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Cynique

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Posts posted by Cynique

  1. Blah, blah, blah. I can't believe you complain about straw men after you twisted all my comments in your attempt to answer them. And you better hope that a brass monkey doesn't show up because you did make a blanket staement that black men have higher testosterone levels and this makes their sex drive higher. I didn't say anything about donkey dicks but you did say that black men have larger penises than white ones! How do you think this debate got started??? Now all of a sudden you're backing off, and admitting that you were dealing in generalities, as you further attempt to deny your stereotyping and to rationalize polygamy. Watta welcher. :blink:

    And I never said anything about the Unknown. You had to inject that word into your argument in your attempt to say I'm presumptuous when your original accusation was that I'm inconsistent. And I'd trust the words of the nerd you described just as quick as I'd trust you and your cock-eyed view of the world. Bwahahaha. :lol: It's been said "that a little bit of learning is a dangerous thing"; something you exemplify.

    In America the home of immigrants and illegal aliens, Mexicans have the same language, same customs, same history, same olive skin, same straight black hair. Their mixed lineage is what makes them Mexicans. I guess it occurred to you how silly you sounded when I suggested that you had a counterpart in the Hispanic community. So, of course, you have to try and do damage control there.

    And how did "chuckling to myself" become "sitting in a corner talking to myself and laughing"? Just an example of how you put your spin on things. And speaking of insanity I just have just one word. Pioneer. :wacko:

    But I'm not surprised at all of this because I followed your suggestion about researching black men and high testoserone. The fact that you omitted a major find in such studies shows how devious you are. And what you never brought up is the claim that there is a correlation between high testoserone and lower IQs, not to mention other negative traits such as high testerone being an indicator of the aggressiveness that leads to crime and rape. I'm sure black men will be eternally grateful to you for exposing what their genetic make-up suggests.

    Cynique looks at Pioneer, shakes her head and makes her exit because she hates to see a grown man cry. ;)  You'd think that jackin off would make him happy...

  2. I find this a germaine subject, Troy, as I engage in an ongoing debate on another thread with poster Pioneer, a self-appointed arbitrator who has categorized black men by a set of racial phenotypes he has devised which, in my opinion, create more problems than they solve. 

     

    When there is a common enemy, then the victims of it, congeal to form a united front.  When all us calling ourselves "people of color"  are confronted with racism, we gravitate toward those who we share this common bond with. Race may be an artificial concept but it has evolved into a team mentality which  espouses a scenario that pits "us" against "them". 

     

    There are certain aesthetic areas where  talent and ability transcend color but as you say, this is a rarified  realm. The recent collaboration between LL Cool J and C&W singer Brad Paisley stirred up a controversy in its attempt at showing brotherhood by recording a CD entitled "Accidental Racist".  Their good intentions were soundly criticized and ridiculed because of the song's racist overtones. 

     

    Also, in Chicago, black talk radio is blowing up with cynicism about all of the hoopla devoted to the Boston Marathon bombings, with call-ins voicing the usual discourse about had  the bombing occurred during the big annual Bud Billikin Day parade  that has been going on for 80 years every August in Chicago's inner city, there would not be all of this media attention.  I recently went to see the play "The Book of Mormon" which used racism to condemn racism.  I only saw 3 other blacks in the sold-out theater.  The white audience  loved this highly acclaimed production whose Broadway cast won a bunch of Tonys.  Me, I found it silly and mildly entertaining.  And racist.

     

    In the Utopian world that thrives in the delusions of Idealists, we are all one big happy family.  In reality, race rules. 

     

    Incidentally, if I recall my Latin from 65 years ago.  "Cave Canem" means beware the dog.???????

  3. :lol: You continue to supply me with reason to laugh, Pioneeer. Your befuddled response to my inquiry about polygamy and adultery sucks. As does your glossing over any points that you can't refute. And as usual, what you do respond to is an exercise in skewing what I say in order to craft your concocted rebuttal. I never said I thought brown men were super sexy but I'm sure you have your counterpart among Hispanics who would claim the same thing about their men as you say about black ones.( I do plead guilty to using Mexicans as being the typical Hispanic when I speak of culture and race because Latinos are more monolithic (pure) than other ethnics) But none of your ranting is surprising. I wouldn't expect you to respond any other way because your testosterone drenched ego can't deal with opposition.

