Whenever there has been a question, more often than not there has been an accompanying answer to satiate the questioner. But what happens when the answers to questions have not been presented. there is a way in which people and/or groups of people who are seeking answers can find answer and that is by using radical assumptions that lead to conspiracies, which are in short, answers to questions. For years and to the ever present , the black communities have been left questioning certain acts that have taken place within the black community only to have their questions left unanswered and so many conspiracy theories have been generated to quell the communities thirst for an answer. Although conspiracy theories that says Blacks are being targeted seems to justify and answer questions, it does nothing more than fuel the confusion in the Black community; but by introducing academic discourse into this area, not only will it help clear up public discourse and not blame others without evidence, but help to better race relations in our nation by providing substantial facts.
The public discourse concerning the introduction and expansion of the fast food industry in “Poor” black communities have forced the conspiracy to be born that those cooperation’s were putt there to “… [try] to wipe [Blacks] out by using fast food to lure us in so [Blacks] can all develop heart disease and eventually keel over!”(Is the new McDonald’s marketing campaign a conspiracy to wipe out African Americans?) Where this public discourse would be bettered by academic discourse that deals with facts such as “In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion.”( Schlosser, Eric) That figure represents Americans as a whole not just Blacks, so by presenting this figure to the black community, they will be informed that fast industries “corporations target everyone in society” (Ronald) and “… personally don’t care who they kill [, because] most American people like fattening greasy nasty food and at a cheap price [,]” and therefore bettering the public discourse surrounding the fast food industry within the black community. There are some Blacks who might still say that there still exists a conspiracy with fast food because “African Americans have a high rate of heart problems[,]” (Is the new McDonald’s marketing campaign a conspiracy to wipe out African Americans? ) but that is a genetic trait that has nothing to do with the corporations. “The only conspiracy against poor and low income Blacks is their own conspiracy against themselves to remain ignorant and thus to remain impoverished, targetable, exploitable, and expendable in the eyes of corporations [,] corporations don’t discriminate in whom they target [;] money is the objective!” (Is There A Fast Food Conspiracy Against Poor and Low Income Blacks) The reason so many of these companies seem to emanate within poor residential areas is because their products are sold at a low price, which is what the poorer class thrives off of. The improvement in the information surrounds fast food would reveal that for food to be sold that cheaply, that the quality of the food will not be as healthily. By using academic discourse to help Blacks acknowledge that money is the motive behind fast food companies; the academic discourse also shows that Blacks seem to be targeted because these are areas that Blacks who are economically stressed just happen to live. By introducing cheap food, they know a profit is to be made; the side effects of consuming these products are just a side effect; and not the destruction of Blacks.
The same discourse is not limited to the food industry but also includes the alcohol industry which many Blacks also believe was put in place to destroy them by making them drunks and increasing their violence in order to incriminate them. One of the most synonymous alcoholic beverages with the black community for many years has been the malt liquor 40 ounce drink. the 40 oz as it is commonly referred to is sold in “inner city liquor stores” and also to ” underage purchasers, “(40oz Conspiracy Theory) which further surfeits the idea that the 40 oz was introduced into the black community to cause their destruction. This stems from the liquor store conspiracy which are scattered throughout largely populated black areas, where the alcohol is cheap and abundant. With the 40 oz, there is a more “bang for the buck” (40oz Conspiracy Theory) appeal that attracts the purchasers of the beverage. The cabal is intensified when academic discourse is used to show that “the particular alcohol content is known to aggravate chronic health problems that plague Blacks disproportionately.” (40oz Conspiracy Theory) At first such an academic argument would ultimately prove that this plot is a factual one; however with further academic discussion of the matter, it is easily proven that consuming alcohol in large amounts is destructive to the body in general and that “Drinking more than 24 ounces of beer a day causes a variety of health problems” (40oz Conspiracy Theory) in anyone. Just as the food industry creates food from material that is not of the finest quality, so too is the large amount of alcohol sold in inner city communities. Academic discourse also constitutes that “Young adults who drink malt liquor are at greater risk for alcohol problems” (Malt Liquor Drinkers at Higher Risk for Substance Abuse) and that includes alcoholism into adulthood whereupon an addiction to the substance develops and fuels the purchasing of the 40 oz and thus continuing the chain. Academic discourse will ease the ploy about the 40 oz and educate inner city Blacks as to the effects that alcohol has on the body and that it does create a dependence on it over and extended period of time. Because cheap liquor is appealing to inner city teens and adults, they are perfect areas for the alcohol to be sold by companies in order to make a profit and not destroy Blacks.
