Troy

For most of my life I considered myself pretty lucky given the years I was I was born. Sure I was raised in a straight up ghetto, but I never came close to being hungry. I've always has access to clean water and air (mostly). I was never at risk of going to war; I was too young for Vietnam (fortunately) and had access to doctors, medicine and affordable housing-- in Manhattan. The country was in the midst of a technical revolution. Gas was cheap and educational opportunities abounded (I did not pay for my master degrees and my BS cost relatively little). You were essentially free to do anything you wanted. I could get in my car and drive 3,000 miles without a visa or anyone's permission. On so many levels, all things considered, me and my contemporaries, really had it made. The idea someone like Trump could become president would have been laughable. On some level, I know there may come a time where making a statement like that could actually put my life at risk... No @Cynique, I do not think you are being hyperbolic. There is cause for profound concern here. When white folks start compiling about the status quo something is SERIOUSLY wrong! White American does not really appreciate how good the actually have it. If a few more of them got a passport and traveled outside the U.S., they might get a clue. Still white folks have been so manipulated by the media they think things was far worse for them they they really are. 45 can tweet about muslims and Muslims are banned from entering the country. He can tweet about MS13 crossing our southern border and we rip families apart and put the children in kennels (this is not really done but the media say this and white people believe it). White people regularly grab a guns and go on killing sprees, the are committing suicide at alarming rates, and OD on prescription drugs. Educationally they lag the rest of the industrial world and their best and brightest work in companies building social media platforms. White people actually have it made and they are screwing the country up for no good reason, other than greed and stupidity. All the rest of us brown folk can do is watch...in horror.

Look, we all know Kaepernick's action will not have any impact whatsoever -- indeed it can be viewed as a catalyst for making things worse. From day one I always asserted that nothing short of a boycott of the NFL will make any difference, but again we will never take this action. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists during the 1968 olympics, a seminal -- arguably a more profound action -- which has resonated for 50 years, but nonetheless has resulted in no significant change. Muhammad Ali knowingly sacrificed his career and risked imprisonment refusing to go to Nam. Kaepernick's action, while commendable, does not rise to Ali's actions. Let's keep things in perspective. Colin was just some dude who got uppity, forgot who he worked for, and was summarily dismissed as a result (@Cynique wouldn't that meet your definition for "loser?") @Coach Michael Taylor, people were already aware of police brutality -- it is constantly covered in the media. @Cynique, sure he agitated the country but his message and goal of his agitation was lost. I was at a sporting event (car racing) recently and some red neck said everyone one here better stand for the flag. Again the meaning of Collins kneeling completely lost. You can not use the tools of the master to effect change -- it is impossible. Colin tried to use the NFL has a platform and they erased him and used the media to pervert his message -- even sending in the VP of the United States to walk out on a game in protest -- taking Kaepernick's protest and twisting it into an issue of patriotism. If we had conscious Black-owned media perhaps the people actually doing things of consequence would be uplifted and celebrated and maybe Colin would still have a job entertaining, and enriching, the white folks who obviously don't give a shit about him or any of us.

Well hopefully you'll never have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Yeah if your compassion is not passive, you would not survive a traffic stop here.

I guess the establishment of an Embassy in Israel is icing on the cake. Are any of the Black folks in your your neck of the woods interested in the royal wedding? Remember, you don't have to copy what I wrote in your reply.

Humm I think I know the video. It was probably because it was a one shot take (basically live) and in those circumstances it is best to have a script. Otherwise one has to be extremely knowledgeable about the books you are discussing and have talent for speaking off the cuff. I was probably a bit more self conscious about what I was saying about those books. I could see how that would come across as tentative.

@Pioneer1, I'm not confused. But it is pointless to argue over geography because maps clearly show Morocco and Egypt are in Africa. As far as the Middle East is concerned it was something created by white folks, like the national borders of present day Africa, created without regard to the cultures or input from the people who lived there. If your definition of being in the middle East is, "CONTROLLED by Arabs and it's culture," how do you explain Israel? Besides you, who else considers Morocco to be in the Middle East? No need to bring in issues of politics, religion, or the white man into this. Just admit you made a mistake, learn from the experience, and move on -- what is the big deal? ------------- Hey @Kalexander2 no need to copy the entire post of someone you are replying too -- especially when your reply immediately follows (just a tip to reduce clutter in the conversations)

So you are saying Syrians are culturally the same as Egyptians, and Israelis the same as iranians?! Latin America and the middle east are not analogous at all. You are the first person i ever heard say morroco was in the middle east. This is high school geography and you presumably have the internet at your disposal.... smh

...but this will never happen unless white people throw us out -- all of us -- not just one or two.