    I am not praising white men when I imply that they are ruthless and power hungry and not likely to defer to the idea that they all have small penises and moderate sex drives and less muscles and higher voices. And just why do you think black men do not make huge amounts of money??? I guess you figure white corporate America has nothing to do with this repression and that if black men are allowed to practice polygamyous marriages and indugle their true nature by engaging in what amounts to promiscuous behavior, they will all become millionaires. Your perspective is always about indignation rather than reality.

    I refer to all men when it comes to super-inflated egos that spawn competiveness. Those in control may very well suspect that what you extol,  might drive black men to unite and try and overpower them. A fear of black rebelliion was certainly a concern of FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover during the civil rights movement. But you are so busy romanticizing the erections of black men that you can't see the big picture or recognize the source of racial repression.

    Like you, I make observations and one of mine is that white racism is laced with the belief that Blacks are inferior. And what a black man like you considers assets, Whites consider animalistic signs of inferiority. For black Americans, white racism that incorporates that belief is a red flag. I say this as an objective person of color. You, as usual, get caught up in sulking.

    At the root of this debate is my opposition to your putting all black men in the same category. I think relegating all black men to a herd of testosterone-soaked studs is an insult to them. But you, in all of your chauvinistic bluster, are in such dire need of validation that you chide any female who doesn't humor you. And, of course, you remain in denial about how you are stereotyping black men with your claims.

    And how about you get specific when you say my rejection of the bible being the gospel contradicts what I said last week? Any religious book that purports to know the unknowable hinders the free thought that I prefer to pursue.

    I understand that you have a vision but if you want to advance your agenda, I suggest that you focus on economics and leave anthropology out of it because it is not your field of expertise.

    :D Cynique chuckles to herself as Pioneer stands there looking silly, waiting for a witness to support him. :huh:

  4. Implicit in your philosophy, Pioneer, is the contradictory principle that polygamy should be legal, but that adultery should be punished. How can you say a black man is entitled to multiple mates because this is compatible with his true nature and then recommend punishment for his following his true nature by having multiple mates????
     
    It's appropriate that you prefaced your remarks with the phrase "it seems to me" because you put your own spin on everything I said as you grasped at straws. Not only do you cherry pick the points you want to respond to, but you distort what I say because you can't refute what I actually said.
     
    You pique my powers of reason. I repeat: the problem I have with your campaign is your insistence that the generalizations you make about black males are true. Can you cite the source of your assertions?? I contend that they are not facts that apply to all black males and unless you show me some studies that pertain to this, I won't  concede that black males are more lascivious than any other males because there is not substantial evidence that this is so. Furthermore your anecdotal claims on this subject buy into of the rhetoric of white supremists who epitomize both blatant and subtle racism. This can't be dismissed because you live in America and your dream of glorifying black manhood will not wash here. It's not about my being ashamed of what you take pride in, it's about facing reality. Do you actually think the powers that be will endorse your belittlement of white men??? Such action might even trigger retribution. Even in the future, Blacks will have to stand in line behind the Hispanic majority who are racially pure and have a definitive culture which probably extols the sexual prowess of brown men. Unless American Blacks return to Africa, your dream will not come into fruition.  Also  I used the term "unbridled" because that describes  the kind of instant sexual gratification that you insist black men desire. But - you are entitled to pursue your dream in the hopes that Blacks will become of one mind and support your controversial beliefs.
     
    Rape and child molestion are just as frequently crimes of opportunity committed by regular men as opposed to the perversions committed bythe sexually dysfunctional.
     
    My remarks about the title of this thread were not a "retreat", but an explanation of a popular phrase which I thought was common knowledge but, apparently not, since I had to explain it to you..
     
    Since I don't accept the bible as the gospel, I don't have to worry about people proving me wrong by citing and interpreting obscure ambiguous verses that condemn what I tolerate. And my skepticism about the infallibility of the bible is grounded in how even religious scholars admit the parables are symbolic fables and the new testament was written years after the events they depict, and the scriptures excluded certain radical chapters in the course of creating a document cobbled together by a cabal of men whose goal was to structure Christianity in such a way as to maintain control over the masses. (I'll supply sources if you want them) On the other hand, you are an insincere waffler who falls back on religion and embraces god to cover your back so you won't miss out on any possible benefits.
     
