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Like I said, there are always going to be ideas of what Black beauty/beauty should be. I think because I'm 6-2 and 230 I've always liked taller women. I also like dark skin, but like I said before I like a lot of women that look different in a number of ways. Women that I thought looked good, or okay, most of my boys didn't think looked very good. I happen to think Leslie has a great smile, nice lips and great eyes. It's part of what allows her to create the characters that she does. Her face is able to contort and shift and because of this she has a tendency to look unattractive because the characters she plays are loud and brash. Unlike many I don't associate her character with her because I don't know her. She is a Memphis girl and Memphis women are often loud and will whoop and holler at the drop of a dime. It's a character though and not really how they are, it is almost a defense mechanism because men are overall pretty shitty dudes who are abusive and confrontational. Women have to create these personas. Leslie has created a persona that has allowed her to transition into film from clubs and SNL. That is a major accomplishment. She has a right to overreact to the ignorance on Twitter, but she could have easily and quietly pulled her page down and left it alone. However, she is an actress and she may feel she has a duty to stay in the public view to show girls that non-traditional looks can succeed in Hollywood and on the big screen. I'm amazed we can make such a long back and forth about the looks of a sister. Then again... no I'm not. We place more emphasis on what women should do and be and act like than we place on how men should act and carry themselves. The people attacking Leslie primarily where men. But in a male dominated society founded on rape culture we expect women to be "demure" and less "manly" whatever the hell that means.

What I find interesting is how Trump and many of his supporters are talking of the elections being "rigged". I really find it intersting because it's coming from Republicans who essentially rigged the 2000 election while Black people and the Democrat Party failed to really take them to task on it. How did we get to a point in this nation to where the perpetrators are playing the victims, while the real victims are silent? If you hear the term "conspiracy theorist" today, chances are it's not describing a Black man in a dashiki hanging out at the local barbershop telling you what "they" are trying to do to you.....bure more likely a prominent Republican Senator or mainstream talk show host. The issue of election fraud and corruption in the system that Blacks and Democrats in general SHOULD be pointing out and raising sand over but won't because they don't want to look "silly"....are now being used by right-wing Republicans as a way to keep the media and everyone else on the defensive. If you practice FAIRNESS....they'll call foul and accuse you of corruption and bias.

Troy & Cynique There are millions of dumb people out there PERIOD, who don't have enough intelligence to properly discern the information they're taking in. Those who run the media KNOW this and constantly take advantage of it. Why do you think smoking cigarettes is so popular? The first time people try cigarettes they start coughing and gagging....they hate it. But the media has made it seem like the "cool" or "rebel" thing to do and most smokers were dumb enough to fall for it. Or dumb enough to let peer pressure force them into doing something they personally disliked. And they to keep doing it until they are physiologically addicted. Speaking of peer pressure, don't underestimate the mob mentality. A lot of people who are ordinarily smart will still TRY to play stupid just to fit in with their friends who are less intelligent but they still hold in high regard. I've seen plenty of smart people act stupid thinking it was "cool". But more to this subject...... One of the biggest problems I've found among very smart people in general whether they're highly educated or just gifted in a lot of mother-wit is they continue to make the mistake in assuming that everyone is as smart as they are or can pick up on things as easily as them. If I go before a city council or a county or state board....most of these bodies are made up of lawyers or highly educated professionals. I constantly remind them that when they sit around discussing various laws to make....be sure to make them simple enough so that those on the lower end of average intelligence can easily understand them. Just because you and those you hang around think a certain way or would never fall for something, doesn't mean others will be able to think so clearly. Growing up, it was amazing to see how easily so many slow and half-crazy Black people willingly allowed themselves to be taken advantage of for entertainment purposes by White people whether they were teachers at school or at work. They played class clown for the teachers amusement or they'd come to work telling all types of stories about how they lived in the 'hood and ghetto life and tell their White co-workers who would look at them and smirk then talk about how stupid they were when they were gone. They saw little shame in their stupidity. The only people embarrassed were the other more intelligent Black people. Republicans KNOW how dumb the average American is and they constantly play on their stupidity with irrational lies and emotionalism. Democrats, liberals, and just thinking people in general stand around scratching their heads as to why so many people still support them against their very own interests.......because they make the mistake of believing everyone has the power to think for themselves. Not to divert the thread with a long rant but to answer your question Cynique, I don't frequent social media much. I only go on facebook when I have to such as promoting an event or being interviewed, and I don't do twitter at all. It's not so much of a protest, I just don't find it interesting. I don't see the point in it. I see the point in using drugs, going to prostitutes, gambling, overeating ect.....lol. They may be vices, but atleast they provide physical pleasure. What do you get out of posting all of your pictures on facebook and going back and forth with people over foolishness. Websites like THIS I love because I can have intelligent exchanges with people at my pleasure. But Instagram????? Twitter??? 　 Sara When I made my statement about a lot of people not liking my position concerning Black people and academia, that thread you refered to was actually the furthest thing from my mind. I was speaking from years of experience dealing with Black people who mistakenly believe that "education" (specifically formal academic education) will solve all of our problems. Whether it will or not is not the point, the point is MOST people will not be able to get a college education for one reason or another anyway, so that shouldn't be the goal or some standard of "normal". It's called HIGHER education for a reason....because most people shouldn't be able to attain it. As for Black people being workers and peasants without higher education. I live in southeast Michigan where there are close to a million people of Middle Eastern descent. The vast majority of those men.....DO NOT have a college education. Infact, many of them came to America without the equivalent of a high school diploma, and many of the boys who are born and raised IN the United States end up getting kicked out of school for disciplinary problems. .....yet they own more businesses per capita than Whites, Blacks, and Latinos put together. They also own more businesses per capita than Asians, most of whom are highly educated. They make BIG MONEY....why? Because they have their OWN businesses with their OWN networks. They aren't worried about being peasants, serfs, and slaves in another man's kingdom because they are too busy building their OWN. When they DO go to school, it's not to work in a White institution but to help another Arab/Chaldean institution that needs their skill. If more Black people would focus on skilled trades, owning their own businesses, and even using the higher education they DO receive to build up their OWN communities instead of educating themselves in order to get a better position in somebody else's.....we would make far more progress.