Troy

We'll it was always, ultimately, going to be a wrap. I just expected it to be on the order of an eon not a few generations. I did notice my car does not catch nearly as many bugs as it once did, and I drive quite a lot. I also noticed that I never see caterpillars in NYC anymore. When I was a kid they were all over the place. I

I'm doing no such thing. You are taking it that way for some reason. I assume you are not questioning my respect for Black women. If you are I'll let me behavior and record speak for itself. If you mean in general, again. I disagree. Again, @Delano use YOUR words and tell me what you mean. I watched the video but you need to explain what you are talking about for the sake of clarity of nothing else. You tell me to ask, but when I do you rarely answer. You speak for others but lately, not for yourself.

Here is a store which sold a terrific assortment of collectible books. The store was directly across the street fro Eso Won, the bookstore featured in the article linked in the Tweet.

I feel l like you are mincing words to make a point, sort of like the "help versus assist" The implication is that once your kid reached a certain age they became independent and no longer need your protection. Are Black women the same? Do they ever reach a point when they no longer need protection from men? If not why not? What makes them different than your daughters?

I skimmed the tweets in the thread you linked to (embedded below) but did not see an article. As you know, i dont read tweets for information -- especially ones that start like this obscentiy laced comment. There is no science to support an out of India theory that @Pioneer1 but who knows...

Have read you about this group? I havent but everthing i heard said noone knows anything abour them. Why do you say they were decimated?

Thanks @Kalexander2. Your contribution should go to the Literary Freedom Project. Just in case there is a rip in the fabric space/time and we find ourselves in an alternative reality in which you win, please share the name of your charity.

Because he is. Inorder to make that statements he made he had to be speaking on behalf of women. He obviously does not believe men do not protect women, because this is what he has said. Malcolm was also speaking for women. Look, if you want men to protect you at some point men will have to speak for you. You cant have it both ways. If you are so fixated on agency then you better be prepared to take care of yourself (not you specifically, but Black women in general). What @Mel Hopkins are YOU saying (of course anyone may answer) when you say Black men don't protect Black women? What are we collectively not doing that we should be doing?

What do you think @Delano? This quote was particularly telling: "The current worldwide loss of biodiversity is popularly known as the sixth extinction: the sixth time in world history that a large number of species have disappeared in unusually rapid succession, caused this time not by asteroids or ice ages but by humans." Someone pass me a beer.

@harry brown, yes where is he? Where are any of us? As (I) discussed, Colin's platform was his master's plantation, the NFL. Once he got booted he had no platform. It is not his fault. It is ours. We own no large platforms to communicate our outrage, so we are dependent upon those you don't have our interests in mind. Whenever what we find important is no longer important to them it is made unimportant. I'm sure Colin, like the rest of us, is outraged by police killings of our people, unless they choose to share our outrage, on their platforms, who would know? I'm glad that woman cop got locked up; that situation was particularly egregious.

I don't know what you mean? No, but i was cosigning @Pioneer1's observation that you always side with the women on these debates -- even going so far as talking lead in exchanges. Recall when i asked you how @Mel Hopkinsthought about an issue recently. I did that because you were speaking for women in the conversation. Mel came in late and completely missed what I was doing and accused me of taking away her agency when i was actually emphasizing the fact that you had no problem speaking for women. Also i was not making a value judgment about your ability to think like a woman. Are you? Some women may find that trait appealing.

Nah @Delano I dont have the knowledge to debate you on Astrology. It would be silly to try now if i did not previously know how much you knew i might try, but once it became clear i would just sit down and listen. Now i did not agree with your Astrological prediction about 45 leaving office before the end of the year, but i did not disagree based up your astrology -- which i never challenged. I disagreed based upon other sources.

December is 31 days long. As long as a month gets, but not long enough my friend.

Mainstream media is not really interested in depth, complexity, nuance, or even the truth when it comes to our story. The notion that Black books stores have come back or are coming back is one I've read a few stories about recently. Most look at my list of Black-owned bookstores, quote the number, and keep it moving. Why we have so fewer stores is the bigger story. What does it say about a culture in which a Black indie bookstore can not thrive? I guess it is the same one that locks so many of its Black citizens or takes away their vote. Meanwhile, Black-owned indie book websites are virtually nonexistent. A story that has never been covered, to my knowledge. I guess this coverage is better than nothing and if the additional exposure gets the stores more coverage I really can't complain too vehemently.

