Cynique

That really was a great discussion with so much good input and insight. A look back at a glimpse of this forum's golden age.

Ol sarat has crawled out of her hole, leaving her droppings behind, providing false data. Troy, and CDBurns both have multiple degrees, and Del has a degree also, The more sarat says, the more she proves that having a degree apparently does not void stupidity or improve literacy. SMH. Pioneer can think circles around this "educated" fool who doesn't dare provide us with the name of the school she got her "piece of paper" from probably because of how second rate it is. LMAO

Paradox is right. While our black president Obama and the 99-year-old daughter of a slave were engaged in the ribbon cutting ceremony to herald the opening of the new Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington, D.C., protesters were demonstrating in Charlotte, NC, over the latest killing of an unarmed black man by cops. It's surreal. Hillary Haters really do need to bite the bullet and forget about not liking either candidate. If a Democrat doesn't get in, the Supreme Court will be packed with right-wing Republican appointees who will repeal all the laws that ensured individual rights and send us right back to the last century. Not to mention that all of those wackos who were running against Trump are now jumping on board, reportedly because he is promising them cabinet positions. And what black voter would want to be on the same side as 2 nutcases like Omorosa and Don King??? Or worst yet, Ben Carson! Does anyone have any arguments to offer that will make the idea of Trump as president palatable? Please state them so I can feel less depressed about the prospect of him getting elected. I can't even bring myself to watch the debate Monday night. I will be watching reruns on the Science channel about Ancient Aliens or Through the Wormhole or How the Universe Works. Earth is becoming too threatening for me.

I miss Chris, too. We needled each other and bickered a lot but we were really fond each other. He was bright and quirky. Wonder what happened to him?? He was from St. Louis and his book about "vampyres" was published by some fly-by-night publishing company Kola Boof was associated with. We really did have a good group back then. I'm FaceBook friends with Yvette, "Ferocious Kitty", Linda Watkins, "A Woman", "LambD", and "Yukio". Thumper, too, but he rarely posts. Wonder what happened to Mzuri, Crystal, Li-Li and ABM just to name of few.. I couldn't care less about Carey because he was one of those people I never clicked with, and the feeling was mutual. And we can't overlook all of Kola's groupies who were actually her posting under different names.

It's been said that Liberalism espouses the idea of "lifting others as you climb", while Conservatism adopts the "I-got-mine-now-you-get-yours" attitude. Democrats are associated with liberalism while Republicans are associated with the conservatism that is not as compatible with the disadvantages that define black circumstances. The black unity necessary to spawn a monolith has always been prescribed as the solution to black advancement, but it never comes about because of the prevalence of black diversity. Another scenario involves asking those who have "made it" to reach back and in their own small way try to "uplift others". An "each one, teach one" approach embraced by good role models could hopefully have a ripple effect. I think this is probably happening more than we realize and is awakening the dormant instincts of those who are among the fittest, inspiring them to strive. But things will never be perfect because weakness is a human trait and adversity is a worldly condition. Obviously i don't have all the answers, I can just speculate and talk off the top of my head, and when it comes to yesterday's black spirit as compared to today's, I would say that back in my day, we had high spirits, encouraged that things would get better as the civil rights movement got underway. Today, disappointment is lowering black spirits because things have started to regress. "A luta continua",,,

We argue about this all the time, Troy. I still say that it's better to try and emulate success than to resign yourself to replicating failure. Strong, determined people make the decision to do this. And they are able to do so because they don't bog themselves down with babies or join gangs as a way of coping. Yes, once a person does escape his/her negative circumstances, and gets out there in the rat race, all bets are off. But those who make it out of the ghetto are street smart scrappers ahead of the game because they know how to play hard ball. They are the strong representatives of the fittest. Life is not fair, and goodness is rarely rewarded so meritocracy isn't even a factor. But strong determination is a good weapon when battling for success, and there are a lot of black success stories. ( What do you call you and Chris??) What is the alternative to being self-sufficient? For blacks it depends on the whims of the white power structure and the unity of a black support system. Lotsa luck. When it came to race, I wasn't a politicized observer back during my early days growing up in an interracial town, but I would say that whites always do better than blacks, so however good blacks are doing today, their white "peers" are doing better. I'll get back to you on our spiritual losses.

