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o, it has finally come to the light of day. The reason
why our current Commander-in-Chief has contin- uously declined to visit such military hot-spots as Iraq, Yemen, or Afghanistan is because he’s afraid for his own safety.
Don’t misunderstand: There’s nothing wrong with being frightened, especially when one’s adversaries are using live ammunition. But certainly, it doesn’t make for good press to let the world know that there are times when the leader of the Free World may be hiding under his bed.
So, what should we think about a president, who is overly fond of referring to the American military as “My Military,” who was miffed when not allowed to have a military parade replete with tanks and missile launchers, and who would at the drop of his hat, order soldiers to fire on immigrants at the Mexico-American border?
But what we should be concerned about is that such a man currently has a greasy thumb poised to press down on the launch pads of thousands of nuclear mis- siles, which causes us to wonder if our planet is staring down the gun barrel of World War III.
Perhaps, what we should be doing is sending S.O.S. messages to our leaders imploring them to listen at least for our children, grandchildren and great grand- children’s sake, in a bid to avert what befell Rome or what destroyed World War II Germany.
We, the people of these United States, refuse to re- linquish our Democracy, not even for a bowl of por- ridge.
A Crisis Of Identity
ccording to the World
Health Organization (W.H.O.), 77% of women in Nigeria are using bleaching creams to lighten their skin. It is a percentage so high that the word epidemic is being used to describe the wide- spread practice in the popu- lar West African nation.
This mind-boggling statis- tic first surfaced a few years ago when Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyong’o made it her mission to promote the beauty of natural Black skin and denounce the use of products that are designed to capitalize off colorism.
Now skin-bleaching is back in the news cycle after reality star, Blac Chyna, was criticized for going to Lagos, Nigeria to introduce a bleaching brand appropri- ately named "Whitenicious."
What makes this story so surprising isn't that Black people are bleaching their skin; that has been occurring for decades, it's that this gross display of self-mutila- tion is going on in one of the proudest nations on the African continent; a country home to some of the most beautiful dark-skinned peo- ple on the face of the Earth.
What I can't figure out is what would make these daughters of the Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo tribes want to destroy what makes them
Years ago, I remember hearing individuals from that part of the world often de- scribing African-Americans as diluted, poisoned and brainwashed. The unflatter- ing description derived from
their belief that Blacks in America were a white man's invention born of forced mis- cegenation, a pork-based diet and a white-washed mindset that fostered a lack of self awareness. Now it seems, through what has re- cently been exposed, that centuries of European colo- nization has created an envi- ronment where some of those same things can also be said about the people who in- habit the motherland as well.
The interesting thing is that, on the heels of this sad commentary coming to light, another story from the oppo- site end of the spectrum has placed an unexpected twist to the narrative. 19-year-old Swedish model Emma Hallberg has been the topic of conversation on talk shows across the media land- scape since it was revealed that she used extra layers of skin-bronzer to darken her complexion in order to pres- ent herself as a Black woman on Instagram while engaging in something being called "Blackfishing."
Much like "catfishing," where people take on fake online personas to trick ro- mantic interests, Blackfish- ing involves white people pretending to be Black in order to generate more traf- fic to their social media sites.
While Hallberg denies attempting to pass herself off as Black, and strongly claims her whiteness, pictures from her numerous accounts (where she's used curly weave and body sculpting to make her lineage appear
more ethnic-African) tell a completely different story.
When you dissect both of these stories to each of their cores it's easy to see how they can be viewed, in essence, as two sides of the same coin. The only difference being that one side suffers subcon- sciously from a crisis of iden- tity while the other simply goes to the extreme to appro- priate a different culture only when it's financially benefi- cial. The irony is that they both find happiness and ful- fillment on a middle ground where they're each able to achieve the same light brown, mocha latte complex- ion.
Unfortunately for the Black women who feel the need to go this route, the risks that come with drasti- cally changing the way the Creator made them are far greater. Unlike the Black- fisher, who can simply take off a wig and wash herself off, Black women who chem- ically bleach their skin ex- pose themselves to liver damage, kidney damage and skin cancers; ailments that can easily be avoided by learning how to love their natural selves.
You would think that in an era when women like Kim Kardashian are en- hancing their hips and lips to present a Black aesthetic, Black women would find confidence in the knowledge that their bodies and skin tones are the standard bear- ers for the most desired physical archetype on the planet. But sadly, at least for some of our sisters, regard- less of how much they're adored and worshipped for their looks, their gorgeous Blackness will never be beau- tiful enough.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbarronice@gmail.com.
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An American Manifesto
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