good evening and happy new year to all. there has been so much going on i feel so sad that i have not blogged in awhile. i gotta do better in the new year. there is so much i want to say in this one post. much has been going on in my world. so i guess i will work backwards. recently i was talking to one of my girlfriends about relationships. we were discussing how our generation has absolutely lost site of developing a wholesome, balanced and healthy relationships. is it really unrealistic to admire the 'huxtable' relationship? is that really such a far fetched example of what a partnership should look like? if so, why?
aside from the real life relationships (i.e. my parents) i was surrounded by, growing up watching claire & cliff huxtable gave me another portal to view what a functional and stable african-american couple looked like. not only did they have education and excellent parenting skills, they respected, supported, enjoyed and loved each other. this millennial era does not grasp this at all? as i listen to old timers tell of stories of when men use to really pursue and court women, open doors for them, anticipate marriage it saddens me that we live in a world where those things have completely lost there importance.
the other day i was on the train and recognized some high school kids sitting not to far from me. it was three boy and two girls. as i set there and observed their behavior and conversation i noticed how disrespectful the young men were to the young ladies. i don't know what they were talking about specifically but all i know is that one of the young men turned to one of the young ladies and yelled, "yo, ho hurry up." instantly i was offended, and i felt disrespected. like what? is this is the example that has been set, the example that validates our young men to address young ladies in such a manner?
ultimately, i just find myself frustrated and disappointed that as a generation we would rather shack up and enjoy the luxuries of being in a lifelong partnership as opposed to really committing. and what is more calamitous is that despite the real role models lacking in society there aren't even fictional role models such as the huxtables for young men & and women to admire.
so my girlfriend and i ended our conversation (after a couple of hours) with no real solution. what is to become of this generation. the divorce rate is constantly rising simply because there is such a lack of suitable and adequate role models both in homes and society for young african american men & woman to look up to. i find this extremely problematic and what's worse is that there is no real solution.
I like this post. Nice parallel between a "tv show" and how men and women should intereact in "reality". I think the media should take a brunt of the blame. Have you ever looked at how black women are portrayed on TV? Real housewives of Atlanta, and Basketball wives are not a good example of how women should carry themselves, but these shows continue to run for multiple seasons. This is the image of blacks that is seen by people around the world. How can any self respecting woman strive to be like anyone who is a cast member on one of those shows? The reality is that many do. I think we as African Americans should not continue to support negative images of ourselves, as you can see the effects of this is profound (see how the young man treated the girl on the train). We need more positive images of a black family on TV (like Run's House), but I would bet a years salary that the ratings for that show isn't nearly as high as Real Housewives of Atlanta. I hate to say it but Black Progress is not televised, if you don't see it for yourself you would never know it exists. I can go on for days, I'm just a guy with an opinion.
ReplyDeletemark butler