Tenkamenin said:
We do live in a capitalistic society, someone obviously has to be knocked down or some power has to shift to the otherside for one to rise. These activists are just using whites as the people that need to be knocked down. Is that right? Nope, but from a capitalistic stand point this makes a lot of sense.
However using race as a target and objective instead of class- or economic-based factors leads to a very distinct us vs. them mentality. Many Blacks are not told to differentiate between the prejudiced, slave-owner heritage, dixie cotton white person and the non-racist, harmless white people.
Why is Wayne Brady poked fun at by Black America? (lmao @ this example, Wayne Brady is a faggot) Because he doesn't speak in ebonics, he doesn't challenge White America with his blackness, and he doesn't derive his raison d'etre from that blackness. In essence, to Black people accustomed to the "us vs. them" mentality, Wayne Brady, the bitch from the Howard Stern show, Condoleeza Rice, Bryant Gumble et. al are now "them".
This type of divisiveness leads Black people to a very singularist mentality...individualism is not tolerated. "A playa like me would do it like this" is another way to say "As a black male, I cannot do these things, because they buck the group standard". Often times you will literally hear the words "as a Black man in ____<insert milieu here>, as a Black woman in ____", statements basically confirming that among Black people there are social pressures to conform and think certain ways.
And part of that communal, or shared mentality is the basic assumption that the situation of Black america is due, at this very moment, to racism. Now of course that is the logical assumption. Why else would Black people be in such a situation? Of course, racism was the initial cause of Black problems, and some may still account for it today.
But the larger issue to Black america today is the shared cultural mentality that teaches that any and all problems are due to racism...that if a Black man fails in the white man's game (i.e. wschool, work, etc.) it must be due to racism. Therefore, to succeed, you must use your blackness as a weapon against that racism. You have to challenge at every turn. You can't be a wayne brady, or a Bryant Gumble. Only in attacking white racism through your self identity can you succeed in society and meet challenges head on. If Bill Cosby acquieses to society, and Malcolm X challenges, it is better to be a Malcolm X than a Bill Cosby.
Unfortunately, this is the cause of much renewed racism today. Black students on college campuses often seem more pissed off than ever about their situation, regardless of the fact that their opportunities and chances have increased, not decreased. Black only proms, Black student unions, Black fraternities, Black graduations only enforce the segregationist mindset. This is where much White racism comes from today. Whites look at Black people and see people who refuse to integrate without challenging, people who see themselves as first Black, then individuals.
Look at White racism today. Alot of it is still the typical redneck bullshit, saying things like "n***** smell" and "fuck all g***s". But there is a new breed of white racism. Some of it is very thoughtful, and well laid out. Much of the new ideas hinge around creating a "white" identity and restoring and protecting "white" history, having a "white" culture and a "white" based ideal. Who might they have got that idea from?