Pioneer1

RACE....ETHNICITY....NATIONALITY....what's the difference? The entire RACE/ETHNICITY concept really isn't that complicated. The problem is people have been so miseducated about race, ethnicity, and nationality not only in the United States but around the world that it's hard for them to abandon the false concepts and ideas told to them by their teachers, parents, and other authority figures and decide to think for themselves so they hold on to falsehood and this leads to increased confusion. Well I decided to think for myself and do my OWN classifying based on my own observations and reasoning and this is what I came up with. It's not very scientific, but I consider it quite logical and straight forward. Race This classifies people based on their physical characteristics as well as their distant ancestral origins. It's genetic and is based on how they LOOK. There are 5 distinct races: African: Also called "Black". The native peoples originally from the continent of Africa with dark skin and/or kinky hair but doesn't include the very light skinned Arabs and Berbers of Northern Africa. Dravidian: Also called "Indian". The dark skinned people originally from southern India but doesn't include the White or light skinned descendants of the Aryans who primarily live in the north. Caucasians: Usually called White. Not just Europeans but many Arabs and Latinos are also Caucasian racially speaking Mongol: Usually called "Asian" or "East Asian". The yellow skinned people occupying most of Eastern Asia like the Chinese, Koreans, Thai, ect.... Native American: Also called "Indian". The brown skinned original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, many of whom are called "Latinos" today. In truth this DOES NOT include many White people with long hair who CALL themselves "Native American" based on small percentages of Native Ancestry. Everyone on this planet belongs to either ONE or those races or is a mixture/combination of those race to various degrees. Ethnicity This is the most complex classification system. It's not necessarily based on how someone looks....although people of the same ethnic group usually DO look similar to eachother. Ethnicity is primarily based on CULTURE. People living in the same region, sharing the same language, sharing the same religion, eating the same types of food, ect...... There are too many ethnic groups to mention. But some examples would be: Arabs: The original Arabs were Caucasian but as they went around the region conquering people and intermixing they included a lot of Dravidians and Africans in their population so their spotted up now. Latinos: Like Arabs, the original Latinos were White Spaniard but after intermingling with the Africans and Native Americans they are of different colors. AfroAmerican: People of AFrican descent in the United States. We aren't one single race but are an ethnic group made up PRIMARILY of the African race (hense the name Afro) but have heavy concentrations of Caucasian and Native American in us. Some of our people are actually MORE Caucasian than African, but because ethnic groups aren't soley based on race....they are still in our group even though they are actually Caucasian. Jewish: Jewish isn't just a religion, it's also an ethic group. There are Jews who don't even believe in Judaism but they come from a culture of Judaism. Most Jews are Caucasian but there are many Black Jews and converts of other races. Nationality Nationality is relatively simple........ Whatever NATION you are born in, that's your nationality. IF you were born in Mexico...you're Mexican. If you were born in Nigeria....you're Nigerian. If you were born in Russia.....you're Russian. It doesn't matter what color you are, your religion, your race, your gender, ect.... If you were born in that NATION...then that's your NATIONALITY. There are too many nationalities to mention all of them. But some examples would be: American Russian Chinese Nigerian Brazilian No one can be "half Chinese and half Filipino".....they are Mongolian or "East Asian" by race. When you meet a White man from America who says he's "Italian" or "Irish Catholic"....recognize that he's confused as hell. You're only Irish or Italian if you were born in Ireland or Italy. If someone says Jennifer Lopez is a Puerto Rican, THEY don't know what they're talking about. She's not Puerto Rican, she's American because she was born in the United States. But she IS Latina because she is of that particular ethnic group.

