ProfD

@Chevdove, there have been many men throughout the history of mankind who have absolute power over people. I don't believe God gave those men power especially not the most evil and brutal of them. Those men took power regardless of their intelligence (knowledge) or lack thereof. Between violence, manipulation and exploitation, it does not take much power to control people even the *smart* ones.

Facts. Welcome back to the gallery sista Mel.

Just to name a few things... 1. Establish and control institutions in Black communities (banks, hospitals, schools, job training centers, etc.) 2. Only allow Black-owned businesses in Black communities (restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, barbershops, hair & nail salons, laundromat, dry cleaners, etc.). 3. Insure a dollar exchanges hands within the Black community at least 8 times (vertical integration). 4. Police our own communities. 5. Groom our own Black politicians to serve the needs of our communities. Power is built on infrastructure and diplomacy or in extreme circumstances, it has to be taken by force. Policies are enacted to maintain power as a way of doing business and to keep order to minimize adversaries and aggression. Black men united is really the solution to ALL problems.

@richardmurray, the answer to your question(s) has several layers. As I've mentioned in several threads, Black folks in the US need to come up with an agenda to which elected officials can be held accountable. Globally, Black folks need to do a better job of realizing that no matter where we live on the planet, the system of racism white supremacy affects all of us. To that end, real Black leadership from all over need to assess their infrastructure needs, account for their resources and find a way to build consensus in helping each other. First, Black folks have to get off the opiates keeping them anesthetized in a state of gross consumerism, ignorance, insolence, greed, jealousy, hate and envy, etc. Escaping the prison of racism white supremacy is a tall order. It seems far easier to enjoy rec time in the prison yard and/or slump back on the bunk in the cell.

As I've mentioned in several threads, Black folks need to come up with agenda of tangible benefits to which politicians can be held accountable.

The craziest thing is that no other group of people is hounded and insulted about voting more than Black folks. Politicians pander for the Black vote and do nothing tangible for us. Meanwhile, white, Hispanics and Asians are not badgered into voting and gain the most regardless. Exhibit A--Anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill. That sh8t shot through Congress like Speedy Gonzalez. Yet, there is no anti-Black Hate Crime Bill. Black folks are subjected to police brutality and every other aspect of racism white supremacy.

Brotha Troy mentioned the old say that knowledge is power here in this thread first. I quoted him. Otherwise, I explained my rationale for power being more powerful than knowledge.

Point taken that I could have been more specific that a microwave can cook almost any food item. Chefs and cooks absolutely do know how to use a microwave to cook items that would be off limits to folks who don't know their way around a kitchen. Boiling an egg in a microwave is easy. Same goes for baking a potato. Just a matter of knowing how to do it. Again, I should have been more specific...physical human interaction.

Technology has always been utilized to make our lives more efficient. Convenience comes with a cost. Some *old* products and jobs will be phased out. New opportunities will emerge. As always, there will be people who know how to ride the wave and take advantage of technology. Some folks will get left behind or slowly catch up. IMO, AI will be most beneficial in speeding up processes in making certain tasks less tedious and/or time-consuming especially in high-level applications. Human beings won't use AI for most daily tasks and things that make us...human. Anything that requires interaction based on feeling and emotion will remain in the realm of human beings. A microwave can cook anything. Yet, most people still prefer to use a stove, oven or grill to cook their food mainly because it tastes better.

America *allows* foreign companies to do business here because it's good for the global economy. These super power countries are in collusion. Notice how radio silent they were this past weekend during the insurrection/protest in Russia. The US was quick to put out a statement that we had nothing to do with instigating that situation yet we knew it was going to happen. A handful of powerful people control the lives of billions.

Correct.

Most coup leaders and powerful people in general surround themselves with a mix of smart people and sycophants. In recent times, America has had two POTUS and a VPOTUS who were not the most intelligent people yet they held positions running the most powerful country on the planet. Karl Rove is a very smart man who would never be elected POTUS. So, he functioned as the brain for the POTUS. Intelligence and power....Chinese leader Xi Jinping is the personification of it.

