Cynique

And the artful dodger rides on. Just what are your sentiments about the term "slave" "dehumazing" black "people" who were brought here to this country. WaterStar? If you can bring yourself to answer, I won't challenge anything you haven't said. But I'm certainly not holding my breath waiting for you to respond. You're too busy attempting to expose what you think is a tactic on my part, - the rebutting of something you haven't said. Try on. My responses were relative to the quote YOU posted. I didn't distort the gist of it. But in the throes of your vacillation, you have distanced yourself from the opinion of a man who your ensuing words indicated that you respected. Oops! How dare I infer that you respect him!!!

This is not a rebuttal to but rather a reflection inspired by his earnest concern. What I have to say is debatable and even negative, but it is my “truth”, the personal opinion and theories that I have formed over 60 years of observing a struggle that recycles itself decade after decade as the same laments come and go, and the same calls for reforms echo each other, and the same strategies are swallowed up in the black hole of frustration. Obviously, a lot of present black problems stem from the past. We all know how our ancestors were sold into bondage and brought to this country against their will. If they survived the brutal middle passage, upon their arrival they were in even more trouble because they were strangers in a strange land. Plantation life was not the natural environment of these uprooted Africans stripped of their identities, but they adapted, as over the centuries with the infusion of white blood into their veins, they became a hybrid breed with a unique culture that emerged from straddling the slave quarters and the master’s house. Today the African American ethos is both positive and negative. Spontaneous, creative and inventive, we are a visually-oriented people more outstanding in the fields of entertainment and athletics, than the arts and sciences, - appreciative of all these pursuits both as spectators and participants. We are loud and demonstrative as well as quiet and brooding, stylish and flamboyant as well as simplistic and prim, a deeply religious people who celebrate our faith by making a joyful noise unto the lord, silently trusting in his will. As eloquent black spokesmen like to point out, “we’ve made great strides against tremendous odds” but, as I regret to add, somewhere along the way, an element of us lagged behind and the ghetto evolved into a latter-day plantation where the welfare system replaced the slave masters by shackling its recipients to a system that stripped them of their independence. Similarly, the family unit among the under-classes reverted to the matriarchies of slavery days, becoming wombs for fatherless young males growing into prowling bucks eager to mate with nubile young wenches. Enter the “baby mama” syndrome and its “babies-having-babies” subset, a plague where the offspring of these casual couplings face a future of becoming either the victims or victimizers of street violence as the dead-end cycle of their aimless lives is replicated and passed down from generation to generation. On the flip side, among the upwardly-mobile African Americans who escaped the ghetto through ambition, education, and good parenting, inroads have been made when it comes to emulating the model for success that represents status in the dominant society. Yet assimilation did not overwhelm and the black mystique has remained in tact as those who embody it, retained their swagger and grace, - the cool hipness that is admired and envied by members of the greater society, even as they install their glass ceilings. Not to be denied, the African DNA also persisted, morphing into the present where in the realm of concrete jungles, platinum is the new ivory, rappers the new griots, tattoos the new body paint, street gangs the new tribes, and Ebonics, the dialect that comes natural to the cadence and tongue of African descendants, the new Swahili. Unfortunately, all classes of Black Americans are definitely too focused on what they want, instead of what they need. Materialism has become as detrimental to them as racism, bringing with it the burden of debt and bad credit. Sadly, the desire for expensive acquisitions is not coupled with a great deal of business acumen. Too often black entrepreneurs think small, and fall short when it comes to being good administrators, or displaying prudence in financial matters, or promptness in delivering the goods. Aside from murder, even black crimes are petty, be they white collar ones or street muggings. High finance is not our strong suit. At the core of our being we are a spiritual people, more in tune with the ebb and flow of nature than with manufactured constraints. Education should be our salvation but public schools have been abandoned by those who can afford private institutions. Without conscientious parents willing to participate in the learning process, these human warehouses will continue to turn out the ignorant, undisciplined, potential menaces to society that drag the whole black race down. So Blacks are in limbo, the inhabitants of a country where, because institutionalized racism is alive and well, they are still subjected to discrimination. We have a common bond, but the common bond is weakened by our diversity. We see things through the prism of our own experiences and the black experience is as varied as our skin color - which just may be a factor in how we experience our blackness. Since we are not monolithic, and are lacking a collective consciousness, we cannot unite because we have conflicting agendas and an absence of cohesive leadership. In short, we are a ubiquitous conglomerate that has been around for 400 years, and have yet to maintain traction. Why?? I ponder the question as to whether it’s because Western civilization is not our matrix. For Blacks, America is a “pseudo promise land” where their viability is not a concern of the white powers-that-be, or the brown masses that thwart us with their numbers and willingness to do common labor, or the yellow tide that swamps us with their technical skills and convenience stores. We are on our own, immersed in our consumerism, bartering our measly currency for the goods and services of others. Some of us through ability and luck will enjoy a modest degree of success, treading water in the mainstream while others will flounder in poverty or waste away in the collateral damage of criminal injustice. And the beat goes on, pounded by the omnipresent System. In conclusion, I submit that there are no clear-cut solutions to the fragmentation of the Black community because it is a multifaceted problem. Each of us will have to strive to make things better by setting an example within our immediate sphere, and - pray that the cream will rise to the top and then congeal into a new and improved entity. Of course there is always the possibility of a miracle, and maybe that is where our hope for the future lies – in the hands of the younger generation who will roll up their sleeves - and pull up their pants, and prove me wrong. IMHO "Cynique"