Troy I checked it out, and I don't agree with our brother. Especially on the "not being American" part that he starts off with. Who gets to decide who is an American? The U.S. Constitution does.....and it makes it CLEAR that we ARE Americans. Now if someone is silly enough to sit up and let someone else steal their identity and birthright and claim it for themselves while they crawl off in some corner, fold their arms, and mumble cuss words to themselves out of frustration......... That's no one's fault but their own own. That person gave up and gave in. And what was THIS statement all about?? "And also, African-American has no cultural value. Unlike Italian-American, Asian-American, Native American, Blacks have no heritage or motherland to connect to to display pride and unification throughout the world. Blacks, in general, are the newest breed of humans on the planet. " I HOPE the brother was just being sarcastic with that statement! Anyway............... On one hand you say those who are not Bernie Mac black are simply mixed like Obama and myself. Then you introduce some people Chinese looking people from southern Africa and say they are "racially black!" Either you're purposely twisting my words, OR not taking time to read and comprehend them clearly. I said skin color is an important factor in determining race but not the ONLY factor. Furthermore I said you don't have to be 100% of a particular race just to be considered part of it. Almost ALL AfroAmericans have some non-Black ancestry to various degrees but most are still considered Black racially speaking because their Black genes dominate. The fact that all your reasoning is based on 18th century science does not help your position either. As I said a million times there is only one race and it is human. Lol...... That's like saying there's only one sex....the HUMAN SEX. Or there's only one language...the HUMAN LANGUAGE. Another point of confusion is the term "Black" used for a racial classification. I've been using it on this site because most of the people here use it and most people I know use it.....but it's not very accurate in describing our race because as you pointed out there ARE plenty of pure Africans who are considered "Black" but their skin is naturally light without admixture. The more accurate term and the term I actually use the most is "African race". Just like I usually don't say "White" but "Caucasian" because it's more accurate. I think I'll start a thread with you in mind to try and clarify people on my concepts of race and ethnicity.

Brother.....we ARE Americans....and don't let anyone tell you different. American is simply a nationality, not a race and the American nationality includes people of ALL races. Many of our people just fail to CLAIM their legal and social rights as Americans and ALLOW them to be trampled. Racially speaking I'm Black (or African to be more precise), but I personally choose the term AFROAMERICAN to describe myself and the ethnic group I belong to. That term embraces all of my people whether they are Black, mixed, or nearly White in color. But what we call ourselves isn't as important as how we THINK of ourselves and how we exercise our rights and natural God given authority not just in this country but all over this planet. If you're a fool....you're a fool...and will end up catching hell REGARDLESS of what you call yourself.

Troy Don't you see that the rise of a Donald Trump is a direct consequence of technology fueled manipulation, fake news, and filter bubbles? Technology, in addition to manipulating us, is also concentrating wealth into the hands of a few. these are the things that have created an environment that has allowed 45 come to power. In fact it was the same thing that brought the inexperienced Barack Obama into office as well but that's another story... I think the flooding of the youth with all types of social media gadgets to keep them "engaged" and self absorbed.....totally oblivious to their surroundings....makes a fertile place for a DICTATOR to arise and take control. It's usually the youth who have the energy and anger to fight back and stave off tyranny. Now if they're too socially out of touch with the REAL WORLD....they wouldn't be able to mobilize effectively enough to put up a resistance. .....nor would many even desire to do so.

Troy You are equating Black primarily with skin color, with no real relationship to culture. Exactly Still, it is not clear given your definition why Obama is not Black. He is basically the same complexion as I am; am I not Black? I've seen only limited pictures of you but you don't look Obama's complexion to me. Obama is a light brown complexion and you seem to be medium brown. Also, his features are different than yours. His lips are thinner and his head is more "angular"....larger dome with a smaller jaw line...like most Europeans. Like most AfroAmericans I'm sure you're mixed with White and Native American ancestry from way back, but since your African features dominate I consider you Black. You don't have to be 100% just to be of a certain race, just be predominant in those traits. But Obama's African features don't "dominate".....he's pretty even between both races phenotypically speaking. Look Troy, the thing we must keep in mind is the fact that while Obama is DIRECTLY mixed....meaing one of his parents is actually White....many so-called "Black" people in the United States are INDIRECTLY mixed. Meaning they have a lot of White (and Native American) ancestry and it comes out in their complexion and facial features just like his does. So when you point to another AfroAmericans and say: "Well THEY are Black and Obama looks like THEM so Obama must be Black too!" Really, all you're doing is comparing 2 mixed raced people! NEITHER ONE is truly "Black" racially speaking but the only difference is one has an immediate White parent and the other has Whites ancestors further back. Which leads me to my NEXT response.................... My mother and sister are much lighter than Obama, are they also not Black? Let me know I don't know, I would have to look at them to make that judgment. As I said before, although complexion/skin color is one of the BIGGEST factors in determining race, it's not the ONLY one....other features go into it. There are groups of Africans in southern Africa known as San and Khoi people who are YELLOW in complexion with slanted eyes but are still "Black" racially speaking. Speaking of southern Africa......... If you're sitting back shaking your head and laughing at what I'm saying - Just remember that in South Africa you have millions of people just like us here in the United States but unlike us they all don't consider themselves "Black". One group calls themselves Black and the other call themselves "Colored". Now the Coloreds look just like many AfroAmericans, light skinned with curly hair and some European features but they don't consider themselves Black! So don't trip or think it's so ridiculous at my suggesting that many fellow AfroAmericans like Beyonce or Al B Sure or even Prince shouldn't be considered "Black", if this were any other nation besides the United States....trust me they probably wouldn't consider THEMSELVES Black either!

