Pioneer1

Cynique That is funny, Pioneer. Because for some reason, guys do like cat fights and female mud wrestling. Well, I can't speak for the other male posters but I do find women arguing with eachother somewhat attractive, especially when they start talking nasty or vulgar. Not sure why. I guess because you don't see it much as women tend to be more reserved with their aggresion. But I don't like when women PHYSICALLY fight eachother at all. I was expecting some of the male posters or lurkers to jump in and request an end to all of this vulgar nonsense, but I guess people like it. Almost as hilarious as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and their wife bashing. No fools, no fun Excellent observation. I think my response to this deserves it's own thread as I'm sure it will raise more questions and commentary from others.....

　 Sara- "STFU, you nasty old beast!" Cynique- "Your are a duplicitous, mentally-disturbed, mean drunk." .....LOL. Believe it or not, there are some crazy ass weird dudes who would actually pay GOOD money just to stand in between 2 angry women sweating and cussing at eachother. Sara What in my previous post led you to believe that? Where have I "condemned" homosexuality???? Nothing. I've never heard you actually condemn homosexuality. But concerning a discussion about Africa and the Middle East you started quoting the Bible and biblical scripture in this thread: http://aalbc.com/tc/topic/3638-tyler-perrylast-hours-of-jesus-christ/ This led me to believe that perhaps you took a scriptural view on homosexuality, but if you're not a believer in the Bible then I stand corrected. As for NO ancient cultures having a problem with homosexuality, i.e., ALL ancient cultures finding homosexuality natural and acceptable, I find that hard to believe. I didn't say NO ancient culture had a problem with it. I'm honestly not sure how most ancient cultures viewed it since most of what we know of ancient history has been filtered through Western academia.

As soon as I saw pictures of Bin Laden and others sitting around in robes and sandles eating with their hands I thought about the old pictures of Jesus and Moses I saw when I was younger and how most of the characters looked like that. I used to go to a Catholic school for the first few years of elemenatry school. When I was a kid nuns wore a "habit" or long black head covering over their hair and head. You don't see too many of them in it today. Most of them wear their hair short and uncovered and many even wear pants. I wonder did seeing the Muslim women who also cover their head influence the nuns to "drop their habits".

Chicago Defender ??? I still remember little Michael Evans talking about that paper on Good Times when he was a young "rabble rouser" and James was still living...lol. I'm not much on sending opinionated letters to the media because I don't think it's the MOST effective way to either change things or even have my views heard. Plus, I don't like the idea of someone sitting around deciding whether or not they want to make my opinions public or just keep them to themselves and dismiss them. I'm the type who likes to put my opinions out in a way that guarantees they'll be noticed regardless as to whether folks agree with them or not. That's why I like message boards. Don't get me wrong, I HAVE used the media to change things in my community, but I had to personally go down to the television station and ask to speak with a journalist and explain to him and her what was happening and constantly hound them to investigate in order to get those in authority to take notice and make the changes.

Cynique Riots are a definite possibility after the elections in November and this country might erupt into a mini-civil war. You may be right. Many people who were around to remember are saying that they're feeling the same electrifying "spirit" that saturated the politically turbulent 60s and early 70s. Infact, regardless as to who gets in office.... I predict that perhaps one of the biggest conflicts will be over attempts to suppress and miss count the Black and Brown vote.