    Cynique strolls away as Pioneer falls to his knees and begins to pray that she will stop laughing at him..  :lol:
     
     
    Troy, in answer to your question which reads: "Cynique, do you ever feel that you too young for your age cohort? Basically how many people your age have such progressive views, are open minded regarding spirituality, actually use technology, etc?"
     
    Yes, I do feel that I am a misfit, something which has turned me into a loner. I don't really have a peer group. I consider myself an iconoclast and have also convinced myself that age is just a number. :rolleyes:
  5. In regard to my comment on De ja Vu.  Have those who dismisssed it, ever duplicated the brain activity conditions they say bring it on?  I ask because there are 2 schools of thought about near-death experiences which skeptics put in a class with De ja Vu. And there are people who  swear the near-death phenomenon is authenic because it hasn't been disproved.

     

    I'm beginning to wonder if I have a 3rd eye.  Apparently with age, the shape of my eyeballs has changed because my vision has improved.  I used to be  near-sighted but now I can see fairly well without glasses.  I'm told this is not uncommon over a long period of time.  But since my face is assymetrical, one of my eye balls is now slightly  of kilter.  Often, I can be looking at something and if I blink I'll see a different scene.  If I close my eyes and open them again, the original scene will reappear.  I live around the clock and tend to be a night owl.  In the wee small hours of the morning,  I experience a lot of mysterious things... :o   That ol quantum physics action  kicks in.  I see things out of the corner of my eyes, but they disappear if I try to focus on them directly... :wacko: I have pictures of myself when I was 5, 14, and 17 years old taped to my computer because I like to surround myself with images of me when I was young.  If I stare at them long enough from a certain distance, the figures of me begin to vibrate and then jump out from the photos and make eye contact with me. :rolleyes:

     

    OK, I'm done...

  6. Ahhhh, I remember it well.  Bobby didn't explain why the clip is called the 8th defendent.  He along with 7 1960s white radicals who were members of a group known as SDS(students for a democratic society)  were brought to trial in Chicago for their revolutionary activites. Bobby  was so profane and disruptive in the courtroom that he had to be shackled  and gagged.  It was all a lot of high-publicized  drama played out in the court room to call attention to their cause. I can't remember all of the details but the case against Bobby was eventually thrown out, and the remaining defendants became known at the Chicago Seven, a group which included the infamous Abbe Hoffman and who were defended by uber liberal lawyer William Kustler.  I guess none of these names ring a bell with this generation but at the time they were household words.  I'm guessing  all of this will be revealed in the upcoming film. :ph34r:

  7. On and on you go, Pioneer, desperately continuing to make claims about black men that you will not, because you can not, give specific proof of, due to the fact that they are nothing more than your opinions. And you apparently cannot absorb the blatant fact that the claims you make are the epitome of the stereotyping you accuse others of. You're like a throwback to slavery days, someone who spreads ol wives tales, or who revels in mythical fantasies.

    The unbridled sexuality that you attribute to black males is frowned on by the society we live in because it can be a precursor to rape and child molestation. That's where the problem arises and the danger of bold desire is not limited exclusively to black men. It applies to all men. Look at the military where female enlistees are routinely harassed and exploited by their male superiors. Look at the priests who can't curb their impulses.

    Your entire rebuttal against me is based on a false premise. You assume the reason I challenge what you are saying about black men is because I disapprove of how you portray them, when what I really object to is your convoluted logic and undocumented conclusions and broad generaliities. I have heard many black men with high voices. Can you say Mike Tyson? I have heard many black women laugh about their poorly-endowed former lovers or the lack of staying power of other bedmates who left them hanging, or about straight men who didn't respond to their attempts at seducing them. Or are black men any more muscular than males of any other racial stock. They are just as likely to be lanky with skinny legs and high butts.( For 30 years I worked at the post office which is a microcosm of black culture.)

