Introduction: "Swag" VS. Coon-ism.

  I've always wondered why, as African-Americans, we've felt the need to constantly give the past tools of our enslavement new "positivity". It's like swallowing fire and regurgitating matches, or sparks. Our ancestors were born whipped, born in chains - and today, we drive whips and wear gold chains.

If we were run over by a brand new Bentley, or Cadillac, would that make us officially "whipped"?


   I'm probably only reiterating something you've heard before - something you swiftly rolled your eyes at. Conspiracy theories spoken by black prophets on the subway platform you turned the volume up on your iPod's to drown out. Well, to ignore is to be ignorant. It's true that, while I don't expect my opinions to be adapted by the masses, I expect them to be heard. I will not be another voiceless, indignant prophet on the subway platform - or another muted blog about social issues floating around on the web. There are messages here that I'm tired of tossing to the wind. There are travesties that I'm tired of turning my cheek to - and there are voices of the faceless that demand to be heard. I can only be one of these voices - you, as the reader, must supply the rest.

   Now.

   "Swag" VS. Coon-ism. If you're not familiarized with the technical image of the "Coon", you will at least be acquainted with this next quote:

Racial depiction of the "Coon" character.

"Before its death, the coon developed into the most blatantly degrading of all black stereotypes. The pure coons emerged as no-account niggers, those unreliable, crazy, lazy, subhuman creatures good for nothing more than eating watermelons, stealing chickens, shooting crap, or butchering the English language." (Read more Here.)

   Now that you've been introduced, listen up: I'm not saying that if you love watermelon or fried chicken, you're a "Coon". And if you walk around with giant red lips, a face as black as shoe polish, and eyes the size of half-dollars - you're probably not human. What I am saying is, collectively, as a race, we tend to recycle our stereotypes without first eradicating these old images. Specifically, why are we so much more obsessed with our "swag" than our betterment? Spending money we don't have for superficial reasons is not an answer to our problems. Dumbing an entire generation down through mind-numbing media outlets - the very same outlets that pump the need for "swag" into their brains - is not an answer. What it is, is "Coon"-ism. It is the reaffirmation that the psychological damage done to us as a people, by being called filthy names and portrayed in degrading ways, is so deeply branded into us that we refresh these horrid stereotypes - create endless cycles in which we name them something new, give them different meanings, find new ways to pretend that they can become "positive", before we would ever decide to throw it all away and start new - to actually be original.

   There are too many issues to address in our societies - I literally don't know which one to start with - but the short list is thus:

• Gentrification
• Education
• Health
• Fads
• Media

   And within these genres, there are tons of sub-genres. Prevalent issues like the use of bleaching creams as a fad; how little we know of current events in our homeland; eating fried foods as a convenience while buying into racial consumerism in the community; how the hell Soulja Boy became famous; "displacement"; racial segregation within our race - and so much more. 

   What I'd like to know from you, for now, is your reaction. How you feel about this article, this blog, my mission statement - everything. Tell me how utterly and overwhelmingly vague I'm going to have to be in each post here. Tell me that I, myself, am ignorant. Tell me that I'm "refreshing". Expand, explain, complain, comment. That is the purpose of having a blog in the first place, is it not?

   - P.S. - search "coon" in Google search, and see what the very first definition is. Just for kicks.