Troy so you are asserting that l Blackness is solely about skin color. And because of his complexion, Obama is Black. Do I understand you correctly Blackness isn't only about skin color, but it IS one of the biggest factors. We have Black albinos whose skin is whiter than most White people's so you can JUST use skin color; you also have to look at their ancestry, facial structure, and hair structure. It's not just ONE feature that determines a person's race but a multitude of factors. Obama...in my opinion.....isn't Black. (Unless you're talking about Michelle...lol) Like Cynique said, he's actually a true MIXED RACED human being having both Black and White phenotypical traits. He IS an AfroAmerican.....but he's not Black. There's a difference between AfroAmerican (ethnic group) and Black (race). 　 Are you also saying culture as nothing to do with what is means to be "Black" in America? Technically....no. There are hundreds of thousands if not millions of Black people in America who don't share "AfroAmerican" culture. You have many Africans.....Blacker than you and I....who don't share our culture. You have thousands of Black Hispanics who don't share our culture but practice Latino culture. You have thousands of East Indians.....Blacker than you and I....who don't share our culture and really don't even see themselves as Black.

　 Just to be clear I neither want to define what is Black Is blackness color culture or some combination of the two. 　 ????? 　 Blackness is a COLOR made up of 2 races. And within those 2 races you'll find thousands of completely different cultures. Black people who grew up in the United States usually find this out the hard way by interacting....or TRYING to interact.....with Black people from India, or African and Carribean countries. A lot of Africans who come here find it easier to get along with White Americans than AfroAmericans because the way we talk and behave is often so completely different from the way they were trained in preparing themselves for America. Because most of the Americans who go abroad and teach or perform missionary work are White Americans, these people learn White American customs. I live near a university and see quite a few African students; it's always interesting to watch their metamorphosis ! In the fall when school is just starting you see them walking around in dockers that are too short, choppy hair cuts, ashy hands and arms, and saying "morning" to you with a dry smile as they walk past you in a hurry..... About 6 or 7 months later after observing OTHER Black folk (some "real niggaz"..lol) they stroll past you in some baggy Girbaud jeans with either a bald head or fade nodding back at you or maybe saying "whaddup" if he feels like it......lol.

Troy 　 Pioneer, you realize of course that Obama could have come out looking as white as the Jesus you envision. It was just the roll of the genetic dice that resulted in his physical appearance. The Jesus I "envision" wouldn't have a color....because he probably wouldn't exist to have one...lol. If Obama was born looking like his mother and could pass for what you define as "white," you would be calling him white--and there would be no difference in his ancestry. This is true....because he WOULD be White. Remember, race isn't JUST genetics but also phenotype or how they actually LOOK. So even if a person has a Black parent, if they come out LOOKING White then they ARE White. We can't make people Black just because they may have had Black parents......ALL races of human beings originally came from Black parents. What I'm saying probably doesn't make sense to you because you probably define Black the same erroneous way MOST people in the United States does. .....going by that old crazy ass "one drop" rule that doesn't make any sense and isn't grounded in reality. The only reason they came up with that "one drop makes you Black" nonsense was in a vain and silly attempt to keep the White race what they called "pure". Go to Italy or Spain or France and you'll see thousands of people who CLEARLY have more than a drop of Black ancestry and they're still called Italian, Spanish, or French and would be classified as White. Pioneer define "sex." THE definition of SEX (not just Pioneer's) according to those who are qualified to define is: "either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sex Sex is PHYSICAL/GENETIC. Gender is SOCIAL/ROLE PLAYING However just like culture is often rooted in the genetics of race, gender is often rooted in the genetics of sex. Cynique Once again what you call yourself and how people see you could very well not coincide because Society has discriminating eyes! A woman could tell a friend that her daughter is dating an American and when the friend met the daughter's boyfriend, the first thing she would say to the mother was was why didn't you tell me your daughter's boyfriend was black, if he was black. What is the point of putting humans all in the same category and expecting everybody to just overlook their distinctive traits??? Why should people not identify with a group who they share a similar appearance and culture with? What is wrong with hyphenated ethnicity? As for Obama, his mother's white genes didn't prevail because he simply looks like a light-skinned black person with hair that isn't straight and a broad nose. He is a perfect mixture of his parentage. I totally agree and I'm not sure if I could have stated the above more clearly. When it comes to explaining the concept of "race" to Troy, I think I'm gonna just let Cynique do the talking......lol. 　

