Pioneer1

Yes it could have. But again, SOME INTELLIGENT BEING had to make the decision previously (pre-determine) to plan the act that takes place currently.

Cynique I didn't say "lustful". I said VIRILE. There's a difference. Virility has to do with sexual power, lust has to do with sexual desire uncontroled. Italian and Spanish men who tend to be more independant in thought than the average AfroAmerican man who's mind has been influenced and controled by the history of slavery take pride in thier repuation in being virile and macho....whether it's true or not. Well, I actually don't thing there's nothing wrong with a woman gaming and seducing a man to be his best. She's welcomed to some of his wealth and success if she helps him get it through boosting his confidence....lol. If you helped me to become rich and succesful, you DESERVE some of it. Troy First of all I said: "Keep in mind we're talking about AVERAGES. There are plenty of White men who have more testosterone than many Black men but that's not the norm." Secondly I believe AFRO-AMERICAN men have more testosterone by the fact of how our people were "bred" (if you will) through slavery. Mating the most muscular and aggressive Black people together to produce stronger slaves for a period of well over 200 years in the Western Hemisphere. East Indians who are just as dark or darker than AfroAmericans meaning they probably have just as much or more melanine may have the same amount of testosterone as Whites. Well I expect for the adults to sleep with eachother, but definately not with the children. I believe these family structures should be tied by not just socially but legally bound CONTRACTS that force people to hold to thier responsibilities ones they agree to them. Keep in mind these Group Families I speak of will have no more than 6 or 7 adults in a family and all would have to agree to who is pemited in the group.

Troy But the action of dropping the egg in and of itself is a result of an intelligent source. Some intelligent being had to make the conscious decision to drop the egg, or atleast handle it even if it were dropped by accident.

Back to the subject of the proper family structure........... While I don't think it's a good idea for the state to raise children (though an institution is often times a better place to raise them than in an abusive home) because it tends to make them less "humane"; M-PACT has been entertaining the idea of GROUP FAMILIES. A type of family structure where you have several mothers and fathers all in one CIVIL UNION raising the children in "small village" type of household in an urban environment where there is shared responsibility between adults. While no one in our organization has actually practiced this yet, we think this may be one of the alternative type of Black families in the future.

