Leaderboard

At this juncture in black history, i find the questions "what types of leaders do back people need?" a rhetorical one, not rising to the level of seriousness, Sorry, Del. America is the origin of the "rugged individualism" ideal, as I'm sure you know. Which begs the question, who leads the white masses? The Asian ones? The Hispanic ones??? Why do black people need leaders?? Why must they be on an eternal quest for a captivating man on a white horse to lead them?. Why, among blacks, is there always a yearning for a savior? if Jesus can't get the job done, then who can? When are America's step children going to grow up and become independent? When are they going to realize that when they do unite. it becomes a matter of misery loving company and never reaps permanent results, done in by the egos of mortal men and the seductive corruption of power. Prominent figures are, of course, worthy of being respected and appreciated but I find myself raising an eyebrow at the idea of Miles Davis, in particular, being a black leader. This ill-tempered, wife-beating, heroin addict may have been a great trumpet player who took jazz to another level but that wasn't enough to land it in the mass popularity zone. Yes, he played by his own rules and defied white convention but he died of sickle cell anemia, being nursed by a rich white female patron. A dubious role model. Barack Obama achieved the epitome of leadership but never commanded the unanimous approval of black folks because they are multi-faceted and are not of one mind, black men being among his harshist critics, accused by some of being driven by jealousy. Many older blacks remain mired in the slavery mentality that keeps them congregated in churches, praying for a Moses to lead them to the promised land. But upcoming generations pay homage to the almighty dollar that this Capitalistic society promises to those who learn how to "play the game". The black diaspora grows more diversified by the year, and the idea that individuals can command the loyalty of this multitude of non whites is wishful thinking. The answer to the perennial question about "what black folks need to do" is: Aspire to live your best life and, along the way, each one teach one. But always keep in mind that - the Universe doesn't give a damn about you. 😜

@DelI expected people to disagree with me, but I wasn't expecting a detailed response from you, replies wherein you opened up about things more than you usually do, and I appreciate you sharing your opinions with me. Yes, it was like having a conversation with you. And it was especially gratifying because I wasn't motivated to engage in my favorite pass time of name-calling. 😉 You're a cool dude. BTW, yesterday 2/22/22 i spent a long time meditating and I do kinda believe that the Universe is in us as much as we are in it. Do you have any explanation as to why I feel so much younger in the cold winter than i do in the hot summer? The frigid weather energizes and rejuvenates me! ????

My solution is to eliminate mandatory minimum and other sentencing guidelines that disproportionately affect AfroAmericans. Provide AfroAmerican offenders with the same alternatives to prison as afforded to whites. 😎

Well I'm super glad that you all have refuted the propaganda and outright lies that Daniellegfny and others relentlessly to post. @daniellegfny it is crystal clear from this post that you are not interested in advancing your knowledge. When you first posted that Biden was giving away crack pipes it was clear that you did not read the grant. Your posts about Colin Kaepernick and Critical Race theory were similar: you make an false statement, you are shown the truth, then you react by bring in more erroneous information while never addressing the original false statement. A reasonable person would acknowledge the error and move on -- but you continue to push the lie (it is a lie now because you know the truth). The question one is forced to ask is, why? Why do you continue to push something that is clearly a lie, like saying Colin Kaepernick called for the killing of police? (Did you remove that comment Danillegfny?) What are you trying to accomplish? Why continue to push the idea that Biden is handing out crack pipes? What is in it for you? There is plenty one can critique Biden on without making stuff up. Honestly, what is your motivation?

@Cynique I have no idea where these folks come from. But their ignorance and disdain for Black people seems insane. This is why I wasn't even sure they are Black. These nasty White racists are using CRT to erase real Black History Classes from schools. And I cannot believe some folks on this forum don't realize that CRT is an elective course at university law schools. No child could perform such classwork. But as usual, the loudest complaining mouths prove immune to research and truth.

Jimmy was often dismissed as a mediocre president, but he was a good man. Did you ever hear me say this? If not, it is a keen observation.

