Leaderboard

Thanks to those who've been kind enough to initiate threads on my behalf @Cyniqueand @Pioneer1. Brotha Troy has provided me with a canvas and wings to paint and soar respectively. I've added my 2 cents to enough threads already for regulars and lurkers alike to read how I roll. I've already been accused of commiserating and complaining and also of being sexist, ageist, outdated. That's fine. I'm a big dude and Teflon too. I'm gonna keep calling balls and strikes as I see it with a sense of humor. I know all medicine ain't for all patients. Let's get it.

Fascinating @Cynique your conversation with @Pioneer1 on this subject reveals class differences between both of you. You come from a higher class than Pioneer. It is not a value judgment, just an observation. My experience growing up in the 'hood is that it is easier to end up in prison than college for a certain class of people. So, I have no problem understanding that finishing high school can be a challenge. The cool kids dropped out and hung out in the street where the action was. The kids who did well in school were teased, which stunts performance of these students, unless their is some other factor to counter it -- and their usually isn't. Our teachers expectation were low as they were not from, or had anyu investment in our community. My kids were reared in a higher class, than the one I was raised in. They did not have to do things like fight other kids, smart kids were admired, and virtually all of their peers had two parents at home. Many girls in my neighborhood had children in high school, I knew of one who gave birth in 6th grade... By the time I was an adult, some high schools provided day care for the student's children.

So true. Without helpless and needy folks, unemployment would be through the roof if fewer social services were required. Social services are necessary but there's a sh8tload of people gaming the system.

************************************************************************************ @ProfD It’s not that serious. I have seen all sorts of inappropriate topics discussed on here but that was back in the day before Cynique was an octogenarian and she had a better sense of humor. I guess when you talk trash about old people she takes it personal and holds a grudge for five days until she gets around to addressing it, or maybe she just forgot. She might just be playing. ************************************************************************************

I don't totally agree with you self-styled categorizations. Have you checked the definition of the word "aristocrat" - which is not a common designation in America. Aristocrat: A member of a ruling class or of the nobility. 2. A person having the tastes, manners, or other characteristics of the aristocracy. Definition of aristocracy: the highest social class in some countries : the people who have special titles (such as duke and duchess), You're using money to define class. Money can't buy class. e.g. there's a difference between middleclass and middle income. They have different value systems. There are plenty of families who aren't billionaires but whose members were born with "silver spoons in their mouths" and have inherited wealth and property, and have the "blue blood" running through their veins that qualifies them to be upper class. There are first generation billionaires who do not have distinguished family blood lines. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are not high class. They are just filthy rich.

I described some of the benefits working in a coworking space in an earlier conversation, so I figured I'd share this video. The Brother in the video runs a venture capital firm which operates out of the office I'm in. This has inspired me to think about AALBC in new ways. In 60 seconds, Lightship Capital’s General Partner, Brian Brackeen, describes three of their programs to support Entrepreneurs:

Oh you DID honey?? Well.....I'm gonna PUT IT ON CYNIQUE ANYWAY. Yeah...SHE'S the one who said it...lol

Thanks @Mzuri. Until black folks pool their resources in order to own major institutions, franchises, corporations, etc., I'm gonna keep calling it out. For example, my money sits in a AfroAmerican owned bank. It allows them to make loans to our folks. We need more ownership.

************************************************************************************ @Troy This is great info. Hopefully it will help someone here who needs it. @Pioneer1 is correct. Oklahoma is considered as part of the South. ************************************************************************************

Troy I'd place Oklahoma in the South.

Troy Who is our open enemy? The racist Caucasians of the planet. The same ones who enslaved our people for hundreds of years and killed millions with their weapons and diseases. The global scientific community? Some of them. Remember, Adolph Hitler had scientists too. Science doesn't necessarily equate to NON-malicious. Science is like any tool...it can be used for good OR evil. Satan uses his tools for EVIL Do vaccinated white people have the same enemy? No. Some of them are White Sacrifices and voluntarily put themselves at risk for the greater "cause" of so-called White Supremacy. Others simply aren't taking the same vaccines as other people are taking. Who are these people with unconditional trust? Most people of color around the planet. Most just line up and take whatever Caucasians tell them to without getting into a laboratory and investigating it for themselves. Is the NOI telling people not to get vaccinated? Absolutely! If so is this just for Covid, or does this extend to other vaccines like MMR and the seasonal flu? I'm not sure. Minister of the Nation of Islam have spoken against the MMR vaccines as being a major cause of Autism in boys since the 70s...and they've also spoken against the Polio vaccine as being carcinogenic. I believe Minister Farrakhan himself has said that SV40 (Polio Vaccine) was cancer ITSELF.

Cynique How hard is it to finish high school? It's VERY hard for someone with a below average IQ OR someone with a normal IQ but haven't been taught proper studying techniques....which is the case for most students in the United States. Besides....... The highschool graduation rate is FAR higher today than it was back in the 1960s and 1970s...yet POVERTY is far higher too. How do you explain this? How hard is it to not get pregnant? Birth control is readily available. RELIABLE birth control isn't. Human beings are sexual by nature and often aren't taught how to properly use birth control nor are most teenage girls able to get abortions if they get pregnant. They are encouraged to have their babies by the families and religous communities. But teen pregnancy is down since the 1970s...but poverty is UP since the 1970s. Again, how do you explain this? How hard is it to get a minimum wage starter job? A survey was part of this PEW study. In questioning those who had made their way up in life, doing these 3 things were what the majority of them had in common. But people who make their living in social service and all of its spin offs find excuses for those they serve. Helping the needy is an industry unto itself. While this is true....it doesn't explain why so many people END UP in poverty in the first place. All you're doing is pointing at how shoddy the social safety net is; and I'd agree. But nothing you've said EXPLAINS why so many people are in need of one to begin with. Again, over half of the homeless people on the street met all three criteria and STILL ended up in a destitute situation.

