None of the following has not been scientifically studied, but it could be studied simply because all scientific study begins with an observation and an eventual question that needs to be answered. So here- in no particular order -are the Top Five Things many Black people appear to be the most apathetic about based on observation and conversations circulating in the Black community in most sectors of society.

5 The word “nigger.”

It’s amazing to hear Black people so excessively and lackadaisically use the word “nigger.”

It’s even more amazing to hear a white woman explain why it’s so easy for Black people to use it and be apathetic about a word that was once highly shocking and controversial. Now it registers so low on the Richter Scale of insults, that white and off-white people are sometimes seen and heard using it to address one another. It’s gotten to the point where Black people even call some white people and people of other races the belabored “n-word”.

Jane Elliott explained it like this (paraphrased): “Women own the word bitch, Gays own the word fag, Hispanics own the word beaner … Blacks own the word nigger.”

It’s that simple. Ownership apparently makes it all right.

But don’t use any of those other derogatory words if you’re not in the company of your own kind. You might get in some SERIOUS trouble.

4 The local voting process.

It’s a historical fact that Black people aren’t the only ones who are apathetic about the voting process, but it seems to be more of a malady in all areas of the Black community and amongst the poor in general.

“Why vote?” People ask. It changes nothing, it doesn’t do any good.

It’s easy to get into a heated debate over the ifs, why’s, how’s and but’s of voting in local elections (mayor, governor, congressional representatives, judges, sheriff’s, et al).

What’s hard is the answer to the question: How can such apathy be an answer to changing ‘things’ if taking action to vote is not an answer?

3 The lack of good QUALITY Black television programming.

We hear it over and over again: There’s no good television programming on any of the networks for Black people, and the biggie: Hollywood is racist.

It comes from all sides, inside and outside of Hollywood. The movies and programming depict either the same old low-level racial stereotypes or a made over high-level racial stereotype, or the television show which is supposedly “mainstream” is ‘COONERY’ or ‘buffoonery.’

One thing is certain above all else, Black people in America are becoming more apathetic by the day about any possibility that mainstream television depicting mostly Black characters will ever graduate from 1970s “JJ Evans” without going so far to the other side (The 1980s Heathcliff Huxtables) that most Blacks can’t relate to it at all.

Yet, when this “not good” television programming comes on, we’ve gotten so accustomed to expecting and accepting less that we not only go ahead and watch it anyway, we watch it as if “giving it a chance before we jump to conclusions” is going to change the formula to anything other than what we pay just to see some black folk, ANY Black folk, on television.

But then we’ve been having this same-o same-o conversation since the 1950s; and television, though invented in the late 1920s, didn’t become marketable to the public until the late 1940s.

If we’re still talking about the same thing for Blacks on TV since the airing of the first television show ever, who cares?

If it pays, it stays.

2 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Something you won’t hear going on around the nation for the “Save the HBCU’s” Campaign: The Howard University Marching Band Fight Song.

Here is what an HBCU alum said “There is no progressive national movement to keep our HBCU’s from closing down. They are losing students, money, land, economic opportunity, and…sigh…no one seems to care.”

There are incoming students who said that their parents defied them about attending an HBCU.

Through assimilation, we’ve bought into the idea that HBCU’s are a bad thing and will keep us (our children) from being able to get good jobs in decent industries. (*gulp!*) The implication of attending a majority Black historical private college appears to be worse than attending a majority white community college down the street. Not that our HISTORY and HERITAGE would be anything IMPORTANT.  :-*

Others have said that the quality of the HBCUs is not on par with most other white colleges in America, because they either don’t have the money and support, or because the money and support they do have, some college president or administrator with “too much access” is stealing it.

Either way, attending a school with a shot-out reputation and last decade’s science texts in a world where ‘some other’ college out there gets the latest and greatest bells, whistles, and the equipment to go with it is a lost argument — especially if the school with the bells and whistles has a lower tuition rate because it can afford it.

1 Learning financial acuity and economic prowess.

A little less than 48 hours ago, a “fake” news report was posted on Urban Intellectuals with regard to an Internet “joke” that was being passed around about Allen Iverson.

Iverson, a one-time NBA MVP, found his reputation being swamped by reports that after a $200 million career at the top of the wolf pack in his game, he had suddenly taken a drastic downturn and was in the streets begging change from strangers and telling judges that he didn’t have enough money to “buy a cheeseburger.”

Less than an hour after the news report was posted, it began circulating at an unprecedented rate of return. At last count, that “report” was clocking at least 580+ LIKES and 3,650+ shares IN LESS THAN 24 hours.

There was a link at the bottom of the report that said GOTCHA! Bet you’re paying attention now! And below it was a link to another report where a series is being run on the same site that is teaching Black people about finance and economics and budgeting, as well as credit reports and bill-paying.

Clicking on the story to one of the lessons on Black finance and economics, the last “LIKE” was at eleven (11). It may be up to 12 by now. (?)

Most of the people who circulated the Iverson story either called it a fake from jump and didn’t read the article, didn’t read it at all and assumed it was true, or clicked on the link and, most painful of all, went right to the comments section and SKIPPED RIGHT OVER THE PART THAT SAID “Gotcha!” with the UI Black Financial class information in the link.

One Comment: “Spare change… we are talking about spare change.
Yes thats a dig on his “practice” rant.
Screw this ASSCLOWN.
Made 200 mil. & didnt save any thats your bad.”

D’oh! And it’s not even April Fool’s Day.

Lesson learned.

*Featured Image: “Hey Apathy” for credit to Artist Tom Parsons, Toronto, Ontario [Canada]*