If I Were a Well Connected Writer...I'd Stop Talking

If I were a well connected writer/blogger, I would stop talking about the, now infamous, "If I Was" article and start doing something. Our society has become comfortable with speaking with irrelevant authority on issues rather than taking that energy and implementing real solutions to the problem. As someone who is always prepared (and secretly excited) to take anyone to task on issues of injustice and privilege in our society, it was to my disbelief that (after four reads of the article to ensure this feeling was true) I left the Marks article unmoved and more so disturbed by the onslaught of intellectual energy being spent taking him to task.

Although, I did chuckle at Baratunde Thurston's witty retort and found the Ode by Cord Jefferson to be gripping, it also felt to be a waste of powerful energy and, in my cynical moments, an attempt for another prominent writer to get attention focused on their writing portfolio rather than the "poor black kid" on who's behalf they claim to speak. Debating this issue without real action does nothing but stroke egos and leave a "poor black kid" in the same position they were in before the witty, venomous, supportive, [insert other adjective here] response was published.

As a product of a single parent household in a lower economic community, I had to take many of the steps suggested by Marks (outside of coding, to be honest) to build a better reality for my life. I agree that Marks' article was not exhaustive. I also agree that it was not for the young person failing out of school in an effort to protect his mother from prostitution as suggested by Jefferson's response. It was, however, OK for the on-the-fence kid that has the room and luxury to make choices. Though often ignored it is a fact that many poor black kids still have choices in this unfair society. Both the original and subsequent responses do a disservice to lower income African American children by speaking of them as a homogeneous population. The fact is Marks' article, if anything, is ill-titled and written from an oblivious point of view, but not offensive or malicious. If, I, an African American, had written the article, it would not have received this much attention. One might disagree, but I am confident that few would think I was attempting to belittle the African American community by suggesting that young African Americans take initiative. They should when they can.

So, yes, Marks' article was less than ideally placed (no one really reads Forbes, anyway) and even less so comprehensive of the true plight of many lower income Americans, particularly those of African descent. However, if I was (sorry, I had to) a formerly poor black kid turned well connected black professional with access to numerous people through my blog, or any blogger angered by Marks opinion for that matter, I would not waste my power on a middle-aged oblivious white male. I would take the relevant parts of Marks' article along with other resources and share them through the magazines, television programming, Twitter feeds and other outlets that I know these young people use. Then, I would take to task the real issues at hand, like the fact that young African Americans continue to be the measuring stick for how many jail cells our society will need. If I were that well connected writer, that's what I would do.

It is sad, that in the 21st century, we still have not figured out that fighting for the sake of argument, gets us no where. All opinions should warrant appropriate evaluation, not automatic condemnation. Black kids SHOULD be abreast on the latest technology. Black kids SHOULD know they are running a harder race and that the statistics are against them. Black kids SHOULD know proper researching tools. So tell me why this article is so upsetting again? Oh right, because it came from a middle age white man in a magazine other than XXL. Spare me the drama. I rarely find myself defending the position of white male America and, to be honest, it may never happen again but in this case, the amount of effort being placed on this lackluster article in an age with so many lingering racial and economic issues is a waste of talent and energy. If you are mad, go do something in the communities that need positive examples. Go teach a child the importance of financial literacy. Go encourage a child to dream bigger than what their immediate environment would suggest. Go buy a poor black kid an issue of Forbes. Go do something. Otherwise in my former poor black kid book, you are just a part of the problem standing on your soapbox claiming to defend these young people but, in reality, doing nothing at all to tangibly help them.


But, then again, I'm just that newbie writer who hopes to follow all pertinent discussions with timely and effective action.