Cynique

Well, Troy, I'm not disputing that men desire sex. My point was that put in circumstances conducive to sex, all men don't take advantage of this and they refrain from doing so for various reasons. And it doesn't necessary have to do with a woman's ugliness; might be her personal hygiene or halitosis or her weight. Of course any woman can find some man to screw her. Even a dead woman is fair game to some. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, there are women who lament the fact that men rejected them when they tried to seduce them. And of course both men and women lie about their sex activity. Women do so to avoid being thought of as sluts, and men do so in hopes of being regarded as macho. Image is a factor. In the demanding throes of modern day life, stress takes its toll on passion and drive. We are no longer living in the stone age. Surveys have revealed that many couples go weeks without sex, or even have separate bedrooms. Yes, some men have mid-life crises affairs. But it's not unusual for wives to complain about their husbands having low sex drives. Like everything else nowadays, it's complicated. Why do men cheat? Because, as you and Pioneer contend, it's their nature to have sex with anyone wherever it's available whether they are single or in a relationship? Really? Are you guys speaking for yourselves?

Come on, you guys. There are too many extenuating circumstances to claim that all men cheat if given the chance. I am, of course, speaking of sexual intercourse, not flirting. Men are polgyamous but they may also be discriminating. Would they cheat on their mate with a female who they found physically repulsive? And there are men who are simply "one-woman men". I've known a couple of women who said they were told by men who they tried to seduce that they didn't play around on their wife. I've also heard of cases where men attempting to cheat couldn't "get it up" because they felt guilty. Other cases where a dude and a girl have spent the night in the same bed and nothing happened. You guys would be surprised what you'd hear in a hen session about men and the myth of their highly vaunted sexuality. All men are not equal when it comes to their level of testosterone. Some are more horny than others. And medication can affect a man's potency, as well as alchohol. Men may lust in their hearts. But so do women. Never underestimate the intimidating effect a hot-to-trot woman on an insecure man.

Exploiting the poor is blasphemy! Don't the revered scriptures remind people that a rich man has as much a chance of getting into heaven as a camel has of getting through the eye of a needle.

She just came across as an angry women to me. When people become incensed, they don't have to be bi-polar to act irrationally. Is she under the care of a psychiatrist who has diagnosed her with being a manic-depressive. People play fast and loose with the word "bi-polar". Did she say she was on medication for this condition??

Society is too diverse and full of variables to say it is ruled by generalities, - too murky to distinguish the exceptions from the rules, Pioneer. Tradition is more what cast men in leadership roles, not superior ability. And male leadership status has a great deal to do with women choosing to let men think they are leading. Many a man owes his figurehead position of leadership to the strong female mate who stands behind him, dispensing advice, sharing the power. The female CEO of General Motors just recently had to come behind the incompetent men in charge and clean up the mess they made by bungling the recall of defective cars, a balliwek that men should've had expertise in. The terrible shape the world is in is a blatant testament to the ineffectiveness of ego-centric male rule. Bottom line: Be they male or female, whoever is charismatic and brilliant enough to acquire a following, is a leader.

If given the opportunity, all men don't cheat, Pioneer. Some don't let their penis supplant their brain - or their heart. It all depends on whether or not they are in a relationship that they are committed to.

Yes, the lavish lifestyle of the mega church ministers exists across the board. Even the current Pope is cracking down on the Cardinals who were spending millions on mansions to reside in, all of them living like kings. If you're seekiing examples of the 7 deadly sins, look no further than The Church. The love of money is the root of all evil and tho the spirit may be willing, the flesh is weak. Amen.

You always speak in generalities, Pioneer, with particular emphasis on the past. I always challenge you on this issue because implicit in the slant of all of your arguments is the idea that men are better equipped to be in charge while the natural role of females is to be at the behest of males.

I think your conclusion is a stretch, especially since Donald Sterling's girlfriend was not white. As for Eliot, he was jealous of any male who was a babe magnet.

