Pioneer1

We're living in interesting times..... People are firing missiles at eachother and destroying buildings during "cease fires"....lol. First you saw it with Israel and Hamas. Now you're seeing it with the U.S. and Iran. The entire war is carrying on as usual, while both sides are accusing eachother of breaking the "cease fire"....lol. Like Ned the Wino would say: Now what does that tell you? Huh? Huh?

Lol....it just COULDN'T be their brains.

ProfD However, I don't think it's right to call another human being an illegal alien. An alien simply means a person not from the land. It's just been used colloquially these past 100 years or so to mean Beings from outter space, but it originally meant humans from another nation or region. Forcing someone into a s8xual encounter does make the perpetrator a rapist. If that's the case, doesn't being in a country you're not from illegally make you an illegal alien or atleast an illegal migrant? Whichethnicity comes to mind when you hear the term illegal alien? Lol...that's obvious. But it applies to any ethnicity or race. That's like asking what ethnic group does the word "slave" remind you of. We know. But there have been White and Asian slaves for thousands of years. Right. Low wage jobs aren't meant to be careers. It should be a stepping stone whether summer employment or part-time to finish school. Not to build a life &/or raise a family. It depends on a person's quality of living and ambitions. Maybe that's all they want to aspire to in this world. A low wage job is no good for an adult if it doesn't cover shelter, food, clothing & health insurance, etc. And that's an issue that the government and society itself should be addressing. Why do we have ANY job that a person can't cover the basic necessities of life like food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare from a normal 40 hours of work? They SHOULD pay more...so why don't they? The failure lies in AfroAmericans depending on someone else for a job instead of creating them. While you're right that COLLECTIVELY AfroAmericans should be producing jobs for ourselves, as INDIVIDUALS most people period aren't qualified to actually go out and start their own successful business and work for themselves. They must go out and find a job to get paid and support themselves. They should have the right to do so. Most factory jobs have been out-sourced to other countries where labor is cheaper &/or replaced by automation. Not only have they outsourced many of the jobs but now they're been importing cheap labor in the form of illegal immigrants and intentionally preventing them from having any legal or political power by not making them actual citizens. They've started a literal "peasant class" in this nation. It goes back to our government and them allowing it to happen. The same politicians who allow jobs that pay BELOW minimum wage in places like the service sector and agricultural industry are the same politicians who are fighting openly and behind closed doors to bring illegal in by the millions to displace American workers.

ProfD IMO, percentage doesn't matter because it will only be used to discourage &/or as an excuse not to do better. Perhaps in some cases. However knowing the percentage will also provide evidence that there is more to poverty and lack of success in a community than simple lack of effort. It may also be evidence of lack of opportunity or coordinated efforts to disenfranchise them. For example..... Say yu got a million Black people. The law of averages say that because these people are of average intelligence...MOST of them should be able to make a living for themselves. So if 50% are homeless and/or in jail....obviously something unusual and unnatural is going on and perhaps they are being mistreated and targeted for disenfranchisement. Again, statistics won't lead to action & productivity. True, but as stated before....it can be used as evidence of mistreatment. You're building a case. Like a woman who is doing a good job but not being promoted because she won't go out with her boss. She establishes a paper trail and collects evidence to help support her case of unfair treatment.

ProfD The USA has not put any boots on the ground in Iran. Whole war has been aerial. So, the chance of a draft are zero. Trump just sent nearly 10,000 troops over to the region a few weeks ago. You don't mobilize that many troops to a spot for nothing. All of the energy and manpower isn't going to go to waste. They're just setting things up for a much bigger operation. Most military strategists can readily see this. No different from Desert Storm & War in Iraq back in the 1990s & 2000s. No protests during those conflicts either. There were no protests for Desert Storm but I do remember massive protests back in 2003 for George Dubya's "revenge" attack on Hussein. There were protests all over the nation for that one. They didn't help, but they did make their point known. I would offer that people are doing well enough to keep a roof over their heads, food in the fridge, reliable transportation, alcohol, drugs, etc. & just enough access to money & credit to make ends meet. I'd say this applies to some people...maybe even most....MAYBE...but there's a large enough percentage of people who are going through some real hard shit right now but it's almost as if they're invisible in society because they're being drowned out by the giggles and smiles of the "haves" not just on social media but in society. America is so crowded that literal HALF of the population could fall into destitution/poverty but as long as the other half is prosperous it wouldn't even be noticed. All you'd see are people walking around with shopping bags smiling and pecking away at their cell phones. Another thing is that so many people who fall through the cracks are getting locked up that how do we know how well the public is REALLY doing? You're doing well and making a living....until you're not...then you end up disappearing after a few months because of doing something illegal to survive. Troy In addition to what @ProfD wrote what are you expecting Vietnam type like protests? Again completely different situations. Start forcing a bunch of poor people onto the front lines and get them killed. It will be a whole different story. I seriously doubt that would be the case today. I really believe the fake weed and social media has turned the masses into selfish zombies who could care less about their next door neighbor let alone world events. But I also think people are less informed. Distracted by a variety of things… dare I say it… social media. I agree. Infact, I posted the above about social media before even reading your next line implicating it. Most Americans are distracted and brainwashed....even for their own good. out of curiosity have you ever heard of democracy now before? Ofcourse. They cover protests and expose government cover ups and the like. However if I have to click on a website to see people protesting and outraged...obviously it hasn't reached the stage of being public sentiment yet.

