Pioneer1

Well..... I think this is going to be a very interesting 4 years to say the least...lol. I just think it's funny how conservative Republicans started talking about voter fraud and rigged elections but now that Trump has been elected you can't find ONE Democrat who even mentions the possibility of voter fraud. This shows you the difference between Republicans and Democrats and why the Republicans continue to "out play" the Dems and continue to win. Democrats love to play by the rules, Republicans play to win.

No, I hadn't. But now I have. So let me get this straight........... The author is angry because Black slave women were "inaccurately" being portrayed as having been raped by White men, and even angrier because Black men were shown coming to their rescue??? Excuse my language but what kind of BACKWARD fucked up bullshit "logic" is that????? Man! I've heard many women and even a few historians complain about the realities of sexual abuse NOT being portrayed or addressed but never have I heard someone come out and actually take issue with it BEING addressed and claim it didn't happen! As far as I'm concerned, THIS statement says it all about the mindset of it's author: "This is the story that deserves to be told, not one that disseminates archaic and damaging myths that cast black men as courageous saviors and black women as helpless victims." Apparently, she feels that Black men being courages and saving their own people has got to be a "myth". It couldn't have really happened. Black men? Black men loving their women and children so much that they were willing to fight and die for them???? Naw....... According to the author of THAT article, "that must have been a fabrication by some Black man trying to compensate for his own guilt or inferiority complex at the expense of Black women or something." Half of the article features her contradicting herself by condemning the portrayal of Black men as warriors and saviors while just a few paragraphs down hoping for more movies that portray the resillience and fighting spirit of slaves. Dr Alexander's irrational article STILL doesn't change my position that this movie shouldn't be evaluated for it's historical content. She has a doctorate in the field of history so ofcourse she's going to notice every single "historical" inaccuracy, but she shouldn't assume everyone is going to look at a movie from the view of a historian as herself. Movies were made for entertainment and it's up to the audience to do their own research for their own educational benefit. However I believe her criticisms of this film actually betray a more ulterior motive..... That her real problem is LESS about the historical inaccuracies of the film itself, but MORE about her lack of confidence and respect for Black men and their historical accomplishments.

Troy Ofcourse, I'm not talking about the dogs who kidnap and sell young girls or turn them on to drugs and use them as sex slaves and other demonic forms of abuse. Not only DON'T I support them, I support their incarceration and a violent punishment as a deterrence for others who may consider doing the same. But yes, in a way the other form IS what I'm talking about although I'd prefer ALL levels of prostitution be as safe and regulated as the high-priced call girl industry. Even those offering $10 blow jobs should be afforded protection from abuse from either pimps or clients as well as subjected to frequent testing for disease and adequate healthcare. I support a sexually free society because I believe it would be less violent, prostitution and other free expressions of sexuality are just a part of that. But I have more respect for a successful pimp or madame in this society than I do for most managers of fast food operations because they have to be smarter than the typical manager of a "legitimate" industry just to survive and be successful. The manager of a structured environment like a resturant derives most of their power from the authority that comes with their position. Anyone stepping into that position would command the same respect. All they have to do is step in and maintain the structure or system already built before them. On the other hand, people who run underground operations have to build their own networks and use their intelligence and social skills to maintain order and respect from those under them....all WITHOUT relying on the police or other authorities to back them up if things go wrong. That takes a special type of intelligence and skill that you don't learn in school nor from an already established position. Cynique Sexuality and the suggestion of sex is used in society to sell things and attract people's attention, but sex ITSELF isn't. As Troy and I were discussing above, prostitution is STILL illegal and there isn't a school in the United States offering a 'sex education" class that actually TEACHES the students how to have sex. It'll all peripheral knowledge that skirts around actual intercourse itself. Which is why nudity let alone the actual act of having sex is strictly forbidden on public airwaves in the United States while it's readily seen in other Western nations like Canada and Germany. But truth be told, Western society as a whole is STILL quite sexually immature as compared to ancient societies. The United States WENT through a sexual revolution in the 60s but then reverted backwards in the 80s under Reagan and the threat of AIDS.

Troy I think you're right. I've asked myself these past couple years...... Are the cases of police brutality and Black men being killed by cops actually, going up? Or is it that because everyone has celly's and can capture things on video and put it out for the world ,we're just SEEING more of what's actually BEEN going on for years? The killing of Black men by the police certainly ain't nothing new. It was going on a few generations ago in large numbers. I remember an episode of Sanford and Son (back in the 70s) when a doctor told Fred that some sort of disease was the #1 killer of Black men and Fred said he thought it was the police!