Troy No, this isn't "twisted justifications", this is scientific TRUTH. The average Black man is more sexually potent than the average White man and science backs this up. Now how some White men choose to handle that knowledge is a different argument all together. What does that mean???? It means you're proving my point....lol. Let's look at your example.......... 1. Barak Obama: half Black and half White Compared with 2. So-called White person: only trace amounts of Black ancestry but not enough to show up in his pheontype If Mr Obama has more testosterone than person #2 then that just further proves my point that men of African descent on average have more testosterone than White men by the fact that even one who is HALF Black has more testosterone than one who only has trace amounts. Keep in mind we're talking about AVERAGES. There are plenty of White men who have more testosterone than many Black men but that's not the norm. When I asked "Do you see promoting Black male sexuality and masculinity as offensive and stereotypical?" You said: "Yes". Well see that's the problem right there! I suspected this by your reluctance to accept what most people with basic observation skills and have spent time around both Black and White men in America regulary knows. Like many Black people who mean well, you are more worried about what White society thinks about Black males and how society sees Black males than you are of determining that actual facts and making them work for us. I don't ascribe to Western society's deviant sense of senuality and sexuality. To me, being highly sexual isn't shameful, offensive, or embarrassing but it's something I think a man should be PROUD of. When we had our own socities, we didn't have sexual hangups that made us ashamed of ourselves. White people TAUGHT Black people to be ashamed of and insecure about their sexuality. I don't think I sound racist, I sound like a man who thinks for himself and doesn't let fear of how others MAY perceive me govern my selfworth or behavior. I use my own mind to establish my ethics and standards and I don't let the confused perspective and views of others who don't have my best interests in mind sway me. Perhaps you should re-examine your position and reasoning for finding the image of hyper Black masculinity offensive. I mean sit down and really examine it and question whether it's such a bad thing outside of the context of what some White males or others may think. After doing this outside of the context of what other's may think, you just might arrive at the same conclusions that I have. Cynique Perhaps you're better off dwelling on my spelling, because a few misspelt words are about the ONLY thing you've ever been able to really prove me wrong on.....lol. Hey...;I can't come to MY conclusions through YOUR experiences. I can only draw conclusions from my own observations and experiences. I hope God blesses me to live as long and longer than you, but the fact is even if we saw and went through the exact same things we would still see things differently because men and women simply think differently. Like I said, rather than trying to force men to see things YOUR way, perhaps men and women should just respect eachother's differences. Obviously I draw my conclusiong from my personal encounters, which is what MOST people with common sense who don't live in a fantasy world do. As far as avoiding "super bitch femme fatales".....damn right, lol. I like ladies.....not "he-shes" who have more testosterone pumping through their veins than I do. A wise man will seek a mate who will compliment him, encourage him, and bring out the best in him; not challenge his masculinity and try to tear him down at every turn. I have an organization to run and other things on my plate.....I don't have time to play emotional games and I don't surround myself with women who play them. One thing I have noticed about your posts in this thread. When you talk about women you talk about "women" in general; but when you talk about the bad and dishonorable behavior of men you specify "Black men". I'm not accusing you of this, but I've noticed that many women of color (not just Black) will submit themselves TO and tolerate things FROM White men that they'd never accept from men of color. The only "men" they see as being real men are White men therefor any other race of men who attempt to establish themselves in a position of masculine authority are often challenged. As quiet as it's kept, this subconscious contempt for Black male authority is the MAJOR cause of disharmony and instability in most Black families and even some Black organizations.

