Open Letter to my Brothers

Dear Black men,

This is not to make you feel generalized, bashed or underappreciated...in fact it's totally opposite all those things. It's to touch bases...to try to understand...to open communication. Because there's something missing...something truly missing. As news of Tiger's infidelity (wait wait now I said this was not to bash or to generalize...vibe with me) spreads across airwaves and we see yet another "icon"'s image tarnished and stained...I feel bad...for you all. Because whether I do it or not...the truth is...you ALL are GREATLY generalized, bashed, laughed at, mocked...and to be honest it's mostly by those who yearn to be like you, talk like you, walk like you...sleep with you. But you do it to yourselves...come on y'all, really? I, as a Black woman, love everything about Black men. I love the fact that the thing that can scare the coward in the room is also the thing that makes you all the sexiest creatures on Earth (next to Black women of course): your presence. You come in different heights, weights and skin tones...and when carried right...it all works. So why, oh why, do you allow yourselves to be continuously grouped together in a dark, dim, shiftless and tired piece of light? "ALLOW?" some of you may say...yes, allow. You allow it when you sit around with your boys and listen to them talk about all the different women they've conquered...showing no remorse for the many hearts they've broken...and congratulate them....You allow it when riding through a neighborhood with music that screams "i was brought up with no self respect" blasting through the speakers as women and children sit in windows...you allow it when you waste your days away thinking of new ways to get "in" instead of new ways to make a woman feel appreciated...you allow it when it's your time to speak up on behalf of others like you...and you stay silent...you allow it when you're afraid to stand out. "But aren't you saying we're all alike just like everyone else?" No. I'm not. I am saying that every human being is flawed...greatly flawed...but never has a group of human beings ever had their flaws so publicly exposed to the masses like Black men have...and with that knowledge...what will you all do to change it? Black women cannot continue to come to the aid of Black men...especially since some of us play a imperative role in bringing you down...you all must stand up for yourselves. Now if you're following me on Twitter you may have heard me say: "let Tiger's dick be great...stay out of his business"...and I mean it...if he wants to sleep with everyone in North America so be it...who are we to say he can't? And he doesn't owe any of us an explanation or an apology...HOWEVER...as a Black man (as far as I'm concerned Tiger's BLACKness is not up for discussion)...who knows all to well the picture painted of you all from centuries and centuries past...How could he make such a monumental mistake? Didn't he know all that was/is riding on him? Some may say, "Tiger doesn't even know he's Black"...no, Tiger knows, and THAT is the reason why he's run from it his whole life...self-hatred is a topic for a whole other blog post, but i digress...THAT is the reason he tried his best to distance himself from all the negativity that comes with being classified "Black"...and THAT is the real issue...

As Black men...you've gotta stand up...you've gotta SHOW that you're not all the same...not just say it...you've gotta be consistent in your differences and prove that being a Black man is not a curse but a BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL gift that only few are lucky enough to have. I love y'all. I appreciate y'all. And I'll fight for y'all as long as I see you guys fighting for yourselves.

Sincerely,

@bestnewactress