He's Everyone's Friend - A Serpent in the Grass Looking to Get Some A#$

He wears his clothes well, his jewelry sparkles, his shoes are shiny, his teeth are white, and he smells good.  Whenever someone sees this man, he raises his hand up to wave, nods his head, and asks, "How's everybody?"  He is respected and connected in the public, but behind closed doors he is corrupt usually he has a woman or many women alongside of him that is just as bad as he, if not worse!

"It's all about the money, spend it, save it, earn it...only the strong survive...feel threatened by those around you, figure out a way to rid yourself of the problems...I have lasted this long because I know how to play the game." Mr. Smooth Talker with over 30 years manipulating people and systems to look good on paper says to a group of young black males hanging on his every word.  The bright-eyed naive group don't debate or ask too many questions, because they look at the older black man and all they see is bling.  "He must have done something right..." some say.  But no, the serpent in the suit hasn't done nearly as much right as he has done wrong.  But try telling his following that!  "I love him...he's been good to me...if it wasn't for him!" 

A brotha, or shall I say enemy, like this is strategically placed in the hood in a position of leadership.  He is seen in the predominately black establishment usually collecting some money from someone.  He is watching his fellow brothas and sistas by non-blacks who expect him to, "Keep your people in line."  He knows how to make friends and put them in positions of reasonable power--not too much to overthrow him and not too little that they feel powerless.  But later, he will find a way to snatch them out of their positions when they no longer want to play the Serpent's game. 

His personal agenda is to pay back The Man depending on how deep his wounds go when it comes to dealing with non-blacks (you find this with the old black man who lived during segregation) or be The Man's friend based on how much negativity he has had to deal with when it comes to his own people.  These men and women tend to love all things white, bright and sometimes light, because they have been programmed to do so by ignorant folks who lived before them. 

The man with the dapper suit and showy hat will do just about anything to protect his stake in the game.  He knows how to smile, charm his master and win over the people, but he also knows how to take from the ones who gave him his spot too--even if he has to throw his own people under the bus!  Establishing everything from street cred to kissing babies, the Serpent spends far too much time thinking of ways to keep his reputation intact with certain folks--those who sign his paycheck mainly.

Always looking for the next pawns in his game, the Serpent spots the pretty, gullible, book smart, young lady, the fresh out of college money-loving punk, and the old lady who wouldn't hurt a soul to back him up.  He always has some treats to throw their way to keep them close.  Yet, he also takes a chance to have those in his inner circle who aren't crazy about him.  These are brothas and sistas indebted to him because either they or their relatives asked him for a favor and he hooked them up awhile back, of course charging these poor folks interest.  At some point, the grateful and ignorant can't afford to pay the Serpent back, so he offers them some options.  From sexual favors to having them take a fall for him, the Serpent will make an undercover, off-the-record deal with you when you don't keep your promise to pay him back.  Sometimes, long after you have paid the price, the Serpent never lets you live it down, "Remember, I helped you."

Most people don't believe that the nice black guy or gal, this serpent of a man or woman, is capable of doing wrong to others.  Non-blacks, who pay little attention to what conniving blacks do to their own kind, wouldn't believe the messenger; rather they would say, "No, not him.  Why would you be critical of her, you jealous?  What do you want?  What do you stand to gain?"  They won't buy into the fact that Mr. or Ms. Friendly, who looks good and dresses well, is corrupt. 

Most often the Serpent's fan-base is hand-picked--usually a part of his team somehow someway any way.  Going to them, those who work closely with the corrupt individual and asking them for assistance, is never a good idea.  They will only run back and warn the Charmer.

One who knows someone like this, will need to know the following:  how the Serpent is connected, who are the players in his game, what are his weaknesses/ strengths, and who hates the man or woman with such a passion that they would almost do anything to see the evil man or woman fall.  A recording device, witnesses, and anything else you can find on him or her is essential.  Without proof, there is nothing to say. 

Build up your own team, surround the Serpent, but be prepared to fight for all that belongs to you!  Have your people strategically placed around the Serpent and don't be afraid to cut his or her head off--of course not literally!

It is men and women like this who have been a foe to family, church, workplace, club, etc.  They are the ones who smile in your face and all the while they want to take your place/talents/seat/opportunity--don't let them!

May God be with you!

