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The Ramey Commentaries by Mike Ramey

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Family Standing with House's "For Sale" Sign

Smiling Family Posing in Field ca. 2002

OBSERVING THE MISDIRECTION?

When I got into the ‘ink game’ I was trained by the best of the best.  Reporters and writers were held to high standards.  Broadcast, print or write a lie?  You would find yourself unemployed, and hard pressed to ever be hired by another publication for a long time.  (Let me also add that I thank all of those who read, share, and print my columns.  If the Lord continues to give me wisdom, courage, and strength, I’ll keep on writing these bits of wisdom, praise and light against a sea of doom, gloom and increasing darkness.)

I’m a ‘rare Saint’.  I’ve been blessed to appear in radio, television AND print.  Yes, you could add the Internet…but, I still continue to log this in the ‘print’ column.  No matter what many may think the video screen is still very powerful, mainly due to the fact that it ventures past the eyes and into the brain in rapid fashion.  Before you can say ‘Captain Kangaroo’, you have been impacted by what you see…presented by people (mainly of the lighter hue) who have their paychecks and political agendas in mind ahead of the truth.  Furthermore, being a Christian gives me a lot more insight into what is happening behind the ‘allowed’ headlines.

That’s right, I did say ‘allowed’.  The mainstream media (MSM) of today does NOT cover the ‘real’ news.  They ONLY cover what is supportive of their agenda and their ‘view’ of the news, wrapped up in viral ‘cute cat videos’.  Back in the day, real news agencies shunned too many features and emphasized the reality of what was out there, good or bad.  These days, you may have seen more cute videos than told how much your taxes will be going up, or, how many jobs have been phased out at the local major employer.  Let me add this little item…there are fewer Black journalists and fewer true Black news organizations in existence in the present.

Now, if you haven’t paid attention to the MSM over the last few years, you would think that young men didn’t exist!  Not by accident, but by deliberate calculation, successful young men–especially successful young African American men–have once again been ‘shuffled’ off into the realm of the invisible.  The stereotypes are still plentiful.  If you are a young Black man who can dribble or throw a ball, appear in a Rap video, in the streets leading a riot, or saying/doing something stupid like refusing to stand for the ‘National Anthem’, the MSM wants YOU!  The young Black men who are graduating from high school/college, becoming successes as police officers, lawyers, doctors, writers, etc., or, even registering people to vote are pushed off to the side as ‘nonexistent’…until they are needed in an emergency.

We’re back in the sixties, folks.  The stereotypes are not dead…they’ve just been re-packaged for this new century.  Sadly, since young people–and many adults–have become glaringly ignorant of their OWN history (and are addicted to those little handheld gadgets like a junkie loves heroin) the new lies have come into play…that is IF anyone remembers the old ones!

What makes the culture of misdirection the more hurtful is that our Black churches and Black press have been virtually silent, again pushing young Black women AHEAD of young Black men–with the blessings of their friends in the MSM.  At the end of the day, when successful young Black men are ushered to the shadows, and young Black women ‘cry’ that ‘there are no good young Black men’ out there to marry, the line uttered by Billy Dee Williams to Diana Ross comes echoing back:

“Success don’t mean a DAMN thing, unless you have someone to share it with!”   In short brothers and sisters, we’d better get back to setting our own table and stop longing for what appears on other folk’s dining room sets.  We’d best get back to loving our color, our culture, and one another.  God provides worms for birds…but EACH bird has to ‘get to work’ in digging those worms up!

As I wrap up this month’s column, I can’t help but to think of the nation of Israel; probably among the smallest nations on the face of the earth.  In their society, EVERYONE watches out for each other.  The young men and women EACH serve in the military for a few years, before they go on with their careers.  Senior citizens are respected.  Excellence is honored, and family life is cherished.  In short, this tiny land has the essence of what it means to be a solid people.  I don’t mean a ‘perfect’ people, but a people who know the stakes of survival, and the reality of God.  The Israeli government has rekindled an effort to reach out to the Motherland of Africa, by bettering relations with four African nations–including infusions of new technology–and clearing the way for African Christians and Jews to come back to Israel.

Why hasn’t the American Black community been made aware of this?  We’ve been too busy accepting the misdirection…and not paying attention to those things that matter.  You fight injustice NOT by protest marches, but by registering people to vote and then VOTING out the politicians who program your city.  That was the lesson from the sixties that the #BLM people haven’t bothered to check into.  As a matter of fact, #BLM has been protesting against Israel and supporting Israel’s enemies in the Middle East!  This according to REAL media outlets outside of the USA that still cover REAL news and issues.

Misdirection is a powerful weapon.  Unfortunately, it makes for a lousy epitaph to be buried under…when you find out that you have missed the truth and accepted a lie birthed by people–be they sports stars or street rioters–contrary to our own good!

Ramey, a Minister, syndicated columnist and book reviewer lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  To correspond, drop him an email at manhoodline@yahoo.com.  © 2017 Barnstorm Communications.

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