aka Contrarian

@Pioneer1How do you know that for sure? You've strayed from the worlds of reality and perspective and drifted into the territory of speculation. Your pontifications are opinions, even if based on science which, itself, only goes so far - or religion which is even more questionable. Because, we are not omniscient, the different detailed explanations offered by everyone here are just personal theories. Reality is mind boggling. Life is a mystery. Language inadequate Mere mortals know not that they know not.

Humm... From my perspective, reality is a slippery slope. And that's it. I often find myself asking is this really happening or am I imagining it when I am frozen in a moment of self-awareness. Sometimes when I feel unreal, I pinch myself to make sure that I am "there". If I happen to catch a glimpse of my shadow, I tell myself that it is proof that I exist. I shift between the world of my dreams and the world of my wakefullness, not sure which is which. When it comes to something like colors, I'm in agreement with the idea that maybe my blue is somebody else's red and neither of us knows it. I've grown skeptical about the purity of what is described as the "truth", - which strikes me as being a synonym for perspective. I'm curious about why I am. Anxious about where I'll be when I m not anymore. I'm burdened with questions and bereft of answers. I. Don't. Know. has become my mantra. zzzzzzzzz

@ProfD: These reluctant black male voters would be whining and sulking if they were being ignored and written off. When approached about joining a crusade to ward off the kind of dictatorship that Trump is just salivating to turn America into, all these smug brothas can think about is asking what's in it for them. The answer to that quiery is: a country that will have staved off a theocratic fascistic take over. And just for the record, John Legizamo, Geoge Lopez and Rosie Perez have been urging Hispanics to support Kamala. And the female vote is also being solicited by prominent women from all sectors to gain support for Roe vs Wade. I hate to burst their inflated sense of importance, but these obstinate black men aren't the only ones being asked to volunteer their vote. When Obama was running for POTUS, nobody had to put their foot up the asses of black women to gain their support. They were eager to help him get elected, not looking for anything in return, just glad to participate in a quest for the common good. Not so with these black men, many of whom are the same ones who quickly became disillusioned with Obama because he couldn't overthrow institutionalized racism or overcome a Republican-dominated senate. All of this is just one more reason why I was not enthusiastic about Kamala's candicacy. As I feared, she is being held to a much higher standard than a man. Trump's flaws are overlooked because people identify with his vulgar, petty, incompetence, but as a woman running for president, Kamala Harris is punished for not being perfect. I will be pleasantly surprised if she wins. I can only hope...

@Delano: Which.post was this? What did I say?

I've heard that back during the hey day of Hollywood's motion picture industry, white "stage mothers" were not above encouraging their young daughters to "be nice" to the studio moguls and movie stars. e.g. It was said to be common knowledge that Kirk Douglas "raped" teen-age starlet Natalie Wood as a result of this practice. And also, that bi-sexuality was rampant among a lot of Hollywood's leading men. Currently, there is a move underway to release the Menendez brothers who have served 35 years for slaying their parents because of allegedly being molested by their own father was what drove them to commit murder! There is no limit to how low sexual predators, fueled by their positions of power will stoop because this, combined with great wealth, can bring out the worst in the male animal, - making idle time the playground of the devil! PLAYBOY's Hugh Hefner's mansion was also reputed to be a bastion of ongoing orgies involving ambitious female nymphets. DIddy probably did what he did simply because he could do what he did. He was drunk with power! None of thris is new. It dates back to the biblical references about Sodom and Gomorrah. Not to mention the Roman Catholic Church. Hail Mary! zzzzzzzzz

@nels Watta crock of bullshit. Anybody like you who is enslaved to a political party that has a leader like Donald Trump, has zero credibility. I'd go so far as to say you're mentally disturbed; afflicted with cognative dissonance. Fanatically possessed by the conservative ideology that has numbed your intellect. Whenever you post something, I consider the source. It's also significant that you have yet to acknowledge the obvious, that your candidate Trump is not fit to be POTUS. Why? Because you have an aversion to the truth and reek with inconsistencies, unable to defend how blatantly flawed the fool you support is. You are so obsessed with the disparity betwern your version of the Democratic party and the reality that others have observed and experienced that you can't think straight. There is a mile-wide gulf between what is written by cherry-picking pundits with agendas and the way things actually exist in real life. All you're good for is posting articles written by conservative mouth pieces.Your world view is so warped it is consuming you, but anybody with any amount of common sense isn't guillible enough to swallow the partisan propaganda you continue to dump on this forum. Realistic goals and a comprehension of practical expectations of what LIFE offers would liberate you from the pipe dreams that possess you and others like you. Y'all have yet to figure out that the Universe doesn't give a good god damn about what you think your race deserves. If you're born with black skin, well, those are the breaks. Face it, you're on your own but if you get lucky, you'll survive. Having a few skill sets will improve your chances. Keep that in mind and do your own thing. Just for the record, I identify as a black woman and I don't think Kamala Harris, the woman of color, the Howard University grad and Alpha Kappa Alpha soror is going to have any great impact on sistas. But I do think a victory for her bodes better for this country than the fascistic theocracy Trump and his packed SCOTUS will usher in.