Nah'Sun Perhaps, but it doesn't mean they should. Haven't you heard you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover? You said: "I'm not watching DJango on the strength that I'm tired of the theme that Blacks are subordinate or inferior to whites" "The plot of the movie doesn’t interest me…simple as that A superhero slave???" If THAT ain't criticizing, it's so pungent.....it'll have to do until the REAL critique comes in the mail. I'm not trying to convince you to see the movie, that's you decision. I'm trying to convince you to see where you are in error criticizing that which you haven't even seen and in further error in denying that you criticized it.

I'm not so sure about that. Determining is a willful act, it doesn't just happen at random. If something is predetermined it had to be PLANNED from an intelligent Source.

No doubt, But while they may or may not have spent their money buying it, most people don't criticize books they never read.

Troy What was your point? I thought it was that there were no differences between Black and White male sexuality. We know that testosterone is the leading factor determining sexual energy and desire. Those links pointing out the differences between our average testosterone levels between Blacks and Whites support MY point that Black men on average have a stronger sexual desire for more women. Not so fast, let's look at it........ This is an exerpt from the 2nd link: "Racial/ethnic variations in male testosterone levels: A probable contributor to group differences in health Racial and ethnic variations in serum testosterone levels were investigated among a large sample of male Vietnam era veterans. Based on geometric means, significant average differences were found between 3,654 non-Hispanic white and 525 black individuals." It says that there were SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES betwen Blacks and Whites concerning their testosterone levels. Now it doesn't come right out and say that Blacks had significantly more, but hell...it can only mean Whites are significantly higher or Blacks are significantly higher.....lol. Based on evidence from other studies, I think it would be safe to infer that Blacks are the ones who are significantly higher. Now come on man... We all know that the term "Black" in America stands for people of African descent regardless of the amount of African ancestry they hold. Do you see promoting Black male sexuality and masculinity as offensive and stereotypical? Cynique I'm sure many women WOULD like to have it all but too many settle for the first loser who comes along and buys them a drink and gives them a compliment so who's fault is that? Most men need an INCENTIVE to accomplish things in life. (money, sex, fame, ect.....) Hell, if the women in thier lives are giving them money and a place to stay and sex too, why should they bother to be anything higher than what they already are....even if it's a walking dildo, lol. Whether he's a lawyer or a drug addict, if a woman sleeps with him she's telling him, "Baby....I love you just the way you are. If I didn't, I wouldn't be with you now." Worries about pregancy may decrease with age but worries about a dry "you-know-what" and getting thier hips knocked out of alignment from boy toys who play too rough tend to INCREASE, lol. What you said is funny because it reminded me of the trip I took to Europe when I was in my 20s. I met so many horny older women there I didn't know what to do with myself. Most people don't know that male prostitution is big in Europe as wealthy older women often pay younger men for sex, lol. When I came back to the States I started looking at society differently as I know that many people are hiding their secret desires here. Ain't you ever heard practice makes perfect LOL We both know that while a woman wants a good man to call her own, most would GLADLY share a good man with other women than have a sorry/unattractive one all to themselves. Now that's just a natural fact. One of the reasons polygamy has worked through out history is because men with wealth and power attact most of the women in thier vicinity and from them they can take thier pick. Hell, even a happily married man who is successful is often harrassed by women who KNOW the man is taken but still try to get on the bandwagon anyway. The history of polygamy around the world doesn't just revolve around women being oppressed, but it also includes women voluntarily submitting themselves to powerful wealthy men in order to guarantee financial and often physical security. The ego of most men are too big to submit themselves to sharing a woman.