Sara I once read a study on male gays. The examiners(?) wanted to find out if having a 'strong' mother made males gay. Upshot: it didn't. Weak or strong, it made no diff. The study concluded that the examiners couldn't determine what made males gay. Even though the study wasn't about them, they also spoke to Lesbians. Unlike the males, they were shocked to find that every single Lesbian they spoke with reported being raped as a child. This seems to be the deciding factor in almost all cases. The Lesbians are not raped just once, however; seems they were REPEATEDLY raped as children. IMO, that causes some "wires" in the brain to cross. One thing I've noticed as well - every actress I've seen who says they're gay, reports being raped as a child.... and almost in every case, by a male relative (usually the father). IMO, 90%+ gays (male AND female) are made by pedophiles. I am being generous (IMO) by saying maybe 10% are born that way. 　 It is true that many lesbians were molested as young girls. I've also noticed that a lot of the boys that were molested by Catholic priests turned out to be gay or feminine acting men. But I've also heard that either MOST girls period or just MOST Black girls have been molested as children, not sure if it's true...but clearly it didn't turn all of them homosexual. Sexual trauma was one of my arguments as to why some people became gay or lesbian. What really changed my view of homosexuality was looking outside of the Judeo-Christian Biblical concept of it and started studying indigenous African and Native American cultural beliefs about it and from what I dug up, homosexuality and even hermaphrodites were accepted and played a huge role in many societies. It is said that in certain indigenous religious systems, most of the priests and priestesses were and are homosexual or bi sexual as they don't have to take on the responsibility of family life. From your previous post I take it you believe in the Bible which clearly condemns homosexuality so I don't expect to change your mind in this issue. No person could change my mind. I had to step back and look at things from a scientific and objective point of view instead of a religious one. But as I've found, sometimes comparing moral positions froma MULTIPLE religions and cultures gives one and entirely different perspective that helps certain social problems experienced in the West make more sense. Homosexuality aside, Western society SUPPRESSES and CONDEMNS many things in general that occur in nature, and this causes undue stress on the population that lead to a host of other problems that ancient cultures didn't have.

I can't believe this..... I honestly LOOKED for something to point out and criticized during the trailer and couldn't really find anything legitimate. I mean, this movie isn't exactly MY cup of tea....but for a cast featuring majority Black actors and actresses...it looks pretty wholesome and meaningful. And where did they find so many good looking Black people ??? Damn.... Even the old sista in pearls had me going. I thought she was Marla Gibbs at first..lol.

Sara I'm not going to go into lesbians are made, not born, so be careful of sending your girl children to nasty old grannie's house.... alone. I used to think women who were lesbian may have "turned" that way as opposed to being born that way. Now based on my observations I think it's a matter of BOTH. Although no one is born with a certain sexual preference but develop it later on in childhood....you are born PREDISPOSED toward certain inclinations by the hetero or homo....or bi-. Some women clearly start off their sexual experiences with men but after experimenting with sex with other women, discover they like it better and "turn"....while others were already lesbian but didn't know it UNTIL something in their life made them aware of this. 　 Troy Cynique said, "And I would have no objections whatsoever if Troy elected to not call this site Cynique's Corner. I would totally understand if he wanted to go in a different, younger, more positive direction" So I'm sure if you changed the name of this forum from Cynique's Corner to "Pioneer's Square" ....she wouldn't be too mad at ya. Personally, I like the more "hands off" approach to moderation for the reasons you mentioned and more. I had a message board myself before and the only time I stepped in was if someone tried to publish another poster's personal information or threatened to do them great bodily harm.....other than that....as the late O.D.B. said -do ya thang baby do ya thang. One thing I do have in common with Conservatives.....I'm a man who feels people are usually governed BEST when they are governed LEAST.

The call for the 10,000 is not to go target or bust the heads of dope dealers and gang members. The call is to get people who would be willing to work to reduce the violence. It is my understanding that Minster Farrakhan said he wanted 10,000 men to reduce the violence by standing between Black people trying to kill eachother. http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_102600.shtml We know that both street gangs and the drug game are MAJOR contributors to the killing and other forms of violence happening in the ghettos all across America. They aren't the only contributors but they are among the major ones. If they aren't part of the focus, I'm not sure how effective the brothers will be.

