"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."
-Winston Churchill
When you've been hard at the blogging game as long as yours truly has - four years next month - it is to be expected that you're likely to ruffle a few feathers. Indeed, much of the conversation between myself and the powers-that-be here at The Urban Politico prior to beginning my tenure as a regular contributor, had to do with precisely this dynamic, one of irate commenters and the like who, because what you wrote has struck a raw nerve in them, are not able or willing to respond with reasoned debate, but rather with Id-rage fueled invective. One of the more recent ploys toward tarring and feathering one's interlocutors, while at the same attempting to shutdown any meaningful examination of the issues along Sexual Politics lines, is to label anyone who says anything you, as a (Black) Woman, doesn't like, as a...
wait for it...
"Misogynist".
Such was the case, or should I say, the most recent case of where I was accused of such a dastardly act, by one of my irate commenters to my column last week that examined Street Harassment, the current tempest in a teapot flavor of the month. The dusky-hued lady of the hour, accused me of being a "misogynist" in response to a piece where, if anything, I was taking four-square aim at Brothas, many of whom make utter fools of themselves when out and about on the streets of America, trying to "holla" at the ladies going about their daily business.
Ahh, but you see Obsidian, what Ms. So-And-So really had a problem with, was your telling the truth and shaming the devil about what's truly eating the Sistahood up these days; let's count the ways, shall we?
1.Most Black Men are NOT "privileged", no matter how you define said term: in fact, the size of Black America's upper classes, and that includes Black Women in this number, is only ONE PERCENT of the total Black population in the USA. That's right - the vast majority of Black Men, DO NOT make six figures after-tax-income per annum. In fact, most Black Men don't make high five figure salaries, either. If "privilege" is to have any meaning at all, one would think it starts with the economic, and clearly, Brothas ain't it. Last week I mentioned the murder of young Trayvon Martin as proof that this phantom of "Black Male Privilege" simply doesn't exist; this week, I offer another Black male name for the forum's consideration: Charles Ramsey.Oh yea, he's just been basking in all that "Black Male Privilege" all his life! *Kermit face*
For more on how I eviscerate this canard, please see my two posts on the matter here and here.
2. The vast majority of violent offenders in American life, are Men who have the least to offer a Woman. This fact has been borne out repeatedly in all manner of criminological study. For example, the majority of rapists are younger Men from the lower ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. Contrary to the Great White Defendant prominently and regularly featured on the umpteen Law & Order spin-off teledramas, the reality of crimes such as these - and street harassment, to the extent it occurs, can be rightly included in this category, is much closer to the HBO crime drama The Wire, where week in and week out, the show focused like a laser on showing how America's Left Behind sections, undeniably Black and Poor, were destroying themselves. Those ladies who complain most about street harassment are unwittingly, marking themselves out along socioeconomic lines - much like the "Good Black Man(TM)" who bemoan always losing out to thugs and bad boys - the truth of the matter is that such people aren't who they think they are or where they think they'd like to be. To be sure, people of differing classes have their problems and do their fair share of dirt, but it isn't of the lower class "hood" variety, and anyone who's spent even a smidgen of time in both environments knows well what I am talking about.
3. Playing the "Misogyny" Card done got old back in 2008 - no one pays it any serious attention anymore, other than to use it to identify those who brandish it as vapid individuals who have little to contribute to the discourse and are, to be frank, butthurt, because a sacred cow of theirs just got rolled over in the spit of political incorrectness. Simply because a Man disagrees with a Woman, does NOT make him a "misogynist", anymore than a White person who disagrees with Affirmative Action make him/her a "racist" or a devout Believer disagreeing with Gay Marriage make him/her a "homobphobe" and so forth. People who resort to these kinds of hitting-below-the-belt debating tactics only prove just how weak they actually are in the discussion department.
And no one takes them seriously.
You know, one would think, given the events of the past month along these lines, that the Sistarati would call a grand meeting for the purposes of engaging in some serious Rethink - after all, what has all their #HashtagsOfOutrage gotten them, but more ostracization?
None of this is to say that Black Women, writ large, do not have problems or areas of concern; they most certainly do. But it is to say, that them alienating just about any and everyone, isn't a recipe for success.
Quite the opposite, when you start out your response to a well-informed critique, by tossing out the "Misogyny" Card.
Now adjourn your arses...
