Exceptional: BLM, Barack and Beyonce

I have been thinking a lot about how we got here; tanked economy, sustained opposition to racial inequality, a pandemic. A lot of people can’t fathom that things got this bad. And to help, I have several things.

After the Black Lives Matter movement picked up steam, I remember having a conversation about it with a coworker about it. They kept coming back to the fact that they didn’t understand why it’s Black lives matter and not all lives matter. After several attempts to tell them that the implied statement is Black Lives Matter Too, but they couldn’t wrap their minds around it. They stated that if there was a group called white lives matter, there would be outrage. I should have asked what she thought the message of the KKK was, what the Nazis would say about the moment. Instead, I simply stated that the KKK exist. In my ignorance, I thought that she would make the same connection that I did. That she would see that the KKK believe that only certain white lives matter and that they are just an extremely warped vision of what the country’s mentality is. But, that would require an extra thought, one that this woman did not think was necessary to humanize Black people, especially the one that she required to explain BLM to her. To be clear, this woman was not an overt white supremacist. She was simply, exceptionally American. 

As the first Black president, Barack Obama was supposed to fix America. All of it; heal racial tension, fix dubya’s shit economy, stop all wars etc. This was what America and the world expected of one man. Few bothered to realize that he had just been given the keys to a rotten cargo freight train, gears rusted shut, a resistant, mutinous crew, inadequate instructions-

You get it. He was fucked. But,bi believe he did his best, and he was the best, all things considered. This is not me saying he was without flaws, he’s a human. I didn’t expect him to fix it all, he’s not a fae. But he did his best. But then he had to give the keys up, because the people chose. But there are still people referring to the shit job that he did. While also insisting that he do something to influence the current captain. Despite his terrible job. I don’t want to call these people stupid, because I don’t think that they are. Most are simply exceptionally American.

I count my family in the league of Beyonce haters. They are more Rihanna fans, but it is mostly used to denigrate Beyonce. It is mostly because she’s Black American. They won’t admit that, of course, because in order to admit that, they would have to admit that they, too, believed the myth that American society is superior and, by extension, whiteness. And they are African. But to admit their indoctrination into American culture would be facing the truth. That would not be exceptionally American.

American exceptionalism depends on American amnesia, it thrives on ignoring history to build a myth to make this country great. But American exceptionalism, just like British manifest destiny, is not built to last. Because it depends on a lack of curiosity. In order to build a better world with a sturdy foundation, we need to be curious. Like, exceptionally curious. The three things that I mentioned, despite their criticisms, were curious. Were they always right? Obvi no. But, just look at how people respond to them, look at the lack of nuance that surrounds how people view them. Take the extra thought. Terry Pratchett once said, “First Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about the way you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watch the world and think all by themselves. They’re rare, and often troublesome. Listening to them is part of witchcraft.” In danger of sounding like some car commercial, in these times, it is important to take the extra thoughts. It is imperative if we don’t want a total collapse.