The Struggle to Understand Black Culture

I think a lot of folks still think of "black culture", and even "Mexican culture" to a lessor extent, in ways they no longer think of Irish, Italian or Polish culture - that anything more than a mix of parades, good food, green beer and quaint customs might be scary. Of course, there's a constant parade of crazy, wacky, infuriating and exciting things going on all over the place and it's all but a part of the complex and colorful tapestry of our constantly evolving "American culture."

Some people boldly stake out their position in this struggle. I'll just note that it's a thin line between understanding and judgement, between fear and hate:

"On the other hand, I am sick to death of black people as a group. The
truth. That is part of the conversation Obama is asking for, isn't it? I live in
an eastern state almost exactly on the fabled Mason-Dixon line. Every day I see
young black males wearing tee shirts down to their knees -- and jeans belted
just above their knees. I'm an old guy. I want to smack them. All of them. They
are egregious stereotypes. It's impossible not to think the unthinkable N-Word
when they roll up beside you at a stoplight in their trashed old Hondas with
19-inch spinner wheels and rap recordings that shake the foundations of the
buildings. . . .
Here's the dirty secret all of us know and no one will
admit to. There ARE niggers. Black people know it. White people know it. And
only black people are allowed to notice and pronounce the truth of it. Which
would be fine. Except that black people are not a community but a political
party. They can squabble with each other in caucus but they absolutely refuse to
speak the truth in public. And this is the single biggest obstacle to healing
the racial divide in this country.
I'm not proposing the generalized use of
the term, just trying to be clear for once, in the wake of Obama's call for us
to have a dialogue about race. However much they may scream and protest, black
people will know what I mean when I demand they concede that the following
people are niggers:
- Jeremiah Wright
- O.J. Simpson
- Marion Barry
- Alan Iverson
- William Jefferson
- Louis Farrakhan
- Mike
Tyson . . .
You see, you've just given life to the suspicion that black
people in America are, and have long been, a fifth column -- unanimously hating
the very country that has afforded the highest standard of living ever achieved
by black people in human history. We're teetering at the edge of believing that
you're a secret society, a massive collection of sleeper cells just waiting for
your chance to do serious harm to the rest of us. You've made it possible for us
to believe that. Because you're never outraged by what the worst black people
do. Because you continue to make excuses for what should be inexcusable to
everyone."