So I've been presented with yet another idea that I don't quite understand. For those of you who know me, this shouldn't really surprise you. I'm a graduate student, so my job is to find as many ways to confuse myself when it comes to basic stuff that is just taken for granted. For example, instead of just accepting that people like to jog in short shorts on cold days, I want to know why. Right at the "why" is exactly where things get complicated.
Back to the subject, a number of friends have commented on this photo. I posted it as my icon on Facebook a few days back and a number of people have asked me questions about why I am so angry. Now, when I took this photo I wasn't particularly angry. I was having an OK day. But even if I were angry, whats wrong with that? Am I prohibited from expressing that anger in a theatrical manner for my own camera? Is that not better than directing that anger at the world?
Well, the problem is that I have been asked by a number of friends why I insist on being the Angry Black Man (ABM). Not only have I chosen to be angry (yes, I've chosen), but I've decided that it is appropriate to do so in a public forum. Facebook is about as public as it gets too.
But now I've been wondering why the ABM is such a problem. Why is it such a threat to people that I even call my friends? For those of you who think that I am talking about the racism that white people propagate without being able to help themselves, just stop. It has been Black friends making comments about my acting out and being an ABM in public. Of course I know that they make these statements in jest, but why does the ABM come to mind? Even if the people giving commentary are joking, there is a general understanding that I should not walk around making this face. Is it a warning of some sort? Are they worried that I am more likely to "fit the profile" of a mugger if I look this way? Will convenient stores refuse to sell me a bag of Doritos now? I admit that I am less likely to make friends making a face like this, but is there something particularly wrong with making oneself momentarily unavailable for social interaction? I don't really think that should be a problem.
As far as I'm concerned it's just nice to be able to just do, say and feel freely. I want my liberties, and I demand the opportunity to be happy or angry in public or private spaces. And if there really is something wrong with being angry in public, why don't I ever hear about the angry Chinese guy, the angry white guy, or the angry whoever else as a general problem in social life?
All this thinking is making me... well, angry.
Posts
When the Apocalypse is Now
5 years ago
1 comment:
wuddup m4?
i feel you.
The next issue of The International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling will have an article I wrote, "Domestic Violence Among the Black Poor: Intersectionality and Social Justice", that examines some of the issues you raise, e.g., the hypervisible aggressive Black male, etc.
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