Pat Buchanan was one of the most prominent politicians to openly speak of race and the "culture war" that he said was taking place in the United States. I find it ironic that the same traditionalists and conservatives who pride themselves on the "freedoms" they claim America has also at the same time insist on preserving the Western European CULTURE and TRADITIONS to the exclusion of others. But to answer your question...... I think the upcoming election will IGNITE it. I used to think that if Trump got in his policies would be so extreme that it would force the masses to revolt. Now I believe that is a possibility, but even if Clinton get's elected....those who are behind Trump will be so enraged about it that they will become violent and cause a revolt also. So either way it won't be pretty........ BTW...... I've been meaning to tell you for quite some time to quit talking about how you're not going to "be around" to see this or that. You may be in your 80s, but NOBODY knows when they're time is going to come. You can go in your 80s....you can go in your 20s....you can even die while still in the womb. The election is only a couple weeks away, then the inauguration in January and the months it takes for any President's policies to take effect so with God's grace we'll ALL be around to witness what happens afterward. But if you're THAT concerned of what may happen as a result of this election..... You can give me your address and I'll hop on I-94 and come over to Illinois "protect" you for a few weeks....lol.

Troy A pimp....like a madam....is nothing more than a MANAGER/PRODUCER of prostitutes. Some are good and protective, some are bad and abusive. If people in this society weren't trained to look at sex as evil and disgusting, then they wouldn't see prostitution and all the various forms of it as bad or exploitive either. Western civilization glofiries violence but demonizes sex. I'm sure the managers at Walmart and your local diners are exploiting far more vulnerable women than any pimps in the area. Cynique I didn't say I admired pimps, but I do have a certain amount of respect for them and their psychological and sociological skills. Perhaps if White men legalized it THEN it would become a "legitimate profession" and socially acceptable to all those who align their morality with his.

I've heard the same things about some historical inaccuracies in the movie. My take on it is.....who cares? There were more lies and historical inaccuracies in Eminem's "8 Mile" movie, yet I don't recall one critic bringing it up. I wonder did they do a fact check of Schindler's List to see how much of THAT was historically accurate, or maybe one of Mel Gibson's The Patriot? This wasn't a science project, it's entertainment BASED on a true story and should be treated as such. Enjoy it for what it's worth and learn the overall historical lesson. As far as Nate's rape allegation........ He was acquitted, so legally speaking he's an innocent man. What reason do they have to keep calling this man a rapist or bringing it up except to smear his reputation and tarnish his and the movie's image? I don't condone rape at all, nor do I know the full details of this particular case but..... When you have these young women who get drunk and hang out with young men on college campuses doing all kinds of sexual acts with them and then regret it in the morning....is this really rape? What responsibility do many of these young women have in putting themselves in these situations? And never mind that if the girl in question was indeed White that there is a HISTORY of White women who voluntarily have sex with Black men only to cry rape later.

　 Cynique How about you guys on this board. Is it your experience that men make lewd comments about females during bull sessions?? I'm sorry I didn't even see this question. I didn't notice it until Troy responded to it. To be honest, me and most of the boys/men I grew up around did NOT make comments like Trumps...bragging about actually assaulting women or forcing themselves on women. Black men may brag about how much pussy they're GETTING, but not about "taking" it or forcing themselves on women. I'm not saying Black men don't sexually assault women or force themselves, but I haven't once heard a Black man talk about grabbing a woman or forcing a woman into sex and those who do these things definitely don't openly brag about them with other Black men. There is often atleast one brother around who will threatened to do great harm to a man who goes that route. With Black males it tends to be the other way around.... We think it's cooler to have game so tight that women forth themselves on YOU and chase after YOU. The most graphic parts of Black men talking to eachother may revolve around how good the sex was or describing the body parts of a woman, but no sexual violence. But this has been MY personal experiences around other brothers...... Troy I wouldn't say Bill is worse than Donald or even as bad. Bill Clinton was (is?) a WOMANIZER......a man who just likes to bang a lot of women and he uses his charisma and power to do it. Where as Trump in my opinion feels he's ENTITLED to a woman's body. He clearly believes in bullying women or using force to get what he wants whether it's money or women or respect in general. You'd never hear of Bill Clinton walking in on beauty pagent contestants while they're dressing, or grabbing women in the crotch, or trying to grope on women he didn't know on an airplane like Trump.....lol. Bill believes in using his charisma to get the coochie, while Trump believes in TAKING it...big differences. Which is why although I may detest a rapist, I actually have respect for a successful pimp. All I think what Donald Trump is doing....is once again doing what Black leaders SHOULD be doing...which is calling attention to the petty social rules that have been plaguing the working class male for decades. Just like Black leaders should have BEEN calling foul and accusing the election system of being rigged...because often times it IS rigged against Blacks and Democrats....but instead Donald Trump and the Republicans of all people are doing it; Black males are often denied jobs and fired from jobs and locked out of much of modern American society because we haven't been "trained" out of flirting with women and making open sexual comments...so why the hell are rich White men the ones talking about this???? It's common in our culture, especially among the poor and uneducated Black males to flirt heavey with women and hit on women. There are few rules in the "game", and guess what.....I see nothing wrong with that. Poor White men have been crying over the feminization of America and the American male when it reall should be BLACK men doing most of the complaining because this effects us much more than effects them. I don't know how many Black men's careers have been ruined over sexual harassment charges and sex offender lables on their record for behavior that would have been totally accepted just a couple generations ago.

