Cynique

Yes, he was a black French West Indian and a favorite of the Black Panthers back in the 1960s. I considered posting John Coltrane's "My Favorites Things" for all the weed heads out there, but it runs so long.

So, - like i was about to say, Lori and Kim were waging a cat fight, both trying to justify their positions because they, along with the recently-appointed black Superintendent of Police are catching hell for their inability to do something about the out-of-control crime wave in Chicago. Kim is inflexible in her position of not overreacting to misdemeanors, believing petty criminals should be let back out the streets, and that bail should be low for what she believes are victims of a system that is unfair to young blacks. Lori says "screw dat", black-on-black-crime-requires a different perspective. The police chief just quotes figures showing the murder rate is down - compared to the higher rate the week before. Jesse Jackson was propped up long enough to take on the role of mediator and Kim an Lorie agreed to meet to further discuss the problem. Meanwhile, the white head of the Police Union, fresh from his KKK meeting, pled the case for his endangered boys in blue being a favorite target of the shooters. And the beat goes on. Car jackings, expressway drive-bys and personal beefs, too often taking their toll on unintended victims, many of them kids. It's awful. i feel sorry for all those poor Black Chicagoans living in fear of each other.

@ProfDI'm surprised you didn't pick up on the Frantz Fanon reference.

This is true. It's about developing your self expression. Once you can express your questions you sometimes realize that the answer is in the question. I do believe that answers are all there just waiting to be observed and integrated into knowledge.

In my new status as a divorcee from the black race, it's a relief to be excused from plowing through the bumper crop of "what black folks need to do" farmers. In an economy of opinions, talk is cheap. Yada, yada. Here's my 2 cents. A couple of the many factors that contribute to this country's chaotic state of affairs are: Misinformation. (false or inaccurate information. ) and Cognitive dissonance("when people hold a core belief that is very strong and when, they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted so they will rationalize, ignore, or even deny anything that doesn't fit with the core belief." Franz Fanon) Truth has lost its meaning. Meanwhile, music hangs in there. And that's no lie. (An oldie from the favorite vocal group of The Temptations.)

Yes! This is why it is so intriguing. The idea that what's unobserved does not exist and that consciousness visualized the universe into existence.

@Rev Yeah, yeah, yeah, i've heard it all before. i reserve the right to not be religious. Nor am I promoting white supremacy. It promotes itself.

Why is my 3 year old post resurrected? There's nothing about it that deserves to be re-examined. Around Chicago a few Bear fans were hoping the team might pick up Kaepernick in its hunt for a new quarterback. But we got a hotshot black rookie instead. They really did good last week - against the worst team in the league, the Detroit Lions. GO BEARS!

What white supremacy is also superior at is longevity. The black candle flares up and burns bright but it doesn't last the night. It melts down. Rev keep injecting the bible and Christianity into the mix, 2 things that have consistently de-fanged blacks. The one instance where those 2 are relevant is the fable about Ham's descendants being cursed. Somebody once said about Democracy that it is the worst form of government, - except for all the rest.

@Mel HopkinsAnother interesting contribution from you!

Since I have divorced the black race, i no longer feel I have to perpetuate the narrative about Africa's great civilization, a lore that African Americans have been relegated to take pride in in order to bolster their morale and maintain their self-esteem. But today, black peoples world wide are pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole. It's true that African-Americans are descended from kings and great warriors whose science and art and wisdom was stolen and co-opted by the Greeks and Romans. And later, the African continent was pillaged and stripped of its resources bringing about the fall of these great empires. This is the history that Africa and its diaspora clings to. It is a sacred legacy but it is an incomplete one. Possibly because the big picture would support white supremacy. White Western man conquered the black race because of superior weaponry, superior armies, superior fleets - and a calculating left brain intelligence that spawned a cruel capacity for annihilating foes. Spiritually-oriented blacks didn't have a chance against this Caucasian breed of homo sapiens. Might made right and white supremacy never relinquished its dominance. Nevertheless, African Americans, who are now a hybrid species, did OK, all things considered. They have a remarkable history which they carved on their own in this country. And over the centuries they have managed to endure, survive - and individually thrive. But the specter of white supremacy won't go away. There are, however, cracks in its pillars.

