“How was Thailand?” I’ve been asked that question at least
50 times since I’ve been back from Thailand…and I’m not using hyperbolic
liberties. The question itself is not bothering, it just puts me on the spot to
summarize amazing experiences and moments in a way that I haven’t really had an
opportunity to completely process and articulate. I usually just recap about
what I saw and mention the food, and that seems to suffice.
I think I’m still processing the awesomeness which traveling
to Thailand meant for me…but one thing I’ve come to realize, is the complete
dichotomous treatment my black male American identity received in Thailand
versus how blacks (men and women) are treated in America.
As a black American man, I’m not always expecting to be
treated like a full-human being, or I’m often reminded of how my
social-cultural identity has historically and presently been diminished and
preyed upon through the victimization of my black American brothers and
sisters. I don’t even think I need to
give examples to support this point…it would be disrespectfully redundant and
insulting to your intelligence.
While in Thailand, I was consistently treated with respect
by the locals and tourists alike. In Thai culture, there is something called
“wai” which consists of a series of respectful greetings and gestures. Every
day while either in my hotel or while out at a restaurant I was the recipient
of a non-submissive but rather polite head nod and/or bow with a genuine
smile. My blackness was noticed, but not
stigmatized through damaging perceptions or cultural cues which prompt feelings
of inferiority. In one instance, my blackness was celebrated while on a tour of
the Kanchanaburi countryside. Several of the tour guides innocuously asked for
photos with me and my black male friend Moe, because to them, it was an
exciting opportunity to interact with a black man. Moe and I often made jokes
where we said we could introduce ourselves as Shaquille O’Neal and Chris
Brown…which is hilarious in itself because neither of us are tall (Shaq) or
light-skinned (Chris Brown), but in the eyes of the Thai…we were black men, and
we were made to feel that our blackness made us special, not something to be
feared or dismissed. The worst treatment I heard in regards to my race in
Thailand, was a local cab driver asking me, “Where you go chocolate?” But I
actually thought it was really funny, and was able to discern that his question
towards me was based on seeing me as a black American with money to spend, not
an intimidating “where are you going darkie/boy” that many black American men
have historically heard on the soil of a country that claims to have “liberty
and justice for all.”
While over in
Thailand, the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile deaths had just gone down
and as summers have traditionally been in American history, blacks were having
to confront this notion of wanting to enjoy and celebrate our American
heritage, while still being conflicted with the harsh realities of black
Americans at the hands of oppressors.
I’m not going to lie…being in Thailand during those
undeserving deaths of my black American brethren gave me an opportunity to
escape the American obsession and consumption with racial injustice. Not to say
that I took on the veil of Americans who treat black lives as irrelevant and
act as if it didn’t happen. What I really mean is…I saw and felt that the deaths
of those black men, the racial tensions that followed, and all the other pain that ensues from their deaths were an
American problem…and being in Thailand gave me the privilege to say, "I'll deal with that when I'm back in America." I recognize how that sentiment can come off, it is definitely rooted in a place of trying to hold off pain rather than denying its existence.
Since I’ve been back…some shady stuff has gone down most
recently in Chicago with respect to police brutality and another unarmed black
man being gunned down. I am feeling the weight of the American racial and
socioeconomic injustice problems. I’m
not saying Thailand doesn’t have issues with injustice, but as they are tied to
my black male identity, it was nice to feel free of those things. I now learn from my Thai experience and bow
my head with a genuine smile towards the respect and legacy of black men and
women who have most recently lost their lives on American soil, who may have
not ever experienced what it was like to feel the admiration and respect for
their black beauty.
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