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KENNETH

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Posts posted by KENNETH

  1. On 1/19/2024 at 4:39 PM, Pioneer1 said:


    What most AfroAmericans want today is SEPARATION....not Segregation.
    There's a difference...........

    50 or 60 years ago most AfroAmericans didn't want Separations.
    Some did...a minority...but most wanted full integration into White society because they felt it would make us better off collectively.
    Now 50 and 60 years later, we realize that it did not.
    While SOME Black folks benefited....MOST of our people are worse off today than most of their grand parents were back during the Jim Crow era.

    Personally.....I want BOTH:

    SEPARATION with the option to INTEGRATE as needed or desired, lol.

     

    Black people want freedom and to benefit from living in this society. They don't want to be deprived of rights, opportunity, or material well-being. Whether these things come from living in Black neighborhoods and having black businesses; it can also be found in the White mainstream. That includes elite universities or professional jobs in Corporate America. Black people often feel like we're losing something we need or want. 

    On 1/19/2024 at 10:53 AM, Jeromex said:

    Do Blacks want to be segregated from whites? It seems as if they do. Many black communities are complaining about white people moving in. Blacks are claiming “ they dont look like us”. They are also saying it about asian people as well and claim blacks need their own communities. Seems a bit ironic to me as well as hypocritical. Blacks are the first to claim discrimination even when most often its their imagination.

    You will find countless examples of this on you tube and black radio shows.

    If this was the other way around, blacks would be protesting and rioting. You cannot have it both ways. Our black community needs to be much more rational  and realistic.
    Please opine.

     

     

    It's not about segregation or assimilation. It's about pluralism and agency. All Black neighborhoods with thriving businesses should be possible along with opportunities in the White mainstream whether it's a job or going to an amusement park like Disney World.

     

    It's important to realize that during the era of Jim Crow segregation whites did business in black communities and rented property to blacks. None of this is about optics. It's about power and control with all its benefits. That's what most Blacks want. 

     

    • Like 1
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  2. We don't value or pay workers like maids, janitors, home health, childcare workers, cashiers, or fast food employees.

     

    We wrongly disdain politicians and hate taxes while complaining about how messed up society is because government doesn't take care of people at home over foreigners and immigrants. 

     

    We idolalize rich people and wealth while never questioning certain negative things it takes to get rich and stay that way.

     

    All of this cuts across racial lines and is true of ordinary working people who are the key to changing things. The problem is with all of us to some extent.

  3. Thanks Troy for posting this and making the point. Whites are poor because of exploitation and lack of economic opportunity especially in the suburbs and rural areas. Meanwhile Black people are poor because of systemic racism and economic injustice. We bear the added burden of race. If poor and working class whites could get past racism, anti statism, and a kind of radical individualism there might be a chance to change America for the better.

     

    Ultimately Capitalism unless it is reformed in big ways will generate lots of poverty. It has to be free enough generate growth yet restrained to an extent that it's fair and beneficial for everyone not just the rich owners of capital. The problem with Americans,  unlike people in Western Europe who wisely embraced Social Democracy, is that we don't like or want that kind of government action to tame Capitalism or spread its benefits. Add racism and its systemic component to this mix and its not hard to see why poverty is such a huge problem in America.

    • Thanks 1
  4.  

    Her sexual orientation has nothing to do with her ability and it's not pulling black people down in any way. LGBTQ people are just as much part of the black community as anybody. We've got to move beyond the idea that authentic blackness whatever that may be is only straight male cisgendered and patriarchal. 

     

    My only concern is that Barabara Lee whose been in the House for several years and lives in California wasn't chosen. But this woman has a strong background in labor and community organizing in addition to abortion rights. Give her a chance. She might surprise us in a good way.

