Perception of the African American Males
Perception of the African American males
African Americans males are considered dangerous based on a false identity, misconceptions, and misinformation that are available in the media; this includes but is not limited to rap music, news, and TV shows. This misconception can be traced as far back as slavery. The perception of blacks’ males as being dangerous began when the slave came to America on 1619. Due to the situation of being treated as property, to be freely bought and sold, and that the owner was free to split up a couple or family at any time simply by selling some of his/her slaves. African slaves started to behave in a hostile manner. Because of their behavior the Caucasians immediately started to classify the slaves as being dangerous, and they need to be tame as if they were wild animals. This lead the slave masters to start putting chain and walking around with their rifles when they would be in the fields with them. As it was stated in ‘The Brut Caricature”, it portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal; deserving punishment, and maybe death. Due to the negative influence and portrayals of African Americans males, these individuals are often misguided. The nature vs. nurture theory comes into play. I.e. Low income black males are predisposed to innate qualities, while behavioral traits are learned i.e. through the media. “Get Rich or Die Trying” is the mentality of most African American males with the help of the media. Most males see themselves as rap stars, sports stars, and or comedians. There is limited exposure of African American as doctors or lawyers at an early age its learned that their chance of success in life is limited. The men in the low income communities have the tendencies of wanting to become like the “white man”. The main problem is that they portray the idea of “get rich quick”. These perceptions cause them to turn into drugs, and from there into violence and crimes.
African Americans males are considered dangerous based on a false identity, misconceptions, and misinformation that are available in the media; this includes but is not limited to rap music, news, and TV shows. This misconception can be traced as far back as slavery. The perception of blacks’ males as being dangerous began when the slave came to America on 1619. Due to the situation of being treated as property, to be freely bought and sold, and that the owner was free to split up a couple or family at any time simply by selling some of his/her slaves. African slaves started to behave in a hostile manner. Because of their behavior the Caucasians immediately started to classify the slaves as being dangerous, and they need to be tame as if they were wild animals. This lead the slave masters to start putting chain and walking around with their rifles when they would be in the fields with them. As it was stated in ‘The Brut Caricature”, it portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal; deserving punishment, and maybe death. Due to the negative influence and portrayals of African Americans males, these individuals are often misguided. The nature vs. nurture theory comes into play. I.e. Low income black males are predisposed to innate qualities, while behavioral traits are learned i.e. through the media. “Get Rich or Die Trying” is the mentality of most African American males with the help of the media. Most males see themselves as rap stars, sports stars, and or comedians. There is limited exposure of African American as doctors or lawyers at an early age its learned that their chance of success in life is limited. The men in the low income communities have the tendencies of wanting to become like the “white man”. The main problem is that they portray the idea of “get rich quick”. These perceptions cause them to turn into drugs, and from there into violence and crimes.