GUARDING OUR IMAGES–AND MINDS

By Mike Ramey

The business of business is to make money.

 

Black folk–especially our youth–need to be aware of this basic point.

 

The mainstream media of this country is–above all–a business. The news media of the USA is–a business. The sports industry of America–is a business. Your local television and radio station, major newspaper or magazines and even your minority-owned newspapers and magazines are all businesses. Each of them have boardrooms, lawyers, advisors and accountants focused on one thing. That one thing: making money.

 

Pity the person who steps in between them and their profits. Even with the truth!

 

 

OUR ECONOMIC WOES…WON’T DETER THEM:

 

The arrogance of the entertainment/sports/media kabal (which is what I call them because the three are cash linked) is best explained by them. Thus, reading the occasional media sheets, web accounts and business briefs on them pays big dividends in understanding one’s adversary.

 

A few years back, 2010 I believe, the annual ‘take’ at the Hollywood box office was published at about 10 Billion dollars. Industry analysts called this ‘an economic loss’. In 2012, we’ve read about certain ‘blockbuster’ movies that have lost out at the box office–like it was the fault of the viewing public. I recall reading that Hollywood ‘hates’ G or PG themed movies, but ‘thrives’ on R rated material. In reality–if you are wise about how the entertainment industry functions–it is INDUSTRY knowledge that G and PG movies actually account for more than 75% of the box office receipts EACH year…and R-rated fare only brings in about ten percent of box office cash.

 

Seems to me that movies should be made that the public likes…but I digress.

 

THE KABAL SHOWS ITS TEETH–WITH OUR IMAGES IN THEM:

 

If you think that the new normal is viewing or reading news stories depicting ONLY; a) Black men being arrested; b) Black women on welfare or on corners; c) oversexed young Black women fighting each other in the streets, or; d) young Black men locked into a sports-rap-hip-hop-gang slanging personna a generation after the Civil Rights movement concluded, you’ve been hoodwinked by the MSM…TOO!

 

The propaganda tactics of the MSM have become tragic of late. A few years ago, a few tell-all books and articles were released by industry insiders. Surprisingly, many stalwarts of the MSM admitted that they ‘intentionally put forth’ their liberal political/social/moral agendas through their programs–many of them depicting people of color negatively in far too many cases.

 

THE VIDEO SCREEN VS. REALITY:

 

The real world does not ‘run’ on a sitcom or reality clock. It runs on faith in God, loyalty, respect for authority, and perseverance.

 

The Kabal INTENTIONALLY doesn’t get this. A lot of OUR young men and young women don’t ‘get’ it either. In our advanced technical age, African Americans are STILL the number one consumers of television. America still is the number one exporter of entertainment to the rest of the world. In fact, the American entertainment industry has been quietly marketing major motion pictures overseas–OUTSIDE of the USA–prior to domestic release–in order for them to ‘firm up’ their box office take. OUR images STILL have not improved, but our consumption INCREASES!

 

MONITOR YOUR CONSUMPTION & PROTECT YOUR MIND:

 

Television and the MSM are now ‘a vast white-land’…by deliberate design.

 

Doubt me? Next time you watch the local news or pick up the latest video game fare for your child or yourself, spot the number of racially stereotyped characters among the heroes, villains and supporting cast. History has repeated itself!

 

The same ‘lack of color’ on the tube which sparked the riots of the sixties is going on in our enlightened 21^st century!

In my travels, I have covered, appeared before, or observed courts and judges. The FIRST rule of thumb? NEVER address a judge by their first name. This is considered a major no-no and could earn one a possible trip to jail. The SECOND rule of thumb? Dress for success. It shows respect for the judge, and for the system of law.

Why is it important for us to monitor what we watch? Why is it crucial that young people especially need to be able to separate fact from fiction or myth from reality?

 

Let’s start with the obvious–the subjects of marriage, sex outside of marriage, and OOW births. Young Black men MUST learn how to prepare themselves to become husbands–not rappers, thugs and baby machines. Young Black women MUST learn how to become wives–not video vixens and thuggettes. Children born outside of wedlock are not cute; they are bastards–as outlined in the Bible. Homes are built by families headed by husbands, supported by wives, and are populated by obedient children trained by their parents. The MSM hates what I have mentioned, because it robs them of revenue and viewership. God loves and blesses the nation and people who side with Him.

 

It’s your call–blessing or cursing in your own life. Guard your mind, protect your image and you WON’T be hypnotized by those who glorify the negative.

 

We don’t have to ‘buy in’ to the propaganda and images which appear before us. We can either put pressure on the holders to the keys of the MSM to better represent us, or, we can opt out of the brainwashing by restricting our consumption of their wares.

 

In plain terms: You can spend your money where our images are sunny!

 

Whether you call them the MSM, Hollywood, sports journalism or ‘the Kabal’, they are ALL businesses. Until we get tired of being ‘hoodwinked’ and understand that not everything that depicts us and our race–even from those of our race–is good for us, we will continue to be consumers, rather than producers. Not only that, but those of our own race–and you KNOW who they are–need to also be put on notice that we won’t be a part of their ‘plantation minstrel shows’ as well.

 

Either better images…or lower profits.

 

The images and minds we NEED to protect are ours…not theirs. 

 

RAMEY, a syndicated columnist and book reviewer, lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. THE RAMEY COMMENTARIES appears on fine websites and gracious blogs around the world. To correspond, email manhoodline@yahoo.com. © 2012 Mike Ramey/Barnstorm Communications.