The public discourse is not isolated to the food and alcohol industries, but also to the government and its agencies as well and how they provide aid to Blacks. Before Katrina had hit, most of its citizens evacuated because they had the means to escape, but for many of the Blacks who lived there many “were too poor or too infirmed to evacuate” (Blacks among major victims of deadly Hurricane Katrina) and had to ride out the hurricane. When Hurricane Katrina did hit New Orleans, talk of how Blacks were left for dead soon escalated and how the government was slow in responding to the New Orleans despite “President Bush later announc[ing] the launch of the largest federal disaster relief effort in the nation’s history to rescue Katrina’s victims” (Blacks among major victims of deadly Hurricane Katrina) crisis because a majority of the residents were black. Academic discourse will help the show these citizens that despite the slow response of the rescue crews, because of “the total lack of communication, the inability to hear and have good intelligence on the ground …” Blacks among major victims of deadly Hurricane Katrina) that is not solely the governments fault for the delay, but the head of the government, President Bush, whose lack of action caused the delay. More discussion of the Presidents lack of preparedness stem from him saying “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees;” (White House Got Early Warning on Katrina) although the white house did receive documentation that the effects of the storm would most “likely lead to severe flooding and/or levee breaching.”(White House Got Early Warning on Katrina) Just because “George Bush doesn’t [might not] care about black people.”( Dan Froomkin – Was Kanye West Right?), does not mean that the conspiracy of the government not caring for black people is completely true, but rather is partially true when dealing with individuals in government. Such discourse can help Blacks in America have more trust towards the government while they may not have complete trust in it.
Not only is the public discourse pertain to the food, alcohol, or even in government aid, but we see the same the same type discourses surrounding possible actions that the government has taken in the past and could have taken. Many Blacks in America believe that the CIA of the United Stated Government introduced crack cocaine- a chemically altered form pure cocaine which forms crystals and can be smoked, into their communities in order have the same result of many of the other conspiracies, which was to have a destructive effect upon the black community and reasons to lock up African Americans and get them off the streets. To meliorate the public discourse and inform the black community that while the CIA “that CIA was directly responsible for the importation of tons of powdered cocaine” (Blacks Were Targeted for CIA Cocaine – It Can Be Proven) into society, that “it cannot … be established that CIA had anything to do with the first creation of crack cocaine.”(Blacks Were Targeted for CIA Cocaine – It Can Be Proven) The discourse can also be reformed to show that Ricky Donnell Ross- who started the crack cocaine business in south center was the major distributor of crack cocaine during his tenure as one off the biggest drug dealer at the time. His actions lead to massive addictions to the substance and destroyed many lives as a result and caused countless others to be put in jails. While the public discourse might argue that the government did everything it could to target crack users, they fail to take into account that the government has taken steps to “lighten punishments retroactively for crimes related to crack cocaine.” (The New York Times Log In) “For a time, crack cocaine was thought to be far more dangerous than powdered cocaine, prompting lawmakers to make crack-related penalties much harsher. As a result, black defendants and their families were affected disproportionately, since crack is used predominantly by Blacks and powdered cocaine by whites.”(The New York Times Log In) This would lead many Blacks to contemplate that because “85 percent of” (The New York Times Log In |) crack users were black that the laws would be racially based. The discourse lends itself to the idea that law enforcement agencies are the ones to blame for the why so many Blacks went to jail. Academic discourse would add on to the reasoning behind this and exemplify that crack was punished more harshly, because “smoking cocaine was also many times more addictive than snorting.”(Blacks Were Targeted for CIA Cocaine) Alternatively with the newly better public discourse, Blacks no longer will have to hate the police or criticize the government for something they didn’t do. Once again academic discourse will not only vastly improve public discourse and race relationships, but better the perception of law enforcement and government in the United States.
The racial and class divisional conspiracies that result from public discourse only help to fuel the already troublesome nature that is a conspiracy. Public discourse in the area of conspiracy is not helpful in understanding the situation at hand, rather it is a waste of time; since it does nothing more than blame others in order for the idea created from the conspiracy itself to make sense. To better the public discourse concerning conspiracies and not just blame someone, we need to educate the individuals coming up with their theories so that they understand the reason things have been happening the way they have and actually move us towards a real answer. With the public discourse bettered by academic discourse, no longer will ignorance be the answer and longer will Blacks have to believe that the cooperation’s are always trying to worsen the situation of the black community. Although the history of mistreatment that Black’s have experienced throughout history feeds Black’s mistrust in society, conspiracies are by no means a way to find the correct answers and if there is mistrust within a community then there is no hope for social growth or acceptance.
http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/africa01.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_12_108/ai_n15694065
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/pandora/blacks-targeted.html
http://www.justice.gov/oig/special/9712/ch01p1.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/09/13/BL2005091300884.html
