Why is it that I always feel that I have to strive to become older, while everyone else strives to become younger?
Younger black males, IMO, receive less respect from their own people than older black males. The stereotypical black males in the media who get any respect or serious recognition are usually older than, say, 20 or 30. Men such as Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Mr. T, Laurence Fishburne, etc., they usually receive the more diverse, more pronounced, and more popularized roles as actors on movies or television. The deep, dark voices of older black men is, I guess, one of Western society’s crazier fetishes.
Younger black males, however, can’t be taken seriously for worth a crap. Most of them are thugs or sports players of some stripe, so as to fulfill the need for the deep, dark husky voice. The only times in which they can be set apart would be when they play the part of a nerd, like Tucker Foley from Danny Phantom or A.J. Ibrahim from the Fairly Oddparents (both of whom are created by the same guy) or Simon “Cookie” Nelson-Cook from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide (all three of which are hosted by the same network).
It’s like younger black males are always striving to become older (y’know, as thugs, pimps, etc.), while older white men are trying to become younger (like Mick Jagger or Dick Clark. Plastic surgery, anyone?).
So am I having a WTF moment here, or is it just me?
I have a thing for deep gravelly voices, but that’s got nothing to do with race… George Clooney, Michael Wincott, Postal Dude… such people
Nope, definately not a WTF moment. You have a point.
(Disclaimer: I’m Cheyenne Indian, and I’m talking completely in hypotheticals here, so no offense of any kind is intended to anyone. Please don’t nobody come roast my nads or something.)
Youth, in general, have a tough time of it. How many times, when growing up, did all of us here something like, “Oh, grow up!” or worse, “You’ll understand when you’re older.” And I’m not talking about hearing this when we’re only 5 or 6 years old; we often hear it into our 20s. I turned 48 last week, and I’m now in the realm of Older-Than-God as far as most under-20 people are concerned! So ageism, to begin with, is a stumbling block no matter what side of the fence we’re on.
Sadly, ageism + minority prejudice = appalling treatment. It’s tough enough merely being young; being young and black/Hispanic/etc. in today’s Ugly America of hyper-conservatism is just about enough to cause a cultural revolution the likes of which the world has never seen. I know a few “young bucks” (to use a slang term for young males, particularly of non-white race; in my case, I’m referring to Indians) who feel very much like recreating Little Big Horn, using just about any corporation or government building as the new site for the massacre.
My hope is that it won’t come to that—and if those of us with both intelligence and a touch of spiritual enlightenment can join together, it probably won’t come to that. For what it’s worth, I view the current hyper-conservatism as “millennial fever”—those who fear the future are trying to prevent it from happening. This extreme form of “centennial fever”, which is easily seen in the first 3-6 years of the 1900s, 1800s, and so on back a few centuries, is simply taking longer to get through.
None of this is intended to deny your feelings in any way, neither is it intended to truly explain anything (sorry about that). It’s only an observation that youth ulcerates for the respect that comes with age, while age ulcerates for the drive and confidence that comes with youth. It’s an observation that there is much sadness in a world that bases its values on that which is external and finite, rather than the experience that is internal and infinite.
My advice? Laugh. Any Indian worth his pemmican figured out a long time ago that the world is one big comedy. And if it’ll help you to laugh, I’ve got a hug and a glass of lemonade for you—not that those things are funny, but they’ll help break the ice. You’ll be fine. I promise. (Psychic predictions—yeah, some of us Injuns do that stuff, too.)
Or, as mentioned before, those who are wanting their future to happen, although that may be born out of fear of the present (as in “Jesus come quick! Dem damn fags’ll take over the world and make our kids gay!”).
And Happy Birthday. 🙂