Black Dollar: Black Drama & Trauma (BDT)

For the Black Dollar Series, the financial disposition of Black “Drama & Trauma” has sorta become the major identity of what sells for truly being Black in America. For a while it was “Sex Sells” to get projects green lit but, within the Black culture, drama and trauma always finds its way as an accelerator for bank accounts, used to negotiator and a metric of “real” Blackness. For those who deal with obstacles in real time, it has been used as a harbinger or a “Dark Cloud” of what to avoid, while for others its been the balance for those who might operate in the space of moving on, mentally.

Threat to the Community: Systemic

SCAM Meter: Moderate

The Mindset

This is someone in the community that sees BDT as either a badge of honor, bargaining chip, scapegoat, or smear to their record as a human. BDT, is unfortunately a modern measure of who accepts the social role of being Black, versus those who’s classification for Blackness solely sets on bad news. As the principal Black identity, its become the source for most modern entertainment, literary projects, the corporate world, and even sports. Anytime Black people in America have to communicate why they exist in the room, its had to unfortunately come with a story to set the tone of their “Blackness” and a weird humiliation ritual for other races. Projecting BDT to a room means this:

Yes I’m in the same room as you, but, no worries, I may be injured emotionally but, I’m still going,

• a. hate on everything you do, be ultra negative, and if given the chance, F up your office and catch a case (or worse)
• b. be strong enough to put up with what you throw at me, with a stiff chin, internalize it for something lucrative later but suffer the health consequences
• c. be about that life, see you as an OPP, yet be strong enough to still win and still F’up your shit, while still lining my pockets, becoming “the angry negro”
• d. use this sad story to get you to pay my bills, carry all the load, and eat a bowl of cereal at 11:30 am on the couch

The History

Yes, Black people have been through it in America for over 500 years. Yet, the longevity of Blackness in America was never about BDT but, the humor in how ridiculous its been to need the very same people being pushed into extermination. The Normand’s barely existed in England 20 weeks before they were seen as “British”, and yet in America, existing in a space for longer than 500 years still requires permission to be content is wild. Black America has outlasted, banks, businesses, flags. And yet, the story of struggle has to prefaces to even be heard.

Humor and eventual joy of Black people came from still wining in spite of the opposition. Being grateful from financial woes or increased safety brought signs of relief. Trauma is Black America’s Chatgpt, used as archived information on what not to do the next time. Once the threats reduced or changed, being able to rest, knowing the next day was not an instant battle was proof, moving on was possible. If you get deeper, being spiritually centered how to win (dreams, ancestors, meditation, support), the troubles America sees politically or ICE or whatever, couldn’t hold a candle to the processing how Black people deal with trauma. Its not thick skin but knowing, no one would as how a Black person feel’s so the expectation of no support, creates the idea lacking conern.

If you were to say good morning to someone non Black (or miserably Black), for many, its almost been like, “Who didn’t do their job to make YOUR day miserable? Let me get to work then (knuckle crack).”

Fast Forward, even seeing Black people with joy financially, socially, even in nature, there has been a generational agenda to make sure Black people should be on swivel at all times. The history of BDT has and still is a marker of knowing for a fact, “if Black people aren’t beaten down, they’ll never stop improving, and ‘we’ will never win.” The history of BDT is has been the faux pas of sell brokenness to market neutrality for the insecure.

The less Black people started understood how to navigate BDT, the more hood shenanigans would appear. If you avoided college, it was abuse coming in some form or other. The reality, doting on trauma is not even a Black thing, its been the only way many Black people have found ways to communicate and get through bias ears.

From the out looking in, this person may either have a disdain of hearing other Black people NOT having a sad story. For a different kind of BDT, facing challenges is information and in some cases flex, knowing they’re a positive threat.

Faux Pas

The problem, after awhile, bad news does become a dark cloud. And for most Blackness its a constant marketing pitch to society. Black has to always equal a Struggle Story to tell. From press conferences, or introductions professionally. The PR machine has coached Black people to not sell “peace” but chaos, so that they are “relatable” to those aren’t winning so much. The faux pas of BDT is that it has become more of a required identity, even more of a set tone than valor in America. If you don’t have a story from the mud or soil, the idea is that as a Black person, you might be soft, or have questionable ethics against the community. The concept becomes what did you do to avoid trauma,? Where you the drama? Are you flat out lying and going through something now that can spread like a diastase?

The Asset

Jokingly, if Jewish decent entertainers and authors have “Guilt,” that changed bank accounts, the Black community has had ”Trauma.” And that Trauma and Drama has developed into a very lucrative asset within the identity of Black entertainment, social media, and sports. From BDT comedians earning over $2 Billion in personal net worth each, and multi Billions in BDT literature, and a trillion dollar asset for social media that generated hilarious meme’s of some of the morbid takes during the pandemic. Black people will forever turn the reality of a tragedy into a hot song, script, or meme.

There is a HIGH level of awareness and “near absent sense of” compromised reality.

The Weakness

Having a sad story is sometimes negatively described as “Trauma Dumping.” BDT has been used to distance from people who probably have some bad karma on them, or fears of that bad news, spilling over into other’s already complicated lives. Its not fair but, it has let many other Black people know how much of a problem that person will be in their lives. Many people with BDT have become accustomed to people saving them and that can sometime be turned into a form of escapism of responsibilities. To always be spared because of bad news, has encouraged many in the community to stay in that head space. In worse circumstances, others weaponize it as a denial of race, to say “I’m not Black” because they feel they BDT is solely the brand of Black America.

When the idea of trauma becomes someone’s only identity, with any good news is seen as denial of Blackness, then it becomes not only a weakness of the mind, but terrorism of others growth. Projecting self-hatred on others who are processing the generational burden as a form of spiritual evolution might not be our place to judge. Just know, someone thriving in BDT will mess up your money, everyone’s opportunity, and even relationships because of the fear of growth, and that places them in a net positive.

Overall

How each Black person processes BDT, can vary. Yet, no matter how much some people think they’re not “Black” to need to deal with BDT, its America’s evolution all other races eventually will have to face. BDT unchecked is cholesterol, heart disease, auto immune disorders, jealously, and for women even more complex circumstances. Not Jesus hating you. Its not an option to avoid, it can show up on the best days but, instead of ignoring, its important to look back at elders who survived it, and engineer it to the modern Black joy that has outwitted the mental genocide, many choose to deflect. Remember something doesn’t last 500 years staying in a head-space of despair 365 days 24/7, without a quantum energy.