Admin You can "predict" what your little 3 or 4 year old child can do; doesn't mean he/she isn't making choices and has no control over themselves. I personally think it's a mixture of both. Some things about our selves we can control, others we have no control over. Nor does ignorance about the role the Supreme Being and/or other deities play in our lives mean that they have no roles, any more than our lack of knowledge of what the military is doing means they aren't keeping the nation safe.....or because we've never met the police chief in our city and can't see what he's doing that he's not doing his job. Mistakes and erroneous assumptions by man does not add or take away from Who and What God is any more than me calling you an illiterate drop-out takes away from your academic achievements. If you believe things are planned, then there must be a Planner. But I do agree with you that often times this world can be so amazingly complex and unpredictable that man has a habit of making up shit to deal with his inferiority complex. Robert Greene (48 Laws of Power) said, "The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces" Cynique I agree. It's one thing to say that everything is predetermined and planned, and you attribute those blueprints to an Infinite Being. But to say everything is already predetermined and planned and set into motion.....THEN turn around and say that you don't know who did it or for what reason is a little spooky. ((eyes wide)) It seems to be good material for the ultimate sci-fi thriller, lol

Cynique A "thought that just jumped up in your head" huh.....????? Something tells me those thoughts have been marinating in that noggen for a good minute, lol. That petition you wrote against Black men would make even Martin Luther (not the King) step back and take notes for his next Reformation! Did you see that "Now........lol" I put on the end of my post? I put that there with YOU in mind, lol. I mentioned Troy by name, but if I had mentioned that YOU'D probably be tearing into this thread like a mad bull at a Christmas party just because I DARED to mention polygamy.....well...you probably wouldn't have even given me the satifaction of being right. Now Cynique, ((gentle smile)) Listen, as much as I'd love to trade licks with you over the male/female dynamics in the Black community, I can't have you wailing and crying about being the only female here and how it's not fair and how the men here are ganging up on you if somebody just agrees with ONE point I make....lol. So I'll just make several quick points and move on: 1. To answer your question why is polygamy the domain of men You KNOW that poly"ANDRY" will never work among women for 1 very important reason: Because sex drive is largely determined by testosterone and women in general only have a fraction of what men have, most women have a much lower sex drive and simply DON'T WANT to have mutliple sexual partners. 2. I support the right for a woman to have multiple men just like men can have multiple women if they so wish. And so does this society. I hear what you're saying about a double standard for men and women. And I agree, there is. But it's a SOCIAL standard, not legal. Regardless of what "society" may call her, no one is standing in the way and preventing any woman who wants multiple boyfriends from having them nor is anyone threatening to imprison them or stone them. This ain't Afganistan. Which leads me to my third point..... 3. Most women don't have mutliple men because THEY DON'T WANT MORE THAN ONE MAN in their life at one time. Because of thier biology and chemistry, most women are monogamous and seek comfort and security in only one man who can provide for her. Not all obviously, but most. Most women by nature seem to love only one man at a time while men can fall in love with more than one woman at one time. Take it from a man who HAS actually loved (genuine love) more than one woman at the same time, that it's real. 4. Women have much more to lose being promiscuous than men because they are more likely to get physically hurt by an abusive partner and because only they can get pregnant they are more likely left with the responsibility of caring for any children that would result. So society and nature encourages women to be less promiscuous and more careful when it comes to sexual activity than men. Most know this instinctively which is why they generarlly come to eachothers aid when they're having relationship problems more than men tend to do with eachother. The general theme is this...... Because of biological and important social reasons, while most men desire multiple women.....most women only desire one man. Encouraging polyandry among women won't work because most women just don't have the desire to do it. But you really shouldn't "Playa hate" on men who desire it for themselves just because YOU don't want to do it. Now rather than trying to "even the score" or "get back" at men; the noble thing to do is respect the inherent differences betwen males and females and stop trying to change men into women or condemn them if they don't conform to what nature has not designed them for. The only thing you should ask is that a man not lie to you and tell you that you're the only one he loves if he really has others AND that he take care of the children that he helped you bring into this world. *sigh*

Troy Well even modern science that you put so much of your faith in will confirm the fact that Black men in America have more testosterone than White men on average. This is a scientific fact. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3455741 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039128X92900325 It's hard to dig up stats clearly showing that Black men have more testosterone without them adding something negative to the numbers like violence or prostate cancer. When it comes to something making White men look good like wealth status or academic scores, you can find THOSE stats all over the place; but when it comes to stats that make US look good like who has the most testosterone or who has the biggest penises.....studies are always "inconclusive".....lol. More studies have to be done....lol. Nevertheless science acknowledge that good or bad Black men indeed have higher testosterone levels which by default makes us more virile and fertile. All that crap going on in Utah and Big Love and other cults leaders who kidnap these girls and run off into the deserts and mountains to start their own little tribes are just attempts by Mormons and other White separatists at some eugenics program. Those men seem to be more interested in "breeding" a certain type of human and controling their source/women rather than sexually satisfying themselves. The fact is most sociologists and archeologists know the nature of Black people better than many Black people know themselves. They know our history and our family structures and what works best for us. They also know that disrupting our natural family structure and imposing one designed for men with a lower sex drive while at the same time openly and subliminally instilling contempt and disrespect for Black men into Black women would disrupt the Black family and keep it in a state of instability. The good thing about living in the United States in 2013 is this is the first time in this nation that we as AfroAmericans have the social freedom to experiment and see what type of families are best for us instead of being stuck in an out-dated model that is clearly not working. I agree with you that there is a big difference betweeen having a lot of girlfriends that you're just screwing, making babies with, and not taking care of; and having actual wives that you're supporting and raising your children properly. In ancient African and Native American systems where the economies were controled by Blacks/Native Americans.....you didn't have the type of racial discrimination and crony-capitalist games that keep so many Black and Brown men on the low end of the economic ladder and in many cases out of the workforce all together like you have in a White male controled Western system. So Black fathers didn't have those issues of not taking are of their responsibilities then. Hell, even back 50 and 60 years ago when there were plenty of factory jobs for low and unskilled workers without degrees to make a decent living, the problem of Black men not taking care of thier women and children wasn't as wide spread as it is today. One of the things I want to do with my organization is bring back the manufacturing jobs so that men without college degrees can still earn a good living to take care of their families and then they'll be no excuse for thier dishonorable behavior. Right now men have the freedom to have sex with whom they will, but they don't have a right to a decent job to take care of their responsibilities.....this is often a recipe for disaster.

