Why Don't We Read??

"If you want to hide something from a black person, put it in a book." The first time I heard this statement years and years ago, I was offended. Reason? As an uppity Negro, I thought, "That's not true. Black people like to read and be educated." Now when I hear that very same statement as an uppity Negro, I just get depressed. Reason? For most ignorant negroes, that statement is unfortunately TRUE.

Case in point: I took a visit to the MySpace and Facebook pages of some Negroes to see what books were being read. Time and time again, I saw nonsense such as "Books suck", "I don't read", "I can read, but why?", "Books aren't cool", "Books are for nerds", and the occasional "Vibe/XXL/King/Insert your tasteless-filth-of-a-magazine-name here". First things first, A MAGAZINE ISN'T A BOOK!!! If it was, they wouldn't call it a MAGAZINE! Note: I don't consider King or XXL (or any of those ignorant pieces of paper bound together at Kinko's for that matter) to even be magazines.

REAL Novel

NONSENSE!

But I digress.....Second, why are we comfortable with announcing to the world that we are uneducated?? Why is NOT being well-read a badge of pride?? What does that say about YOU, you ignorant simpleton?? It's not bad enough that you don't read, you announce it and make it seem as if reading is a BAD idea! No, you fool. Deciding NOT to read is a bad idea. You'll figure that out when you go to apply for a position that's salaried (translation: You don't have to punch the clock and your vacation is paid).

Then we sit back and wonder why Black people are always portayed in films as imbecilic (SAT word, see Dictionary.com), unable to spell or speak the Queen's English, uneducated, and useless. Guess what? Because the ignorant Negroes are. Contrary to popular belief, education comes from BOOKS. (Just in case you're unsure, actually go to that History class one day instead of hanging around the student center waiting for Craig n' em). Culture and sophistication come from books in conjunction (another SAT word, see previous dictionary link) to other sources and the world around you.

However, there are some ignorant Negroes that actually find "books" to read. But the question then becomes "What are they reading?"