This discussion just goes to show how 3 different people interpret one situation. To me, this woman was just a bitch whose indignation was feeding upon itself. I wouldn't be surprised if she reacted the same if a white guy had done something to irritate her. I think she'd be just as inclined to call him a "dumb polack" or if his appearance warranted it, a "skin-head Nazi". She may have even called him a stupid "wop" had he been an Italian. She's an insensitive name-caller. Mexicans and Asians probably inspire ethnic lables in her private conversations, too. Or would I be surprised if she met a black guy who she didn't find offensive that she would be congenial toward him. I know her type. This is the way of the world. We tolerate those who don't ruffle our feathers, and go off on those who do. Some of us are more volatile and demonstrative than others. Bottom line is that we are a population of people whose prejudices lurk just beneath the surface of our facades, and black people are not excluded from this shortcoming. Polite society is a screen we hide behind. I also don't think this motor mouth was mentally disturbed or has a low IQ. She's just an average person; and nowadays being average includes being bigoted. And, of course, she resorted to what everybody else currently does when they get exposed or accused. They either play the molested-as-a-child card or the bi-polar one. As for the guy recording her, the idea of taking the higher ground and passing up a chance to embarrass an antagonist is unrealistic. People act in the moment and don't take the time to intellectualize the situation and make a value judgment. The temptation to record bizarre behavior is fueled by a human fascination with what is shocking or lewd. And what is the moral of this modern day Aesop fable? That one picture is not worth a thousand words. What we see is influenced by how we approach life. Furthermore if who we see doesn't look like us, preconceived notions come into play.

I give. What? Donald Sterling was being serviced regularly by a mistress, and has been accused of infidelity by his wife on numerous occasions. The old lecher is a playa. Elliot Rogers was a young hater who couldn't score with girls.

Aggression doesn't have a gender. If a female is overbearing and comes on strong, there's no consistent evidence that she is doing this because she's emulating a male. She may very well be doing it because this is her true nature. Of course, there are women who adopt aggressive behavior - just as there are men who do this. Yes, aggression in women, whether it is genuine or adopted, can fail to impress men. But - it never seems to occur to you, Pioneer, that aggressive men can, likewise, fail to impress women! Yes, tact is a necessary ingredient in effective aggression. But neither sex has a monopoly on the trait of tact..

The military culture is such a mixed bag. We want to believe that our soldiers who volunteer to go off and fight wars ostensibly to protect our freedom are a brigade of brave honorable heroes.But most are just ordinary guys trying to find their niche in life. On one hand, these young guys either with no place else to go, or motivated by patriotism or excited by the idea of guns and combat, all optimistic about future benefits, are sympathetic figures. Betrayed by their government once they are discharged and in need of hospital benefits or treatment for their post traumatic stress disorders, they are now disillusioned warriors. On a less publicized level we hear the stories of the abuse and sexual harasssment and rape endured by females enlistees at their hands of their male comrades. Other dirty little secrets include killings committed against civilians in the foreign countries they are occupying, and tragedies involving mass shootings of fellow soldiers by disgruntled "fuck-ups". Or has the upper echelon military brass escaped disgrace with their romantic indiscretions and inept decision making. Trillions of dollars are spent yearly maintaining the cooperation of corrupt leaders of the countries we are pledged to protect from terriorism, and on keeping the military industrial complex afloat. Like every other bureacracy in America, the military is a bloated incompetent financial drain where seemingly the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The return of an American prisoner in exhange for the release of 5 Taliban honchos makes for a very ambivalent situation, considering the released prisoner is being accused of desertion. I personally think Sgt. Bergdahl should be judged by a jury of his peers and administered whatever punishment they deem appropriate now that he has been freed from the captivity he brought upon himself. In securing his release Obama as usual was in a no-win situation; damned when he did, and damned if he hadn't, much to the delight of fork-tongued Republicans. Coincidentally, yesterday on June 6th, the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion was commemorated. American lost an astounding number of soldiers in this operation. Thousands and thousands of young men were slaughtered as wave after wave of them scrambled head on into enemy fire on the beaches of Normandy in France, where German units were entrenched, waiting for them. I was 11 years old when this was headlines all over the country and I vaguely remember it. Back then the armed services were segregated. Black soldiers were very often relegated to burial details. You see few, if no black faces, among the surviving veterans of this epic battle. America sacrficed its white sons and spared its black ones because they didn't think negroes were good enough to be first class fighters. The irony of racism.