Saw the movie a few days ago. It was pretty good, but it could have been better. I don't like how this movie as well as other "slave movies" like DJango and 12 Years a Slave always INSINUATE slave masters raping and abusing Black women but never actually show it in it's brutality. But it wasn't bad at all.

I hate the way their allegiance to the Republican party forces otherwise intelligent Black Republicans to make straight up fools out of themselves in public. We saw the same thing with Colin Powel and how he presented erroneous information before the entire world to support the U.S. going to war in Iraq. And to add further insult, when no WMDs were found and the war turned into a quagmire many Republicans even tried to lay all the blame on HIM and his presentation instead of Bush! Carson is a world famous doctor, he should atleast have the good sense not to belittle himself and smear his reputation by supporting a racist sexist clown that even most White Republicans are distancing themselves from now.

Cynique If it's unfair for me to accuse you of not considering the possibility of lead poisoning as being a factor, then it's equally unfair for you to paint my argument as if I'm saying it's the ONLY factor. If you go back in this thread I said at the very beginning: "Now I'm not saying these are the ONLY causes of the violence in the ghetto but I believe they are the MAIN causes. At the very lease there can no acceptable solution to the violence in America that doesn't include removing the old lead pipes from not only the water systems but every household's plumbing as well as all of the old paint from buildings similar to what was done with asbestos" I also said: "Another problem is Western civilization itself. This may seem a little far fetched, but after studying history I believe Western civilization has run it's course and people are tired of it. The family values and social ethics that have governed Western societies are no longer holding weight with most people as they begin to pull away from Christianity and other organized religions. So peopel are coming up with their own morals and ethical codes and other people are just abandoning ALL forms of morality together and doing whatever they want because there is nobody or real system "in charge" to establish absolute rights or wrongs " Ofcourse there are other problems contributing to the violence and dysfunction in the Black community besides lead in the water, but I believe much of it is peripheral stemming FROM the psychiatric effects of lead and mercury poisoning. Again, not all....but much if not most. So I guess it's a matter of which of these problems we chose to lay weight and focus on. And also since the effects of lead poisoning can't be reversed what is your remedy for this? Number one, I believe they CAN be reversed with proper treatment both holistic and conventional. But the first step as stated in the above quote from my earlier post is to remove the source of the poisioning by replacing lead contaminated pipes and halting vaccinations with serum that contains heavy metals. Then we can look at other forms of treatment to remove the lead from the body and heal the brain and nervous system. I believe there's a solution to EVERY problem and a cure for EVERY disease. We may not know it at this point in time...but it exists. Finally, what if you are wrong? Then what? You will have to find something else to become fixated on. If I'm wrong, then I'll fix-ATE on fix-ING the actual problem and discard my previous theory...lol. CD There isn't a 3 against 1, everyone has said that lead is a part of it. I even said I understand where you are coming from, but my primary focus is on the fact that there are more kids passing in school and doing well than there are failing. THIS IS FACT and Troy posted the evidence. While the evidence shows the disparity of success there are more passing than failing. Well if we all agree on the same problems, then as I've said to Cynique I suppose it's more of a matter of where we're deciding to place our weight on and which problems deserves the most immediate attention. Black leaders both at the top and at the grass roots level have been holding discussion after discussion and rally after rally trying to fix broken families, get Black children to read more, get Black youth to stay out of gangs, and reduce the violence rate in the Black community for 30 or 40 years now. Has it worked for the most part? I believe if we focus on the lead and other toxins in the environment, most of those other problems like deliquency, broken families, violence, ect....will fade. Not necessarily "away" but they will become relatively mild compared to what they are today. As far as a higher graduation than failing rate meaning more "success" than failure. When they start passing out DECENT PAYING JOBS with those diplomas upon graduation, then I may consider it a sign of success. Until then, can we really say that the diploma a young Black male gets today is even worth the paper it's printed on? Success for most young men is wealth, women, and peace of mind. ....and none of those are guranteed by a diploma or even a typical 4 year degree today. The only thing a highschool diploma does is pave the way for college and a lifetime of student loan debt.

