Summary Of I Was Forced To Fight Now I Am Learning To Cry

In the online journal “I Was Forced to Fight, Now I am Learning to Cry”, Walter L Cooper demonstrates from personal experience how, in the black culture, men strive to fit the mold of masculinity. He teaches us that in the black culture, the definition of masculinity is often referred to as being “machismo”. “ This is the idea that a man must hold in their emotion and fight instead. They are taught that showing emotion reflects femininity. Cooper goes on to say how this machismo culture is manifesting in the young black culture as they fight against racism. Through the recent deaths of several African American men that faced controversy whether or not they were due to racism, Cooper explains that the black man is disadvantaged if he fights like he was raised to do because it labels them as a thug
He explains that there is a feminine and masculine side of every person. Instead of embracing one’s feminine side, they resent it. Resentment turns into shutting off emotions completely. This makes it hard for these men to have healthy relationships with the opposite sex. Suppressing emotion turns to anger, and this anger pours into personal relationships. Anger shows for everything they wish to release but can’t. Women have become labeled by the black culture as devalued and weak. Domestic violence becomes normality along with suicide. On a personal note, Cooper tells his mother's story of being a police woman who faced racism everyday. He says he looks back now and sees both her strength and nurturing heart, yet growing up, he resented having any feminine trait that ever came from her. He also notes how he catches himself oppressing his nephews with the same treatment he endured at a very young age. He stresses his nephews to stop crying, snap out of being weak and to “be a man” when they are just