    And while I'm in my post office mode, let me say that I don't give a fuck about the testosterone level of black men or any other men. I don't and I never said I did. This indifference stems from my observations, which are just as valid as yours. I am not preoccupied with the nature of black men because from my experience, their sexuality runs the gamut from hot-blooded to cool restraint.

    And, yes, I did said all those things about black people because, as I confessed not too long ago, I don't really relate to blackness anymore. I am who I am, and what I am: a person of color, and this is what finally accounts for my calling it like I see it, I no longer feel obligated to repress my negative opinion about a certain element of Blacks. But I'll stop short of stereotyping them because not all Blacks are trifling and shiftless. If the truth hurts, then so be it. And you, yourself, talked about black folks,  calling them overweight unprofessional workers with tooth picks hanging out their mouths, and loud bitches cursing out their kids in the supermarket.

    BTW, the title of this thread was selected in jest; a familiar question regularly posed by people curious about any number of subjects, not just black men. Also, black women are not "guys". Just another example of how oblivious you are. And since you don't seem to know, let me inform you: men don't wield a whole lot of "authority" over women nowadays. Mostly because these control freaks are too "whipped" to get the upper hand. :P

    As far as religion is concerned, you just recently expressed your conflictiing view on homosexuality by implyiing that you are having difficulty reconciling your being a god-fearing man and a law abiding one, an inconsistency that frequently impairs your assertions. How wishy washy can you get??? I don't feel a need to embrace any specific belief system because I can bring myself to admit that I don't know the unknowable. My gripe is always with religious hypocrites.

    So take all of your concocted drivel, and shove it up your your anus which I assume is bigger than that of white men. ...Pioneer, drops his head and shuffles off with his enormous penis drooping and dripping beween his legs. :(

  8. I never said there was anything wrong with prostitution, Pioneer.  I think it should be legalized, along with marijuana.  You really do over estimate your impact on me.  Why, I don't know since , contrary to what you've deluded yourself into believing,  you do a very  ineffective job of refuting what I say.  Your habit of talking out of both sides of your mouth is what amazes me.  Mostly because you seem to be so oblivious to the fact that you're doing this.    :lol:

  9. This black sexuality debate between us calls for a separate thread, Pioneer.

     

    You seek to santize polygamy by putting it in the context of marriage and you further seek to justify it by citing some mythical, undocumented “scientific studies” which you claim prove that all black men have an overload of testosterone. You then proceed to deduce from this that monogymy is unnatural for these insatiable brutes, further asserting that courtship is a white amenity and that black people are simply imitating Whites when they go through this formality because their true nature is to dispense with any romantic ritual and get right to the business of fuckin’. You add that sympathetic black women will go along with this because they appreciate the honesty of these lusty studs. In effect what you have established is your prototype for black men. :blink:  

     

    Yet, you accuse ME of stereotyping when your criteria prompts me to draw the conclusion that black men are horny sex mongers, eager to bed every gullible woman who appeals to them. :wub:  :P  Why? I am not stigmatizing all based of the behavior of a few. According to you this is how all authentic black males are! 

     

    What you apparently object to are the semantics of the situation, You are unable to accept that you and I are using different words to say the same thing . You simply want to dress up your definition of black manhood as you, yourself, resort to imitating white people by embracing the superficial language of white civilized society. Me, I’m callin a spade a spade. ;)

     

    But what really takes the cake, is that you, who are the champion of black men’s raging levels of testosterone, claim to have a low sex drive, - a plain ol Joe Schmo workaholic who when he occasionally wants sex, wants it ASAP! :wacko:If there was ever a candidate for a prostitute, it's you. 

     

    Seriously, it is my opinion that the sexual nature of black American males is no different from that in any other ethnicity. Slavery cast black men as animalistic studs, and over the centuries their persona was shaped not by biological geneology but by cultural environment. B) 

  10. Many pundits have chimed in with the observation that the dissident black clergy should be more vocal about advocating marriage  among black heterosexuals, instead of condemning it among homosexuals.  Black people just don'f feel that compelled to exchange vows.  They have no qualms about shacking up and/or having babies without the benefit of matrimony.  This situation has certanly had a negative effect on black children.   