If there's a decline in the participation on THIS particular forum I'd say it's because this forum tends to be too "serious" and intellectual for most AfroAmerican youth today. As I've said before..... As the AfroAmerican intellectual capacity begins to decline (for whatever reason you want to attribute) you should expect for discussions on serious issues to decline while discussions (if you want to call them that) on foolishness, gossip, personal beefs and feuds to increase. What else can you expect for people with stunted mental maturity? Often times "smart" Black people get so tired of the silliness and beefing that goes on in many Black forums that they leave and joing White discussion forums where they must either hide their identity or face constant racial harassment and having their points of view misunderstood by other members. If you believe this is a problem....as I do...then we need to come up with a solution for it. It's not going to get better unless the problem is addressed for what it is: The decline of Black American intellectualism. The first step is admitting that their is an intellectual crisis in the Black American community where too much "dumb shit" is being promoted among the youth and not enough intellectualism and critical thinking.

Cynique You're starting to do what CD has been doing which is focusing on the well performing exceptions to say that things aren't really "that bad". Which is like a person with stage 2 breast cancer focusing on how nice their teeth are or how good their digestive system is while ignoring a serious and GROWING problem that should be addressed before it's too late. I too believe in miracles and have had them in my life, and as long as I live on THIS planet I also believe in sitting down and trying to solve my problems as well. The Divine do their part and human beings must also do their part. Again, what if I'm right? Then what?

Part of the problem is society in general is starting to become to complicated or too complex for the average person to navigate and it's frustating the hell out of so many people. Anytime you can't just throw a piece of garbage away.... You don't have just ONE garbage anymore. You have 3 or 4 containers and you have to stop and try to figure out which one the paper goes in and which one the plastic goes in and you have some asshole standing off to the side actually frowing at you if you put the wrong thing in the wrong container as if YOU (not Exxon) are responsible for polluting the planet....lol. A lot of people are just saying "fuck it" and throwing trash on the ground or out the window again. As if it wasn't stressful enough to drive (especially while Black) now they've added "bike lanes" all over the place so you have to constantly be on the look out for people on bikes and veer into the opposite lane just to provide a safe enough space not to hit them by accident. Yeah, people are frustrated as society becomes more complicated but they aren't seeing much benefit from the added worry....so this causes a lot of people to question is it all really worth it. As far as intelligent out spoken Black men being targeted. I can't say that you're wrong...but I don't want to say you're right either because to concede to that would almost make the situation seem hopeless.

Cynique I've already conceded several times that I wasn't around back then to "know" who lived longer than who. But neither the anecdotes from older Black folks from the South who've told me how much longer Black folks lived and how healthier they were NOR the "stats" and other forms of propaganda put out by Western medicine tooting their own horn about how much progress they've made PROVES it one way or the other as far as I'm concerned. My standards of proof are based on experience and observation so I guess I'll KNOW the truth as time goes by if God allows me to live long enough and keeps me mentally sharp enough to adequately compare time periods. All Well atleast Troy is entertaining the possibility that the problem could be more bio-chemical than behavioral or parental. Either that or he feels sorry for me in this 3 against one argument...lol. I just have one question for all of you.....what if I'm right? Suppose, just suppose the United Nations or some outside group came in and examined Black children from coast to coast and concluded that for the most part they contained much higher concentrations of lead and mercury in their systems than White children and this has been a major cause in hyper aggressiveness as well poor academic performance. Then what? After knowing without a doubt that they're suffering from a real physical/chemical problem that is affecting their thinking and behavior and most likely the behavior of their parents before them, what should the next step be? To continue to blame the parents and tell them to get off their ass and do their job? To blame rap music? Tell young people to get married and stay married for life, especially if they have children? Tell the children to "try harder" in school to make up for their mental deficiency? Or should we have a nation wide demand that the infrastructure be repaird and every child (and adult for that matter) be treated to rid their bodies of these toxins? IF I were right and we knew beyond doubt that most Black children suffered from various levels of heavy metal toxicity affecting thier intellectual and emotional development, which option would be the most generally effective in solving the problem of not only violence but broken homes and poor academic performance in light of such a major finding?

