Pioneer1

I think traveling to other lands and meeting different people's is one of the best things you can do to educate yourself. Believe it or not, in my brief visits to Europe I learned a lot more about AMERICA. I would look at the buildings in Europe and recognize that THIS is probably what they were trying to build in Philadelphia or Chicago....but didn't have the patience to do so....lol. I found out that White Europeans tended to have a different mentality on certain things than White Americans. I always encourage AfroAmericans to travel. Get a passport and get out of the country every now and then to see other possibilities and other ways of thinking and doing things. But at the end of the day, America is where it's at...... THIS IS OUR HOME. If Black people don't learn some sense and settle down here and get some land, business, and a proper knowledge of themselves and the world HERE...it's useless to pack their backs and go running off anywhere else. If you're a fool in Los Angeles....you're gonna be a fool in Lagos or Capetown or Berlin or Shang Hai. With the right knowledge....Black people can turn Haiti into Fantasy Island.

Zaji Originally we didn't need written laws. Our very nature was that of righteousness. You only have to tell someone NOT to sleep with animals if they were. You only have to tell someone NOT to sacrifice their children to a big wooden statue if they actually doing these things. You have to tell them what to eat and how to eat to keep them from getting sick. Religion....especially scripted religion was made for Caucasians in order to GIVE them a framework to build their civilizations on. The original belief system of people of color around the planet is what some would call ANCESTRAL WORSHIP or ANCESTRAL VENERATION where you are reunited with your ancestors and relatives when you die.

I know that Black people invented science and I know there are Black scientists. Knowledge is knowledge. Truth is truth. It doesn't have a color or race to it....... BUT THOSE PRESENTING THAT KNOWELDGE AND TRUTH TO US DO HAVE A RACE/COLOR TO THEM! And if those who are presenting that knowledge are racist with evil ulterior motives then they will skew that knowledge, hide it, and corrupt it. And every other scientist THAT FOLLOW in their footsteps through that same scientific methods they practice will be just as confused and corrupted as they are....either wittingly or unwittingly. Which is the problem I have with many of these so-called Black scientists who get their training from Western academic institutions. They are just getting hand-me-down knowledge from smarter even more educated White folks. But much of that knowledge has been skewed and corrupted. I consider George Washington Carver a Black scientist who practiced Black or neutral science. He had his own laboratory where he went directly into nature HIMSELF and actually talked to the plants and studied them up close with his own hands and arrived at his OWN conclusions. And invented over 300 product just from the peanut alone. When Black people practice science in OUR OWN way using OUR OWN methods un-encumbered by the restrictions of the typical Western scientific format....we excell at phenomenal levels. It's the same way.....not just with science....but with everything else. When Black folks freed themselves from the restrictions of Western music and made our own....we produced JAZZ, MOTOWN, RAP. We had the entire world bouncing and rocking to what we produced.....because we did it OUR WAY, not their way. If we'd only practice science OUR WAY...we could cure the planet and everyone on it.

