The Cost of My Tan
Posted: Monday, September 21, 2009
by Mogama
http://www.mogama.info
Few weeks ago, some Caucasian coworkers were chatting about where in town to find the best deals for a chocolaty tan. I heard figures ranging from $20 to $50.
Then I recalled I had noticed a well-placed billboard that featured an attractive couple taking it lazy on the slopping sand of what looked like a Caribbean beach. The couple was barely clothed to expose their well-tanned bodies. The price for this professional tan was around $18.95.
Just a thought: What if I wanted to un-tan my underscored melanin Negroid skin pigment like my Caucasian buddies want to tan their outward flesh? Do you think I'll pay anywhere near $20?
About three weeks ago, I ordered a 1.7-ounce (50-ml) bottle of Skin Bright to smooth away some sun-baked spots from certain areas of my face. (If the cream works, I intend to brighten a few other less visible parts of my body.no details there!) Cost of this tiny bottle of Skin Bright? $50 + shipping!
But before I could say, "Poor me", I realized $50 is nothing compared to what the late Michael Jackson paid to un-tan his black skin. Probably thousands of dollars, not figuring in the social cost he paid and is still paying from his grave for daring to un-tan.
For us black folk, who are descendants of Ham, we pay for our tan throughout life. How? When?
When I feel the bite of cold weather while my un-tanned friends wear short pants and T-shirts, I'm paying for my tan. When I set the thermostat at 78 degrees Fahrenheit throughout winter and pay close to $200 per month to heat our home and take really hot showers, because our high melanin content can't stand cold temperature and cold water, that's my tan tax. (Of course, my white neighbors will pay higher bills to cool their shelters during summer)
When I must give up snow skiing, ice-skating, hockey and other sports and pastimes that involve time in the cold, I'm paying the bill for my tan.
When one night while a stranger and a lost traveler in Atlanta, Georgia, I watched one woman tightly hug her large purse and quickly paced away from me before I could ask for directions, that was a price for my tan.
When I am passed over for promotion, though I am qualified and have worked hard, that's what my tan costs me. When my failure is taken as proof of expected black incompetence, that's tan price.
More likely than others to contract certain diseases... Higher insurance premiums for the same coverage... Higher rate of arrest, incarceration, conviction and/or execution... More likely to die early... The cost of my tan really adds up.
The tan costs the nations of my continent too, when they are treated by the Western world as incapable beggars who only delight in receiving aid but not deserving of international trade on equal footing with other nations. That's billions of dollars of international trade that have never taken place simply mine is "the dark continent of Africa".
Without wanting to, I've passed the tan payments on to my offspring. When my children are seen as unusual, offensive, defiant, naive or bold simply because they decide to date or marry non-blacks, they continue to make payments on my and their tan.
And we pay for our tan in church and ministry too. I may out-preach and out-teach Charles Stanley, John Hagee, Rod Parsley, and Jentzen Franklin, but when my name is Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes or Tony Evans all tanned ministers I will never have in my church anywhere near the number of whites as the number of blacks my white fellow ministers attract. What's the big deal? That's just another price of too much tan.
"Black is beautiful!" Yeah, and black is handsome too. But black is pretty costly as well.
Now you know why I celebrate my tan-seeking friends who no longer envy, despise, disrespect or prejudge me for my natural tan. My white friends freely associate with me, attend the same church with me, and we are friends at work. At church, they don't mind me being their pastor -- yes, they no longer call me "the preacher"; they actually call me "our pastor".
At times, my Caucasian friends and I trade tan jokes. One may say, "I need a good, deep tan. Where can I find one?"
I reply, "I've got more tan than I need. I'm willing to share, if you can show me how."
It's about time I started profiting from my tan!
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More commentsFor us black folk, who are descendants of Ham...I know that “admission” didn’t come easy :) One African President was once quoted as saying “You black people complain that I’m a dictator, that I’m running this country down, but white people praise me, they love me...”As long as we still need everyone else to validate our blackness, this tan will remain pretty costly. But then again, that’s just me being unusual, offensive, defiant, nave or bold…Very well written and spoken like a Pastor!!! Thank you for writing this.Please log in to respond to this comment.Sister Yangki, you've nailed one of our main weak spots with your observation there: "As long as we still need everyone else to validate our blackness, this tan will remain pretty costly." Years ago, I made up my mind that the only validation I need is that of my Creator...I am made in His image and likeness...tan and all. You can't beat that. Thanks for commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Excellent Mogama! A very balanced, thorough and personal account of the cost of a "tan." Blessings to you my brother.Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Ed, for taking the time to read, and for your thoughtful comment. Stay blessed-:) ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, you and I came to the same conclusion. I am honored to be in the image of my Creator and that's all that matters to me, race doesn't. I agree with Brother Rhymes, a well-balanced article. Excellent in it's written form. Thank you!Please log in to respond to this comment.What a revelation it was, Avis, when I found out that my identity as one made in the image and likeness of "my Creator" is the only opinion that matters about human worth! What a conclusion! Thanks for reading and commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, you sound and placed that content as a real Minister of the Gospel. In the Gospel of truth, fear is invisible. Very beautifully written. In our tans are born humanity, period.Please log in to respond to this comment.Thanks, Doc, for your your observant words. As a follower and servant of Jesus Christ, I have learned over the years to shed my prejudices about "race", ethnicity and color. On this truth I shall stake my opinion of every person till I depart this life: "There is One Human Race". ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Very well written article - thanks for sharing your perspective and heart and for giving readers some good points to ponder. Marijo (Mary Jo - dad got cute with the spelling)Please log in to respond to this comment.At first I thought that was a Hispanic / Latino name, until I read your break down! LOL... Your dad was creative with your name...I think he packaged it with lots of love and joy-:) Thanks for reading and commenting on my article. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Great article and was a great eye opener for me. I never really stopped to think about your viewpoint. Thanks for sharing.Linda DPlease log in to respond to this comment.My good friend, Linda. I always appreciate your words of reason. Thanks for taking time to read and comment. Stay blessed!:) ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, What a truly great article. Thank You for writing it. I always think that God put us all on this earth to get along anyway. Thanks again.
