Hello God,
All right, I have a question for you. Is it wrong for me to assume a black male, between the ages of twenty-five and thirty, who is wearing a watch and a necklace permeated with diamonds, wearing a white T-shirt and baggy pants, driving a Rolls Royce Phantom with twenty-four inch rims, that he is either a rapper, drug dealer, or an athlete? Better question, is it wrong for me to become angry with a group of white people for feeling the same way I do? God, he could have easily been a high profile attorney who was hungry on his day off from work right? That makes perfect sense. Oh hell, let me stop fooling myself, that nigga was a rapper, drug dealer or an athlete.
OK, let me explain why I asked the question. The other day I went to McDonald’s to get a bite to eat. I parked right next to this beautiful Rolls Royce Phantom. It was gorgeous. As I entered the restaurant, I saw a family of white people and a young black man waiting in line to place their orders. As I got in line to order, I could overhear the white family’s conversation; they were talking about the Phantom. I heard one of the children say, “ Dad, it’s beautiful, do you know how much it costs?” The father responded, “ I’m not sure, maybe about $400,000”. Based on their conversation, I could clearly see that the car did not belong to them. The only other customer in the restaurant, besides myself, was the young black man at the register. He was kind of husky and was wearing enough diamonds to blind a blind man. He had to be the owner of the car. The first thing that came to my mind was “This guy is either a rapper, drug dealer, or an athlete.” I felt bad for thinking that way but I knew it was true. After the man got his food, he exited the restaurant, got in the Phantom and drove off.
As he left the restaurant, I clearly overheard the father of the family say, “I think he is a football player”. One of the children responded, “No, I think he is a rapper”. I couldn’t believe what the hell I was hearing. I thought to myself “You racist assholes! How can you just assume he is a football player or a rapper? If he was a white man, you wouldn’t assume that shit”. But then I realized that I was just as guilty as they were since that was my assumption the minute I laid my eyes on him. Now God, that’s why I am writing you today; is it wrong to make an assumption about a person based on how they look or how they act?
God, in this country, everyone acts and looks a certain way based on where they are from and who they are. God, I’m from the hood and I grew up a certain way. My family is loud as hell; we cannot have a normal conversation. We like to act goofy all the time. Some would label us as “ghetto”. Ghetto is usually used to describe how a person looks, acts, or lives as it relates to poor black neighborhoods. For example, if a person wore a stocking cap on their head while wearing a baggy white T-shirt and jeans, this person would be considered “ghetto”. Also, if a person drove a 1987 Ford Pinto with twenty-inch rims, this person and car would be considered “ghetto”. Last, but not least, if a group of individuals were being extremely loud in public, this would also be considered “ghetto”. These examples are usually bestowed upon black people and have a negative connotation behind them. I guess it must be wrong to dress the way you would like to, accessorize your car the way you would like to, and to express yourself in the way you would like.
It’s funny God, because the people who use this term the most are “black” people. One black person will tell another black person, “Why are you so ghetto? Do you have to be ghetto all the time?” What the hell does that mean, God? I guess it means “Why are you so black? Do you have to be black all the time?” Well, hell yea, I have to be black all-the-time. Dammit! Now, this same black person will respond by saying “Being black is not being loud all the time, or acting a fool in public, or wearing a stocking cap on your head.” That same black person cannot give a clear definition of what being “black” truly is? Why? It is because the black individual in this country has no true culture. Everything about us only goes back 400 years. We don’t have a true history. We don’t have our own language, our own culture—we don’t even have our own food.
Blacks in this country started with nothing and did the best we could. Blacks are a passionate people. We put our soul into everything we do—that is something innate that some try to suppress by labeling it “ghetto”. The bad thing about it is that native Africans don’t teach us about our culture when they move to this country. They also label American blacks as ghetto, or lazy, or ignorant. I can’t stand bougey ass, white talking blacks that try to be white and those marathon-running fools who come this country. The only people they care about are themselves. It just makes me so upset that they don’t know shit about me, but have the nerve to label me as ghetto. Oh my bad God, I guess I also make assumptions about people that could be incorrect. I guess that’s not fair to do since you really can’t know too much about a person based on how they look and what they do.
Sincerely,
Robert Harwin
P.S. Please respond soon because there are four big black dudes with hoodies on walking this way.
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