"[That's an important point]. Words like 'slave' allow our humanity to be stripped away. Slaves were brought to America. People were."- Marc Lamont Hill" The above is the quote that you posted that inspired my response. If you don't agree with what it says, then all you had to do to correct my "inferences", was to say that you didn't. You are an "artful dodger" who chooses to deny rather than clarify.

It remains a mystery to me, Waterstar, why you espouse the idea that Blacks today have to be reminded that the transplanted Africans from whom they are descended, were "people" with humanity. Who amongst our race thinks that they were sub-human creatures without souls???? Or, is the word "slave" a label reserved for black servants on white southern plantations. A slave is a slave, and these unfortunate captives, of all colors and circumstances, have existed throughout the ages, and the English word "slave" is one of many used define them. But, everybody is free to put their spin on things.

I'm not surprised at the name of the person WaterStar quoted who resorted to semantic nit-pickin when it comes to whether or not a person held captive by a master who forces him to do his bidding is a "slave" or not. It's usually people who have divested themselves of their given names who focus on minutiae like this. "Mumia Abu-Jamal 's real name was probably Willie Jones, He probably has dread locks and wears a kofi and sits around spouting gems of wisdom about all the great figures in history who were really black, -while he's eyeing a white woman. He hates this country and everything it stands for, but hasn't relocated to Africa because he doesn't want to give up his amenities. One thing's for sure; if Marcus Garvey had succeeded, we wouldn't have to be debating the merits of the 2-party system, but we might be hoping George Cloony showed up soon so we could get some aid, maybe even hoping Angelina Jolie might pick one of our starving children to be her next pet. Anyhow, guess when ol Abe freed the plantation workers, he uncaptived them. Of course history books refer to the servants on a plantation as "slaves"! These volumes are written in the English language which has a part-of-speech known as a synonym, a perfectly good device that allows words to be interchangeable The people who were captured over in West Africa to be sent to this country were sold into slavery, making their status that of a slave. All people aren't slaves, but all slaves are people because animals can't cook and clean and look after the massa and Miz Ann. It underestimates the intelligence of people to assume that they can't figure this out and know what the word "slave" implies by the context in which it is used. I have never heard any black person refer to the framers of the constitution or the plantation owners as "our forefathers". ( But I guess Thomas Jefferson's black descendants could technically do this.) Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. Republicans suck. And my ancestors were "slaves" because they worked without getting paid.

