ProfD

It may be hard to believe but I grew up during a time when black males did not have to fear the police nor did we have to know how to interact with them. Police officers were just one of us. Back in those days, the police officers would stop in the neighborhood and talk to people. With enough free time on their hands, they would get out the squad car and shoot hoops or throw a football or jump rope. Also, the police had a band and show. They would show up to perform at schools, parks and recreation centers. Young folks referred to the police as "Officer Friendly". During the late 80s and early 90s, things started to change. IMO, th,e war on drugs was the beginning of the end of positive policing in black communities. 😎

Being an actor, he was still in character. 😁 The real question is whether his next job will require props or a costume or uniform. 😎

A routine traffic stop should never end up with an unarmed and innocent person being killed by a police officer. Supposedly, police officers receive extensive situational awareness training especially as it relates to life and death. Unfortunately, there are bad apples who are motivated to join the police force for the wrong reasons. Bad police officers can only be weeded out through better psychological examinations and/or their colleagues indentifying those who slipped through the cracks. As citizens, the best we can do is be as polite as possible with police officers in order to minimize our interaction with them. If necessary, take down a name and badge # if the encounter with police was negative and report it up the chain. 😎

Great question @harry brown. The short answer is not really. Black folks might own the network or media companies but they don't own the bandwidth on which it operates. It's the equivalent of owning a house but not the land on which it sits. The OWN network belongs to Oprah. Perry owns the production company responsible for the TV shows and movies he produces. Neither one of them owns the cable outlet, broadcast networks or movie theaters. So, to that extent, they're on a short leash in the content they can provide. IMO, that is why we do not see any programming that fully puts white supremacy and the crimes they commit against us on blast. So, black folks are left depending on their system to right any wrongs and/or transgressions against us. 😎

Absolutely, parents are responsible for protecting their young people up to a point. However, parents should not be demanding participation trophies when their kids lose and/or getting involved in employment issues for their grown azz children.😁 The world doesn't owe spoiled brats anything. But, life will definitely kick them in their pants. 😁😎

This is a huge peeve of mine. Dudes are getting real soft mentally and physically because they are not being raised to man up. There is already a war on masculinity. The last thing we need is a bunch of marshmallows running around when the proverbial sh8t hits the fan. 😁😎

@Mzuri, all is well on my end. Hopefully so for you and yours too. When I first heard that dumbazz story, I thought, this dude needs a real azz whupping Singapore style. 😁 Taxpayer money totally went to waste in pursing this one. At another place in time, they would have told him to shut up and take a few seats. However, nowadays because everyone has a right to be heard and taken seriously, we're forced to deal with a certain amount of foolishness. I believe he should have to pay a huge fine for wasting public resources on his publicity stunt.😎

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/arts/television/jussie-smollett-guilty.html I sure hope this n8gglet didn't go through all of this to further his acting career. If so, it backfired.😁 I knew the whole thing was BS when it was initially reported. Just didn't add up. 😎

Agreed. She needs to go to prison too. Also, thank goodness for technology and stupidity. Had the murder not been recorded, those killers definitely would have gotten away with it. 😎

They either dropped off the virus or didn't want any parts of it. Either way, they decided not to stay. They'll catch up with us later.😁😎

People are running around doing enough dumb sh8t in crimes that require police intervention. They are safe from from being defunded. Police reform is easy. Hire police officers who look like the communities they serve. Do not drop a racist cop in an area predominantly inhabited by people of color. 😎

@Troy, the latest mass shooting in MI might reignite the dialog on gun control. The parents have been charged. Those clowns tried to go on the lam. They weren't able to hide out for long. They were nabbed in Detroit.😁 😎

This morning, I heard there is a 492 foot long wide asteroid traveling at 14k miles per hour that will come within 2 million miles of the Earth. While this asteroid will not impact the Earth, it is close enough to be worthy of attention, er, scientific curiousity. That's kinda how I feel about the human race. IMO, we're still several million miles away from being in balance. I probably won't live long enough to see balance within the human race but that won't stop me from preaching it during my time on the rock. 😎