Nicholl McGuire

BlackPeopleMeet.com/ Online Dating...Personal Experience

Thinking about paying an enemy back? Revenge is mine saith the Lord

Their View of You, Our View of Us and the Truth Still Remains

Some African Americans become visibly irritated if they see any image of a black person looking less than happy posted anywhere--whether that is on or off the Internet.  They will complain about how a black woman or man might be viewed by others.  "You really should take that down...do you know how that makes us look...why do we have to look that way?"  they say. 

Blacks attempting to censor other blacks from sharing anything that "makes us look bad."  Yet, the best kept secret among many African Americans is not so much keeping the negativity about us out of public view, but what it really goes back to is one's personal thoughts about self--negative things he or she has already done that makes "us" look bad.  "Now why you have to put my business in the street?" I could almost hear someone say.  For instance, if I acted like a complete idiot standing in a check-out line over a price of something that I really couldn't afford, then regretted what I did later, then who made who look bad?  At the moment of disappointment, the last thing an African American is thinking is, "How am I making my race look?"  However, those who are irritated with black folks and wish there was a place for them (like an African American planet), including fellow blacks, will find fault with just about anything drawn, written, shared, recorded, etc. about black folks.  "Do you really have to talk about my outburst in the store?  Why you show a photograph with my face all turned up?  Do you see how that makes us look?"  Nope.  I see how that makes you look!

A picture is a picture whether good, bad or otherwise.  There is a long history of African American images that are unattractive as well as attractive, photographs of blacks doing things they shouldn't, and drawings depicting us in ways that non-blacks think is funny.  The psychological impact that this sort of behavior made on society over the years has been devastating.  As a result, blacks running around hating the way they look and non-blacks assuming a certain appearance is trouble stem from negative imagery--systematic brainwashing.   However, just because that was done and is still ongoing, doesn't mean we should pretend as if there are no bad stories to tell and no negative images to post--we as writers, reporters, creative people, and others still have stories to share whether people like them or not whether good or bad.  I recall a relative say once, "Don't give them any reason to talk about you." Point well said.

When there are issues that need to be dealt with, the alarm will be sounded even when there is a black face attached to it.  And just because it is one face, there is no need to jump on the bandwagon (that a non-black has created) and say, "Look at us...why do we do that...why are we always...?"  Speak for yourself.  We don't have to claim any we anything!  Last I checked, I wasn't on any plantation having to explain to master why we do what we do.

Nicholl McGuire

 

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They are Watching You and Your Skin Color Has Nothing to Do with It

Not every non-black looks at a black person and thinks, "He is black and I don't like him...She is dark so I won't speak to her."  There are intelligent non-blacks in this world who look beyond the surface.  Yet, some of our people need to be reminded of this before they spout ignorance all over the place.  Not every white, red, yellow, or even black person has a problem with another because of skin tone, but what they do have a problem with is rude, shameful, downright ignorant behavior!

Grandma was right when she warned, "Watch how you carry yourself.  Stop talking so d#mn loud!  Why are you acting so simple?  Use your brain, God gave you one, didn't He?  Why are you giving those white people something to talk about, Fool?"

So Grandma's advice didn't sound so nice, but you got the point and if you didn't have a grandma around, someone warned you about how non-blacks viewed you and why you had to work 110% better than everyone else.

It is unfortunate that many people who miss out on wise teachings are those that frustrate both white and black, rich and poor.  People who don't use any common sense!  They have to be seen "showboating" or "making it rain."  They have to do stupid things "to represent."  They have to shake their behinds for the whole world to see, "Look at me...look at me!  Yeah, I'm all dat, see how wide I spread my legs!"  Who chooses these fools anyway to represent the African American populace?   Ignorance does, ignorance begets ignorance.  There is a lot of money made from likes, page views, and subscribers who love ignorance! 

Funny has its place, like a half-nude woman has her place, ghetto has its place, like a crazy person has his mental ward.  But these days everything that was once in the closet and in its place, is now out in the open for the whole world to see!  There is no proper place for the subculture and all its baggage that comes with it, nope, it is celebrated, marketed, and served to you like it is the gospel!

There is a way to put all the stupidity back in a closet, box, jail cell, or wherever it needs to go.  You know, how?  You don't buy it!  You don't talk about it!  You move away from it!  You don't spread the links on your social networking pages!  You don't support it!  You don't hold back your tongue when you don't like it!  That's how you keep the ignorance at bay.
 
