Peek Into The Battlefield

Thomas James had a long day at his job as a janitor. He was the only person of color on his crew and it seemed to him that his work was under closer scrutiny than the work of his white counterparts. It was starting to affect him physically, because his blood pressure was extremely high. He began to go through bouts of depression which caused him to drink alcohol excessively. If only he could go home where it was safe, he would be fine. Unfortunately, it did not work out as well he planned, because his girlfriend was nagging him again about money. He had finally had enough and decided to drown his sorrows and hang out with his friends as his favorite daiquiri shop.

Thomas was in a familiar environment, and he was comfortable. He could speak freely and express the feelings of pain and hopelessness that were inside of him. "My boys understand how I feel," he thought. The daiquiri shop often has a very masculine atmosphere where stereotypes and epithets regarding females and the problems that men face flowed like cold beer. The men drink from the tap of misogyny; they seem to enjoy the taste of it. Thomas laughs and appears to enjoy the camaraderie, but he could see past the alcohol fog that blanketed his mind. The hurt and the depression that led him to the daiquiri shop remained firmly in place.

Then a well-dressed woman strolls in and sits at the bar and suddenly all eyes are on her. However, the conversation continues and she listens intently as she sips on a daiquiri. She bristles at the brutality of what she hears, and it angers her. However, she stiffens and decides to engage these men in conversation. She gets up and sits next to Thomas and asks him, "Why do you hate black women so much?" " I don't hate y'all, but I do hate the fact that all you want or care about is a dollar bill," he responded.

What followed was something that rarely occurs, a woman decided to enter into an area where men speak freely and their views are unvarnished. She wanted to get to the root of the animosity between black men and black women, and the only way to create a meaningful dialog was to the enter the "battlefield." This is the place where misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misogynistic statements are fired like unguided missiles. The collateral damage is heavy; and "black love" ends up broken almost beyond repair. Joan Morgan argues in her article "From Fly Girls to Bitches and Hoes" that black women must take the unconventional and uncomfortable approach of engaging the black man in real conversation, without judgment. Women must cross the battle lines