It's called Globalism..... It's not just New York, it's taking place in urban areas all over the United States. Wealthy people are trying to take back the urban core of American cities because they're running out of land. If you look at the "norm" that exists outside the United States....today as well as in the past it is the POOR who live outside of the inner city. They tend to live in the townships, villages, and rural communities. It's the wealthy who live in the inner cities where the amenities are. But the United States for the past 60 years or so became the opposite and the wealthy people started moving out into the suburbs after WWII. Partially to get away from Black people and partially because of the fear of nuclear war. I'm sure they figured that the further away they got form "ground zero" which would be the core of most urban areas....the better they'd fair during an attack. If you notice, most of the gentrification started AFTER the collapse of the Soviet Union when they felt that the threat of a nuclear attack was over. So now the wealthy want their cities back and they're tearing down the projects, patching up the ghettoes, and shipping the poor and working class...not too far out...but out into the boroughs and inner ring suburbs so that they're close enough to commute to the city and work for them but not close enough to socialize or send their children to the same schools. No more middle class or working class. Just the educated wealthy elite inhabiting the cosmopolitican cities, and the TRAINED (educated just enough to do the job) WORKING (not on welfare or any other type of benefit that may prevent them from having to slave to eat) poor that have been regulated to the outskirts and boondocks. In my opinion the social planners are making a huge mistake because this structure is typical of that of a third world country...and third world societies are notoriously unstable as the poor constantly get fed up and seek to overthrow the system. One of the reasons the United States HAS been so stable since the 60s was because the poor and working class were given some dignity. You take that away and force them to either bust their ass working 2 jobs just to afford to SHARE a roach infested apartment or end up out in the street begging...and you're asking for skyrocketing crime and revolutions every 20 years or so. As Troy alluded to, a much wiser plan would be to build affordable housin in the city for working class people so that people earning a modest salary can still afford to support themselves and their families. Most people don't ask for much anyway. It's not like everyone is demanding masions with guest houses or trying to keep up with what billionaires have and demanding the same. Most people just want a clean place free of roaches or bedbugs, make sure the plumbing and lighting is working, and some cable and wifi where they can sit down and relax at the end of the day of work. Over 90% of the population would be happy with that and could care less how much more the wealthy had.

Cynique brought up an interesting point concerining "suicide by cop". I think a lot of these cop killings probably were instigated by Black men who were so tired of their conditions that they wanted to die but didn't want to bear the full responsiblity of "offing" themselves. I don't know but something tells me that the Alfred Olango case in San Diego where the brother pulled an e-cigarette and pointed it at an armed cop as if it were a gun may have been another case of this. Many young Black men today are just tired. They're tired of living in a society where they are surrounded by wealth and success but they don't see a way THEY can achieve it and they feel that no one is "teaching" them how to achieve it so they go out and try to get it on their own and the system punishes them for it. They're tired of trying to make it in a society that is just too complex and unforgiving and many are just giving up.

