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@zajiMy only objection is your use of the pronoun "we". i've dropped out of the struggle except to take on the role of devil's advocate in order to nudge dreamers into reality and i have no intentions of becoming an activist; too old and tired. I think what's becoming apparent when it comes to me and the rest of you, is that there's a serious generation gap. Because so much of what is new to y'all, is old to me. "Post racial" America serves as the backdrop for this scenario. All of the aspirations and awareness voiced back in the '50s and '60s, are the same ol re-heated ones that Gen-Xers and Millennials are now blowin' smoke about because the progress of the civil rights era has regressed and blacks find themselves back at square one. This sounds like what could be a teachable moment. But all i can do is give you all an "E" for effort and hope that the ballot box continues to be a weapon. What looms in my mind is that whites consider themselves superior for a reason. Whatever else figures in the picture, they are superior at seizing and maintaining control of the country they stole from Native Americans,- a land where blacks are tenants rather than owners. So Blacks, Afro-Americans, African Americans, People of Color or whatever the flavor of the day is, are left standing around, marching in place, articulating solutions and issuing warnings, pursuing the elusive goal of unity, a goal that never takes root because slave descendants are a hybrid crop prone to doing their own thing. A while back i mused about the aftermath of the inevitable fall of The American Empire. After this nation implodes, what could rise from the ashes would be the opportunity for like-minded survivors to converge into groups which could found their own little countries on the singed territory once known as the United States. One of these sects could be black people. This could be when, amidst a stirring chorus of "Kumbyaaaa", they can shut up talking about what black folks need to do, and get on with it. A scenario that sure ain't gonna happen in today's "amerika", the home of treacherous, powerful white people and verbose, impotent black ones. Time to remind that the screen name "Cynique" is derived from the word "cynical".

I applaud the good intentions of those seeking to rescue "Afro-Americans" from the villainy of this country, but here is another view based on what i have observed over the last 25 years in my encounters with a broad cross section of black people from all walks of life, none of whom trust white people, or who give the media a lot of credibility but who do know that black people have a rich history and who do realize that education is important. Few of these everyday people were as brainwashed and as unaware as some of you would have us believe. The average Afro-American is hip to the plight of black people in this country, and knows who and what is at the root of this and how important education and black identity are. With the advent and subsequent popularity of social media, a composite of the black consciousness has emerged and it reflects this awareness. FaceBook, however, also provides a platform for the worst element of young black people, exposing them to be members of a wanton sub-culture caught up in vicious pettiness, sexual obscenity and senseless violence. Instead of preaching the same message that originated with civil rights activists and black militants over 60 years ago, another strategy needs to include an emphasis on personal responsibility, one that discourages babies havin babies, and settling disputes with guns, and encourages overcoming a mindset enslaved by what you want instead of what you need. Setting up a lofty agenda that is hard to implement is akin to wishful thinking. Some good ol common sense is what's called for. Racism aside, bad parenting skills and a false set of values are at the root of many black problems. Parents are who should be the role models of children, and when you're a single mother on welfare whose priority is to buy your baby a pair of high-priced Michael Jordan baby shoes, the end results are predictable. When your idea of a parent teacher's conference is to go up to school and beat up or threaten Pookie's teacher for some imagined slight, then the end result is predictable. When you reward your pregnant 17 year old daughter for undergoing what has become a rite of passage which involves having that first baby, and throw her a big shower that is the equivalent of a debutante's coming out ball, then the end result is predictable. When your unemployed boyfriend on parole is also the baby sitter for your not yet toilet-trained toddler, the end result will be predictable. You can out America as the racist shit-hole oligarchy that it is, glorify African kings of the past and praise obscure Afro-American inventors all you want, - but until certain blacks are brainwashed into cleaning up their acts, the end results will be predictable.

This article is fairly recent, 2005, but it talks about the specific gene discovered for melanin. It was known long before this that there was a melanin gene. Common sense dictates this given what we've learned about DNA. There is a gene for everything in the human body, whether we've discovered it yet or not. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/researchers-identify-huma I learned about threonine and alanine long before reading this article. I have been doing heavy research on melanin for about 10 years now. I have copious notes. I discovered the threonine and alanine connection to melanin about 8 years ago. At that time, I hadn't heard talk about a discovered gene in the mainstream. All my discoveries where made through other mediums and through connecting the dots on my own. When I finally began to hear the mainstream discuss it, it was hushed up pretty quickly, then resurged for the benefit of profit via companies such as Ancestry.com. So now the discovery was being used to take people's hard earned money without discussing the many factors not being discussed around finding one's ancestry. Anyhoo, I continue to research melanin. And I see the game they are playing with race/phenotype/melanin. It is all pressing. But this discussion of race is just a discussion and certainly not at the top of the list of things that are pressing. We prioritize the best way we know how. This is a forum after all, not a place for sword and canon. So all we can actively do here is share our words. But we knew that already, right? LOL. This space is meant for talk. So then, let's talk. And when we get weary of the talk, we get out of here and go DO something offline. But we can't do the physical required for change here. This space is what it is. As for theory, the issue with all this, no matter what we call theory, whites are putting into practice. So theories become tangible things we must fight to destroy. We cannot ignore the theories imposed on us. They are the things that have led us to this place.

Well since whites benefit from both the one race theory and the artificial construct, sounds like a no-win Catch-22 situation to me. Since this is all about theory as opposed to practice, I think there are other more pressing issues for blacks to worry about. And you knew i'd say that , didn't you? LOL

Troy has repeatedly said that zaji and Pioneer are about spirit rather than science. Science has no emotion or passion. My philosophy is that there's the world as it is verbally defined and then there is the world as it exists. Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

Troy However the combination of these things is not enough to accurately and consistently describe the categories we use to describe each race. On some level this should be somewhat obvious as we can't look at someone and accurately describe the racial bucket they belong in. It's not that hard when you take into account that much of humanity is MIXED. Like I said, there are DEFINATE RACES...the only problem is most Black people have been MIS-EDUCATED on the actual races and that's what's confusing them about who belongs to what. You're not going to sit up there and tell me these two people are part of the same genetic stock or "race": These may be racial extremes, but they are CLEARLY DIFFERENT and if you get rid of the concept of "race" then how would you classify them or identify them? 　 This is why the scientific community has abandoned the of notion of a genetic basis for race, and why I have too. Who is the "scientific community"? Are you telling me that because a group of nerdy White men sitting around in white coats and glasses making half of their decisions over cocktails while half drunk......we should follow THEM???? Western science is constantly changing based on INTERESTS. First race DIDN'T exists.....then it DID.....now it DOESN'T anymore. Race EXISTS when it serves the interests of the money makers. And when it no longer serves the interests of the money makers they take it away. 15 years later when they need the concept of race again they RE-INVENT IT, and you're sitting there scratching your head trying to figure it out....lol. Like I said in the other thread, Black people need to use their OWN experiences and observations to come to their OWN conclusions. 　 You may have more in common with Kim Kardashian genetically than you do with me. First you tell me that I shouldn't be insulted.... THEN you turn around and claim me and some "big legged" White woman who sleeps with Kanye West have a lot in common....lol. Man, how can I figure you out????

@Delano yes, that would be helpful.

From ~ The Problem of Identifying Ourselves Based Upon Whites' Concept of Race Mel Hopkins replied to Troy's topic in Culture, Race & Economy