Troy what you described with the young lady on the elevator sounds like a typical NYC interaction.....lol. Even BEFORE cell phones and social media became so popular people were ignoring eachother and not making any eye contact in places like New York and Philly so that shouldn't have suprised you much. But I understand exactly what you're saying because I'm seeing the same thing from a lot of younger people. The seem to be computer and technology savvy but not very socially intelligent. It's as if people are using thier cell phones as comfort/security blankets or pacifiers. They can't sit alone with their own thoughts for 5 minutes, they have to either get on social media or listen to music or do SOMETHING to occupy the empty few minutes they may have. I've seen this for years among White and Asian youth but now I'm starting to see it among a lot of Black youth. I've seen one young Black woman after another as soon as she's somewhere by herself instead of talking to the people around her she'll whip out a cell phone and start calling up random people begging them for a conversation about nothing. She'll go through 10 differnt numbers being peaced-out and hung up on until she finds someone to engage her. I can't remember the last time I saw a young Black man go up to a Black woman he didn't know and try to strike up a conversation like we used to do when we were kids. From what I'm hearing from a lot of women, many of these young brothers don't even know HOW to talk to women they don't know or how to "break the ice" so to speak. All of this social media seems to be making the current generation psychologically weak and vulnerable to the point they began to lose thier perceptiveness and social instincts.

HAPPY (belated) BIRTH DAY !!!! May God bless you to enjoy many many many more years in peace and good health. And if you're still celebrating and don't mind risking BOTH your peace and good health, well..... Here, this 40 oz is for you: ps. You should have never admitted you used to (?) drink malt liquor, I'm gonna be fucking with you about that one for a GOOD minute.....lol

Troy If Barack Obama went around trying to assert his whiteness based upon the 50% of the genes he got from his mother; Black folks would never have put him into office. We already know how Tiger Woods was treated by Black folks when he tries to embrace his mother's "race." You're talking about how society VIEWS race...which is often erroneous. I'm talking about BIOLOGY and how nature itself distributes and manifests the genes that racial classification is based on. I've seen pictures of Barack's father, he was a dark skinned African. Obama looks NOTHING like his father despite people calling him a "Black man". Why? Because his mother's White genetics CLEARLY had a heavy influence on him and made him HALF of what she is despite what society may classify him as. As far as your question about the Puerto Rican's kid's children. I personally don't consider people born and raised in America anything else but American. I think that might be the legal definition as well. I agree wholeheartedly. I actually wish people of color who were born and raised here would start calling themselves Americans more instead of letting blonde hair White people....many of whom are children of European immigrants themselves.....monopolize the term. If you watch the American Music Award shows they try to make it seem as if Country music is somehow the standard "American" music...as opposed to Rap or Jazz and other forms that Black Americans invented. Even many Asians will say "American" refering to White people but when it comes to us they'll use the color or racial term. They'll say, "Don't marry a Black man....marry an American man instead". Do you know anything about people who are transgender, or have gender dysphoria? It is complicated stuff and not as black and white as you are trying to make it. Once again..... I'm not talking GENDER but SEX. People who are TRANSGENDER aren't necessarily TRANSEXUAL but you seem to be combining or confusing the two. The only demographic I've been comparing race to is SEX....because both are biological/genetic.....not gender which is more psychologica/social.

