ProfD

My 1st question is why are Black folks voting for these people who seemingly do nothing for them. My 2nd question is have Black folks provided the candidate/nominee/elected official with a list of priorities to which they can be held accountable. Even in the absence of being able to provide a financial incentive, the least Black folks can proactively do is codify their needs/priorities. Make the politicians do their job. Black folks in America had common problems at one point in time. So, it was easier for a Black politician to recognize and try to tackle them. Times have changed. Osmosis and assumption don't work. Very few elected officials and people in general are capable of satisfying needs/priorities that haven't been defined.

Yeah. I hope @Troy and everyone else in FL is staying safe. Hurricane Ian is not BSing. Cat 4 and potential 16 feet storm surge. Yikes.

That's where I agree with your position on dumb azz n8gglets. We've always had n8gglets who would ride with the *wrong* side to the detriment of their best interests. It's like poor white folks who vote GOP. No media manipulation or propaganda required. Just dumb and stupid for no good reason. Either genetically compromised or maybe they got a hold of them chemicals you talking about as embryos.

Correct. Black folks should not assume that Black elected officials have our best interests in their hearts or minds. Black skin alone does not equate to loyalty. That's why it's even more important that Black folks properly vet these people before they vote. Find out who they truly intend to serve once elected.

Most elected officials cater to the special interests that put them in office. That includes the Black politicians too. Before the people cast a vote, most politicians have already been bought through campaign contributions. Mayor Eric Adams is responsible for the administration of a city with a population of almost 9 million people. That's a huge responsibility. BTW, only 41% of NYC is people of color. Rikers Island could save $1.8 billion dollars by reducing its prison population to the 3,300 inmates it can reasonably accommodate. Instead, the detention center could have as many as 10,000 inmates on any given day. The 1st question is who's benefitting from that $1.8 billion dollars. I suspect that a whole lot of people are living well on that much money. Beyond the prison staff collecting their salaries and overtime, there are contractors and other service providers getting paid too. Riker Island is a microcosm of the *businesses* the mayor has to insure remain a well-oiled operation. Also, Mayor Adams is a retired law enforcement officer...the same folks who send people to Rikers Island. I could imagine he has some loyalties to the industry that made him. Often times, politics is a dirty business filled with greed and corruption. Black elected officials aren't immune to it. Besides, the Black community hasn't come up with any special interests and/or an agenda to hold any politicians accountable. Maybe the Black and Brown folks in NYC could get together as a special interest group and demand that Rikers Island be shut down or reformed.

The GOP is getting behind the most ridiculous candidates. There's a certain amount of arrogance in not even putting up the best qualified. If the people vote for an ignorant or stupid candidate and that person wins, the citizens will get the representation they deserve. Herschel Walker has zero business being on a campaign flyer let alone a ballot. He definitely shouldn't be on a debate stage. My inner comedian would enjoy sitting through his debate preparation.

@Pioneer1, society normalizes dysfunctional behaviors. The media has always been willing to exploit it. Case in point....that's why we're seeing more LBGTQIA+ images on TV and in movies. DC was the murder capital of the US before we knew anything about the west coast. We thought they were corny azz n8gglets with jheri curls. Also, Chicago was a hotbed of gang activity and killings before those movies were released too. IOW, the movies and music usually come after the dysfunction has already started. For instance, the female warriors in "The Woman King" were supposedly in Africa before white folks knew how to make movies. Otherwise, white supremacists enjoy making money from dysfunction under the guise of entertainment. Again, Black folks are more than happy to be complicit in allowing others to clown us. As NF Jr might say...Black folks will show off in trying to out-do white supremacists in making fun of us. That's how we end up with Black folks making music and movies and TV programs that are trashy. Man, you think folks can become sexually dysfunctional in the same way they catch a cold or flu. That's hilarious. Of course, there's more to vetting a woman than I wrote. The kind I'd trust with my money and steel don't come a dime a dozen either. I understand your concerns in how the media is being utilized to subliminally seduce Black folks. Again, my point is that folks are predisposed to dysfunction. I don't believe the media pushes those folks over the edge in as much as letting them know as Jay-Z said...it's all right.

