(ThyBlackMan.com) There is an intangible element called the “Black Tax” that many Blacks cite as the cost of being Black in America.
I am sure that many are wondering what the “Black Tax” is? Well, I will tell you that it is an extra cost of doing business in America for Black Americans. Unbeknownst to most, the “Black Tax” is not always an economic cost its foremost cost is psychological. Trust me when I say that the “Black Tax” takes an enormous toll on the minds of Black Americans.
One needs to look no further than the intra-racial warfare resulting from the Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly for verification of the above assertion.
Consider for a moment that most Blacks are under never-ending mental stress regardless of their socioeconomic status. The alluded to strain manifests itself in a host of ways; however, the most common is self-hatred. Once again, one needs to look no further than the logic that defenders of R. Kelly offer for his decades of “dilly-dallying” with underage girls.
• Those girls were fast. He couldn’t tell how old they were.
• They pursued R. Kelly. Hoping to get a piece of his fame and riches.
• Where were their parents?
• He didn’t hold a gun to any of their heads and force them to remain with him.
Please notice that none of the above “excuses” include a comprehensive denial that R. Kelly did not participate in the deplorable escapades. I learned long ago that excuses are a poor substitute for the undeniable truth.
The mounting frustrations of the majority of Black America regarding the flimsy denials that many Blacks are making for R. Kelly could disappear if they understood that their irritants are the foremost victims of the “Black Tax.” One could make a reasonable argument that those defending R. Kelly have been driven to mental instability by the “Black Tax.”
Consider for a moment that it is challenging for citizens to consume images of Blacks that portray them as thieves, hoodlums, prostitutes, and unintelligent dregs on society that contribute nothing to anyone at any time and not develop a bias against Blacks.
I am convinced that many of those issuing feeble attempts at defending R. Kelly behind non-sense arguments that claim Surviving R. Kelly is merely the initial step in a grander scheme to discredit “the pied-piper of R&B” suffer from an extreme case of illogicalness. Trust me when I say that it does not take much to get such people to assert that what we are witnessing is merely the latest successful covert operation to bring a Black man down. Such people believe that similar activities dethroned Black stars such as Bill Cosby and Wesley Snipes. Most frustrating to such thinkers is the fact that Black people such as Dream Hampton have aided Whites seeking to tear the Black man.
These people have gone crazy.
The unceasing attacks on Blacks have caused people to disassociate from logic and the consideration of evidence into a position that famed SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael once articulated when he asserted that he “would support anyone because they are Black.” It is this unwise position that led to his exit from the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.
There is no doubt within Black America that the “Black Tax” is powerful; however, the vast majority of us refuse to allow it to curtail our opposition to thieves, murderers, and sexual predators in our midst. We understand that the items being stolen by thieves are coming out of our homes, just as the black females that persons of R. Kelly’s ilk have preyed on are our daughters, mothers, sisters, nieces, aunts, close friends and acquaintances. Defense of such scoundrels does nothing to uplift the Race. It is time for R. Kelly’s defenders to abandon their equally immoral and illogical positions before “the chickens come home to roost” and the evil that they have allowed to fester within Black America arrives on their doorstep.
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.