Delano

@Mel Hopkins if you go back through tje exchanges at various points you, me , Cynique and Troy. Have had an emotional response to what Pioneer has written. Also each of us has questioned his thought process. Which does not speak to non attachment. You Troy and myself have begrudgingly agreed with Pioneer. At a certain point I decided to stop having an emotional response. @Mel Hopkins if my words haven't made you question your response. i can repost some previous post that demonstrate my opinion. You.

It means whatever you say it is.

mlets continue the prison aŕnalogy it's useful. What abpur the prisoners who are released but their mind is still imprisoned. You can decorate your cell however you like but it is still prison. The poetic horror is that you can only free yourself. You can give away many keys but inmates have to take that step.

That was a typo. I have since edited the post. @Cynique here's the correction.

Perhaps it is related to your being comfortable critiquing and psychoanalysing the men. Which you don't do with Mel. You are a better writer than all of the men here. You treat men on the forum the way men treat women in the world. It's not that you don't take men seriously. Its just you feel that the writing reflects half baked ideas. Also sometime in 2017 the main participants all had a fractious and emotional interaction with another member. Your reaction to this post is more important than disagreement or its validity.

The focus is wherever you decide. Since I can't see how one is more important than the other. I generally use the Oxford or Merriam definition and etymology.

Logic is a process. Meaning is both an outcome and intial state. Sense is also something that happens both during and after an event. The common thread in your life is you. So to the extent that you have defined yourself and have placed values on events. Then you are the thread in the warp and woof of your own life. Those things that are seen as random are either meaningless or without value. That is my conclusion. Although you have different values and attach different meanings to happenstance than I. You also have different assumptions experiences and intial conditions. And even if those were similar between us we have different temperaments personalities and thought patterns. I enjoy using a parsimonious amount of words to convey a statement with multiple valances. I appreciate the acknowledgement of such .

If you have leisure time then you have free time. Hence you have freedom. I have since corrected the error re the last sentence. ability also means capable

Or how does a person make sense of life? Or the creation of An Autobiographical Mythology. Can we call such a tome Non Fiction. Ghost writing indeed.

@Cynique I'll respond in the reverse order of your statements. I didn't see my response as a change in position. For me it was a clarification. However based on your response, it was temporarily ineffective. If i can effectively communicate the nuances and implications it wil be effective retroactively. Yet ipso facto it is less connotation and more denotation. Entertainment choices are the concrete display of existential preferences. Unless it's a forced choice in which case it demonstrates . effective manipulation. Or it shows what is so important to you, that it can be used to manipulate you. Ability doesn't always mean talent it also opportunity. Since able is the root of ability. So the misunderstanding is that we had (have) a different understanding of the word and its meanings. Origin Late Middle English: from Old French ablete, from Latin habilitas, from habilis ‘able’. ADJECTIVEablest,abler 1with infinitive Having the power, skill, means, or opportunity to do something. No but perhaps you have changed your mind about what I was saying. I also made the conscious decision (as opposed to a choice), to use less accessible words and structures. Not in attempt to obfuscate but rather illustrate.

@Mel Hopkins it also worked in reverse. I woukd go back and read articles on magazines by authors i liked.

Freedom is not an ability. Some people can choose freely. Some people are more appreciative. But i have no knowledge about the the inherent potential of people. Some people are better decision makers. While some people are not ordering from the menu. Knowing that you have a choice is enabling. Creating choices is inventive. All of the above are the opinions currently residing on my mind.

Freedom is the ability to choose your entertainment.

Thanks

I don't want to have anyone define me.

My neighborhood the kids were mostly black. I told my mother we lived in a chocolate city. She said the majority of people were white although the kids were majority black. From second grade through high school the kids were mostly white. Growing up my parents exposed us to culture and art . We saw Alvin Ailey and the Negro ensemble company. I have had drinks dinners and conversations with racists. Which on hindsight is interesting. Because I didn't fit the stereotype of an urban youth or an Oreo. There are different expressions of racism. From the KKK liberals conservatives media and culture. I just like challenging Blacks and Whites. Blacker than thou Black is what Black does. I don't want anyone to define me.

Seems paradoxical What blacks really need is to be liberated from the freedom to be manipulated.

Perhaps but based on the reactions here, it isn't easy.

I have read this twice but the freedom to be manipulated has me stuck.

Do you see the irony in telling me not to think that way. And I could do what you do? I understand that your not telling me what to do. It's a suggestion but the implication is that its better. Since most people dont offer a worse solution to an issue.

@Troy I have to disagree. If you cant accept someone's opinion it is impossible to have an open mind. I don't want any prejudices . Otherwise i am a bigot/racist/misogynist/ etc. And while some may think prefermce is not the same. Does anyone say bigots ate open minded. Toe there is a small leap between not accepted different ideas or opinions. and different people.

Are there parallels to Watergate?

It is still difficult for me to accept some opinions. And i have started to ask myself why.

@Mel Hopkins it was probably in my 30's. Troy its a list without the bullet points. There are a few ways I find books. I read about Dorothy Parker because of the Prince track. I read the autobiography of Malcolm X because of the Spike Lee movie. Found a few through The New York Press newspaper. A couple of book clubs. Recommendations from people or celebrities. Anthologies. I would also puvk authors because i felt i should have read them . I was interested in the following topics or genre. Mythology Jungian Psychology Numbers Astrology The Occult. Sone books happened to be in a section when i was looking for something else. A few people gave me books. Sometimes it ess a friend or someone i didn't know well. Lastly by accident.

I am an avid reader. I don't generally join groups. I will list some of the jobs i have done. Cashier Messenger Tax Collector Tutor Bookkeeper Nude Model Statistician Psychic Bartender and Security Guard.