Opinion
Time to Stop Ingratiating: Why we Must Stop Talking and Take a Stand
By Ryan Elcock
It is amazing how much clarity one can have when they take time to process all the crazy things that have transpired over the past few months.
However, I wanted to take the opportunity to give my thoughts on the Trayvon Martin issue in light of the recent events surrounding George Zimmerman and how it reflects the current state of affairs for the black community.
As we all know, Trayvon Martin was murdered in cold blood and his murderer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted. Not only was this acquittal a miscarriage of justice but it also sent a dangerous message that it was open season on killing black men without consequence.
As a black man, I find this to be enraging because Trayvon Martin could have been me or any of my friends or family members. However, what has really struck me is the impotence of the black community because although we had our protests and marches, nothing really came of it.
Of course many of our community leaders were decrying the acquittal and hoping that the Obama administration would step in to rectify the injustice; but even Obama, himself, stated that while the justice system failed Trayvon Martin, there was nothing that could really be done.
However, this injustice reflects something more endemic within the black community; we have become lions who can roar but we have no teeth or claws. Therefore, no matter how much we protest or cry out for justice, we will hardly see any because we have are always hoping for justice from the very same institutions that were designed to hold us back. Furthermore, we are always looking for help from without rather than within.
This handout mentality combined with the constant desire to ingratiate ourselves to those who do not really want to accept us has been the real stumbling block to our success as a people and it concerns me. After all, we have seen glimmers of individual black success in the likes of Nigerian entrepreneur Aliko Dangote (the richest black man in the world with a net worth of around US$21 billion), U.S. President Barack Obama, wealthiest African American woman Oprah Winfrey and Jamaican billionaire, Michael Lee Chin.
We are also starting to see the rise of Africa and the Caribbean countries that are becoming fast growing economies, but one must question how long this growth will be sustained because our desire to ingratiate ourselves to Europe and America could end up leading us to undermine our very own success.
Thus like a lion without teeth or claws, our strength and power will be diminished because we cannot hold on to our success and growth and would have to rely on the charity of others. Whether it be through foreign investment or aid (on an international level) or continued dependence on government programs, we tend to see ourselves as inadequate and unable to do the things necessary to help ourselves.
With that being said, I have come to realize that we as a people have got to stop ingratiating ourselves to the “mainstream” and to the European ideals in order to succeed.
We also have got to stop begging and demanding respect and command it. This brings me back to the days when I was in high school and I used to get picked on by my classmates.
Although I would look to the teachers for help, the truth is they were of no help to me because if the teacher liked the student who was picking on me, going to that particular teacher for help was futile. However, when I stood up to that same student and stood my ground, then I never had to worry about being picked on again.
As a black man in university, I also noticed that I was able to command the respect of my peers without having to ask for it – although it did not hurt that I worked out and I did not hesitate to show my serious side I needed to. However, my ability to command the respect of my peers served me a lesson that the strong do not mess with someone who is just as strong as they are, but rather strive to make an alliance.
Therefore, we as black people must be willing to do the same. We must stop begging and ingratiating but rather take a stand and take our destinies in our own hand. Yes we have been oppressed and we have endured cruelty like no other, but we must be willing to do like our ancestors and those before us by using the oppression to fuel our desire to succeed and be stronger. We must stand our ground and say no more.
If no one will give us the opportunities, then we must either create them or seize existing opportunities for ourselves and make sure that we are the ones telling our story rather than letting someone else do it for us. After all, no one messes with a lion, in his prime, who has all his teeth and claws.