William Raspberry writes that there is a shortage of educated black men and that as a result, successful black women aren’t getting married. This, he says, is a tragedy.
And I suppose it is. But, you know, buried in Raspberry’s piece — and no doubt in the minds of the women he describes — is the assumption that black women should only marry black men. Isn’t that kind of, you know, racist?
If the women in question are needlessly suffering on account of their own irrational moral judgements, isn’t that the very definition of tragedy?
I don’t see a should anywhere in Raspberry’s piece, though it is a bit disappointing that he never touches the question “so why aren’t they marrying non-Blacks?”. Nor does the women’s behavior (what about that of their White non-husbands?) necessarily imply a should; I never eat apricots, but I don’t believe that people should never eat apricots — though admittedly if a behavior approaches unanimity (does it?) it gets hard to say with a straight face that it’s merely personal preference.
I’ve known far more women of pallor who married Black men than the reverse; why is that?