Troy It's hard to argue ancient history because there isn't a lot of PROOF to verify hypotheses. The only thing you can do is gather as much EVIDENCE as you can to support your argument and hope it outweighs the opposition. This is why I say I BELIEVE (as opposed to know) that the Israelites were Caucasian. As much respect as I have for Clarke and many other Black scholars, how do they KNOW what color the people of ancient Palestine were? Are there pictures on the walls and paintings of Jesus and the other ancient people of that region like we can find of the ancient Egyptians to verify their color? I'm sure they varied in color and shade as they do today with plenty of influx of people from Greece, Roman, Egypt, Ethiopia, southern Arabia, as well as the native Palestinians. Also, we should deal with the term "Caucasian" because I choose to use IT as opposed to "White" for a reason. White....like the term "Black" is too simplistic and limits an entire racial group to a particular color or shade. We have Africans who are jet Black as well as those called the Khoi who are small and yellow with nappy hair. It's the same with the Caucasian race....some are White with brown hair, others are tanned with blonde hair and blue eyes. They vary in complexion like we do and many of them are slightly mixed with other races, but they all belong to the same major group...the Caucasoid group. Europeans, Indo-Aryans, Semites (of which the Israelites are a part of) I believe are all branches of the same Caucasian race. Cynique I've read the bible from cover to cover. It's been a while....lol....but I have. That verse that describes Jesus' hair like wool that so many Black folks love quoting acdtually states that his head and hair were WHITE like wool....not curly or kinky like wool. I'm waaaay past trying to make Jesus a Black man. It really doesn't matter to me one way or the other. But I do believe based on overwhelming evidence that the Moors were Black.

　 I guess that's 'cause we's real niggaz and you ain't down Ain't down with the crew? Lol.....or ain't "downed" enough 40 ounces??????

Black people seem to have an affinity for providing entertainment. That's because we tend to be more "creative" and are also more socially intuitive. White students tend to incline towards formal academic "training" and learning how to memorize and recite information. But when it comes to music, arts, physical hands-on actiities like sports, dance, designing, and activities that involve thinking quickly on one's feet without a written script or plan.......BLACK PEOPLE EXCEL. It's that old Left Brain vrs Right Brain.

The point Aires is essentially making @Pioneer1 is that Key and Peele are not as culturally Black as you or I and this informs their comedy. Do you agree with this assessment? I agree with THAT particular point he made. But I just don't agree with HOW he made it. To me, he could have used different analogies and different wording. What's wrong with simply saying that Jordan's work doesn't reflect on how most Black people in America think and behave? Why does he have to go into the "real nigga" talk or take it to "da hood" with his illustrations? I know there are a lot of decent people in the hood. Portraying all people from the ghetto as negative would be like calling all police officers racist....it's a foolish and sweeping stereotype. My problem isn't so much with the 'hood as it's with Aries being stereotypical by associating all Black people with ghetto life and ghetto culture.

No, I'm sorry I kinda thought people may get confused on how I worded that. Keep in mind that BOTH groups.....Berbers and Moors....got pretty mixed up over the millennia. Both got heavily mixed with Arabs who came into the area centuries ago. However I believe that primarily speaking: 1. the Berbers were Caucasians...descendants of the ancient Greeks who colonized North Africa, 2. and the Moors were African/Black...descendants of the original inhabitants of North Africa. Concerning religious figure "Jesus Christ"....... I'm not sure if he even existed or not. I believe that a man named Yashua or Issa who lived in ancient Palestine and was a social revolutionary probably DID exist, but so much mythology and falsehood has been attributed to him that it's hard to know the truth of the matter. What race he was....I don't know. Unlike most other Black Nationalists I believe the ancient Israelites were actually CAUCASIANS, not Black.