     

    Nevermind legalizing polygamy, others have posed the question that if same sex unions are legalized, will incestual couplings be next?? Will siblings  be allowed to marry or, even more controversial, will animal lovers be allowed to walk their pets down the aisle?  The same issues of insurance, and  inheritance and taxes that Gays  raise in their arguments for marrying can be similarly applied to these bizarre situations. 

     

    I am pro-choice about abortion and, in the spirit of consistency,  when it comes to who people want to marry I accept that they have a right to choose.   All I have to say further to Gays is  don't lecture me about your victimization. Be grateful that I don't really give a damn if you want to have an all-white wedding, or not.

  11.  
    Hey Waterstar. Good to have your input on these timely subjects. We need some fresh ideas.
     
    Although I spout off a lot, I am not an Oracle. Opinions just come to me, probably because they have been formed during the course of my observations over the years and been stored in my subconscious mind.  But to some questions my answer would simply be: "I don't know".
     
    I've heard that in the north during the early 1900s there were self-sufficient black communities where enterprising black merchants and professionals plied their trades and thrived because they were patronized by their fellow black citizens.
     
    This was not the case in the small suburb of Chicago where I grew up during the 1930s through the 1950s. My hometown was  actually more interracial than integrated, but we peacefully co-existed because we Blacks were comfortable in our skin and had our own social life and community pride and, because there was no Jim Crow restrictions,  we were not denied our basic civil rights. It was all about maintaining the status quo and not rockin the boat, all of which provided no incentive to become entrepreneurs.  The black populace there was strictly blue collar with the only black-owned businesses being limited to beauty parlors, barber shops, and restaurants.  Later, record stores, real estate offices and cleaners sprung up.  Handymen were the closest people we had to professionals. I never attended a school where my teachers were black and I never had a black family doctor. If I'd had a need for a black lawyer, I'd have had to go search for one. Of course ministers and preachers were well represented.
     
    The conclusions I have reached at this point in my life is that integration is not all it's cracked up to be but that diversity is a good thing
     
    Whether segregated or integrated, I don't believe that Black America will ever accumulate enough power to  become commerically independent corporate giants or ever return to the days when they had the potential to do this. Even small businesses have a bad track record. I'm afraid we will always be in the thrall of the consumerism which is tainted with racism.
     
    Well, you had to ask, didn't you?  Not to worry. Pioneer will surface to dispute this pessimistic point of view, and dispel my ongoing cynicism. 
  12. We get into trouble, when we seek to capture reality in  language.  Some things are too profund for words. We may know things but cannot express what we know.  We just know it.  We all have intuition.  We have to develop and trust  and  enable it with an open mind.  De ja vu should always be given weight.  And I am venturing  into the unknown realm even as I caution against the inadequacy of words...  :wacko:

    • Like 1
  13. Below is an example of how self-serving people  can use the bible to justify anything and this includes slavery  There is always some obscure verse they can come up with to reinforce their position. 

     

              17211_511889845533833_1830413616_n.jpg

     

     

     

     

    I'm so sick of the same-sex marriage controversy because Gays always want to lay guilt trips on heterosexual people as if we're the ones who are queer. But nothing will drive me into the corner of homosexuals quicker than hypocritical bible-thumping Christians who pick and choose the "sins" they want to condemn.

     

    For all we know, Jesus may have been gay. He hung out with 12 other guys and "love thy fellow man" was a motto he lived by. :wub:    Could be why he never married... ;)

     

  14. A politician who serves his constituency by improving conditions in his district is doing what he was elected to do and is earning the salary he is being paid.  A  wheeler dealer who who is living high on the hog, using his clout to make big financial profits is what he is:  A dishonest opportunist exploiting the tax payers. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.  "did some good things" but  this does not justify his over the top extravagances.  Politics is the art of compromise and this just translates into the greedy credo of I got mine, now you get yours.  Very few politicians are candidates for being heroes. 

     

    As far as Obligarchy goes, I'd hardly consider it an ideal form of government since it involves elitism wherein the privileged few maintain their wealth and power by controlling and oppressing the masses.

