If You Don't Like It You Should Put a Gag In It



Hopefully it will be the biggest shame of Black History Month 2012 how a bunch of race harpies jumped on Beyonce's claim of ethnic variety in her heritage. As reported in the Grio this week, Beyonce appears in a commercial for L'Oreal attributing her skin tone to a mixed racial background. According to the Grio article, "critics" charge that Beyonce is attempting to distance herself from African-Americans. 


Beyonce's critics have a right to their opinion, but they open themselves up to accusations of old-fashioned pettiness that began as the ugly step-child of the Black Pride movement of the sixties. The message of esteem for people who felt frustrated and disenfranchised was valuable for that generation coming of age. But what detracted from what should have been a positive movement was the sect of Black Police that anointed themselves the judge, jury, and executioner of modern black orthodoxy. Who were these people specifically? I have no idea just as I have no idea who the people are who are criticizing Beyonce for the way she identifies herself in a stupid makeup commercial. Obviously though, they exist.


My impression of those people is that there is a current of low self-worth that belies their so-called pride. I don't think this is just true with the Black Pride police, but with anyone who insists on any kind of purity for membership to whatever club of which they act as guardians. That sort of rigidity suggests a discomfort and a fear of isolation. Instead of learning to be happy with the person they are they surround themselves with those who are equally rigid, miserable, and judgmental. Misery loves company.


There was a time when Blacks who could do so passed for white. It often required them to perform tragic compromises including disowning their loved ones. It was this kind of stuff that the Black Pride movement was supposed to be good for. The point was not to force people to militantly deny, disavow, and ignore whatever other ethnicities they had in their background. It is going from one form of unhealthiness to another when people are forced to "love" themselves by hating other parts of who they are. 


Accusing Beyonce of distancing herself from African-Americans is pure stupidity and her critics know it. One does not distance themselves from African-Americans by marrying Jay-Z and having his baby. For those critics, it is more of statement on their own self-loathing that they make Beyonce's claims of Native American and French ancestry about themselves. In their complaints one can actually hear their fear of being abandoned by someone they have adored. 


Instead of this being a moment of shame, there is the potential for it  to be lesson time. Beyonce strikes me as a savvy woman. An ideal response from her would be to demonstrate that divulging our multi-ethnic backgrounds today does not make us any less black than we were yesterday. And most of us do have multi-ethnic backgrounds. To deny that is just as crazy as trying to pass as white in this day and age. Maybe more so. At least people who tried to pass were engaged mostly in self-destruction. Those people dumping on Beyonce are contributing to the destruction of otherwise upstanding role models. 

2 comments:

  1. An outstanding article!!

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  2. Chip, no one could have spoken this truth better. Congratulations! I am proud to know you.

    ReplyDelete