　 Troy I understand that Puerto Rican is a nationality just like American and Mexican and people come in all colors with all types of features. BUT.......... What about his mother's influence? We can't just look at the father and the influence HIS genes had on the child and not look at the mother's. His White mother has given the child skin ligher than his (and he himself has yellowish skin)....as well as straighter hair and GREEN EYES! Clearly the child isn't the same "race" as his father regardless as to what they want to call him. Now what if his son is considered Puerto Rican and HE grows up to have a child by another White woman....would HE TOO be considered Puerto Rican? You see where I'm going with this? Pretty soon you'll have a race of blonde haired blue eyed White people running around with black hoodies on speaking Spanish and mean mugging people who walk past them talking about, "Why you looking at me....you don't like Puerto Ricans or something????" You have to draw the line somewhere. 　 If a white man rapes a native American and the child is reared as a native America, and claims to be one, why can't he be? Because he's not. He's only HALF Native American. What about his WHITE half? We can't just ignore it and it's contribution to his gene pool Now he can claim Native American CULTURE.....as long as it's understood that it's the CULTURE he claims to be apart of and not the race itself; for the same reasons I mentioned about my boy's son being claimed as Rican. If you don't draw a line somewhere pretty soon White people will take the identity over. Human gender is determined by more than one's sex organs. I didn't say GENDER....I said SEX. There's a difference.

Alpha males exist within a group. An athlete may be an Alpha male on his team, but the coach operating at the behest of higher up is the Alpha male when it comes to policy. A musician my be an Alpha male when it comes to producing music, but his agent and management will exert authority over him. That's a pretty interesting way of looking at it. Perhaps there are levels or ranks of "alphaness" even among Alpha Males But there are some who insist that a true Alpha male wouldn't submit to ANYONE else's authority. The most he would accept is a partnership from another human being even when it comes to business and entertainment. Troy Inside or outside of prison....just like inside or outside the White House......Trump is still Alpha. He'd probably find a way to end up running the show and controling people in the pen just like he's doing outside. Now ofcourse we don't expect a 70 year old man to join the aryan brotherhood and start shanking people and tussling with guards just to prove his dominance....lol. But he'd probably use his wealth and social skills to gather a bunch of thugs and confidants up under him and after a few months would probably end up running an entire cell block. ......as well as calling shot on the outside. Kind of like Tookie Williams and Larry Hoover....both alpha males....did.

If it were up to ME......people wouldn't just get to decide their own race. Just like I wouldn't allow them to decide their own sex. Being able to decide what race you are based on how you "feel" makes about as much sense as a man with a penis and testicles waking up one morning and declaring himself a woman because he happens to "feel" like one. I would have some sort of social/govermental standard that would be pretty across the board and quite scientific but you would have to accept that designation regardless as to what you WANT to call yourself. We have to have some standards. I was talking to a Puerto Rican friend of my the other day and we're always talking about race and who is considered what. He often gets angry with me when it comes to his son because he consideres his son Puerto Rican and I don't because his mother is White. He....like many Hispanics I've known....love to claim the children they have with White people as being just as "Latino" as they are. You have to some sort of limit or standard to keep or else you'll have massive confusion, even more so than you already have. Rachel Dolezal is just a test. A test to see how crazy some Black people are. To see how so many will be willing to ACCEPT this obviously White person just outright falsely claiming to be Black. If we embrace it or take an indifferent attidute to it not caring; then the next step will be to give the few benefits and preferencial treatment that was originally designed for Black people...REAL Black people....to now these "new" Black people who are really White. They were able to do it with the Native Americans........ I've seen so many White skinned people with blond hair claiming to be "Native American" it would be a joke if it weren't so sad. What's sad about it is a lot of REAL Native Americans (brown skin, black hair, thick features) are dying out from alcoholism and suicide; while White and near White people are claiming their heritage and reaping much of the money and benefits.

Religion is believing in someone else's experience; Spirituality is having your own experience. I like this quote. Concerning the quote from Dr Clarke. He's a great scholar but you have to be careful mentioning historical figures from North Africa and Libya. Many of these figures were Caucasian racially speaking despite being "African" by region and birth. A lot of Christians like talking about how Simon of Cyrene who allegedly helped Jesus carry his cross was a Black man because of his North African origins. Even some movies portray this. But most Lybians at that time and probably most even today are Caucasian Berbers who were descended from the ancient Greeks who colonized much of North Africa millenia ago. Caucasians from Greek islands sailed upon the north African coast thousands of years ago and mixed in with the original people's who were Black Africans already there. They became the Berbers and Moors of history. I agree with what he said about spirituality though.

