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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/06/2016 in all areas

  1. If you get a chance to watch the longer video, Dyson's more sensational comments are put into context. My goal with the trailer was to make it sensational enough to prompt people to seek the detail behind the statements. But it looks like I underestimated the desire of people to seek a deeper understanding--particularly of positions they disagree with. Early indications are that Dyson's statements are not actually promoting people to watch the longer video, but helping to reinforce their current positions pro or con Obama. This effect could be indicative of the way social media works. People will not leave it. I uploaded the 60 sec trailer directly to Facebook, people will watch that, but is seems people are less likely to watch the longer video. But it is really way too early to tell--I just posted the videos. I would not immediately watch a 90 minute video on my PC. I would watch it on my regular TV later, so I have to give it more time for word of the video to spread. to see how effective the trailer is at getting people to watch the longer video While Dyson did not come out and say that he is backing Hillary, he did say that Hillary is more likely to do more for Black people than Obama, simply because she does not have to navigate race they way Obama had to. I believe Bernice will be willing and able to more for Black folks for the same reason. Dyson also says Obama was a good president, as far as white people was concerned--an A+ but as far as Black people he'd give Obama a C-.
    2 points
  2. White Supremacy has to be dismantled by Whites. since they created and gave it agency. No amount òf achievement will counter act Of hire Supremacy because it is not rational. It's belief in a self perpetuating fiction.
    2 points
  3. Here is a 60 second trailer from a much longer video I shot of Michael Eric Dyson critiquing President Obama, during the National Black Writers Conference a few days ago. It has been interesting to observe Michael move to essentially the same position Cornel West took several years ago, a position that Dyson himself beat Dr. West up over publically.
    1 point
  4. BOOK, BEFORE COLUMBUS, HOW AFRICANS BROUGHT CIVILIZATION TO THE AMERICAS. BOOK SAYS THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT AFRICANS SAILED TO THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS AND BEFORE CHRIST. ANCIENT AFRICANS FROM EGYPT AND WEST AFRICA, TRAVELED TO AMERICA BROUGHT CONTRIBUTIONS OF MATHEMATICS, WRITING, SOPHISTICATED CALENDAR,RELIGION AND POLITICS/ BOOK BY GARIKAI CHENGU/THERE ARE OTHER BOOKS ABOUT THIS////OK, SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT ON COLUMBUS DAY///
    1 point
  5. People attacking the President make me laugh. Most of the time the people attacking have given nothing of themselves to this country, or they benefit MASSIVELY from attacking the President. They garner better positions at academic institutions. They also get really nice paychecks on the lecture circuit. They are basically talking heads attacking a talking head. The office of the President has a lot of esteem, but the basic numbers for the country under President Obama have improved. The numbers for Blacks have not, but let's be serious this is a slide that started 30 years ago and is just continuing. Was it faster and bigger under this president? Yes, but his presidency also coincides with the crack baby generation becoming parents. What in the hell did people expect to happen over the last 10 years when the crack babies are now becoming parents? Now that's a generalization and only addresses one part of the issue in Black America, but it definitely speaks to a serious point. The President had several plans of action when he came into office: Kill Bin Laden, Get Healthcare, exit Iraq. His platform was not save Black America and it didn't need to be. His responsibility is to the country and to the government not one particular facet of the country. President Obama doesn't have jackshit to do with the way these kids behave in schools, or the increase in gangbanging and teenage parents. We want him to speak towards because he is Black and I understand that. It makes great conversation and creates an Amen corner situation for dudes like Dyson who I have long been bothered by with his jumping on the coattails of Hip-hop and rhyming and trying to be down, but that's my personal bias against dude. I can go into greater detail, but it doesn't matter because he doesn't know me and I don't know him so my opinion of him is meaningless. But this idea that the President has to act on the behalf of the people is the same silly ass idea that has existed since Dr. King died. Black people waiting on a savior when Black people could save themselves by looking in the mirror. There isn't any need for an executive order from a President to fix us. All there is needed to fix us is self accountability and responsibility. You want Black books to sell, support AALBC, don't ask Obama. You want Black small biz to work, take your ass to a Black business more than once a year. You want Black schools to get better, support the teachers, discipline your kids and then sit and discover what your kids are working on everyday. You want political influence? Get together and form groups that go out and pool the money to buy land and watch what the hell happens. If 100 McDonald's workers put 10 dollars in an account for one year they could potentially buy a franchise and share the proceeds from that franchise, but will that happen? Probably not. If 20 families on the same street organized and walked the streets each day with phones in hand they could cut down on crime, or die trying, but that's not going to happen either. The power is in the grassroots. I've never looked at my Commander in Chief to solve problems. I don't expect that to change because he's Black. Only a fool would expect that to happen and it seems to me there are a lot of fools looking for the answers to come from on high instead of being proactive.
