(ThyBlackMan.com) Based on the perception of a lineup of randomly patterned inkblots , the Rorschach test is a psychological device developed to gauge a person’s mental stability. Interestingly enough, the test is predisposed to a logic that states a person’s mindset (balanced or otherwise) can be determined by how they interpret black and white color patterns.
~
Syncing into the Inkwell?Blotting out black sons
Is easier when they’re inked
Up to Kingdom come.~
The explanation of this test was reiterated with more general terms to juxtapose this barometer against the concept of race. If judging black versus white is a “good indicator” of a person’s mental state, then America is in some serious trouble – in particular, our young black men. It could 
be argued that some members on the opposing spectrum of race are in jeopardy as well, but this is a standalone point of world history that goes without saying.
The stigma of race, as it relates to the ink stains of the Rorschach test, is best illustrated in the origins of the following phrase: The Inkwell. A movie of the same name was released in the mid-90’s with Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett-Smith. It was a coming-of-age story set during the late 70’s. The title of this movie referred to an area of the beach at Martha’s Vineyard, a focal location of the story, which had been “reserved” for African-Americans. Truth however, is often stranger (if not harsher) than fiction as “the Inkwell” was an actual expression coined at the California beaches of Santa Monica; where it served as a more “colorful” euphemism referencing Negro Beach.
As if black skin would somehow leak into the water and soil it, this section of property was relegated to the “colored folk” – roped off from the rest of the public beaches as if to contain and quarantine the blackness that waded into and troubled the waters. This irrationality proves yet again that how color is perceived can reveal a great deal regarding how level a person is mentally.
But let it be restated. This isn’t about those that view the ink well – this is about those within the Inkwell. This is about my brothers, in particular.
Many brothers today are tired of trying to exist within a society that rejects us. As such, many will rebel and rage against the machine in various shapes and forms. One such method which has a very notable shape and form is the art of tattoos; colloquially known now as either getting “tatted or inked up.”
The problem of having a tattoo on your neck when you’re interviewing for a job is an overstated and trite one, at best. Young black men by now must know that Jamie Foxx (whether impersonating Mike Tysons for a role or not) can get a tattoo on the back of his head because he doesn’t work a regular 9-5. Rather, he works in an industry that rewards such uniqueness. An industry that the majority of us do not work in and therefore, should not try to emulate with the expectation of yielding the same success. As such, that is not the angle of approach for this entry.
Likewise, the Biblical approach from Leviticus 19:28 is just as tiresome and obvious:
‘Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.’
This scripture was written under the laws of an old covenant that Jesus fulfilled and replaced with a new covenant far superior to its predecessor. As such, to argue from this angle is a moot point as well.
Even so, the Bible will be the basis for taking a stance against tattoos as symbols that, when viewed by skewed eyes, accent the tenets of racism. Tenets that were used to scripturally justify the dehumanization of an entire culture.
Misinterpretations by Mormons and early Christians alike vindicated the enslavement of black peoples as cursed nation based off the Biblical account of what happened to Cain, the son of Adam, after he killed his brother Abel:
‘And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand… And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.’ – Genesis 4:10-11,15b NKJV (emphasis added)
From this scripture, it would seem as though the Hughes brothers’ deliberately named one of the main characters in Menace II Society “Caine”; as one can almost imagine the voice of Abel crying out “Man, we supposed to be BROTHERS!” – akin to the scene where Caine carjacks another young black man for his rims.
Black on black crime aside, the focal issue is the mark that God set upon Cain. It has been rationalized by certain men of faith that this mark was a literal denigration (a definition of defamation with similar roots as “Negro”) of color. To make it plain – this has been slated as the origin of people of color. And since this origin was set in a curse, than we were to be legitimately treated as such.
So the question to be posed to black brothers is this: “Why draw the eye of such irrational persons with a skewed perspective to the ‘curse’ of your skin by getting tatted up to your neck and wrists?!!” What good could result or be expected with such a bull’s-eye on your back?
~
Bull’s-eyes and Bullsh*ta.k.a.
Easy TargetsFor whites that see blacks
Like bulls see red, tatted backs
Are easy targets.
~
This is not meant to condemn but to enlighten my brothers. And to quote Cain’s reply to God when asked where his brother Abel was, (but with a less disingenuous motive): “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes. I AM.
Staff Writer; Reggie Legend
Can find more about this writer over at; http://www.steelwaterspoetry.com/blog
Also available as a Keynote Speaker – Book him Today; Speakerwiki – Reggie Legend
