The Field Negro Dilemma

"Nothing a white man with a penny hates more than a nigger with a nickel" ~~Chris Rock~~

I know this very old gentleman in Louisiana, who does very well for himself. He dropped out of school in the eight grade to work in the fields, and while working as a farm hand for a very wealthy white family he taught himself auto mechanics by working on farm tractors and other equipment.

So this man eventually started his own automotive business and became very well to do. Although watching the way he lived, you would never know it. I once asked him why he lived such a spartan existence in spite of his obvious wealth, and he told me somtething that reminded me of the Chris Rock joke. "I can't got around here acting like I have more money than my white customers, hell, they would never come back to my business."

Anyway, I thought about that man and the Chris Rock joke again while debating a white blogger on Maryscott's excellent web site, My Left Wing. There I was again caught up in a debate with someone from the majority population ("every time I try to get out, they pull me back in") about the same sh**, that we argue about every time. If it's not, "why do you call yourself the field negro, that is so 1950's? Or why don't you people stop playing the victim role and pull yourselves up by your boot straps? Racism does not exist anymore, it's all in your minds. " And so it goes, back and forth with people who don't get it and never will.

But then when you make the argument that you are not a victim, and that you are not some woe is me handkerchief head Negro, that's when you get the I know you are a "nigger with a nickel" argument, and that's when the venom really flies. Because what the f**k are you doing advocating for black causes on the Internet when you are one of the Negroes who made it? Hell, you might even make more money that I do Negro, so you got a whole lot of f*****g nerve crying racism and inequity in our society when your black ass made it. So you see the Catch 22 here, you can't win if you are a field Negro with house Negro money, or a house Negro comfort level. If you have house Negro money you should think like the house Negro and not care about Negroes who are left behind in the fields. Because after all, you could be in the house too, you just choose to be in the fields.

What these narrow minded individuals don't and will never get, is that as a person of color I don't see myself as just an individual; I see myself as being part of a larger group, a collective. And because of the f****d up way we are in this society, so does every one else.
Don't tell me that every black person in this country wasn't on pins and needles when the shooting went down at Virginia Tech. From Oprah, to Colin Powell, to Condi Rice, they were all saying; "please Lord don't let this shooter be a Negro." And yep, my black ass was saying it too. How do you think I felt when I found out that one of the D.C. snipers was not only black, but was a Jamaican to boot. A double whammy for the field. It's why black folks who couldn't stand O.J.'s house Negro ass cheered like crazy when he was found not guilty, even though Helen Keller could see that the mother f****r did it. Its that collectivism that drives white folks and some black folks crazy. But the sad thing is, that they view us as a collective as well. Don't for a minute think that the black thug pictured on the front page of the local paper, who assaulted the little old lady, is any different than field Negro, attorney, in the majority population's eyes . Ask Oprah, her black ass got shaded in a high end department store just like Shanequa from North Philly. Why? Because her ass is black that's why, and she is a part of the collective. Yeah Oprah, your black ass might be worth a billion, but when that store clerk sees you coming, she still sees a black person first.

But can you imagine if Oprah was in a chat room and trying to agitate or make an argument in support of black people? "Oprah how dare you say there are problems in America, you are worth billions, you have more money than I ever will and I am white." Hey America can't be all that bad, your black ass seems to be doing alright." All the time Ignoring the fact that Oprah is one out of 13 million.

"Oh field Negro, you are just playing the angry black man role, what do you have to be angry about? You seem to be doing pretty well yourself. Stop playing the victim, you are not a victim buddy, you probably make more money than I do."

But let me paraphrase my man, potential baby daddy, Chris Rock again: "So do you want to trade places with me 'Charlie' since I make more money that you do? Ahhh no field, I think I will stick this white thing out".

Yeah, that's what I thought.