    1 point
  6. All these black male Obama critics are proving, is that the office of the President of the United States is a position that amounts to nothing more than being the captive of The Establishment, something they, themselves, say all the time. then seem surprised and indignant when they are proven right. Do they think Obama would have been elected and re-elected without the vote of white liberals? Do they think as much opposition as he met being a moderate, that ranting about racism and making demands would've reaped any results? Can these green-with- envy-black men acknowledge that when he did speak about racial injustice, and he did do this, he spoke not as a black man who was president but as a president who was a back man and that millions of black people agreed with his approach because not all blacks are radical? Or did his black critics give him the courtesy of being the loyal opposition because they immediately turned into "Haters". BTW, one of the powers behind the throne in Obama's case, is his mentor from Chicago, a black woman named Valerie Jarrett, a "Svengali" who insiders say wields a lot of influence and shapes many of his policies. Obama did run on an "audacity of hope" agenda and it's not his fault that it did not survive a reality check. But his presidency is not without accomplishments and historians will undoubtedly give him a passing grade. I don't defend Obama because I am a big fan, because I have issues with him also, petty and personal though they may be. For one thing, I have never considered him an authentic black man because his ancestors did not pay their dues as slaves and slave descendents. What pleases me is that in his final months in office, Obama is pardoning many black small-time drug dealers who were given harsh sentences. The Cornel West crowd are the same people who are backing Bernie Sanders and if he wins, they, may be placated by what Sanders speaks out about but, in my opinion, will be disappointed when it comes to his promises being kept.
    1 point
  7. "...caught a little hell...," @Pioneer1, Tavis was crucified! His career, and platform, is a shadow of what it was before Obama. Besides it was Obama's job to come up with an agenda and execute on it. But sure, Obama was given plenty of agendas and things to do--he just did not do them. If he need an agenda, he could have pick up Tavis Smiley's The Covenant But he obviously was not interested. Again, as Dyson said, Black people worshipped Obama, so much so that they simply refuse to critique him--and attack anyone who does. Sad.
