Cynique

@Pioneer1 i don't know why you are so obsessed with getting me to join the "I love america" club. I also don't understand why you can't see that my having managed to co-exist by staying under the radar in this bull shit country does not change the history and hypocrisy that i find objectionable, and which does not inspire feeling of patriotism or respect on my part. Or is my dislike for amerikka something i have to work at because it comes natural to me after a lifetime of observance. Any gratitude i have is directed at Fate, which figured into my being born in a rich country where being a second class citizen is less inconvenient than in the poor corrupt countries who also have terrible histories. English is an international language which does not exclusively belong to America. It just happens to be the language i speak, so it is the one in which i marinate.

@Linda Chavis i hope everything works out well. Lucky there's a successful treatment for your condition. It'll all be over before you know it and you'll be back to normal. Trust.

I confess to being a stickler for correct grammar and speech. I also have a fascination with language and words and what they say or don't say by implication, and how they are sometimes inadequate in capturing an emotion or conveying a message; not to mention how they can be misinterpreted because people hear what they want to hear. What power words pack! I realize that I'm "old school" and that my sentiments on this subject can be considered superficial and pedantic in today's world. But, my thinking as has always been that when you can compete with your would-be oppressor on his level by correctly using his language, this neutralizes his advantage and very often gains his respect. So correct speech can be a tool as well as a weapon. This is just an eccentricity of mine, I guess. Of course there are people who can effectively get their point across by using incorrect grammar or speaking slang, but there will always be those who will judge and classify you by your speech. Just as when it comes to black folks, made-up, multi-syllable names with dashes and apostrophes send up red flags to white employees, whether justified or not. Of course, out of necessity, black folks are bilingual when it comes to Standard English and Ebonics. BTW, one thing that many people seem to snag on when writing, is the difference between the words, "effect" and "affect". "Affect" is a verb used to express action. "Effect" is a noun because it is the name of a thing. So, the sunshine affects the flowers because the "effect" of the sun helps them grow. Also, no apostrophe is necessary when "its" is used as a possessive pronoun because it is a possessive pronoun on its own. "It's" contains an apostrophe when it is used as a contraction of "it is". So, it's cold out side. And the weather is taking its time to warm up. This is for detail-oriented people. Since cursive writing is becoming extinct, perhaps grammatical technicalities will, too. Language does gradually evolve in collaboration with its relevancy to the culture.

Mohamed Noor the policeman who shot, the Australian woman in Minnesota is a Somali-American and is, in all probably, a Muslim. He's not your run of the mill black cop. He is a college graduate and became a cop because he had a calling to go into law enforcement. He also has previous complaints lodged against him because of his aggressive behavior. I'll reserve judgment on this case. However, unlike ZEON, i'm a little less inclined to give white cops the benefit of the doubt. And perhaps where i live influences this. In Chicagoland, there is literally an "us-against-them" relationship between white cops and black people, and these white cops are not backing down. They shoot at the drop of a hat and if they don't start out as racists they become them after dealing with black folks. And just because black people are also guilty of being racist doesn't prove anything except that 2 rights don't make a wrong. . A WEB site run by a white cop was uncovered by authorities in the city and what the thousands of white cops were posting on it was as racist as you could get. And yes, these bullies harass white people as well. There is also a high rate of sexual harassment of female cops by their fellow officers. And make no mistake about it, they are a Fraternal Order who protect their own. My opinion is that white people who aren't racist, who are even-tempered, and capable of exercising good judgment don't become cops. They go into other professions. And if they do enter law enforcement, they eventually quit, becoming disillusioned after observing the misconduct of cops of all races. Finally i would say that these young black punks out there need to stop testing these trigger happy cops, and other blacks should use common sense with dealing with them. These guys want to be looked up to and treated with respect and since they are in authority, humoring them is the best defense against them, albeit an unreliable one.

@Pioneer1 Too bad you can't understand standard English. Just what part about my saying the reason i have contempt for this country is because of its unsavory history and blatant hypocrisy, don't you understand??? How many times do i have to reiterate that it is my contention that black people have come as far as they have not because of the American legacy but in spite of it! I'm not the only person saying this, Many have reached this conclusion over the years. It's essentially what James Baldwin, and Malcolm X and your hero Farrakhan said, what Ta-nehisi Coates and Toni Morrison write. What LeBron James and Colin Kaeprenick and even JayZ are realizing. Even white truth seekers acknowledge it. And it is what people who are coming here to pursue the American dream are now finding out. This country when left to its own devices evolved into a haven for white people couched in their skin color, and the richer they are the better they thrive. Donald Trump personifies America at its worst and he is the president. But even the poor whites maintain their status and Trump is their idol. Everybody else is on their own, and lot of those fall through the cracks, especially black ones, - victims, yes! But if it makes you heart beat a little prouder, yes, America is the best of the worst. Now go wrap yourself in the flag, stick your thumb in your mouth and take a nap.

The word "jive" came into prominence among blacks in the early 1940s among black musicians, who had a colorful lingo all of their own, a lot of which was incorporated into black speech over the years, i'm pretty sure "solid" as in "solid, Jack", originated with them as well as phrases like "gimme some skin" being a request for a handshake. This is just colorful creative speech! Black people have a very special relationship with the word "be". Maybe because it assures them that they really exist. So, - they "be", he "be" and do she "be"? "Aks" is commonly substituted for "ask" by black folks, supposedly because black tongues have a hard time negotiating what it takes to pronounce "ask" correctly. It's really just careless speech and a tell-tale sign that no matter how far you come, you still don't correctly pronounce a 3-letter word.

