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Hello Fam, it's been a while since I posted here. Feels great to be back. I'm sure most you are aware of SOME of what's going on in the city of Flint Michigan. But being from Detroit and having traveled to Flint many times and having friends and family up there, what's NOT talked about as much is Flint's high crime and violence rate. And there is a CLEAR link between lead contamination and not only violence but also low IQ and poor academic performance. Check out this amazing article I found from Mother Jones Magazine linking lead and violence: Mother Jones Lead and Violence If this is accurate, and I believe it is....then it would explain the high crime rates and dismal academic performance plaguing many inner city communities. The fact is, lead and other toxins are most likely contaminating the water systems of urban areas all over the nation. I think we should all get together and come up with some sort of plan to rid the cities of all heavy metal toxicity and this would probably help tremendously with the problems that seem to have been plaguing so many of our communities for decades.

I think it should be noted that a lot of Black people are suicidal but they tend to be so religious or fear going to hell that they tend not to carry it out as often as Whites. As Troy alluded to, they kill themselves in a lot of indirect ways like drinking too much, picking fights with people, not caring about their health and future. I also believe many of these latest police shootings are actually "suicide by cop".

I can't break it down to the very last compound, but that number is pretty close in my opinion. There are no hard facts to support it, but Cynique is very right about why many of them seem to be effeminate. In order to distance themselves from the perception of Black men, young guys take on personas that aren't considered traditionally manly. Easily 3 out of 10 will have mannerisms that are considered suspect. It might be higher especially you witness these kids at games or on the yard and they are doing the dances, etc. Are these guys gay? Probably not and I have no idea of whether they are or not, but the traits associated with women are there. 1. They talk way too much 2. They argue 3. They roll their eyes and will scoff at various comments Now, these stereotypes are associated with women, but it's guys that are doing it.

A black male who talks "proper" often comes across as effeminate and doing so is associated with being smart, and being smart is a prelude to attending college where overcompensating to shed the ghetto/thug demeanor could create the effect of diminished masculinity.

The dances today are really close to vouging in the way they are done and no one really seems to notice. The Quan, The Whip and Nae Nae, all look like what the gay male community has been doing since the 70s in disco and in the fashion world. As far as the men being effeminate, if no male tells them what they are doing looks like what a woman does they will never know. I didn't realize that I got in the car like a woman until I was in the Navy. We were all in front of the barracks listening to music and I was about to get in my car and leave. Instead of placing one foot in the car and then sitting down, I actually turned my back and sat on the seat with both legs together and then turned and placed both legs into the car; like I was wearing a dress. I laughed like my mom, and I still hold my hand high on my hip when I'm tired after playing ball or running. It's an unconscious act that represents my being raised by my grandmom, mom and sister. I never had a man in the household so I unconsciously modeled the women around me. What is interesting is that I never even paid attention to it until that day outside of the barracks when one of my shipmates said, "Man, you get in the car like a bitch." I stopped and looked and responded, "Fuck you bro. The hell I do." All of the fellas said, "get outta the car and get back in." I stood up, turned back, sat on the seat and put both feet in the car. Everyone said, "awwwww dammm, that's gay as hell." That was almost 25 years ago and I remember it vividly. Today I am very aware of how I get in the car and my mannerisms. Basically, I think a lot of the young males are simply doing what they see. Are they experimenting sexually a lot more? Yep, but when the imagery is so prevalent, there is no longer the same negative stigma associated with being gay. When you can turn on every television show and see same sex kissing just as regular as heterosexual kissing, the natural progression is for people to accept it a lot more. There are more gay kids in schools though and I chalk this up to kids simply finding another clique to be a part of. Kids want to be accepted and the hierarchy of high school is horribly isolating. A lot of kids have no where else to go and be a part of the group so being gay is just another segment of the high school crowd. It's like being a Goth kid, Athlete, Nerd, Teacher's Pet, etc.

“I was defending name-calling because I do it, very often using descriptive adjectives and phrases as opposed to a single "name". It's a part of my arsenal and, if need be, I include it in my rebuttals. It is also an handy tool when ridiculing your antagonist. Very often those who complain about name-calling do so in lieu of giving an intelligent retort. My philosophy continues to be if you can't stand the heat, get outta the damned kitchen.” Oh! I have no problems with that. If you are going to name call (yeah –not going to be a hypocrite because I do it also!) at least accompany your name calling with an argument or something of substance that clarifies or defends your opinions. As is said, it not the name calling –it’s only name calling and nothing else. But we all know that those who only name call do so because they lack the ability to present a compelling argument or rebuttal….