I say about the Republicans the same thing I say about the Afro-centric people, revering the motherland and reaching out to it, WTF have you done for me lately? The only thing Republicans did for black folks was to free the slaves then desert them during Reconstruction.. Ol racist, aristocratic, Democrat FDR. pulled black folks along with the rest of the country out of the doldrums of the depression with the National Recovery Act, a program that put my Uncle back to work with the WPA and sent my brother went off to CMTC camp in Ft Riley Kansas an experience he greatly learned from. My parents were the recipient of relief funds that suppied us with oat meal and milk and kept other free food on our table to keep us from starving. I have a copy of a slave narrative that my grandfather who was a freed slave dictated to one of the representatives of the Arts project that was created during the depression era, putting to work people who were dispersed throughout the country to record these documents. Later in life, my parents collected social security pensons. Ol feisty Democrat Harry Truman signed the bill to integrate the arm forces something my air force veteran husband appreciated. Good ol boy Democrat LBJ shoved through congress a massive civil rights bill. Crumbs, I know, but then nobody is this country gets the the whole loaf of bread. A fact of life, in the real world. Yes, we know the old lecher Bill Clinton hurt Lani Guinier's feelings when she wanted to infuse her radical politics into her appointed position, and enacted the "3 strikes you're out" legislation into the judical system. He also balanced the budget and introduced the family leave provisions into the work place and kept us out of war. Unlike Democrat Jimmy Carter, Republican Ronald Reagan was never a friend to black people. Colin Powell co-signed to the Bush-Cheney non-existant weapons of mass destruction deception that ignited the long costly Iraq war. Democrat Obama approved the mission to bring Osama bi Ladin down. I'm not here to canonize the Democrat rascals, but I am here to question the idea that Republicans give a damn about the problems of black people and care whether or not we throw in with them, or if we voted for them, they would reward us. What have the people you pictured done for us except to serve as poster children for oreos. BTW, Condi Rice would be a good running mate for Romney but those conservative Republicans are having a fit about the idea of putting a black woman on the ticket. They also treat MIchael Steele like a step child, and they ousted him from his job when he was head of the RNC because he got too uppity.

Very compelling observations, Troy. As soon as I sort out my thoughts, I will respond in a separate post.

OKaaaay. Back to square one.

Well, Waterstar, considering that Benjamin Jealous, the Head of the NAACP was on MSNBC doing a lot of double-talk, saying absolutely nothing coherent in regard to why this organization understood the president not making an appearance before the gathering, - the NAACP apparently agrees with you, although nothing ol Ben uttered echoed what you said. I never did it get it straight what explanation he was trying to articulate. Still, the candidates for the office of the presidency tradionally address the NAACP conventions along with those of the American Legion and the AFL-CIO. And I don't think Obama's appearing at the NAACP assembly could make his white detractors any more virulent or is he's going to make any converts. If he does get re-elected, it'll be because he "held serve" with the voting bloc he already had, most of who were represented at the NAACP meeting. And, to me, Obama sends too many mixed messages, and that's why I continue to question his brain trust. It's like he's getting both white and black advice and they don't mesh; like the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing. Meanwhile, my curiosity is piqued by those who dismiss the 2-party system, thinking they both represent futility. What is the alternative? Independents only cloud the picture. America is not Utopia and Altruists could not function in a political venue. To think the mythical "man on a white horse" is going to magically appear and gather the masses to him while expelling the bad guys, and bringing about a change wherein everybody will live happily ever after, is the stuff of a B-movie. Finally, to be perfectly frank there hasn't been any drastic difference in my life over the past 40 years, no matter who the president was. I assume I'm the exception to the rule and this could have something to do with my being employed by and retired from the U. S. Post Office, which up until lately, was a pillar of stability in America. Whatever. In the meantime, I may or may not vote. But I'm having fun ranting about the situation.

Obama was invited to address the NAACP convention this year but begged off because of a scheduling conflict. Why, I don't understand. How inconvenient could it be to work in a brief appearance at a gathering of the oldest black organization in the country! He bends over backwards to prove he's president of all the people which is supposedly why he doesn't show any favoritism to Blacks, yet he continues to jock the Chicago White Sox, actually refusing to accept a Chicago Cubs banner someone wanted to present to him. To me this is so silly. He should be non partisan when it comes to sports also. This may sound like something trivial, but it's a sore spot with many of his hometown Independent voters who love their Cubbies. To me this is a PR gaffe and another example of how ill-advised Obama seems to be. I don't know what president ever catered to the best interests of any group except corporate America but politics is all about ass-kissing. And Obama the Democratic president who was elected by black Democrats needs to kiss black people's asses occasionally to appease them for being loyal to him.