  5. On 8/20/2023 at 5:42 PM, Jeromex said:

    Black people do NOT need reparations ! Our community needs more fathers, more family structure, and more trade schools. Far too many blacks are sitting around and waiting for that big reparations pay day rather than trying to lift themselves up. Playing the victim is easy but how about our community teaching our youth that they arent victims? Thats a much better and more constructive idea. 
    Slavery happened 160 years ago, how would they even determine who gets reparations? So many blacks have white or hispanic blood anyway. Should the families of White Union soldiers who died freeing slaves also get reparations?

    Should black Africans that sold their own people to slave traders have to pay reparations? Should muslims pay reparations to enslaved Christians during the reign of the Ottoman empire ? Where does it end ! 
    Our black conmunity needs to wake up and start realizing the democratic party is using us and constantly dangling carrots to our community in the form of reparations, more welfare, and more victimhood excuses. Every other Brown ethnic group managed to lift themselves up except our black community.

    Its time we start making responsible decisions and stop the blame game. We are better than that!!!

     

    We don't need no reparations
    We don't need no thought control 
    No dark sarcasm in the media
    Liberals, leave us blacks alone 
    Hey! Liberals, leave us blacks alone 
    All in all it's just another brick in the wall 
    All in all you're just another brick in the wall 

     

     

    I disagree with the standard rightwing characterization of black people as dysfunctional, whining, malcontents, who just want to blame whites and society for all our problems. And it's utter nonsense to suggest we need to emulate other ethnic groups in order to make it. Our experience of injustice and deprivation is unique. Yet we have made progress since the 1960s. But racism and an unjust economy that harms all working people still pose a challenge. When it comes to reparations it's not a question of merit, We should have got forty acres and mule along with money after Slavery. We didn't. The problem with reparations now is threefold

     

    1. They will not change the way the system works to deprive us rights, opportunities, or material wellbeing. The economy, criminal justice system, schools, community development practices, and mass media have to be reformed otherwise we will continue to lag behind and suffer the consequences of inequality such as lower life expectancy, poor health outcomes, higher levels of poverty, unemployment, financial instability, and unsafe communities. 

     

    2. Reparations if paid will let whites and the system off the hook. Congress and Corporate America will declare the race problem solved. It will be nearly impossible to raise concerns about other problems and get action taken because they will wrongly claim " they paid " so there's no reason to consider any further claims. 

     

    3. Reparations will be the biggest stimulus package for White dominated Corporate America in history. 

     

    We don't need reparations. We need more and better. 

    • Thanks 1
  6. Pioneer1 makes a very important point about the lack of sympathy black people have for each other. To the extent blacks will write off white racist violence against other blacks they believe misbehave in public or make " the black people look bad." All of us no matter our race or class don't like to be bothered or inconvenienced by homeless people who are often mentally ill or addicted to drugs and alcohol. We disdain them. If they are perceived as disruptive or a threat force or violence is welcomed.

     

    Let me be honest and confessional for a moment. I have a certain contempt for people standing around begging for money. Whether they have signs or hang out around businesses. I try not to give them money if possible although I do sometimes. I used to be more willing to. But to the extent I have always worked and had two or three jobs in some cases. Healthy able-bodied men panhandling make me really mad. I realize many of them might actually be addicts or mentally sick, but that's not everybody, however. It's not always easy to discern, and i'm sorry to say I don't try in many cases.

     

    Our political leaders have got to be held accountable. At the same time however, maybe I just need to be more compassionate too. But, make no mistake what happened to Jordan Neely was wrong to say the least. I hope Daniel Peters goes to jail for a long time.

    • Thanks 1
  7.  

    No I don't live in NYC that's true. But if no more immigrants or refugees came after tomorrow for let's say a decade. Blacks in that city and urban areas across the country would be struggling with discrimination, lack of public investment, and poverty. Immigrants don't necessarily make it any worse. In fact they tend to work and later start businesses.

     

    Black people wrongly believe in representation and passivity in dealing with Democrats politically. Imagine if we would take to the streets around economic and social conditions the same way we approach police violence things would have to change. If we would put in place truly Liberal and Progressive Left politicians not Moderate Center Right Democrats like Eric Addams or others things would change. Instead when they can't fix problems it's easy to scapegoat immigrants and refugees.