Unfortunately, Alpha Manhood isn't necessarily tied to morals or virtue. You have GOOD Alpha Males and BAD Alpha Males, just like you have good geniuses and evil geniuses. The traits that make Alpha Males "alpha" are aggressiveness and dominance, how they USE those traits is up to them. While some were fakers and punks, most bullies that I knew in school WERE alpha males (and some were alpha females....lol) Sure they prefered to fight weaker kids who couldn't or wouldn't fight back, but I knew other bullies who fought because they LOVED FIGHTING and would fight anybody. I knew cats in grade school who would not only fight the kids after school but even try to run up on their PARENT when they came to thier rescue. These boys weren't punks or cowards.....many of them were crazy or had mental issues that drove them to hyper-aggressiveness....but they weren't scared or weak. Which reminds me of all this talk of bullying today...... That's why when I'm speaking to young people I don't come at them from a White middle-class perspective of: "Well if you only stand up to the bully and don't back down....he'll just back off and find another target". ....giving kids all this "fairy tale" advice. In some sections of Detroit.....and you being from a rough neighborhood you probably know this too.....you call yourself "standing up" to some people would only invite MORE violence. You kick HIS ass and the next thing you know he's coming back around the block with his boys and probably an Uzi. Obviously this isn't always the case and honestly, MOST of the time standing up to bullies and those who try to intimidate you for the sake of intimidation will check them then and their and put a positive period on them marking you for further victimization. But in an age where so many children with mental and emotional problems don't get the help they need, and many no longer care about living or dying nor do they care who they hurt.....it's not about standing up to prove some abstract point but about avoiding them in order to stay alive UNTIL authorities trained to deal with such people can take care of it. But anyway...... We live in an , interesting world. The good guys and people who are honest and defend the innocent don't always come out on top like in the movies. That's why it's so important for GOOD Alpha Males to stand up and defend the community.

I agree with Cynique's and MrsM's assesment of Aries Spears. I think Aries' view of how Black people or "real Black people" or "real niggaz" act is not onlystereotypical but even degrading and dangerous. And what makes what he's saying so dangerous is that a lot of easily influenced Black youth who may NOT be from the hood or may be but come from a family where they are taught to carry themselves in a respectable manner may listen to what he's saying and CHANGE their behavior to acting more vulgar and "street" in order to be more of what they think is authentic or real. I'm from a Black neighborhood, but I'm from a WORKING CLASS Black neighborhood and didn't know a lot about slum life like a lot of my cousins did growing up. Most of the children we grew up with had fathers in the home like us and most of their parents worked. The police were mostly Black too like Officer Hopkins "Hoppy" from Sanford and Son....it was normal. I didn't know about welfare or ducking and dodging crackheads when I was kid (crack wasn't really out to big yet anyway) nor did I understand the fear so many Black people on television had of the police. .....and visiting my relatives who DID stay in the ghetto and brief glimpses of REAL ghetto life didn't impress me or make me miss any of it either. I couldn't WAIT for us to leave and get back home! But what DID have an influence on me was gangsta rap! Listening to Ice Cube and other rappers rapping about ghetto and hood life DID impress me and make me want to exprience what it was like because they glamorized it and glorified it beyond reality. So I know how influencial the media and especially other Black people in the media can be on Black youth and how it can warp your perception of reality and make you want something you really don't want. I still remember the first time I drunk a 40oz....lol. Eazy E and Ice Cube liked it....so it MUST have tasted good!

