[Philosophy101][BuyBooks][AsetUniversityEntrance]
Copyright 1996,1998, 1999, 2020 ASET, M. Mbulu All rights to everything on this web site are reserved.
Title of Course: Philosophy 101: "Black Race Matters" Instructor: Mba Mbulu
Textbook: Essays by Mba Mbulu are provided online.
Read the following Essay. Think about the questions below
and explore them more fully.
(1) What, according to the author, is an intimidated spirit?
(2) Do you think the author is correct in applying that term?
(3) Take note of the examples the author uses to support his assertions.
Are they, in your opinion, valid?
(4) The author states that an intimidated spirit limits ones "ability
to imagine viable realities and alternatives. Do you agree?
(5) What is your opinion of this statement: "fighting racism
and inequality is not a matter of individuals 'fitting in', but
of nations of people insisting that their reality is a legitimate
reality."
(6) Is your body housing an intimidated spirit?
Class #4 "Intimidated Spirits"
To achieve Black Nationhood We must be able to recognize
and overcome those individuals with shortcomings that hinder Our
progress. I earlier identified some of those shortcomings as (1)
self interest (2) a little mind (3) an intimidated spirit and
(4) a lazy body. In this essay, intimidated spirits will be briefly
addressed. Then I will make a statement about lazy bodies.
At the risk of oversimplifying matters, I will define a spirit
as that surge of energy an individual gets and maintains as long
as s/he feels the potential to do something s/he wants to do.
It is that feeling of power and confidence that puts any accomplishment
within your reach. It is that creative zeal, that desire to keep
trying, and the will to overcome all obstacles because you know
that, sooner or later, you will prevail.
An intimidated spirit is a spirit that, under certain circumstances,
experiences a short circuit in its energy supply, a drastic decrease
in its feeling of potential and power, a downgrading of its level
of confidence, and an unexplained and eerie absence of desire
and willpower. In some situations, the fact that one is intimidated
will be crystal clear, but in other situations intimidated spirits
will camouflage themselves as rationalizations, collapses in logic
and functional inertia (doing "nothing").
An intimidated spirit asserts its influence at an early stage
in a process, almost subconsciously, and predetermines that all
types of meaningful confrontation will be sidestepped, regardless
of the cost in dignity, and regardless of how much one's rights
are trampled on. It interrupts one's thought processes in almost
the same manner that panic does, but not as excitedly. Additionally,
whereas panic acknowledges the superiority of an other, an intimidated
spirit need not make that acknowledgement. Nor need the individual
acknowledge that he/she is intimidated.
[Home][Philosophy101][BuyBooks][AsetUniversityEntrance]
In the column on self-interest, I referred to an article in the
April 4, 1997 edition of the Washington Post newspaper. That article
reports that a Black professional stopped wearing a Black styled
haircut in order to not "send an unintended message. . .
African Americans. . . said they often feel the need to change
their speech, way of dress or body language to keep from inviting
unwanted negative attention. . . For exactly that reason, a second
[B]lack professional counsels his youngest [B]lack clients to
resist congregating with other [B]lacks at the office."
"I tell students. . . that there is a culture to master.
. . There are do's and don'ts: Don't always sit together in the
lunch room; don't always congregate together. The impression that
people will have if you isolate yourself is that you're not team
players. It creates a level of suspicion."
This same Black professional "doesn't necessarily read racism
into the anticipated reactions of his colleagues. 'There are an
awful lot of persons who look at diversity as only an issue of
discrimination. What we don't understand often is cultural patterns...we
see the world differently'."
Let's look at the statements of that Black professional. "There
is a culture to master," he said. What culture is he referring
to, white culture? Have We mastered Our own culture, or is it
okay for Us to ignore that? "There are do's and don'ts,"
he continues. Whose dos and donts? White people's, of course (they
are the "people" whose "impression" counts).
The implied message is that Black dos and donts can be downgraded,
de-emphasized and/or dismissed. He also equates Black individuals
sitting together to not being "team players," isolating
themselves and creating "a level of suspicion". Is he
suggesting that Black teams are negligible? Additionally, if whites
sit together, are they isolating themselves, are they creating
"a level of suspicion"? Or, is he suggesting that Black
individuals are the only ones who must bear the burden of eliminating
"suspicion"? Also note his references to "diversity."
What his little mind and intimidated spirit don't understand about
diversity is twofold: Number one, diversity can't exist in a racist
society; and number two, healthy cultural patterns don't wage
warfare against dissimilar cultural patterns. Waging cultural
warfare is the activity of ethnocentrists. When race becomes the
qualifying factor, those ethnocentrists become racists, their
acts become racist acts and their culture becomes a racist culture.
A broad minded person would not attempt to explain such "diversity"
outside of that context.
Declarations such as these show how an intimidated spirit dominates
some individuals and limits their ability to imagine viable realities
and alternatives. Must We spend Our time trying to anticipate
what white people won't like in order to not "send an unintended
message"? What a demeaning proposition!
[Home][Philosophy101][BuyBooks][AsetUniversityEntrance]
We must remember that fighting racism and inequality is
not a matter of individuals "fitting in", but of nations
of people insisting that their reality is a legitimate reality.
Several Blacks who work in low level jobs understand this truth
and defend their right to wear African braids, mustaches and goatees,
for example. But professional Blacks, those who are most highly
"educated," can't quite seem to get to that. We cannot
downplay the importance of that inability.
It is going to require a great deal of energy to accomplish what
We, Black People, need to accomplish. Intimidated spirits are
a barrier to the production of energy, and that is why so many
so called educated individuals are so "tired". Because
they are so tired, they do not have any creative energy; the type
of energy that can create solutions that go beyond those that
have been approved by the status quo. Because they are so tired,
they do not have any physical energy; the type of energy that
"guts" is made of and the type of energy that cowards
always seem to lack. And, because they are so tired, they do not
have any moral energy; anyone who trades in his or her essence
for a dollar and values white skin more than natural laws and
principles is morally bankrupt. Such persons can't be of any use
to Black People in that regard.
A word about lazy bodies. No one can hear, see, smell, feel or
talk for you. No one can eat, drink, sweat or excrete for you.
The functions that are most basic are so critical that it is impossible
for anyone else to do them for you. In the realm of politics,
the power game, the same is true. If you want to have an impact,
you must be part of a power system that values what you bring
to the table. If that power system does not presently exist, you
have to help create it. If you are too lazy to do that, abuse
will be your reward.
"If not now, when? If not Us, whom? Every time We fail to
act, We become weaker. Every time We overcome inertia, We become
stronger."
It's on Us, Brothers and Sisters.