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What's your technique for dealing with ignorant arguers. Asking for a friend. Clearly I won't be responding to everyone.

@Pioneer1 Yes, the black populace in the usa has an element of blame, 100% correct. But the problem is, the kind of collective action you are referring to is not in the black populace of the usa. Look at this website. Most black people in the usa online are not members of a black owned website. Said people can't even organize together online, with no threat or harm whatsoever, so... offline. I do comprehend your point. but I think it leads to a larger problem. The black populace in the usa is a collection of individuals for the most part in 2022.

What's up family! I know it's been a while since I've been here and I miss "most" of you....lol. I'm here now though! I'm gonna spend Memorial Day weekend with one of my favorite online families. Who do you blame for the massacre of those elderly and female Black folks up in Buffalo New York a couple weeks ago? I blame OTHER Black folks primarily, and there's a reason for that that I'll get into later on in the discussion, but as of now I'm curious as to what others of you think.

That's still the unspoken excuse today. There is no other reason to own an assault rifle in a *civilized* society.

@ProfD perhaps but who do you think uses more gasoline truck drivers, busses, industry and airlines, or people like you and me? We can certainly drive less and carpool. I could probably make it a month on a tank of gas if I did not venture outside my neighborhood -- something I have never done. That said, lower demand would drove prices down, but any decrease would be temporary and end as soon a people got back into their trucks.

H8ll to the naw. A teacher has zero business making a male wear a dress. Not for any reason. Not even if he begged her to let him do it. In addition to racism, I also take issue with this pussification of our society. Masculinity is under attack. Some men are allowing it. Athletes are physical specimens. Yet, these *dudes* are wearing tight pants and leggings and some are wearing dresses too. I recently saw a picture of an NBA basketball player wearing an outfit that I could only shake my head. I'm willing to bet they would not wear that same sh8t and walk into a penitentiary. As a caveman alphamale, I will never acquiesce to anything that emasculates manhood.

So true. No. it was not helpful. This is a great statement, one of which I believe in. @StefanThank you for catching that error! I was not referring to taking up arms, meaning going to war. That would not surprise me! But nevertheless, it is not a good position to be afraid to communicate on pressing issues of today. When an 18-year-old can take a gun and shoot Black people going to the grocery store go into an elementary school and shoot and kill little children, they need to be more concerned about that, imo.

Great and predatory, just like our national bird.

It's what made America Great. @ Delano. America is, indeed, a "great" country. But it is not a "good" one as evidenced by its true history. @ProfDI think by now that both black and white people have figured out that "Make America Great Again" is a code phrase for returning it to the days when uppity minorities and independent women stayed in their place as second-class citizens. Nor do I think there was ever any era in the history of this country when black folks thought life was "idyllic" except on fleeting occasions, probably during their innocent childhoods. That's my stance as a cynic. America was supposed to be the original "brave new world", the mythical alabaster city on a hill where the down trodden from all over the globe immigrated to pursue their dreams of a better life. It was a Republic which adopted the principles of a Democracy. Its noble Constitution was crafted by white slave holders - who like the fork-tongued pale faces that they were, declared "all men were created equal". This revered document guaranteed free speech, the right to bear arms, and assemble in public places. It also emphasized the separation of Church and State. And centuries later all of this polluted swill backed up leaving this nation awash in a political swamp where alligators and snakes endanger and - skin color still matters. What was once an Empire in now on the brink of an implosion. Nice try. Let's hear it for the good ol USA which, exercising its precious second amendment rights, gave it its best shot, and missed the mark. Maybe this hot mess will rise from its ashes, not via an eagle but like the phoenix of Native American lore. Back to square one. Jesse says "keep hope alive". Obama extols the "audacity of hope". Cynique sez: "yeah, right".