@DelanoI don't have any original "thoughts" in regard to your impressions of Troy's words. His reaction to your analysis was positive and spoke for itself. You might want to analize what I had to say in my 2 posts about the upcoming election If you want to get some incite to my crazy sub-conscious dooms day mind. I think what you are doing is similar to reading between the lines, - which is very ZEN.

@ProfD: black unity is an oxymoron which will never materialize. If Trump wins and things turn out bad, the middle and lower classes will be who unite and race will become irrelevant. If Kamala wins, Blacks will continue to find ways to circumvent the vagueness of white supremacy. The Reality of life will neutralize the unification of black Americans who will eventually fade into the mainstream. Change the scenario of your romanticized dream. zzzzzzzzzzz

@Troy @ProfDI tend to agree. Obama telling black men they shouldn't vote for Trump will certainly make many of them more determined than ever to do so because you can't shame them into supporting a woman of color. Furthermore, black men have never been over-enthusiastic about Obama because they didn't think he did enough for Blacks when he was in office. His influence is not that strong. Then, there's people like Oprah Winfrey. She long ago alienated black men by turning sistas against brothas who were exploiting them, and they've never forgiven her for this. So her support of Kamala is not a vote-getter Sunny Hoskins, a mixed-race panelist on the popular TV show "The View" confidently claiming that black men will not have a problem voting for Kamala because they come from a matriarchal culture was another misstep, in my opinion. Too presumptuous. I fear these tactical errors will come back to haunt Kamala's campaign. They bring out the obstinacy in those black men who don't like being preached to or treated in a condescending manner. Hispanic men are also reported to be reluctant to support Kamala because they simply tend to dismiss women as leaders. Ditto average white males. This situation is further exacerbated by racism. The Dems have made several moves which I think they should've known better than to do. And this includes running someone for POTUS who sparks too much controversy! Finally, I am very nervous about whether Americans will choose intellect over ignorance. They tend to be more concerned about gas prices than knowledgeable leadership. Nevertheless, Blacks may very well determine the outcome of this election and if Trump wins, any future hope of black unity will dissipate.

Kamala was not.my first choice to run against Trump. I fear she won't beat him because this country is still not ready for a woman president, much less one of color. And, I'm especially turned off by the numbers of Blacks who are against her, and that includes other black women. It's like their prime objection to her candicacy is their indignation over the assumption that they will automatically vote for her, and they don't appreciate their support being taken for granted. Some of them, however, really do hold her in contempt for various personal reasons, while overlooking Trump's sordid past and present treachery. Meanwhile, I continue to be amazed by those who think a lying, incompetent, ignorant, narcissistic, petty, bigoted, mentally-impaired felon is fit to hold the office of POTUS. I didn't really think I'd be around to vote in this election but here I am, still kickin' with the election only a month away. What can I say? I hope Trump loses, but I wouldn't bet on it. America is on the brink of something. What? I don't know...

nels' psyche has really been co-opted by a cult mentality. He has the gall to come on here constantly bad mouthing Kamala Harris and spreading propaganda about Democrats, when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Mark Robinson who is running for governor of North Caolina. Robinson, a former porn site denizen, who in case you haven't heard, has in the past referred to himself as a "black nazi" who thinks slavery was a good thing. Trump compares him to Martin Luther King and recently reiterated his support for his candicacy. smh Meanwhile, like the dutiful little right wing lackey that he is, nels proceeds to pose questions that have no relevance to reality in order to put black Democrats on the defensive. Suffice to say, black women in particular, are doing their thing, playing the game, gaining a share of the power that is commensurate with their percentage of the total population. Like the smart pragmatists that they are, sistas are doin it for themselves. Win or lose, they will be reckoned with. Go somewhere and sit down, nels.

No, actually. I'm not interested n plowing through one of your long winded dissertations in your role of the self-appointed arbitrator of who is what and phenotypes types this and pheno types types that, nationalities, ethnicities and Hispanics and LatinoXs aside. And spare me s bunch of pictures.

Yes, answer the question. Tyreek said when he mentioned being the victim of white cop profiling, the officers replied they weren't white, they were brown.

Some of his teammates passing by also on their way to practice did stop to see what was going on but didn't intervene for fear of making matters worse. Later, in his interview, as ProfD noted, Tyreek had the good sense to say he was raised better than that, and should have been more cooperative and was asking for trouble by not getting out of the squad car, necessitating being pulled out. He also said he was glad the offending cop had been put on administrative leave. Of course, the brother couldn't resist recreating the incident after he scored his TD, by putting his hands behind his back while a teammate pretended to hand cuff him and lead him out of the end zone. The police chief promises a full investigation. The police union reports the offending officer is not cooperating with their attempt to represent him. What is a "white" Latino?

@Delano:So am I, before I submit my statement.

I don't know why what you want to know is not being answered. And at this point, I leave you to marinate in your frustration.