Yeah if you can find the video (or audio) I might be able to explain why I sounded the way I did. I can't recall ever feeling tentative -- but hey you can't remember everything:-)

2018 National Poetry Month Contest Winners Listed below are the winners from the 2018 National Poetry Month contest. Nubian Poets would like to salute all the contestants from across the United States and overseas who entered our contest. 1st PLACE: $250 - "Love Poem to an ASD* Lover” by Nubia Kai Washington, DC 2nd PLACE: $100 - “Blerd Love” by Steven Van Patten Brooklyn, NY 3rd PLACE: $75 - “Heart’s Eyewitness” by Cynthia Harris-Allen South Euclid, OH HONORABLE MENTION (alphabetical order): 1. “Untitled" by Jazmin Boyce: Decatur, GA 2. “He was Laid to Rest Today” by Debra Burroughs: Long Beach, CA 3. “Never Say” by Sharon Thomas Cash: Lithonia, GA 4. “Bond of Love” by Conzella Estes: Durham, NC 5. “AMOUR NOIR (Black Love)” by Cassandra Roberson-Caldwell: Murrieta, CA All honorable mention winners will receive a gift certificate.

@Pioneer1 the problem is that white people put Egypt which is firmly on the African Continent in a nonsensically named place they made up called the "middle East." Clearly Egypt is in Africa -- full stop, end of story.

Yeah there is a difference between speaking white an articulating properly, but is has to do with accent and word choice. There are some ways of speaking that just turns me off, l have you heard of "upspeak?" Young social media techies use it a lot and I have to work at not shutting down when they start to talk. They also like to start a sentence with "So..." Yeah, I did not think I sounded like a white person. The person who told me that probably did not like me very much. Pioneer, I doubt anyone who knows me would describe me as shy. Now I'm not the "life-of-the-party" extrovert, but I'm not shy.

Actually I previously shared this article here. But I'm sharing again because I'm testing a service called Sniply, where you share a link to an article like this one: http://snip.ly/3yiffg and when the reader visits the site a pop-up appears with a link back to you site. Pretty clever huh? The site provides analytics and more. I know this is wonky webmaster stuff

@Kalexander2, Please no name calling in this conversation. I deleted a couple of words above. To be clear, this website is a commercial, for profit, entity. But as previously stated money, unlike a corporate site, it not the primary goal. Most of the ads are for other books, but you'll also notice some google ads here as well. Speaking of subscriptions, you may subscribe here. K2 I appreciate the explanation of your engagement with Del and Pioneer it seems forthright. No one is above reproach, and you are not the first poster to be immature or vicious; I just prefer it none of us made it a habit. I think @Cynique has been the target of the most vicious and mean spirited things anyone has ever said on these forums. To her credit she never seemed to take things seriously or internalize them. In fact, she even advocated for her attackers! I've been attacked viciously as well. There is at least one racist troll I secretly enjoy because they are just funny. I've even saved some of them anti-Troy racist memes. I mean they really put time and effort into insulting me. I've had to delete accounts, ban ip address, and more to keep them at bay. You can't start crying everytime some insults you on the web. I know kids are killing themselves over Facebook posts and I find this profoundly sad... @Delano, above all I want people to; (1) express themselves freely. Perhaps more freely than they can in real life, where you don't have the opportunity to think about what you are saying or to be influenced by visual cues or the reaction of the person you are talking to. (2) I'd also hope that people do learn something. I know I have, I for example have learned a lot more about climate change and race, just during the course of debating or teaching here. I've also changed my position on a number of things based upon things said here -- often in ways that I did not anticipate. Most recently, for example, I used to be a fan of Dr. Umar Johnson, until I watched more of his videos (thanks to Pioneer) and realized that I don't support much of what he exposes... As you said Del, I'm the moderator and the owner, but you'll also notice outside of this conversation I have not deleted a single post in Pioneer's and K2's insulting each other. Again I want people to freely express themselves, but the ongoing bickering tended to obscure interesting conversations which prevented people from learning from those conversations.

Yeah, I stopped bothering to code switch decades ago. Once I left the 'hood it was no longer necessary. I'm sure I sound like a "white boy" to folks who live where I grew up

@Delano, if I was solely interested in driving traffic (read: maximizing revenue), this would be a completely different website.