Black Americans aren't masochistic. Most don't like the current situation but don't know of any BETTER options. What is an abused wife to do? Leave her abusive husband and go live out in the woods where the wolves and bears will be much nicer to her?

ProfD I'm a bit surprised at your view on the term. Given your strong FBA identification and stance, I actually presumed that you felt the same way I did about the issue...lol. That makes you guilty of using a derogatory phrase invented by white racists. Calling a foreigner who came to the United State illegally an "illegal alien" should be considered no more derogatory than calling a man who forces women into sexual encounters a "rapist". Derogatory names and slurs are often exaggerations meant to dehumanize whoever they are targeted toward. Calling someone who is here illegally an "illegal" is a statement of fact. Why should AfroAmericans fight for low wage jobs? I'll give you 3 valid reasons: 1. A lot of low wage jobs have traditionally been used as entry level jobs for Black youth to work on part time to earn money after school or for them to enter the work for right after graduating to learn basic work ethic. People have noticed around the nation that a lot of the McDonalds and dish washing jobs that Black youth used to occupy to earn money during the summer and after school are now occupied by Latinos who can't even speak English. Sometimes almost the entire establishment is staffed by them. 2. A low wage job is better than NO JOB at all. Unemployment in the AfroAmerican community is much higher than in the White community....for various reasons...so we're in no position to brush any field of endeavor off our shoulders as if they are dispensable. 3. Low wage jobs often lead to HIGH WAGE jobs. They are usually entry level and a means of access to the higher wages. If Latinos are snatching them up left and right...that's less opportunity Right. AfroAmericans should not be working in such a place. It's hard to avoid when the MAJORITY of work places in the region are like this or going in that direction. Latinos used to be focused on agricultural and seasonal work, but haven't been around this country and I can tell you that Latino presence in manual labor jobs have been growing tremendously fast these past 10 or 15 years. For several decades now, AfroAmericans have been educated to seek better employment opportunities. Some have. Keep in mind that everybody....not even the majority of people....will graduate from college with a degree. Especially with one that offers a great paying field of work. There are people with Master's Degrees working at Starbucks and Target....lol. The best thing that guarantees AfroAmericans decent employment is less competition from other groups....mainly Whites and Latinos. One of the reasons there are so many Black professionals in places like D.C., Detroit, Atlanta, and New Orleans is simply because of our numbers in those cities. There are so many of us and compared to the number of Whites and Latinos....that success HAS to come our way. But in many of the other cities where Black people aren't a majority....in many cased they get totally locked out. It only proves that AfroAmericans don't want to work for them. True. Some of it is the pay more so than the work itself. I grew up in a working class neighborhood where the majority of adults worked in factories and did manual labor but their jobs paid well enough for them to buy homes, buy new cars, and take care of entire families AND "outside women"...lol. I don't believe most Black youth would mind doing that type of work IF it paid $30 or $40 an hour today which would be the equivalent of what those jobs were paying in the 70s and 80s. White folks aren't beating down doors for manual labor jobs either. No, but they are doing them. Especially the poor and uneducated one. But you can't always believe what you see White folks doing. Like Neely Fuller Jr. said....they often have "mysterious sources" of income....lol. A White man can be slapping together tacos at Taco Bell for $14 an hour but have 2 cars, a stay-at-home wife, 3 kids with one on the way, a mortgage, and a summer cottage up north. ...AND has an opioid addiction, lol. And you're scratching your head wondering how is he able to afford all of this on a minimum wage salary. Because he's White and gets money from "other" sources....lol.

