Dating in DC

My sister is at that point where she is looking to get married and settle down. I wouldn’t advise her to move to Washington DC in search of a mate.
This weekend, I took a look at this special section of the Washington Post. It is really interesting, and I think that everybody should take a look at it. Although I don’t agree with some of the findings, I think that its sheer content is a commentary on race in this country that demands a glance.
The section I looked at involved black women and dating and black men. At first, I listened to the commentary by different African American women. It was unexpectedly positive in regards to reasons that dating has changed in recent years. There was wisdom from older sisters who were married and divorced, as well as confidence from younger women who are reprioritizing in favor of their careers and other aspects of life.
Next, I took a look at an article about a young professional woman who is seeking to meet a suitable mate in the Washington D.C. area. She was determined to find an African American mate, and expressed that she was a “true believer” and that she didn’t want to give up on brothers and say that “we are in a crisis”. That was all good.
However, the chat that followed, concerned me. The lady featured in the article chatted with people about African American relationships and the state of the dating scene. I know that people are super bad on the internet and they will type stuff that they would dare not say in a minute, but the sheer tone and content of some of the responses from allegedly black men (because anyone can say that they are, hey, this is the internet) screamed out that some parents need to spend much more time teaching their sons how to respect women. Even if they don’t agree with them.
Male after male responded about how they were dating multiple women and “didn’t want to settle” . How, all of their female friends are aware that they are dating all of these women and they are all good with it. Some even expressed their preferences for lighter skinned ladies with long hair and things of that nature, challenging the author to move out of the way, let said lighter skinned woman take her seat at the bar, and observe what happens. I could not believe all of the negative trash I was reading. What is the saying? It’s better to have people think you’re an idiot than to open your mouth (or whip out your keyboard) and remove all doubt? Uh huh.
After all of that drama, and a few moments of silence for the state of affairs between african american people, at least some of the ones involved in this chat, I think one of the women on the panel featured on the Black Women Speak Their Minds panel stated it best when she was questioned about the well publicized lack of prospects in the community. Quality people attract quality people. Sometimes it takes longer or a change of venue or some personal growth, but I really believe that.