Upon reading the August 8, 2019 op-ed posted on the Essence Magazine website by Michael Arceneaux entitled "The African American for Trump Coalition Will Be Reaching Out to You Soon, Bless Their Hearts," I was immediately reminded of a scene from the movie Chinese Connection.  The character portrayed by Bruce Lee returned an offensive sign delivered to his Kung Fu school by their Japanese counterparts.  The sign read, "Sick man of Asia."

You may ask what the relevance is.  I will attempt to state it below, if my goofy negro mind will allow.  After all, according to Mr. Arceneaux, I'm just another groveling wayward negro riding on the Trump hate train.

The hatred and bigotry exhibited by Mr. Arceneaux in the op-ed toward conservative blacks is surpassed only by his belief that we lack the intelligence to make informed voting decisions or find a good barber.  The same man who claims that the president disparages black communities calls all blacks who support President Trump goofy negros, negro league deplorables, and sycophants.  The same man who chides the president for telling black congresswomen to go back to the countries they came from calls black conservative women BAPS and buffoons!

In the movie, the Japanese bad guys held the Chinese in utter disrespect, void of common decency and civility.  Mr. Arceneaux rewards black conservatives with the same dishonor in stating, "[D]o the world some good and curse them smooth out.  I do not believe in civility when dealing with sycophants for the intolerant and utterly insufferable."

I must applaud Mr. Arceneaux, because he defines intolerance flawlessly in his own self.  I guess his liberal mind, being void of civility, cannot grasp the concept of a rational, reasonable, and respectful conversation with individuals having a different worldview.  I would "hate" to think all liberals are incapable of engaging those with opposing viewpoints and do not ascribe to Mr. Arceneaux's uncivil solutions.  Without conversation, we cannot communicate; without communication, we cannot exchange thoughts and change minds.

It was a bit humorous reading the straw man he attempted to build while rightly highlighting some of the good things President Trump has done for the black community.  Yet he also implies that we would be better off without the lowest black unemployment in history, the infusion of millions of dollars into the black community, and the reversal of incarceration laws instituted by Democrats!

I would think that by the year 2019, even black liberals would know that the Grand Wizard and other Klansmen were the creations of the Democratic Party.  Surely, they would know that Jim Crow and his racist, segregationist tactics are the birth stains of Democrats.  Maybe Mr. Arceneaux is unaware, or, like many liberals, maybe he wants the labels to be known, but not the wearers.

We black conservatives have weighed the cost of our positions very carefully.  We are not afraid, because we believe ourselves to be armed with the truth.  We believe in and demand the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  We also believe that most black liberals want the exact same things.  The right to worship as we please.  The opportunity to raise our families in a decent environment.  The opportunity to grow economically and the freedom to choose our lot in life.

Unlike our liberal friends, we demand the right to think for ourselves.  We detest groupthink and the assumption that we are supposed and required to vote the so-called "straight Democratic line."  We demand the individual right to pick the person or party we want.  We call freedom the right to think for ourselves, despite what anyone else thinks.

While we believe that liberals in today's Democratic Party are wrong, we respect their right to vote for whomever they choose.  We solidly embrace the concept of a two-party system, because men are flawed, and without a counterweight, we would lose our balance.  What we do not accept is the implication that we are grovelers and sycophants.  We are men and women who can make informed decisions for ourselves.  We know exactly what we are and refuse to be intimidated, indoctrinated, or controlled by anyone.  Yes, we are black conservatives, and we make absolutely no apologies for it.