Understood. I am an AfroAmerican. I was born and raised in the United States of America (USA). The USA is the only *home* I know. There is no other country on the planet that I'd rather go and become a citizen. Despite its warts and flaws, IMO, the USA is still the best country on the planet as a beacon of hope, freedom and opportunity. There's a reason people leave their home countries and seek citizenship in the USA. Otherwise, they would roll up to Canada or down to Argentina. Most importantly, the USA will forever be indebted to AfroAmericans. Regardless of whether or not the USA makes good on its debt (promissory note), AfroAmericans have every right to thrive and survive in their birthplace. Today, AfroAmericans are not where they should be whether it's fully enjoying the freedoms and protections of citizenship to sharing in the wealth of this great nation. But, that should not stop us from striving for it. This discussion forum is a microcosm of the conversations AfroAmericans should be having in order to make the USA a more perfect union. I know that AfroAmericans are having similar discussions in other outlets too. Non-AfroAmerican Black folks have a different history, experience and perspective when it comes to the USA. I get it. To each their own. But, as an AfroAmerican man, I can only do my part and use my voice to make the USA a better place for my fellow man. The USA may not change in my lifetime but to co-opt 50 Cent...that won't stop me from trying to enrich AfroAmericans.

Agreed. In fact, this alpha-male is more attracted to a strong and smart Black woman than one who is too soft, docile and/or submissive. In popular vernacular, I'd rather have a ride or die chick who can be a lady in public but who's not afraid to grab my gun and knows how to shoot if necessary. So, I expect both Black men and women to fulfill their roles and also be able to cover each other if/when necessary too. I'm so proud of and happy for Viola Davis and the moves she's been able to make in her career.

@Pioneer1, understood regarding how your description tied into NF Jr.'s commentary. I'm sure he could see the handwriting on the wall from past images. Hollywood has exploited stereotypes of and presented negative images of Black folks for a long time. From the old black and white movies and sitcoms to present, Black women have been portrayed as maids, prostitutes, housewives, strippers, etc. Black men have been portrayed as servants, janitors, unemployed, hustlers, gangsters, etc. Overall, I don't believe Hollywood images adversely affect Black folks pysche any more than Rambo inspires White boys to believe they're super-soldiers or John Wick makes them killers or Kill Bill inpires white girls to become assassins. IOW, Black folks aren't any more impressionable than anybody else. The media doesn't create effeminate males and masculinized females. Like everybody else, Black folks are going to be and do whatever is already in them usually without any help from external forces. While Hollywood has the resources and latitude to portray Black folks however it chooses, our people have to decide how complicit they want to be in it. I believe the average Black female can watch a movie or TV program and walk away from it with her femininity intact. A masculinized female was already in training way before she saw it on a screen. Check the environmental conditions. IOW, a Black female won't see a buffed up Viola Davis in a movie and make a decision on the spot...yep, that's what I want to be in life. The real question is why Black folks continue to to allow white supremacists to write and interpret our stories.

@Pioneer1, there is a longer clip where NF Jr, expounds on it. If I find it, I'll post a link. That's not an accurate summation of the movie. The King (man) does have several wives. The women warriors do not hate men. They have taken a vow not to marry or bare children. Otherwise, they are soldiers doing a job to protect the kingdom's business interests. There are some head scratching depictions but there are a couple storylines running through the movie. I won't give away too much of what it's about but the movie is entertaining in a "Set It Off" kinda way. I left the theater with my manhood firmly intact. I'm glad Viola Davis is already a married woman.

@Pioneer1, here ya go. Yep. NF Jr. mentioned it several years ago. Here's a shorter clip.

No gripe or argument. I just asked for the current AfroAmerican agenda to which politicians can be held accountable. That GOP Commitment to America is not it.

The man definitely gives it straight with no chaser and his perspective won't be an easy pill for many AfroAmericans to swallow if they're even inclined to listen.

@Pioneer1, you're right...it isn't that the white population is declining, it's not growing fast enough. They're not satisfied with controlling all levels of power and global domination.

The case needs to go to the federal level as a civil rights matter regardless of whether or not the state prosecutes the battery charges. Ben Crump might get a phone call. It's amazing that videos capture these racist incidents and yet we're told not to believe what we see and hear; let the investigation play out. Usually, these racist folks beat the charge and find a job elsewhere. It's ridiculous.

Black Americans are powerless in that regard especially without a united front among us.

You're right. Those groups are powerful and dangerous. They could roll the US back 100 years if left unchecked.

