Troy

@Delano, since men and women need each other for survival, why can't men weigh in on the subject of feminism? It goes without saying each of us should be allowed to make out own decision about what is right for us, but our decisions should not be made in a vacuum, would you agree? I saw a woman in one of those getups that some muslim women wear, you know where only your eyes can be seen. Now I have no problem with a women wearing this if she wants. But there are some who are actively fighting against women dressing in this fashion. Many of these women are feminists -- are these feminists right or even justified in trying to erdadicate this type of restrictive and impractical clothing?

Whoa hold everything. I can't vouch for pioneers appearance -- he hides it from everone. He could be a gay, white, mason for all I know Pioneer I wonder if you would tell Odell to his face that you thought he was a white woman? Look like most dudes from the baby boomer generation I think these young cats spend way to much time at the hairdresser, but I would stop short of believing he wants to be a white woman. Michael Jackson perhaps, Odell I doubt it. He just wants attention.

What?

I took in additional, new info, and altered my opinion. Why is doing that that treated ridicule?

@Delano, I'm a little surprised at you regarding your knowledge about Black men being able to vote before white women... well maybe not so much that, because I'm pretty confident most people did not know this. But it s easy to look up I'm not even sure why you are pressing me to produce proof for something so easy to find. I don't mind quoting @Pioneer1 when he is right. If you notice he referenced history rather than saying all the Black men he knows voted before any white women he knows You won't get an argument from me about whether Black women need feminism, because they probably do. But feminism, like racism are tools used to keep us all down.

Well @Delano things look to be swaying into your favor. I still think 45 will last until the end of the year. I'm not so confident about him finishing his term.

@Delano I don't understand the point of your question. If something is "objective," by definition, we'd all need to agree on it, right? @Pioneer1, when was the last time you read a book and what was the title?

Pioneer again pointing your to web based sources are asking you to visit the library is pointless. Time and time again you've demonstrated that nothing I present will dissuade you from your beliefs. Rather than having me "prove" the validity of the data others have already collected, why don't YOU prove anything you've said. I've already asked you twice to provide proof that white women were the first to dye their hair blue or that Black women dye they hair blue to be like white women. You've ignored the questions and you'll ignore them now because you can't produce anything, besides your imagination. to substantiate your statements.

@Delano I did not write feminism is less important or even dangerous to the black cause. I'm not sure where you got that. What I'm saying is that keeping women down and Black people down are all about power. As far was Black men being allowed to vote before Black women Pioneers statement is correct and sufficient to provide the point. Black men were also able to vote throughout the country at different times as well (this you can easily find yourself). Black people were allowed to vote in NY State during the 18th century provided they met the property requirements. Of course this does not stop evil, power hungry white people from disenfranchising Black folks to this day. Today felons in the state of Florida can never vote even after they served their time. This might partially explain why Trump won the state.

@Mel Hopkins see what I mean? He's incorrigible. @Delano, when presented with facts that run counter to one's experience rational people simply update their believe system to incorporate the new information. Of course many people reject this idea because the previously held believe is too difficult to lets go of or maybe they are too lazy or dumb to think a different way. It is human nature not to change. Change is often hard and requires work. I believe this is what has made life to stressful for many over the last 50 years. What our parents knew does not help us today. What we know will not help our children. The best any of us can do learn to cope and adapt to a swiftly changing world. Otherwise you will not make it in the world, perhaps this helps explains the rise in suicide rates Here is a personal anecdote as it relates to this website. If I operated he site based upon what I knew and believed back in 1997 his site would not be here today. Virtually everything has changed since 1997. Things continue to change and change rapidly. If I failed to incorporate new information (yes @Pioneer1 facts and statistics) and apply the new knowledge, this site would be a memory. Anecdotes are important. Skillfully used they can help explain complex subjects in a way that resonates with people. However if you attempt to understand how the world works through you personal anecdotes you will virtually always be wrong. Bottom line, Pioneer you have no clue which so called race of women first dyed their hair blue. But even if you did you still no idea why some Black women choose to do it -- other than the ideas you've formulated based upon your own preconceived notions and biased personal experiences, which have no basis in reality, other what in your head. Maybe @Delano the reality in Pioneers head, or anyone's head, is the reality that you believe to be true -- as opposed to the objective reality? Is this the proper take on you accepting Pioneers ideas? Pioneer where one of those brothers that used to make fun of Black kids who spoke "proper English?" Did you tease Black kids who tried to do well in school by saying they were "acting white?" I tell you man when you say stuff like"I don't debate and discuss the way White folks TAUGHT ME to discuss and debate." It requires the same mentality and that mentality is destructive.

Yes suicide rates are going up. This may be part of the reason life expectancy is also going down.

@Mel Hopkins, one thing you have to understand about @Pioneer1, is that all of his arguments and claims are supported by personal experiences and anecdotes. Anytime these happen to mesh with reality is purely incidental. When confronted with science, data, or other facts that run counter to his opinions Pioneer summarily rejects these. Recently @Delano, has taken on what I'll call a logical relativism in which anything can be true and everyone's opinions are valid. Pioneer's positions have been bolstered by this position. Bottom line Mel do not look for studies from Pioneer and do not expect any that you present to change his mind. Now if you want to share info here to benefit lurkers and others, please so but don't expect Pioneer to be moved. He has never changed his position in anything and is indeed unique in this regard. Pioneer how, for example, do you know that white women were the first to dye their hair blue, where did you get this information? Also were white women the first to braid their hair too? Is this why Black women do it? Are they trying to look like Bo Derek or white women in general when they do this? Sadly, the suicides rates are higher for almost everybody Pioneer not just Black women. In fact, if you want to use suicide rates to bolster your argument, you should know the fact is that the suicide rates are actually highest for white men. Again, I don't expect you to look at the actual numbers or change your opinion, but others reading this may want to know the truth. Finally, Beyonce is just one product Black girls consume and is a part of an commercial ecosystem that markets to and is only concerned with profiting from all of us. Saying Beyonce is responsible for lowering Black self esteem is like saying Cardi B or Nicki Minaj are. These women, and so many more product,s are all part of a system that tends to demoralize all of us. Even white men are not immune to this.

