A big thank you to Prophet for being the next entry of Birds of a Feather! Prophet’s entry acknowledges the tone of differing opinions within the Black community. This piece really hones in on the idea that allowing and understanding everyone has point-of-views and are entitled to them. I hope y’all ready for your feathers to be ruffled!! Prophet, thank you so much for writing this wonderful entry, I hope y’all enjoy! ~Cheyenne
Hey everyone! My name is Prophet I’m a third-year psychology major, president of my university’s African Students Union, and a proud Trump supporter. His policies are amazing and everything Trump says is facts. I chose to write about how proud I am of my president because Cheyenne wanted to know how it feels to be a Trump supporter at a liberal school and a prominent member of the black community.
SIKE I’m just playin.
But for those that believed me what was your reaction? Were you upset? Disgusted? Maybe confused why Cheyenne posted this? If you felt those emotions or anything similar you’re normal, welcome to the majority. This majority is made up of just a couple billion of us who have similar reactions when confronted with beliefs that contrast our own, and since this is an unapologetically pro-Black blog, I was willing to bet a very very veryyy few of you liked Trump. Usually, before all us majority folk have reactions to an opposing belief, we’re reminded of a negative character trait that someone, who we think represents that group, has; could be racist republicans or misogynistic men to name a few. This all stems from illusory correlations or two falsely linked character traits. (I’m a psych major so you know I had to psychoanalyze) Because of those false associations, polar beliefs get paired with negative characteristics, and it’s hard to admit, but, we have a serious problem with illusory correlations within the Black community.
The roots of some of the more infamous negative correlations within our community include political affiliation, sexual orientation, religious group, or social standing. Most of us can remember times where we had negative internal reactions and possibly external reactions to finding out about someone’s belief or the way they live their life, not solely because of the belief but also because they were Black and had that belief. As I said earlier it’s perfectly normal to feel these reactions, however, it’s UN-acceptable to project your reactions or your beliefs on anyone and especially our brothers and sisters. Being Black doesn’t come with a manual or handbook everyone must follow nor is it conformity to one collective consciousness. The Black-diaspora has millions of unique individuals that have their own unique life experiences and their own path. Maybe the way they navigate their path is different than how we do it, but we owe it to our brothers and sisters to try to understand instead of assuming. That being said, I admit it’s hard to understand a different point of view.
For many of us in the majority, we can only understand using lived experience. Thankfully, for us in the majority who need that extra dose of lived experience to understand, others can transfer it to us. No not through telepathy even though that’d be dope as f**k, but through communication, they can share their lived experience. Trust me, no one is a better author than the main character. So, even though it might be difficult to understand the first step is to open your ears and close your mouth, and for some of us putting the Twitter fingers down, because you can NEVER truly understand until you listen. Until you are told someone’s experience, with all the major and minor details, you will always judge based on your experience and your subjective truth. In psych, we call those opinions and they hold no weight. For the times you listen and try to understand a different point of view, but you just can’t, remember you don’t have to understand everything.
Most of us don’t understand gravity but we don’t sit around frustrated trying to understand g-force, centrifugal force, or whatever it is. No! We accept that it is what is and keep it pushin. So why is it any different when it comes to someone’s personal beliefs. We MUST accept they are who they are and keep it pushin. We’re constantly fighting for equality and for a better future for ourselves and our loved ones: the last thing we need to do is fight each other. Who knows maybe by opening up your mind to diunital thinking you’ll learn something new.
Maybe you won’t…I don’t know your future my name is kinda just for show.
Peace & Love,
Prophet ⚡️💜