Women C.E.O.s and founders of color make up a small portion of entrepreneurs who have reached the top. Each one of the women in this group tableau has raised $1 million or more in outside capital, (read the full article) Lisa Skeete Tatum, co-founder and C.E.O., Landit. Heather Hiles, founder and former C.E.O., Pathbrite (sold company to Cengage Learning in 2015). Marla Blow, founder and C.E.O., FS Card. Helen Adeosun, co-founder and C.E.O., Care Academy. Morgan DeBaun, founder and C.E.O., Blavity. Jean Brownhill, founder and C.E.O., Sweeten. Marah Lidey, co-founder and co-C.E.O., Shine. Kristina Jones, co-founder, CourtBuddy. Sherisse Hawkins, co-founder and C.E.O., Pagedip. Etosha Cave, founder, Opus 12. Tanisha Robinson, founder, Print Syndicate. Catherine Mahugu, founder, Soko. Alicia Thomas, co-founder and C.E.O., Dibs. Kellee James, founder and C.E.O., Mercaris. Viola Llewellyn, co-founder and president, Ovamba. Reham Fagiri, co-founder and C.E.O., AptDeco. Camille Hearst, co-founder and C.E.O., Kit. Alexandra Bernadotte, founder and C.E.O., Beyond 12. K. J. Miller, co-founder, Mented Cosmetics. Nicole Neal, co-founder and C.E.O., Noodle Markets. Amanda E. Johnson, co-founder, Mented Cosmetics. Cheryl Contee, co-founder and strategic adviser, Attentive.ly. Asmau Ahmed, founder, Plum Perfect. Star Cunningham, founder and C.E.O., 4D Healthware. Jewel Burks, co-founder and C.E.O., Partpic (sold company to Amazon in 2016). Jessica O. Matthews, founder and C.E.O., Uncharted Power. Photograph by Mark Seliger. ...I wonder if any of these sisters are single and interested in "marrying down"

@Chevdove, often merely disagreeing with something is seen as a personal attack. There are people I can't even have a conversation with because if I disagree with them they take it personally -- and that is in the real world where I'm not nearly as direct as I am here. The other problem is everyone is different. Take Pioneer's demand for an apology for example. He feels K2 crossed a line and now he deserves an apology But he can't see that the line he created is purely arbitrary, of his own making, and no one else is bound to accept it. That does not mean his line is wrong or right, but I'm not going to ban people crossing every arbitrary line that someone has crossed. K2 could simply invoke some arbitrary line that Pioneer crossed and demand an apology too. This is a lose-lose scenario @Pioneer1 banning you both would obviously bring an end to the bickering. But again, I would not do that because you are both capable of making meaningful contributions to the forum and I don't ban people for getting into arguments -- these things happen. It is just this argument has gone on for sometime and I was curious what you other people really thought about it. {Donning my hotep hat} It does pain me to see two Black Kings tearing each other down.

Word. Actually Chevdove created her account several years ago, I'm not sure why she just started regularly. We get scores of new registrants every month, but outside of those looking to get their book reviewed few actually post.

@Mel Hopkins Yes arbitrary, subjective, and often unjust -- particularly as they relate to Black people. Mel do you think Harry would marry Gabby? Does anyone here think he would (for all the reasons one might image) or am I just making stuff up? Ebony is far from the magazine it once was. I've written about that here a couple of times here, but Ebony is not unique. We have lost so much media there is not one Black owned daily newspaper in all of America --despite all of our education, wealth, and talent.

Don't hold your breath. 45 is an easy target and comforting a gang is a whole 'nother ball game. Many of the problem was have we can solve ourselves, but we don;t because we've been largely trained to support the entities that don;t care about us, while not supporting each other. I don't know how to change that other than trying not to do it myself.

K2 I've deleted a portion of your comment for the reason previously discussed. Again the rule applies only to this to this conversation. Cynique makes a good point if the barbs witty and clever AND written in jest it is all good -- indeed desirable. And the fact she stopped reading the posts was what I was afraid of happening. If she is not reading them why would someone, who is new, read them? @Chevdove, waded through the morass and made some excellent contributions only to inquire why did the conversation go south? Her question was part of the motivation for this discussion Mel, K2 as far as a vote down button. I'm sure that would not have any effect. Indeed Pioneer does not even use the like feature. Generally, if I disagree with something I express that disagreement with words. But I'll check to see if the software has a dislike or down vote options. You can currently block a posters comments, allowing you to completely ignore another poster. That approach is pretty heavy handed, but it has been used by some. Well, I look forward to more comments.

Sure Mel commodities have value, but the value must be the same for each unit for it to be a commodity. If every ounce of gold had a different price it could not be traded reliably and would not be a commodity. The way you are using the word is confusing for this reason. If your point is to say that people have value; I say of course they do. Or are you saying that we all have the same value, and this is why "marrying up" does not make sense? ---- K2 by your description Mehgan is like any woman. Again this is a notion that I reject because not all women (or men) are the same, some have more "value" than others when it comes to marriage. The reality is marriage, at least a successful one, is more like a great business relationship with "benefits."