    • Like 1
  8. On 5/9/2023 at 7:34 AM, Stefan said:

     

     

    As thousands of migrants prepare to storm the country's southern border, they will definitely vie for scarce housing, medical and educational resources with Black Americans. To believe otherwise is foolish.

    Shelters, even emergency ones, are already jam packed, New York City and Chicago's Mayors said. So, millions will be spent housing migrants in hotels. In New York, city workers are being asked to work overtime and special pay has been earmarked for those who speak Spanish.

    Despite contending with two recent horrible mass shootings, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott just cannot stop attacking Latino migrants. Neither can Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

    “The cartels are working in collaboration with President [Joe] Biden and the federal government to facilitate that illegal cross-border,” Abbott 
    said. “We are being overrun by our own federal government. Texas is being undermined by our own federal government in our efforts to secure our border.”  ( https://newrepublic.com/post/172543/greg-abbott-demonizes-migrants-first-address-since-tragedies-texas )

    Nice. He attacks the sitting U.S. President. I guess he wants the migrants machine gunned.

     

    But DeSantis won't let Abbott steal all the anti-migrant spotlight, which brought a sharp rebuke from Mexico's leader.

    “Why does [DeSantis] have to take advantage of people’s pain, of migrants’ pain, of people’s need for political gain,” Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked at a Monday press conference. “This is immoral. This is politicking.”

    The measure will guarantee $12 million to fly migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, according to Politico.

     

    “Now I found out that the Florida governor — imagine, Florida, which is full of migrants — is taking repressive, inhumane measures against migrants in Florida because he wants to be a candidate,” López Obrador said. “Can’t he not make another proposal to convince people?”

    ( https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/08/mexican-president-lopez-obrador-florida-immigration-00095828 )

    Caught in the middle are Black Americans - with no choice but to accept cuts to municipal budgets for local mental illness, law enforcement, medical and education programs as funding is switched to help migrants.

    It's why Jordan Neely, the Black homeless and emotionally troubled NYC subway Michael Jackson imitator and performer, was choked to death by a White former Marine. Neely was clearly in need of mental help - but never got it. 

     

     

     

    I don't think migrants will hurt black people if the situation can be better controlled.  But the Republican Right has no incentive to govern and work with the President to do that. They thrive politically on portraying them the enemy the same way they do us.

     

    Ultimately if we're going to control immigration and solve the border crisis America  needs to focus more attention on Latin America than the Pacific or the Middle East. By working with Latin American governments to make those countries more liveable and prosperous not everyone will be compelled to immigrate here.

     

    American elites are hell bent on keeping all working people down at home and maintaining White Supremecy. Abroad they are determined stop China from rising and meddle in the Islamic world. Meanwhile things are falling apart in Latin America and the humanitarian crisis is spilling over our border.

     

    • Like 1
  9. 4 hours ago, ProfD said:

    By design.  Poverty, drug abuse and crime help to sustain the American economy.😎

     

    Things are bad to say the least. However this society is fixable if we're willing to get involved. But if America is beyond reform then we're all in serious trouble because nobody is interested in a Socialist revolution or a Black Nationalist Sepratist struggle to form an independent Black state in North America. I say all this because accommodation and adaptation are not good options either. 

     

    Thanks ProfD...

  10. It is possible to reduce crime and treat drug addiction in the black inner city. We know in the 1990s violent crime rates went down. Drugs are a tougher problem. Moreover things will never be ideal so we need to focus on constant improvement instead.

     

    One thing that will help is putting more people to work in living wage jobs. More importantly Brandon Johnson is making the well-being of poor and working class people a political priority. That's not something a lot of big city Democratic Mayors white or black have been doing.

    • Like 1
  11. 5 hours ago, richardmurray said:

    @KENNETH 

    your first question is provocative, for the work. why? Your first question does three things. These three things are merely displayed for multilog, not to make a relevant point. 

