Mike Pouraryan
The Cocky Black Guy Stereotype
Obama:Confident Not Cocky
Let’s put it out there. I have watched “Wrong winged” (right) bloggers put Barack Obama in the elitist category. All accusations without any real merit. So where is this coming from? Well allow me to get to the heart of the matter. African American men are always subject to certain negative stereotypes. I noticed once that a blogger suggested Barack was right about telling black men to take responsibility for their actions. Of course I agree with that but the blogger went on to ignore the facts. The fact is that a company is more likely to hire a white man with a felony on his recored than an African American man with a college degree according to CNN . The fact is that a black man is more likely to have more education than his white colleague in the same position.
Let’s define the word. Elitism is consciousness of or pride in belonging to a select or favored group. Allow that definition to sink in for a moment. The half African American, half Caucasian man who grew up in a single parent household with a mom temporarily on welfare is a part of a favored group? Here is a newsflash people. No amount of money can make being African American a select of favored group. Even Oprah with her billions has had to deal with racism.
So this leads me to believe that the only acceptable stereotype for people to throw on Barack Obama is that of the Cocky Black Guy. It’s shielded with terms like elitist but we know what you really mean. God forbid a man with his credentials have some self esteem.
I apologize if it seems like that. I read your post and it inspired me. I had to elaborate on that a little bit from my perspective as an African American. You are absolutely right. That label is ridiculous.