Zaji We need to go back to OUR science and stop following behind them. They are nothing more than intellectual thieves who have bastardized the discoveries and inventions of others. I'm glad you said they stole it AND bastardized it. It's one thing to steal someone's idea and claim it as your own....that's bad enough; but to steal it and change the original meaning of it! Most authors, poets, and singers tell those who steal their work say, "If you're gonna steal my work...you should atleast sing it right!" "If you're gonna steal my quotes....atleast put the original meaning on it". A lot of the times when Whites steal original Black knowledge they corrupt it to the point that it no longer has any real meaning and is utterly confusing and useless. I suspect that where most of these crazy religions come from.....ancient Black knowledge that was corrupted and mythologized to the point of being irrecognizable. The 42 Laws of Maat turns into the 10 Commandments.....for people who routinely break all 10 of them. The fasting of the ancients meant to cleanse and rejuvenate the body turns into a religious ritual where people begrudglingly starve themselves or abstain from eating meat totally ignorant as to WHY they're doing it and assuming it has some "spiritual" meaning behind it. Anyhoo, I continue to research melanin. And I see the game they are playing with race/phenotype/melanin. We also know that there are different TYPES of Melanin. The melanin in most Caucasians and many East Asians is different than the melanin in Blacks and true Native Americans. We have "eumelanin" which is Black.....they have mostly "pheomelanin" which is red. This is why sometimes when you're looking at a picture of White people you see a red dot in their eyes in the photo. 　 　 　 Cynique Well , i always ask what do white people have to gain by abandoning the idea of different races? It is to their advantage to keep their artificial construct since, as everybody agrees, this allows them maintain white supremacy. It helps them to acknowledge race as long as they are in the majority..... But when they become a MINORITY in any nation/community then they try to erase the idea of race so as to CONFUSE the masses of the people. One of the reasons why there wasn't a major Civil Rights movement in Latin America like it was in the United States is because most of the Black people in Latino nations think they're everything BUT Black. White Latinos who control Latin America tell them they aren't Black but Cuban, Brazilian, Mexican, Columbian, ect..... They tell them we're all the same race...."Latino race"....to fool them. And because they don't see race or see themselves as Black they don't know how to explain why they are poor and being exploited by the White Brazilians, Mexicans, ect... Leonce 　 　 That aside, define who, then, is black? Is is 30% African blood? Is it 51%. Does the person with 49% African ancestry then qualify as white? 　 To me, in order to actually still be considered African/Black you would have to be atleast 3/4 African/Black or if you have a non-Black parent but you LOOK like a complete African/Black person I'd still consider you African/Black. I know that figure is kind of high, but I think it's reasonable because if you start accepting EVERYBODY with any African ancestry as Black you run the risk of watering down the entire race and replacing it with another. However this is why I refer to ETHNICITY and call our people "AfroAmericans". This terms encompasses EVERYONE of African ancestry in the Americas regardless of how much or how little African blood runs through their veins. Troy Man you are just mumbling and grumbling to yourself, but you aren't actually ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS me and others have posed to you. And you seem to be overlooking the answers to the very questions YOU asked of us. You keep talking about how stupid it is to continue to believe in different races and how science disproves it.....but without offering any real concrete evidence.

Troy Not only are the racial differences manifested PHENOTYPICALLY but also PSYCHOLOGICALLY. Different races tend to "think" or see the world differently on a bio-chemical level......which is why Black Americans and White Americans can live in the same country yet see things so much differently and practice different cultures. Like Zaji said, the racists are playing one big GAME with you. There is no scientific "consensus"..... These scientists will play up racial differences when it suits their purposes and then the erase the differences and pretend they don't exist when THAT suits their purposes. If science doesn't see race why do we read about the differnces between Black and White IQ scores? Why do we hear so much about Black women getting breast cancer as compared to White women? Race and racial differences are acknowledged in every field of science from medicine, to social issues, to politics, to anthropology. You said there is no gene for race but white anthropologists and paleontologists can determine if a bone they found belongs to an African or a Caucasian simply by the structure and mineral content. You can deny racial difference all you want or call it by another name. Call it color, class, breed, caste, ect..... But whatever you call it....the people who are now classified as White will still know who THEY are and know who YOU are and will see themselves as different and better than you. 　 Zaji Dang girl, you are absolutely right about so much, where do I start..........lol. First you are right about their being so many phenotypical difference between just Africans ALONE, even when you leave out other races. I've heard many times that Africa both linguistically and cultural is the most diverse continent on the planet. Perhaps there are TOO MANY differences and this is what made her so easy to conquer from the outside. Second, you're right about not trusting Ancestry-.-com. You never know WHO is handling the dna samples you're sending in or what they may really be used for. Dr Umar Johnson said that you send a sample of your hair or saliva to these people and next thing you know the police may be at your door claiming your DNA was found at a murder scene way on the other side of the country. The old folks who knew magic and how to work with roots KNEW the power you could have over a person if you got some of their hair or nail clippings.....don't think the scientists of today have slept on this either. They change based on something they want. And now, since their numbers might now be lower than the 10% they seem to be on the planet compared to melanin rich peoples, they must boost their numbers by pushing interracial relationships. Easiest way to do this??? Tell everyone that the scientific/biological races (and yes, it has been based on science for over 100 years) are no longer true. How convenient that this new "science" has surfaced. Just in time to save their race. I have an entire book dedicated to the various races. Written around the early 1900s, maybe late 1800s. Over 200 pages of the various races and a breakdown of various aspects of said races. They're also "training" the Asians with their massive numbers to be the new standard bearers who will continue carrying the torch of white supremacy so that it doesn't burn out. If you notice, most north east Asians practice Western civilization and morality better and more precise than even White people do....lol. I clearly see where caucasians are making stuff up and where they have truly discovered something (or most likely unlocked a cabinet in the Vatican so they can pretend they made a new discovery after reading our ancient knowledge). Yes, proper DISCERNMENT is key to getting the truth without falling victim to the lies. You have to know how to read between the lines and decode the "coded" language. Neely Fuller Jr said that racists will give you a meal that may be 90% poison and 10% nutrition, and you have to know how to pull the nutrition out and accept it while rejecting the poison. You dropped a lot of knowledge, I'm still reading. To Be Continued...... 　