The Obsidian
-Winston Churchill
When you've been hard at the blogging game as long as yours truly has - four years next month - it is to be expected that you're likely to ruffle a few feathers. Indeed, much of the conversation between myself and the powers-that-be here at The Urban Politico prior to beginning my tenure as a regular contributor, had to do with precisely this dynamic, one of irate commenters and the like who, because what you wrote has struck a raw nerve in them, are not able or willing to respond with reasoned debate, but rather with Id-rage fueled invective. One of the more recent ploys toward tarring and feathering one's interlocutors, while at the same attempting to shutdown any meaningful examination of the issues along Sexual Politics lines, is to label anyone who says anything you, as a (Black) Woman, doesn't like, as a...
wait for it...
"Misogynist".
Such was the case, or should I say, the most recent case of where I was accused of such a dastardly act, by one of my irate commenters to my column last week that examined Street Harassment, the current tempest in a teapot flavor of the month. The dusky-hued lady of the hour, accused me of being a "misogynist" in response to a piece where, if anything, I was taking four-square aim at Brothas, many of whom make utter fools of themselves when out and about on the streets of America, trying to "holla" at the ladies going about their daily business.
Ahh, but you see Obsidian, what Ms. So-And-So really had a problem with, was your telling the truth and shaming the devil about what's truly eating the Sistahood up these days; let's count the ways, shall we?
1.Most Black Men are NOT "privileged", no matter how you define said term: in fact, the size of Black America's upper classes, and that includes Black Women in this number, is only ONE PERCENT of the total Black population in the USA. That's right - the vast majority of Black Men, DO NOT make six figures after-tax-income per annum. In fact, most Black Men don't make high five figure salaries, either. If "privilege" is to have any meaning at all, one would think it starts with the economic, and clearly, Brothas ain't it. Last week I mentioned the murder of young Trayvon Martin as proof that this phantom of "Black Male Privilege" simply doesn't exist; this week, I offer another Black male name for the forum's consideration: Charles Ramsey.Oh yea, he's just been basking in all that "Black Male Privilege" all his life! *Kermit face*
For more on how I eviscerate this canard, please see my two posts on the matter here and here.
2. The vast majority of violent offenders in American life, are Men who have the least to offer a Woman. This fact has been borne out repeatedly in all manner of criminological study. For example, the majority of rapists are younger Men from the lower ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. Contrary to the Great White Defendant prominently and regularly featured on the umpteen Law & Order spin-off teledramas, the reality of crimes such as these - and street harassment, to the extent it occurs, can be rightly included in this category, is much closer to the HBO crime drama The Wire, where week in and week out, the show focused like a laser on showing how America's Left Behind sections, undeniably Black and Poor, were destroying themselves. Those ladies who complain most about street harassment are unwittingly, marking themselves out along socioeconomic lines - much like the "Good Black Man(TM)" who bemoan always losing out to thugs and bad boys - the truth of the matter is that such people aren't who they think they are or where they think they'd like to be. To be sure, people of differing classes have their problems and do their fair share of dirt, but it isn't of the lower class "hood" variety, and anyone who's spent even a smidgen of time in both environments knows well what I am talking about.
3. Playing the "Misogyny" Card done got old back in 2008 - no one pays it any serious attention anymore, other than to use it to identify those who brandish it as vapid individuals who have little to contribute to the discourse and are, to be frank, butthurt, because a sacred cow of theirs just got rolled over in the spit of political incorrectness. Simply because a Man disagrees with a Woman, does NOT make him a "misogynist", anymore than a White person who disagrees with Affirmative Action make him/her a "racist" or a devout Believer disagreeing with Gay Marriage make him/her a "homobphobe" and so forth. People who resort to these kinds of hitting-below-the-belt debating tactics only prove just how weak they actually are in the discussion department.
And no one takes them seriously.
You know, one would think, given the events of the past month along these lines, that the Sistarati would call a grand meeting for the purposes of engaging in some serious Rethink - after all, what has all their #HashtagsOfOutrage gotten them, but more ostracization?
None of this is to say that Black Women, writ large, do not have problems or areas of concern; they most certainly do. But it is to say, that them alienating just about any and everyone, isn't a recipe for success.
Quite the opposite, when you start out your response to a well-informed critique, by tossing out the "Misogyny" Card.
Now adjourn your arses...
The Obsidian