    1) it separates the word race or class in terms of their definition. when I use race or class I use them interchangeably. Race in the usa, for most people is phenotypical race. but religious race/gender race/financial race/age race also exist. Race is an unbounded word for me. So when I use the word race I am not suggesting it refers to the phenotypical only. In parallel, Class in the usa , for most people is financial class. But religious class/gender class/phenotypical class/age class also exist. Class is an unbounded word for me. When I use class or race, I see them equal in value to the words rank , order, classification, status, culture, heritage which all have the same root definition, at least to me; Arrangements based on a value. Yes heritage is what you carry, the value is your forebears way of life. Culture is what you grow, the value is your choice of way of life. Status is a label, the value is how others mark you. But all of said words are arrangements based on a value. 

    2) you dont' mention it explicitly, but you place phenotypical race/class under or less than financial class/race. Personally, I think the emphasis or potency of orders/ranks/races/classes between themselves is based on a given populace to mull over. In the USA many people are fiscal capitalist, not all, but many. But the problem is many people in the USA are socialist, and socialism at its core is a system of one financial race. The worker. The problem with socialism is, the landless vagrant when they have a house may want more. And socialism doesn't have a financial upward mobility. It doesn't have downward, but it doesn't have upward. financial risk+reward is absent. Thus why most in humanity speak in socialist terms, the 1% in every country in humanity is majority fiscal capitalist. So, it financial orders greater than phenotypical orders. In my historical view, no. But, it all depends on the time and place. In the USA many, across class/racial lines want to create a consensus of finance>phenotype. but why?

    3) why does a multiclassist or multiracial community  in the USA accept the concept of financial arrangements being superior to non financial arrangements? They feel it is the solution to peace. The USA is too multicultural in religion, phenotpye, language, gender, age, to use one of those factors for the majority. BUt, many in the USA feel that the commonly called middle class, is a financial race a majority can be a part of in the usa. Sequentially, financial race is superior to phenotypical class for said folk. Now, I argue, the USA has never had a majority above poor and below rich. The majority in the usa have always been poor. Before the war between the states that is unquestionable. After is where statistical assessment comes into play. The USA has been in the business of using statistical assessment, which is arithmetically proven can be used to attest to anything, to suggest a middle financial class has existed and needs to be reclaimed.

     

    What is the relevant point? None of what I said before. I did say the prior wasn't relevant, just for multilog.  The relevant point is aracial. 

    It is not going beyond race into class. As you alluded to, race/class go hand in hand. But, systems of classification always go hand in hand in any government in humanities history. The reality is, governments are themselves a class or race. Which undercuts why those who try to get away from races or classes ala aracial/aclassist usually fail. To restate, the usa is a fiscal capitalistic country, which demands poeple in it exists in races/clases/orders based on the trading of goods. Those with the most as you said ...

    ...which I concur to, in the modern usa , maintain the system of inequality, though I add it is also those that do not have who want to be in the advantaged inequal position as well.  But the question I posed to cynique is , maybe the flaw isn't that the have's abuse the have not, but the legal system in the usa, suggests that the have's shouldn't. I think the problem in the USA is the legal system is aracial or aclassist or at its core absent an arrangement. I daresay the usa legal structure allows for global citizenry. But the functional problem is the populace in the usa or the larger humanity is using a system of intermingled races/classes to align itself. which doesn't fit the legal system of the usa, and thus the constant clashes. The legal system is the problem. Most in the USA don't desire it but live under it, don't live by it, but live under it. and that creates problems when it comes to how privilege is approached. 

     

     

    I use the terms race and class separately. 

     

    1. Race is a social construct not a fact of nature. It is often used to define those different from us as subhuman and lacking dignity. It is used to treat others unjustly. This is especially the case in Western Civilization and specifically the US. 

