Forgive me for what I am about to do.  I will be discussing multiple topics in one post…but for me there is a method in the chaos which was caused by one question pertaining to my race and my homosexuality…  “Why should I support black businesses if the black community does not support me?” I will somewhat take you through the synapses in my brain that were firing thousands of times per second that lead me to my conclusion.  If you be patient with me, I promise I will tie up all the loose ends in my thought process.First Thought
Black people are not respected in the United States and in many places around the globe.   Without going too deep into the litany of reasons why this is, let me focus on one…Lack of Economic Power and Unity.

Second Thought
Racism has become institutionalized in the US and blacks (both gay and straight) suffer from it’s affects. 

However, since President Obama was elected, overt racism has returned front and center.  From emails, to Twitter messages, to bumper stickers, to Facebook posts, to cartoons, billboards, feedback on websites, etc.,  the examples are many. Depictions of this President as a Muslim chimpanzee, chicken and watermelon eating coon have shown up everywhere. Along with jokes and overall nasty sentiments spewed by everyday citizens, judges, columnists, policeman and politicians.

This has recently escalated with the Republican primaries taking place and the murder of Trayvon Martin.

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Third Thought
Because of this institutionalized racism, the US Justice System and the powers that be, have pretty much implemented (through laws and regulations) legalized slavery with black males making up the disproportionate bulk of our prison population.  The focus of these for-profit prisons is not rehabilitation but growing the prison population to make profit.

 

For-profit prison corporations along with the help of politicians have streamlined the process of getting US citizens locked up. 

The process …
1.Dumb down and distract the populace
2.Underfund schools       
3.Except private financial contributions         
4.Under educate
5.Close schools                                     
6.Accept financial contributions from corporations      
7.Pass Laws                         
8.Build prisons                                       
9.Fill prisons                                  
10.Make profit                                     

Success! We now have a new reluctant cheap labor force that helps generate money for the publicly traded for profit prison companies and their executives.  Some of this profit comes from tax revenue and government funds. These prisons provide jobs to it’s employees which in turn provides jobs and revenue to medical and insurance companies which are apart of the employees benefits packages.  Banks also benefit because these employes deposit their funds and also may open up 401k or other retirement accounts.  The wages the prison staff earns also provides jobs and revenue to the businesses in the surrounding community.  These for profit prisons also provide business to all the contractors that are needed for the prison’s care and maintenance and also for the food supply for the prison population.

The scope of this would not be possible unless black men were being targeted, arrested, charged and given higher prison sentences than their white counterparts by elected or appointed judges within the US Justice System.  Once released most of these black men can only contribute minimally to their community because they now have the curse of being an ex felon and in most states their employment and voting rights are restricted.


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Fourth Thought
Let’s move onto how the ultra-religious black community as a whole does not embrace, tolerant nor accept the Black LBGT community.  The black community is very conservative when it comes to homosexuality.  We are told we are possessed by demons and we break up the black family.

Across the nation, certain Christian churches in the black community have spoken out (and marched) against anything related to LGBT rights.  These churches condemn a many of gay souls to hell while accepting their gay dollars when the collection plate is passed around.  Many of these churches are not speaking up and out about HIV/AIDs that is impacting communities of color.

Their are few topics that can unify White Supremacist and the Black Church quicker than their hatred of homosexuals? 

This staunch religious black conservative point of view has even made it’s way to leaked secret memos and strategies from the white republican run National Organization for Marriage (NOM). 

An excerpt is below…


“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key to raising the costs of pushing gay marriage to its advocates and persuading the movement’s allies that advocates are unacceptably overreaching on this issue.” Obviously the division between the religious black community and the overall LGBT community is widely known, being that is made its way into the go forward strategy of an organization that wants to “defend” marriage. Okay time for me to tie up all the loose ends in my thought process and answer the initial question…“Why should I support black businesses if the black community does not support me?”

Answer.  Even though the black community as a whole does not support me, I have to support it because I am still a part of the black community. 

I view myself as a human being first, a man second, a black man third and a homosexual man fourth.  When white America views me, they see a black male.  When the police stop me because I fit the description; the description is of a black male.

My sexuality would only come into play, if it is somehow disclosed by me…being that to most of the outside world, I do not appear homosexual because of my masculinity.  I blend into the vagueness of being just another black male…a disrespected, stereotyped, made out to be a monster, arrested and locked up, black male. But of course black men are so much more than this.  We know this by our numerous past and present achievements throughout history. 

I personally see one key tool to overcome these issues and that is Black Economic Power and Unity.

The primary thing that is respected and sought after is money.  Economic power equals respect, but unfortunately that is something the black community fails to recognize as our key to success.  Not just marching and protesting when a black male is murdered by a non-black but collectively operating as one single powerful financial entity.

Blacks spend over $500 Billion dollars annually in the US.  Of that total, over $22 billion is spent on cloths and shoes, over $3 billion spent on electronics and over $12 billion spent on furnishing homes (mostly rentals).

There are about 412 Billionaires in the United States.  Of those 412 about 40% of them are Jewish even though Jews make up about 2% of the US population.  Jews are by far the most powerful ethnic group in the United States, why…because they have Economic Power.  Through their social unity and economic power, the Jewish community is able to influence media and politics by influencing law makers and perceptions.

The black community is so easily distracted and divided when it comes to the typical wedge issues (abortion, homosexuality and gay marriage) that we do not realize we have greater things that we should be focusing on like our black men being terrorized and jailed by police at astounding rates, HIV / AIDs, heart disease and diabetes reaching epidemic levels in many US cities and the ever increasing wealth gap between blacks and the rest of our society.

With little reluctance, I still realize I have to support my black community in hopes that we will one day achieve economic power that will help us achieve social and political justice regardless if the black community does not approve or tolerate my homosexuality.

What do you think? Please feel free to leave your comments and feedback.

Octavius