@Pioneer1 And the way you flip-flop and bitch about places like Flint, Michigan, and white cops all going free after executing black people is not exactly out of line with what I'm saying. Not to mention taking leave of your senses if called the dreaded "n-word" by a white person. Bottom line, you love this country and i don't, and nothing you blubber about changes my mind because i'm about the truth not about a lot of masochistic schmaltz that has yet to disprove that black people succeed in this country in spite of how the odds are stacked against them because of their color. "Victimization" is a code word, used by white folks and boot strap black ones, in an effort to neutralize the reality that black people are victims, scarred by the slave legacy that has spawned the double consciousness which makes them neurotic and sometimes dysfunctional. While browsing through a copy of ESSENCE magazine, i just happen to come across an article headlined "The Shame of a Nation" about a newly-released, scathing, well-researched book entitled "The Price For Their Pound of Flesh" written by a black historian named Daina Ramey Berry. Why would i be impacted by your isolated examples when there are people out there who, when it comes to this bull shit country, know whereof they speak when they expose America's terrible history, as opposed to apologist slave descendants like you, jes happy dat dey they allowed some of us negroes to eke out a livin in dis glory land where our free labor helped build some roads and buildings in a few states.

@Pioneer1Ohhhh puleeze.You and your generalities based on anecdotal evidence that stems from what you heard or somebody told you. "Most this, most that",most, hell!; Never any proof. How's this for some anecdotal evidence. i grew up around many people who were around during the 20s and they were not functionally illiterate. You need to get your time line straight because there was a substantial black middleclass in that era both in the north and the south where preachers and teacher and doctors and lawyers were the ruling class, their society centered around the historically black colleges. You're the one who's absurd. Just because illiteracy was true of the losers corralled by Elljah Muhammad doesn't mean it was true of every one. i don't know why you keep holding this lecherous con man up as a paragon of virtue and wisdom. Incidentally i knew a preacher and his wife in my hometown who adopted one of the children he fathered with a young girl. Using your methods, this is proof enough of him being a con man, - something Malcolm eventually discovered. Marcus Garvey was around during the Harlem Renaissance and the artists and intellects who made up this movement were his peers. Black preachers in their pulpits back then weren't all calling blacks the seed of HAM, some were talking about Egypt being in African and Egyptians being the original blacks, - kings and warriors and stone masons. i've been hearing about ZULU warriors all my life, not to mention claims of Cleopatra being black. . The black experience differs from person to person, region to region, city to country, north to south, so stop all your assertions that don't pertain to everybody. .

@Pioneer1Glad you finally realized that you're not qualified to set yourself up as a role model for me. Too bad i had to make this point for you because you were obviously incapable of making it for yourself.

@MAFOOMBAY: What pushback? The Republicans have only their own ineptitude to blame for any set backs. The Democrats are pathetically disorganized and ineffective, standing around reacting instead of acting. Or would I characterize the Republicans as a cornered animal. They effortlessly do as they please and get away with it because everyone is at a loss as to how to deal with their arrogant disregard for political protocol. The Supreme Court nominee? It's not about the process, it's about the nominees and you can believe they will be right wing conservatives who will shape policy for years to come. As for your formula for success, talk is cheap. I've heard all the rhetoric before and things have gotten worse rather than better in this capitalistic republic. This is why i'm so negative. Black unity is an empty phrase, whose reality is not viable. Something more than essence needs to be brought forth. You need tangibles, not abstracts and slogans. Unfortunately blacks who need to be taught the most, are those least interested in learning, too inured in what "XEON", a poster on this board, refers to as the "baby-mama culture" that perpetuates a dead-end life style ripe for violence and the racist criminal justice system, and is aided and abetted by the poor parenting that makes the job of schools more difficult. But you are young and you don't need the endorsement of an old woman like me. i suspect you will find a comrade-in-arms by the name of PIONEER who is also a poster on this site. He is your audience. Others who post here, like TROY, DEL, MEL, and HARRY might offer you their constructive insight, also. What am i doing to help the ambiguous black struggle? Nothing. Looking forward to the Eclipse coming up on August 21st. This is a phenomenon i can watch that has a basis in reality.

No amount of awareness or empathy will eradicate racism in America. Especially with Trump in office. He is at the vanguard of a trend that is making racism acceptable again as the tide slowly turns, and he is who will appoint judges to fill the Supreme Court vacancies with right wing conservatives which, in turn, will undo and prevent any further progress when it comes to women, religion, - and race where, incidentally, the lines are becoming blurred. Welcome to 2017.

@Troy Carbondale is where the campus of Southern, Illinois University is located and the town is expecting crowds from all over the midwest to converge there for this event. Hotels and motels are all booked, the university has rented out all of its dormitories.This will be no small event. The highways might even be jammed. i'll just have to watch it from my Chicagoland vantage which should be fairly good.

This is something i am definitely hoping to witness - again. I saw a solar eclipse in 1970, through my special glasses, altho it was slightly different from this one according to reports. I don't know whether it altered my life or not... This one will occur a few days after my 84th birthday in August and if i'm still around it will undoubtedly be the last great celestial phenomenon i will ever see so i really hope I get to watch it. That is life altering in a way, i think. Another one of the best viewing places in the country will be Carbondale, Illinois, where it will be perfectly visible for the longest amount of time. i won't be venturing down state to see it, and the Chicago planetarium is sold out but i'll stand in my back yard and look on as nature takes its course.

Maybe the rumors about JayZ being affiliated with the IIlluminati are true!

Isn't this the album where JayZ's raps also take the form of asking Beyonce to forgive him for cheating on her and explains the incident in the elevator when Solange attacked him? Sounds like 4:44 covers a lot of subjects.