     

    2.  In a social sense class refers to differences in status, prestige, and privilege. Of course, all this is backed by wealth and income. So of course it's economic. Often times when I write or think about class it is in the Socialist framework - there are the wealthy owners of capital and workers which is everyone else. 

     

    Thanks Richard Murray.

    • Like 1
  12. 4 hours ago, richardmurray said:

    @Cynique  when i look at the history of the USA. The community of people in the USA who publicly+functionally act aracial + equal in treating every other human being has grown since the time of the thirteen colonies. the problem is, not all blacks , not all whites, not all native americans, not all men, not all women, not all christians, not all muslims, not all anglos, not all latinos, not all elders, not all children,  have embraced the idea of equality for all races. And the reason is simple. the people who have financially profited in the usa the most , always take advantage of others. always.  Now anyone can argue, that happens in human history , anywhere. but the problem is what you allide to in your last sentence in your prose Cynique. You talk of rights. that is the USA problem. The USA is like all other governments in human history , based on one group taking advantage of others, whether internally or externally or both. but, the USA has the oldest legal code among current governments in humanity where equality is inferred as a universal right. So if you look at historical fact aside the usa legal projection, the solution is to end the idea that equality should be a right. The preamble of the consitution of the USA written by white slaveowners  is the problem. the community of people in the usa who adhere by it, while larger than ever before, are not necessarily the majority populace in the usa. 

     

    Ultimately does this go beyond race and extend to class? After all powerful monied whites including the Founding Fathers were rich and waged a war of national liberation against British rule because they hated taxes and government control. Black enslavement and the genocide of Indigenous people were certainly racist, but also class driven economics. The least well off landless and small farmers after the Revolution needed land political leaders opened the West to expansion killing off even more indigenous people than in were exterminated in the original thirteen colonies.

     

    Jump forward today and if you notice the assault on welfare programs including Social Security and Medicare and union busting in the name of individualism, self reliance, economic growth, and fiscal control are done by those critical even hostile to political reforms that advance freedom and racial equality. 

     

    Even wealthy and middle class blacks who get over are often opposed to critiques and class based actions challenging Corporate Capitalism because these blacks benefit more from legal and social equality with whites yet poor and working class blacks need material economic equality. 

     

    When we talk about race and privilege class cannot be denied. It's not just systemic white racism. Uncontrolled Corporate Capitalism and those with money exploiting poor and working people is the other side. The latter can come in blackface just as readily as white.

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  13. ln this regard black people are no different from whites. The kind of elitism that comes from being college educated hinders our relationships with each other and the struggle for Black Freedom. A lot of well off educated blacks only want the benefits of the system rather than changing the system so that black people benefit collectively.

     

    There are plenty of intelligent, hard working, and effective people doing all kinds of things for themselves and other black people. These people have never been to college. We need them and their contributions as much as anybody with a degree. While we have always had these divisions as black people, it's important to be aware and strive to bridge the gap.

    • Thanks 1
  14. 16 hours ago, richardmurray said:


    It is municipal and also post war between the states. The reality is, what black people are owed  is beyond any government to give

     

     



    Reparations means a thing that repairs, make ready again, but the black community in the usa only gets worse in the past historically.  To be blunt, if the black community in the usa whose forebears were enslaved before or after the usa was founded want to make any situation where we lived ready again, then it has to be back to africa. Because as a community, the DOSers only had something worth repairing before we were taken. In harlem, in NYC, many people talk about the harlem renaissance which was a term first coined by whites, but blacks first termed the new negro movement , and while these are merely labels, they serve an important point here. The black community in harlem before the 1920s wasn't some sort of paradise for blacks. So the black community in harlem during what many call the renaissance was having its first  positive cultural explosion. Not a renaissance, but a naissance. Whites in the usa talk about better days in the past cause they had them, when natives were being slaughtered and blacks enslaved. Native americans in the usa when they talk about better days in the past had them, before whites/blacks or any immigrants forced their way into their ancestral lands without their permission or invitation. But Black DOSers never had a better time in the past in the usa. What needs to be made ready again, what rebirth needs to happen? slave quarters in the british colonies, slave quarters in the usa, sharecroppers in the south, municipally discarded regions in northern or western cities? Yes, martha's vineyard, yes, a black one percent always existed , free, educated, fully invested in the usa. BUT, 99% of blacks were in enslaved/sharecropping/urban neglected while the 1% of black people were owning homes and lived better than  poor whites. ... the black community of san francisco can be given money but the black community of san francisco doesn't have anything in san francisco in the past worth repairing. They need something new in san francisco , and that is the question that brings uncertainty to  where the money will go, what will the black people do?  The black community in the usa, in this composite nation, frederick douglass's title for the usa, is a community of individuals, which serves the usa or the white community in it well, but is a terrible platform for a people who need a collective existence , that money can't buy, while money can complicate its forming. Composite NAtion speech, frederick douglass https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/357-frederick-douglass-our-composite-nation/

