America can’t Handle the “Truth”

Remember that scene in A Few Good Men, where Tom Cruise has Jack Nicholson on the stand and he’s demanding the truth, and Jack yells, “You can’t handle the truth!” That is what is going on in society right now.  And the sad Truth is the majority of folks cannot handle the truth about what is really goin on in this country.

And by “Truth“, I am talking about the “Truth” about how a large percentage of White people feel about Black people. The “Truth” about how we as a people, have been conditioned to think of ourselves. The “Truth” about how systemic Racism, Classism and Misogyny is and how these concepts are deeply rooted in every fabric and foundation that damn near every institution in America is built on. The “Truth” about Policing in this country which began with the Slave Patrols and how that mindset has never changed. The “Truth” how rich folks believe poor folks are to blame for the poverty that plagues almost every neighborhood where folks of color are forced to live.

The “Truth” that folks are so uncomfortable when it comes to having Real dialogues about Real issues in this country, and thus “Talking” about issues has been relegated to having discussions where the “Real Talk” is hidden behind politically correct verbiage, (i.e. bullsh*t).

The “Truth” that while we have a Black President, he has had his hands tied since his first term and has only been allowed to be so productive because our Government and elected officials have their own agenda and have made it a point to place obstacle after obstacle in his path, because they don’t give a damn about the people, they just want to make sure that they can use the Black President in the way that is the most useful for their own means, and for the folks who they deem worthy. And best believe they will continue to set it up for him to take the fall and the blame for every damn thing that goes wrong, whether he orchestrated it or not.

The “Truth” that institutional racism is real, and in every city and every state there is a system that is set up for folks of color to fail and to be held back. We live in a country that does not value women of color and we have sat back and watched how the media has exploited us and has been strategic in helping to create the most negative and unappealing perception of Black women. And the “Truth” is this was achieved by dangling a carrot in front of our faces that promoted doing every and anything to be famous, because that’s the end all be all nowadays. Fame and Fortune. And how do you achieve this? Reality shows!! That’s the ticket! And guess what? We fell for it! Yep, they sucked us right in.  It was marketed very smartly by highlighting the fact that the way to be famous is by being ignorant and self-deprecating and materialistic. Oh, don’t forget loud and ghetto and messy. Just continue to show this example to young girls of color and hey, you got a whole other generation to keep up the good work.

Now, these are but some of the “Truths” that we live with right now in the country, in every city, state and town. Just some of the “Truths”. And I bet that not many people could actually handle the few that I addressed in this blog. And therein lies my point. Until we can handle the truth of every single uncomfortable, ugly, hurtful, painful, insulting, offensive, f*ed up issue that folks in this country experience everyday, we will never progress as a people , let alone as a country.