Cynique

Oaths are not exclusively religious acts. And what deity is associated with Hippocrates? This oath is just a formality, and was unheard of in Eastern culture, not to mention that the language in it changed over the centuries. Today, taking it is an option and the most recent version makes no reference to god.

@Pioneer1 you're so paranoid that you actually think somebody is monitoring a nonentity like you. I have nothing to hide. And in comparison to the millions who post pictures and info on FaceBook, SnapChat and YouTube, the number of people who have been killed over this, is miniscule. Far, far lower than random or accidental killings that occur off line. My complaint about your need for anonymity, is the deceptiveness you display by co-opting the picture of an actual person to hide behind, when you could use an avatar or a symbol.

My final take on the "Black Panther" euphoria, has predictably congealed into cynicism. The black panther character first appeared as an antagonist to Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four in 1966. which according to some accounts, was the same year a cabal of young black militants in Oakland, California, inspired by the heroics of this character, envisioned the image of a black panther as a logo for their nascent organization. Subsequently learning that the symbol had already been adopted in 1965 by another political group from Alabama known as the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, Bobby Seal and Huey Newton perhaps made these activists an offer they couldn't refuse and - the rest is history. End of prologue. In the present, to me, the impact of the block-buster spectacle based on the black panther comic book character, boils down to 2 words: make-believe. And so begins our story... . Once upon a time, a black minority population residing in a land of broken promises, was plagued by the post traumatic stress resulting from the slavery which had robbed them of their identity. They ached for something to fill them with pride and make them believe they had self-worth. 2 Titans known as Marvel Productions and Disney Studios, got wind of this yearning, and with dollar signs in their eyes, believed they could capitalize off the situation by providing the black masses with a movie featuring make-believe characters in a make-believe country, giving a good accounting of themselves and their make-believe culture. Upon seeing the imaginary movie released by the Titans, droves of black people were captivated by what this make-believe epic made them believe. Inspired by what jumped off giant screens in theaters all over the country, black patrons left these venues feeling superior to those who had thwarted their belief in themselves. And what better way to affirm this belief than to ride the "Wakanda Forever" wave into a future where all blacks would be high achievers in a high tech environment of their own making! Meanwhile, the 2 titans of white corporate America are raking in the astronomical profits this film has generated, thanks in great part to the cash-flow from its enchanted black audience. Elsewhere, however, doubts about the redeeming value of this make-believe movie have begun to appear as dissident voices start to blaspheme it. Social media party poopers are now pricking holes in the fantasy balloon, and would you believe the post traumatic stress of slavery is developing into a multiple personality disorder? Epilogue: Believe it or not, this is what can be expected when dealing with a make-believe tale that gives rise to a belief that blacks can believe in, - if they make-believe...

I heard it on the news a couple of days ago, and when i Googled it just now, this is what i found. "A recent SurveyMonkey poll says that the president's approval rating has increased to 44 percent. It also notes that 55 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, a decline from 58 percent. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) SurveyMonkey is some kind of an online poll.

In the latest poll, Trump's ratings are up. A lot has to happen in the remaining 2 weeks of March.

And the Black Panther movie has inspired this?

Supporting this movie is first and foremost putting money in the hands of the white film industry. None of the prosperity spawned by a fantasy movie based on comic book characters is going to trickle down to blacks. Since the country where it takes place is Africa, not America and since the people in it, with the superficial exception of having similar skin tones, do not come across as black Americans, then what redeeming value does it really have? This movie should be labeled for what it is. A money-making escapist film which, while entertaining, has no relevance when it comes to reality.

Well this is something you can't generalize about. Specifically, what effect did all of the institutions you referred to have on Science?

No, but rightly or wrongly i am influenced by the reputation of China's totalitarian government, when it comes to how influential it is on the collective conscious of its huge population. Are citizens of China really hungry for knowledge about Africa per se? Or just action movies produced by the western world.

