Why are black folks so uncomfortable when high-profile black people have public disagreements?
At what point do we stop obsessing about what white people think about us? Our continuing reluctance to disagree in public seems to be the manifestation of some latent inferiority complex. In some ways we are still that oppressed minority who fears exposing any cracks or dissent within our ranks, fearing our overlords will use those cracks against us.
And there is an absurdist aspect to this attitude. People claim to be embarrassed to see Al Sharpton and Cornel West argue over ways to improve our community or the performance of President Obama, yet we accept the most debasing music and images of ourselves in popular media, without a peep. THAT’S what we should really be embarrassed about.
