OUR WHITE BROTHERS

This country's media and think tanks are immensely focused on the
social pathologies of American Blacks. Whether the topic is about
single parent households, AIDS, crime, poverty, racism, the list goes
on. From reading and hearing, one may think that if a certain segment
of the Black population was not in America, all of our social ills
would disappear.

Just last week this columnist spoke about "our brothers" with hopes
that my words will help heal this community that has been oppressed
for generations and now finds itself trapped by a psyche that sees
impediments instead of opportunities. However, there are others in
media who write and report on the problems of Black America in hopes
of reinforcing their own racist stereotypes. Vices such as drug
abuse, homicide, promiscuity, sexual misconduct and disease are
problems that cross ethnic and class lines in America, but you would
never know that if the media were your only source of information.
Mainstream media focuses so much attention on the prevalence of these
problems in the black community that an outsider would think that
segments of white America does not wrestle with the same issues in
their homes and communities. Nevertheless, the truth is that American
Whites wrestle with these issues and various others that are not
prevalent in the black or brown communities. While the vices are
largely ignored, stigmatized blacks are further alienated in a
society that they have longed to find a place in. The constant
negative coverage leads many to devalue their own self worth and lose
interest in trying to achieve the American dream.

According to the federal Center for Disease Control, white males are
4 times more likely than their black male classmates to be a regular
cocaine user. White high school seniors are three times more likely
to have used heroin, three times more likely to have smoked pot in
the past years, seven times more likely to have used cocaine, and
nine times more likely to have used LSD. The recent meth drugs cannot
be found in the nation's urban centers but its suburbs.

The story is the same with illegal use of prescription drugs.

According to the Justice Department, drug users tend to buy from
same-race dealers, meaning most white users buy from white dealers.

That's right, white dealers.

Ask yourself how many times you have turned on the evening news and
saw a story on white drug dealers and users?

Now think back to that occasion when you did see such a story and
think about the adjectives used to describe the offenders.

Were the same adjectives used to describe black drug offenders?

Of course not! Whites caught engaging in illegal activity are often
described as being "confused" and "misguided", as if such behavior
was unexpected because of the hue of their skin. Blacks accused of
the same crime are described as "hardened criminals", "hoodlums" and
"gangsters".

After hearing a story about white teens selling drugs to children,
the media's bias give many the impression that the teens simply fell
off the beaten path and deserve a second chance at life. However,
upon hearing a news story concerning the "hardened black gangsters"
the same audience will be ready to lock the offenders up and throw
away the key.

The "down low brothers" has been a major topic of discussion lately.
Instead of framing this behavior as a problem within American
society, the media focuses on the race of these individuals. However,
when the media uncovers the hidden world of pedophiles on shows such
as Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator", they never speak in terms of
race, although more than ninety percent of the offenders are white
males. Likewise, when a black student kills another black student its
described as a black on black crime but such racial terminology is
never used when a white students shoots ten of his white classmates.

The media's double standard further feeds Blacks feeling inferior and
Whites feeling superior.

If not addressed soon, such complexes could tear this nation apart at
the seams.

It's time for us to focus on the behavior of our fellow citizens and
not their race.