Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Buy Black Redux

Now after I completed reading the Mother Jones article about Maggie Anderson, again, I went to the comments section expecting to read some mundane comments about how great it was for Anderson to support business in her community.  "You go girl!" was what I expected to read.

But, to my surprise, there was comment after comment about how racist she was.  I'm confused.  When a woman decided to cook only recipes from Julia Child and blog about it, they made a blockbuster movie about the experience.  A man decided to live the literal way the bible states, for one year, grew a beard and wore burlap sack all day, no one blinked an eye.  Here a woman decided to support businesses of people who looked like her or had her cultural background because she felt, as a middle class woman during tough economic times, she should support business in her cultural community...for one year. Now SHE'S the racist? 

She's not asking for a new government program.  She wasn't saying that it's all 'whitey's fault.'  She did an experiment to prove a point: Black people are more consumers than producers, there are few black businesses in primarily black communities, and Black people don't necessarily support their own businesses; all of which have a negative impact on employment, graduation rates, and a sense of hopelessness in inner city communities.  She decided to use her hard earned money to support people of her community. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing? You all have to help me on this because I just don't get it. Read for yourself:

If a white person write this article about white businesses, everyone would be shouting "KKK"., progressives should stop being racist, white progressives should forgive their past racism and follow conservatives lead and see individuals as individuals. That's what conserving America is about. We are Americans and not members of protected classes. This person should take a close hard look at her racism.
Why can't we just be people?
Response: Because then minorities would have no one to blame for their problems. They keep racism alive and well, but are comfortable with it, when they justify it for themselves.
Anderson is doing just the right thing. As a white man i don't see her attitude racist at all. If there is more money going to black business there will be more career opportunities for entrepreneurs and millions of new jobs for African Americans too.
She should stop being racist and just buy American. I would never think of buying from white owned businesses exclusively....that would be biased and racist. She is actually lucky if she finds much in walmart that is even made in the USA.

2 comments:

  1. This is the Standard conservative counterattack from the majority who choose not to comprehend that being members of the decision-making majority grants overt, covert, conscious and subconscious privilege. This mindset refuses to accept that this privilege, their "leg up", was gained at the expense of others. (The statistics on predatory lending institutions of the last two decades alone bear this out.) Maggie Anderson's suggestion of financial empowerment through mutual exchange is laudable. Her critics are being disingenuous unless they are also taking their business into depressed areas and patronizing those businesses as well as the ones near THEIR homes.

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  2. White folks get their feathers ruffled when they start losing bread. She is supporting the black community because no one else will. That's intelligence not racism.

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