Inverted Racism

"Crabs in a Barrel" is a common term used in the black community. It took me getting older to really understand what it means. It has come to mean the tendency of African Americans to pull each other down when they see them doing well, instead of lifting one another up. Many people, both in and out of the black community, see that inability to come together as a race as one of the major downfalls. The idea of hegemony helps support this idea that one group of people "may participate in their own oppression" and therefore ultimately be their own downfall. Racism typically means pitting one race against another, but in this instance, it sees one race pitted against themselves. When a group has turned inward against themselves, the end is near. African Americans have shown a lack of racial harmony over the years in various ways. There is this idea of lighter skin and darker skin somehow being different, there is a lot of black on black crime, and there is a lot of self degradation in using things such as the 'n' word and the mistreatment of women. The worst part is that not only have African Americans become a part of their own disenfranchisement, they have come to accept this as the norm. Women believe that they are meant to be single mothers, men believe that selling drugs is the best way to support their family, and children believe that the way to become successful is to become a rapper. Breaking out of this mentality is the key to advancement as a race.


 Reference List
Brummett, B. (2011). Rhetoric in popular culture. (Third ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE
Publications, Inc.