Your good intentions are well-taken, but how up to date is this commentary? What you say abut the sexualization of girls, applies to all females in America, not just young black ones. What is the name and reference of the data in regard to black girls being more prone to suicide or who smoke regularly? And BET is no longer a channel saturated with videos of booty-shakin back-up dancers in music videos. Last but not least, no mention is made of social media and smart phones which have supplanted TV when it comes to having a detrimental effect on how females comport themselves. Your commentary might have also discussed those black voices who resent Planned Parenthood clinics in the inner cities as being a party to genocide because abortions are available at this facilities. Again, your underlying message is an important one, but it needed to also put some focus on the culpability and irresponsibility of black males when it comes to corrupting young black girls.

Are there immigrants from China in America. (Not Taiwan) Did Chinese immigrants tell this to you?

Not in China.

While waiting for Troy to respond to the opinion solicited by Del, these are my thoughts. The article is biased, an example of Hollywood patting itself on the back, taking credit for and earning millions from an idea whose time had come, using isolated anecdotal evidence to make a questionable point. Praise for a movie owing much of its success to exciting images, and aggrandizement of the age old conflict pitting heroes versus villains, with the heroes triumphing; a bakery dropping crumbs for hungry black folks starved for the sight of action figures who look like them. But when all the hype dies down, what is left? Black Panther is a slick film about Africa not as it was. not as it now is, nor as it will ever be. What message does this comic book production really send? What the Mother Land could've been, - but woefully is not. White supremacy flexed its ruthless muscles and overwhelmed this continent, relegating it to the ranks of losers, losers who, nonetheless. continue to inspire the romanticized adoration of the diaspora in America where generic African garb. and liberated hair with all of its synthetic extensions, have become superficial badges of a bastardized African heritage. And why is such slavish homage due to a continent whose countries were guilty of participating in the slave trade, selling its own into bondage, sending their shackled bodies across the Atlantic to a land where they would endure hardship and degradation for 4 centuries. Where was African support during the Civil Rights struggle in this country, a movement launched by leaders descended from slaves, people shedding their blood sweat and tears in a quest for freedom, achieving gains that African immigrants now waltz over to this country and benefit from. And, yes, this movie is comparable to Obama's election, an event that that was a "flash-in-the pan", one where, with help from authentic black Americans, the son of a white woman and an African immigrant was elected to the highest office in the land, even though his forefathers had not paid their dues. Furthermore, how will the success of this example of great film making actually impact on black America? Will it create better schools, decrease the black prison population, generate jobs, stop black males from shooting each other, dissipate the baby/mama culture that has destabilized the family unit? Or will it just continue to overshadow films based on true stories about heroic black people. Films like "Hidden Figures", and the ones about the Tuskegee airmen, and Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, the other movie starring Chadwick Boseman. Where is the acclaim for the superbly-remade "Roots" saga, and the kicked to the curb Nate Turner story? What is certain is that an inevitable sequel to Black Panther will perpetuate the mania. Like "The God Father", it gives all indication of being a profitable franchise. Ka-Ching, If i sound cynical, it's because i am. But i am a voice in the wilderness when it comes to my assessment of the film. You can't argue with success, and everybody loves a winner!

i'm having a cynical reaction to how the term "God" is being bandied about in the ongoing discussion about religion and science. Some people obviously think Christianity has a monopoly on god, having based its religion on someone calling himself the son of god. Judaism says, "not so". Islam stammers "maybe". Inscrutable Oriental gurus and swamis and lamas have their own version of god in keeping with their cultures and philosophies. The ancient Greeks figured, "By Jove, we'll create mythical gods for every situation!" The Romans chimed in with a "Sounds like a great idea!" God is moreorless a generic term co-opted by groups who have turned mysterious forces into familiar objects of worship. I, like a lot of other people, posit that men with ulterior motives have personified The Universe as a Being who they have created in their own flawed image, subsequently integrating this entity into belief systems known as religions. Religions whose credos adhere to the idea that everybody is wrong but us. I say all of this to argue that God is not a religion. Mel, Troy and i have all advanced the idea that belonging to a religious denomination has nothing to do with one's profession as a scientist. Being a university founded by Christians has nothing to do with what scientific knowledge is gleaned at this place of learning. It behooves others to separate religious individuals from their secular professions. Would you consider the findings of a scientific person to be influenced by dough just because he ate bread? The Forces of Nature stand on their own. Religion didn't create them, they were simply discovered by individuals who happened to have worshiped idols. As someone who embraces the concept of god as a spirit which transcends man-made religions, the only concession I make is that science and religion are both pillars of society. Those who exercise their right to believe differently are wasting time seeking to convert me to their way of thinking. And so it goes.