  15. Oral sex like anything other form of sex involves risk, Pioneer.  But it seems to be what black men praise white women for when comparing them to black women.  So since you think black people are guilty of imitating the sex habits of white ones, my observations on the subject are that black women imitating white ones can have the effect of birth control, and birth control should be practiced by single people.  BTW, I don't see white women walking around with a lot of blisters and  scabs on their mouths and noses. But I do see them hanging on the arms of grinning black men.

     

    I'm just amazed how you can't see the contradictions in your "assertions", Pioneer.  What are you talking about????? Legalize polygamy and punish adultery????? In the first place, there are no laws forbidding promiscuity.  And adultery is legal grounds for a divorce already.  If polygamy is sanctioned because it's natural, then why punish a married man for following his true nature by cheating on his wife?? You can't have it both ways. You've got to be kidding with the ludicrous statement that legalizing polygamy is the key to a healthy happy family.  You seem to have no qualms about how demoralizing this could be for a wife who'd have to put up with a womanizing husband. Not to mention how miffed men would be if their spouses decided to become polygamous, too. 

     

    When I speak of wanton breeding, I'm talking about both sexes.  Not just men.  And,  adhering to your standards, it's not stereotyping black men if I accuse them of being sex mongers.  According to you, they are doing what comes natural to them, so this is not a case of judging all by the actions of a few.  

     

    Naked pregnant women may very well be sexy to some men.  But they look foolish in tight dresses, as does anyone who wears ill-fitting clothing.  

     

    You continue to make these broad, sweeping generalizations about black people.  In this country, people of color are hybrids as well as individualistic.  You can't say for a fact what their sexuality is or is not.  Just as you can't put all white people in the same category. You can only express your opinion, an opinion which seems to be based on judging others by the way you are. 

     

    You apparently have no use for romance.  With you, its all about the instant gratification of tappin' that ass.       

  16. Well, in your original stsatement you gave the impression that what you had in mind was an independent  form of government that would best serve  black people. Your not having a problem with a black leader profiting from his power, doesn't take into consideration that his profit comes at the expense of what money is due to his constituency because he has to spend their share on bribes.   

     

    And I certainly wasn't impressed with your examples of dictators to emulate.  It's a wonder you didn't include Idi Amin!

  17. Oooh, puleeze, Pioneer, my problem with women, especially celebrities, flaunting their unwed pregnancies is because they act as though their shameless embrace of this fad is something to be proud of. Who gives a damn if they're knocked up by who ever happens to be the stud they're currently screwing??? And who thinks somebody with a big belly wearing a tight dress looks like anything other than a distorted eyesore?

     

    You make the ridiculous claim that wanton breeding occurs among Blacks because black men are encouraged to be monogamous. Does that make sense??? How would indulging their  true nature  to be polygamous prevent them from indiscriminately impregnating any woman they have the hots for??? 

     

    And even animals have mating rituals, but if you are to be believed,  unlike civilized people, Blacks are mindless over-sexed creatures whose natural inclination is to follow their primitive desire to copulate as soon as the urge hits them.

     

    Oral sex can be an alternative to penetration without protection - for both sexes.  And all these horny black men who want to bang every woman they see and don't want take care of the bastards they spawn, should get vasectomies. 

     

    What you fail to acknowledge when advancing your theory about the true nature of black people, Pioneer, is that implicit in your claim is the idea that black people think with their genitals instead of their brains.   Speak for yourself. 

  18. Where do you come up with all these ideas, Pioneer?  If black people were trying to imitate white people's sexual behavior, they wouldn't be in the shape they're in.  It's their wanton breeding that has contributed to the breakdown of the family, a situation that is not nearly as prevelant among whites. 

     

    Are you saying that black playas and pimps are emulating white men?  And as far as oral sex goes, black women wouldn't be bogged down with all these fatherless children if they'd considered this alternative.  :P  

  19. Cynique

    I'm not trying to be funny but if you're really as old as you say you are you seem to not only be pretty coherent but technologically up-to-date.......lol.  There are people in there 50s and 60s who scratch their heads trying to figure out how to even use a computer and call it a "machine".

    One of these days I'd like to ask you questions about how really America used to be and the social and moral differences in Black culture and morality today as opposed to when you were a kid.

