After watching the Boondocks last night I began to think about all the messages that one could take from the storyline. One issue that really made me think was how one of the characters was obsessed with being a member of another race. It appeared that as a result of hearing so many negative things said about members of her race, she decided to try to identify with another race as much as she possibly could. As a matter of fact, she went so far as to tell her son that he was actually a member of that particular race and fabricated some story about him having an imaginary skin condition that caused him to only 'look' like he was Black.
In all honesty, there are members of each race who feed the worst stereotypes of their people. Then, like the character previously mentioned, you have those who choose to identify with a different race entirely. While I understand that this may be a coping mechanism for those who have faced verbal assaults growing up, in school, at work, etc; this still strikes me as a cowardly act. Do these individuals even stop for one moment to think about what their ancestors endured to allow them to live with the comforts and freedoms that they enjoy? Do they really believe that those that came before them would abandon their culture and instead seek to identify with a completely different ethnic group, race, etc? Maybe I do not understand because I was not raised that way. I am thankful that I descend from a people with such a rich history. I take pride in the fact that no matter what we faced in the past, we are still here and thriving. I am fortunate to have my parents and my extended family. Yeah, this blog DEFINITIELY will have a part two :)
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