Nihilism in Black America...

As I continue to make attempts to overcome my own feelings of nihilistic thought, I hope this is supportive for those who may also be experiencing this process of psychological rebirth, if only from a distance…

The feelings of nihilism rise and fall. The peak presents itself at the most inopportune times at what seem to be pivotal points of personal development. The following is an excerpt from Reflections: An Anthology of African American Philosophy. In this excerpt, Dr. Cornel West discusses nihilism and its effects on the Black being in American society. He also posits a remedy for the malady. 

The ego-death of understanding the Black being has to experience has the capacity to tear the mind a part. It creates a negative void that is filled with pessimistic thoughts patterns that become generational in their scope and sequence. The scars of nihilism run deep and will be difficult to uproot without positive support and a grounding in the positive aspects of the self that have been realized and seek to be actualized. 

“The accumulated effect of the Black wounds and scars suffered in a white-dominated society is a deep- seated anger, a boiling sense of range, and a passionate pessimism regarding American will to justice. Under conditions of slavery and Jim Crow segregation this anger, rage, and pessimism remained relatively muted because of the well- justified fear of brutal white retaliation. 

The major breakthroughs of the sixties - more physically that politically - swept this fear away. Sadly, the combination of the market way of life, poverty ridden conditions, black existential angst, and the lessening of fear of white authorities has directed most of the anger, rage, and despair toward fellow black citizens, especially toward black women, who are some of the most vulnerable in our society and in black communities. 

• As an extension to this excerpt, I would posit that Black men are the most vulnerable demographic in American society. This is less of an opinion and more of a statistical fact with centuries of literature and decades of empirical research that seeks to bring people to this realization; though they have been manipulated and deluded into thinking otherwise.

Only recently has this nihilistic threat - and its ugly inhumane outlook and actions- surfaced in the larger American society. And its appearance surely reveals one of the many instances of cultural decay in a declining empire. 

What can be done about this nihilistic threat?

Is there really any hope, given our shattered civil society, market-driven corporate enterprises, and white supremacism? If one begins with the threat of concrete nihilism, then one must talk about some kind of politics of conversion. New models of collective black leadership must promote a version of the politics. 

Like alcoholism and drug addition, nihilism is a disease of the soul. It can never be completely cured, and there is always a possibility of relapse. But there is always a chance for conversion -  a chance for people to believe that there is hope for the future and meaning to the struggle. This chance rests neither on an agreement about what justice consists of nor an analysis of how racism, sexism, or class subordination operate. 

• Nihilism is not overcome by arguments or analyses; it is tamed by love and care. Any disease of the soul must be conquered by a turning of one’s soul. This is done through ones own affirmation of ones worth— an affirmation fueled by the concern of others. A love ethic must be at the center of a politics of conversion. 

• A love ethic has nothing to do with sentimental feelings or tribal connections. Rather it is a last attempt at generating a downtrodden people. The politics of conversion shuns the limelight - a limelight that solicits status seekers and ingratiates egomaniacs. Instead, it stays on the ground among the toiling everyday people, ushering forth humble freedom fighters—both followers and leaders—who have the audacity to take the nihilistic threat by the neck and turn back its deadly assaults.” 

Cornel West - Nihilism in Black America

Reflections: An Anthology of African American Philosophy 

Montmarquet, J. A., & Hardy, W. H. (2000). Reflections An Anthology of African American Philosophy. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA65356223

I hope this supports the process of uprooting from the mind that which keeps you from realizing a positive self concept, 

Yogabrofessor