ProfD

Facts. Being white is their pre-existing condition and the privileges that come with it. Whites do not have to navigate the obstacles of race as it relates to their progress and success in life. Whites do not have to meet the same qualifications and standards they impose on non-whites when it comes to opportunities. White supremacy provides a power that allows whites to focus on everything else because their skin color is never a liability. Being white is an asset.

@richardmurray, I understand this particular law is unique to NYC. Still, I do not believe I should be able to register and/or vote in a city in another country if I do not have full citizenship.

IMO, voting should be a right reserved for citizens. The US already has enough issues in that regard. I would not show up in another country and feel that I should be able to vote as a non-citizen or permanent resident.

Dr. Boyce Watkins breaks it down in 30 minutes: Dr. Watkins also admits systemic racism probably won't disappear in our lifetime.

Peeling back the layers to that onion would lead to many tears. Instead, the same folks are depending on religion to put an end to their misery.

@Troy, the mayor said "low-skilled workers lack the academic skills to sit in a corner office". That statement comes across as if he's referrring to the person.

Black folks do not really own and/or control the outlets that feature TV shows and films. As a result, black folks produce and deliver content their paymasters will accept. I'm totally disenfranchised with the work of Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels because they only polish the same old stereotypical turds. There's also a reason these particular dudes are given a lane to produce their content. Black reality shows are hot garbage too. They are to talent and creativity the equivalent of McDonald's when it comes to food and nutrition. Admittedly, I don't watch the sh8t. I do a cursory scan to know what I'm criticizing by showing up in other folks' houses and seeing them glued to that BS...Love & Hip-Hop (pick a city), Black Ink, Fix My Life, etc. Yeah, there's a whole lot of junk food for the eyeballs and brain on both the big and small screen. Makes me even happier that I'm a musician. I've got a totally different retreat when it comes to entertainment.

IMO, being black is a pre-existing condition with which one is born. There's no escaping it. Identifying with being black is just another mental exercise non-white folks use to navigate the prison of white supremacy. Rest assured, white folks are never confused when it comes to identifying non-white folks.

No doubt. Black creativity, intelligence, talent and labor has been exploited and built great wealth for others for centuries. While I know when, why and how it keeps happening, it still has not been any less frustrating to me for the entire time I've been on the planet. I would love to see black folks have total control and ownership over their creativity, talent, knowledge, skills and abilities. As I'm beyond a half century now, my optimism is fading that I'll live to see it. My hope is that a future generation of black folks will get it.

Third World is a derogatory term thrown around to suggest that a country is under-developed from an infrastructure perspective and has a lower economic output than other countries. Surely, with the right amount of resources one can live comfortably almost anywhere on the planet. Just a matter of adjusting to the environmental conditions and culture if it exists.

@Troy, you're correct...US life expectancy from birth has gone down 1.6 years from 78.9 to 77.3 years. The virus is a factor. I totally agree that fear + propaganda is the motivator in getting folks to change their behaviors. Surely, if the media reported deaths due to cigarettes, drunk driving and obesity on a constant loop every day and the gov't mandated that folks quit smoking, drinking and eating too much or lose employment, people would be more inclined to change those behaviors too.

Some folks work their way through school as dishwashers, waiters and waitresses. They do have the intelligence and/or academic credentials to sit in a corner office. I've spent decades working with folks in corner offices. Some of them leave much to be desired in the intelligence department. In fact, I doubt some office workers are qualified to be dishwashers.

Personally, I enjoy the discussions especially among my folks. The dialog is more important than whether or not we agree or disagree; share the same or polar opposite views. Despite the fact that the participation is not high and @Mzuri feels it's tired and boring , I'm glad to have found this forum.

Judas & the Black Messiah was a very well done movie. Daniel Kaluuya is on his way to being a great actor. Lakeith Stanfield isn't shabby on the big screen either. He was great in both Come Sunday and The Harder they Fall. Mahershala Ali is another great actor on the rise. He crushed it in The Green Book. His most recent movie The Swan Song is excellent too. I'm always glad to see black actors being cast in roles that showcase their acting range.

Reads like a serious case of nepotism but not corruption considering it's in the news.

Anything less than life without parole for those murderers would have been another failure of our criminal justice system. Considering they also have a federal case too, it's unlikely they would ever be free again regardless of state sentencing.

@Troy, it's a grind and a labor of love but necessary especially to those appreciate and benefit from your efforts. Black folks have a long way to go in controlling their own but every step puts us closer to getting there. We just have to keep pushing.