@Pioneer1 Your statement: “Minister Farrakhan and other Black leaders have WARNED you not to trust your open enemy. But greed and love blinds a lot of our people into having unconditional trust for them.” Who is our open enemy? The global scientific community? Do vaccinated white people have the same enemy? Who are these people with unconditional trust? Is the NOI telling people not to get vaccinated? If so is this just for Covid, or does this extend to other vaccines like MMR and the seasonal flu?

ProfD Thanks to those who've been kind enough to initiate threads on my behalf @Cyniqueand @Pioneer1 No problema mi Hermano! I've already been accused of commiserating and complaining and also of being sexist, ageist, outdated. And all by the SAME person....lol "Dig THAT shit!"

I'm totally enjoying the comedy brewing in this thread. if my ill-perceived misogynistic, ageist, outdated, etc., commentary serves as a springboard for hilarity, I'm here for it. Y'all are hilarious. Let's keep it going.

How hard is it to finish high school? What do you have better to do? How hard is it to not get pregnant? Birth control is readily available. How hard is it to get a minimum wage starter job? A survey was part of this PEW study. In questioning those who had made their way up in life, doing these 3 things were what the majority of them had in common. But people who make their living in social service and all of its spin offs find excuses for those they serve. Helping the needy is an industry unto itself.

************************************************************************************ @Pioneer1 As usual, you keep me in stitches with your comments and replies. And you always keep it real. Of course I care if my man is satisfied, but the point I was trying to make is that some men seem to think we want them to spend the night and hang around, when we might prefer that they leave before they get too cozy. If I made you dinner it does not mean that I want to get back in the kitchen to fry up some breakfast in the morning. I may have something else to do. Maybe I just wanted to get my groove on. I think it all depends on a number of factors and it does not mean that you are not welcome, sometimes we have other things going on, and that is why communication is so important. ************************************************************************************

@Cynique, thanks for the compliment. I've already addressed the post of concern. While I'm not disrespectful of my sistas and brothas, I reserve the right to clown them. Of course, the joke won't be funny to everyone. Nonetheless, a sense of humor is good for the soul.

White Supremists can't wait to crush you like a roach.

************************************************************************************ Listen Up CatLady The only busybody around here is YOU! If you want to have a private conversation with whoever, that is what PM, emails, and phones are for. I will partake in any forum discussion I choose. And I don’t speak for @Pioneer1 but he probably feels the same. ************************************************************************************

Well if they're not......they should! "Alright, the first thing you need to learn is you don't know anything! You've been lied to by these racist devils. I'm about to tell you the TRUTH about life!"

...She must have put my name in there by accident. Because I KNOW she ain't talking to ME like that, lol

Ok, THAT??? That didn't seem misogynistic or like it was ridiculing Black women to me? He didn't even mention the term "Black woman" so I'm not sure how it turned into an attack on the sistaz. But I'm not an older Black woman so I guess I'm not in a position to judge it one way or the other. I thought it was funny because much of it is true. A lot of women over 50 DO go to bed with "stinking stuff" on them to keep themselves together....lol I remember the "cold cream" days and the "Black-n-White Oitnment" days..lol. I like older women...even when I was younger I did....so I didn't take it too seriously anyway. Cynique Like Mzuri said, if you found it offensive why didn't you say something earlier? Why wait NOW and put the brother on front street over it? Mzuri Negroes want to spend the night and get served breakfast in bed. Not at my house, when I'm through, you can go. Ohhh...when YOU'RE through..huh..? Who care if the MAN is satisfied....lol Anyway...... The Pioneer of 30 years ago would have said.....MY KIND OF LADY, lol. Slip on my shoes and be out the door. However the Pioneer after 2000 wants to wake up the next morning TWICE: -Once to roll over and find something soft laying next to him...and then go back to sleep -And wake up again to the smell of something FRYING in the kitchen, lol "I bet he's got a nice BIG appetite..... After what I put on him last night!"

@Cynique, I appreciate the cast of characters on the board and respect everyone's contribution and point of view. I do not have any favorites. @Cyniqueand @Mzuri, I realize my joke in the "unsolicited advice" might not have been funny to everyone. I guess no amount of emojis reflect humor and/or the attempt. Duly noted. Bear with me as I continue learning the boundaries of the discussions here. I will be more mindful of the commentary I provide as well.

No comment isn't agreement on my part.

Nope. As a musician, I listen to a little bit of everything. My music collection is eclectic. I'm just pulling tracks off the surface. Again, I can do this all day across multiple genres.

@ProfD I see you kind of lean toward DooWop. There were a lot of those groups around during the 50s

"if I may tell young fellas overflowing with testosterone how they should interpret this PSA: Hunt thirsty well beyond menopause cougars. Buy a pair of rose colored glasses to make them look vivacious and a tub of K-Y Jelly to make them more pliable. If you're really lucky, she'll love to f8ck and cook and may have a few coins too. Do not spend the night as you may not appreciate how she smells and prepares for bed and/or how she looks in the morning when she awakes."