THESE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS AND ASSUMPTIONS
Could these be why marriages are failing, children are growing up fatherless, black men are dying in the streets, and the prisons are full of black men?
Why is this happening at unprecedented record numbers? One thought that centers around BLACK MEN AND MENTAL HEALTH came to mind: This issue has gone unaddressed for generations. Black men are not allowed to be vulnerable. They are not free to speak about their feelings, and the minute a black man shows some emotions, he is called weak.
Now, in this very dangerous digital age of accepted voyeurism, no one is safe. Everybody’s business is put on screen for the world to see. People love to be entertained, but it seems like people take more pleasure in being considered by the lives and misery of what they see others going through.
Let’s talk about it:
When Tyrese showed emotions and broke down about not seeing his daughter for over two years, people mocked him. He became an instant meme because he showed a moment of weakness for his daughter. He wept because he loved his daughter. He was hurting because he wanted to see his daughter. The world made fun of him. We did not help, console, or empathize; instead, he became a meme.
Kanye West had multiple mental health breakdowns in public and on television. People call him crazy and continue to make a spectacle of him and joke about his mental well-being. They have taken his moment of weakness and turned it into memes. Why are his moments of vulnerability used as comedy bits?
Will Smith was humiliated on live broadcasting as his wife told him she had an affair. The world laughed at him, and he was because of a meme.
This visual depiction of these men and their vulnerability is why our men won’t show vulnerability. While they are not perfect, and none of us are, their vulnerable spots are not something to be made fun of.
My thought and my opinion:
Black men hold on to whatever pain, anguish, and frustrations they may feel. They chose to keep it to themselves and figure it out independently. Then the pain or the emotional turmoil of holding it all in can become so overwhelming that the overflow causes them to do other react in a manner that affects everyone, not only them but everyone else around them, and that is connected to them.
Decisions and choices are impacted. Think about it. Let’s talk about it.
BLACK MEN MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
(Source: men’s mental health)