Oprah To Host Interactive Book Club Conversation with the Author and Oprah Daily Insiders on June 30 only on OprahDaily.com Los Angeles - Oprah’s Book Club today announced the latest selection is “Nightcrawling,” the debut novel from Leila Mottley. “Nightcrawling,” published by Knopf, is available now wherever books are sold. Oprah will sit down with the author alongside Oprah Daily Insiders for an interactive book club gathering on Thursday, June 30, in addition to immersive editorial content being available for readers on OprahDaily.com, the online hub of Oprah’s Book Club. Oprah announced the selection on CBS Mornings, as Mottley then joined the hosts in-studio to discuss the latest Oprah’s Book Club selection and the surprising way she found out her novel was being chosen. You can view the CBS Mornings segment HERE. “It brings me great joy to introduce readers to new authors, and this young poet Leila Mottley wrote a soul-searching portrait of survival and hope,” said Oprah Winfrey. “I was absolutely floored when Ms. Winfrey popped up in what I thought was going to be a regular meeting,” said Leila Mottley. “It was the surprise of a lifetime! I am beyond grateful to be able to share my debut novel with the passionate readers of Oprah’s Book Club.” “Nightcrawling” tells the story of Kiara and her brother, Marcus, who are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department. About Oprah’s Book Club Oprah’s Book Club connects a worldwide community of readers to stories that truly matter by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Readers around the world can join the conversation on Oprah’s Book Club across social media using @OprahsBookClub and on OprahDaily.com. All selections are available now on Apple Books in both ebook and audiobook at apple.co/OprahsBookClub, and wherever books are sold. About Oprah Daily In 2021, building on the mission and legacy of O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Magazines introduced Oprah Daily, a new multi-platform lifestyle venture offering audiences the content and tools to make living their best lives a daily practice. The brand features digital destination OprahDaily.com, offering the latest in wellness, culture, personal growth, style, beauty and more—including Oprah Daily Insiders, a special membership-only community where Insiders connect live with Oprah and each other in her monthly livestream The Life You Want Class; as well as with Editor-at-Large Gayle King, Creative Director Adam Glassman and other O personalities for exclusive events, videos, lives and more. The brand also publishes O Quarterly, a premium print edition published four times a year, available on newsstands and included with every Insider membership. Follow Oprah Daily on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. # # #

South Africa has a total population of 60 million people. White folks make up 7.9% of the population or 4.7 million people. Even as minorities, white folks believe they are supposed to run a whole a country. Unbelievable.

It's what made America Great.

The pandemic forced employers to allow folks to work frim home (telework). Productivity didn't seem to suffer. Yet, two years later, companies are looking to bring workers back into their offices even if it's a couple days per week or month. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-musk-says-tesla-needs-070712003.html Tulsa CEO Elon Musk has laid down the gauntlet. Workers can either put 40 hours in the office or pretend to work somewhere else. Musk is also threatening to cut 10% of the workforce due to a "super bad feeling" about the economy. Nevermind that Telsa made about $19 billion during the pandemic. The company hasn't missed a beat in producing electric vehicles or traveling to space. Nonetheless, the CEO calls the shots. If anyone is looking for employment, be on the lookout for job openings at companies like Tesla when the smoke clears.

Yep. Forcing people back into the workplace is about 1) control and 2) money. Some management folks believe they have to "see" people on order to believe they are working. It's also harder for some *managers* to justify their jobs when they're not looking over someone else's shoulder and/or taking credit for their work. Nevermind that an employee can show up to the building and spin around in their chair for 6 hours and take 2 hours between lunch and smoke breaks and talking to other coworkers. IOW, productivity cannot be measured solely by folks showing up to punch a clock. Office buildings cost money to operate (lease and utilities). But, they also feed into other businesses too. When folks show up for work they also have to spend money on transportation, gas, food, child care, etc. Controlling people and feeding the economy is driving employers to bring folks back to work.

RichardMurray We don't need all, most, or even half of Black folks to organize and protect our community. When have we ever gotten all or even most Black folks onboard to do something? Not even for the Civil Rights Movement. Many Black folks were tucked away in barber shops talking trash about Martin Luther King and talking about how the White folks ain't never gonna let this or that happen. Yet when those Civil Rights bills passed, they were the FIRST ones to try to buy houses in White neighborhoods and send their children to White schools. I think black leadership is present in the usa, but most black leaders in the usa publicly support an individual agenda in the black community. I agree, we do have Black leaders in the U.S.A. The problem is, most Black leaders in the U.S.A. are ENTERTAINERS. Historically speaking, too many of the most influencial people in the AfroAmerican community have been singers, actors, rappers, ect....many of whom were politically and socially ignorant. Look at Kanye West. Cynique Whoever is in control, would naturally attribute this power to those holding it being better than who could not wrest it away from them. Who's to dispute this? If those in power SINCERELY believed that they were superior or somehow better than those they ruled over...they wouldn't put up so many obstables in the way to keep them OUT of power. I don't have to making up all kinds of laws to keep dogs out of power. I don't have to design special mis-education technique to use in the media and classroom to keep dogs in a state of confusion so that they don't pose a threat to rule. Because dogs are simply intellectually inferior. You can just let nature take it's course and you'd naturally rule. Not so with this system of racism that is constantly making rules and playing games to keep itself in a position of authority.

