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I have a few thoughts on this Troy. Yes, the word in and of itself is offensive and obscene. But is it a problem for me? No. Why? Because it is being spouted by a spiritual/emotional/intellectual infant who has no understanding of history, and even more, has no understanding of context. Within the context of world history, America and most European countries have been the biggest shithole countries on Earth. Europe was such a shithole country that many of them left there to populate most other places on Earth, hence why melanin rich people have been forced to deal with their shithole behavior and have suffered for hundreds of years because of it. Why did they leave Europe in droves? Why did they need to send even their criminals away to other parts of the world? Anyone who has studied even basic history in school can point to just about every war in Western history and see that it is due to Europeans combatting shithole conditions and shitty people who oppressed them in Europe, THEIR shithole countries...that they had to run away. Then they come to places where melanin rich people are, oppress them, thereby turning OUR countries into shithole countries, just like what they left. PRIOR to European invasion, there was nothing shitty about our countries. Europeans discovered a good 80% of the world sciences in OUR shithole countries. THEY turned our places into shithole countries, and could only do that because they were bringing their shithole ways of living to our doorsteps. Shit produces shit. Still, we overcame their behavior and remain above the fray overall, with some specific issues we still need to overcome...if we can get them out of our countries. At the end of the day, I am far from offended by what Trump said. Why should I be? He's an imbecile. That is like being upset with my 3 year old child because she says, "Mommy, you are stupid." Alrighty then. This infant who just got here is gonna tell me something about myself. Trump is spouting the sentiments of many Americans who have no knowledge of history, or wish to ignore the facts of history to make themselves feel better about the shit they've transferred to us and our countries. These infants in world history are going to insult brown cultures that were around and established when Europeans were just getting on a boat to "discover" us. Even with their transference of cultural shit, we STILL are not as bad as many European countries (Europeans in general) who even in recent times, were in an uproar and burning down even police stations. Look at Greece in recent years. Any shit we are under in our countries, it's mainly because of European influence. The mere fact that some of our countries have "democracy" in a formal government structure is the clear evidence of the taint on our way of life. Why are we living under their social structures? My fear is not what Trump said, but what that imbecile will DO. We concern ourselves too much with the ramblings of children when we need to focus on what these children have done, are doing and may do again. Their words merely highlight their potential. But we need to be talking about and focusing on his actions and the havoc he could wreak because he was ignorantly placed in a position of "power". It is ironic that a man with a shithole mouth and zero class would be calling whole countries shithole; countries that, were it not for their ancient knowledge (math, science, biology, etc.), discoveries that precede the existence of the United States by over 5,000 years, he would have no Twitter account or a camera to spew shit from his shithole.

I'm curious. Does anybody have any theories as to why i am so routinely in disagreement with Pioneer? I, myself, have no clue as to why most of the things he says invoke my opposition. This is not something i have to work at; my rejection is genuine and readily forthcoming when it comes to the majority of Pioneer's assertions, - as opposed to former poster, Chris Burns, who i always agreed with. Strange. i actually disliked former poster Sara as a person, and this fueled my compulsion to dismantle her deviousness. When it comes to Mel, her ideas are so fresh that what she says coaxes my approval. i have normal relationships with Troy and Del, either agreeing or disagreeing with them, depending on the subject. Harry Brown always makes me smile unlike Pioneer who automatically makes me shake my head. Wonder why? Unfortunately, i am not mellowing with age. Maybe i spend too much time on social media and watching TV because so much of what i see and hear turns me off, and i'm becoming a misanthrope. Solitude serves as my retreat because me, myself, and i always agree there. Laughter is my salvation because this country is a ridiculous place full of crazy people. i'm one of them, you say.