Cynique Now listen...... We're not going to keep going back and forth over this. I just told you about how Black people in Africa are dying by the millions from just AIDS alone, not to mention Ebola and other "unheard of" diseases that didn't appear until Europeans came. So if you want to ignore THAT and focus on the flu or diarrhea as the leading killer of Black folks until modern medicine came along...you go right ahead. If black youths are motivated to acquire "the bling", then they really are stupid if they think they will obtain it by committing petty crimes and drive-by shootings I think Black young men are motivated by NATURE. Young men by NATURE desire women, control over their own lives, respect from other men as well as the larger community, and a share of the contemporary wealth of what ever era they are living in. This cuts across all racial and national lines. Young men also tend to be aggressive by nature, especially when it comes to trying to attain the objects of their desire...and this too cuts across all racial and national lines. The problem is this society is an artificially contructed one where not only is nature and natural inclinations in young men suppressed.....they're often PUNISHED as some how "wrong" or criminal. So where in the past it was considered noble and honorable for a man to have sex with several women, be good at fighting, and amass large wealth by any means he could think of......now it's often considered criminal and immoral and the larger society condemns him for it. So perhaps what you see as petty crimes and violence is actually young men trying to pursue normal natural desires in an ABnormal UNnatural artificial society. Troy Now if you believe there are at no inherent natural disadvantage in intellectual ability and potential, what else can explain the differences? Neurological poisioning from chronic heavy metal exposure. Cleanse the lead and mercury out of the systems of every child and you will see the test scores rise and the violent crime plummet. CD You speak of the solution being better parenting, as if the parents know any more than their children do.....lol The parents are a product of the SAME dysfunctional incompetent educational system that their children have inherited so how can people who don't know any better themselves teach others? You DO have a valid point about many parents hating their children and not wanting them. A lot of children were a "mistake" on the part of their parents. I don't think any human being is a mistake as I believe we all were intended to be here, but I think as far as planning goes.....yes....many if these children were "mistakes" and not really wanted. Children can tell intuitively when an adult doesn't really care about them even if it's a parent who gives them a lot of gifts....they just "know". Infact, a lot of parents are actually USING thier children to collect checks from the government through disability and special needs claims....that's the only value they see in them. So do you really expect parents who are cold and callus to pony up and do the right thing and supervise their children when THEY THEMSELVES need supervision? I don't. And do you really WANT Black parents to be more hands on and take more responsibility in teaching Black children how to be better students in an educational system that teaches them how worthless they are and trains them how to be mindless drones for corporate America? Because that's what this educational system teaches them. I bet you learned more PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE that you could actually use in real life during the few years you were in the military than all the years you spent as a student K through college. We need our OWN academic systems that teach Black children how to do something for themselves. A system that offers benefit to themselves and their progeny instead of teaching them how to be well educated slaves to help build another man's world while theirs deteriorates.

I don't believe White people are a monolith...... Sure they tend to be MORE united than Black people because unlike most Black people who've been taught since the Civil Right's era to DISTRUST Western Civilization....most Whites are still pretty much taught to REVERE Western Civilization (the morals, laws, social customs, ect....); but there are a lot of independant minded White people who are just as fed up and disappointed and even down right angry with the system as Blacks, Native Americans, and others. Many others are also very angry about the injustices they see being done to Black people and other ethnic groups and want to help. However one of the problems is a lot of Black people who try publicly speak on the frustrations of Black America tend to be either: 1. Very passionate and angry but not very articulate. They don't come across to the greater population as "intelligent" while expressing themselves. And these type of people White folk usually automatically tune out. or 2. Very intelligent and articulate but too "soft", too reserved, and because they're too careful not offend White people so they don't really tell it "like it is". And although most Whites will take time to listen to this type, it doesn't give them an accurate understanding of the problem or how the community really feels about an issue because the so-called speaker isn't bold enough or accurate enough. We need Black people who are not just intelligent enough and bold enough but ARTICULATE enough to adequately express the concerns of Black America to those outside of our community effectively. Quannell....from what I've seen of his interviews and street confrontations seem to be able to do BOTH. One of the reasons Malcolm X was so effective and respected among Blacks AND Whites (even if they didn't like him they had to respect his intellectual sharpness), was because he was not only accurate and intelligent and articulate but he managed to do it in a bold and uncompromising fashion that adequately expressed the frustrations of Black America at that time. As far as re-considering America....... This is MY nation. I'm not leaving it....period....except for vacation, lol. It's not their LOCATION that Black folks need to change, it's their MENTALITY. It doesn't matter where our people go, as long as they maintain the same "slave" like mentality of constantly looking to White people to feed them, protect them, and educate them.....they're going to continue to be taken advantage of and victimized. Look at continental Africa or Haiti and how so many Black folks on their OWN land with no one to answer to but eachother are STILL trapped in poverty and debt. Why? Because they look to Western governments to provide money and food and other resources for their support instead of building their own system on the land God provided. Many of these nations have been "technically" out from under colonial rule for decades and STILL maintain the legal system and social customs of the same Europeans who colonized, them instead of trying to design a new better one for themselves. Black people occupy positions in just about every level in the legal and political system from the police on the street all the way up to the White House. If the legal or political system isn't working for us, WE can change it for force the change through. If the educational system of financial system isn't working for us, WE can change it and force it through. Nothing is keeping us from taking our destiny in our own hands as a group besides pure mental laziness.

That's Quanell X. He always goes hard. He was actually quite tame in THAT interview; I've seen some others where he really mopped up his opponents.

