Cynique

To the contrary, Gays have always existed in high places in the "eyes-wide-shut" environment of Roman and Greek society, In the present, there is a long-standing rumor of a gay "mafia" that wields a lot of influence in Hollywood. Gays have acquired power because brilliance and artistic creativity so often go hand-in-hand with homosexuality and these traits are assets. Having an option to shift between the straight and gay worlds is what has distinguished the gay struggle from the black one. You can't hide in the closet and exercise power behind the scenes if you're black. i see the LGBT movement as being in the vanguard of a future society where time will bring change and humans will be allowed to embrace whatever sexual orientation they are comfortable with. This is not necessarily a bad situation. "Doing you" can be liberating.

simple. stay out of prison @GibranPrisons don't always have bars. Love is sometimes sentenced to death when it is punished by the state of mind. Romantic love has to be mutual. @Xeon Where ya been? Always glad to see you pop up.

A woman's vagina is, indeed, a negotiating tool in many scenarios. It's when she chooses not to use it as one that she is in jeopardy in other scenarios.

Well if you believe this, then why do you continue to harp on the idea that in America whites are trying to impose their puritanical values on black folks? It's obvious your complaints are without substance, especially since one reason for the negative black situation is this country can be traced, in part, to blacks acting like they're still living in the jungle. Something you promote.

@Pioneer1Why would i follow you to Africa? What a silly request. There's nothing about you or Africa that inspires me to want be in the presence of. If you really want me to stop needling you about your obsession with an African lifestyle, then stop your delusional repetitive prattle about it.

@Pioneer1 Since the lifestyle and cultural and history that is indigenous to the 4-century tenure of the black presence in this country is so unnatural to you, why don't you just pull up stakes and move to Africa? Find a village in the Bush someplace where you can settle into the earthy primitive lifestyle you are so enamored of. And why assign to black American students the arduous task of traversing the dark continent, researching African marital customs? Why didn't you do this yourself years ago since you are so obsessed with the mores of your Motherland? But - it's not too late. You can still satisfy your curiosity to some extent. Forsake the Starbucks ritual that is Western-inspired and trade your European garb for a loin cloth. Answer the call of the wild and the lure of keloids. Become the personification of what infests your mind-set. Um gowa!

@TroyI don't really think Mel and Chevdove were lamenting the situation, but were instead dramatizing and empathizing with women who are not as strong and independent as they are.

When it comes to "forming and maintaining families and long term relationships", has it occurred to Pioneer that white people are who have a high divorce rate and dysfunctional families and an increase in homosexuality, and that nobody in this country is strictly adhering to these so-call white values he so adamantly rejects. Moreover, the breakdown of the black family stems not from white values but from those black people who lead a loose, multiple-partner lifestyle that Pioneer insists comes natural to them. His assessment of a situation he has concocted in his head proposes out-dated solutions that are neither viable nor grounded in reality.

Just like all blacks don't carry the sickle-cell trait or gene, keloids are not something that all black people are prone to. It's not a given that a scar on a black person will automatically result in a raised keloid.

@GibranThank you. Nothing like the reality of pragmatism to clear our paths. i await the next account of your meandering journey.

@Gibran i would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this post below which i directed to you.

@GibranYour biography is ironically too good to be true! You are like the "tails" of a coin on which Ta-Nehisi Coates is the "heads" side. i can't believe you haven't attracted a publisher for your life story which surely would command enough attention as a book to be turned into at least a made-for-TV movie. You appear to be the personification of the old "truth is stranger than fiction" axiom. But i'm not entirely convinced of your authenticity. i am a cynical iconoclast. But i will try to keep an open mind.

You guys seem to be romanticizing the idea of black women expecting you to be stalwart heroes who will rush up on a white horse to defend black damsels in distress. i don't think sisters dwell on this idea. Mainly because over the centuries they have learned to take up for themselves in a fair fight. A drunk woman acting up in a public venue is not really looking for a black man to defend her. Alcohol is empowering her to fend for herself. As for physical domestic abuse, this is not just a black problem. It exists across the board. Moreover, some women physically abuse their mates. Women have a very effective weapon in the battle of the sexes and it's nestled between their thighs. It levels the playing field and can make men happy losers.

Well, that takes up some of the slack when it comes to black men leaving something to be desired when it comes to defending their woman. At least their hearts are in the right place. Men have no idea how pliable women become in the hands of a man who considers her his inspiration. Too bad brothas and sistas can't get on the same page. BTW, I am also a fan of Khalil Gibran Another poster on this board by the name of "Nubian Fellow" observed that white supremacy endures because of the inferiority of black behavior. I agree with this. You have refined this idea by pointing out how Europeans were able to manipulate and program the minds of blacks. I agree with this too. This is why I believe black folks have to individually figure out a way to circumvent racism and work The System by getting in where they fit in. To some, this is blasphemy. So the "black unity" mantra drones on in a country where institutionalized racism is firmly in place. .

