The Shame and Embarassment of it all--By August H Mallory

We call ourselves fellow americans, but we have this strange habit of not communicating in an effective way what so ever. in communities, we always say please join us in our clubs and churches and schools and colleges and what have you.
but what i have discovered is that only a select few are truly accepted and only a select few are truly considered a true part of our society. I look at the poor, the down and out, the homeless if you will, I look at how they are rejected and ignored and turned away from needed services, I watch how case management acts as if they are willing to work with the poor and then stab a knife in their back, this goes on quite a bit. I have experienced where people say that they are your friends but only to avoid me when they are around more affluent people.
america can be a hard place to live in. especially when you are an african american male. many time you are rejected amongst your own people. there is conflict in your families, in your communities, black on black crime is forever present. we don't raise our children to be honest in many ways. the only recreation we know of is basketball and football. `or we are talking about how mainstream america (white america) treats us. but we don't look at how we as african americans treat one another.
we don't look at how we pull one another down, we hinder each other from succeeding in everyway possible. we are like a barrel of crabs, when we see one reaching for the top we will pull that person right back down with us. our motto is if I cannot move ahead neither should you. and that a crying shame. the the shame and embarassment of it all. I am your friend' but I will kill you' I am your friend, but I will take from you. I am your friend but you embarass me, I am ashamed to be seen with you, because of the way you dress or look. or because you are too fat or you are too skinny, or you are too dark in skin tone. I don't trust you because you talk like a white person. I don't like you because you act as though you want sex from me. I don't like you because you look too weak for me. your body doesn't look right to me. orb you are too short to be with me. these are the many things that many men in the african american community has to put up with. which is total discrimination of every kind. we don't how we as african americans discriminate towards one another. african americans really need to wake up.