There’s a dangerous poison that is seeping into our collective consciousness and making its way into our community. At its base level, it’s nothing more than elitism sprinkled in with a touch of knowledge but devoid of thinking. While it is not a new phenomenon, it is beginning to take over social media outlets in our community in droves, threatening to harm one of the few major ways that we can communicate in a group setting. Undoubtedly some will ask how we got to this point where groups and individuals find themselves responsible for critiquing another’s worth in the black community based on their knowledge and so that is where we shall begin.
“You Can Get With This or Get With That.”
Since our arrival in America, we as a people have sought independence from an oppressive system that meant to keep us suppressed and exploit our labor. In our efforts to free ourselves, we sought out leaders whose genius, efforts and vision would help us get just that. The age-old battles of leadership took place on varying ideological grounds with the commonality being that one side felt as if their vision was inherently better and so this concept is not a new one. But it is one that is becoming all too prevalent in an age where communication is now relegated to the use of technology.
Because of that we now in a live time where we can spout elitist ideas in the comfort of our home and online network and simply isolate ourselves from those with differing views (which is a luxury of the elite by the way). In other words, you can downplay another because of your educational, monetary, or gender-based advantages and rather than seek to understand their views, you can reinforce your own views and protect yourself from cognitive dissonance. The result is the unconscious consensus of you can get with this or get with that. Agree with me or leave me.
“I Know That I Know What I Know.”
The elitism I’m referring to has now come as a result of our community taking a more active view on social and political issues. The onslaught of police brutality spearheaded several movements in the black community and in the process shed light on the sector of our community that for the most part has prided itself on being politically and socially aware. The various names given to it are irrelevant: Their ethos, however, is the crux of this argument. We as a community are being strangled by those who seek to lord their knowledge over others who are in turn coming to their own level of understanding gradually. The belittling of others for not being as committed to espousing their facts is causing many to turn away from an important part of our community. As important as it to be knowledgeable and at times radical, true knowledge acknowledges that the very things that make us different can be advantages in the hands of a wise person. The energy spent belittling someone for celebrating a holiday or succumbing to capitalism could instead be substituted with a teachable moment. Life is a continuous journey to understand one’s self and environment and so it is important to allow people to do just that.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, those with college degrees who spend their time focusing on accommodating into a system not meant for us to accommodate don’t realize just how limited their knowledge is. Knowledge in itself is static and in essence is not enough to bring about change. The ability to be willing to challenge your knowledge base to gather more is more important than the mere acquisition of facts in a world of infinite knowledge. In other words, the pissing contests over your degrees and what college you attended ain’t worth nothing no more bruh. Stop downplaying others for not getting a degree and stop insinuating as if their decision not to signifies that they won’t be successful. The pleas for respectability are not the move bruh. Stop it. The poison we are feeding each other must stop if we ever hope to make our situation improve.
Wright World 