Troy We, all people, MUST rely on the knowledge of others. This is the very thing that has allowed humanity to advance I didn't say we didn't have to rely on the knowledge of others. My point is BLACK PEOPLE need to make up a substantial number of those "others"; instead of constantly soley relying on the information that White people relay to us. If you look at much of the technology of the world, it's not "humanity" advancing, it's White people advancing and Black folks just going along for the ride....lol. How many Black people are actually down in South America studying the ecology of the Amazon, or building rockets to go to Mars, or spicing genes and making clones??? We let White people do it......then run to the university or go to youtube and let THEM tell US what they found. This is not only lazy, but silly. We need DIRECT KNOWLEDGE that we gain from our own expriments and reasoning that we can use to benefit ourselves instead of expecting that some balding White man with a grey pony tail and glasses will give us all the information we need. Zaji I like you too! I believe you mentioned something about being from Jamaica. I have yet to meet a Carrribean woman I DIDN'T like...lol. Cynique Objective people tend to be curious and flexible and consider all views, gravitating toward those which extensive studies and experiments have proven to be reliable and authentic. Sounds to me like THESE type of people would rather believe what other people tell them rather than what they've seen with their own two eyes....lol.

Troy Pioneer there are degrees to everything -- including marriage. People locked up in SuperMax prisons are less free than people who live in Australia. True there are degrees, but I still think that "freedom" is one of those things that are absolute. Either you're free or you're not. Perhaps you should flip it and talk about degrees of RESTRICTION rather than freedom. 　 I agree there can't be a completely free society, but you can get pretty close which is makes the trade off worth it. I agree that we can't have a completely free society, nor would I want one. I believe the fewwer unnecessary rules...the better; because it allows for one to express one's self and creativity to flourish.

Zaji Bottom line, 99% of what we know we get from methods we cannot personally confirm. This is one of the reasons that if I were to operate a school one of the subjects I would NOT teach is "history". Not only can't most things that occured prior to 150 years ago actually be proven (by human beings atleast)....but every time you turn around "new facts" are coming out about events in ancient history. Everytime you open up Time magazine you're sure to find an article where some White man with glasses has "discovered" some new interesting fact about an ancient civilization. It makes you wonder if he's making it all up. ....or if it's true, how long he's beeing sitting on and hiding this knowledge before he DECIDED to release it. Del Yes along those same lines I want to thank @Pioneer1. You're more than welcome bro. Cynique Del is ACTUALLY trying to be objective.....something you only preach about. He's trying to take emotion out of his views and look at things from a more logical way so that they aren't colored with emotion and self-interest which too often contaminates the conclusions people come to and force them to reject TRUTHS that they would ordinarily accept. Which is why i can't resist taking pot shots at Pioneer. i guess i should congratulate him on acquiring 2 new choir members for his preaching. Meanwhile, i await his next post, ever ready to disagree, - if he shows up. I KNOW you can't resist.....lol. That's what I kept trying to tell you in the other thread. You THRIVE off of the energy you get from my giving you attention, negative or positive. Now be a good girl, stop attacking people just because they agree with me, and run along- .....before I call up your 72 year old boy toy and tell him to stop "lighting your fire", lol.

