Why do some in the media like to help fortify racial stereotypes of black women? I happened to stop by at Huffingtonpost and this picture caught my eye more than the title itself. Nonetheless, it wasn’t so much the title that I had a problem with. It was the images they chose to represent the title.
This is how ALL blacks were transformed into welfare recipients, a whole group of people looking for handouts, although that was a myth. Nope, I take that back it was an outright lie! Images of black women was the old “welfare queen” trick used by Ronald Reagan to drum up negative opinions and attack black women, attaching a negative stigma to them in the process. But more so Reagan used it to stir up negative sentiments towards poor people, which resulted in selfishness and cold heartedness in the charity department. Yup, they want to eliminate help for the poor. It works every time.
However, what disturbs me the most is that the photo taken transmits a negative stereotype message on purpose. The best way to end help for the poor is to post a picture with black women holding babies. Nothing scares white folks more than a bunch of black babies being born. For example, Benjamin Franklin stated, “…Why should we…darken its people? Why increase the Sons of Africa?” Translation: Those black men might start mixing with our pure lilywhite women. You know how those insatiable black men can’t keep their pants zipped up. Those black men love to…
In the first place, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson stipulated from the beginning that they did not want people of color to share in the new republic’s prosperity; both played a part in reinforcing racist views and birthing those views into white society. For example, Benjamin Franklin stated, “…Why should we…darken its people? Why increase the Sons of Africa, by planting them in America, where we have so fair an opportunity.” Heaven forbid letting those lazy black folks have a penny. Nothing boils white folks blood more than a black person with a penny.
From Jefferson and Franklin’s hypocritical viewpoint, people of color were alright to sleep with, but sharing in the wealth or equality that was a horse of a different color. I wonder what Sally Hemmings thought about Jefferson’s deadbeat dad ways and if Franklin acknowledged his mulatto offspring. Jefferson and Franklin both remind me of D.J. Quick and those so-called God-fearing rightwing folks.
Ultimately, the picture is to drum up stereotypical judgment not just against those women in the picture, but ALL black women and to rally up enough favor with dominant white society to eliminate help for the poor. The sad thing is that poverty does not discriminate and if people would take time to do the math, there are more poor whites in America than people of color. People of color make up a small margin of America’s population; therefore, they make up as sliver of the poor.
I bet not very many people who saw this picture stopped to think that; maybe, those women’s husbands are in Iraq or Afghanistan or anything positive.
.png)
11 comments:
Very well said. The media perpetuates these stereotypes to reinforce the idea of white supremacy in this country. Everything that is wrong with this country is put at the feet of black people and whites take the moral high ground. People continually believe the hype put of out by mainstream media, but in actuality, as you so well stated, majority of the people in this country who are poor are white. The same goes for crime. The majority of violent crime committed in this country is by white males. Notice how the media doesn't report the actual numbers; they only report the rate, so it appears as if the majority of poverty,crime is attributed to black people.
Preach it!
Point well taken and so noted!!
Thanks Devona, MsKiKi, and Carolyn! Did y'all check out the movies featuring the Koch Brothers?
Right on. Huffington Post should know better. . . oh wait, an elitist white liberal rag. . . should they?
You might like the book "Iron Cages" by a Japanese American scholar from SF whose name escapes me right now. It gets into the racism of our founding fathers and so much more.
Hey SagaciousHillbilly:
Thanks for the recommendation. Someone else recommended that book to me too. I think I'll order it and check it out. Yup, I'm a bookworm. I like books dealing with history because genealogy is another hobby of mines and I found out a lot about some of my own ancestors reading them.
Bless says ...
"Why do some in the media like to help fortify racial stereotypes of black women?"
For the same reason (many, but at least not all) rappers and sitcom producers do - creative laziness.
No, many with an audience simply aren't willing to put in the effort to cover all the sides or put things in perspective - perhaps because they lack perspective themselves. What WE must keep in mind, and keep in the mind of those we love, if the shoe don't fit don't wear it, and along with that, know your shoe size?
And in case you ain't heard our 'shoe size' (if you'll pardon my strained metaphor) is phenomenal.
I don't give them (whoever "they" are) the credit of masterfully indoctrinating the Black self conscious; those perpetuating funkiness are merely exposing how uninformed and lazy they are, and we'd be wise not to buy what they're selling.
One.
"I bet not very many people who saw this picture stopped to think that; maybe, those women’s husbands are in Iraq or Afghanistan or anything positive."
No, they wouldn't stop to think that: It doesn't fit the narrative they want to believe.
I wrote a rather long comment, but forgot to save it before publishing it. Needless to say, it's forever lost. I'd resurrect it, if only I had the power to reconstruct it anew.
**SIGH***
@Black Diaspora...I know don't you just hate when that happens!! And I wanted to read that.
I normally don't use profanity but oh when that happens--it's on-- .....((*#&@*/-((#?++#))!!!...you know... :-)
@Carolyn Moon "[D]on't you just hate when that happens!!"
Yes!
When country parsons used to travel by horseback to minister to their various flock residing deep within the backwoods of some rural area, it was their horses that heard their best sermons.
I'm afraid that the cyberspace black hole has swallowed up many a finely written, and cogently argued, responses.
Well...I like to think that that is the case. :)
It reminds me of Katrina when Klannity said that black people were stealing and the white people were just trying to survive.
Post a Comment