Sara Many lesbians aren't offended by the word dyke, either. However, if one wants to be politically correct - as you appeared to be with your comment chiding my use of the word - according to GLADD, the "official" gay organization, homosexual is as offensive as dyke. As such, I return the "chide" - stop calling Gay people "homosexuals." I wouldn't exactly call it "chiding"..... Just making you aware just incase you use the term without knowing it's considered deragatory. I wasn't offended by it and as far as I'm concerned you can keep on using it. I could care less whether "many" lesbians are offended by the term or not. I've heard gay men call eachother "fag", but I won't do it because I know it's deragatory. As far as I'm concerned people can call themselves what they want, but just because they have the right to do it....doesn't make the behavior proper. I say the word "nicca" all day long, but I better not hear a White man say it....lol. 　 Cynique First "race" has been declared nonexistent, but the word racism is still a major part of the vocabulary of those who assert this. Now, "homosexuality" has been designated an offensive word by those who can't yell "homophobe" quick enough if somebody dares to question their lifestyle. Same-sexers want it both ways, apparently. ROTFLOL. Suck it in, Sara LOL.....Cynique, why you keep messing with that girl? I'm beginning to think you're doing it out of boredom. My views on homosexuality have changed quite a bit over the years. I used to think it was a major sin that Black people "caught" from Whites. Then I thought people who were homosexual were just "confused". That's because I was looking at things from a religious/biblical point of view. When I started looking at things from a scientific (experience/observation) based point of view as well as doing historical research on the roles of men and women in various societies I started accepting it as a natural form of human sexuality. I still don't KNOW if it's "right" or "wrong" morally, but until God actually makes it clear to me that it's wrong, I no longer condemn it.

Sara Homosexual is a scientific term. I haven't met any homosexuals who were offended by it....lol. It would be like me taking offense to being called a "male". "Don't call me a MALE.....I'm a GUY....I'm a FELLOW!!!!" In truth, I haven't met many lesbians who were offended by the term "dyke" either....but I had better sense than to use that word around them, LOL. The terms lesbian (for women) and gay (for men) are just colloquial terms; common usage for the more scientific "homosexual". BTW.....the term "lesbian" originally came from the Greek island of "Lesbos" which was said to be ruled by women in antiquity.

Thanx for the links. I didn't read anything about lead poisoning in them, perhaps I overlooked it. Although I like what the brothers are doing and I believe Louis Farrakhan last year asked for 10,000 Black men to stand up and secure their communities things aren't quite as simple as stomping into the ghetto and busting heads. A lot of our brothers mean well and they are so frustrated with the madness going on in the hood and the seeming ineffectiveness of the police that they impulsively rush to take action. But first of all a lot of these brothers have undisagnosed psychiatric issues as a RESULT of lead poisoning, poor diet, and other causes that are beyond their ability to control. Simply trying to reason with them or threatening them with disciplinary violence is often counter productive as their problem may be one require medical treatment. Second, a lot of community organizations go after drug dealers and dope houses. I understand why, but unless we're coming with ALTERNATIVES to selling dope....like providing them with well paying jobs that allow them to live decently in society, we're just taking away the one thing that's keeping them from robbing old ladies in the street. And then you have the whole sexual issue concerning what is and isn't appropriate to say to a women on the street. So I know there is an emergency situation going on in a lot of communities and I'm glad you were able to have some success down in NOLA and make an impact in the community but we must make sure the brothers are properly trained so that they don't make situations worse.

Sara Which just goes to show - all Lesbians aren't dykes. ???? Not sure if you meant "butch"....meaning a masculine acting lesbian. Dyke is a slang/derogatory word for lesbians in general regardless of their gender role.

I would look at it from the opposite end..... If I were a well educated Black woman or man with considerable wealth, I'd be pretty offended that the media tends to ignore people like me, but every night they're doing a story on felons who commit heinous crimes upon early release. Tonight's story features Tyrone with only 2 teeth and Jamal with dookie-braids, both were born and raised in East St. Louis and neither can speak English. On top of that, regardless as to how many Blacks are being vicimized most of the victims they show on television tend to be WHITE anyway. We know that most criminals and victims are of the same race but you wouldn't know that watching the U.S. media. Usually if the victim is Black....the most they'll show is their mother crying and being held back. But if the victim is White....they'll dig up 40 year old prom pictures and other endearing photos and mention the 2 years the victim may have spent in the Peace Corp just to draw sympathy from the viewing audience.