Message me an address, Delano, and I will send you a free complimentary copy of this book. I'd be interested in your feed back as it applies to the "real me" that comes through in my fiction writing. It's not a long book and is fast paced.

I don't think this woman was troubled or dysfunctional. She just doesn't like black people. She was, however, stupid. Anytime you see that your ranting is being recorded, you need to stfu.

America in the year 2014, a country where cameras expose unsuspecting racists. http://www.complex.com/tech/2014/06/racist-woman?utm_campaign=complexmag+socialflow+06+2014&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

This is what I've observed from my recent experiences. I started self-publishing back in the 90s when desk top publishing was coming into its own. Back then, I'd type up my manuscript on a Canon word processor then save it on a floppy disk. I'd run off a copy of it on my ink jet printer and send it off in its camera-ready format to a high-speed printing company. After galleys were received, and editing completed, I'd submit the final version and what ever number of soft cover perfect bound books I had ordered would be shipped to me. Like my fellow aspirants, I'd then show up at book fairs and out door markets and set up my litttle display amidst a slew of other aspiring self-published authors vying for the attention of browsers who inspected our book covers and usually moved on. In between this, I'd hit the local black-owned book stores, and schmooz with the owners in the process of getting a few of my books on their shelves. Making a profit from these pursuits was rare. Equally sobering was how your friends and family humored you, never seeming to take your book writing as seriously as curious strangers did. Fast forward to today's technology of Word documents and PDF files, online domains and web sites for selling e-books and print- on-demand hard copies. You convince yourself that FaceBook will be a good source for sales. After all, look at the glut of traffic it attracts. Post a blurb here, and you're good to go. While waiting for the order of my latest novel to be filled, I went this route, and started plugging and promoting it on FaceBook. In response to my "Coming Soon" announcements, I received all kinds of "likes" and posts from "friends" expressing their interest in purchasing this book as soon as it was available. But once I had copies for sale, I found out this was all hype. When I decided to make the small supply of "The Only One" copies available by mail order until I could complete the process of getting it on Amazon, I realized that unless you make the purchase of books extremely convenient (and low-priced), you will not have much success with cyber customers carrying through on their promises. None of the FaceBookers gushing and congratulating and promising to purchase the book could be bothered with puying a stamp, writing a check and sending off their addresses in order to receive a copy of this book via snail mail. Poor old me, I was stuck in the 90s. Moreover, there's no guarantee that getting on Amazon will produce any better results. People really aren't that interested in reading books, especially the ones hangin out on FaceBook. Fortunately I knew better than to order more units than I could unload. Most of my sales have been one-on-one with acquaintances with whom I personally interact. Interesting enough the people most motivated to purchase my book are the ones I discourage by suggesting that it is not the kind of book they could relate to or that it is too racy. This seems to challenge them, and occasionally insult their intelligence. Now I use this as a ploy. Just some thoughts... One of these days on this site, I will provide a link to Amazon for anyone who is interested in purchasing my novel as an e-book or a hard copy one. But I won't hold my breath. Alas, writing is a lonely profession.

An interesting question. One thing I am learning is that you can never stop learning. The influence of political correctness represses my giving voice to my prejudices but I silently acknowledge them in my head. My avatar is tolerant. The real me dismisses any one or thing that doesn't conform to my idea of perfection. I've decided that my cynicism developed because my idealistic dreams never came into fruition. Life is a bitch, and so am I. Cynique's Corner is turning into a psychiatrist's couch.