Remember what Mr.Fuller said about racism and how the racists LOVE and LIVE to dominate and mistreat Black folks??? Well, I'm not sure if you heard them or not but all through out 2020 and 2021 I was seeing and hearing reports about how so many Black employees who were working from home were breathing signs of relief, their health improved, their blood pressure went down, their mental health improved.....why? The reports said that while working from home, they didn't have to do with the stress related to racism they experienced so much at the work place. The nit-picking, snide comments, racist jokes, having your idea ignored, being overlooked, ect....and the other shit so many Black employees have to go through in Corporate America just to keep a job. Infact, a lot of Black folks felt so good leaving "the plantation" they acutally QUIT their jobs altogether and decided to open up their own businesses and work from home. I keep telling folks that this corona mess was actually a BENEFIT for a lot of Black folks. They didn't want thing to "get back to normal". Most of the people hollering and crying for things to get back to "normal" were middle aged White men who were making money off of exploiting people. Many of them couldn't stand the fact that so many Black and Brown people were making a living and getting money and no longer had to take shit from them in a racist work environment. If they couldn't dominate and rule over Black folks at work....many of them would have rather not lived anymore and many White men actually committed suicide, depressed that they couldn't dominate or mistreat the people under them at work.

Racism remains forever the preoccupation of black Americans. As much as it has been a bump in the road, it has also served to clear the way for black excuses . And, above all. has become a security blanket, always there to villainize whites and assure blacks that were it not for racism, they could usurp white supremacy - and replace it with black supremacy! Which is why racism is as American as apple pie. Whoever is in control, would naturally attribute this power to those holding it being better than who could not wrest it away from them. Who's to dispute this? And so it goes. Justice is an abstract ideal that is never guaranteed in this impersonal indifferent world. Nor do all problems have viable solutions; just theories and opinions and fantasies. And for those waitin' on Jesus, = forget it. Bottom line: the strong survive. So the "what-black-folks-need to do" dialogue goes on and on and on ad infinitum... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (Back to the Cynic's Corner, my permanent domain. Hi, Delano, I'm still star gazing. Troy, where are you - hugs to Joy Rose!)

@richardmurray, white supremacists and their race soldiers do not separate black folks by phenotype. The buffalo shooter only gave a pass to white folks. Otherwise, all black folks are subjected to the same forces within the system of racism. None are exempt based on phenotype, status, money, privilege, etc. Self-preservation within the system of racism has always forced black folks to side with the lesser evil. Fight for the US or Great Britain. Two sides of the same coin. Therein lies the reason for fragmentation or variance. Regardless of where someone resides on the planet, they should be *free* from any form of oppression. There should no system of racism. My definition of a black *leader* would not be someone who has an *individual* agenda in the black *community*. Reads more like opportunists. There is no shortage of them. Look no further than AfroAmerican churches and politicians. That's also why I don't believe black entertainers and athletes are role models and leaders in the black community. Many of them have made money. But, none of them has successfully used their platform to galvanize black folks into a collective capable of overcoming the system of racism. It is not that these *successful* black individuals cannot bring black folks together. The two biggest problems are 1) no knowledge of self (history) and 2) they do not understand the system of racism. The further removed people are from their own history (knowledge of self) and the more they are absorbed into the fabric of a racist system, they go beyond fragmentation and variance into becoming more diluted i.e. individuals. The system of racism thrives because white folks *know* their history and everyone else's and they do everything it takes to maintain their power over the entire planet.

IMO, the most monolithic AfroAmericans has ever been is during 1) slavery and 2) civil rights movement. Even during those times, black folks were fragmented in their ideologies. ADOS were taught and thought differently from black folks who were born and raised *free*. Black immigrants allowed into America and white countries in general show up fully prepared to function like *guests* and take advantage of opportunities given to them. So, there's this mix of black folks in America with very different experiences and perspectives. However, the racists figured out a long time ago how to keep ALL non-white folks confused. Every time a black leader rose up who could potentially shepherd a large number of black folks into a collective, that leader was assassinated or discredited. History proves it. Again, since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, AfroAmericans have not had a voice of leadership. For over a half century and counting, black folks in America have been a bunch of individuals trying to maintain in the system of racism. Not a day goes by that I don't think about what *I* can do to unite black folks and protect us from them. "I'm still learning".

Chev As Stefan alluded to, there are many different kinds of slavery. As long as people are being held in custody (against their will) and forced to work....they're in a state of SLAVERY. It doesn't necessarily have to be as brutal as what our immediate ancestors went through here in the Americas. You're playing into the translator's semantics and word games that they PURPOSELY mistranslate in order to deceive people.

There is a huge definition between Servant and Slave and different Bible translations tend to mix these Greek words terms up. That is why I wrote what I wrote. The scriptures I cited for the mistreatment of Slaves in Ancient Israel prove some were treated rather shabbily. This is an issue which means little to me. I just happen to know a bit about it.

The Millionaire Next door, will never tell or show you the money. There is no point to ostentatious shows of wealth.