@Cynique I recently heard (or I think I read) why some people disagree on everything... and I even pondered it and thought wow that's me. Now I can't remember LOL! As for me, I suspect Pioneer is a composite. I think more than one person writes his responses. Or Maybe there's a Pioneer1 but others chime in on his account. I'm not saying that he's "sybil" with split personalities but I look at the archive conversations at times and when I read his old responses I get the sense we are not always communicating with the same person. In fact, I quoted something he wrote and he didn't seem to remember it. There are phrases that Pioneer uses at times that gives me the feeling he's from a country/island like Guyana. I'm no expert in forensics linguistic but every now and then I'll read text and it feels either foreign or he's from a place that time forgot. But there's a pioneer from Michigan but I don't think he always responds in this forum. So maybe you disagree with him because it's your way of unmasking him. Or maybe this entry can go in my blog "careful, or you'll end up in my novel

@Troy Would you have any misgivings marketing Colin Kaepernick's forthcoming book by using a phrase like "we sell books by black "sons-of-bitches"?

My point exactly! As I wrote, we need to focus on his actions, what he does, because at the end of day, that is where the danger is. I don't get offended by his words. I expect them. I've watched his behavior for decades. His comments are not surprising in the least. I am on the lookout for the actions his words produce. I prepare to defend against and/or brace for the impact of his actions, not his childish ramblings.

@Pioneer1 I really wish they would report the true unemployment numbers. In places like Harlem, for black men, the number has been reported to be as high as 50% @Cynique, I also wish they would report more widely how many people are working for "slave wages" or work two slave wage jobs just to survive. I heard the places like San Francisco, people with jobs are renting out driveways so that they can sleep in their cars! This in an system where someone can "earn" more than $100,000,000,000. Sad...

Thanks @Shaun Randol I folks do indeed use this to discover he work of some of gth writers you've published. . @zaji, I hear you, while your three year old has the same mental capacity and can probably exert more self control than 45, she is not in control our military nor does she have the ability to write and executive orders. In other words, your three-year-old is not dangerous. Unfortunately, what 45 says matters.

Being employed is not synonymous with earning a living wage. And the drop in black unemployment is simply the culmination of a trend that started during the Obama administration.

Its publicity which even when it's bad its good.

Yes, you are right, I need to mention readingblack.com. thanks for the reminder.

Jay Z shouldn't even waste his time. As far as the Black unemployment rate goes........... They don't count all of those who are ACTUALLY unemployed. They only count people who are unemployed and have been actively looking for work for 6 months or less, and in some cases only those who are collecting unemployment insurance....a very narrow window. If you had a TRUE unemployment figure for Black America which would exclude only those over 65 or disabled.......the actual unemployment rate would run somewhere between 20% and 30%. The homeless, those locked up, those living off the radar who never had a job, those living off relatives and friends, people earning a living illegally....most of these people are unemployed but aren't included in the figures and they run into the MILLIONS. And if you counted those who are UNDER-employed....not making enough to support themselves......the figures would be well over 60%!

Love it and the hashtag #readingblack.com - It's really easy to use when you're on social networks and espeically when you are sharing an article written by someone black about a black issues . Although the .com drops off - I still include it for the curious who will actually look for the site.

Hi Everyone -- thanks for engaging in this conversation. And thanks, Troy, for kicking it off. I'm the publisher for The Mantle. I came up with the headline and the mailing that Troy distributed. For me, the use of "shithole" (or a censored version, like "sh*thole") was a way of co-opting the unfortunate (SAD!) phrase uttered by the president. It was an attempt to take control of the conversation by using the president's own words against him. One of the replies Troy received to the mailing said as much: Just this morning I received an email from a friend who lives in Haiti, who referred to the island as "my shithole country" with a mix of irony and pride. The journalist and iconoclast Chris Hedges used the phrase repeatedly in his piece, "No Telescope Needed to Find a 'Shithole Country,'" to recount the many misguided American policies toward Latin American in the past 50 years, and to declare that the U.S. is the real shithole in this dialogue. Weeks later the phrase continues to be used on Twitter to describe all kinds of political arguments and claptraps. Elsewhere, the women's movement has made a similar play in turning Trump's words against him by proudly proclaiming "pussy grabs back," in protest to his sexual abuse. Anyone who opened the email and read the content beyond the subject line would see the anger I felt in having to even write such a message: All of that said, this was a piece of marketing. The headline was deliberately provocative. I'm a book publisher, not a charity. I need to sell books so my writers can earn money to keep doing what they love, and so I can continue to bring emerging and under-heard voices to the American public. And if it takes a shitty headline to get your attention, I'll use it as thoughtfully as I can. Peace.