Cynique So I didn't reverse myself and agree with you. You only agree with me when you DON'T consciously realize it...lol. Once it has been brought to your attention (usually by me) then you'll go out of your way to CHANGE your position and disagree. 　 　 I don't think you folks know that Pioneer came and went on this board. He showed up one day and stayed around for a while, and then left. Later after a long hiatus, he suddenly reappeared. Even during his first "term", he and i constantly argued. When he came back, there was truce but we gradually began to clash again. Lol.... For a person who could "care less" about my presence you sure do keep up with MY comings and goings. There was no "truce" between us because I never took you serious enough to fight with. People like you don't make formidable opponents because you don't have any solid positions nor do you have any serious diagreements; you just like to push buttons and enjoy the emotions it brings out of people. The only reason you stopped squabbling with me was because you had your hands full with Sara. As soon as she was gone.....you turned your flashing eyes back towards me and started licking your fangs, lol. If what he provokes in me can be described as an emotion (?), irritation would be what comes to mind because so much of what he says strikes me as absurd, or inaccurate, or dogmatic. And this is compounded by how he thinks he's never wrong! At some point, this has become a knee-jerk reaction because as soon as he posts something, i know i'm going to disagree with it, - and I usually do. And, of course, all of this is exacerbated by my argumentive personality. I've come to the conclusion that he and i are like oil and water; we just don't mix. As Mel previously noted, some people have a natural aversion to each other. Maybe he and i had a contentious relationship in another life. Who knows? Who cares? YOU care.....lol. Which is why I've stated CLEARLY and consistently through out this thread that I suspect your problem is: 1. You see my presence as a threat to your status here. 2. You have a degree of attraction towards me and enjoy the attention you get from our quarrels. I stand by that assessment until it is proven otherwise Yes, we may be like oil and water......but I'm the oil because I always come out on top, lol.

Troy You said: Pioneer there are always restrictions and consequences, these issues do not take away from our freedom. But you also said: No one is free to do anything they what, if they expect to be able to engage with anyone else. Doesn't the second statement cancel out the first? Now a child may be prevented from skydiving, because a parent or the law may not permit it. That child is less free than the adult. I'm not sure there is actually any such thing as "less free"; it's like being "less married"...lol. Either you're free or you're not. But you mentioned something I found interesting...... Can any society really be "free" if children are under the control of their parents? I would think that children would have to be released from control of their parents, there couldn't be any prisons or jails, and even mental patients would have to be released in order for a society to really call itself "free" for all people. Which is why I said, I don't think there really IS a "free" society in this world. Some are less restricted than others, but all of them have restrictions to a certain degree. Zaji And everything this culture is, for me, is the opposite of how I envision/imagine authentic freedom. It was designed that way by social engineers. This society was designed to get the maximum amount of labor from people for corporate use. That's why the NUCLEAR FAMILY is pushed in this society instead of the traditonal extended families of African society which would provide more economic support during tough times. It's also why cigarettes and alcohol are promoted. It gets you addicted to the point you're FORCED to work in order to feed your addiction. Del Leave the United States Wouldn't it be better if she stayed and tried to IMPROVE things rather than just pack up and leave? Black people do too much bouncing and moving around. Running from one city to the next, one village to the next, one country to the next looking to see which White man is going to treat us better.....lol. How about we do what Booker T. Washington said and cast our buckets down where we are and start building OUR ideal society right where we happen to be standing.

Freedom to me means that people can do whatever they want, but they have to suffer the consequences. That still wouldn't be freedom Freedom means NO RESTRICTION No society is a free society where negative consequences exist for certain actions because the very THOUGHT of facing those consequences is enough to restrict them. They may be self-restricted....but still restricted none the less.