False. Instead of pulling up articles from the 1970s, I'll wait for to you list the current AfroAmerican special interest agenda to which they can hold politicians of both parties accountable. BTW, Newark is still considered one of the most dangerous cities in New Jersey.

America is still wide open to white immigrants. The governor of Ohio did a whole public service announcement welcoming Ukrainians. That same governor didn't open his pie-hole when Haitians were being turned away by border agents on horseback. Nor did that governor tell DeSantis and Abbott to send those buses and planes filled with non-white immigrants to Ohio.

Some people consider homosexuality unnatural and perverse like bestiality. People shouldn't consider it a threat because homosexuality cannot exist without heterosexuality. Eliminating heterosexuality would be the end of mankind. Nothing to gain there. Racism is having the power to subjugate an entire group of people based on skin color. Homophobia is a dislike or prejudice against gay people. There is no power in it. Racism and homophobia are wrong. People should be able to enjoy their lives without fear of persecution or retribution.

Homosexuality thrives in the United States for two reasons, 1) there are many White homosexuals and 2) the US promotes freedom of expression up to a point. In providing equal rights to AfroAmericans and White women, it's only natural that *rights* were extended to the next group fought for it...homosexuals. I thought it was some BS that homosexuals went so far as to equate their struggle to the Civil Rights movement though. Other than the Stonewall Riots in NYC and a few dust-ups in San Francisco, I don't recall gay folks being killed, beat up, dog attacked and water-hosed like AfroAmericans in the South. They've always had the right to vote; eat and drink wherever they choose to do so. Of course, here in America, as there are many white homosexuals in high places, they had the resources to get their agenda passed. When they decided gay marriage was necessary in order to make medical decisions for their partner and pass down inheritances, they formed like a Voltron and got busy making it happen. Otherwise, there is no other place on the planet that homosexuality is tolerated to the extent that it is in the United States. Surely, there are homosexuals in other parts of the world but they aren't free or powerful. Check with the Middle East or Africa or Russia or China. They aren't playing with it. The system of racism white supremacy will use anything to undermine Black men. That's why the media falls all over itself to show gay Black men at every turn. It reinforces the other narrative that Black men are weak and effeminate and unworthy to procreate. It also offsets the hypermasculine image of athletes and *some* entertainers.

Teaching and learning to share is normal human behavior. Treat others as one wishes to be treated. It is essential to survival. However, teaching and spreading hate is an evil form of human conditioning. Nothing good comes from hatred. IMO, ego is only a negative trait when it is utilized to harm or destroy other human beings. If one is self-absorbed without producing postive results...that's a clown. Otherwise, ego often motivates human beings to move from insolence and complacency and strive to be better. The benefit of human excellence usually extends beyond the individual. I'd enlist 10 egotistical people to solve a problem knowing at least one of them will come up with a solution. Even better if they collaborate. Win-win.

Immigration is only a *problem* when the people are non-white. Otherwise, it is bolsters the economy. White folks are called refugees when they leave their home country in the midst of chaos and turmoil. Ukrainians and now Russians can show up in any country they so desire with open arms. But, non-white folks are illegal aliens/immigrants when trying to escape a bad situation. The most interesting thing to me is that non-white folks defend the overt racism attached to immigration. There's no shortage of Americans (Blacks and Hispanics) who open their mouths with that BS talking point about closing our borders. Shut up. H8ll, if White folks could round up and deport those same American citizens, they would do so in a nanosecond. Non-white folks should be outraged over the treatment of immigrants from the Caribbean and South and Central America. But, wealthy folks really do not have a problem with it. They make plenty money on the backs of immigrants doing the work that most Americans are unwilling to do. The stunt that Southern racists are pulling in transporting immigrants to Northern cities is purely political. The question is why is the government and politicians in those places allowing it to happen. Two sides of the same coin.

Understood. IMO, human beings aren't born flawed in the way they deal with each other. Most human dysfunction stems from taught and learned behavior and environment conditions imposed by external forces. I'm surely not advocating a situation where AfroAmericans simply flip the script on White folks. I would not want to see anybody oppressed, mistreated and/or killed for no reason. I would like to see the system of racism white supremacy replaced with one of justice; balance and fairness for all of humanity. People should be free to enjoy their lives as long as it does not harm others. I simply want all human beings to treat each other with love. The only reason human beings having love for each other doesn't exist right now is due to the evil that men have done and continue to do.