Whose problem is it? Not mine. Disagreeing with you is effortless and is not something i go out of my way to do. i don't regularly disagree with anyone else on this board because they aren't the kind of person you are, someone who, incidentally, hides behind the picture of another man, apparently ashamed to show his own mug. You have , of course, chosen to ignore how certain other posters here also reject most of your claims which are reinforced by your obsession with white brainwashing, not aware that you, yourself, are brainwashed by a bunch of dead or over-the-hill Afro-centrists.

@Pioneer1 What would you do if you couldn't blame white people as the reason for intelligent black people questioning your half-cocked ideas? This is your crutch. In your mind, any black person who doesn't see things your way, is brainwashed, and you apparently include black scientists in this. It never occurs to you that you aren't right about everything.

So why do we care? i am not preoccupied with things over which i have no control.

@Pioneer1 and @DelHate to let a few facts intrude on your back-scratching session, but medical science has radically updated the Hippocratic oath which originated with an ancient Greek PHYSICIAN who was NOT a religious figure. You two aren't even aware of how you are slowing transforming this subject from a case of science espousing religion to one of religion accommodating science, as you draw very heavily on Greek mythology to support your claims. But since this subject has become your obsession, have at it. Whatever turns you on. It has become a source of amusement for me.

@Troy TV1, a cable channel, airs the Cosby Show every day, along with reruns of many other black series from past decades such as the the Redd Foxx show, the Jeffersons, Good Times, What's Happening, Living Color. TV1 is also the home of the popular "Unsung" series. i don't know whether this channel is black-owned or not. My world view is a strictly personal one. I'm sure many of my school mates and home town members might have felt like you. I did live in a suburb of Chicago, so your situation probably existed there, too. But when it came to movies, the story line was what captivated me. The skin color of the people was just incidental to me. i was, however, sensitive enough to be turned off by the subservient or clownish roles individual black actors were relegated to back then. I'd be naive to not acknowledge the Institutionalized white racism that permeates America, and I have always said it is the task of aspiring black individuals to find a way to navigate through this system.

One person's wall is another's window.

The source of these words can be traced to human opinions. Are they true? Who knows? I. WONDER.

One of the things that comes to my mind after perusing this discussion, is to compare the "The Cosby Show"of the 80's with "Black Panther". The aim of this TV production under the helm of a black man, was to portray an affluent middle-class African American family headed up by professional parents and filled with characters molded to fill the need of blacks yearning for a positive show about people who looked like them. It wasn't long, however, before critics complained that the average black person couldn't relate to this show. I don't anticipate that "Black Panther" will experience a lot of such complaints, however. Black folks want to "keep it real", but not too real. "Black Panther" is pure fantasy and, best of all, it takes place in AFRICA! Black moviegoers can leave theaters after watching this picture and feel fully entertained. But are they really inspired to do anything other than lash out at white people who can't understand what all the hype is about. The movie is a phenomenon for the silliest of reasons. When it comes to fictionalize comic book heroes, blacks want to be able to beam "Me, too". "The Birth of a Nation", a recent film directed and written by a brother, told the story of Nat Turner, an authentic Black American hero. It scored good reviews but was a flop, stigmatized by past charges brought against its black director in regard to the suicide of a white woman, and by the criticism of black women who resented how they were marginalized in the movie. I've never found observing people who look like me to be a big turn-on.

People who have knowledge of this common advice and don't use it, apparently don't feel the need to comply with it. Not every body is a mamby-pamby bland person who prefers to go along to get along, especially when the views of another person beg to be challenged.

Misspelling a word is the least of your shortcomings. Belaboring this point is just another thread in your security blanket. I have no intention of humoring you. Get over yourself and move on.