The slave mentality rears it’s head in various ways. The most obvious examples of the slave mentality are to be found in colorism and conspicuous consumption. Colorism is the idea that blacks of a certain hue are better or more desirable than other blacks. It isn’t necessarily the idea that light-skinned blacks are better than dark-skinned blacks, the most obvious example of that is the idea that light-skinned blacks worked in the house with the slave master or were able to pass as white after generations of race mixing and that darker skinned blacks were out in the fields working picking cotton.

That is where it often starts but it runs a lot deeper than that. It goes to the extent of picking partners based off of how light you think that the children will be. It can also bring up questions of how loyal or authentic blacks are, based on skin color and perceptions of what commitment those from a mixed background have to the race. Conspicuous consumption is really an American problem, but more attention is focused to it in the African-American communities because African-Americans often do not have as much disposable income as other Americans.

That is just the idea that self-worth can be found through materialism, even to the extent that one is purchasing material goods that they really do not need. There are many rationalizations for the argument, for example some people can easily dismiss paying more than $500 for a suit or $150 for shoes if it can help them get the right job. The only problem with that is that good suits can be found for as little as $150 at Target, and shoes to give you that professional office look can be found for like $30. To the observer the differences in the quality of either suit is negligible, with subtle differences like pockets that may or may not work or maybe the cheaper suit is lined with silk.

Conspicuous consumption can also be habit forming and difficult to stop. Most self-proclaimed shopaholics are dealing with some form of conspicuous consumption; it is easy to rationalize because they are saving money and finding great deals, but they’re often buying with the anticipation of buying something else to complete the purchase. For example someone with a shopping problem will buy something for their wardrobe they cannot accessorize at the moment, or a bag of sugar they don’t need for really cheap. This leaves them in a position to buy something else to make that total outfit, or something to use the sugar to sweeten that they either do not need or would be bad to their health.

Conspicuous consumption for someone with an obsessive-compulsive shopping problem often leads one down a path of trying to figure out an eternal jigsaw puzzle to where their is no end. The puzzles just continue to get bigger; a $200 pair of trousers purchased for $30 doesn’t go with anything, thus the $50 pair of shoes. Then one needs a shirt to go with the trousers as the color doesn’t match anything in the closet, and so on. The behavior shows itself in other ways, like running a business for example.

That same individual would be hard pressed not to splurge on large amounts of supplies and materials that aren’t necessarily right for their business needs at that time. Cheap computers, swaths of fabric that can’t be put to use right away, stuff that is being sold for cheap at clearance for a very good reason, that which often is imperceptible or incomprehensible at the time because of the power of the obsession to spend. A perfectly rational person can walk away rather easily though.

Another way the slave mentality rears itself is in the idea that someone is always trying to hold them down or get in their way. That may have been true in the age of slavery or more visible at that time but in this day and age that is a matter of perception to which one cannot or is hard pressed to find any real truth. These days it is more about the idea of systems of power in high places or mechanisms in the larger machine of business than any one person you can point to. Again, this is often perception and you would be better off not to focus so much on conspiracy theories and more on counteracting them by educating yourself and just learning the rules to whatever game it is you think you are playing in life.

Yet another way the slave mentality shows itself is through a need to get over, or try to hustle someone. Again this isn’t necessarily particular to African-Americans but they get accused of it often first off because of the mistrust that individuals with the slave mentality has not only of others but those of their own race. There is also the deep seated idea that it is justified precisely because one thinks that everyone else has done it to them and they are perfectly right in doing it to someone else. Of course at the end of the day it never gets anyone anywhere, but again that reality is out of reach because of being so entrenched in one’s immediate needs.

In general, if you think that you have to digress to using certain means not just to get ahead but to survive, you’re probably dealing with the slave mentality in one way or the other. It is the mentality that slaves were left with once they were freed, and one that has just shifted a bit here and there but still persists hundreds of years later.