“A Nation of consumers will never be free and powerful”
– Amos N. Wilson
I want to talk to you for minute about something I believe is one of the most pressing problems that we face as a black culture. What am i talking about you ask? it’s this: I have come to the realization that we have been the victims of one of the slickest con games known to man. Yes that’s right, rather you believe me or not. This game has gone on for centuries, ever since our ancestors were brought to these shores in chains long ago. We have been manipulated and controlled by some of the most sophisticated means ever devised by man. I like to study history, particularly European history as it relates to the world overall. Know what I’m finding out? African Americans today are a watered down version of our former selves. Even in my short time on this earth, I can remember when gaining knowledge was considered a worthy cause. A privilege to strive for. Blacks have risked death seeking it. Not now. We are being fed a study diet of inconsequential nonsense and as technology advances we are consuming even more everyday. Think about this, why is it that there are white kids sleeping on college dorm room floors creating billion dollar industries out of thin air.
Opportunities are everywhere
Do you know Who Larry Page and Sergey Brin are? For those who don’t know they were the founders of one of the largest technology companies on the face of the earth. The company goes by the name of Google. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. They were just Kids, Kids in a phd program at Stanford University when they got this idea to create a search engine that would give people looking for something online exactly what they were searching for. And the rest as they say is history. The same goes for companies like twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, Microsoft, I could go on but you get the point. How did they do it? by not focusing on bullshit, by not looking at material things as the end all and be all. By not thinking that having the latest fashion accessories and going in debt for silly things like cars, rims, and Jordan’s they couldn’t afford and believing that was some sort of status symbol or real power. Sorry my friends, if you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida I’d like to sell you. It’s just a cruel hoax that we have been fed. It’s all game, and a dangerous one at that.
We watch in amazement as their companies go public and they go from rags to riches while we can’t wait to spend our money utilizing there new inventions instead of creating our own. I’m not without fault, I use some of them myself. But the question still begs to be asked, why ? where are our inventors. Where are our businesses that are garnering billions on the Stock Exchange. Blacks in this country are approximately 12% of the population, yet we make up over 50% of the prison inmates in this country. But again I ask why? It comes down to what we focus on. Like I said earlier, we are being fed a steady diet of bullshit. Everything from the clothes we wear to the programs we watch on TV. it’s all designed to keep us asleep. Because when you are focused on buying goods and services and not creating our own we virtually guarantee our own impoverishment for generations to come. Remember how those politicians fought tooth and nail to get rap music banned in this country? That was until NWA showed them there was real money in it. Then you saw every major record label clamoring to sign the next Jay Z or little Wayne. It didn’t matter what they were saying, no matter how filthy the lyrics were, Call a black woman a bitch and a whore, it’s cool, say shoot a nigger in the head and make sure he’s dead, oh that’s just art. Get it!
Image is everything
What about TV? what shows do we have to look at and how are we depicted in them? Well let’s see. We have Empire which is the story of a fictional record label kingpin where the founder was an ex felon dope dealer. He has a gay son and a son who suffers from Schizophrenia. The tension between himself and his wife who is trying to undermine him at every opportunity is so thick you can cut it with a knife. How’s that for showing the world African American family values. (Very empowering wouldn’t you say). It was created by Lee Daniels a homosexual who also penned The Butler and Precious one of the most degrading movies I’ve ever seen. But there’s more, the show is on the Fox network if it weren’t true it would be laughable. Do you know who the owner of Fox is? for those that don’t it’s Rupert Murdoch who is notoriously known for his racist views towards African Americans. Don’t believe me; check it out for yourself. You have to ask yourself why would he let this show be viewed on his network. It is not to give blacks an empowering image to aspire to. You can say the same thing about shows like scandal (where the main character is relegated to being the bed wench to the president) or The Haves and the Have nots ( a show where you have a bunch of fake rich black people pretending to be rich white people it’s a weak caricature of The Young and The Restless) These are the images that the world sees of us. We are being fed an image that says we only have limited options available to us. Dope dealer, entertainer, some kind of athletic star. Never a technology giant(Bill Gates) or investment titan ( Warren Buffet).
It’s time for a change
Brothers and Sisters, We have to stop falling for the “bull”. We have to get back to what has got us to this point. We have to honor those who came before us and gave so much for us to be free. Learn to use our money in more positive ways and while were at it, use that 1.1 Trillion to build our own industries. The Arabs and Koreans virtually rule our communities. They suck every ounce of value out and put it in theirs, sending their children to the best colleges and Universities and leaving our communities Impoverished. No one is going to do it for us and as long as we think someone will the more we will suffer. We have to get back to seeking real knowledge not the trash that we are being shown on TV and listening to on the radio. Whether you believe it or not, we are in a fight for our very survival. They are circling the wagons, we are being marginalized ever so slowly. If you really look you’ll see what I’m saying is true. It’s right in front of us. We are like that character Neo in the Matrix when Morpheus tells him “this is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the Blue pill the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe, you take the Red pill you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit- hole goes” the choice is ours.
Please check the video out above. Although this brother is young, he truly gets it.
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