“I’m white inside, but that don’t help my case
‘Cause I can’t hide what is in my face
How would it end? Ain’t got a friend
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue?”
Almost a century ago Louis Armstrong — who, while acknowledged as a brilliant trumpet player, albeit one who has been roundly criticized by jazz musicians and others for the bug-eyed mugging he did for white audiences while he was on stage — wrote and performed the song “Black and Blue” as his signature piece for decades. Does that make him an Uncle Tom? Sorry Louie, but by today’s standards, yes, it does.
Of course the weak rebuttal is, “But that’s the way it was back in those days,” which is certainly true. But it’s also true that not all blacks participated in lowering themselves to the level of the white haters who were oppressing my black race.
Still, some blacks became infected with Stockholm syndrome, the psychological condition that occurs when someone in captivity begins to identify with their captors. The most famous case of Stockholm syndrome, of course, is that of Patty Hearst, the young white heiress who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (a Black Nationalist group), held hostage in a dark closet for months, and then later appeared on a bank monitor/camera holding an automatic weapon as the branch was robbed.
All of which brings me to Desmond Grant, a black Houston trucking company owner who sees Donald tRump as a racist, but that view didn’t stop him from voting for the bullshit artist in 2016.
“Well, I mean, I work here with a lot of racist people,” says Grant in an interview that’s being widely distributed on the Internet. “That’s America. You can’t help it, they’re everywhere. And you know, as long as they don’t disrespect me in my face, they ain’t gonna have no problems. But when we leave here, they can go raising the KKKs and do whatever they wanna do. But as long as we’re on the job, we’re gonna respect each other.” Really?
So, as long as racist whites pretend to respect Grant while at work, I guess that’s good enough for him as long as he’s making money. And money is the reason why he supports tRump. In spite of the fact the conman bankrupted a casino (something financial experts still are scratching their heads in wonderment over) and has a string of failed business ventures — an airline, a fake university, mail-order steaks, cheap shirts and ties — that follow him around like bad credit, his supporters practice willful blindness. They won’t open up their eyes simply because they don’t want to see — the truth.
“He does know how to make money,” said the uncritical Grant. “He’s not an honest man and he’s not too bright, but he don’t give a fuck. You know what I’m saying? He’s not the most well-spoken, but he stands his ground — and that’s part of being a man. He can do that very well.”
What Grant is referencing here is tRump’s misogynistic tendencies, something a certain segment of black men champion, since that’s right in line with their world and religious views. While misogyny isn’t as rampant among black males as it formerly was (I hope), it’s still somewhat prevalent, a fact of black life that I ascribe — at least in part — to being raised in the black church.
So some black men weren’t inspired to vote for tRump as much as they were inspired to vote against Hillary because she is a woman. And a woman as V.P. (be they black or white) is going to be just as troubling to them. Now they’re doubly stuck: They identify with the mindset of their former slavemaster/captors and also have adopted their twisted views towards women as well. These black males are left trying to do what every high school debater learns early on not to try to do: Defend the indefensible.