Nah'Sun The Devil in Tales from the Hood said: THIIS AIN'T ABOUT PREFERENCESSS! IT AIN'T ABOUT FUNERAL HORNSSSS....NEITHER! THISSSS....IS ABOUT .....psych naw....lol Listen mayne you're entitled to your own preferences, nobody is arguing that. If you don't want to see the movie for any reason that's your right and I've never disputed your right to do so. But because it seemed as if you had some misgivings about the actual content of the movie itself I said that maybe you should see it first before you criticize it. Then you accused me of misconstruing your words and said: "...I NEVER criticized Django's content" But this is after you made statements like: "I'm not watching DJango on the strength that I'm tired of the theme that Blacks are subordinate or inferior to whites" "The plot of the movie doesn’t interest me…simple as that A superhero slave???" Statements that are totally off the mark with this particular film. Now I agree, at this point we're just going back-n-forth and it's bordering on the unproductive ; but as long as you continue to accuse me of not getting it and misunderstanding what you're trying to say and try to deflect from me pointing out your erroneous assumptions about the film by bringing up: -racism in America -racism in the history of film making -who has the right to his or her own preferences - is the choice between the red or blue pill in the Matrix secretly trying to make you choose between the Bloods or the Crips -what ever happened to Redhead King pin Or any other type of diversion.....I'm going to drill on this point post after post. *You really should see the movie before critiquing it.*

This is nothing new. Historically in Western societies the people have been controlled BY the political institutions THROUGH the religious institutions.... Whether we're talking about India, Greece, or even the United States. Communism attempted to break this up but it failed to do so. Rather than preaching on staunch unbending morality, many of these "prosperity preachers" will sing the songs of whoever give them the most money, whether it's the politicians who give them tax breaks and government grants for them to help the people the GOVERNMENT should be helping.....or the congregation itself who will give the most money to the preacher who ignores their immoral lifestyle and tell them that what they're doing is ok. ((hush.....quiet...)) But a deeper problem also exists that is manifesting itself in the Black church..... Especially since Black people have relative freedom to behave as they wish in this modern more liberal and open society. Th fact is, Christianity (especially as it's practiced today) was not founded by or for people of African decent. Many of it's moral doctrines and structures go against our nature as a people. The Black church is just an attempt to walk between 2 different worlds. Whether it's Black Americans, Black Africans, Black Latinos, or Blacks in the Middle East.... If you are a Black person and you are attempting to structure your life and morality on a system developed by White men from Northern Europe.....your community is going to be in shambles. Let us start with the family structure that the Church demands. The monogamous marriage system that the Western Church demands is incongruent with the natural structure of the Black family because Black men in general are more polygamous than White men from Northern Europe. ((Troy calm down and don't break your keyboard banging out your response to my statements.....lol.)) We can't imitate them in their sexual and familial customs and expect to be as successful as them, any more than they can attempt to have 7 wives/women/girlfriends like so many Black men around the world and successfully satisfy them. Adultery is rampant in the Black church and Black family for a simple reason, Black men trying to live in a family structure that wasn't designed by or for them and Black women not understanding why Black men can't be more like White men. Black people HAD a family structure and system of morality that worked for us. Both the men and women accepted it and the household was stable under it; but it was stripped from many of our people during slavery and colonialism so now many of the problems you see in the Black church and in the Black community at large is the dysfunctional result of trying to fit into a system that wasn't designed for us in the first place. Now.................lol.

The other thing I like about New York is that it's "self contained". It doesn't need the suburbs or the rest of the state to manage, it can do fine by itself. It has a large tax base and plenty of corporate (professional class) and service (poor/working class) jobs to keep the city humming and productive. Problem is, there is only ONE New York in the United States. In China and India, both of these countries have several New York Cities and are planning on building more and more. ((the room grows dark and a spot light shines down on brother Pioneer)) Too many politicians are "satisfied" and are just trying to capitalize on the wealth that already exists and the infrastructure that has already been built instead of trying to expand and build more of both through out the rest of America. That's why....why poor people from other countries are coming TO America to take advantage of opportunities and services here; many of those with money are looking to bail OUT of America and expand into other countries. They're looking for places where the leaders are foreward thinking and believe in expansion; not fighting over scraps that already exist. Think about what I said, let is soak in and the more you observe what's going on in society today the more sense it will make.

