- Jun 14, 2006
- 93
- 2
The title of the thread is not a condemnation of ALL Black folks - just those who seek to fill their lives with Designer apparrel, shoes, food, and 60-inch television sets, not necessarily in that order.
As a child growing up, long before the advent of bling videos and get-rich-quick reality tv shows, Black folks loved to dress in the finest clothes and shoes, and hats were a very popular item in the day, as well. We have always seen our love of finery as just a cultural thing, of style, and simply looking good, but I remember even in the day, brothers like Malcolm X and **** Gregory were keenly aware that it went much deeper than that surface analysis. In fact, it was these brothers who made me aware that there was a deep fissure in the soul of our people that made us want to "Look" good, and shine brightly in the face of all our despair. They realized then that even though we looked suave and debonair on the outside, most of us felt a great emptiness where it counted, in our souls.
Back in the day, you could tell the brother or sister who felt comfortable with themselves as working poor. They wore their finery only on a saturday night or a sunday morning. They realized they didn't have to impress anyone but themselves, and that those who had an obsession with dressing were only trying to cover up and disguise the blight that was their internal lives. The same is true today, even with all of the bling vids, and other Madison Avenue enticements. There are some Black folks who's soul can only be filled by the desiger name on their gear or shoes. They've dressed their children in designer this and that, and now the children don't even feel comfortable unless they've got on the latest designer item.
I am wondering, how can we fight this obsession in our communities, if at all? We actually give so much financial support to the very system many of us feel should be torn down. Why cannot we build our own designer names, with our own sweat grit and motherwit, and entice others to support us in the way we support them. I think a substantial portion of our economic and social problems could be solved were resolve to let the White KEEP his designer whatever, and made our own. What are you guys thoughts on my analysis?
As a child growing up, long before the advent of bling videos and get-rich-quick reality tv shows, Black folks loved to dress in the finest clothes and shoes, and hats were a very popular item in the day, as well. We have always seen our love of finery as just a cultural thing, of style, and simply looking good, but I remember even in the day, brothers like Malcolm X and **** Gregory were keenly aware that it went much deeper than that surface analysis. In fact, it was these brothers who made me aware that there was a deep fissure in the soul of our people that made us want to "Look" good, and shine brightly in the face of all our despair. They realized then that even though we looked suave and debonair on the outside, most of us felt a great emptiness where it counted, in our souls.
Back in the day, you could tell the brother or sister who felt comfortable with themselves as working poor. They wore their finery only on a saturday night or a sunday morning. They realized they didn't have to impress anyone but themselves, and that those who had an obsession with dressing were only trying to cover up and disguise the blight that was their internal lives. The same is true today, even with all of the bling vids, and other Madison Avenue enticements. There are some Black folks who's soul can only be filled by the desiger name on their gear or shoes. They've dressed their children in designer this and that, and now the children don't even feel comfortable unless they've got on the latest designer item.
I am wondering, how can we fight this obsession in our communities, if at all? We actually give so much financial support to the very system many of us feel should be torn down. Why cannot we build our own designer names, with our own sweat grit and motherwit, and entice others to support us in the way we support them. I think a substantial portion of our economic and social problems could be solved were resolve to let the White KEEP his designer whatever, and made our own. What are you guys thoughts on my analysis?