Why Are Black People So Suprised A Black Man Succeeded?
Posted by: The Key Man, in Political MusingsI know this has nothing to do with life insurance, but I was listening last night to the election returns and it really frustrated me to hear what some of the most successful black people in America were saying. The one that stuck out in my mind was Oprah. She said something to the effect that she never thought this would happen in her lifetime. And she was of course referring to the fact that a black man was elected President of the United States.
That line of thought is very frustrating to me. Maybe it’s because I’m white. I don’t know. But when I think about who I want to be President, I don’t ever think about color. I think about policy issues; I think about leadership ability; and I think about good judgment. Those are the things I look for in a President, and none of those things have anything to do with color.
What struck me about Oprah’s comment is that she, in her heart of hearts, didn’t believe that a black man could ever succeed at something so great–at least not in her lifetime. What does that tell you about a culture, when one of their most successful icons doesn’t believe in her heart that her people can succeed?
How are black people ever going to succeed if they don’t believe that they can?
I grew up in a culture in Sacramento where I was always told I could do whatever I wanted to do. I grew up believing that my success was up to me–not someone else. And when I look at my life, I can see when I was successful because of my decisions, and when I failed because of my decisions. Other people may have been involved in that success or failure, but ultimately the responsibility was mine.
I wish the black leadership would instill in their people that color does not matter. Color of skin will not keep you from being successful. You are the only person that can keep you from succeeding. The most successful people in the world have failed many times. Failure is part of success. From it you learn and grow and find other avenues for success. If the black society stopped blaming America for their failure, then maybe they’d keep on trying to find success, and through whatever failures came their way, they eventually would.
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November 5th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I cannot believe you are lumping all African Americans into one category! And you think this group of people are all blaming America for their problems?? You need to wake up… These people have gone through YEARS AND YEARS of oppression from people like your great grandfather. It has only been 40 years or so since African Americans began to be fully integrated and accepted in America. If you ask me, they are doing pretty well!
And I’ll bet you are so excited that prop 8 passed! Don’t worry, it won’t last long, equal rights always prevail…
I’ll expect you to delete this, people like you LOVE censorship!
Have a good day! Glad we can all share the right to politcal opinion!
November 5th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
A Sane American…
I’m glad you feel so strongly and are willing to share your opinion. You may think I like censorship, but you are exactly incorrect. I don’t believe we should be censoring opinions. Pornography yes, opinions no. Opinions are what have made America such an exciting and wonderful place to live.
I did not mean to lump all African Americans into one category. I know that there are many African Americans that have become very successful and feel the same way I do about working hard to gain success. Oprah is obviously one of those people. So is Colin Powell, Condaleeza Rice, and many others.
However, if you look at how the African American portion of society voted last night, you’ll see that I’m not the one lumping them all together. They have lumped themselves. Somewhere around 95% of African Americans voted for Barack Obama. Most other demographics were split way more evenly between the two candidates.
My frustration comes from how I would approach the issue of racism in America. If I want something to go away, I ignore it. I stop dwelling on it. Eventually it leaves. I see the black leadership doing exactly the opposite. They dwell on it. They thrive on it. It makes them angry. It heats them up. They keep the idea of it alive by dwelling on it so much.
If I want my child to succeed, the last thing I’m going to do is dwell on the reasons why they won’t.
You’re right. It’s been only 40 years or so since they’ve been integrated fully into society. They are doing okay. But I want to see them thrive. I believe they have it in them to do so. They are humans and they are Americans, as am I. Their potential is for greatness, but for some reason they embrace mediocre results. If they truly believed they could achieve better, then they would not stop until they did. America does not keep anyone from succeeding who never gives up.
My hope for America is that we stop caring about the color of our skin and start caring about the solutions to our problems. Poverty may be more concentrated among certain demographics, but the solution to poverty is the same whether you are white, black, asian, mexican, or whatever.
As for my great grandfather, he was not a slave owner. Nor was his great grandfather. Even if he was, is it my fault that he had slaves? Is it anyone’s fault today that slaves existed in America? If we’re going to blame our ancestors, maybe we should blame the ancestors of the blacks themselves. After all, most of the slaves were originally sold by Africans first, Europeans second, and Americans third.