     

    I'm a little surprised, myself, Pioneer, that I have achieved a degree of computer literacy because I've never been good at technical things,  but after I  took the buy out offered by the Post Office in 1992, I was stuck at home with nothing to do so my husband bought a computer in hope that I might find somethng interesting to do with it.  Which I did. I just kept playing around with it and with help from my grandaughter and by trial and error, at my own pace, I finally taught myself how to use a computer, a word processsor and to surf the internet. 

     

    I'll always be grateful to my husband for providing me with a companion to fill the void that would occur when he died.  My computer along with cable TV and various forms of reading matter, are what continue to make my life interesting.  Because I am no longer very mobile, these devices are my windows to the world, and contribute to my well being and contentment along with the children who keep me grounded and the grandchildren who keep me current.  It's my memory that gets me in trouble because it is what drives me to compare things to the way they used to be and this, in turn, makes me cynical.   

     

    You asked how the world was when I was young.  I think the thing that dismays me most about the present is how morals and scruples and literacy have deteriorated so badly. Of course the argument can be made that this has always been the case, it's just more in the open now. 

     

    All I can say is back in the day in the 1950s and early 60s, women didn't flaunt their pregnacies if they weren't married, didn't strut around wearing tight outfits to show off their baby bump.  Elected officials didn't flagrantly violate the trust of taxpayers by embezzing public funds  to finance the elaborate lifestyles which include sexual escapades with other women.   Schools somehow manage to teach all but the most dense of kids how to read. Drug use wasn't rampant, adolescent girls weren't aggressive sexpots.

     

    Me and my contemporaries somehow managed to exist in this environment without being prudish or repressed.  We were just more discreet, more considerate, and had a better set of values.  We knew how to have fun.  We danced and sang and partied and drank.  The lyrics to our songs were clean and romantic, our dances were  cool, not vulger, and nobody broke up parties with gun fire. 

     

    When I was much younger, in the 1930s and 40s in the little town that I lived in, in the black community the village did indeed, raise the child.  Elders were respected, we left our doors unlocked, had no fear walking the streets at night and trusted those in authority.

     

    But it wasn't all idyllic.  Racism was there in different degrees, depending on what part of the country you lived  in.  Poverty was always a factor.   But It was just a simpler more wholesome time.

  20. Since you admittedly don't have any indepth  knowledge on the science of psychology, Need2riteFaster, maybe you should withhold your criticism of the good professor's diagnosis of whatever has spawned the collective mentality that drives black youth to kill each other. I, myself, find his analysis a plausible relief from the old standby of attributing this self-destructive behavior to the ubiquitous "racist stystem" that never explains what racism has to do with the lofty aspirations of young inner city girls to achieve the vaunted status of being a "baby mama" burdened with the responsibility of raising sons without a father figure. A situation that makes these youngsters ripe for the void that a gang fills. 

     

    As for the healing effect of applying a band-aid to a massive wound, never underestimate the tranquilizing distraction of basketball on the mind of a black male.

  21. The complaints of some of the movie's critics are that Tyler dumbs down his films, and in doing so, insults the intelligence of black women. This may be true, but the relevance of this accusation has to do with whether black women want to be entertained or educated. The soap opera genre on both the small and large screen enables empathy and fantasy, the 2 best friends of any woman. Who needs to be intellectually stimulaled when you can rest your brain and indulge your imagination.

    When a movie has religious overtones, it is naturally going to appeal to women who are comfortable with familiar situations in which reliance on Jesus and adherance to biblical morals dispels troubles and restores happiness. Reinforcement of this belief is very satisfying to women who are not prone to exploring any complicated factors that may contribute to problems between the sexes.  And if the plots to these movies provide comic relief that prompts fans to nod their heads in agreement while chiming in with an "amen", then the cost of a ticket is well spent because the theater has served the role of a church and the movie has represented a sermon.

    It has been my experience that the average black person is not big on abstract thinking or free thought. They love to attribute everything good or bad to God's will. They think that Jesus Christ is their personal savior and his father, God, cares about what happens to them as individuals. That He is responsible for them winning a basketball game, or an Oscar or a Grarmmy, or the Lottery, or for getting a good job or a new car or a good mate and that the death of a loved one, or a terrible disaster or a discouraging set-back is either God's will or the result of that ol bad devil at work.