    1 point
  8. Dr J It appears that white supremacy/racism begin when Black People begin the the task of achieving all around the world. One well know example would be the "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, Oklahoma this town was literally destroyed. If it APPEARS to you that White Supremacy began around the time of Black progress or Black Wall Street in Tulsa, don't believe what you SEE. That's a FALSE illusion playing tricks on you...lol. White Supremacy was around waaaaaay before that. White Supremacy has existed since before the TransAtlantic Slave Trade. Europeans were more technologically advanced than the Africans they kidnapped and enslaved, so how did African achievement (or the lack there of) contribute to them being victims of White Supremacy? Black Wall Street was an ANSWER to White Supremacy, not the CAUSE of it. The holding back and holding up a group of people because you can, and this action having an impact on their lives and their children lives has to be supreme, this is frightening, and the answer is continue to achievement? Ofcourse. What better way do you know to defeat someone trying to hold you back than to NOT LET them? To be successful anyway inspite of their malicious attempts? A few weeks ago in Mississippi a Black family was kidnapped by a Black criminal and held hostage. Supposed the man and woman took ahold of the belief that to try to achieve freedom from their kidnapper would have been counter productive and would have only made him angry? There's no telling what would have happened to them. But fortunately they were more focused on ACHIEVING freedom for themselves and their children and the sista managed to get free, get her husband's gun, and "dealt" with their kidnapper in a manner that allowed the family to go free. Again, I ask the question, how do we begin the process of solving this world problem of white supremacy/racism. This powerful institutions has and continue to destroy many lives and many cultures. White Supremacy isn't necessarily a world wide "problem". Infact, it's not even a problem at all....to most White people....as they benefit from it. Nor is it a problem to people of color who have no intentions of contending it and have satisfied themselves with simply accepting it as a fact of life. It's only a "problem" for those who believe that it's a false doctrine. They know that White's are not supreme and they set out to disprove the doctrine of White Supremacy through the only sure way ever proven to defeat it.....high achievement.
    1 point
  9. In case anyone cares, EMPIRE is back and the season opener aired last Wednesday. As the resident pop culture vulture, I would be remiss if I didn't provide a re-cap for anyone who missed the return of this hip hop soap opera. Watching the first installment, I could understand how, like the Roman Empire, this show is in danger of toppling. Rating are on a downward slide and one reason for this could be the plot redundancy so apparent in the premier episode. Rumor has it that fewer celebrities will be making cameo appearances, a decision I question because familiar show biz faces popping up were what kept things entertaining. Apparently Naomi Campbell didn't get the memo because she is back. Having made good on her promise to mount a hostile take-over and seize the reins of Empire from Lucious Lyon who banished her for making out with Hakeem, his youngest son, she reunites with Hakeem and invites him to share her power by declaring himself to be the company's new leader. As expected the chic, ubiquitous Cookie continues to walk the runway, hoping to find a recipe that will enable her to create her version of the Lyon legacy. and put a stop to its medley of musical CEOs, wherein every time the music stops, a new leader seizes the throne Preferring to work solo, her sometimes loving husband, Lucious Lyon, still on the radar of the Feds, attempts to mow down all the troublesome wildebeest grazing on his turf, interfering with his plan to reclaim his high-jacked dynasty. The fact that his album is competing with his middle son, Jamal, for an award show trophy does not seem to command his interest. Between all of this intrigue, is the updating of the cliff hanger from the final episode of last season. Instead of dying from a fall down the stairs, the pregnant wife of Andre, the oldest son, survives the tumble but loses her bundle as mystery surrounds who did the dirty deed that ended her motherhood. Could it, as the plot hints, have been Lucious' ex-girlfriend who is now the third leg of the triangle comprised of Hakeem and Naomi Campbell. Coming together to mourn this loss, Cookie and her crumbs decide to once again stop feuding and find a way to recapture their legacy. Somewhere between all of this drama, Cookie is given a crash course in the fluidity of love as seen through the eyes of the gay middle son, Jamal, an interval which, of course, calls for a forgettable rendition of a song he has written about the subject. Anyway, this is kinda how it all went down and you get the idea,- or maybe you don't. The second installment will air on Wednesday, promising more of the same. Unfortunately. Elsewhere, the final episode of the OJ murder case runs tonight, and we get to find out whether or not Simpson is found guilty and if Marsha Clark and Chris Darden drown their sorrows in bed together. It's been a thrilling(?) 10-week excursion into the past, providing the TV audience with a suspenseful recounting of this sensational crime that Americans can't enough of. Spoiler Alert: OJ beat the rap and nothing came of the Clark/Darden hook-up.