     

     

     

    earlier thoughts 
    https://aalbc.com/tc/profile/6477-richardmurray/?status=2216&type=status

     

     

    Thanks for posting this Richard. While I disagree with how you get to opposing Reparations l think you're wise to do so.

    • Like 1
  15. On 3/11/2023 at 9:03 AM, Pioneer1 said:

    ProfD

    This is true.
    And one of the things I've noticed over the years, most of the Black success in America today is 1st generational!
    ....as opposed to most of the Black success of the past and the success most other demographic groups enjoy.

    What do I mean?

    A lot of people of all races are self-made, but MOST people who are wealthy have actually inherited their wealth and opportunities from earlier generations to various degrees.
    Whether the money was passed down, the property and house they lived in was passed down, the position at work was passed along to them from a relative, etc.....they had help from older relatives.

    Today, most Black people who ARE successful in the United States have had to build THEIR wealth and success from scratch because for one reason or another the wealth or positions weren't left for them.
    This isn't as honorable as it may seem; because it's really saying that many of our people simply don't care anything about their own progeny and would rather fuck up the money and use it up themselves and take it to their grave than leave it to the next generation.  So you have thousands of young men and women growing up bitter because they weren't left with any materials to work from.

    How many other groups do that to their own offspring?

    Just build up a bunch of money and property only to waste it up or take it to the grave with them while their children an grand children end up going through poverty and haven't to climb out of it over and over again?

    This is why I say, I often wonder if some of our people exist simply as examples of what NOT to do and how NOT to be.

     

     

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    "Hey guys, if you want to be successful in life-
    Look at THOSE people and do the exact OPPOSITE!"


     

     

    Well more often than not middle class blacks come one generation out of poverty. And the Black Middle Class is less well off and stable than its white counterpart. None of this is mainly a failure on the part of black people. It is the result of systemic racism in employment and more specifically housing discrimination.

     

    Whites got a break after The Great Depression with government backed mortgages in addition to good paying union jobs and GI Bill benefits for college. Blacks got nothing so whites have a head start on building wealth. They have passed on wealth and far too many of us can't.

    • Like 2
  16. 13 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

    KENNETH

    I've met a few so-called "Black Conservatives" who hated White folks and talked all kinds of Black Empowerment in private conversations but they were disappointed in something in society whether it was what THEY perceived to be the lack of progress in the Black community, lack of success, or the amount of crime and immorality they saw rising over the years and it caused them to flip and identify with the Conservative philosophy.

    They say you tend to become more Conservative as you get older anyway, and I find that to be somewhat true personally.
    But then I wonder is it that individuals get more Conservative or is society getting more Liberal and tolerant while we stay the same?
     

    But more along the lines of what YOU said.....yeah I've also met a lot of Black Conservatives who thought "blaming the White man" as they say, is just a waste of time. At the end of the day White folks are still running the show and you learn how to work with them or stand on the sidelines and suffer the consequences.