ProfD Many AfroAmericans have done well for themselves given certain opportunities. Ofcourse. The questions I have about this statement of TRUTH are: 1. What PERCENTAGE of AfroAmericans have and are doing well for themselves vs those who are falling through the cracks, are they are minority or majority? Because that would give us a better perspective and understanding of the overall economic state of our community. There have ALWAYS been "some" or "many" Black folks who were able to prosper...despite....even during Slavery. So we can get geeked up knowing "many" Black folks have made it if the MAJORITY haven't. 2. How many of those who HAVE done well for themselves use that wealth to establish more power for AfroAmericans in their community and society in general to maintain that prosperity? Tilting the playing field requires more than providing labor i.e. working for someone else. True. That's a start though. Real capitalism is building & producing wealth generating institutions. Am*zon is modern example of it. Facts. AfroAmericans can definitely do this on a smaller scale with barbershops and Soul food restaurants....if the desire was there.

ProfD Capitalism isn't bad. The tilted playing field is a major obstacle for certain groups of people. AfroAmericans have had plenty of opportunities...on a smaller scale...to tilt the playing fields in OUR favor but many of us have neglected to do it for ignorant or selfish reasons.

I use the term myself from time to time. I don't think it's offensive, it's just a fact. The term "undocumented" is misleading because it gives the impression that a person is where they belong but just doesn't have their paperwork together....or at best are just working under the table. If you sneak into the nation without proper notification and authority your very presence is breaking the law. You are BEING illegal by simply being here. But what I think IS happening...and I don't think AfroAmericans should allow it to happen....is that the racists in the U.S. are trying to slowly replace AfroAmericans with a more compliant and docile cheap labor source which for the most part will be Latinos. I've seen this at various jobs, where they basically give Latino workers...most of whom ARE illegal....more privileges and treat them with more respect than the AfroAmerican employees. They are allowed more time off to do personal things and they even let them bring in food to feed fellow co-workers at lunch time. I've seen this happen at several jobs. They even make signs and instructions in Spanish to cater to them. Unfortunately because so many young AfroAmericans DON'T want to work on these manual labor jobs anymore.....not only aren't they NOT outraged about what's happening and the plans to replace them....but they don't even care. Which seemingly proves the point OF the racists....that the "niggers are lazy and don't want to work anyway".

China and the so-called Communist Party are nothing more than a giant TEMP service for Western firms and corporations. A place they can find millions of skilled, educated, and dedicated workers for a relatively cheap price. Mao led a communist revolution to keep Western influence OUT of China. If he had any idea that THIS is what China would eventually turn into........ I personally think Capitalism works better than Communism in the grander scheme of things; China realized this and is now transforming itself into a fascist ultra-capitalists state. However the point is....what China is doing today isn't in line with what the original Maoists envisioned.

At this point, I have very little hope in ANY of the current national political parties. Republicans have already made it clear that they intend to do NOTHING for AfroAmericans and the Democrats only promise benefits to us INDIRECTLY at best through half-ass underfunded programs designed to help people who don't even need them; and if some of those people just HAPPEN to be Black or AfroAmerican, oh well. No more jobs or job training programs or funds given directly to Black community organizations like back in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. No talk of Universal Healthcare. It's not even on the radar and that was one of the main issues Liberals were pushing for back in the day. Come on mayne...... Dude is actually building a multimillion dollar BUNKER under the White house! Does that sound like the behavior of someone who is getting ready to move in a couple of years, to you? You don't build an addition to a place you're planning on leaving anytime soon....lol. "So let me get this straight......... You're paying us $45,000 to build a new patio for a house that just got foreclosed on and you're moving out of it in less than a month?"

Yeah, there's being a few incidents here and there but it's relatively nothing compared to what we saw back in 2020 during the George Floyd protests and the January 6 Insurrection. Perhaps the mainstream media IS keeping things on the "hush hush" but if the public outrage was THAT big...they wouldn't be able to. Back in the summer of 2020 I didn't need CNN or Fox News to tell me that people in America were protesting and angry. I could walk outside and see and hear it. I didn't have to "dig it up" on the internet to know that it was going on....lol. I live in Michigan but I've traveled to other states around the country as recently as a couple weeks ago and outside of a few middle aged White folks on freeway overpasses holding up banners and signs written in crayon.....I haven't too much protesting. How long has America been fighting an actual hot war with Iran? Months now. That alone used to draw the youth out into the streets because they would be the potential draftees. But so far I haven't seen any protests. Again, nobody is even talking about how high gas is now......except me, lol. I think it's the high potency weed so many people are smoking. It's keeping many of the youth calm and satisfied....lol.