"Seriously though, if you can get by the all caps, Harry often serves up some gems. Actually, I used to just ignore Harry's posts, but then one day one of the long terms posters here (Chris I think) complemented Harry on a poem he wrote. I'd completely missed the poetry. At that point I checked myself, because I allowed myself to miss something simply because I insist on reading text with line breaks and in mixed case." Well, all I can say bro Troy is that his all cap posts sound like disjointed rambling and out bursts that come from someone with Asperger's or Tourette's syndrome. Not trying to sound harsh but...well..that's what it sounds like (IMO). But I am a fair guy and you are a good man so I will...ya know...digress.....

I don't think it's the size of the population that's the problem, it's the INFRASTRUCTURE that's the problem. This is the problem in Flint, Detroit, New York, and cities all over the Western world. The Western world is old, decaying...and doesn't have the desire to "renew" itself through massive building projects like Franklin Roosevelt's plans of the 1930s and 40s. With only about 40 square miles, Flint could COMFORTABLY house atleast 2 million residents if the city was built with a proper infrastructure and advanced planning. Also the educational system would help by teaching young people how to live with and get along together in groups instead of the current Western mindset of fearing strangers. The problem isn't in the ability, it's in the desire. I personally believe that the leaders of the Western world see it as collapsing and they've given up on saving it and are just trying to get as much wealth and enjoyment out of it as they can. It's up to those of us living in the West with VISION to come up with new ways for architecture, urban planning, housing for huge populations in limited space. China is building cities every year that can hold millions of people, why can't we? I say professional Black people and Black youth are in an excellent position to show forth their creativity and determine FOR THEMSELVES the type of housing and society they'd like to have instead of being forced into someone else's limited ideaology.

I agree....I have learned much in a short time from CDBurns. I love this sounding board.

What happened in "the Fly N T" (as locals call it) is probably happening in cities all over the nation, it was just EXPOSED in Flint. I don't live in Flint but I do live in the Detroit area just about an hour from Flint. I've been there several times to see first hand what's going on. The media is being deceptive about the aid being provided. The sad fact is with all the love and charity people around the nation are giving the city of Flint....it's not enough. It's not enough because the problem will cost BILLIONS of dollars and YEARS to fix properly and no one person in this country has the amount of money and resources to fix it. I personally don't even think the city of Flint and state of Michigan combined has the money to fix it. Only the Federal Government has the money and resources to fix this problem. I've been saying for weeks now that we need to bring in the Army Corps of Engineers to fix the problem and provide temporary housing for people. Hell, why should an American city rely on CHARITY and fund raising when the Federal Government is currently spending billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Perhaps this crisis could be a turning point in this nation to help rebuild our infrastructure.

The plan seems to either destroy Black boys OR turn them into girls. I frequent the college campuses from time to time and I'm amazed at how many young Black men are ultra-feminine in their demeanor. I'm not talking sexual orientation because there are plenty of masculine homosexual men. I'm talking about "mode of operation".....how you talk, walk, and just carry yourself in general. I'm not a trained psychologist but Dr Umar Johnson and the late great Dr Frances Welsing respectively has and had some very interesting theories on the effeminization of Black boys.

@Chasitie you can start by adding a signature to your profile and an avatar. You can also update your profile with your website information. Doing this will allow any lurkers to see who you are and provide a click through quickly. That will help with traffic. The only other thing that helps is creating content and sharing in the places you are a part of (community). Other than that the best you can do is make sure your tags, metatags are all updated on your website. Make sure you have submitted and verified your site through Google Webmaster Tools which will help with search. Keep writing and sharing.

See! This is how community works. She now has the ammunition to make a decision about her direction. This is social capital and social capital in many instances is much better than financial capital.

It may create a fractured search but since @Chasitie has written a children's book - the author will now have to create blog post related to the publication. In fact, all the posts will have to be child-centric, with a spotlight on parenting/teacher type topics; how parents and teachers can work together to bring about the best in their student ; DIY articles that allow parents to help children with homework - blah blah... Chasitie's focus is to sell her book and in doing so it there has to be an effort to bring the market (parents, child caregivers et al) to the author. We do that by creating content that serves the market.