IMO, phenotype only leads to confusion. it's easier for me to classify people as white or non-white. Beyond that, I'm trying to figure out how we can bring balance among all human beings.😎

Meanwhile, in Michigan, a 15 year old shooter has murdered 4 schoolmates. He's being charged as an adult with murder, intent to murder, weapon possession & terrorism. The teenaged killer posted on social media. His dad bought the gun a few days ago. The parents should be charged too. 😎

@Troy, as I'm reading @Stefan posts, I'm wondering what's going on around here because I haven't seen an ad hominem attack nor an "amen corner". I just figured maybe you guys have a history that predates my showing up and plopping down in this comfortable armchair.😁 Whatever the issue(s) are between @Troyand @Stefan, I hope they can be resolved and we can continue solving, er, pontificating on the topics of discussion. I value both of your contributions to the forum. @Stefan, the memes are totally on point. Like you, I believe humor is great for the soul and highly effective in communication. To that end, I hope the regular forum contributors aren't still hung over from their Thanksgiving meals and will return to the discussions as well. 😁😎

Agreed. The current two party system does a great job in keeping Americans divided. It's not until about 40 million American voters come up an agenda that pulls folks from the far-right and far-left together somewhere in the middle to form a truly Independent party. I'm not looking for a movement that merely drives votes to either Democrats or Republicans but a legitimate Independent party willing to serve all Americans. 😎

https://www.reuters.com/world/prince-charles-travels-barbados-celebrate-creation-republic-2021-11-29/ The Barbados will shed its 400 year old shackles of colonialism in removing the Queen of Great Britain as head of state. Great Britain says it will maintain close ties to the island nation. Hopefully, Barbados will be allowed to thrive and prosper and not become another Haiti. The Barbadian President-Elect is Sandra Mason. There will be a huge party in the newly independent republic. 😎

I didn't know about the black speed skater winning a race. Amazing that in 2021 there are still firsts when it comes to AfroAmericans. I watched the movie King Richard this weekend. Very well done movie on the rise of Venus and Serena Williams and how their daddy came up with a plan ro make them great. 😎

On cue, they're announcing a new variant (Omicron) of the achoo virus. There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. Hold on to your seat. The aliens may never come. 😁😎

Sure. To this day, Afroamericans are still incapable of defending themselves against violence and hostile takeovers. It certainly doesn't help that AfroAmericans have been anesthetized with gross consumerism and materialism into believing the struggle is over and white supremacy doesn't exist. The self-hatred and self-inflicted problems AfroAmericans deal with are by-products of an inability to fight the real enemy. As I just wrote in another thread, the failure to pass on history, knowledge, wealth and build a solid infrastructure to support each other is our biggest problem. 😎

I don't know if wealthy white folks are racists. But, If they benefit from racism either directly or indirectly, their silence and indifference is more dangerous than overt racism. The desire and ability to maintain power and control over other groups of people is the biggest problem. The failure to pass on history and knowledge and build a solid infrastructure to support each other is our problem. 😎

@Stefan, you're right. Defund was definitely the wrong word to use in police reform. The messaging should have emphasized reallocating funds to social services and community outreach and other initiatives. Building a partnership between the police and community they've been sworn to serve and protect will in turn eliminate any animosity between them and reduce crime. I believe the high profile murders committed by race soldiers has opened up a dialog that will lead to better policing in the future. 😎

Unfortunately, some folks don't believe they're gonna get shot until it's too late. According to the gun laws in Texas, I believe that shooter will get away with justifiable homicide. Sadly, the custody battle is over now and the son no longer has a father. 😎

Texas is a great example of a place with relaxed gun laws yet all h8ll doesn't seem to be breaking loose. It isn't the epicenter of mass shootings and murders. I believe the reason Texas isn't the wild wild west is because anybody could be packing a gun at any time. That's an equalizer and crime deterrent. 😎