soulful

This is unfortunate and replicated in a number of cities around the country. What is the root cause - there are a number of factors. I believe that the lack of morality - faith based belief and attendance -- church, mosque, temple coupled with the depravity in art/culture - music & videos feed the banality. Current Morehouse president Robert Franklin wrote a book entitled Crisis in the Community - where he attempts to locate the breakdown within black society. It is a good read with a number of suggestions. At the end of the day - When people are disconnected and dismissed by parents, school and society -- rogue communities form - gangs. Which historically have existed but the soullessness - an earlier post mentioned is the battlefield. That darkness of lack on the inside that unfulfilled space tears away at the person and leaves them shell-like unmoved by human emotion. My solution is to work with the children - they need to feel connected to the larger parade of human history and Black diasporic history and culture. When people are connected and invested they value their own existence and that of others. The issue is a disconnect - the resolution a sense of connection. It might be trite - but we are the solution we have been waiting for - I am unsure about the hardened teens and young adults that have calloused feelings of disconnect - can they be reached - I believe so - but that will take a special out reach effort - the immediate solution is working with the children -- giving them a sense of connection and value. Peace

Hey Troy, Your relative's displeasure with fat women is understandable. We all have our preference. However, as a fat woman, I take issue with this -- so let me begin with the l-o-n-g story - I have been fat my entire life and have lived a good one - I think. I do not make any excuses about my situation - i.e. its glandular, I have big bones, or there is more of me to love. My base issue is that food taste good -- that is it! I am a gourmant - and enjoy the culture of international cuisine - Thai, Greek, Lebanese, Gambian, Indian, Jamaican, Italian, Vietnamese, you name it -- I LOVE IT! However, after the recent doctor visits - the songbook of my life - has turned critical because of my age - which is not yet 50 but no longer 25 - somewhere in between. In taking a sober examination of my food fetish - I noticed that my portions were the problem - I was not over a trough of doughnuts nor swilling down gallons of ice cream. My portions of were WAY off. A serving of rice 1/2 to 1 cup - when I measured mine were 4 cups and higher - not good. Even at resturants - I have started ordering children's meals which are portion appropriate. At the end of the day - everyone will have to face their own demons - the sad thing is that your relative - for aesthetic reasons could be missing out on the relationship of a life time - because he does not like fat women - funny thing - I don't like fat men -- Maybe I too have missed the boat -- what can you say - Soul Sister ps - check out this blogger - Leslie who has gone public with her demon slaying -- I could not locate part I http://www.theroot.com/blogs/leslie-j-ansley/part-2-whats-eating-african-american-women

My brother Carey - much love as always. If it were another time and place -- -- things could have been different between us - Cuz, I LOVE your mind and wit - and errybody can know this. I have not seen the movie yet - I am not a huge fan of movies - I love theater - and will probably catch Shrek IV on DVD - apparently it is the only good thing out in the cinema - Sex in the City flopped and Prince of ? was a disappointment so the reviewers say. Its all good - and whatever you are smoking - keep it lit up - clear vision and opinion is so hard to find. Peace Soulful Sister

You are INCREDIBLE - I LOVE IT!! A little over the top and hard to believe - that is what makes it sing - no one like Carey-boo. Peace my brother and thanks for the chuckle/snort. Soulful Sister aka - soul sister

Good Day All, Nothing like a little tussle during the humdrum of spring. Thanks for the exchange -- erryone. I do not think Oprah is self-hating - here I go again. I think she is a business woman who knows her market - soccer mom's and liberals who want to ignore reality and sup from the table of fluff. Than again Kitty Kelly is sumptin - she put Ronald Reagan on blast and that was no joke - from the Irish mafia to channeling spirits of the dead. I am reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. I did not realize the dreadful impact Regan had on federal legislation and the exponential growth of prisons - which Bush 1 and Clinton continued. I am now in the Clinton era and that cracker - whoa boy did he do some stuff - elevating Blacks to high govt office while the underclass are shuffled off into jails with a one strike rule. This whole issue of post-racialism is not a black white thing - it is a green no green thing - those with paper and those without. Moreover, the federal courts are relaxing the rules on the 4th amendment and opening the floodgates for potential wide spread suspicion. Lastly, Troy I cannot explain what happened to my original moniker and registration - so I have a new one for the meantime - I might try the old name - who knows. Are you doing BEA this year?? I was hoping to make it - haven't registered and would like to pop in at least for the exhibit hall -- if not enjoy. Peace Soulful

I get the user name - Cynique - is cynic in there somewhere??

It is clear to me now - you have "chip" on your shoulder. No prob - clearly justified from your pedigree - with your ancestors fleeing a violent south. What I attempted to explain is that the overt violence and covert forms of oppression are the same - Your lovely state of Illinois had King frightened for his southern born life during the 1960s. Ethnic whites are a different creature than domestic ones and throughout the north - Caanan land did not magically appear. It could be reason why there is a reverse migration happening with some Boomers, Gen-Xers and such. Don't sleep on the Bay state the busing in the 1970s showed the true nature of ethnic whites - and more recently in the 1990s an African student wandered into the wrong neighborhood in Charlestown Boston and was beaten and is blind as a result. So the "safety" of the north is relative - there are parts of New England where you best not be without cause - and white escort - as Henry "Skip" Gates. I believe that southern culture is the most "American" form there is - the food, folkways, and history are so intertwined that you have the white and Black Jacksons from Alabama who can trace their roots back to a particular community - no doubt. Not an amicable relationship but one stretching back at least a century. The tussle between the bad and worst of being Black in America to me is a moot issue. Especially since my immigrant ancestors were fleeing equally unjust treatment experienced in the Caribbean. Lastly, I appreciate the energy you bring to the board - and I have enjoyed chatting with you - funny that you read The Help at all. What are you reading now?? Peace

Thanks for the response - I am unsure if my skin is growing thin in my old age - or was there some venom to the reply post? I believe we are saying the same thing although your college experience pre-dates mine and I attended an HBCU instead of a PWI - being from Massachusetts all of my schooling was the "minority" experience couched within liberal-mindedness - whatever that is suppose to mean. My college experience post-School Daze. The intention of original post was to indite white supremacy universally - which I believe we agree on - and the working class experience is doubly oppressive - and for those non-natives triply oppressive - even those who are English speaking. My statement about living vicariously -- was intended to cause a feeling of empathy and pride for those working women - my female ancestors - whose sacrifices resulted in my being able to acquire a doctorate. Just thought I would clear the air - for my peace of mind and possibly greater clarity - should you decide to respond. Soulful Sister aka - soul sister - because of the new interface to post -

Glad to know you hung in there and completed the book. The end is no surprise nor is the treatment Black domestics experienced either. Before we beat the war drums about the oppressive south - my greataunt and grandmother did days work and probably knew live-in domestics in Massachusetts during the same time period and the treatment was not very different. Since I have become a neo-native southern I have to admit that cracker is crackers is crackers and matzo. The vertical relationship between employer and employee was vile because the employers made it that way -- I would like to read it - however, I will have to be in a winter-wonderland before that happens. Should you chose to vicariously experience more - check of Living In, Living Out by Elizabeth Clark-Lewis and the experience of domestics in Washington DC - still below the M-D line but upper southern and of-so proper?? Soulful Sister aka - soul sister -- this new system has me buggin'