People all over the world watch African Americans (especially on the Internet) and they are commenting, hating, and questioning.  Why give them something negative to talk about that further proves a stereotype?  Why fill your mind with reality TV programming and then go out into the world and act like fools?  Why chase after women who lack morals?  Why have sex/make babies with men who are uneducated, unavailable, broke, down-low, hate women, or could care less about you?  

Contrary to what we see in the media, there are intelligent African Americans who aren't in politics swindling the people, who don't scream from pulpits while shaking people up so that they give money, who aren't cursing and fighting one another, and who aren't broke, busted and disgusted.  But you don't see us in mainstream media because they say, "We are boring...we don't know anyone...we don't have enough influence, money..."  I tell you my friends, we exist.

So if you are an African American, I say, give them nothing but opportunity and positivity to talk about!

Nicholl McGuire

 

Macho Man, Effeminate Male - Where's the Balanced Gentlemen?

Media has created one extreme or another when attempting to tell black men how to be men.  If the African American isn't in love with himself and his "boys" then he is parading around acting like a woman.  Where are the balanced men in mind, body and spirit?  Are they all married or in relationships allowing wives/girlfriends to feminize them or are they standing their ground--protecting households and making wise decisions based on spiritual precepts?

As much as I would love to have something nice to say about mainstream African Americans in media and elsewhere, I look around and I see men looking back at me who have nothing to say, meaningful or otherwise.  Mean eyes, negative attitudes (the nerve of some to talk about women), complaints about not being appreciated by their women, too busy to make time for families, while telling their boys, "I love you...we should get together some time." What is wrong with this picture?  Something looks and smells weird in the atmosphere.

Real women dash the fantasies of superficial men who dream of luxury cars and homes, strippers, stripper poles, parties, drinks, and drugs.  They snap lost men back into a reality that they don't want to face, "When are you getting a job?  What have you been doing all day?  What are you doing with your money?  Whose that b&tch you keep talking to on the Internet and on your phone?  Why can't we get ahead and what kind of legal plan can you come up with to help our family?"  Some black men will bend over backwards for non-blacks and won't think too much about helping those in their own families who really, truly desire to do something big!  A lazy black man or boy with a lot of time on his hands will get he and his family into trouble!

I heard a minister preach a word about what defines a spiritual man.  I agreed with the preacher that if a man isn't reading the Holy Bible to help him understand who he is, isn't spending any time with his Creator, and isn't practicing what he is learning, then he has no clue what a spiritual man is!  He will falsely assume that what he sees in a weak church is a man or what he observes when seated on his front porch looking at men in the street are real men. 

Being tough, rough, and getting a lot of stuff my friends is not a real man!   However, a man who has love in his heart, who cares about people, shows he is kind, patient, responsible, accountable to God, and generous with others while exhibiting self-control and honesty is a real man!  Real men aren't afraid of hard work!  A man who is confident in who he is doesn't need to think and act like a woman!  He shouldn't have to fight everyone and everything to prove he loves his family by snapping his fingers, rolling his neck, or switching his behind out of a room while slamming the door behind him!  Yet, media is the counselor, teacher, mentor, father, and more to so many macho and effeminate black men and boys who sit in front of television and the Internet for hours day-after-day watching characters in movies and players on fields and courts.  Their own fathers, grandfathers, and uncles ain't sayin' nothin' while they watch right along with them!  The athlete teaches the man how to treat women like a ball on the field/court and the cowboy/villian/gangster/corrupt leader shows men how to kill another human being emotionally, physically, or spiritually while tearing down an infrastructure. 

Opportunities to impart wisdom come and go and the only thing many elders are saying is, "Where you get those shoes, Nephew?  Wow, that hair-cut looks nice...Yeah Man, I got this car for a good price, check out my watch too!"  If a black man isn't ever quiet, spending some real time to think about his life, and could care less about reading to obtain the knowledge he needs to survive, then it isn't any wonder that his spirit dies followed by his body.  A black lover can't save him, his momma becomes tired of talking to him, and his daddy is too busy doing his own thing, so what does he truly have?  Himself and a God he may or may not want in his life. 

Living in a dying world and all one cares about is what he looks like or what he has is sad--it's pathetic!  What's worse is that the very things that a man spends his whole life working and fighting for he doesn't keep in the end.  He brought nothing into the world and therefore he can take nothing out, so the holy scriptures tell us.

Those that are seemingly balanced in mind, body and spirit, please do take up some time with the young men and boys and teach them spiritual insight on what it means to be a real man as God defines.

Nicholl McGuire