    1 point
  10. Thank you for taking time to offer that detailed perspective. I like honesty and always encourage it because it's the only way we're going to solve problems. I'll be honest...... I don't think you can "teach" away White supremacy or try to educate people against racism. Nor do I think you can convince most people that everyone is equal AS LONG AS we're in a society where so many Black and Brown people still occupy the majority of those on the bottom rungs of the social and economic ladder. Even the most liberal open minded White person will find it hard to view all races as equal when all he sees on his way to work downtown are rows and rows of Black men rocking back and forth talking to themselves and begging for money. It's hard for the most open minded White woman to constantly see Black men being portrayed as criminals, rapists, and sexual deviants on the daily and nightly news and NOT feel a little uncomfortable setting inside an elevator alone with a strong looking Black man. This society seems to perpetuate racism and White supremacy in it's very structure. The only solution is for people...generation after generation....to actually SEE Black and Brown people produce as much for themselves as Whites have been able to on an economic and social levle. Only this will erase all doubts of equality from the minds of most Whites. They have to actually SEE Black and Brown people independent, successful in medicine, arts, economics, and other endeavors as actual PROOF that we're equal. Unless they see that, no amount of "shaming" them on their racist beliefs will work. And let us not forget..... White supremacy isn't a problem only Whites must deal with, ALL races have been indoctrinated with White Supremacy today and in most nations and societies on this Earth you'll find the lighest skinned people on top and the darkest on the bottom as evidence of this.
    1 point
  11. Let me start by saying I am a white person. Most white racists are not on their guard around other white people, so they feel free to express their antipathy toward or disapproval of blacks in a very candid way. It's strange to me, but they frequently assume that other white people share their attitudes and mores, because after all, to them, white supremacy is self-evident. We're all in the club, right? To end white supremacy, people raised with the concept of white supremacy will have to reject it as immoral. So rejecting white supremacy requires people to reject the opinions and beliefs of their parents, their families, and their peers who hold racist beliefs. And it requires them to objectively judge all of the aforementioned people as having wrong and immoral beliefs. This is a tall order, because it goes against human nature. True objectivity is rare because familial bias and prejudice begin to affect us the day we are born. We are products of our moral environments. My wife has shown more moral courage than I have because she had to overcome her parents' attitudes. I was raised in a family who taught me that people of all races were equal, and that race was a social, not biological, construct - a false way to divide people. My wife was not raised that way. I don't think her parents ever told her "black people are inferior," but they always implied it, and I think, believed it. They steadfastly describe themselves as not racist, and in many ways they aren't. In social situations, they would never believe it is appropriate to treat black people differently from whites. They believe in equal rights under the law. They believe slavery is an evil institution, but they would always say things like, "times were different then." And they say, "blacks now have advantages that white people don't have," and, "we bend over backwards for them." Their beliefs are supported by their politics, their peers and their choices in popular culture and news media, which provide them all the confirmation bias they need. So when you grow up hearing this sort of thing, the bias becomes ingrained, and it feels like truth, like all the other things we ever heard from our parents. The problem for white supremacists is, the moral instruction they give naturally conflicts with their racist views and behaviors. My wife accepted the moral instruction her parents gave her with regard to justice, fairness, and love and because of that teaching, rejected their racial views, which were inconsistent with all their other stated values. This causes her moral unease toward her parents, whom she loves deeply, but sees as morally deficient. It's not a good feeling to have. People try to avoid having such feelings toward their loved ones and friends. But this is what will be required of all people in order to eliminate white supremacy. So it's not just a matter of doing the right thing. One must also judge loved ones as wrong, and that demands more effort than being the right way.
    1 point
  12. Because I have been so immersed in writing my book for the last 15 months I haven't been reading. Prior to suddenly being moved to write, I was reading two pop culture oriented books: I Would Die 4 U by Toure, quick read about Prince, and I Am Charlie Wilson which I did not finish but I will pick back up once I finish getting my marketing plans in motion. The last "serious" book I completed was FDR by Jean Edward Smith.
    1 point
  13. Yes it is real. Only White Supremacists can dismantle it by definition. so the arguments being made are invalid or meaningless.
    1 point
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