Actually it’s more than white. It has blue and pink stripes in it as well, but you get the picture.

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month. And like clockwork, every February 2nd I forget it’s Black History Month. Is it me or does it seem like the further you get from a mandated public education, the further from the radar Black History Month becomes? I don’t even get annoying e-mails telling me things like:

“On this day in 1873, Cleophas Lincoln invented the first spinning rims for a horsedrawn buggy. They consisted of 18 extra wooden poles that would start spinning when the buggy reached speeds of over 8 miles per hour. He is also credited with being the first person to introduce the term ‘no homo” to modern society. Upon returning back from a trip to the NYC Annual Horsedrawn Buggy convention, he found that somebody had burned down his home. Visibly distraught, a passerby asked him what was wrong and he responded, ‘No home…Oooooooooh!’ A phrase was born. Black History Month…American History in Color.”

And of course, none of that up there has anything to do with what I’m writing about.

How many people, who are gainfully employed and reading this, work primarily with white people?

Go ahead, you can raise your hand. You are not alone.

Michael Jackson is with you.

I’d be willing to bet money that a good 90 percent of people who work in a place that has a speedy internet connection work mostly with white people.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Oh yeah, you can put your hands down now.

On second thought, if you really wanna party with me…put your hands where my eyes can see!!!

Speaking of Busta Rhymes (only quickly), isn’t a shame that amidst the whole ignoramously ignorant “Stop Snitchin’” campaign, a rapper got pulled into it and actually had to make a conscious decision to keep quiet or risk the wrath of Jim Jones and other misguided fuckboys and niggas who feel that despite his longtime FRIEND being murdered and given that chances are he saw who shot him, he should STILL keep quiet because snitching is wrong?? It’s almost like we WANT more criminals in our neighborhoods.

You know despite all the success and home loans I’m eligible for, being black sure does suck sometimes.

Hmm…that is both a t-shirt AND a joke waiting to happen.

Back to the lecture at hand. I work with numerous and gobs of white people. This poses no major issues at all. In fact, I really don’t mind, care, or give a shit. However, I tend to hear some strange conversations from time to time, and I am definitely inclined to believe that white people do feel like all black people look alike. Well, the other day, a strange, but interesting conversation was brought to me by a co-worker.

Across from my place of employment is a gym that everybody who works here gets a discounted membership too. Lots of people go during work hours. Hell, more people NEED to go. I work for the government. There are a lot of fat, balding white men and a lot of out of shape people with tattoes that say things like, “Anarchy” walking around. No, working out won’t help the tattoes. I just felt like sharing.

I myself am a non-going member. Well, one of the fellows that works with me who goes to work there has taken issue with the music that gets played. It would seem that they play rap music non-stop. He’s entitled to his opinion and frankly I can only take but so much Lil Jon all day. He did admit that the music gets him pumped. He also said he thinks its mostly violent and angry. Like Guns ‘N Roses except sung by black people.

Of course, he doesn’t actually LISTEN to any of the words (once again, I got him to admit that as well), but he just gets that feeling. He said he hears a lot of words like “shut up” and shit in the music. I assume they played a Trick Daddy song. Who knows.

And then he said something strange to me.

Let me replay the conversation for you.

Co-Worker: It just seems like a lot of the music is just violent and angry and not positive.

Pencil-Pushing Panama: Well, it’s not all of it. It might just be what you’re hearing in there. Some of the more popular, energy driven rap.

Co-Worker: Maybe. I’d just rather listen to something like, I don’t know, Journey. But I don’t want to go ask them to play it. I just don’t want to hear all that negative stuff all the time. The rap music seems so negative. I don’t think you listen to rap.

PP Panama: Really? Why not?

Co-Worker: It just seems negative and I don’t think you’d be into that negative the rap music.

PP Panama: WHAT????????????

CW: I said I don’t think you’d be into the rap music.

PP Panama: WHAT????????????????/!!

CW: I SAID I don’t think…aww forget it.

PP Panama: OKAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! Now get out.

Okay, the last Lil Jon induced half of that convo didn’t really happen. I embellished a little.

But that struck me as odd because my co-worker, who apparently doesn’t view me to be a negative person, since I work with him and all, would assume that I wouldn’t listen to “the rap” music. Probably because he deems it to be something negative.

Interesting.

Now, granted, he’s aware that I listen to everything from the Beach Boys to Sinatra to The Jackson 5. We’ve had all of these talks around the office with most of the older people being surprised how much I know about “their” music. But he also randomly asks me if I have any Frankie Vallie (sp?) albums. Other things he knows about me?

I’m 26 and a young black man who lives in a black neighborhood around black people.

And he’s also made reference to “the rap” music before and how he hears it blasting from windows in the summer in his Virignia suburb from cars being driven primarily by black dudes. We have some very candid conversations, me and this particular co-worker. He’s a good dude.

But me, the good black dude probably doesn’t listen to rap music, because rap music is negative. And I wonder how many white people might actually make that assumption. Since you work with me, and you aren’t a negative (black) person, and since all rap is negative, you wouldn’t listen to it.

And don’t get it fucked up, they assume that black people equals rap music. Just not the “good” ones.

Which further proves the point that a majority of mainstream (read: white) America feels like rap is just downright flith-flarn-filth, through and through.

[***DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying that ALL white people think like this. I'm well aware that many white people don't hold this view. I'm also aware that it's many YOUNGER white people who don't hold this view. Quite scary actually...cuz we could see a shift where white people know more about rap than many of us do. Oh wait...too late. ***]

Clearly I’m not re-inventing the wheel here, as this is a thought that has probably crossed many folks mind, but it just seems funny to me that because I work with white people, to them, rap music must not be my brand of Vodka since its the downfall of society. I’m not contributing to the downfall since I have a good job, therefore, they view me differently.

[***Sidenote: It isn't all of them though. Some of these fuckers up in here look at me sideways. So I return the favor. I actually love it though. You can give me a good job, but they make it so that you never forget where you are. Of course, some people are just assholes in general, but still, I chose to make it a black white thing. I can do that. I'm me. ***]

I wonder what they’d think if they saw me after work when I look like the regular black folks my age, sans the long ass feminine white shirts, fake jewelry, and urban apparel that I hate so much.

Maybe I’ll start blasting Lil Jon in the office or throw on a little 50 Cent just to show them. Or maybe, I just don’t care. I know why he thinks what he thinks, and I know its rooted in the same ignorant shit that lots of white people, including my mother feels, about rap and our whole hip-hop culture.

And they’re wrong.

And don’t care.

As long as I work here, I’m not a regular black man, I’m me…the one that works here. Well, at least until I rob somebody and they see me on the news and I get taken to prison and all types of bad things happen to me because I’m light-skinnededed and sexxy. No brokeback.

I’ll bet he’d think I was listening to rap then.

Until then, it’s time to rev up The Beatles.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 at 10:22 am and is filed under Bigger Than A Hip-Hop, Racemixin'. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.