Survival Mode and Marginalized Communities

Feature photo Courtesy of Devin Allen, from his creative work titled “A Beautiful Ghetto.”  

I haven’t written a blog post since 2016 when Prince died.  A lot has happened since then contributing to my hiatus, but I guess I’m here for now.  Let’s talk about survival mode.

I was scrolling through social media reading, and I came across a video of Ermias Asghedom aka “Nipsey Hussle,” that I’d seen weeks prior before, but for some reason this time it hit differently.  Additionally, I’ll refer to him by his name because his mama said say his name so that’s what I’m going to do.  Also, during my morning scroll, someone mentioned the spiritual warfare involved in not saying a person’s name, or saying it incorrectly, and that took me out moreover.  Back to the lecture at hand.

In summation, in the video above, Ermias says this:  You can’t talk about what to do about the hood without discussing the lack of resources that places those in disenfranchised communities in survival mode.  When you are in survival mode, you don’t care about morality because you don’t experience it, you only experience the need to survive by any means necessary.  It’s not until you are out of survival mode that your healthy ability to make sound decisions return, and you’re able to start thinking about right and wrong, your beliefs etc. 

I mean people will brush that off but do you even know what survival mode is, and what that means for the body?  When that survival part of your brain kicks in, your cognitive function decreases.  Research exists to back this.  God’s unique design, the human reacts when something is wrong.  I’ll post some articles for those who may be turned off by a rapper or gang member saying it.  You know, someone who has actually lived it.

Imagine this not being a one-time event, but your entire life every single day.  Having the effects that trauma and PTSD have on your brain and body every single day.  Or if you are someone who makes it out of those conditions by a hair, like me, PTSD causes you to still revert back to the stress and worry that the bottom will fall out and that you’re not safe.   I’ve always said I feel as if I’m still surviving and really didn’t know my purpose or even who I was……….in my thirties.  That’s deep.

I’ll also add that many of us who think we’ve “arrived” are inches away from being in those conditions due to the greed that has swept this nation; there are levels to this but that’s another post.  “The world is a ghetto.”

I sit in so many meetings, go to conferences and listen to so many talk about the conditions of marginalized communities especially black males in education and the workforce.  I swear I just had this conversation with some coworkers, but it outright pisses me off because when they talk about what “they” need, it’s recycled rhetoric from people who haven’t lived it based on the data (albeit somewhat accurate).  Not once have I ever seen anyone who is actually affected, on these panels and in these conversations.  Has anyone actually talked to these human beings about what they feel they need?  Probably not, because most are more than likely afraid to.  Most have their own preconceived notions about the people they claim to want to help.  I hear it all the time.  Also, knowing someone who has lived it and survived, and actually living it are not the same.  You’ll never understand the trauma associated with it and that’s okay.  This is why representation matters.  Representation not only includes what you look like, but also what you’ve lived through and survived.  You relate more to a person who has shared your experiences.  This is why many of these people who feel they have the answers are met with closed ears; you look unfamiliar in so many ways.    Another post.

I mean, imagine being worried about food, shelter, and safety every day and someone tells you to go get food stamps.  While there is nothing wrong with receiving that help when in need, people probably already knew that.  However, the person will deal with the negative stigmatism associated with it in the media and some peers (welfare ruined the black family remember).  Sometimes, they may feel it isn’t worth it.

Or, they’ll tell you to pull yourself up by the bootstraps.  In reality, no one and I mean NO ONE has “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps” without some form of help or support; let’s argue.  Another post.

Imagine reading an article telling you to eat healthier.  Or, someone telling you to eat like Dr. Sebi told you to eat.  When in reality, you live in a food desert without reliable transportation and the nearest grocery store is miles away.  However, there are plenty of gas stations, quick stops and Dollar stores with all the processed food to your heart’s content.  North side of Wichita, I’m talking to you mostly but I know it’s everywhere.  You can’t tell me this isn’t strategic.

Imagine living behind a church, that you attend and are active in, and you’re working 12-hour shifts as a nurse with the county with your small grandchildren that you keep half the time.  There are other conditions that contribute, but there are times when you can’t always feed them or pay the electric bill in a timely manner.  And that church never helps.  Or, they’ll help if you paid your tithes for the month.  I won’t go into it, another post.

Everyone has the answers for marginalized Black America, but they are usually futile, and lazy if you ask me.  They are also usually focused on one method, without realizing the root of the conditions are systemic and multifaceted.  There is no one answer.  They never include the feedback of those affected by them.  Nor do they ever address the economic and emotional support needed to restore cognitive function to live as normally as possible again.

Say what you will about Ermias, but he tried to help.  He tried to change the economic condition around him, even by giving someone a job, paying him not forcing him to volunteer, keeping things clean around the lot.

It sickens me that you have so many people within our communities who will exploit them, businesses, some churches alike, while judging them and telling them they aren’t good enough or doomed to hell.  (SN:  I’m not church bashing and as a believer, I’m fully aware of the possibilities that lie ahead in the afterlife.  That is not the point).

As the church is concerned, it should hurt you and spring you into action, to hear a person say hell would be a better place than this, or that they already live in hell, because of the conditions they live in.  Because mentally they are unable to distinguish the difference, as all they can think about is surviving here.  Also, churches are businesses.  It’s not a secret, and let’s not act like we haven’t heard our clergy talk about the “business” of the church.  They are modeled with the same governmental structures as companies.  Companies exploit people in some way shape or form, for a common goal; the growth of that said organization.  The bottom line.  When we think about the spiritual condition of people, should the two be this synonymous?  Should we rethink the structure and purpose of what the church is supposed to be about?  Was not the Messiah turning over tables because of this?  Just saying.  Another post.

Regardless of the truth, no one really cares about truly fixing it and getting to the bottom of the mental and scientific reality of the condition people are in.  They are literally fighting for their lives.  God bless the person that can look at “the hood” and still see beauty and potential there.

If a boy from Crenshaw and Slauson turned lot owner can do it unselfishly, working to improve the lives of others (paying them for their work, educating them, increasing opportunities for them)………….what’s everyone else’s excuse?

Articles about Survival Mode:  https://today.uconn.edu/2014/11/stuck-in-survival-mode-insights-into-turning-down-your-stress-level/#

https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/survival-psychology1.htm

https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-24/edition-1/survival-psychology-wont-live

https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3267&context=facpubs