African-American Culture/blacks

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Expert: LM - 7/25/2005


Question
Why do you think that in the news to till this day African Americans are portrayed as robbers, killers, and gangstas? Also I  was reading in Essence magazine it said some weird shit about not televising AFRICAN AMERICAN women lost because the viewers cannot relate to that. What are your opinions on that? Do you think it's racism and shoudn't the family of the missing person have the right to file a lawsuit against these television shows?

Answer
I'm sorry that it took me so long to get an answer to you. I've recently been very sick with a burst appendix and have had surgery.

What I'd recommend is that you read a book that I read several years ago, called "Losing the Race: Self Sabotage in Black America" by John McWhorter. He'll have answers to a lot of your questions.

A lot of what you see on television is not too far from the truth. Right now, I live in Detroit and it seems like young black men are going out of their way to be recognized as something other than law abiding citizens (what with this wearing of wave caps and the like). This is not new, but it seems like it's been particularly bad in the past several years.

African-American Culture

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LM

Expertise

I can discuss conceptual problems in the policies of the black "leadership," the way that some government policies will really affect black Americans, as well as the history behind some current phenomena that one can observe. Being black man with a conservative bent (in that which concerns markets and government policy) alone invites many questions.

Experience

I have lived in Asia for over two years. Having lived in many places/seen many countries (just going on #20 now), I have become very pro-American in the last few years, since this place is actually THE most receptive to black people out of all the places that I have ever been. Also: I keep up with the news and am fairly well read, and can engage you on almost any topic. (It does seem that many of the thing that you see in America can be found in other countries, just with different players.)

Publications
ESL Cafe "Black Experience in Japan"
"Black Experience Concluded (Cathartic Diatribe)"
"Columbia (Explained/ Corrected)"
"Facets of Black Life CAREFUL! (No Free Lunch!)"

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