On a recent episode of Arrow John Diggle got his Nigger wake
up call.
After Diggle asked to take back the hood of Green Arrow,
Oliver told him that the hood was a part of him and he couldn’t let him be The
Green Arrow again. Because the Green Arrow allowed him to be the best version
of himself.
But John Diggle couldn’t be the best version of himself as
Green Arrow. He couldn’t be the equal of a White man like Oilver Queen.
Now after Oliver told him this, John was wondering what had
happened to make him feel so angry. To think that something was wrong. And as
he went to discuss this with his White wife, Shawn knew what was going wrong
with John Diggle.
John Diggle just had a Nigger Moment.
And after having his Nigger Moment, he was realizing how
little value he had to his Slave Master Oliver Queen.
Don’t you just love how Good White Liberal Oliver Queen has
been shown for the Paternalistic RACIST and HYPOCRITE he truly is?
Earlier in the sixth season of Arrow, John Diggle was
offered the hood of the Green Arrow by Oliver Queen. And being faithful butler
to Oliver Queen for so many years, John Diggle thought he was going to finally
be seen as the equal to Oliver. Be his own man. Be his own kind of hero. Lead
Team Arrow.
That’s not something a Black man can do wearing a White
man’s costume. Or on a Berlanti Productions show. Just as soon as John Diggle
put on the costume, he wound up with an arm injury. And having to take drugs to
deal with it. Then as he dealt with his injury, Oilver put the costume on and
went on missions again. After Diggle got better, and Oliver continued to deal
with his problems as Mayor of Star City and a father, Diggle thought he could
go back to being Green Arrow. And as he was buckdancing and bojangling begging
Boss Queen to put on his hand-me-down Green Arrow Costume again he got his
NIGGER wake up call.
Now I’ve said that Diggle wasn’t qualified to be Green
Arrow. And I stand by that. He doesn’t have the skills with arrows, nor does he
have the motivation to be Green Arrow.
But I can understand his anger. He thought that having that
mantel being passed on to him meant that he was going to be equal to Oliver. That
he would be a leader and not a follower.
But a White man is NEVER going to let a Black man be his
equal. In White Supremacist AmeriKKKa, The White man is Supreme. The Leader. The
Boss. And With Oliver being the leader, John Diggle had to be put back in his
place as Spartan the Butler.
Only John Diggle wasn’t having it this time.
John Diggle’s biggest mistake was believing that he could be
a man on Oliver Queen’s terms. Believing that he could be a hero if a White man
accepted him. Begging to put on a White man’s costume to be a hero on a team a
White man made.
Not seeing how WEAK he was by being a hero on Oliver Queen’s
terms. Diggle spent so many years being Oliver’s BOY he never became his own
MAN. He gave his BEST to someone who didn’t APPRECIATE IT and NEVER would
appreciate it. The best he could ever be on Team Arrow is Oliver’s butler, not
a man on his level.
On that episode of Arrow, John Diggle just finally realized
the emasculated position he was in. Diggle thought after years of being a
faithful servant Oliver Queen would finally let him be the shot caller on Team
Arrow. But a Black man can NEVER call the shots even if a White man gives him
his position of power.
Because he never owned anything
from day one. If a man isn’t putting money on the table for something he has no
say on anything.
A Black man can’t be a hero to his community wearing a White
man’s hand-me-down costume or fighting a White man’s mission. No, in order for
a Black man to be a hero, he has to establish his own mission and set his own
course. What makes a Black man a hero is him being the best version of himself
for himself. Standing up for what he believes in and fighting for the cause
he’s passionate about.
John Diggle got his Nigger wake up call. And I’m hoping many
Blerds and Black comic fans understand the lesson being taught in this episode.
Be the best version of a Black Man for YOU, not the attention and approval of a
White person.
(Mostly) white guy here, just wanted to add that a core element of being a man is to (metaphorically) hunt your own food, live in your own shelter, and create your own values.
ReplyDeleteNo one can be a hero wearing anyone else's costume.
"No, in order for a Black man to be a hero, he has to establish his own mission and set his own course. What makes a Black man a hero is him being the best version of himself for himself. Standing up for what he believes in and fighting for the cause he’s passionate about."
That is excellent writing and insight I have rarely found anywhere. This is literally the key to self-actualization. What is noble, good, beautiful, right to you, when considered with all your mind and being? That is what a man should pursue with everything he's got.
We are only what we do. No more, no less.