Thank you, Delano, for taking the time to analyze the info I shared with you. Your feed back was very thought provoking. In the meantime, I have been doing some deep soul searching, ever aware of how long I have lived and how at my age, how little time I have left. I find it interesting that after I mentioned how I was troubled by not being able to describe myself in one word, or to pinpoint a time in my life when I was happiest, that suddenly the anwers to these 2 questions popped into my head. The one word I'd use to describe myself is "skeptical". And in all honesty, nothing in my life has ever made me deliriously happy. Any elation I have experienced can be measured in minutes, and oddly enough such brief euphoria is always inspired by things or events but never people. (The answer to something that eludes me suddenly popping into my head, is how my brain is wired.) The only time my feminine side surfaces is when I interact with a male I find appealing. I am not domestic, nurturing or maternal. When called upon out of necessiity to be these things, I consider it an obligation. I am also very hypercritical, especially of people who I am expected to be in awe of. I appreciate anybody who is articulate and witty. I am intrigued with irony andn the power of words. I dislike superficiality and materialism and maudlin sentimentality. I love bargains. I am at my creative best when I am called upon to improvise. I am content living alone in close quarters where everything I need is within arm's reach and this is how I now exist in the cave I have forged out in my daughter's home. Finally, I am very aware that nobody gives a damn about hearing all of this about me.

"Thinking somebody up" is fairly common occurence, Troy. That's why all of these expressions like "speak of the devil" exist. So is receiving a phone call from someone you were just thinking about. That is not to say that these instances are not psychic . I think they are and that everybody has the ability to be psychic. Whatever it is that I experience daily is more random and simultaneous as opposed to a sequence of one thing leading to another. It also involves words rather than people... I just find it curious. Well, Delano. I don't know what I want to know about myself. What comes to mind when I tell you that I was troubled last week when watching Barbara Walter's farewell show, and while being interviewed, she said the most interesting answers she got from people she had interviewed over the years was when she asked them to describe themselves in one word, and to name the time in their life when they were most happy. I asked myself these questions and was unable to answer either of them. One of my favorite Shakespearen quotes is "this above all, to thine ownself be true". I suspect, however, that this for me is a goal, not a practice. And it's like I am engaged in automatic writing as I type all of this...

I am convinced that I am an electronic catalyist, and send out and pick up wave lengths. Troy keeps attributing to coincidence, the recurring episodes wherein what I am keying on my computer, is simultaneously being said on the TV which is right next to me. The same with when I am reading. While sitting across from the TV, words I am reading will be what someone is saying on TV.. These little interludes happen daily. I don't even know if this is syncronicity. I say this, to say that you have hinted at being psychic. And what you pick up about me, seems as much telepathic as astrological. Anyhow. The town I was born in is 17 miles west of Chicago. And I believe that FDR was the president who made day light savings time official. He was elected in November of 1933 and I was born in August of 1933 so my birth hour of 1:30 PM was probably not day light savings time. The numbers I've always naturally gravitated toward are 8, and 3. Also to a lesser degree, 5 because it is supposed to be my lucky number...

Hummmmmmmm. Veeeery interesting. I consider what you say very on point. Thank you!

I don't know what my sun sign is. I was born August 18, 1933, at 1:30 in the afternoon in a western suburb of Chicago, IL.

I like life a little on the edge, Delano. When my husband was away in the Air Force, I lived right down the street from an American Legion club. On week-ends, when I didn't feel like watching TV and wanted to wiitness some live action, I would often go there and sit at the bar.The atmosphere was rowdy, the chicks brazen, and the dudes sly. I never had to buy a drink. They were always bought for me. I encountered a broad selection of people and the conversation I engaged in with the street "niggas" was just as interesting as that of the better class patrons. Any time things got too out of hand, I would get the hell out of there and beat it back to where I lived, racking up another fun night out on the town. Later on, while curled up in bed it wasn't unusal to hear police sirens and occasionally gun shots emanating from this hot spot. "No fools, no fun", I always say.

How will the alcohol affect me? I can hold my liquor pretty good. LOL and It has occurred to me that if it wouldn't blind me, I'd probably stand and stare at the sun the way I do at the moon. I am a sun worshipper, and love hot weather. Is there anything related to Gemini in my chart? I feel that I have 2 personalities.