@GibranIs Gibran your given surname or are you a fan of "The Prophet?" I was curious as to how you acquired you excellent writing skills but it obviously runs in your family.

Why did "god" allow the "chosen" black people to fall so far from grace? And, just what is the exact color of "black" as applied to the complexion of humans? Egyptian hieroglyphics show them to actually be the color "brown" as we know it. What ever the perception, all down through the ages "blacks" have been conquered, victimized and degraded on up unto this day. What glory they acquired had no longevity as evidenced by their becoming entrenched at the bottom of the totem pole. Yet, blacks remain caught up in ancestor worship as a way to bolster their self worth. They are also still enslaved by a blind faith in a creator who seemingly has forsaken them. It's like "Jesus" is just an idea, and every group who accepts this idea as a path to "salvation" pictures the human personification of this idea to look like themselves cast as the hero of a scenario as told in books and tales written by men. Not surprising since religion is man-made. Human beings seem reluctant to consider that their divinity comes from within, and that establishing a connection with the universe will empower them. The wheel was Homo Sapiens first invention and it's appropriate that it has become a kind of metaphor of life wherein its many spokes represent paths to the axle of truth. Truth is reality if we can trust our eyes.

@Pioneer1 It doesn't matter what you advocate especially since your claims are restricted to some men, but not all and are based on certain scientific findings, but not others, - a mish-mash manifesto of blather. The obvious question is what if another black man replaces you on a soap box and does tell you something about black sexuality that conflicts with your beliefs? If the light-skinned, wavy-haired, violin-playing, testosterone-deficient Farrakhan publicly promoted monogamy would that change your mind? Huh? Huh? Would that dispel your daydreams of humping a harem of post pubescent teen-aged girls? You just can't get past imposing your ideas on other people, for some reason believing that you are empowered to do this. Who are you? just some guy who has convinced himself that assimilated, bi-racial slave descendants are more influenced by their Negroid instincts than their Caucasoid ones, - a malcontent who rejects white values but accepts white science when it suits him. Nor will you acknowledge that exercising discretion enables people of any color to indulge in whatever kind of sexual activity they choose. Instead, you waste your time whining about society establishing rules designed to, among other things, protect vulnerable women and children from aggressive men. And talk about a straw man argument, where are you coming from when accusing white society of restricting or condemning the black male population of playas and cheaters and sugar daddies??? Dees niggas is out dere freely satisfying their sexual appetites, while you're standing around talking a lot of smack. As far as the crimes of priests are concerned they are, indeed, being excoriated both within and outside the ranks of the Catholic Church which is currently in a state of turmoil over on this crisis! And, pray tell, when did the Catholic church ever care enough one way or another about the sex habits of black men to chastise them about promiscuity?? Puleeze.

WOW! Who knew somebody was instigating this 85-year-old to get tattoos of the names of her late husband and grandson inked on her arm, so they'd always be with me. Of course i always knew pioneer was a fuddy duddy. You, i'll give a pass to, Troy, because you're usually a cool guy who has his priorities in tact.

BLAH,BLAH, BLAH. Yada, yada, yada. Always did say pioneer exists in a make-believe world where, like the pathetic Wizard of OZ, he fancies himself a font of wisdom while hiding behind a curtain, hovering over a cauldron, stirring up an endless supply of the hot air he inhales and expels in a futile attempt to impress. Below is the guy who doesn't have the spine to acknowledge what was the gist and essence of the beliefs he's been preaching on this site for years. Instead he tries to back off from his past contentions by saying they weren't expressed in his exact words. in a sorry attempt to prove that my drawing from his beliefs to make my relevant point on the subject under discussion was a straw man argument,

The same can be said of "answer". Del's reaction was his answer in response to a question he chose to ignore.

Lucky for me.

There is, indeed, a need to respond since you are admitting that you are not an expert on the subject of black sexuality, and that all of the past assertions you made about the testosterone-fueled hyper-sexuality of most black men and their proclivity for polygamy, are just BS. Plus, none of your explanations about European values being unnatural for Africans carry any credible authority. Bottom line, all of your afro-centric pontificating about the structured culture in this country inhibiting the true nature of its African diaspora is a bunch of drivel and should be disregarded. Glad we got that out of the way. Hope this means that in the future, you will spare us all your non-expert babbling on these subjects, along with the conspiracy theories about white supremacists. Thanks for providing the responses that proved that my argument wasn't a straw man one. Now take your raggedly little scarecrow and be on your way. Buh Bye.

The least you could've done was to make an adequate response. How hard could that have been? ( Who needs attention from a someone who is inadequate? i don't.)

OK, I'll compliment you on making an argument for "ignorance being bliss".

That's a reaction, not a response. According to the dictionary, response and answer are synonyms. nouns whose meaning can change when they are modified by adjectives. i don't need long-winded explanations(?) from a source like you who can't spell, makes grammatical errors on a regular basis and uses "ect", instead of "etc".