He lived to be 94 years old and had a full life well beyond average expectancy. RIP Mr. Sidney Poitier.

IMO, at 0.2% of the population, deaths attributed to the virus have not had a negative impact on life expectancy. Thousands of people die every year from the flu despite the fact that there is a shot for it. "Simple" measures could save a millon lives every year whether it's providing medication, food or housing; ending wars and conflicts; tougher gun control laws and enforcement, etc. But, I get it. Most folks are afraid to die. The fear of one's own mortality is enough motivation to get them to do whatever it takes to prevent the inevitable. Fear is the easiest way to control people. Instead of being afraid to die, folks should be striving to live life to the fullest in the time they're allowed to be on the planet.

As @nels mentioned above, the dumbing down process started a long time ago. Now, we live in a time where it's on full display though media outlets 24/7/365.

https://www.newsweek.com/eric-adams-says-cooks-dishwashers-dont-have-academic-skills-sit-corner-office-1665609 The comment Mayor Eric Adams made in the linked article will make him look arrogant and condescending. Not the best way to gain the respect and trust of the workforce and people in the city he serves. He's still new to the job. I'd imagine his PR folks will polish him up a bit.

There is something wrong with a picture where educated folks have to leave their home country for better opportunities elsewhere. I thought the purpose of being educated was not only marketability but paying it forward and creating opportunities for the next generation. We need to do better of job in teaching our folks how to create employment instead of looking for it. Merely having a j-o-b often means being Just over broke. Now, I can type from a personal perspective that creating opportunities and getting my folks to take advantage of them is not an easy feat. Regardless of education, some n8gglets don't really want to work. Nonetheless, we should not allow hurdles and obstacles to kill our entrepreneurial drive nor force us to relocate to another plantation. There is no greener grass.

@Troy, vaccines have played a part in increased life expectancy along with other medications, better sanitation practices, food processing and storage capabilities and other technologies. Slow down...900k deaths out of a population of 335M people doesn't drop US life expectancy to any significant degree. Personally, I do not know of ONE person who has died of the achoo virus. I know many folks who have survived it though. In fact, millions of unvaccinated people have survived the virus. Not a knock against the vax whatsoever. Just stating the facts. When I wrote the virus and vax is a form of a population control, I wasn't referring to deaths. This current exercise is a form of population control from a mental and physical perspective. For many decades now, they have been controlling population through diseases, foods, medications, etc. Now, they are opening and closing businesses at will and telling folks where they can and cannot go and what they must do. There is no incentive in killing off too many people at any given time. Reducing population requires a delicate balance in order to maintain status quo. For example, take senior citizens in the US. Because of increased life expectancy, old people are a huge drain on the social security system. But, as long as they have health problems, they need medications. Drum roll.... Big Pharma is the modern equivalent of oil. There is a lot of money in selling "legal" drugs. Medicine sucks the finances out of old people and redistributes the weatlh. Wealthy folks are running the world into the ground. World leaders are mostly comprised of greedy people who will do their bidding in order to line their own coffers. Always watch their hands and follow the money.

As mentioned in another thread, the virus and vax is a form of world population control. It's not aimed at one group of people. It's aimed at all of humanity. Using the fear of death, world leaders are controlling how people live, work and play. When you can force people to put a foreign substance into their bodies, the sky is the limit in what you can make them do. I cannot give a definitive date on when this exercise will be over but rest assured that human beings won't put up with it indefinitely. At some point, folks will accept the reality that we are born to die. The question I have is how long do folks think they're supposed to live. Father Time is undefeated when it comes to putting a year on the other side of that dash on the tombstone.

The irony of being an AfroAmerican politician is that they are powerless in the grand scheme of things. It's reminds me of a Chess game. A pawn is expendable until it's lucky enough to become a more powerful piece. In order to do so, it has to matriculate to the far end of the board which is no easy feat. Knowing that AfroAmericans have no real agenda in America, they're allowed to become politicians because they cannot make any changes that benefit themselves and/or upset the apple cart of white supremacy. NF Jr. brilliantly articulated it when discussing former POTUS Obama. The most hilarious part was when he said if/when white folks decided they were tired of him being POTUS, they could have walked into his office, stripped him of his title and relegated him to being a janitor, Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that AfroAmericans should not aspire to higher political offices. I think they should be realistic about the challenges they face and the bidding they will do. I wish Mayor Eric Adams well in leading NYC. It's been a few decades since they've allowed an AfroAmerican to sit in that chair.