it may seem "pathetic" to you
because you (as far as i can tell)
don't belong to a minority group that has
negative stereotypes about the group they belong to
shoved down their throats on a regular basis.

therefore, there is no need to
remind yourself that these stereotypes
are not necessarily a reflection on you
and all of your peers.

bottom line,
as a black person that grew up in america,
i held all of the subliminal biases and prejudices
about black people that everybody else in america had.

it was a conscious decision on my part
to find numerous examples of other black people
that did not match up to all of the stereotypes that i saw
perpetuated by the media.

it was a conscious decision on my part to ask myself:
why is it that the media seems to always show a certain type of image whenever black people are involved.

and it was a conscious decision to make my peace with these issues
and move on.

i am not sure,
but i would imagine other minorities go through
a similar struggle.

a gay man (to choose a random instance) may wonder
why don't they ever see other gay men on television
in committed, loving relationships.

or why all the gay men they do see on television
promiscuous.

perhaps that gay man would have to go through a
struggle that is similar to black people,
to find counter examples of members of their peer group
that don't represent a negative stereotype.

so that they can stop harboring negative believes about themselves.


i'm just saying,
something like that might happen.



so i don't always agree with the way some black people
fight the "battle" in the 'culture war' that sometimes
comes up in american pop music.

but i know full well why it exists.
and to deny that the factors that motivate it
is obtuse at best and racist at worst.