I agree that the world was a better place before people began using their fingers to communicate instead of their tongues. They call it the "social" media but it is really "anti-social" because all of these electronic devices are a substitute for real interaction. When I was young a favorite pass time was to imagine what the future world would be like. We always thought of expanding our existences with space ships and robots and automatic conveniences ala the Jetsons. We never imagined that the day would come when we would instead shrink the sphere of our existence and become enslaved to little hand-held gadgets, or become swallowed up in a public pool of boring private journals ala FaceBook and Twitter.

What Chris said was not about changing a mind-set. It was about expressing an unconscious sentiment that already exists. The social media is both pervasive and influential and once Chris uttered an observation that reached millions, he made it offical: Nothing else is required to entrench in the culture of African Americans that what Whites regard as a patriotic commemoration is nothing more to Blacks than a day off from work and an occasion to get together with family and friends for barbeque and watermelon and card playing. IMO.

I would be hot, but I have AC. 104 degrees today in my neck of the woods. Actually, I did go ouside and and amble around in the heat for a little while. I wanted to participate in history because this was the hottest day recorded in 70 years. Almost as auspicious as casting a vote for a black president.

Anybody who said "he loves black people but he hates niggas" can't be all bad. They say patriotism is the last refuge of a scondrel. If any body is a scondrel, it's Chris Rock but with his controversial statement, he has redeemed himself in my eyes for speakin the truth. What with the creeping sentiment in regard to the 4th of July being a white holiday taking hold among the black diaspora, and the picture below being circulated around the net, looks like the natives are getting restless and black folks are in a revolutionary frame of mind, ready to declare their own independence. Should Obama lose, there might be an uprising! If you black, Jesus, hurry back and help yo po chillun. I may have to leave the country. I ain't ready for this.

How could you recommend Elijah Muhammad's preachings when you are so appalled by black hypocritical ministers who commit adultery and father children with different woman and live large off the hard-earned money of their cookie-cutter congregations, boitumelo? Whatever any member of the clergy has written about "god" and black folks, has a hollow ring to it considering how forsaken this race of people has been. Still struggling, still deprived. And declaring such things as Jesus being a black man only raises the question as to why he has let black folks down so bad. Meanwhile, the blue-eyed devils are still kickin butt. God ain't thinkin about nobody. He sparked our creation, and endowed us with powers that only need to be tapped, and then he kept on truckin. However, I'm sure he - or she - or whoever is excited and proud of the scientists who have just pinned down the "god" particle, -and is amused that I have appointed myself as his spokesman.

People often read between the lines and reach conclusions about something another has written. This is an individual subjective reaction, and all the person about whom the conclusion is reached can't do, is to realize that they can't control how another person perceives their words. To me, attitude often transcends words. That's my approach, and whether others agree or disagree with this is out of my control. You may not be "hot", Waterstar, but the way it strikes me is that you do seem to be "bothered".

"In your life time", Troy; not mine. If we had to vote between the optimists and the pessimists, the latter would get my nod. The logistics involved in the reforms you think could be implemented are mind-blowing. And speaking of "mind", changing people's mind-set would also call for some mental logistics. You'd have to exorcise their selfish materialistic demons. And are you sure America's decline is not the barometer of what is going on in the rest of the world? Can you say: Greece and Spain and Japan and Africa and India and Russia and France and Mexico, just to name a few countries that are on the brink? But you are a visionary. Guess what I am?

Yep, it would be more accurate to categorize people as liberal and conservative rather than Republican and Democrat because these 2 types do exist in both parties and both races. Your disillusionment seems to stem from your idealism, Troy, something that has no place when it comes to politics because politics is always about compromising your principles. We live in a imperfect world populated by a flawed species who crave power and exude greed. Unless you want to exile yourself on a remote island in the south Pacific or join an order of monks in Tibet, you just have to molify your frustration by drawing satisfaction from personal victories. Reforming the world is a tall order. But, you can sit out the next election and draw satisfaction from doing this. I guess...