Troy However the combination of these things is not enough to accurately and consistently describe the categories we use to describe each race. On some level this should be somewhat obvious as we can't look at someone and accurately describe the racial bucket they belong in. It's not that hard when you take into account that much of humanity is MIXED. Like I said, there are DEFINATE RACES...the only problem is most Black people have been MIS-EDUCATED on the actual races and that's what's confusing them about who belongs to what. You're not going to sit up there and tell me these two people are part of the same genetic stock or "race": These may be racial extremes, but they are CLEARLY DIFFERENT and if you get rid of the concept of "race" then how would you classify them or identify them? 　 This is why the scientific community has abandoned the of notion of a genetic basis for race, and why I have too. Who is the "scientific community"? Are you telling me that because a group of nerdy White men sitting around in white coats and glasses making half of their decisions over cocktails while half drunk......we should follow THEM???? Western science is constantly changing based on INTERESTS. First race DIDN'T exists.....then it DID.....now it DOESN'T anymore. Race EXISTS when it serves the interests of the money makers. And when it no longer serves the interests of the money makers they take it away. 15 years later when they need the concept of race again they RE-INVENT IT, and you're sitting there scratching your head trying to figure it out....lol. Like I said in the other thread, Black people need to use their OWN experiences and observations to come to their OWN conclusions. 　 You may have more in common with Kim Kardashian genetically than you do with me. First you tell me that I shouldn't be insulted.... THEN you turn around and claim me and some "big legged" White woman who sleeps with Kanye West have a lot in common....lol. Man, how can I figure you out????

Man, I had to re-do this post because I saw so many mistakes........ 　 Troy Experiences and observations are what we call anecdotes and you have a long history of using this method to argue. What you know using the method can be utterly wrong. Is this how you know there is a genetic basis for race? The same method of observation that you are attempting to trivalize is actually what most scientists use in their experiments to GAIN THEIR KNOWLEDGE....and give it to you. If a person's mind is sound, they don't abuse alcohol/drugs, and aren't prone to hallucinations or delusions...how can what they witness or experience be "wrong"? And to answer your question, ofcourse. With my sense of sight I can clearly see the physical features between human beings that allow them to be classified into different races and sexes. 　 　 How can you not believe something you don't know? Because I'm using MY definition of "knowledge". Which is information that has been VERIFIED by either personal experience or personal observation. And just like there are many things I don't KNOW but I believe based on evidence, there are many things that I don't know OR BELIEVE because of a lack of evidence. An example of how you can not believe something you don't know is this...... If I'm sitting in a room with no window but with a tin roof, and you come in the room and tell me it's hailing outside. If I don't hear any hail hitting the roof, I'm not going to believe you. I DON'T KNOW that it's hailing, meaning.... I haven't been outside to experience the hail. I don't have a window to see out of and observe the hail. So I don't KNOW it's hailing. Now add to that the fact that I didn't hear it hitting the tin roof....no evidence either. So I don't know it NOR do I believe it. Again you can't know anything based upon your experiences. Unless you are suggesting that you've been conducting experiment in lab and have had others have replicated your findings. Do you have to do experiment in a laboratory to KNOW that you have no hair on the top of your head? Do you have to do experiments in a laboratory to KNOW that your skin is brown? Do you have to do experiments in a laboratory to know that women typically have higher pitched voices than men? Nah brother, you don't need a laboratory and do extensive research to verify these facts. Just your basic observation skills are enough to confirm them. simply read, watch documentaries, consume information on the web and a variety of other places to draw conclusions -- I HAVE to rely others. And this is part of the problem of why so many Black people remain in the condition we are in. We rely too much on the information OTHERS are giving us instead of getting the information we need OURSELVES. Is there any wonder why Black people are disproportionately affected with diabetes, certain forms of cancers, HIV, and other diseases.....when they rely on OTHERS to give them information and treat them instead of doing their own research to treat themselves???? We don't HAVE TO rely on others for most of the information we get...we just CHOOSE TO out of laziness and lack of confidence in our own abilities.

but I also said from the get-go that knowledge is not necessarily synonymous with comprehension. Do you agree with that? Yes. But you also said that knowledge was information and facts. Your argument was pretty much that knowledge = facts/information. My argument was that knowledge = facts + understanding

Troy Still you don't recognize the fact that there is no genetic basis for the racial categories you hold so dearly, which leads to faulty conclusions. Again I think Zaji articulated the spirit of what you believe. Am I right or wrong? I agree with Zaji that while the concept of race itself is a social construct that was invented by White people, we must also acknowledge that the melanin in our skins is a real tangible fact and can't be ignored or dismissed as simply a social construct. Melanin is in the genes. Our Black to tan skin....it's genetically based and not simply a social construct. Infact, so is the structure of our hair, the shape of our mouths and noses, and also our bone density.....these aren't simply social constructs but in our very genes. In other words........... Race is just a way of categorizing people Your race is simply a category that someone constructed to put you in to classify you. However the PHYSICAL FEATURES that are used to define those categories are NOT social but GENETIC. What little we do have is largely concerned with mimicking what white media do. Which is largely concerned with making as much money as possible -- which has never served Black people, or the Afro American, as a whole. I think you're absolutely right. Part of educating ourselves and re-defining ourselves is SETTING OUR OWN VALUES instead of adopting them from others. I would say we should teach our children that money isn't an "end" in and of itself but a means TO more valuable "ends" such as: Family Great health Food Proper education Land These things are more valuable than money.