Power. It attracts knowledge and everything else. Exhibit A-dictatorships.

Great for that individual and their immediate circle. It does nothing for the remaining 32% of the Black population living there.

It makes for great conversation I guess but doesn't do anything for Black folks. Knowledge means little or nothing if it's not being used to solve problems and/or make power moves. Philosophers had the luxury of sitting around eating grapes and talking sh8t because they lived in a free society. Black folks cannot afford to indefinitely philosophize and pontificate under the system of racism white supremacy. As Redman once said, it's time for some action.

It stands to reason that white-owned media companies especially for profit would paint Black folks unfavorably and/or reinforce stereotypes. The worst part of it is that Black folks working in those spaces allow those narratives to continue and gladly get paid to participate in it. Many so called Black-owned media outlets are either fronted and/or shadowed by white money. Even Black-owned media companies have to accede to the interests of their angel investor(s). In prison, it is understood that those who accept gifts will eventually get screwed. Life is very similar.

I hope this victory isn't merely moral or symbolic but that it results in a tangible gain for the Black voters in those states.

Hilarious and accurate. Tongue in cheek. Of course they don't need our help nor are we offering it.

Let them read. Whatever we post on the forum is public info. We're not hiding. Maybe they'll learn and use it constructively to eradicate the system of racism white supremacy. One can only dream.

To @Pioneer1's point, I find it interesting that white folks feel comfortable showing up @ AALBC a discussion forum primarily for Black folks. Whenever said white folks do post anything, it's mostly to criticize and/or point out the flaws in Black folks. The same white folks who show up here don't seem to offer anything positive or constructive nor do they provide a solution for what white folks will do to eliminate the system of racism white supremacy. I would dare not show show up on a white extremist or KKK or Duck Dynasty website talking about how white folks need to stop inbreeding, smoking crystal meth, mass killing each other and eating squirrels. I would hope that intelligent white folks are capable of having those discussions among themselves or at least find something else to eat. White folks don't need my point of view. I certainly don't need theirs when it comes Black folks and the conditions we face resulting from a system of racism white supremacy.

Most AfroAmericans would still see Africa as one big country instead of a continent consisting of several countries if they had to rely on their parents to teach them differently.

The Civil Rights movement was contentious time in America and ultimately a historical event. The white media is nosey as f8ck. They covered our black leaders in order to keep an eye on them. Again, white folks have never been enamored with Black folks intelligence, charm or charisma. White folks have always seen black men who are strong in any way and potentially powerful as a dangerous threat to the system of racism white supremacy.

Sure. Culture is code. Leadership enforces it. AfroAmericans have neither. Rudder-less.

Sure. We could bake and build a whole lotta sh8t if they paid that 400 year old debt. Resources make it easier to do for self. There's no need for a bank loan when you own a bank. Also, both Elijah Muhammad and Marcus Garvey both understood the importance of meeting with the devil and making demands. It's said that Elijah Muhammad met with the KKK in order to broker a deal for the farmland the NOI used to produce food. BTW, white folks like to say pull yourself up by the bootstraps in order to make it within their system. That's an arrogant mindset for a group of people who stole everything they've ever gotten and continue to do so.

Reparations has to be more than cash payment. In another thread, I've listed some of what a reparations agenda should include. Basically, it comes down to putting an infrastructure in place that solely benefits generations of AfroAmericans into perpetuity. Essentially, AfroAmericans should be as wealthy here in America as our oil-rich Brown brothers and sisters are in the Middle East. Saudi Arabians and Kuwaitis don't have to get a college education in order to get a good job, make money and survive. Their basic human needs are guaranteed. Education is an avocation. Look no further than places like Dubai. These people have so much money they're building hotels and sh8t in the middle of the sea. AfroAmericans should have paradise right here in America. We shouldn't have work for anything. Everything AfroAmericans choose to do should be an avocation. 400 years of free labor deserves nothing less.