Indeed. Any imposing done on this site is by the AALBC web master Troy Johnson because I'm just an honorary fixture here. This is a forum for an expression of opinions. If everybody agreed and stroked each other, it was would be very boring. As far as I'm concerned, you and anybody else can write whatever they want, but no one can control how what they say strikes other people. You supply material for debate or reflection in your posts and, in doing so, leave yourself open for challenges. Having contentions challenged is also an everyday occurrence in the world. C'est la Vie.

Well,Troy, things have changed since the last election. The Christian Conservative Right wing has all but hijacked the Republican party. This bloc is very active in the fight to repeal abortion and are enraged about the provisions of Obamacare that require insurance companies to pay for female birth control and contraception. They're also opposed to invitro fetilization and not in favor of women being paid equal pay for equal work. They also want prayer back in schools and sex education out. They are adamantly against same sex marriage . And they are not just satisfied with "in god we trust" being on coins, but further want America to be specifically considered a "Christian" nation, all in their quest to impose their religious beliefs on others. Black Democrats are not that devout when it comes to religion. They go to church on Sunday and sing and shout and holler Amen but they do pretty much what they please when it comes to the rest of the week. They fornicate and live in "sin" and have babies out of wed-lock and cheat on their spouses and drink booze and smoke weed and go to Vegas, and then tell themselves that the lord will understand. The one thing they do seem to snag on is same-sex marriages, but because gays are so numerous in black congregations, straight members are able to hate the sin and love the sinner, and the majority of them will forgive Obama for endorsing gay marriage rather than vote for a white man over a black one. IMO. And, yes, the innate chauvinism that characterizes men, reared its ugly head when Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin exerted a little muscle in the last election, and male Democrats were intimidated by one and amused by the other, but because they are ostensibly liberal as opposed to conservative, Democrats are traditionally supportive of women's causes and religious freedom. Believing all of this is why I reject Republicans. Democrates are affable hypocrites, while Republicans are tight-assed, self-righteous ones.

Actually I don't think whether you two vote or not really matters, except for the personal satsifaction you get from abstaining. The electoral college will be who determines the presidency and it neutralizes millions of votes in the process. There's a very real possibility that I won't vote because I've moved, and am not registered at my new address. But I will continue to hope the Republicans are defeated because they are anti-women, and have a problem with keeping church and state separate.

It wasn't your words, it was your tone. Sounded to me like it wouldn't make you any difference if these men weren't honored because it was a shallow gesture considering what they have been through. That's the impression I got. And I wouldn't have gotten it if you hadn't made an issue out of it, instead of just being glad that they finally got their recognition like other black groups have. I don't have a problem with atonement and in this case I don't dwell on what people's motives might be. If you want to, that's your prerogative. Bottom line, these Marines fought bravely and they deserved to be honored for this. That's my response. Take or leave it.

Well, why question the motives of those who show recognition to unsung heroes? What is the alternative to giving them their props late? Continuing to ignore them because suspicious people don't like the timing of the accolades? Nobody is more cynical than me, and one of the things I am cyical about is protest just for the sake protest. I am a little more lenient when it comes to debating for the sake of debate.

Welllllll, Waterstar, we all have militant friends enamoured with the '60s who lean toward being malcontented. For every one who thinks the civil rights struggle included striking down Jim Crow laws that impeded voting, there are those who think the struggle involved the right to embrace not voting with dignity. Take your pick. Vote and feel vindicated or don't vote and feel dignified. As for black voters and the Democratic party, Blacks have enough guile to not be naive when it comes to canonizing Democrats. They are and alway have been practical so they humor Democrats so they can "work the system" for their own benefit. Not only that, it's not like Blacks are the spectators when it comes to Democrats. They are Democrats, themselves, via running for office and being elected on Democratic tickets. They are Democratic precinct captains and Democratic ward committee men and Democratic city councilmen and Democratic aldermen and Democratic mayors and Democratic congressmen and Democratic state senators and Democratic Attorney Generals and - a Democratic President, all of whom have constituents who identify themselves as Democrats. Yes, Democrats are flawed, but they are also us! Democrats are not perfect, but Blacks have to go with what's available. If things were different would it be better? Who knows? Politics is not the venue for idealists. Blacks are also among the growing ranks of Independents who vote for candidates they think will serve their individual interests, or who will at least not be corrupt. Lotsa luck to them. BTW, I agree that anyone who wants to make a difference, should not run for president.