Former President JC did get elected to lead. But I agree he is a rare air man and the problems he’s willing to solve - are too difficult to assemble a large following. I’m still tripping over his willingness to go into a nuclear reactor. Carter also tackled affordable housing - and joined habitat for humanity in the 80s to put together a annual home building program that offers different levels of involvement. That’s strong leadership there to get folks from around the world to build homes for people they don’t know. Good food for thought here @Delano

Ding, Ding, Ding! Powerful observation! We have so many leaders today - and all start out by responding to the will of the people. Celebrities rarely become leaders - leaders sometime become celebrities. For example, Beyonce became a leader not because she could sing but because her journey mirrored the millennial woman’s journey. The songs she chose amplified what some women (all ethnicities and ages) were experiencing but had a hard time articulating. She sang their trials and provided solutions. “Put a ring on it” Beyonce led many young women to consider marriage while promoting the nuclear family. Troy Johnson became a leader not because he reads books - but because he decided books by and for black people needed a platform to get the recognition they deserved. Lawd knows publishing companies weren’t doing it. Today, Troy leads many people to consider black books first! True leaders are rarely in front of a group. Leaders center themselves in a group that has problems no one is addressing. Leaders organize a group that already exist and provides them direction. Bravo @richardmurray You nailed it!

@Harry Brown; To each his own, there are black people who bleach their mentality and become Retrumpicans in order to be accepted by a white population that considers white surrogates almost as good as the real thing.

There was a lot of hype about the half time show, so I tuned in and thought it was excellent as well. I was too busy with my young ones to listen to those hits way back when, however, I can appreciate it today.

IMO, the halftime show was excellent. I was very proud of Hip-Hop music representing so well. Destroying property in celebration or protest especially in one's own community makes no sense to me. 😎

When a person chooses to be ignorant, there is simply nothing that anyone can do. Now, after dealing with some posters' comments for a couple of weeks since I've returned to this forum, I have learned this about some of them: Many are being deliberately obtuse. And they know damn well they're lying and posting links from Right Wing publications that exaggerate and demonize anything that maligns the Black and Brown communities. It is no secret that substance abuse remains rampant across the United States. And because of historical trends in law enforcement, organized crime and corruption, much of this activity has been centered in Communities of Color. The many Blacks who define themselves by lavishing praise on the bigoted and the racists who lack a conscience probably don't understand they are doing the work of the Black Race's most dangerous enemies for them. To many who hate us, Black and Brown people have always been disposable. We do something wrong, we step out of line or we threaten the power structure's order of things, just arrest us, confine us or better - throw us away in overdoses or chortle as we perish in internecine gang warfare. Every adult Black person with a working brain knows this. However, some on here still want to play dumb. They make it seem this is something new and by golly, they must pontificate about it. I've had it their errant takes on supposed Biden administration wrongdoing, their numerous links which do not prove their claims and oft-times, pre-teen angst which consists of repeating "so and so makes me sick." I wonder if these ones realize that close to 200 million folks who live inside the borders of the U.S. have been vaccinated now. Most of these received their vaccines AFTER Joe Biden took office. If such ones were actually paid for their preposterous and illogical balderdash by the racist toadies they worship, at the end of a month, they might be able to buy each other lunch. There is nothing wrong with being a Conservative or a Republican. A lot of my White friends whom I went to school with or worked with are. And there is absolutely nothing amiss with trying to improve your financial situation. I believe people are free to choose whom they vote for and whom they wish to champion and also, enrich themselves as they see fit as long as it is lawful and does not injure or harm the aspirations of another. But when such decisions have impugned or led to the suffering and deaths of others through no fault of their own - those choices need to be re-examined. Once more, the Biden administration is not paying to distribute crack pipes

The US government has long banned the use of federal funding for any type of drug paraphernalia. The current administration will not be overturning that position.😎

As I've mentioned before, Daniellegfny, cannot read that well. The San Francisco Examiner story he linked to is from 2014, eight friggin' years ago! And the group that was apparently handing out crack pipes, the Urban Survivors Network, was a local group based in the Tenderloin District, not attached and completely unaffiliated with any presidential administration. Many of these groups, some of which are still around in other areas, consist of former drug abusers who are trying to reduce the rate of infections and diseases among those still using. But when it comes to Daniellegfny, he never lets truth - or available facts - get in the way of his hysterical bullchit. No, the Biden Administration is not funding crack pipes There seems to be a whole lot of compulsive and deliberate lying going on in this Discussion forum. Pathological lying, also known as mythomania and pseudologia fantastica, is the chronic behavior of compulsive or habitual lying for a definitive reason. In many cases on here, this lying aims to make a cheap political point which can be easily refuted. Damn, grow the f--k up.