Why So Few Blacks Open Stores: The Allegory of the long spoons




The Allegory of the long spoons
Photo Credit: Art in Progress

In my article Malvy - the 8th Deadly Sin, I explained the Sin of Malvy: "When a person has something of value to another person but himself doesn't desire it, yet receives great pleasure in denying it to others." We all have seen examples of this in our youth when a bunch of bullies grab a ball from some poor kid and toss it to each other out of his reach. The bullies don't want to play ball but derive great pleasure in keeping it from someone who does.

I believe it is Malvy that keeps Blacks from being successful businessmen. I will explain in a moment but first let me say, yes, there are many successful Blacks in America but almost all of them are solitary successes in the fields of sports and entertainment - terrible role models for black youth because the chances for success are quite rare (1). In my article Blacks are more Racist than Whites, I noted that successful Blacks have given up on black America; for example, Oprah Winfrey opened a school in Africa but not in Detroit.

We see other immigrant groups opening up donut shops, delis, 7-11s, gas stations, grocery stores, and take-out places while all that Blacks do is rail against these foreign invaders:

Planck's Constant Blog, Marion Barry Tells Us How Blacks Really Feel About Asians

Barry told supporters in D.C.'s Ward 8: "We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go." Once pushed out, Barry promised, he would replace the foreign invaders with "African-American business people."

Exactly where is Barry going to find "African-American business people" to run those stores? The reason immigrants open so many places is that they help each other. A Korean deli owner will help a new immigrant set up a new shop. Most Blacks simply do not help each other.

As Armstrong Williams, an African-American political commentator, suggests in the note below: "Instead of building another youth basketball center so people can pretend they have done something to help inner city kids, we need to build centers to teach kids about computers and business."

And the lesson they need to teach in these centers? How about the Allegory of the long spoons:

Rabbi Haim of Romshishok was an itinerant preacher. He traveled from town to town delivering religious sermons that stressed the importance of respect for one’s fellow man. He often began his talks with the following story:

"I once ascended to the firmaments. I first went to see Hell and the sight was horrifying. Row after row of tables were laden with platters of sumptuous food, yet the people seated around the tables were pale and emaciated, moaning in hunger. As I came closer, I understood their predicament.

"Every person held a full spoon, but both arms were splinted with wooden slats so he could not bend either elbow to bring the food to his mouth. It broke my heart to hear the tortured groans of these poor people as they held their food so near but could not consume it.

"Next I went to visit Heaven. I was surprised to see the same setting I had witnessed in Hell – row after row of long tables laden with food. But in contrast to Hell, the people here in Heaven were sitting contentedly talking with each other, obviously sated from their sumptuous meal.

"As I came closer, I was amazed to discover that here, too, each person had his arms splinted on wooden slats that prevented him from bending his elbows. How, then, did they manage to eat?

"As I watched, a man picked up his spoon and dug it into the dish before him. Then he stretched across the table and fed the person across from him! The recipient of this kindness thanked him and returned the favor by leaning across the table to feed his benefactor.

I suddenly understood. Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other.

I ran back to Hell to share this solution with the poor souls trapped there. I whispered in the ear of one starving man, "You do not have to go hungry. Use your spoon to feed your neighbor, and he will surely return the favor and feed you."

"'You expect me to feed the detestable man sitting across the table?' said the man angrily. 'I would rather starve than give him the pleasure of eating!'

"I then understood God’s wisdom in choosing who is worthy to go to Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell."



Nothing exemplifies Malvy better than that sentiment: "'I would rather starve than give him the pleasure of eating!'" This is the greatest impediment to blacks achieving success in this country.




Note on the artwork at the top of the page: This is my idea of what those with long spoons in Heaven should look like - nearly naked women sitting around a hot-tub.




ENDNOTES


(1):

Newsmax, 9 Sept 2013, Fostering Black Entrepreneurship

there is a lack of role models in the black business community. When athletes, musicians, and Oprah dominate your list, they are representing fields of employment that are not only extremely hard to break into, but the chances for success are rare as well. It is almost akin to winning the lottery because there is no real formula you can follow to become Michael Jordan — you either have the genetics to supplement the drive or you don't. Second, potential business role models are not making themselves visible enough to the youth to show an alternate and more viable path. You see Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in the news all the time; Robert and Shelia Johnson rarely appear on mainstream news outlets to publicize their efforts and beliefs.

...

We need businessmen to get more involved in our communities outside the school system. Instead of building another youth basketball center so people can pretend they have done something to help inner city kids, we need to build centers to teach kids about computers and business.
...

Many of the businesses in the inner city and urban communities are dominated by Koreans, Asians, Chinese, and families from the Caribbean. These families are usually intact with a two-parent household, education is essential, teenage pregnancy is rare, church is critical, and they encourage and instill a culture of entrepreneurship in their children.



### End of my article ###

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