Troy My thinking isn't inconsistent. It's quite reliable, I just have my OWN way of accepting, processing, and categorizing information instead of the way typically taught in Western academia. When information is presented to me I classify it as: 1. Information I KNOW to be true based on experience or observation. 2. Information I don't actually know but just BELIEVE based on the evidence. 3. Information that I don't know nor have enough information to have an opinion on 4. Information that I don't actually know and DON'T BELIEVE based on the evidence. 5. Information that I KNOW NOT to be true based on experience or observation When you ask me about electrons and whether the Earth is round or flat, questions like this fall into the 2nd category because I'm not in a position to verify the information I'm given on these subjects but they make logical sense to me based on the evidence. But that's the best I can give you. How can I or anyone else who haven't actually seen the planet with their own eyes from a distance sit up and claim they KNOW what shape the Earth is? All you're going by is what other's TELL you.....and you believe them. It doesn't mean they're wrong, it's just a more accurate way of relating information. For me, knowledge has to be POSTERIORI.....not simply priori.

Troy I've never put my had on a woman Sho'nuff ??? Well how did you end up with children?

But that is not the point of freedom; is it? The point of freedom? Different people desire what they think is freedom for as many different reasons. Some want the right to express their creativity. Others want the right to live a lewd and lascivious life without moral confines. Others want the right to harm people. And others just want to be left alone and not told what to do.

Saying there shouldn't be a Black history month is like saying there shouldn't be any prisons. Ofcourse if people did what they were SUPPOSED to do then there WOULDN'T be a need for them....lol.

You can acknowledge someone's opinion and accept their right to have one, and at the same time, disagree with it. The problem is when you disagree with that opinion coming from someone, but then turn around and AGREE with the very same opinion when it's coming from someone else! That's not simply a problem. That's injustice. That's what you do....best....lol.

Is there really any such thing as "freedom" in this world? Freedom means unrestricted, being able to do and say whatever you want. I don't know of any society on the planet where any human being can do this. In every nation, in every society, in every home -there are rules and restrictions governing behavior and if those rules are broken and if those restrictions are violated....there is usually some sort of penalty.

Zaji I agree with you that Europeans came up with different racial classification for deceptive purposes. To keep their victims confused and divided. But I also agree with you that the differences between with heavily melanated skin and those who are melanine deficient are very REAL, and you can see that reality in just the behavior alone. To me....race is a reality based in biology and genetics, but I don't go with the ever-changing Caucasian definition of race and instead define and classify race using MY OWN terms that are in my opinion are closer to reality. For example, instead of saying: Black and White....I use terms like African and Caucasian. I also use terms like Afro-American, which encompasses ALL of the various shades of our people through out the Americas who are of African ancestry.....instead of using the term "Black" which really can only describe a few. Troy I grew up in segregated East Harlem where you where either Black or Puerto Rican. I did not know any white people my age until I got to Tech. Actually, some of the Puerto Ricans you grew up around WERE WHITE; they just weren't considered so by United States standards. But many WHITE PUERTO RICANS carry the same racist anti-Black attitude of their anglo counterparts. Haitians are also Latinos, and look how the lighter skinned Latinos treat them. you wrote is probably better articulates what @Pioneer1 has been trying to communicate regarding race. Pioneer does what Zaji wrote reflect what you believe. Now I'm insulted......lol. What do you mean "trying" to communicate????? I've been telling you for months that race my infact be a social construct but it's also rooted in genetic and biological fact because of skin color as well as other physical feature. NOW all of a sudden you "get it"?? Leonce I agree with you that we need to start teaching OURSELVES who we are instead of waiting on the "majority" White people to teach and tell us who we are. Maulana Karenga said that one of the greatest powers in the world is the ability to define reality and CAUSE OTHERS to accept it! That's exactly what happens when we refuse to educate ourselves and allow others to educate us, basically given them power. . I like how you use the term "AfroAmerican". If you read my posts, I usually refer to our people here in the Americas (North, South, Carribean) as AFRO-Americans instead of just "Black people". .....because I see us as not just a race, but an ETHNIC GROUP with a very unique culture. Cynique So black strategy should be - what? Like Zaji and Leonce said.....START DEFINING OURSELVES. Specifically through properly educating our children so that they will grow up with a different mindset instead of the one that the slave-master PUT in the minds of previous generations. All A major part of the problem with racial definitions is the fact that people are too often confusing RACE with ETHNICITY and even NATIONALITY. These are 3 distinct categories that often overlap eachother and adds to the confusion that already exists. I invite you all to review a thread I made the previous year where I broke down the differences between RACE, NATIONALITY, AND ETHNICITY: https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/4405-race-ethnicity-nationality101/