Ask me a question Troy Posted Monday at 01:49 PM @Delano how do I approach life @Troy I have copied this thread into a new discussion @Delano: Well, where is it? I don't see it. What's its title?

@umbrarchistThe program's main focus was on the human interest back stories about the firefighters who lost their lives. They kept emphasizing how heroic these men were and that they knew the buildings were in danger of collapsing, but they kept on climbing up the stairs to get to the trapped occupants. I'm not taking sides in this debate I've just developed a curiosity about it. It's like what happened was a combination of Murphy's Law, and the perfect storm phenomenon. All the conditions were present for everything that could go wrong,to go wrong; and it did... Kinda like the Titanic.

@Umbrachist: The TV show 60 minutes dedicated their last Sunday's show entirely to discussing what happened at the twin towers on 9/11 23 years ago. Among the many things they reported was a brief explanation, claiming that the towers were not constructed to withstand what happened when fires occurred that would reach a certain degree, citing some kind of reference to foam(?) which the air planes caused to catch on fire??? Did you, by any chance, watch this program?

In case y'all don't know it, Baby Boomers aren't the first group to be categorized by sociologists. Before them was another generation born during the 1930s, sometimes known as "depression babies:, who lived through WW2 and grew up during the1950s. That would be me. And we were known as the "Silent Generation". Mostly because we didn't rock the boat when it came to society's ethics or traditions. It was a man's world. So, in regard to the family, the father was the breadwinner and the ceremonial head of the household. Seemingly. In many cases, however, women ruled the roost with their iron fists in velvet gloves and the secret weapon between their legs. Hen pecked men were quite common. They obediently brought their paychecks home to their wives, tolerating their "not tonight, dear, I have a headache" excuses. Male authority was limited to being the designated disciplinarian who played the role of the mean guy who upon arriving home from a hard day at the office was greeted with a recap of all the the terrible things he was expected to punish his children for. If all else failed, wives used tears to sucker husbands into seeing things their way. That was a white scenario and TV sit-coms had a field day portraying dear ol dad as the bungling dupe of ridicule and humiliation at the hands of his wife and kids. Blacks hadn't made it to the tv screens yet not to mention that their scenarios were slightly different. If ol dad was on the scene, he and his hard working, long- sufferin wife split their duties. And if she got too overbearing he wasn't above splitting the scene or going upside her head before she put his ass out. Of course these are all caricatures of what went on back then. The point is, is that women have always found ways to cope with deeply-rooted chauvanistic paternalism, and as the 1960s approached the Feminists movement got underway and became a thorn in men's sides. The "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" acknowegement followed and put things in perspective. Soon women began to challenge the ol boys network for a seat at the table. Today, it's a mixed bag. Women have choices. If they don't want to give up their freedom and independence that don't have to. Marriage is an option, not a goal. Bi-sexuality and lesbianism are out in the open. And, yes. misogyny is still alive and well. Just some thoughts on my part...

Doesn't Westetn science say, in layman terms, that white people were mutated aberrations who, after being ostracized and driven out of the black tribes, banded together and gravitated out of Africa into colder climates, increasing their numbers by replicating themselves, gradually becoming a variation of the human race? Why should Elijah Muhammad's version be any more believable or plausible, especially since it has no archeological proof. Who is to say which explanation should take precedence over the other? Believe whatever you choose to. The past is the past. The present is the present. They don't have to void each other. Esoteric information doesn't necessarily invalidate existing knowledge. imo.

I used to be an avid reader; best sellers, novels, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, horror, murder mysteries, sci-fi. Stephen King, Toni Morrison, all of 'em. The last book I read was 3 years ago. After that, my vision began to fail. I can see far away, but I struggle with close up print. Reading glasses don't help that much. I used to work a crossword puzzle everyday but not any more, much to my dismay. The only reason I can participate on this site is because I put my phone on dark mode and when the background is black and the printing is white, I can see just fine. I need cataract surgery but keep putting it off like I do any medical procedure because, at my age, I feel like it's more trouble than it's worth. I really don't give a damn about much of anything any more. I'm losing interest in everything. Even the election. I do, however, have enough passion left to detest black right wing Republicans. Lately I've been frequenting You Tube. But not to watch videos. To listen to songs. All the oldies but goodies. Music is my drug of choice. It really does it for me. It's magic. I keep saying I'm going to get into audio books but - maybe tomorrow. If tomorrow comes... Oh, me. zzzzzzzz

@umbrachist: I find quantum.physics much more interesting and intriguing.

@umbrachist: I was more interested in your motivation than your physics lessons. What goes on inside a person's head is more interesting to me than someone losing sleep over a brick and mortar scenario. To spend 23 years wondering out loud why others don't acknowledge what is obvious to you, sounds like an obsession. I'm sure you can relate to my reaction since I suspect you and others feel the same way about my preoccupation with the occult. Kinda like ProfDs fixation on reparations and Pioneer's fanaticism about race. Whatever.