1. The family, we are either born into broken homes or present during its disintegration. Moreover the death of the family is often blamed on the children explicitly. We are viewed as burdens and living chores that must be taken care of by psychological enslavement.

 

2. Religion. I think it's obvious what the problem is with that.

 

3. Communism as a philosophical virtue. We are not told how to think or observe or learn, but how to resent the success of others.

[DCLugi]

Thank you all for the insights keep them coming! I think this is a tremendous topic that needs more attention, simply because I see so much creative potential in our communities consistently being snuffed out.

 

From what I have observed, there are three main prongs with which young black men like myself are stabbed with from the first breath:

 

1. The family, we are either born into broken homes or present during its disintegration. Moreover the death of the family is often blamed on the children explicitly. We are viewed as burdens and living chores that must be taken care of by psychological enslavement.

 

2. Religion. I think it's obvious what the problem is with that.

 

3. Communism as a philosophical virtue. We are not told how to think or observe or learn, but how to resent the success of others.

Those who challenge and or break this cycle are nothing short of hero's. 

[TheRevenant]

Also I think the role of physical violence against the young is the cornerstone of the black family. I sit back many a day in horror thinking about how not only do the elders in any given generation not only view it as a necessity but a virtue. It's hilarious to them literally. And yes I understand that humor is often used as a mask to stave off raw trauma, but boy do they get creative with its expression!

[brucethecollie]

My best friend growing up was black. She got a strange look from someone and it was automatically because they were "racist". And that was at age 11. She was also extremely religious. She somehow had the notion that to praise Jesus she needed to get the best grades in school that she could so she'd study every night until 2-3am, causing her to develop health problems by age 18. She thought it was holy and and good that her parents smacked her if she disrespected them. She smacked my hand if I cursed. She was so pitiful that even though we were very close, I pushed her friendship away by age 16. It was just too sad an influence to have so close to me and I wasn't able to convince her of anything. She wouldn't listen. I had a very similar experience with another black friend who was raised Jehovas Witness. She stopped being friends with me after I said I didn't want to go to church with her. She too was pitiful. She complained of racists but she also complained of her dark skin all the time. She believed her parents could do no wrong. I knew both of these girls from a young age when they were not yet victims. They were wonderful and so fun to be around. Their family and culture ruined that. I still miss what I knew of them when we first met.

[Mister Mister]

My best friend growing up was black. She got a strange look from someone and it was automatically because they were "racist". And that was at age 11. She was also extremely religious. She somehow had the notion that to praise Jesus she needed to get the best grades in school that she could so she'd study every night until 2-3am, causing her to develop health problems by age 18. She thought it was holy and and good that her parents smacked her if she disrespected them. She smacked my hand if I cursed. She was so pitiful that even though we were very close, I pushed her friendship away by age 16. It was just too sad an influence to have so close to me and I wasn't able to convince her of anything. She wouldn't listen. I had a very similar experience with another black friend who was raised Jehovas Witness. She stopped being friends with me after I said I didn't want to go to church with her. She too was pitiful. She complained of racists but she also complained of her dark skin all the time. She believed her parents could do no wrong. I knew both of these girls from a young age when they were not yet victims. They were wonderful and so fun to be around. Their family and culture ruined that. I still miss what I knew of them when we first met.

That's a very moving story, thank you.

[Quadrewple]

I briefly attended an all black school in the ghetto in Birmingham, Alabama - I was the only white kid there.  Needless to say, the classes were far behind my school in California, the teachers were very unhappy, and many of the kids had never developed a healthy sense of restraint which parents are supposed to model for their children. 

 

I attended this school briefly in the year 2000.  I should also mention that this school allowed corporal punishment, and as far as I know, the state of Alabama still does.  So the physical abuse at home is reinforced by physical abuse in the school, and the physical abuse at home produces acting out behavior which leads to more physical abuse at school, etc etc etc, ad infinitum.