For this being nearly 2 years into Trump's second term, things seem to be eerily quiet in the nation right now as far as public protest. Given the amount of outrage in Minnesota over those 2 citizens being killed back during the Winter when it was cold as fuck, some people predicted much more turmoil and upheaval when the weather got warmer....lol. Look at the gas situation....... People were complaining when the national gas average was $3.75 to almost $4 a gallon. Now it's nearly $5 a gallon (in Michigan atleast) and nobody is saying shit about it. The complaining about gas has all but stopped.

Don't forget "Joy (what else? what else?) and Pain".....lol. May our good brother rest in peace and power.

When Troy said that, it was a foreshadowing of future events. He knew I'd be locked out of the forum for nearly 2 months....lol. .....man, them Harlem niggaz is somethin' else. They'll set you up to be murked with a big SMILE on their face...lol.

Sounds like a mixed up man with mixed up interests driving him to do what he did. It seems as if "whoever" or "whatever" is driving some of these cats to make their moves heard the chatter from the Black community about how most of the shooters have been White and how we said it's not out business. They heard the Black community say "It's White on White crime and we're staying out of it." So they found some "off white" or "half white" dude and put a battery in his back to go on a mission. When Black folks said he wasn't Black enough and insisted on not claiming him, I guess "they" (whoever "they" is) decided to send a SHO'NUFF Black man on the mission. This latest dude they claimed tried to run up on the White house and got neutralized....there's no mistaking whether HE'S Black or not. Now the question is, is he FBA?

Brother Malik Shabaaz (Malcolm X) is one of my favorite Black intellectuals. He was usually sharp on on point as well as witty with both friends and foes. Neely Fuller Jr. is another favorite of mine. Again, usually on point and sharp....even in his 90s.

Mel Yep...lol. I'm curious. Do you remember what year that picture was taken? I'm sure it was before he was incarcerated. Sometimes I like to look at people in pictures and wonder what's on their minds and whether or not they have any idea of their future and what lays ahead for them. When he was sitting there smiling for that picture, I'm sure going through the legal problems he was about to face was one of the furthest things from his mind.

Both of them were and are bad, but it appears that Crack came the closest to almost DESTROYING the Black urban community in a way that Heroin didn't. Heroin has been around for decades...since the 40s atleast....and caused it's problem. But you still had working class functioning Black neighborhoods, numbers running, the prostitutes actually looked decent.....lol. Violence was contained. Crack came along in the early to mid 80s like a bull in a china shop. In just a year or two the decent looking prostitutes and well dressed pimps became replaced with skinny skeleton looking "crack hoes" and the pimps were gone. Violence and automatic weapons appeared right along with it and violence skyrocketed. In Detroit you had "dope dens"....a few designated buildings to shoot up in. When Crack hit, nearly every 4th or 5th building or house became a "crack house".

ProfD Well..... White folks are still in the Congo aren't they? If White folks are still there, why are they surprised that Ebola, HIV, and other diseases are still there? Duhhhh....... As long as White folks are still there, don't be surprised if some NEW diseases that nobody has heard of before "mysteriously" pop up seemingly out of nowhere and have people dropping like flies.

Glad to be back. I could actually read the messages, I just couldn't participate without signing in. I started to sign up under another name but thought about all of the history that went into my original handle and decided to wait until I eventually figured out that old email address I used. I happened to read where Troy said he emailed me so I looked for a ping in one of my old emails to find out which one I signed up under.

Mel Yeah, I recall you saying you used to be a stewardess or something of that nature. I also recall something about you meeting.....Bill Cosby???....or some famous Black entertainer on one of the flights.

ProfD .....and if you had talked to more than 3 -one of them would have surely snagged you with a smile and you would have been TRAPPED in Michigan for the forseeable future...lol. These African girls are getting pretty good with their lacefront and wore-jeans game....lol.

More likely just another scare tactic. I'm almost convinced now that if THESE people are actually reporting on it in the media, it's usually not too much of a threat. They usually know more than what they're reporting and already know there's not much too it, so they hype it up to scare the public. It it were a REAL threat, they'd probably keep quiet on it until social media forces their hand and they can no longer hide it from the public. I learned this during the George Floyd riots back in 2020. When it came to minor incidents like a few kids throwing bottles and wrestling with police officers in places like Baltimore and Ferguson Missouri....the media STAYED on the scene showing every detail of people just standing around chanting and yelling and being arrested. But when it came to a full fledged riot/rebellion with building being burned and police being attacked....it took them 2 or 3 hours to even report the first fires being set. Social media had to tell people what was happening.