the 7eventh...

The alter-EGO …

Doesn’t everyone have them? I feel like it is an essential part of a well-adjusted personality. If you have the intelligence to move within various social circles, its bound to happen. The ability to eloquently present yourself in a boardroom and the swagger get ur point across while hanging with the fellas--- is a SKILL. Some people have really mastered it (i am still working on my BACHELORS:). Because of our need to move within various subcultures, the skill is essential to the community of color. To be a successful black man, I should be able to talk sh** in the gym with the boys and small talk at the company outing with my white counterparts **where you are fully aware that this is the ONLY first-hand interaction they will have with a black man** (no pressure). All these interactions should be fluid and effortless.

Navigating this terrain is even more serious for the black gay man (again… no pressure). You have your friends, who are...gay, str8, confused(one of my favs), broke (unfortunately, this group is growing fast), well off, book smart, street smart, etc...

I think were it can become an issue – is when there are some very distinctive personalities developing. And umm… yea… I am walking that fine line. It's weird, but there are some very different residents in the building. In unit 1A, this is most visible of the crew. He is generally the ‘nice guy'. Non-smoker, non-drinker… volunteers every now and then... and u can often catch him heading out the door and on his way to the comic book shop. Unit 3C, dude is a little more bold. The metro sexual, always freshly cut up, in designer smell-good. He is the most social of the crew… and u can find him coming out of the La Fitness on Cobb Pkwy or kicking it with buddies at Intermezzo (when he is breaking his diet). Dude in 4D, he doesn’t come out much. But when he does- you know he is in the room. And yes... the man can show up unexpectedly. The most aggressive of the group. Umm.. he can curse like a muthaf**ker at times, tends to grab what he wants, always bumpin’ Jay in the whip, and you can find him... tilting his head slightly to the left... biting his bottom lip… staring at some shortie’s a**. "Aye yo… com’mere for a minute”

***

Oh wait.. who is the NEW dude moving in….?

(to be continued)