That's interesting........... Although I don't recall her coming right out and saying it, for some reason I thought Alice Walker was homosexual. The sister has a wonderful spirit BTW. I went to hear her speak a few years ago and was amazed at how calming her presence was over the entire audience. Not quite what I expected after years of reading some of her work, lol. I expected to see some loud sister with an Afro to come stomping on stage bashing men in a gravelly voice. Instead this cute little woman with dimples and dreads comes out with a very feminine demeanor speaking in a soft voice.

Troy @Pioneer1 exactly. This is one reason I stopped reading the New York Times. They have this bad habit of "reporting" on social problems as if they are only Black problems. You would never think white people have problems with poverty, murder, obesity, crime, teen pregnancy, drugs, education, or marriage, because they usually show Black people in these situations. Further you would have a reason to believe Black people are capable of anything important, because they virtually never report on anything positive that Black people do. Journalists tend to be experts at manipulating the public and putting images in their minds through fear and coded language. When you hear the word "thug"....an image pops into your mind. When you hear the word "terrorist"...another image pops into your mind. Just like the 80s when you heard "welfare queen".....an image popped into your mind. For over a decade, many in right-wing media sources have been using the word "thug" to identify Black suspects to the viewer/reader without overtly calling them such, but as thug is starting to lose it's appeal... -And Thug Appeal shouldn't be confused with Thug's Passion (Cristal + Alaze)- ....now the new code word the media is using is "felon" to identify the suspect as a Black male. For all practical purposes they don't even review books written by Black people. For all of these reasons, we have to support independent Black Press, so find a newspaper, and pay for a subscription. Well this answers your argument a while back about why so many things in America have to be seen through a racial lense. If institutions operated by the current majority in this nation gave everyone their due credit, there would be no need for people to have "Black Awards Shows" and "Black film festivals" However I'll be the first to admit that the biggest threat to the Black press isn't racism, but the lack of desire for..and in some cases lack of ability to comprehend...serious journalism in much of their targeted Black audience. Unfortunatly too many of our people would rather be ENTERTAINED than informed, so sensationalism and tabloid type journalism seems to be more attractive then the hard core informative type.

The purpose of the news...like much of the media...is not only to make money but to perpetuate progaganda, especially of a social or political nature. Every news organization whether it's television, radio, paper, or on-line has an "editor". The editing department...much like the Prosecutor's office for a district....gets to decide what makes the news and what doesn't and how it's presented. Chicago....like Atlanta...has some of the most educated and wealthy Black people in this nation and is one of the few cities that can boast majority Black wealthy neighborhoods like South Lake Shore and a few others.....but you'd never know this watching the national media's portrayal of Black Chicago. Like reporting suicides, when they constantly show homicides on television over and over again they contribute to the murder rate going up by de-valuing Black life and desensitizing the public to the death of Black people.

I find it interesting that in a nation that prides itself in declaring everyone innocent until PROVEN guilty in court of law....the names and pictures of crime suspects are routinely displayed all over the screens and papers of the local and national media. This is especially the case if the suspect is an AfroAmerican or dark Latino. Black man is SUSPECTED of killing 3 people and you have a picture of him in braids and a white t-shirt looking crazy all over Fox(whatever local affiliate) White man is CONFIRMED to have killed his wife, 5 kids, and the family dog before turning the gun on himself and burning down the damn house and you have to check 4 or 5 media sources just to find out what race the man was. We should really investigate the role the media is playing in the seemingly escalating rates of violence in so many cities today and how they seem to over report and sensationalize these acts of violence. Like most cities, the murder rate in Chicago was dropping steadily right up until the media started hyping up almost every violent weekend and bringing it before a national audience a couple years ago and now it's sky rocketing again. And silly movies like "Chiraq" ain't helping. It's a fact known to most journalists that suicides are rarely reported in the media out of concern that reporting on it too much may ENCOURAGE suicidal people to attempt suicide themselves. Well hell.....why can't they take the same approach to reporting homicides?

