Friday, February 3, 2017

Thank A White Man, The Implications of Mike Pence's BHM Tweet


No my friend. Your eyes have not deceived you. Mike Pence began Black History Month by giving a shout out to a white man ( some debate Lincoln's ancestry on his mother's side but that's for my Hidden Colors crowd to debate). This seemingly simple tweet speaks volumes on race relations and just as much for the Trumpian outlook on the celebration of Black history and  African- American accomplishment. By intentionally highlighting the actions of whites that were involved with Black history, Pence has chosen to willfully undermine the achievement and self-sufficiency of Black progress in America. He is basically asserting that " without Abe Lincoln, a white man, you niggas would still be picking cotton and making pig parts edible for your sustenance". Pence's tweet gives further insight into a series of long-neglected implications that need to be addressed.

1. We Have The White Man to Thank For Our " Freedom":
Thanking white people for our freedom from the brutal bondage of chattel slavery would have been like Tina thanking Ike for only open-hand pimp slapping her when he could have two-pieced her. Thanking white people for our freedom from centuries of forced-incest, mandatory illiteracy and putting us through utter hell would be like thanking a literary agent for not stealing your transcript. The point being, these things should never happen thus thanking the blameworthy actors of such atrocities is absurd to say the least.


2. You Niggas are Free Now... Things Could be Much Worse:
 Pence's tweet serves as an intentional reminder that African Americans today have grievances that in comparison to slavery are mild. At least from the perspective of a bigoted and privileged white male. Think of the times when you tell your friends about what your stressing over and they try calm you down by reminding you of the things you have already went through. " Remember when you got caught stealing boxes on your day off?... if you bounced back from that then this lil DUI ain't gone stop nothing".  That is basically what Pence is putting forth. A closeted and diplomatically-framed " get over it" to current black complaints of injustice.

3.  Comparative Undermining:
Whenever the unsolicited and unprovoked utterance of slavery is brought up by non-blacks it is generally to serve as some comparative undermining of current mistreatment. Upset about failing urban schools and under-funding in predominately black districts? "Never forget, You could have been a slave, your ancestors would have wept tears of joy at such an opportunity". Pissed about mandatory minimum sentences that mostly effect non-violent black offenders? " You could have been a slave, at least your free to go after serving your sentence". The only comparative jab that is thrown more frequently than the slavery card is the " you could have been in Africa... do you see how bad it is there?" quip.

" Don't worry about police brutality... your black ass could have been picking 500 pounds of cotton"

Pence's tweet fit the 140 character constraints of the popular Twitter application but spoke volumes in regards of what to expect from the current administration. A lack of sanctity for even the most well-established of causes and the reminder that without white men we wouldn't be shit. 







No comments:

Post a Comment