I am not even sure how to introduce today's message, rant, disgust, disturbance??? It falls under one of those headings and I sure hope it is more of a message than the other three. Since being in Japan, I have had some things said to me - unconsciously, I assume - by friends from back home and across the diaspora.
These utterances had me thinking and I am one who will forever speak the truth and what is on my mind. As such I sought to put fingers to buttons and words to screen. A realist is what I like to refer to myself as. Some people may say, I am being harsh but hey, a wake-up call is never soft and mushy. Call it what you may, not all jobs are pleasant but someone has to do them. So here goes....
I preached this message before and I will continue to preach it until my people wake up from their slumber.
You know, it saddens me to hear my fellow black people say things like:
"Watch yah a wat dat she eena?"
(Look here, what is she wearing?)
"Him cya buy waa bed? A grung him a sleep pan eh-eh."
(Can't he buy a bed? Is he sleeping on the ground?)
"Mi nuh nyam poor people food."
(I don't eat cheap food/poor people's food)
"Mi nuh wear wear and leff."
(I don't wear clothes already wore by others.)
"Nuh har sista shoes dat she have on?"
(Isn't that her sister's shoes that she has on?)
AND SO WHAT???????
Let me tell y'all something. I am in Japan where most people have the best of the best; they can buy whatever they want but in the same breathe they aren't hyping about their material gains or putting such above their own family or wellbeing. And as always, this in no way accounts for everyone but here the cultural difference stands out and is quite evident.
Heck, fancy beds are sold here and still, people sleep on the ground with futon the same way we would use a sheet or comforter back home.
People of all shapes and status travel by bus, bicycle and train and it's not because they can't do better but because they either choose to or are working humbly towards owning their own ride, or whatever the case may be.
People here shop in thrift stores....yes, second-hand stores, where they can buy "good stuff" for themselves and their families. Some of y'all would rather walk naked before wearing a shirt given to you by someone else.
I wore "wear and leff" as a child and I am not worse off than anybody else. I shop in thrift stores here, and I ain't worse off than anybody else either.
I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet and food on my table....and most importantly, my son and my family are alright. I am quite contented and working towards my goals.
Please, stop with all the nonsense and stop thinking only of tonight. Think about tomorrow morning; where and how will it catch you. Women, will it catch you in a name-brand wig and designer shoes but hunger has taken up residence in your house because you got your priorities all mixed up in a bundle?
Men, will it catch you in a high-end car that you rented for the night as you "flass"(drink expensively or beyond one's means) with your "good bredrens" (good friends) with a bunch of disloyal-self-esteem-lacked women who dont know their bed foot different from their bed head? Remember that the friends you keep will either help to build you, break you or keep you stagnant.
Listen, the best investment you will ever make in your life is the investment in SELF. Forget what others have to say and look straight ahead. The nay-sayers will always be there whether you make it or not. So why waste your time focusing on what they have to say when you could be focusing your energy on your own upliftment?