During the '08 election, I was actually for Hillary over Obama because I figured she'd be a stronger fighter against the right wing agenda. I knew if Obama got into office he'd be doing just what he's been doing, negotiating and letting Republicans play him for a punk. He's too "smart" and not tough enough. Almost everything he's done up until this point has been for the benefit of the Republicans. The healthcare bill was a give away to the insurance companies. He upgraded the so-called "War on Terror" that the Republicans started. Republican Governors literally getting away with murder. And it seems as if there has been more police brutality under his watch than under George W.'s. But there is still time for him to make thing right. However at this point, I don't trust ANY of those running for office because none of them are talking about implimenting things that would REALLY help this nation like Universal Healthcare, free and improved education, more blue-collar jobs, and building new cities from the ground up like WE'RE trying to do at newflint.org. The current leaders have no vision, that's apparent.

And it don't stop................ NEWARK, N.J. — Elevated levels of lead caused officials in New Jersey's largest school district on Wednesday to shut off water fountains at 30 school buildings until more tests are conducted, officials said.... http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lead-fears-in-water-at-30-newark-schools/ar-AAgAcMp?ocid=ansmsnnews11

Well....... The fact is, too many of our people are dumber and uglier than they really SHOULD be. We should be trying to IMPROVE ourselves instead of trying to divert attention away from the problem by making it an "American problem" or pointing at White people and what they're going through. It's not simply being fat that I'm taking issue with because I've found more heavy women attractive than I've found skinny women. It's the OBESITY along with terrible skin and other health problems (both physical and mental) so many of our people are suffering from that need to be addressed....not embraced. This is an attractive FAT woman: This is an OBESE woman: There is a clear difference between the bodies of these 2 women. It's not just the amount of weight, but the texture of skin and the proportions are also different. We know that most Black women's bodies tend to be made slightly different than most White women's bodies, but some are using this fact as an excuse to let our girls blow up like balloons. Then turn around and jump on Black men for not loving them the "way they are". It's the same for Black men BTW..... Noooo, I'm not gonna sit up here and just pick on my sisters. Too many of our brothers are seen staggering around the streets of America fat, sloppy, toothless, with dry ashy faces and elbows. Go to the suburbs and the White man is our running with his shirt off and a band around his harm. Go the 'hood and whatever the Black man is doing...chances are he's SITTING DOWN doing it. I'm so glad I had an opportunity to go to Europe years ago and see beautiful Black men and women who were WELL DRESSED. Most of them were African or Carribean and stuck to thier native diet even though they may have lived in England or France, and these people were so attractive and hooked up they looked like they stepped out of a fashion magazine. Nobody's perfect, but we need to start taking much more responsibility for our health, our looks, our minds, and especially our souls.

MOST older cities are being poisoned, not just Flint. The spot light was on Flint because the corrosive water started melting the rust off the pipes and turning it strange colors and THAT'S when tests were done and the high levels of lead were founded. But after they switched back to Detroit's system, the water is clear but the lead levels are STILL as high as ever....which means they were being poisoned years before the initial switch. As I've been pointing out in another thread, they are finding extremely high levels of lead in multiple cities all across this nation....some are higher than Flints! This is a nation wide problem.

I'm glad that there are so many shows and movies being produced to continuously remind the world of one of the biggest crimes in human history..... But I also have to wonder, when will LATIN AMERICAN television and film producers start spinning out movies about slavery in South America, Central America, and the Carribean islands? The majority of slaves WERE NOT brought to the United States but to Latin America, why are the French, Portuguese, and Spanish being left off the hook?

