Who Not How
Superstar
Mentacide: The Ultimate Threat To The Black Race
Mentacide
The deliberate and systematic destruction of a person’s or group’s mind [which] may give a clue to why the Black race, after developing such an advanced civilization, has for the last 400 years been assisting in its own destruction and the nearly total subjugation of Africa by foreign invaders.”\
Mentacide differs in theory and practice from concepts, e.g., "brain washing" in that its ultimate aim is the extirpation of an entire race.
Dr. Bobby Wright was a prominent African American psychologist and author who wrote extensively about the impact of racism on the black community. His book "The Psychopathic Racial Personality and Other Essays" includes an essay titled "Mentacide: The Ultimate Threat to the Black Race" which outlines his views on the psychological and cultural destruction of the black community. Here are 10 key points from his essay:
Dr. Wright centers Mentacide around his 1975 work, The Psychopathic Racial Personality, where he argues that “Whites exhibit the behavior of psychopaths and their behavior reflects a proclivity that is rooted deep in their evolutionary history.” Dr. Wright goes further in Mentacide, and suggests that whites have three specific characteristics that appear to be genetically transmitted:
Dr. Wright’s major thesis from this essay is that, “Blacks will continue to utilize white directed techniques in attempting to solve their problems and will continue to be unsuccessful until they develop a ‘Black Social Theory’.” Dr. Wright explains what a Black Social theory is, he states, “a social theory determines the destiny of a people by establishing guidelines of life, e.g., it defines their relationship with other living things; it defines values and rituals, methods of education, how enemies are to be dealt with, etc.”
Dr. Wright also explains that while it is often easy to discuss social theory it is much harder to design or construct a social theory (specifically a Black Social Theory). Dr. Wright argues that the major impediment to Africans developing an African Social theory is, “due to the success of mentacidal techniques Blacks are now anti-intellectual, anti-theoretical and ahistorical.” We have to reclaim African erudition, not in any hopes of European validation but for the survival of the African people.
Dr. Wright provides an example of how mentacide harms Black social theory.
He uses Dr. Dubois 1903 stance that the problem of the twentieth century would be that of the color line. However, fifty years later he changes his stance and argues that class is now the major focus and not simply race. Dr. Wright argues that the only thing that could explain this transition in perspective is the negative influence of mentacide.
Dr. Wright quotes Wobogo to prove the historical racist character of whites by arguing that racism predates capitalism. Wobogo challenges the argument that the end of capitalism would signal the end of racism. Wobogo states, “a change to another political system will not alter the collective mentality of a given people in any reasonable period of time.”
Racism as an institution is not based on any one facet, person or industry. Yet, racism is a global mindset, embedded into the social fabric of society and manifested in all branches of social activity.
Dr. Wright argues that another capricious tendency of mentacide is that, “whenever a victim begins to examine the predator, there is automatic behavior on the part of other victims to question and attack the examiner’s credentials, data and competency.”
As a way to prevent Africans and other victims of this mentacidal act, Dr. Wright attempts to prove his point uses a white scientist analysis. Dr. Wright argues that given the Sigmund Freud’s stance that there are very “fundamental differences between the European and Afrikaans personality; therefore, it is the writer’s contention that his theory of personality can only be applied to members of the White race.
Dr. Wright argues that the basic premise of Freud’s research on personality is that Whites are controlled by two biologically transmitted irrational traits; sexuality and aggression. Dr. Wright states, “it was his belief that the role of society is to place restrictions on the Europeans in order to prohibit the spontaneous release of these drives.” Dr. Wright argues that, “it was Freud’s basic theory that Whites are destructive by their very nature and the only remedy is a total restructuring of their personality.”
Another mentacidal technique is the “creation and use of definitions by the Whites and the acceptance of their legitimacy by Blacks have relegated them to 400 years of servitude.”
The need of an African social theory is evident in the fact that Africans so readily accept the theories of Marx, Freud, Piaget, Durkheim and others to make analysis about Black social phenomena. An African social theory requires indigenous language and methodologically framing.
Dr. Wright posits that Eurocentric institutions of “learning” are nothing more than training camps as opposed to citadels of educational pursuit. Dr. Wright explains the difference between training and education.
Dr. Wright states, “training is defined as being manipulated to bring into the desired form of the Whites, while education is defined as acquiring knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning in order to develop and sustain one’s own people and culture.” When one is being trained they are being prepared for someone else purposes and benefits. When one is educated, they are being prepared to protect their own self interest. The education of Africans through the utility of the theory of Mentacide, hopefully “will assist in the further development of a black social theory which will lead Blacks out of the Whiteness of Eurocentric madness and into the Blackness of Afrikaan salvation.”
The deliberate and systematic destruction of a person’s or group’s mind [which] may give a clue to why the Black race, after developing such an advanced civilization, has for the last 400 years been assisting in its own destruction and the nearly total subjugation of Africa by foreign invaders.”\
Mentacide differs in theory and practice from concepts, e.g., "brain washing" in that its ultimate aim is the extirpation of an entire race.
Dr. Bobby Wright was a prominent African American psychologist and author who wrote extensively about the impact of racism on the black community. His book "The Psychopathic Racial Personality and Other Essays" includes an essay titled "Mentacide: The Ultimate Threat to the Black Race" which outlines his views on the psychological and cultural destruction of the black community. Here are 10 key points from his essay:
- Mentacide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of the black psyche and culture through the use of various forms of psychological manipulation, including misinformation, brainwashing, and social conditioning.
