Tales of Black Man

Alright, I was taught manners. I know that when walking with a woman a man should place himself in between other people and her purse. I know that you should place yourself in between her and traffic when dealing with streets. I know that when your approaching someone on the sidewalk you should each move to the right to make space for one another. Despite all of this I have more difficulty with people speaking to me in public. I regularly have people stare at me for an entire block, yet when we get into speaking range and I greet them they turn their eyes away and don't respond. The greetings I receive are of 3 varieties: the genuine hello, the I ain't scared of you what's up, and the please don't rob me hello. I am aware of the fact that several young men who may share similar hair style/texture and melanin content do commit violent crimes. However they usually don't wear ties, sportcoats and long dress coats (wool and cashmere baby - kinda Neo-ish). It does not matter how polite I am or what pleasantries I use, my response ratio is 1 in 10 and then there are the three variations to contend with. So out of 10 people I may speak to in a given day I get about a 3.33% genuine hello back. Regardless of the circumstances of the world, fear is no way to live. I'm a person, I bleed, have bodily functions and the whole nine. If you let your fear rule you than any intention to hurt you has already succeeded. By the time I actually do something you're in no position to defend yourself. I am not a tough guy. I can fight but I know that there are people who can whoop my ass and I keep that in mind. I also remember that if something actually happens, my fear is only good to put me on notice and perhaps give me some adrenaline (I can get adrenaline from anger though). I feel like there is no point in submitting to fear, it never helps. If you want to be scared of someone the guy who looks like he just left a boardroom may not be the person. The one I love most of all is the "look theres a black guy let me lock my car door". If I want your car that glass will not stop me, cut it out. I don't want your car. I'm thinking about my caseload, buying some property, how I will get me a Black 1969 Mustang convertible with Mag wheels, Chrome trim and pedals, and why I can't find a wool blazer with leather elbow patches. What's funny is I made a trip to get lunch before I finished this and got the stare down from some lady. What's worse is when I'm all dipped down young boys wanna mug me like I'm a punk. I can't tell you how many times I have to bump into dudes when I wear a tie. On the other hand if I dress down these same thugs won't look me in the eye. People often suck.