Keep in mind that, "...men are more likely to be involved in a homicide than women. Seventy-seven percent of homicide victims are men, according to the FBI, while more than 90 percent of known offenders are male." But yes, when Black women are killed it is most like to be a spouse or intimate partner. I would argue that these Black men are taking their frustrations our on their spouses. Their anger is misdirected so their reactions are tragically inappropriate. Our upbringing, lack of education, and racist culture make this type of behavior inevitable. Has anyone noticed that white male life expectancy has gone down in a the last couple of years? They are feeling the pressure too, but have even less of a clue what is causing it.

There are more Black women in college and earning degrees than Black men. \Black women are less liked than Black men to be murdered by police, indeed murdered by anyone, We can go back and forth with these whose lives are better easier, but that is the wrong way of looking at it. Women, like Black people are, are marginalized so that the oligarchs can maintain power. The concept of "race," that so many hold on to, was used to justify the enslavement of people from the African continent. This is not to say that we should not fight racism, but we should understand where it came from. The same goes for sexism. It really has nothing to do with women; it has to do with power. The only people allowed to vote originally were rich, white landowners. This is the same goals in place today maintaining control for the wealthiest. Many don't even realize Black men were given the right to vote before white women! We should fight for equality for women but, we must be clear what the underlying problem is, because because a different tactic will be deployed to result in the same out comes if we are not careful. Civil rights activists marched for school integration and today, 60 years later, NYC schools as well as many districts across the country, are as segregated as ever. Legalized segregation has been outlawed but the desired outcomes remain the same and power is retained by those in control by virtue of great disparities in access to a quality education.

Yes the psychological problems are a bigger driver of financial problem, even bigger the the current brand of cultural racism we race today -- which is saying a lot

EIN, you know thats is right. If it were not for the current tax law AALBC.com would not exist -- full stop. So a feminist is "...a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes." Then I'm a feminist, but it just seems like anyone who believes this is just a fair human being. I don't believe men are women are the same as in interchangeable. I believe that men and women have many, often profound, differences. Differences that should be acknowledged and not ignored as if they don't matter. Am I still a feminist with this belief system?

Yes. Why, did you?

Plus tech companies know the gig economy and the low skill/wage jobs, which they drive, can not create wealth or happiness for the individuals who have no choice but to participate it.

Yeah does not surprise me. I'm never going to his festival so I don't even care...

Yeah @Mel Hopkins I'm just talking trash. I have no idea who or what type of women Bey has in her dance troupe. The last time I watched her perform was during a the superbowl when she had the sisters behind her dressed as Black Panthers (I assume that was the theme). Still I don't recall any short, plump girls with nappy hair dancing behind her. I had to look up "coachella." I never heard of this festival before you posted about it. It is still going on. It looks like whoever is running it is making a mint :-) @Pioneer1, again I assert that changing ones appearance to what you perceive to be as trying to look white is a narrow viewpoint. The sisters dying their hair blue are not trying to look white? All I'm saying is that the whole industry is far more complex that sad Black women desperately trying to look white to please Black men. White women are changing their appearances and increasing men are too. Look at Odell Beckham, is he trying to look like a white woman?

Pioneer it was not just "laziness" that stopped Black people from opening banks. There were many structural problems that make establishin a bank very difficult. Restrictions on getting property, loans, permits, etc. When I moved to Harlem I went to the big Black-owned bank in 125th street to open a business account for AALBC.com. they refused to accept my documents -- which were perfectly valid! I was disappointed and angry because I knew I was making a sacrifice using them--but I was willing to do it and they rejected me. I went down the street and opened an account with BofA. That was 18 years ago.

I do not believe 45 is a billionaire. I believe 45 is a bullshit artist. I would not liken 45 to PT Barnum, because Barum provided entertainment and never killed Syrians to distract us from his own BS. 45 is indeed a child in a fat, orange, old man's body I do not believe 45 is a genius or a brilliant marketer. I believe 45 has been bolstered by brilliant marketers, starting with the people who made him "relevant" again. I believe 45 will serve until the end of the year. It is highlighly likely he will complete his 4 year term -- unless his health or some nut takes him out first.

This young lady (the one on the right) is extremely talented. But you will never, ever see her in a Beyonce video. Perhaps she'd have a chance with straight blonde haired weave Speaking a hair colors. Our sisters have taken to wearing their hair on all the colors of the rainbow. I mean unnatural colors, for hair, like red, blue, and green. I've seen a number of young women with weaves that had the texture of yarn. The prospect of any woman wearing the hair "naturally" seems highly unlikely. I does not matter what Black men think about it. There's too much money in women's hair and marketers are far to clever and greedy. I see boys in high school rockin' hair doos that would put grown women to shame. It seems crazy to me that a 16 year-old would put that much time, and money, in their hair, but they are doing it... Oh yeah big up to Kendrick

Well you have me beat in the age department, but now understand the source of the optimism. As Kalexander said, your perspective is welcomed.

{sniffle, Sniffle} I don't believe it Pioneer and I agree on something. In the background I hear angels singing and see the clouds parting to reveal the sun and a beautiful rainbow. Strike the in every race bit and we'd be in 100% agreement. I did not know that you were white @Tanny in another post I suggested that you were a younger to explain why you were less pessimistic. But but whiteness would explain it as well. The reality is that young white people have a lot more to be optimistic about in these United States.