Cynique I wasn't around to witness what Africans were allegedly dying of centuries ago and I'm not too quick to trust Western historians and what they write about pre-colonial Africa, however I think we both can agree that SINCE colonialism and the introduction of Western medicine (vaccines included) Africans have been dying of AIDS, ebola, and other "mystery" illnesses by the MILLIONS. So what good were they? BTW, it is my understanding the Smallpox and Typhoid didn't exist in Africa until Europeans came and brought them. So perhaps the best thing they should have done was stay away instead of bringing vaccines to prevent a problem that didn't exist in the first place. We didn't need a vaccine for malaria either. The condition known as Sickle cell anemia among so many AfroAmericans today is actually natures own way of preventing malaria among West Africans. Sometimes you have to generalize based on limited information in order to save your own life. You may not have the time nor luxury to sit around waiting on all the facts to come in before making a decision as to what to believe. Suppose you were sitting on the couch by the living room window and you heard some arguing between people quickly followed by 3 or 4 loud bangs outside. Would you sit there jotting down a list of what those noises could be? Would you go outside and stand on the porch to get a "better observation"? If you saw a strange man you didn't know coming at you with a crazy look in his eye and licking his lips, would you stand around observing him waiting for more information to comin before you made a decision on what to do? I'm sure you didn't make it on this planet 80 something years if you hadn't made a few quick generalizations based on a limited observation of what you saw. Again, I'd much rather trust the information I've gotten from the few people I know who've actually LIVED and EXPERIENCED the past, rather than a bunch of skewed facts typed up by people who have a vested interest in selling Western medicine to the public.....despite the fact that by their own admission the medication ALONE that's being prescribed is killing more people today than auto accidents, suicides, and homicides combined. CD I don't know how good Black kids are doing academically, I'm sure you're in a better position than me to know that. But I can look at the high unemployment rate, high incarceration rate, and all around lack of common sense that is so pervasive among Black youth in America and all the stats about their academic performance becomes irrelevant. If you want to save your children.....and others...you and other Black educators should sit down and come up with a curriculum designed specifically to educated Black youth. Especially Black boys. Because the current educational system is failing them big time. Cynique mentioned motivation.... Like most boys, Black boys are motivated by the promise of money, women, and success in this world as they get older. And if they look around in society and don't see a way to achieve these things nor do they see how the educational programs being pushed on them will help them in achieving these things then they will RIGHTLY begin to question the value of a so-called "good" education. The purpose of school should be to train children how to be successful adults. The problem is the CURRENT idea of success (corporate job, wife, house) doesn't give with what most Black boys' idea of success (money, plenty of sex, protection from enemies, nice clothes, good music, freedom from incarceration or police harassment, ect..) is. Black children and especially Black boys need a program tailored for THEM and THEIR wants/needs.

Cynique Well if Black people weren't healthier 75 years ago then I stand corrected. Obviously I wasn't around at that time so I'm going by what MOST of the older Black people who come from the South have told me concerning Black people living longer. I don't go by stats promoted by Western science because I believe much of it is misleading and many of the publishers have ulterior motives. I'd rather go by the first hand accounts of those who've actually lived long enough to witness history THEMSELVES and make a comparison. I also BELIEVE (don't know for sure)...again based on what I've been told by those who were around to witness...that a lot of the diseases you mentioned were almost unheard of among Black people 80 and 100 years ago UNTIL they started coming into more frequent contact with Whites. I'm not yet 50 and I know I've seen more Black folks walking around talking to themselves and exhibiting mental problems today than I did 30 years ago. So no doctor or scientist can present information to me claiming that Black mental health today is better than it was 30 years ago and expect me to believe it. Troy I don't know if I'd agree that unvaccinated Black people would be dying from typhoid and other diseases because we lived and thrived in Africa for thousands if not millions of years without needing those vaccines. How did we manage all those years before White doctors came along? You make a good point about African immigrants being the cream of the crop. I've heard this before also. Having not yet been to Africa, perhaps I should wait until I go and see for myself how the majority behave before trying to judge and compare behaviors between us and them. I used to think that Black people lived better out on the West Coast than they did in the Midwest based on what I'd seen on television and in the movies....unitl I actually MOVED out there and saw the high rates of incarceration and destitution experienced by so many Black people in California as compared to more established Black communities back East and down South. Sometimes you don't really KNOW until you've physically gone to a place to see and weigh the facts yourself. CD I like that you promote discipline and high achievement leaving few excuses. I also agree with you that one of the biggest reasons for Black children under achieving in school is their lack of desire to achieve. I constantly bring up the fact that any child who can remember the lyrics to an entire rap album certainly has the potential to excell in school. So for many it's not the ABILITY....it's the DESIRE. However the crux of much of your argument seems to be that we should focus on the EXCEPTIONS instead of the majority. Your position is instead of making excuses, we should look at the "exceptional ones" who happen to excell against all odds. We should take a lesson from them and encourage more of our people to be like them as a solution to rise above their circumstances. But remember there are exceptions to almost every rule in this world. Hell, even during slavery you had some Black people who prospered! Yet I don't know of any Black person who'd think it's a good idea to go back to slavery because some did well. No matter how dire circumstances get in a society, you'll always have SOME (even if it's less than .005%) who are smart enough, strong enough, and determined enough to rise above their circumstances and turn lemons into lemonade. But if I took you to most urban areas around this nation, for every 1 child who you can point to as being smart enough or disciplined enough or hard working enough or "lucky" enough to make it out of the ghetto or get through a crumby school and go to college...I can point to 5 who may succumb to their environment and either end up homeless, in prison, on drugs, or worse...... We don't want a society where only a fraction of people are able to achieve success while the majority fail. Just like an otherwise bright student would still fail to learn in a dilapidated school plagued with filthy bathrooms and violent classrooms.... The even a virtuous and hard working people would still find it next to impossible to succeed in a society that was actually DESIGNED to trap them and prevent all but a small gifted and "lucky" few to break through and succeed. Justice flows from the top down. We must work on making the system and society itself more just before focusing on the individual and demanding more responsibility from him.