Please log in to respond to this comment.You're exactly right, Debra. If the world would just get along in one day the way we all get along here at SearchWarp...what a breath of fresh air that would be! Thanks for reading and commenting. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
I wish you had thought this article through a little more.You first talk about how you want to change your skin tone, then you lament how much others had to pay for "daring" to have a lighter skin tone. Next, you blame biology and then social constructs on why your skin tone is at a disadvantage and somehow limits you from living...Then you say that your children are looked at as 'unusual' because they may marry someone of a lighter skin tone. And then there is something about how you don't 'attract' the same amount of white people as some other people do. And finally you celebrate people who accept you because you have the tan that they wanted in the first place? Huh?I must say, whatever message you had in there did not come through.Please log in to respond to this comment.Sarah, I bought the cream to smooth out some badly sun-burned areas of my face in order to remove those blemishes to match the rest of my skin. Don't read too much into my article. So sad you missed the fun-side of my article. Ienjoy poking fun at the whole "race" thing. I'm in no way complaining about my blackness. Anyway... ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.I have read a lot of your other articles and I understand the humor that you bring to your writing and I really enjoy it (I am a part of your fan club after all). I was just pointing out that this particular piece of writing was a little too scattered to be on par with your other work. That is all I meant by my comment.Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mr. Mogama,I totally disagree with your whole article. I find it very sad that you feel the way you do. Being a person in your position and stature. It is very unfortunate. I love who I am. I make no apology for my skin color, I am blessed not cursed, and I am proud of being a black man.Well, I am not ashamed and enjoy the benefits of my blackness. I don't need no white man's or woman's validation or approval feel that I belong to larger society. I have my God and Jesus, Holy Spirit, family, friends, and extend family. God didnt' make no mistake.LawrencePlease log in to respond to this comment.Lawrence, he is basically stating your second paragraph. You are saying the same thing.ClarencePlease log in to respond to this comment.Lawrence, please read the article again. You may have missed my point. This is a light-hearted piece about the facts of skin color. You may be too sensitive to this subject. If so, I understand. But please don't assume that I am anything but appreciative of my Creator for my African tan. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
Mogama, do you have any more of these type of articles in your treasure box? :-)You have a gift for this. Most people’s attempt at “Race Relations” is to “nice out” the realities. “I don’t care about race…let’s all us just get along…” Duh! You can’t cure and ugly wound by covering it up with a beautiful colourful silk ribbon.So bring it all out in the open… stench and all…lol. This race thing is not just a black/white thing, we also have the black/black race thing and it’s just as ugly. You know what I’m talking about "African Americans with a little "white" in them are a better breed than the "other" type", “East Africans are better looking than West Africans because they have more of the Eurocentric features (oblong faces, narrower more upright noses etc)”, A “white first name” is better than an African name" and so on. This is the constant need for external validation I was talking about. Programmed and indoctrinated inferiority complex!!! It comes out in all forms and many people (white, black, brown) either endorse it unknowingly or are very happy (knowingly) cheering it on. I see it here on Searchwarp and on many other sites.Let's talk about real Race Relations... straight talk :) It cuts down on the wasted energy and head games that too often accompany people who are at war with themselves.Please log in to respond to this comment.Yangki, it's interesting that you ask that question. Since 1998 I have poured much of my ministerial sweat into confronting "the skin thing" head-on, especially within the walls of the church, which seems ironically to be a favorite perch of the "the skin thing". Frankly, slaying this demon has proven to be as tricky as making peace between Jews and Palestinians. But as followers of Christ we live by the faith that "all things are possible with God". To some this is theory, but for me it is reality. For about five years now I have seen encouraging signs that people of all skin colors can worship together as one family of God from week to week, even in such a place as Owensboro, Kentucky. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
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