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Psychiatrist Carl Bell and hairstylist Richard Lewis whine about us black men being viewed monolithically as “urban predators,” but be realistic for a minute about why we are frequently viewed that way, even by our own women! I respect WBBM’s Monroe Anderson for admitting in the story that this pervasive fear of black men is not without some cause. Each woman on the street, regardless of color, already knows that the collective black male population is not out to do her harm. But what she also knows, however, is that there are more than just a few of us who are out to fuck up her whole day. And when a person is afraid, she or he is not especially inclined toward evaluating the rationality of her/his fear, particularly when actual, not imagined, circumstances have created a basis for it.
Do you think these women deserve the fear and disrespect that they are so frequently subjected to? Do your wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters deserve it? Let’s stop bullshitting ourselves, guys: it’s not white males, or Asians, Middle Easterners, or the Energizer Bunny that women–including black women–fear out here. It is us. And until we honestly confront and correct the reasons why, handbag clutching just might become pistol clutching instead.