Guest Wilson.... Guess What.... You can refuse to believe cigarettes are responsible for lung cancer, but science still says otherwise. Your denial has no bearing on reality. Whites, Asian, and HIspanics ARE NOT drinking the same water as "we" do becauase all of "us" aren't drinking the same water ourselves. The water supplies differ from region to region and even when people are drinking water from the same supply the plumbing in the poorer neighborhoods produce more lead and other contaminants in the drinking water. .....and guess/t Wilson...guess who predominates in the poorer neighborhoods? Finally, who said Whites and Hispanics AREN'T experiencing the same difficulties? I've lived in White and Hispanic neighborhoods all over this nation and poor Whites and Hispanics are suffering from gun violence, suicide, drug addiction, high rates of domestic violence, high rates of mental illness, gangs, and everything else.

Troy and Chasitie It's not so much ME that's fixed on outward appearance, but it's this society in general. And our children need to learn how to COMPETE with other people in this game of life so that they will be successful. I actually expected to see some sort of picture of the young lady when I clicked on the link but didn't see one. But my post wasn't really focused on this young lady specificaly, it was more of a rant on the general condition of so many of our young people. Like I've said before, I'm not the best looking man myself. I'm aware that looks aren't the most important part of a person's make up...but they do play are large role in how others perceive you and to tell our young people and especially our young women otherwise is just setting them up for failure. I'm well aware that the definitions of obesity is often unreliable because bone structure and density tend to differ among the races, but hell....when you have an 11 year old girl walking down the street weighing 280 pounds with so much fat and cellulite on her thighs she looks like a sack of sweet potatoes walking on two feet, that ain't some "false standard of beauty" telling you something is wrong....that's common sense. The biggest problem young Black women face isn't some skinny White woman on televison doing yoga and trying to imitate her. The biggest problem is the self-destructive lifestyle and dietary habits that disfigure so many of our youth even before adulthhood and make them slow not only physically but mentally. And then telling them to be PROUD of it and accept it and love yourself! Understand what I'm saying...... It's not about beating up on people for things they can't help like a deformity or accident. I was ranting about this movement that allows Black youth to eat all types of garbage, not exercise and get their lazy behinds off the couch or off instagram....and tell them they are fine just the way they are. The entire world may see an AfroAmerican President on television, but when they come here they also see some of the fattest laziest SLOPPIEST negroes they ever layed eyes on. I have a cousin who's so fat and lazy he can't keep his eyes open when he's talking to you. I've never been lazy but I used to be fat (40% body fat) in my younger days but decided to eat right and exercise in order to lose weight and impress a woman I was working with who turned out to be a straight up NUT and I had to leave her alone. But I loved how that change made me feel and I maintained the habit to this day. It's the responsibility of the parents and teachers to prepare the child to be SUCCESSFUL in society, not lie to them or be "nice" to them. They need to learn how to discipline themselves and eat properly and get the proper exercise so that they can improve their academics, their physical appearance, the way they talk, dress, ect...and effectively compete with others around the world. Cynique Yes, I was being honest. My love for young people and desire to see them successful in the competiton of life is much stronger than my desire to be "nice" to them so they can silently fail....lol. I talk to them all the time and I know how hurt many of these young sisters are at the seeming appearance that Black boys don't show them the love and adoration that they see White men showing White women in the movies and often in real life. It hurts them to their core and the last thing they need is somebody lying to them about how they can be fat, ungroomed, and loud....and if someone doesn't like it then it's "their" problem. I tell my young sisters the truth, and many don't like it but so many have come back to me a year or 2 later and couldn't stop thanking me and offering to buy me things because I was honest and gave them the best advice all the other men they knew wouldn't. 　 The Nation of Islam produced some very beautiful Black men and women back in the 60s and 70s who didn't look their age because Elijah Muhammad used to make his followers obey a strict diet that was good for Black people avoiding pork, alcohol, cigarettes, and many animal flesh and bi-products. Scholars and historians for centuries if not millenia have commented on the strength, form, and beauty of African men and women. We are indeed among the best looking when we EAT PROPERLY based on our genetics (low animal fat, low starch, mostly fruit) and live an appropriate lifestyle. But it starts with truth, and an honest look at ourselves and what the problem is.