Nah'Sun "You made an assessment about not wanting to watch Red Hook Summer without seeing it So what’s the difference???" Funny you should ask, because actually there are 2: 1. *Not criticizing Red Hook* hasn't been one of my major claims through out this dialog. So I have no incentive to deny something I never claimed in the first place. You HAVE denied critiquing the movie while still making sweeping general statements about it as a whole. 2. No I didn't see the movie but because those who have seen it and given reviews of it have spoken and questioned Spike about the scene in which a minister molests a boy.....it has been confirmed that this is in the movie. You haven't seen where I made sweeping general statements in praise of or in condemnation of the entire movie itself; only my opinion on Spike's decision to include that one particular scene. So it doesn't require that I watch the entire movie for me to comment on one scene.

Well hell, what place doesn't...lol Show me the place where poor people do better than rich..... No matter where you go in this world people with money tend to do better. If you've been living in NYC for most of your life and are not only still there but now have a business then I'll take that as a sign that the place can't be all that bad for those willing to get something going for themselves. You make some good points, but they seem to be the most valid when discussing New York within a vacuum . But if you compare the problems you speak of in context to what many if not most other major cities are going through then those problems are moderate to mild by comparison. New York public schools have school uniforms and art, music, and other programs that most other major public school systems have long abandoned because they didn't have the finances/tax base to maintain. You can complain about NYC's public transit system, but atleast you HAVE one. Most cities don't have much of a public transit system, especially subways as extensive . in most places in America you NEED a car to get around and get to work, if you don't you're hit. Atleast in a major densely populated area like that you have public transportation to fall back on in emergencies like if your car breaks down or your wife/kid has to borrow it. It may not be that convenient but you can atleast go to work. For years I've been trying to petition the city so-called leaders in Detroit to consider an extensive train (elevated or subway) system to bolster economic success. Mass transit is essential for any world class city. Also it's a good way to keep poor and working class people (people necessary to supply the service industry) active and productive in your city. If people are too broke to afford a car and they have no other way to get around how will they be able to work? They'll either be unproductive and living off a system that they aren't contributing to or leave to find a place where there IS decent public transportation. BTW thank you for the information, I greatly appreciate it. Actually when I started this thread this was the type of information I was looking to get.

I agree that certain things are beyond our control but I wouldn't go as far as to say that we are "machines". We still have a measure of free will and there is almost always a factor of personal responsibility in our behavior. There's is a difference between INFLUENCE and CONTROL. Our chemistry and genetics may influence our behavior but they definately don't control it. And this is where morality comes in...... A man of low intelligence can accept his limitations and learn a skill that will allow him to make a decent living in life, or he can turn to robbing and stealing and spend much of his life in and out of jail because he was too lazy to learn how to work. A man of high intellligence can either use his gift to discover the cure for cancer, or use it to develop a deadly chemical weapon for warfare. The genetics are there but choices are still available to govern behavior; if this weren't the case then why punish your children or incarcerate adults for criminal behavior? Troy has mentioned several times that scientists have often predicted what our thoughts are and what our choices will be before even we make them. However, if THEY are the ones influencing and trying to control those thoughts and choices....this would make thier predictions a little easier wouldn't you say? In other word........... If I have conditioned you since birth to find blonde women with big mammaries attractive. And now you're 25 and looking for a wife; is it THAT hard to predict that you'll go for a big breasted blonde? If I've conditioned you to celebrate every occasion (good or bad) with alcoholic drink, is it THAT hard to predict that atleast one of your children will become an alcoholic? It's not a a very impressive prediction when you're setting up the factors that you know will lead to a certain outcome.

