Advice to a Friend..............

I received a call from a friend yesterday, I could tell by the tone of his voice something was bothering him. He finally admitted to me that being a black conservative was ruining his social life. He knew I’d made the switch from liberal to conservative in the early 80’s and he was interested in how I was received by the fairer sex during those years.


I told him He is in a better environment these days for being a black conservative. When I switched there were very few black conservatives, yeah it was a lonely world, and the looks I received when my political affiliations became known were less than encouraging. While attending social gatherings the conversation would always get around to politics. In those days it was President Regan that everyone was all bent out of shape about and when I admitted to voting for him- I was attacked from all sides.

I remember meeting one lovely lady at a gathering, we were clicking within minutes of being introduced to each other, yes, the evening was off to a great start. As the night went on we tended to gravitate back to each other and finally we just hung out together. Then disaster struck, yeah, somebody started talking politics.


It took all of 3 minutes to undo what had took me all evening to establish, ole’ girl looked at me as though I was the Anti-Christ. That beautiful, sensual face of hers turned into something I can only describe as ghoulish and hard. She immediately asked, no she didn’t ask, she told me not to use the telephone number she had given me- it would be in my best interest she said. That was the beginning, there would be more episodes like that to come. I told my friend that there were six common misconceptions that we black conservatives suffered from back in the day and today.

1. We don’t party- yes we do.
2. We are all republican- I am a Libertarian
3. We are boring and stuffy- I’ve met that type in conservative circles, but it is no way representative of us all.
4. We are Uncle Toms, confused, wanna-be white, miserable people- Total bullshit
5. We are Evil- I wish evil was restricted to a political belief, it would be a simple matter to identify and deal with.
6. This last one probably does more to hurt a black conservative’s social life than anything else. We are not good in bed- Nonsense, sexual performance has nothing to do with political leanings. There are a few liberal women I’ve known that have had first hand experience with this misconception being false, much to their delight.

I told my friend that things started to get better once I learned to do one simple thing, keep my mouth closed when the conversations turned to politics. I also told him things started changing during the late 90’s, more black conservatives became noticeable, and life as a black conservative became much easier. People seemed to be at least open to hear our view point, we could participate in political discussions without worrying about not getting invited back to a get together.


Yes, our star was on the rise, then, a funny thing happened. George Bush was elected President of the United States of America. All hell broke loose, liberals started ranting and raving a rate that made the early 80’s seem like a cakewalk. Political discussions started to degenerate into chaotic name calling sessions, no matter how logical a argument a black conservative put forth, he/she was wrong.….. Back to square one.


My friend told me he had recently met an interesting woman, she was intelligent, talented, very attractive- okay those are my words, he said she was,” finer’ than a motherf^%$$#, and sharp as a tack”. He went on to describe how they had so much in common, they both frequented the same places, and are jazz lovers. Yet when the subject turned to politics, like it does sooner or later, she cooled to him so fast it was shocking. She explained to my friend she could never get involved with someone that was part of an evil ideology, and if his political beliefs were not changeable, then there was no reason to continue seeing each other. Being the great friend that I am I told him she did him a favor, his time would be better spent with someone else. He agreed, but I could tell he was talking with his head, his heart was not into the statements he made.


So, with the dating game being tough enough without politics being an issue, why would anyone add the hardship of being a black conservative to it? Conservatism is more sustainable over the long haul. Conservatism rewards those that reach and exceed their potential. In a lot of cases it’s the only alternative for some of us, since Liberalism as it is practiced now, is so out of step with reality. Unlike most Liberals, we black conservatives have to deal with the reality of our beliefs, even if it means heartache.

Later’