Sumthin that concerned me

Today was a good day.  The sun was out, classes weren't bad, I got to spend some time with some great people from a leadership group that I'm in, and I got some new information on melanin.  After leaving a meeting around 9 o'clock with a buddy of mine, Paul Sheehy, I decided to get some Subway.  I handn't eaten since lunch, and wanted something healthy.  SOOO....I go there in a suit and tie, and the guys behind the counter start mockin me and Paul because we're dressed up...........I still don't understand this dislike of people dressing nicely.  I know it's not central to the Black community, but I feel that Blacks should really appreciate a brother dressing nicely, because he's more than likely doing something positive.  But that's not what I want to write about....

When I get to the door to let myself out, I see two elderly women on the other side of the door.  These women looked as if they were terrified of me and Paul.  I open the door, and position myself to hold the door open, and Paul does the same from inside the store.  The women slid inside, and then said thank you.  The women seemed genuinely afraid of us.  And not just afraid that we would say call them some terrible name and ruin their day, but afraid as though we would grab them before they could make it through the door and carry them to our car caveman style to do whatever to them.  They seemed that they couldn't trust us.  It's something that I notice often while in Atlanta.  Women seem to fear Black men.  Not just Black women, but all women.  I'm not saying there's no reason for this, especially with all of the things Black men have been accused of, but i believe that at least Black women should have no fear of Black men.  The fact that those women were afraid of Paul and me, in suits...at Subway, is a problem to me.  I had just gotten a white macadamia nut cookie.  But the situation did make me think.  I hope that in my life, I create a loving, or welcoming, persona for women, and that women never feel a need FEAR me.  Respect me, yes.  And even though there are people that say that fear can be a good thing at times, I honestly feel that fear should never be something that Black women should feel from men of their own ethnicity.  Really, I find it terrible that women feel a need to fear men without knowing anything about them, but i especially find it to be a problem amongst Blacks.

Just a thought.