Funny what Nah Sun said about Puerto Rican's slam poetry contest being so popular. AfroAmericans are very creative, but our people don't seem to be much on endurance....staying in things for the long haul. Whether it's break dancing, slam poetry, sweat suit hook-ups lol, our styles often change TOO much and our people don't hold on to things to really embrace them and "own" them as an identifiable part of our community. Which makes it easy for people from other communities to slide in and take what we started and embrace it as their own while the children of those who started it are standing on the outside with thier nose pressed up against the window wishing to get in and be apart of something they think is cool and new. One of the funniest yet saddest things is to go into an inner city community center and see a young White man teaching a class on Break-Dancing.

Hmmmm.......... ((Pioneer leans over and glares with his chin resting on his fist)) When you say inate intrinsic make-up I want to be sure you're not necessarily talking about our personalities. Because a person's core being or soul isn't necessarily the same as their personality. The more I study chemistry and it's effects on the brain and body the more I believe that much if not most of one's personality is not set on default but is largely a product of biochemical and envirnomental circumstances. Your physical chemistry alone has more to do with your personality than you think, especially when it comes to hormones. I've known women who were some of the sweetest and nicest until they got hysterectomies and then they changed into entirely different people. They became angry, voice deeper, less patient. But as soon as they started taking their medication treatment they turned back more gentle and feminine again. Take a man with low testosterone and triple it and he'll have an entirely different demeanor and personality all together. He'll no doubt become more aggressive and some will even become more violent. Even the shift from average intelligence to genius (which is definately part of one's personality) is still a matter of brain function and not necessarily their core essense of who they really are. I know that taking fish oil increases my intelligence noticeably, yet I'm still me....lol....but with a better memory. The core essense of a person must be beyond the physical bio/chemical or even personality.

Yes you have hustlers all over but there is a larger concentration AND a disproportionate number of them on the East Coast than down South or the Midwest or even the West Coast. Anyone who has spent time in these regions to make the comparison will not deny this. You can walk around the downtowns of Houston, Mobile, Charlotte, or Little Rock and chances are noone is going to run up on you and try to sell you anything. Go to downtown Philly or Boston and walk around and chances are in 15 minutes you'll have somebody trying to draw your picture for $5. To produce a locality with an abundance of real hard core go-getters you need 2 major ingredients: 1. High population density to foster competitiveness and promote the extrovert mentality where you're not afraid to approach people. 2. Large population of poor and working class people. MOST people get soft and lazy when they are too comfortable. When I say comfortable, they don't necessarily have to be rich, but if they got enough money to buy what they need and want.....they're satisfied and aren't really trying to put on any extra effort. I know some cats who think they're on top of the word if they can manage a car and bag of weed to smoke a day, lol. Like the pressure that it takes to make diamonds out of carbon, these somewhat oppressive conditions often make the most ambitious people. It's for this reason that some of the best music and movies came out of the depression era. Obviously, there is only one New York and I'm not trying to build another one. But there are certain positive traits of the city that seems to be essential for building any type of world class thriving urban community. High population density. Massive and effective public transportation. Diversity among the population. Laws, ordinances, and customs that promote creativity Both Chicago and Atlanta learned this early on and both are densifying much of thier urban infrastructure (especially on the north sides of both cities) to hold high populations of young urban Whites with degrees. Meanwhile they're letting the Black districts with low population densities collapse.