Troy There's a lot to chew on in this thread. Let me check it out a little more carefully when I have more time, but I will say this much....... It's funny to see people of color sitting around attempting to decided whether or not they will accept a concept that not only THEY didn't even invent and was invented by White people and used to enslave and exploit them, but a concept that they can do little about removing whether they accept it or not. It's like a bunch of prisoners sitting around in their cell having philosophy sessions about whether or not the concept of prisons, wardens, and inmates really exist. They can sit around and ponder all day long but at the end of the day the the prison is real, they are in it, and they have little power to change this because they didn't invent the system and don't know how to get themselves out. In other words........ IT DOESN'T MATTER whether or not BLACK PEOPLE accept the existence of race or not....WHITE SUPREMACISTS DO. THEY SEE different races. THEY SEE themselves as "White" and superior and people of color as a different race and inferior. And until YOU get more power than THEM....you would be wise to atleast familiarize yourself with the concept of different races whether you really accept it or not.

Man, you just started a thread with 3 or 4 separate topics.....lol. But I don't think you CAN make "sense" of certain things in your life I think you can make LOGIC of them, meaning....you can explain WHY they happened. But as far as seeing some "thread" of commonality that runs through every single event or attempting to put everything together that happens in your life as if they're a piece to a giant puzzle....I don't think you can do that. I've met people who claim that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, but I believe some things are just plain random.

Troy Unlike disagreeing with you or Del, Cynique actually GOES OUT OF HER WAY to disagree with me. It has nothing to do with my actual positions and content of my posts. As I've said before, even if she AGREES with a particular position.....once I agree with it she'll turn around and change her mind, lol. When I see the success of forums like Lipstick Alley, it gives me hope for the future. One of the reasons Lipstick Alley is "successful" is because it is a heavily moderated website aimed specifially at Black WOMEN and not men. I've noticed that women in general seem to flock to heavily moderated websites, especially where most of the moderators are women. I'm not sure if women love it because it gives them a sense of security, but most men hate it because of it's restrictive nature. Lipstick Alley is also "pro gay".....and I'm sure they're getting a lot of funding from special interest groups to stay alfloat as well as a lot of advertizing . Also I've noticed that it seems to be more gossipy and less academic or literature oriented.....and a lot of negroes LOVE that, lol. Cynique You further accuse me of using bullying tactics and giving Troy ultimatums. Puleeze. Eager to gain Troy's approval, squirming in the clutches of your anxiety, you pressure him to take sides. Fortunately he didn't, because it makes him no difference. Nobody is bug-eyed and frothing at the mouth about this situation but YOU Lol..... If I were you I wouldn't read TOO MUCH into my asking Troy to respond. I simply asked for Troy's responses because I...and I'm sure others....was curious to see what was on his mind when reading this exchange where his name was frequently being brought up.....as I would be. When I saw that he had posted on a couple other threads then I realized he couldn't have missed this one. Troy says you're witty, but I think you just let your imagination RUN AWAY from time to time. Why don't you give one of us the phone number of your 72 year old "stud muffin" so we can call him and tell him to come get his girl when you're on here acting a straight up FOOL....lol.