aka Contrarian

@ProfD Imo, the problem is not whether elections are held, It's whether the loser will go quietly without claiming the outcome was rigged. Since both parties draw millions of votes, it's just hard for me to believe that either side will meekly consent to living under a type of government they passionately disapprove of, for the next 4 years. Something's gotta give, considering how divided the country has become.

So do I.

@R.E. Hayes: I'd be interested in hearing more input from you since you show promise of providing fresh and what hints at being succinct observations. @Pioneer1 Since you have no proof of that, it's nothing more than an opinion given in response to my opinion.

Here's when I hung out with PRINCE. 😉 I'm really having fun doing what it's possible to do nowadays!😜

So, what can be deduced from this situation is that it has a history, and is an ongoing situation. In reality, not all problems have solutions when you're dealing human with beings. That's a hard reality to accept.

@ProfD Cynic that I am, secure in the probability that I won't be around to witness it, I think the USA is done for. There will be no reconciliation between the conservative fascistic MAGAs and the Liberal DEI crowd. The divisions are too deep and entrenched. I think America will eventually split into 2 different nations, separately governed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

The issue is not about whether this generation is worse than the preceding ones or about finger pointing. That's all a waste of time. It concerns what to do about what is currently happening. Problem solving gets lost in the shuffle of idle reminiscing. Maybe fines and jail sentences will have an effect. Or perhaps these roving hordes of young folks will get scared straight, after a body count builds up at the hands of trigger happy cops... Such is life.

An abused wife who is a masochist stays because her mental state of mind equates pain with pleasure. If she is not masochistic she will leave and seek help from the many shelters and havens that society provides for such cases.

With the advent of summer weather, Chicago, like a few other places, is now faced with what has become the latest problem involving urban youth, wherein masses of exclusively black young people clued and enabled by the telegraph of social media, converge and congregate at a given vicinity from where they spill out into the down town business districts and public beaches, dissolving into swarms of marauding crowds roaming around, yelling and dancing, creating disturbances, engaging in minor skirmishes and vandalism and occasional gun fire, offenses that have led to police intervention and arrests. Talk about idle time being the playground of the devil! This has really discouraged ordinary adult Chicagoans and tourists of all races from venturing out to enjoy the sights and sounds of Chicago's summer time festivities. Similar gathering have been reported by white suburban teenagers on a smaller basis, while Hispanic mobs reportedly confine their swarming to their barrios. No one seems to know how to deal with the situation other than to blame parents for not controlling their children. This is a tickingtime bomb ready to explode into rioting and violent law enforcement intervention. Chicago's black Democratic mayor is tip-toeing around the issue, not wanting to alienate his black base, resorting to the familiar litany of there not being enough resources to supply these young people with wholesome recreation activities, all the while continuing to discourage calls for a 10:pm curfew. Media coverage of these outbreaks are also causing controversy. Needless to say, NOBODY is happy about the situation, but a certain segment of Chicago's black population is joining the chorus blaming "bad parenting", which they attribute to the "babies havin babies"plague that created a whole generation of young parents who are clueless about child rearing, and who empathize with, rather than discipline their kids. The latest action taken emanates from the States attorney office, where threats are being made to serve negligent parents of cited offenders, with a fine of $5,000 or up to one year sentence in jail... In addition to everything else, this is yet another situation to fan the flames of Donald Trump's campaign to blemish Chicago's image.

Talk about a generation gap. I am unfamiliar with Rob Base. But I do join the music world in mourning the passing of legendary jazz saxophonist, Sonny Rollins, who just joined that celestial combo in the sky. He was in his 90s.

Black folks are masochistic; like an abused wife who stays with her mate because - it hurts so good.

@ProfD Whatever the reason, there doesn't seem to be any resentment or conflicting emotions involved. White people love their country and are proud of how it dispersed with the bad guys and emerged victorious from WW2. Maybe Richard will respond to Troy's post and clear the air.

If you guys weren't constantly bitchin' and whining about the lingering injustices of slavery in this country and the institutionalized racism that is designed to stifle Blacks, and keep them in their place and the omnipresent spectre of white supremacy and on and on and on, maybe Richard wouldn't look askance at the ambiguity of your relationship with this country. Troy bristles with his contempt f or the pervasiveness of social media and all it involves, and ProfD makes no secret about being armed and amenable to vigilancy, never wavering in his goal of reparations. Funny, I never got the impression that Richard was a member of a different generation than you two. His thinking is not archaic, to me. All of which contributes to the elusiveness of black unity. In watching the recentPBS special on WEB DuBois, I can't help but wonder what tribe he would belong to, were he still with us. I, personally, have given up categorizing folks. How one views the world depends on their core personality, imo. 🙄

@Troy Nah. That review that you supplied a link to said it all. I shouldn't have described what I was going to post as a "review". It would've only been about a paragraph. In answer to your question, I read the hard cover (library) book. Arsenio's memoir was just a typical show business success story. He went from rags to riches, encountered a lot of subtle racism, met and became friends with a lot of celebrities, including Eddie Murphy, along the way. And, oh yeah, his current.live-in companion is white and so was the baby mama he had a son with. The End. 😉

No biggie. We can move on from Arsenio Hall's memoir and black women's sentiments about white gold diggers. It ain't that serious as far as I'm concerned.