Cynique "Well, Pioneer, Delano, and Troy, maybe in other universes we are all dead because of decisions we made and perhaps that is what death is; the ultimate result of a decision we made someplace somewhere at some time." You don’t mean us in our current form, but actually our “other selves” right? Who knows, maybe there IS NO DEATH in other dimensions. ....only a transfer from one realm to the next. Ít’s interesting to me how I can dream about something one day and a year later pick right back up where I left off in that particular dream as if it was really happening but just in another realm. "I really relate to the quote by Emerson, Pioneer. But me being a bread baking nun in another universe would raise the question about our core personalities and the idea that who we innately are determines the decisions we would have to make. something comparable to the idea that a silver coin could never exist as a gold one in another universe, no matter what decision is made." I didn’t grasp the silver/gold coin analogy but I think atleast part of our personality is shaped by our experiences in life. I certainly believe in a soul....what some call an essense....but just like exercise and trauma can change a the physical body, I believe knowledge and experiences can change the mental body. We all know people who experienced things that totally change who they were from that point on. The experiences of a woman who was born Black and raised under the somewhat oppressive somewhat turbulent social and political climate of the 20th century United States is going to be different than the experiences of a White woman born in....say....the 17th century of Ireland. The same factors that may have led to you being a happy faced bread baking nun back then wouldn’t have existed for your current embodiement and thus would have bred a different personality and temperment. Troy I'm positive I can speak for others when I say we're curious. What did you mean when you implied that humans don't have free will? Tell us. Like Sophia told Harpo, don't keep us waiting TOO long....lol.

Nah'Sun You say you're not trying to offer a critique of it, you just aren't interested in seeing the movie......understood. However when you make statements like: "Seems like Hollywood loves seeing Black people in submissive and subordinate positions I'm not watching DJango on the strength that I'm tired of the theme that Blacks are subordinate or inferior to whites" "The plot of the movie doesn’t interest me…simple as that A superhero slave???" Not only are those critiques (you're actually criticizing the movie), but they are critiques based on erroneous assumptions. 1. Django wasn't an inferior Black man in a submissive role, he was the PROTAGONIST from the beginning to the end. 2. The plot of Django wasn't about a superhero slave, it was about an ex-slave turned hero...there's a big difference. Look, I'm not here to discuss the history of racism in cinema....... James Brown said WHAT-SEN-EVA reason you don't want to watch the movie, it's your business and you don't have to. But if you're going to make certain assertions about a movie, it would be wise to have atleast watched it first.

I love that spirit bro! And you're absolutely right.... Whether we're talking about the music industry, the financial industry, fashion industry, ect.... Historically speaking, most people in other parts of the nation haven't learned how to hustle and scrap to make themselves known like people on the East Coast. Although most won't admit it, I like man have envied that attitude and wish I could find a way to capitalize on it to use towards my goals. When some people have plenty of food, housing space, and can drive their own cars around instead of living in apartments and taking public transportation where they have to deal with other people on a daily basis it tends to make them timid and more reserved when it comes to interacting with other people. That's why when people really want inspiration they often leave thier home towns and move to the coasts where they can be around a lot of diversity and action. One of the things I want to do is help redesign the urban areas of my state to make them far more densely populated than they currently are to bolster this competitive spirit. The dense population and limited resources along with the heavy influx of immigrants constantly flowing in provides for the perfect mix for a strong "get rich or die trying" mentality that forces you to stay on your toes. I've noticed for years as I traveled around the nation looking for work that a lot of people from New York will move to smaller towns in the Midwest or South to take advantage of the more laid back attitude of the locals.

Nah'Sun I wasn't overlooking Tarantino's flaws, I just didn't address them because they lay outside of the context of my point: Which was the issue of some Black directors being inconsistent in complaining about how our people are portrayed by White directors while doing a poor job of portraying our people accurately or atleast positively themselves. If I had a problem with service at KFC today, what I look like cussing and throwing rocks at Popeye's? I focus my complaints on the subject at hand, lol. Now if someone starts a thread on Tarantino's faults or whether or not he's racist, I might do a post or 2 in that one too. But Naaaaah Shun.....lol You ain't gotta watch the movie if you don't want to. Pioneer won't tell you how to spend your money. Django Unchained ain't feeding me one way or the other. I don't have any stocks in it common or prefered, lol. I just think if you're going to criticize a movie you should atleast watch it to know what you're criticizing. But if you're refusing to watch it because of Tarantino, I understand. Gotta respect that. Great build.