False Sense of Equality... Pt. 2- Self Destruction

You know what the worst part about being black is? I'll give you a hint, it isn't the people with the resources and power telling you that you won't make it unless you either entertain them, or fight for them. It's the people without anything, the people just like you, telling you that you're not supposed to make it.
I grew up in an all black neighborhood from ages 1 to 12. Music videos and movies told me that I was supposed to hate white people. I didn't see why. I saw white people outside walking around, I saw them on Friends and Power Rangers and they couldn't have been cooler. Every day I went outside, it wasn't the white man burning cars or shooting people on the corner over dime bags. The police officers were never mean to me when they arrived. Because I never ran when I saw them. My friends would run because that's what they were taught. And they would get chased. I was once stopped by an officer during one of these incidences, and he asked me why my friends were running. I told him "I didn't know, I think that's what people tell them they're supposed to do. Have a nice night, officer." and I walked away. That was it. He didn't follow. He didn't chase. He didn't ask more questions.
I spent most of my life believing that if I just distanced myself from the stereotypes, I wouldn't have to deal with them. But the further I thought I got, the worse I found things got for me. I no longer fit in with black people from where I was from. I didn't listen to the same music, or do the same things. I didn't fit in with the white kids because... I was black. And when I talked, people would ask me "Why do you talk white?" And trying not to flip out on somebody for asking a question like that became something I got used to doing. I didn't get better, because it didn't get easier, but I did get used to doing it.

Oreo. 

Twinkie. 

Coconut.

You think Neil ever had to put up with this shit?

It became evident to me that humans tend to have two things clogging up our general progress pipeline. The fear of the unknown, and group/pack mentality. Learning is hard. Work is hard. The easy thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the moment where you know you have the upper hand. As opposed to working like those people who you assume have this natural ability to learn better than you. Change is hard, so instead of change, blaming the "white man" is easier than taking stock in your own actions and fighting against a system that's already rigged against you. I get it. I do. But I've seen intelligent people go down the road of the not-so-intelligent people just because it was the cool thing at the time. They were too afraid to pave their own way. 

There are a lot of things working against underprivileged minorities. The most damaging of all, being the people they call family and friend.