     

    Perhaps it goes back to the question I raised in the beginning. While some Black Conservative Republicans truly see themselves helping black people others are about the benefits of individualism.  For me it's never been about anti whiteness. I want to work with everybody for mutual benefit. But I strongly believe in black freedom and equality. To the extent systemic white racism hinders that freedom the struggle continues. We suffer the most when we don't resist.

  17. 3 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:





    I'm beginning to wonder if unity really IS a solution.....or a problem..

    If the White racists are setting the house on fire and most of the people you're in the house with are STUPID and just lay around smoking dope all day.....would you really want to unite with THEM in hopes of saving yourself.

    Once the fire starts and you try to warn them....them fools are liable to lay on the couch smoking blunts and look you crazy talking about:

     

    Baby Boy Snoop Dogg GIF - Baby Boy Snoop Dogg Smoke - Discover & Share GIFs

    "Mayne.....cut dat damn alarm off!!!
    This nigga trippin'.....ain't no damn White folks around heah!"



    Now would it be best to waste time arguing with and trying to unite with THEM.....or would it be best to be an INDIVIDUAL and bust the hell out of that house before it and them dope smoking clowns go down and you end up going down with them?

    If so many of our people are stupid or just clueless and can't get it right and protect themselves from these racists, sometimes the Individuals among us who DO have good sense have to do the best they can to survive....even if alone if need be.

     

     

     

     

    By that same line of reasoning perhaps Conservative Black Republicans believe that blaming whites and American society for inequality and supposed injustice is self defeating and foolish so as individuals they have moved to the Right. Black people in their view should see the truth or suffer the negative consequences. 

  18. 52 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

    Troy

    If I had lived in New York, I would have found out which classes you were teaching in and enrolled just to sit down and hear what you have to say about various things.
    Not sure if I'd pass the classes....but I'd keep signing back up each semester anyway....lol.

     





    KENNETH

    One of the reasons there are so many Black Conservatives now a says is because racists have INFILTRATED the Democrat party and Liberal/Progressive circles and corrupted them and twisted them into such ridiculous and unrecognizable institutions with the sillies of ideas to the point that most people with common sense and some life experience would rather align themselves with the Conservatives than call themselves Liberal or Progressive.

    And example of what I'm saying...............

    Back during the 50s, 60s, and 70s which was during the Civil Rights Movement.....the rules of being a Liberal were crystal clear.
    You were for:  Black rights, Women's rights, Worker's rights, and anti-Poverty Programs

    That's it.

    You weren't fighting for any other causes, movements, philosophies, or special interests.

    Most Black people....the overwhelming majority were SOLIDLY Democrat and SOLIDLY Liberal


    Sometime during the 80s that changed.
    All kinds of other special interest groups started sneaking in through the back door and the White Democrats and White Liberals started giving them a platform to promote their causes and even equate them with ours.

    Homosexuals.
    Transexuals.
    Atheists.
    Communists
    Environmentalists

    Latinos
    Ultra man-hating feminists
    Eugenicists


    ....and many other groups....many of which went directly against the morals and ethics of most Black Americans.....started joining and flooding in the Democrat/Liberal party and changing the direction and goals of the movement and THAT turned a lot of Black people off.
     

     

    Pioneer1 as usual you stir the pot giving me a lot to think about and make better arguments. Thanks. I disagree with you here, but you're alluding to a larger issue that is very important. Perhaps I will tackle the matter in another post about blacks, white Liberals, and the Democratic Party. I will say this: 

     

    1. Black people sympathize with a kind of operational reformist politics mainly in the Democratic Party that addresses and concerns about racial inequality and injustice. But very few of them are ideological Liberals who support abortion rights, gender equality, LGBTQ Rights, or environmentalism.

     

    2. The kind of reform politics that advanced Civil Rights and supported working class economic prosperity has been eclipsed by a Centrist Moderate politics that tries to serve big money Corporate interests while appealing to whites especially men who don't sympathize with racial equality or anything governmental that helps blacks.

  19. 3 hours ago, Troy said:

    @KENNETH often this argument is simplified into a this or that scenario.