Cynique, yes the White female cop was charged but she's also out on bond walking around enjoying her current freedom and the comfort of her friends and family. As far as the Charlotte incident. I just read a piece that the officer was issued a body cam but didn't turn it on until AFTER the shooting! Go and try to figure THAT one out.......

Troy / Cynique Troy it's funny you point to the 3 sistas who represent the core of the Black Lives Matter movement and how they aren't getting the recognition Colin is getting, because I heard that THEY also stole the movement from a more local group of protesters in the St. Louis area who weren't as well recognized by the media....lol. I don't know about Kaepernick but I've met Alicia Garza and she oozes sex appeal in real life, more so than she does in pictures or on television. I'm not sure why the media doesn't give her more exposure. I have to admit, I don't care too much for the national athem protest myself. First of all I actually DO love America. I don't love everyone in America, nor do I love most of the people RUNNING America. But there is a lot of good a tremendous amount of POTENTIAL in America to bring about a new world so I love this country dearly for what it COULD BE and probably WILL BE when the right people are in charge. I think Black atheletes and Black people in general who have a gripe against social injustice should be careful to be very specific and laser like in there targetting. Not just so that they don't step on unnecessary toes and paint "America" with a broad brush....especially with themselves also being part of America; but also so that they don't end up pissing off otherwise "neutral" people or those who may have been sympathetic to their cause if it were presented in a more reasonable and rational way. For example..... We need the police, we just need them to do their job and stop over reacting. The blanket bashing of cops not only makes you LOOK like you support crime and chaos, but it's almost totally ineffective because it's so "scatter shot" in it's approach. Instead of bashing ALL cops, or even worse bashing the entire nation...YOUR NATION...perhaps it would be better to hold a massive protest at the offending officer's home and don't let up until justice is served. Or forcing through a federal law with mandatory sentencing for officers who shoot citizens who were proven not to have any weapons on them at all. Those two steps alone would probably do more to curb and reduce the number of police shootings in urban areas than spontaneous fits of emotion that are pretty much undirected or protests with no clear goals in mind.

What I don't understand is....... Why were there 3 nights of rioting over a Black cop who shot a Black man who they claimed was armed in Charlotte. But over in Tulsa Oklahoma you had a WHITE cop who shot an UNARMED Black man and I hadn't heard of one brick being thrown through a window! I've lived in Charlotte and there's a lot of New Yorkers and Philadelphians down there, perhaps that explains some of the rowdiness. But other than that, it makes little sense why such a questionable shooting brought about such a violent response when just a few states away you have an obvious clear cut case of police misconduct and out right murder. I don't know if there shold be a "rioting public relations board' or something to help people decide what they should be raising hell about because it's a bit confusing to see such strange responses. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad to see Black people stand up where ever they are. But you have to pick your battles wisely and I do so with atleast a consideration of how the public will view you and your struggle if you want support.