Brothas, What the Hell is Wrong With Us!

As the sun goes down on another day of fighting, I sit here in my bunker, hunkered down for the night. I'm exhausted! There have been injuries on both sides. It has been a non-stop day of caring for the wounded and saying prayers for those who have died in combat. There are wounds I cannot bandage - wounds of the heart. These wounds deal more with the mental state of the combatants, and I'm not trained in that area. During the last campaign, the sistahs sustained heavy loses. Many of their wounds, although not fatal, will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The constant bombardment by the brothas has clearly taking its toll. As I sit hear trying to make since of the carnage, I have one question for the brothas, "What the hell is wrong with us?!"

African-Americans are approaching the year 2000, a target. Charles Murray has said we are "inferior". Dick Army of the House of Representatives has said we are "lazy". The Republican Party uses us as scapegoats. The Democratic Party takes us for granted, and every program put in place to level the playing field in the work place and/or education is being systematically dismantled. One misguided fool even proclaimed that racism has ended. I could continue, but I won't. We are under attack from all sides and instead of taking up arms and leading the battle against those attacking us, we have turned on our one true ally - sistahs.

Brothas, sistahs have been the only constant ally in our lives. They have always subjugated their own aspirations and needs to help us succeed. And what have we done? We have let them down! Many of us run from the responsibility of assisting in raising our children. We have verbally and physically abused sistahs. We have not earned the pedestal that we have been placed on. Pedestal?! "What pedestal!" Well, the one where we can do wrong time after time and still be forgiven and taken back. The one where we don't even try to reach our potential, and they still push us to excel. The one where we give every dumb excuse on why we have cheated, beaten, or left them; and they still are loving enough (or should I say hopeful) to wait on us to get our act together. And don't forget the one where they continually love us after repeated disappointments. We are either stupid or spoiled. How about both!

Brothas, too many of us are strung out, uneducated, incarcerated, and running the risk of becoming disposable in a high tech world.

On the other hand, sistahs are graduating faster, succeeding in the business world quicker, and realizing daily that they don't have to put up with the disrespectful manner in which we treat them. Brothas our future reality maybe that sistahs won't need us at all; then where would we be?

Brothas, we must realize that love is all they want. The same kind of unconditional love they have willingly given to us. They don't need us as much as we need them. There's truth to the saying, "Behind every strong man, there is a even stronger woman!" The poet/essayist Ms. Jamal Sharif wrote, "Can't no one love you like a sistah!" She's right, no one can love us like a sistah; and no one is even trying!

Gaptoothbrotha
Medical Specialist I