(ThyBlackMan.com) If you are of a certain age, you were told growing up that, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
The earliest known public use of this proverb or adage was on March 22, 1862, in The Christian Recorder newspaper.
The Christian Recorder is the oldest existing periodical published by Blacks in the United States. It had its genesis in The Christian Herald, which was established by the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s (AME) General Conference that was held in Philadelphia in 1848. Founded by Rev. Augustus R. Green in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Christian Herald was published weekly with subscribers paying one dollar and fifty cents a year.
The Recorder is a publication of the AME Church. The AME Church was founded by Richard Allen who also served as its first bishop.
The name of The Christian Herald was changed to The Christian Recorder at the Ninth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference held in 1852 in New York City. The first issue was published and disseminated on July 1, 1852. The first editor of The Christian Recorder was the Reverend M. M. Clark, who was one of the first college graduates in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Clark was a graduate of Jefferson College and was considered to be one of the best-educated men in the A.M.E. Church. He wrote that the Recorder’s focus would be religion, morality, science and literature and it was to treat all geographical areas of the A.M.E. Church equally.
With the rise of social media and the insatiable demand by many people to have their “fifteen minutes of fame,” otherwise masculine men have been reduced to the most feminine of traits that are stereotypically reserved for women; that is being chatty, katty and batty (crazy)!
What am I talking about?
Let me give you a few examples.
Earlier this month, ESPN personality, Stephen Smith interrupted his vacation to find a studio so he could respond to what he perceived as negative comments made about him from four-time NBA champion for the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green and radical liberal Democrat activist Jemele Hill.
Yes, you heard me correctly. A grown man interrupted his vacation because his feelings were hurt.
There is definitely nothing masculine about this type of immature behavior.
He sought out a makeshift studio he could use to put out his response almost in real time. This was something I would have thought a woman would have done simply because they tend to be more emotional than men, er “real men.”
This was the reaction of a grown man who is supposed to be educated and sophisticated, but because of the sticks and stones syndrome he was reduced to a very feminine reaction.
Smith is fifty-eight years old; Green is thirty-six years old and Hill is fifty years old. This is how the internet has made grown folks act like little children and these two men in particular come across as very effeminate.
To watch the video of Smith’s cringeworthy response to Green and Hill on his podcast, Straight Shooter, click on the link. Make sure you have your popcorn in hand!
Remember, this man interrupted his vacation to respond to this juvenile banter!
This is beyond sad on so many levels!
Another example that proves my point is the asinine beef between former NFLer and Hall of Famer, Shannon Sharpe and comedian Mike Epps.
Sharpe is fifty-eight years old and Epps is fifty-five years old. What led to the beef? Hold on to your hat for this one.
During one of his comedy shows, Epps insinuated that Sharpe was gay. Sharpe in turn threatened to reveal private text exchanges between the two of them, implying the release would embarrass Epps.
This turned into a series of negative, vitriolic social media posts going back and forth culminating in Epps appearing on Sharpe’s podcast to squash the beef.
Where is the masculinity in this type of he said she said behavior?
This is the behavior of little kids in primary school. But you have fifty-year-olds who have massive platforms publicly behaving in such a juvenile, effeminate manner.
There are a plethora of other examples involving rappers, actors, politicians, and yes, even preachers.
In my day, rarely would one fight someone over words, unless you invoked the word “yo mama.” Mothers were totally off limits, they were sacred.
You could talk about someone’s father, but not their mother. That was a bright red line that was never to be crossed.
In my day, confrontation, verbal or physical, was used as a last resort; when everything else had failed. You were viewed as a man when you could avoid or deescalate conflict.
Now everyone is performing for the cameras, i.e. social media in order to collect likes, shares, and followers.
I am still mystified by the fact that adults today are so quick to engage in arguments with people on social media that they have never met and do not have any relationship with.
Whenever someone states that, “I am a man, I am a real man;” then they are not a man. Manhood is not spoken, it is displayed. You do not have to scream about your manhood, it just goes without saying.
Denzel Washington once told me, “The loudest one in the room is the weakest.”
If you have ever been around Denzel, you know he never “enters” a room; he walks into a room. I will let you marinate on that one for a while.
Influence and fame are like soap, the more you use them the less you have.
So, to all these supposed alpha males with their faux hypermasculinity, STOP IT!!!!
No one takes you seriously, let alone anyone in a position of power or influence.
Have you noticed that most, if not all, of the people involved in these internet beefs have few if any corporate endorsement deals?
With a few exceptions, corporate America does not reward masculinity anymore; they reward Blacks who are very effeminate. Think about it.
Their goal is to continue to weaken the family unit. What better way to accomplish this than by emasculating the Black male.
Once that happens, the takeover of our community is complete.
Black men cannot continue to succumb to the radical liberal feminist agenda from the seventies. This was the beginning of the destruction of the Black family and the total emasculation of the Black male.
Even Black women are describing masculine males as toxic.
Most of the males you see in all these internet beefs are single/divorced; have tenuous relationships with their children and are more accepted by the white community than by the Black community.
Now let that sink in!
Until Black men regain their masculinity, the Black community will continue this downward spiral into destruction and irrelevance. Black masculine males have become an endangered species.
You cannot show me one thriving community without a strong, masculine male present.
God put man at the center of a functioning society and this radical liberal feminist push to marginalize the role of the male only assures continued upheaval; especially within the Black community.
Staff Writer; Raynard Jackson
This talented brother is a Pulitzer Award nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur. For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter; RealRaynardJ; on Gettr: RaynardJackson.
Can also drop him an email at; RaynardJ@ThyBlackMan.com.