IMO, In many ways black people, like everybody else, are better off materially than they were 75 years ago but spiritually they have lost something because they have become captivated by false values and addicted to instant gratification. And all the modern conveniences they enjoy have merely made the inconvenience of ongoing racism a little easier to endure. In the big picture, to me the question has always been, why have many blacks risen above their lowly circumstances and acquired financial independence, while others have not. I agree with Chris in that it would seem to have something to do with certain people having superior coping and decision-making skills. (The same can be said about white people because they, too, have an underclass of poor people.) Everybody is created equal, but every body is not endowed with equal intellect, abilities or talents, so when all is said and done, it really does seem to be about the survival of the fittest; or at least the thriving of the fittest. And, of course, Capitalism and Democracy are not compatible so America is a country suffering from a conflict of contradictions. Socialism is what admirably blurs the distinction between the "haves" and the "have-nots" but that form of government is stigmatized because, among other things, it stifles the free enterprise - that exploits others. Race inevitably enters the picture because of visible differences and a lingering xenophobia. Naturally, the race in power strives to maintain its supremacy over those who are perceived as a threat because they are the "them" against their "us". This simple scenario plays out in the war going on between Neanderthal cops and the sons of Lucy and it will probably get worse before it gets better. The complicated black problem in America is entrenched. One reason is because black apologists tend to intellectualize it, and in their analysis they start out with a premise. Then they can't figure out why the "ergo" they come up with doesn't work when tried, never considering that their premise was a false one. Once they state the problem correctly taking truth instead of idealism into consideration, maybe the solution will be more realistic.

Guess my post made ol sara so restless that she can't stay asleep. LMAO

LMAO Tell us, sara, what about you and your phony, silly, addle-brained self is enviable??????? You can't even write a coherent sentence. SMH

@Troy My feeling has always been than when anybody my age converses about the past, it is automatically history. But certain shallow people prefer to attack the messenger and dismiss the message because it doesn't fit in with their agenda. So I appreciate that you have the wisdom to understand that all history isn't is in books and that the narratve of one African American family is common to all blacks because, like you say, we are all related, all characters in different chapters of the same story. Blacks are very fortunate to have people like you who use their position and prominence to uplift the race. You are a true philanthropist and a very good human being, and I consider myself very fortunate to have you for a friend.

LOL This from sara who, in her post that preceded the one above, parroted what I said on another thread about how confident and unflappable black women were. A claim to which Troy responded saying, in effect, that a lot of black women he'd met were laughing on the outside and crying on the inside. Upon considering that his was a more compassionate assessment of many black women like Leslie Jones, I modified my opinion, also appreciating what Pioneer had to say in the process. (As sara, herself, did in trying to make her point through Pioneer's words. Co-opting what others say or write is what ol shallow sara has to resort to since she's not an original thinker.) Not surprising that the dysfunctional sara who is stuck in a state of denial, who can't bring herself to accept that the SOUTH side of Chicago has a high murder rate, who can't admit the she haunts this forum desperately seeking validation, who can't acknowledge anything that exposes the truth about her pathological lying, is incapable of conceding that her "happiness" stems from an aberration that places her in the minority, not the majority. Instead she passes flawed judgment on black women who haven't dealt with their frustration by becoming lesbians like she did in seeking escape from the bitter frustration of her past that has made her the maladjusted geek she is in the present. . The simple one-sentence post by Queen X is more cogent than sara's drawn out "theory" which is nothing but a re-hash of what everybody, including harry brown, had already implied, and the fact that sara isn't able to recognize that there is nothing profound about her conclusions, is just another indication of how clueless her inflated ego has made her.

When a person voluntarily kills himself/herself, this does not generate a lot of hype because it's not violent enough;suicide is also an act that does not inspire a lot of empathy from the public at large. A lone woman of any race is apprehensive about crossing paths with a male stranger no matter what his color or ethnicity. It's a sign of the times. Yes, a certain element of black men make it bad for all the rest. and this apparently offends the sensibilities of upstanding black men. But, as long as they don't accost a women, then they shouldn't have anything to worry about. What do they care about how white women react to them, anyway, - unless they yearn for their acceptance? I'll take your word that the media reports more black crimes than it does white, undoubtedly because it doesn't think white on white crime is that important, and that blacks don't care about it, either. Exposing and revealing media racial bias identifies the problem but it doesn't solve it. Black folks have their work cut out for them. Where do they start?

Trump and Obama were at the right place at the right time and both filled the void of people wanting change and through the power of their numbers were able to bring it about. Those voting for Hillary may be thinking she is the lesser of 2 evils, but I think Trump's enthusiastic followers see him as a symbol of revolt against an America they can no longer can relate to. His support is a groundswell, and opportunistic Republican leaders are opting to go with him because his chances of winning look good! IMO

Any person who reads or watches TV does know about the high suicide rate and heroin epidemic among young whites all over the country. It does not make headlines but I see segments about this on TV programs such as Nightline and 60 minutes and read featured articles about this in the papers. These same sources also provide me with news about young black men who are not gang bangers and who are achieving and leading positives lives. Black columnists in Chicago's daily newspapers tend to keep the subject of black on black crime in Chicago alive because they are crusaders clamoring for reform. So you think there is a concerted effort on the part of the media to instill fear of blacks in the hearts of white people and doing so will help stifle black progress and enable white advancement and control. What, then, should blacks do to combat this conspiracy? Stop committing crimes??????

But what is the alternative. To keep silent and put a lid on the news in regard to black people killing each other? Does this censorship solve the problem? It's equivalent to thinking if the problem is ignored, it will go away and is counterproductive.