Black Life

With the information age, I wonder why the only online resources for a some people are the BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics and all federal agency statistics. In the news, on the blogs, reports from think tanks and sometimes in conversation, statistics are quoted about what percentages of blacks are doing such and such. Our daily lives have become a mash of statistics. With millions of people online, in forums, writing diaries and blogs, many who are black; it would seem to me, that to get an idea about black life, you would read what they have written. The picture shows the American Political Blogosphere with few links between, does this follow in all of the blogosphere?

Black people do not always write of blackness, but write about their children, grandchildren, families, health, cooking, art, music, gardening, sports, comics and many other interests. Our lives intersect with all aspects of American life. You would read about black men who are not thugs, have families, active in the community and are responsible fathers. Our people are concerned with the state of America not only with race, but the war, what the candidates have to say, their neighborhoods, taxes and how the government should work. Nothing unusual, no surprises; unless you have believed that every statistic categorizes every black person, perhaps with the exception of the few you know.

I noticed when I first looked at blog communities there were clusters of links, with only a thin link between them, some never touched. Now looking at the mapping of links it would appear that more people would be interconnected and there would be more knowledge of each other; so they would be in the position to question the statistics and their stereotypes. Internet technology has given us opportunities to explore many cultures and our own with extreme ease. Even if the voracity of every blog is questioned, the underling trends can be knowable. It just requires that we do a little more work and check a few more sources. There is a wealth of knowledge to be found about all Americans, if only we would explore more.