- The ultimate goal of mentacide is to create a self-hating, self-destructive black population that is unable to resist the oppressive forces of racism and white supremacy.
- Mentacide is perpetuated by a variety of institutions and systems, including the education system, the media, the criminal justice system, and the political establishment.
- The impact of mentacide is evident in the high rates of mental illness, substance abuse, and crime within the black community.
- Mentacide is not a new phenomenon, but has been used as a tool of oppression against black people for centuries, dating back to the era of slavery.
- The perpetuation of mentacide is aided by the fact that many black people are not aware of the extent to which they have been psychologically manipulated, and may even perpetuate the cycle themselves through internalized racism.
- To combat mentacide, black people must become conscious of the ways in which they have been psychologically manipulated and work to reclaim their cultural identity and sense of self-worth.
- This process of self-awareness and resistance to mentacide must also involve an understanding of the ways in which racism and white supremacy operate in society and a commitment to dismantling these systems.
- The struggle against mentacide must be an ongoing one, as the forces of oppression will continue to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances.
- Ultimately, the fight against mentacide requires a collective effort from the entire black community, as well as allies from other communities, in order to build a society that is truly just and equitable for all.
Dr. Wright centers Mentacide around his 1975 work, The Psychopathic Racial Personality, where he argues that “Whites exhibit the behavior of psychopaths and their behavior reflects a proclivity that is rooted deep in their evolutionary history.” Dr. Wright goes further in Mentacide, and suggests that whites have three specific characteristics that appear to be genetically transmitted:
- predatory behavior towards people and their land
- a predilection for senseless destruction of nature and people
- the ability to persuade Blacks to support and protect them against their own interest.
Dr. Wright’s major thesis from this essay is that, “Blacks will continue to utilize white directed techniques in attempting to solve their problems and will continue to be unsuccessful until they develop a ‘Black Social Theory’.” Dr. Wright explains what a Black Social theory is, he states, “a social theory determines the destiny of a people by establishing guidelines of life, e.g., it defines their relationship with other living things; it defines values and rituals, methods of education, how enemies are to be dealt with, etc.”
Dr. Wright also explains that while it is often easy to discuss social theory it is much harder to design or construct a social theory (specifically a Black Social Theory). Dr. Wright argues that the major impediment to Africans developing an African Social theory is, “due to the success of mentacidal techniques Blacks are now anti-intellectual, anti-theoretical and ahistorical.” We have to reclaim African erudition, not in any hopes of European validation but for the survival of the African people.
He uses Dr. Dubois 1903 stance that the problem of the twentieth century would be that of the color line. However, fifty years later he changes his stance and argues that class is now the major focus and not simply race. Dr. Wright argues that the only thing that could explain this transition in perspective is the negative influence of mentacide.
Dr. Wright quotes Wobogo to prove the historical racist character of whites by arguing that racism predates capitalism. Wobogo challenges the argument that the end of capitalism would signal the end of racism. Wobogo states, “a change to another political system will not alter the collective mentality of a given people in any reasonable period of time.”
Racism as an institution is not based on any one facet, person or industry. Yet, racism is a global mindset, embedded into the social fabric of society and manifested in all branches of social activity.
Dr. Wright argues that another capricious tendency of mentacide is that, “whenever a victim begins to examine the predator, there is automatic behavior on the part of other victims to question and attack the examiner’s credentials, data and competency.”
As a way to prevent Africans and other victims of this mentacidal act, Dr. Wright attempts to prove his point uses a white scientist analysis. Dr. Wright argues that given the Sigmund Freud’s stance that there are very “fundamental differences between the European and Afrikaans personality; therefore, it is the writer’s contention that his theory of personality can only be applied to members of the White race.
Dr. Wright argues that the basic premise of Freud’s research on personality is that Whites are controlled by two biologically transmitted irrational traits; sexuality and aggression. Dr. Wright states, “it was his belief that the role of society is to place restrictions on the Europeans in order to prohibit the spontaneous release of these drives.” Dr. Wright argues that, “it was Freud’s basic theory that Whites are destructive by their very nature and the only remedy is a total restructuring of their personality.”
Another mentacidal technique is the “creation and use of definitions by the Whites and the acceptance of their legitimacy by Blacks have relegated them to 400 years of servitude.”
The need of an African social theory is evident in the fact that Africans so readily accept the theories of Marx, Freud, Piaget, Durkheim and others to make analysis about Black social phenomena. An African social theory requires indigenous language and methodologically framing.
Dr. Wright posits that Eurocentric institutions of “learning” are nothing more than training camps as opposed to citadels of educational pursuit. Dr. Wright explains the difference between training and education.
Dr. Wright states, “training is defined as being manipulated to bring into the desired form of the Whites, while education is defined as acquiring knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning in order to develop and sustain one’s own people and culture.” When one is being trained they are being prepared for someone else purposes and benefits. When one is educated, they are being prepared to protect their own self interest. The education of Africans through the utility of the theory of Mentacide, hopefully “will assist in the further development of a black social theory which will lead Blacks out of the Whiteness of Eurocentric madness and into the Blackness of Afrikaan salvation.”