    All these film critics raggin on Tyler Perry's forumla movies need to accept that he has found something to capitalize on. Ignorance is bliss and laughter is the best medicine.

  22. "Implement" is the operative word here.  You are great at offering simple solutions to complex problems, Pioneer.  But when dealing with humans, their behavior is unpredictable because of the X factor and external conditions that are in a state of flux.  So while the solution to a problem may look good on paper and sound good in theory,  the chances of said problem  being solved are  elusive because the problem, itself, is fraught with variables and is not always accurately stated. In the fiinal outcome those offering solutions become a part of the problem.   

     

    Putting more police on the street to combat drive-by violence has been a suggestion that has been around for years..  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to come up with this idea. But it hasn't really worked.  It may scatter the problem but it doesn't eliminate it.  The only people who can stop gang activity are the gangs themselves and only time will bring about a change in their mind sets. Chicago is currently in an uproar because the board of education thinks the solution to bad schoosl is to close underperforming ones and use the money saved to raise the standards of the remaining schools that will serve broader districts. But the teachers union and irate parents have compounded the problem and complicated the solution. 

     

    The wars in Irag and Afghanistan were supposed to solve the problems in the middle east.  But both of these solutions were utter failures.   

     

    The civil rights movement was supposed to eliminate racism but all it did was to set the stage for racism to morph into a more subtle manifestation.

     

    The internet was hailed as a communication panacea but the solutions it utilized facilitated new problems

     

    I agree that probelms are more manageable on a one-on-one basis but the world at large is just one big hot bed of problems, none of which are being solved because problems beget problems and the result is managed chaos. 

     

     I concede that my age is a factor in my cynical  outlook because for one reason, from my perspective, everything new is old. Been there, done that.Things come and go but like ol Will Shakespeare says:"the best laid plans of mice and men oft times go awry."

     

     

     

    I was once young and optimistic but I am now old and realistic,  a spectator watching others chase Utopian illusions. 

  23. I say and I say again, that all problems don't have solutions. There is no way to prevent or stop this epidemic of kids killing kids. Some times the only way for change to come is that things get so bad, all that's left is for them to get better. In the process of cycles coming and going, problems have a way of solving themselves. And, if this rotation takes too long, there's always a chance that an asteroid will hit Earth and our worries will all be over.

  24. The truth about babyJonylah's father(Jonathan) is coming out, via the Chicago press who has given this story a lot of ink.  He was not changing her diaper when they were shot at.  She was sitting in his lap while he was cruising around.  He is a known gang banger, having been arrested 39 times and he was the target of the shooting.  He was wounded and believed to have known who the shooter was, but wouldn't snitch undoubtedly preferring to extract his own form of vengeance.  He was released  from the hospital and they had the baby's funeral yesterday.  A really big event, with the parents wearing matching white designer jogging suits, displaying a picture of the baby on the back of the tops that featured hoodies. Thy say it went on forever, with the grandmother reading a poem that sounded like it had been written by a rapper.  SMH

     

    The city is in an ongoing state of outrage about all these killings, and are not that offended about the intense news coverage of them, knowing that  "Chiraq" wouldn't be getting this negative publicity if fools would stop killing each other.  Nothing seems to be able to stop the carnage.  One black columnist suggested that the police start using drones to survey gang terrritories and attack offenders. 

     

    As for the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case,  the 16 year old victim was white, and the prosecution's case was strong because the 2 dumb-ass offenders were texting what was going on during the time of the rape and the messages were confiscated for evidence.  The girl was  reportedly drunk and doesn't remember anything, but her attackers incriminated themselves.  It's really a big mess with sides being taken and death threats being made to the victim by defenders of the offenders.  The social media has turned the younger generation into a  bunch of idiots who NEVER seem to consider the consequences of their ridiculous behavior. 

     

    One reason the military brass was always against women in the ranks, was because they knew that the male comrades of these female enlistees were more dangerous than the enemy.  There are  just some areas where women don't need to integrate.  They do it at their own risk, and men stick together when problems arise. Plus women can't compete with men on a physical basis.  Maybe they should create units that combine female and gay soldiers...

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