An Open Letter to African-American Men

Dear African-American Men,

I am writing to alert you to a disturbing trend that I have recently noticed and I feel could become dangerous. Over the past six months or so, I have witnessed numerous accounts of white men referring to other white men as "brother". Two such examples are when I have gone to a bar, the bartender will say "What can I get for you brother", and when you do something nice for a complete stranger they thank you by saying "thanks, brother". Now I know I am not the only one that is bothered by this, but I think I am the first one to speak out against it. There are a lot of things that white society has usurped from the African-American culture. Things such as music, fashion, dance and Eddie Murphy. Indeed it is becoming clear that the African-American culture is the most imitated culture on the planet, but I say that this "brother" trend has got to stop. This is yours. You started it, you own it. Young white males might feel that they are cool or hip when saying this, but I think it comes from a place of insecurity. Young white culture today has really nothing groundbreaking going for it. So they leach onto whatever is thought of as "cool".

However, this is not only a young white male problem. I worked a catering event not to long ago for an insurance company. The average age of most males was around 40 or so. Now I know that insurance companies are thought of globally as being trend setters, but a lot of the older white males referred to each other as "brother".

"Profits are looking good, brother"
"Thanks for the gin and tonic, brother"
"Brother, you are never going to believe who I tagged last night"

I for one am sick of it. So I am calling for all African-American men to let white America know that this is unacceptable! Say that it is racist or something along those lines, you know how we shy away from that. Make it as scary as using the "n" word. See, I can't even type it in this scientific plea! I for one will applaud you and support you in any way that I can.

Another trend that is not prevalent yet, but could become so, is the pronunciation of the word "bro" as "bra". "Bro" is another word that has been stolen from you, and now is being bastardized by the white man. Perhaps the new pronunciation gives some white men a feeling of ownership, since it is new. I am not sure. I do not think this is as big a danger as "brother", since the word "bra" really just makes people sound stupid. Perhaps this was the plan all along? I do not know, but thought I would draw your attention to it.

You are welcome for the heads up, and I look forward to your action

Sincerely yours,

Sydewynder

P.S. While you are at it, can you make a final judgment on the Black vs. African-American thing? I would really appreciate it.