I go on FaceBook regularly. Why? Because it is a social venue. For instance: it allows me to keep up with my cousins all around the country, On there, I also find out about the deaths of people in my hometown and am apprised of their funeral arrangements, while the obituaries "celebrating their lives" are subsequently posted by their families. I have the choice of looking at or scrolling past the plethora of photos posted by my living friends "leading their best lives", and some are even worth looking at. I belong to my high school's alumni association, a group that is facilitated by FB and, like a bulletin board, FB keeps me up to date on local civic events. i also enjoy its funny memes and appreciate the many special interests groups it sponsors, 2 of which have united me with like-minded people curious about Pantheism, and Quantum Physics, a subject I am fascinated with. I no longer engage right wing Retrumpicans on forums because, as much as i like to argue, that eventually got repetitive and futile so I took my opinions and moved on, denying FB the chance to do its algorithm thing My point is, is that there's more to life than politics and racism. There's community and congeniality, things that provide an escape from the stress and tumult of the real world. For a lot of folks, that's the obvious appeal of FaceBook. It is what it is. You don't have to be an air head to go on there! You just have to keep things in perspective. This is a Capitalistic country. Money and power prevail. If you ain't got it, tough shit. Do the best you can.

It was not me who said I was going anywhere! All I said was that my divorce from the black race was final. That doesn't mean I have become a non participant in activities of my choosing. It just meant that, as far as my people are concerned, I am no longer a part of the solution, i am a part of the problem - by way of indifference.

I never said I was going anywhere!

i don't think my decision can be challenged. I am invisible. Nobody pays any attention to old folks. and neither blacks nor whites will be interested in claiming me. I am Vampira; raceless! .o r

Herbie did stray from the fold with that "Rockit" video that found a home on MTV. He has to live with that. i prefer to forget it.

My divorce from the black race is final. I am no longer wed to this sprawling entity reeling under the spell of the "what black folks need to do" mantra, an insanity that chants the same things over and over again, expecting different results, blaming the same conditions, fixating on the same villains, excusing the same behavior, mesmerized by the same denial, creating the seductive narrative that my diminished appeal couldn't compete with. My own unfaithfulness made things worse. Love didn't conquer all. Now, here i am, on my own, lanquishing under the radar, living out my remaining days, realizing that some things are just not meant to be... Should a great grand child of mine come across this decree 50 years from now, will the words inspire laughter or tears? Anyway, feel free to bid me a rousing good riddance!

@ProfDYes, Chicago's finest, Herbie Hancock, has earned jazz immortality! along with his homeboy Quincy Jones, and home girl Chaka Khan, a favorite of Fred Hampton who is from my suburb of Chicago hometown.. Here is a cut from the album that launched Dave Brubeck into the jazz stratosphere. This is what woke up the 1950s silent generation and lured the "gray boys" away from Pat Boone and Elvis Presley. The R&B crowd at least tolerated him and, for better or for worse. he's worth listening to if you're a jazz buff. Saxophonist Paul Desmond was also underrated. Anyway, does this sound like "smooth jazz" or "cafe music" to you? https://youtu.be/0fommAa94ow

Jazz elitists look upon their community as being esoteric, Once one of their of own gains broad acceptance by the public this dulls their sheen in the eyes of these snobs. Dave Brubeck became tremendously popular and was anointed by Down Beat Magazine, which is the bible of the jazz world, but he was dismissed by certain critics. Whatever.

@Troy. how come i have to post as a guest here when I'm on my smart phone. Then even when I try to post as a guest using the name Cynique, I'm rejected. Knowing my password might make a difference, but i forgot it.

Maybe Brubeck who was considered rather pedestrian by Jazz aficiandos. But not Errol Garner. He was a bona fide jazz pianist, - a genius who played by ear. His "Concert by the Sea" album is considered a jazz classic. i was around "during that time".

Miles is credited with "the birth of cool" after he moved on following a short flirtation with the frenzy of BeBop. I'm a late comer to the Miles cult. when he was breaking ground, like a good 1950 college girl that I was, i was into Dave Brubeck. and his sideman saxophonist Paul Desmond I was always a fan of jazz piano and i loved his style of playing it. this was way before his commercial hit Take 5. Yes, Brubeck was a white musician, but - it was the bland 1950s...

FaceBook is my conduit to family: near and far; friends: old and new. i also belong to Pantheist and Quantum physics groups on there, both of which I learn things from. I find social media a diversion and i consider the source of what it reports. i never respond to memes that give instructions or ask questions. I would miss FaceBook if it was gone but I'd find other diversion on line and on TV. The difference between FB and my children and grand kids and dog and cat is that i can click away from it when it bugs me. Not so with them. When all else fails solitude is my haven. And music.

I never said anything about Prince being "sexy". This was something that pioneer implied so that so he could try to make a point that had no merit. Let the record show that I liked Prince's music but he was not my romantic fantasy; more like a rebellious son with a Napoleonic complex. When it comes to "types", people like who they like, and there's no accounting for taste...

@ProfD So do you think black jazz masters are not on a par with Beethoven, Mozart. Chopin , Shubert. Handel, et al, whose works are timeless and who hold permanent places of honor in the annals of white classical music? Why do you think vintage jazz artists and present day ones can't co-exist and be judged on their individual merits??? Why does it have to be one or the other when it comes to listening to them?