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@Delano, I've been discussing items related to my deeply held conviction, "Freedom". I've never discussed "Freedom" in any forum because it's such a fluid concept. (non pun intended) . But I defend "freedom" because anything that happens in nature shouldn't be interfered with or artificially restrained.

@Cynique I go by the name "Medea Junkee' " on Instagram... LOL. When it comes to media - there's not much I haven't consumed... I used to watch a lot of news during the week when I was just a kid. Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, John Johnson, Ernie Anastos and Carol Martin (she was a black woman anchoring the 6 o'clock news and my inspiration) were my media heroes. (gosh I'm such a nerd) On the weekends, my parents allowed me to watch as much television as I wanted. Growing up in New York, you could get your fill of the The Bowery Boys, Abbott and Costello shows and movies, Bob Hope/Bing Crosby buddy flicks on Sundays. On Saturdays, you could watch cartoons all morning on the network channels followed by a lot of old comedy. thrillers and horror movies on the independent broadcast channels such as WPIX, WOR and WNEW. "Creature Feature and Chiller theater come to mind. Our cartoons were filled with Western Civilization cultural references so I got introduced to classical music compositions early on thanks to Bugs Bunny. I learned a bit about the south from Foghorn Leghorn Rooster who happened to be my dad's favorite (he was really into cartoons too) I learned about ingenuity from Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner (another of my dad's favorites). I then learned a lot about grammar and usage , civics and safety via School House Rocks.... By the way, I learned later that a lot of our old cartoons were censored to cut out the racist references such as black-face, mammy references etc... (so again, there was a certain amount of sheltering when growing up in the North. Speaking of which, do you know there's no mention of race on our birth certificates . I learned that those born in south are identified by race when they are born. But I digress So yep - I got my old school knowledge of Abbott and Costello, 'n'em because New York broadcast media kept the 40s, 50s, 60s alive well into the 90s .

??That's why i preferred the missionary position, not doggie style.

@Mel Hopkins You are such a cosmopolitan, versatile, bright, well-traveled, well-read, unique person who has led such a fantastic life that you are a living embodiment of all that life has to offer. it's a pleasure to know someone as interesting as you. And you are so right about the window to the world that television provided back in its heyday. There was much to be learned by watching it especially as you say, when it came to American culture. Did you ever get a chance to see any of the old Oscar Marceaux black films that were shown back in the day? They were really treasures. This is why i chide Troy from time to time about his having such contempt for TV, There is much to be gained on the way to learning a little bit about a lot of things through watching television. Nowadays if you are selective in your viewing there is still a broad spectrum to be observed on television about the world and the life and times that we live in. I was particularly piqued in your remarks about Bugs Bunny which brought to mind my oldest grandson who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot down in a drive by killing at age 22. He was very attracted to the street life and tried to take on the identity of homeboy from the hood something that required him to adopt an alter ego and speak Ebonics in order to impress who he wanted to be his peers. Whenever he and i talked he always spoke the way he was raised to. Anyway he was introduced to classical music via Bug Bunny cartoons when he was a little boy and came to like it as much as gangsta rap. i always think of him whenever i hear "Spring Song" by Mendelssohm.

@Mel HopkinsThere's something weird about me remembering that Abbot and Costello schtick. How in the world do know about it?? In grade school, me and my friends used go around saying "slowly i turned, step-by step" and then add whatever we did or were going to do. Unbelievable! i looked up the year this picture came out and it was 1941!

@Delano LOL that's how this topic took that tangential turn... Troy stated "that's another thing that divides us..." This is like the "Niagara Falls" Abbott & Costello joke - slowly I turn... step by step and I say, "DIVIDE US", DIVIDE US???... For the majority of women, we cannot be divided from those we give birth to. Male infants who will later become men literally grow to humans in our bodies and come to this planet through us. Men carry our mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA), the same molecule that contains the ATP ( adenosine triphosphate) which is said to be the source of all energy for life... Yes, I'm being dramatic but it's for effect. Division does not compute on a molecular level...So mentally it's a difficult concept to process.

There are different levels of sexism. There are the active misogynist and the passive there is no issue. So if we swapped race for sex is it any different? I have had White Racist have meals and drinks with me. Because we have a personal relationship that overrides their racism. And perhaps that i the issue. There can be an adversarial relationship between men and women, Light and Dark, Straight and not Straight. So it is not always easy to remove this multivalent matrix to look at the individual component. How can a divided people have a united front @Mel Hopkins

Exactly! For me it's not an individual thing'. Individually I've had a great relationships with some black men They've supported me as if I were their little sister... So many black men have helped me with my career and many have taken me under their wings - when I've been too naive to understand ways to fight in the world. But that's individual relationships and love. @Troy, your mentoring and support of me in this digital world is priceless! Yet this doesn't happen as a unified front.

@Troy, I know...actually, I feel it. This is why I'm glad you at least entertained the discussion. The one thing about discussions is really not to change someone's POV, it's about helping each other understand THERE IS ANOTHER POV... you and I are now aware there's another language other than our own. We may not be fluent it in but we know it exist. :thumbs up: @Cynique Oh snap! I just can't LOL

@Cynique YES, to ALL of what you've written !!! And especially this part This was the huge wake up call for me, considering his position sitting behind that desk - being paid obscene amounts of cash for poking fun at the system... If we look at the slave-wage industry for what it is he really is the House N-er...and the rest of poor working folks are out in the fields... for real.

@Delano, I've seen both the Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Alley. While I'm not an avid support of dance, I've attended quite a few performances and have even made contributions. @Cynique I know I don't confuse disagreement with a lack of appreciation. More importantly, I and many others I'm sure, have been thoroughly enriched by your presence here. I only wish that even more people benefit from your wisdom and skill as a writer. Here is my prediction: In the not too distant future, when people tire of corporate control of the platforms in which they engage with each other, they will return to to indie platforms. When that happens Cynique's Corner will become a very popular discussion forum. People will read you wisdom, humor, and cynism and regret not participating sooner.

@TroyPerhaps i have taken you for granted since you have named a forum after me and provided me with a broad arena to express my views, as well as promoted my book in your newsletter. I guess it is my shortcoming that i have never felt empowered by this because it doesn't really impact on my life or to my knowledge collectively uplift black women. i don't consider myself an inspiration to them or do i look upon myself as a successful author or outstanding forum moderator who inspires others. But i do appreciate and have always acknowledged that you are a well-intentioned black man who deserves admiration. Again i express my gratitude. This black man/black woman dynamic is just so complicated it's hard to sort out.

Douglass also divorced his black wife and married a white women, but his black wife was apparently okay with this because at some point all 3 of them lived together in the same house. A good ol sista putting her man's needs before her own??