Troy Leaders, by definition, have followers. If the so-called followers don't do what the leader says, then that person is not much of a leader. Are they? You make a great point that I often think about from time to time. If you consider yourself a leader but have few followers OR your followers don't half follow what you ask them to do.....who's fault is it? Is it THEIRS for not doing what you ask of them? Or is it YOURS for not motivating them enough to do it? I think Black leadership does indeed bear SOME responsibility for the conditions most Black communities in America are in today; but the brunt of it is outside of thier hands. Infact I believe the condition Black people in America are in today primarily isn't even the fault of neither the Black leadership NOR the masses of the people. There is a lot of pressure from OUTSIDE the Black community today to suppress Black political and economic progress and there's only so much a leader or their supporters...when trying to work WITHIN THE SYSTEM...can do to overcome this pressure. This is why I'm a strong advocate of building OUR OWN system. The fact that we are trying to operate in an economic system that was designed against us is an explaination as to the dismal numbers for Black businesses today. It's not like Black people have ran out of ideas or lack the spirit of entrepreneurship Every brother and half the sisters I KNOW have good ideas for businesses but they all say the same obstacles are in their way today.......lack of capital and excessive regulation. Most Black people have a hard time trying to come up with the money....atleast a half million dollars......to open up a respectable establishment in most urban communities today. And if they somehow DO come across the money or get a loan they have to constantly deal with excessive rules and regulations coming form the federal, state, county, and local levels of government that require a MASTER'S DEGREE just to figure out and keep up with. If we study the condition of Blacks in America RIGHT AFTER slavery during Reconstruction all the way up to the Depression Era, we had far more businesses and manual skills as a community than we do today. Delano You can't build a business being Rootless. Those immigrants come from countries. What country can Afro-American claim. None only a hairstyle. We don't need to claime another country....we already HAVE one....it's called America. AfroAmerican's roots go down deeper than ANYONE else's in this nation. There is no other ethnic group...other than Native American ones...who can claim lay claim to having ancestry living on this land longer than us. Not only do we have deep roots, but we have a very strong and established CULTURE that we could generate a lot of wealth with if we learned how to promote it and maintain it properly. You can't turn the corner without seeing Mexican and Italian resturaunts, these are cultures from outside of the United States but they were PUSHED on America. It's the same with St. Patrick's Day and folks running around wearing green and coloring the river green every year. I even saw a few silly negroes running around with green afros and t-shirts on the other week. People will not respect you UNTIL you learn to respect yourself and your own culture.

India: African students hospitalized in roving mob attacks New Delhi (CNN)Africans living in northern India are locking themselves indoors in terror after a spate of mob attacks left several hospitalized. Multiple attacks on Kenyan and Nigerian students have been reported this week in Greater Noida, 18 miles southeast of the capital New Delhi. Nine Nigerians were attacked, including five who were wounded and two who were hospitalized with undisclosed injuries, said Abike Dabiri, Nigeria's special assistant on foreign affairs and diaspora. Additionally, a Kenyan woman in her twenties was admitted to hospital Wednesday after she was attacked while getting out of a cab, according to Dharmendra Singh, a senior police superintendent in Noida. The woman was released from hospital the same day. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/29/asia/india-africa-kenya-nigeria-attacks/ .....mmmmhhhmmmm.....now see there! This is what I mean about these immigrants who come to America and ending up being just as racist if not MORE racist than White people. Even when Indians are shot down in cold blood and victims of other racist abuse today in the United States.....they still take out their frustrations on the Black. I'd be willing to bet that most of those mobsters who beat those students were JUST AS dark as the students they were attacking. But this is what hundreds of years of colonialism and slavery has done to the minds and cultures of people all over the world. Truth be told. India was a racist place long before the British got there. Even back as far as the founding of Hinduism by the Aryan invaders and the establishment of the various caste/color systems. I told 'em........ Don't come running to Black folks looking for protection after calling my people nigger and monkey for decades and doing your best to avoid any social contact or association with them. Go on 'head and hold your OWN nuts and buck up.

Troy The individual steps you taken to accomplish that a vision is not. Hmmmm....... Now for some reason, I find this thought very interesting. I don't recall hearing people separate the methods from thier goals like that, but I guess most of the time they do. I've heard some people say that when you have a vision or a goal it's best NOT to think too hard about the steps toward it or the methods to achieve it, just focus on the goal itself. As far as what you said about an independant Black community on the web....... I think it goes back to what you were saying in another thread about Black people not wanting to sacrifice anything for a greater good. I mean, just look at how many Black people have abandoned having their own websites just to flock to Facebook or Twitter for all of their business and social needs. I'm tired of soulfood resturants and barbershops forcing you to sign up with Facebook just to see their menu or product line. They don't want to take the time to buy and design a professional website. They'd rather take the easiest and cheapest route and add an extra page to their facebook account with their business attached to it. So tacky.......