     

    1. There are large groups of Black people who are socially conservative.
    2. There are large numbers of Black people who are fiscally conservative.  

     

    Black people can be in both of the above groups and vehemently reject the Republican party, which never made sense to me.

     

    Black people are all over the spectrum when it comes to assessing what is most responsible for our collective and individual successes and failures.

     

    If you have the three things below, you will generally succeed in this country:

    1. Ability;
    2. Drive; and
    3. Lucky

    You really need all three to succeed. That "trifecta" of conditions can be both elusive and fleeting. The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow has diminished our ability obtain some of the lucky breaks white folks enjoy.  This of course affects our drive and even our ability.
     

    Both of my grandfathers were illiterate. 

     

    I know other Black people my age whose grandfathers graduated from college. 

     

    Who do you think benefited more from inherited wealth, educational opportunities, and less familial dysfunction?  Who would be more inclined to claim hard work is the way to succeed?

     

    I'm one of those people who blame both the legacy of racism and our own behavior for both our individual and collective predicaments.  I also believe much of our dysfunctional is a direct consequence of living in a historically white racist country.

     

    Troy I appreciate your response and for being thoughtful and balanced as usual. 

    I agree the debate can get overly simplified and we don't consider the diversity or complexity of blacks views on racism and personal responsibility for inequality. But at the same time it's hard to make that argument for balance because black and white Conservatives alike only consider black pathology as the reason  for inequality in the first place.

     

    There is a kind of Conservatism within Black America but it may not be the small or anti government kind advocated by the GOP.  In fact this kind of social and cultural Black Conservatism often criticizes black moral, social, and cultural life. At the same time it is often paired with a strong critique of systemic racism and injustice in white American society. Some of the best proponents of this perspective have been Black Nationalists like Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X , and Louis Farrakhan. 

  20.  

    Black Conservatives are more visible and vocal than ever. They are writers, thinkers, media personalities, and politicians. Whether you agree or disagree they cannot be dismissed.

     

    What are they doing to help black people? Could this be the wrong question? Maybe it's about individualism not black people. But how can black people be free individuals while being defined and denied things as a particular group. That is the problem with systemic racism. 

     

    Yet Conservatives including blacks on the Right don't believe systemic racism is responsible for problems faced by blacks. They blame government policies that foster dependency and encourage racial strife. Moreover they argue that blacks are hindered by their own immoral and pathological behavior.

     

    Some black people find all of this outrageous while a few completely agree. But I suspect there are far more black people who blame both racism and us ourselves for problems we face. 

    • Like 1
  21.  

    There are good and bad reasons for saying you don't need a man in this case see I'm not overly concerned with the slogan. The truth is that we need one another not only for reproduction, but connection that enriches both of us. God made it that way.

     

    What we don't need in our personal or social relationships are control, manipulation, exploitation,  abuse, or injustice.  Too often these things come with patriarchy and gender inequality so change is necessary. Not every change or egalitarian idea is right or useful that's. because we're prone to error and excess. But we can move forward together in better direction. I think that's one way of thinking about the photo.

     

    What are the sources of conflict in our relationships or lack there of ? Think about it.  Too many Black men are disdain education and work.  They only care about sex and the appearance of power and accomplishment. They focus on conquering one woman after another, and can't be faithful in a committed relationship. And they don't show up as fathers for their kids. They don't even think about marriage and family. Too many Black women wrongly blame and punish all men especially their lovers and husband's for the wrongs that an abensentee father, lousy boyfriend, or sex partner did to them in the past. They are so worried about being strong and holding onto to what they have that it's impossible for them be vulnerable and accept a man's love and support. They have babies outside of marriage and are unhappy in themselves. They wrongly look for a man to fix this brokenness and are mad because no man can. 

     

    These are the kinds of attitudes and modes of living that we must work on as individuals while continuing to fight for our freedom and equality. We've got to be better to each other so we can move forward as partners rather than one over another.

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