COMPETING AGAINST THE WHITE MAN: WHY BLACK MEN MAY NEVER WIN!

After reading “Dreams From My Father,” by now-President Barack Obama, I may have found the answer to the question: “How can the Black man compete equitably against the White man?”

President Obama’s father and grandfather in Kenya were very sharp individuals and could have excelled more than they did. However, they were up against a foe that would either change the economic game plan, the economic game rules, or make up a new economic game and make sure that the opponent never got a hold of the game plan or the game rules!

This book needs to be read by every Black man, especially by every Black man in America who is an African American and who may carry negative psychological negative baggage from being a descendant of Black slaves in America. In fact, this book should be required reading for every Black child in America as it may save them from doing a lot of useless mental calisthenics when it comes to dealing with White America.

President Obama’s grandfather watched his son, Dr. Barack Obama, father to our President Obama, struggle so hard to get ahead and stay ahead financially and socially after he had earned degrees from the University of Hawaii and from Harvard University. Dr. Barack senior had such high hopes; such great dreams. He felt he was equal to the White man and should be respected for all of his learning. Unfortunately, he spoke out with his feelings when he felt some wrong had been administered to him, his Kenyan people, or to others. He never understood something that his father understood and could be explained so simplistically.

The elder Obama, Onyango Obama, also had great dreams like his son, but he learned that in order for him to survive and not live in frustration, he would have to live without having the opportunities to do all that he wanted to do. He watched his son prosper, speak out and lose his position, lose the economic foothold he had on the mountainside of economic success, and fall all the way to the bottom without any safety net. He watched his son struggle with the ill-treatment from the White man, and suffer mistreatment even by his own people.

It took wise observations and listening by President Obama’s step-grandmother to explain to our Barack Obama lessons the grandfather tried to teach his son, the father of our President Obama.

Called Granny by President Obama and others, this very wise woman shared a conversation overheard by her when President Obama’s grandfather, Onyango Obama, was trying to share his observation about the White man with Dr. Barack Obama, father of our President.

Grandfather Obama said that Africans could never defeat the White man because the Black man only wanted to work with his own family or group, while the White man worked with other White men working together to solidify their power. Grandfather Obama went on to say that “The White man alone is like an ant. He can be easily crushed. But like an ant, the White man works together. His nation, his business --- these things are more important to him than himself. He will follow his leaders and not question orders. Black men are not like this. Even the most foolish Black man thinks he knows better than the wise man. That is why the Black man will always lose.”

I found the words of grandfather Obama was right on! Over the years, I have watched Black men tear down the reputation and/or work of another Black man. I have found Black men arguing with each other over the smallest infraction, instead of looking at the big picture. But, I have seen those same Black men smiling and shuffling their feet when a White man was present and giving them orders, or telling their version of how a job needed to be done. After receiving orders from a White man, I have seen these same Black men lower their eyes and reluctantly do whatever the White man said needed to be done, or not question the version of a story that a White man would give.

So, unless the Black man in America learns how to listen more than he talks, and how to use his mind over his emotions, he will never be able to really compete against the White man and win long-term. When he tried to make the White man give him work at a fair price and be more hospitable concerning his living conditions, the White man just brought in more immigrants, legal and illegal, and just keeps on making money. The unemployment of Black men in America will continue to rise while the unemployment of immigrants will always remain low or non-existent.

The future of the average Black man in America is very bleak. Thanks to their inability to control their emotions, they continue to kill each other, and continue to have women have their babies which they will not help raise in a positive environment. Then, their children will continue to be weaker mentally, have more health issues, and will probably die at an increasingly alarming rate. Frustrated men having sex with unfulfilled women will continue to bring forth undisciplined children usually. There will always be that 30 – 40% of Black children that will rise up and not become a negative statistic. However, those numbers will decrease as more angry and frustrated Black men continue to have sex with more angry and unfulfilled Black women, soon creating a permanent underclass that will not be able to compete even in future sports events.

So, what’s the answer? Well, we could castrate all economically, unproductive angry Black men that have no positive goals and continue to be a drain on their community. Or, we could continue to build more prisons and seek longer prison terms that would keep more Black men in prison longer and away from society, hoping they get killed by a drive-by shooting, or die from ill-health or AIDS/HIV. Or, we could train them for war and allow them to die an honorable death on the battlefield. Or, we could make the investment of time and money and other resources to equip them to fill a niche in the larger society.

One thing is certain: the economic loss and frustration in the Black communities will continue to have a negative impact on the society of America as a whole. Drive-bys and drugs and AIDS won’t kill all of the millions of angry, frustrated, and unfulfilled Black men in America. Some of them will infiltrate the larger society and make their lives a living hell with unplanned pregnancies, additional numbers of poor people needing services that taxpayers will have to cover, and showing the world that America still hasn’t taken the time or energy to solve problems created by earlier generations.

The one ray of hope (other than a spiritual intervention) could come from wise White people (men and women) who see that developing allies inside the country is more cost-effective than continuing to try to develop allies outside the country. When America has formidable enemies inside its borders, as well as outside its borders, wise people in America will see value in developing home-grown talent to help fight the enemies inside America, as well as help fight enemies outside America.