Often I complain about how the NY Times covers Black people -- but this, this right here, is great!. Now people will argue about the authors NOT included and that is fine, but these presentation is spectacular. You all know how often I lament the invisibility of Black men. This is the opposite of that. A artistically grand presentation of Black men -- covering broad full spectrum of manhood (from an earlier discussion 😉 ) Follow this link to read the article and watch the video. Enjoy.

Sure, I would not be surprises if 45 did not finish his term, but it is virtually 100% certain that he will finish the year. WIth your money I'm going to the casino and bet $50 on Black!

Wow, they are Black people. I had no idea. I've been meaning to look them after hearing that story. They are lucky this is not the 15 century because they would have been annihilated or enslaved.

No it is not that deep @Pioneer1. I can disagree and agree with anyone on this forum on any given the issue -- and change my stance given additional thought and debate. There is no hidden agenda, at least on my part. I will never debate @Delano on astrology because his knowledge far exceeds mine on the subject. I will always listen to @Cynique when she describes anything from a past that she lived and I only read about, Indeed I relish these stories and would allow ask question rather than argue with her about her experience. As far as this trivial debate about the your failure to recognize that Help and Assist are synonymous is nothing more than that - trivial. What I find surprising is that after all these years you will never change your stance on any issue -- even when you are demonstrably wrong, like now. The question you really be considering is why? Why are you so rigid? (I bet Del could guess you zodiac sign 🙂 I'm thinking you're a Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius). Why won't you take in information and use it to advance your understanding of, as in this case the English language 😉

Well I'm not Muslim @Mel Hopkins and have no intentions on joining the NOI, so my defense of them can only go so far, as I have limited knowledge of them. I never got the impression the NOI only protected "their" Black women to the exclusion of other black women. In any event, Black people of all genders and even class are all largely unprotected in American culture. It is one reason why young people join gangs or frats/sororities. Now we debate who is the MOST unprotected, but it makes little sense given we are all in the same boat. I made this observation too, but I also realize masculinity falls on a spectrum and some guys will think more like a woman than others. There is a notion, which I reject, that suggests that there are no inherent differences between men and women (other than our sex organs). I think the failure to knowledge, understand, and embrace these differences has caused a lot of confusion in our culture. Again we all fall on a spectrum so while the average man is taller than the average woman there are plenty of woman who are taller than men. Likewise there guys who think more like a woman than some women.

OK @Pioneer1, my Brother, carry on.

Hi @VernaPolitics I hope you don't me replying in our forum rather than theirs. My thoughts: if you consider getting stabbed with a 6 inch knife and having it pulled out 3 inches progress. Verna, we are FAR from making a comeback. I know this sentiment is not what people want to hear and goes counter to what you are reading in mainstream media. I'm sorry, but we have lost a great deal and 100 Uncles Bobbies (with all due respect, a coffee shop that sells a few books) will not make up for what we've lost.

No, no these words are not at all interchangeable and it is not a good analogy. SMH LOL! It is like say "water" and "current" are interchangeable. A current, like a wind is independent of the respective medium or water or air.

@Mel Hopkins, I pretty certain I did not put the condition of "muslim" when I gave Malcolm as an example of protecting Black women which was what was asked. In any case that was not my intent. Besides no single Black man can protect all Black women. That would require a collective effort. But to your point of protecting Black women I was thinking from the perspective of the individuals. But if you want to say that as a group Black women are unprotected sure I see your point now. Black men are largely unprotected as well. Neither can protect the other unless they can protect themselves, when I argue we can't. Our businesses struggle more than they should because we largely don't look out for them. We say how much faster and cheaper Amazon is -- ignoring their benefits and without investing in our own businesses. I have support, but not nearly enough to make me immune to Google, Amazon and social media. What support I do have is the only reason I'm here after 20 years but the next 20 are FAR from guaranteed, if our people chase then embrace shiny object white folks dangle in front of us whether it is AOL, Myspace, Facebook,... then that is all we will have. Dag! LOL. No Islam is not for everyone. But they, as a group, protect their women. I also wonder not so cavalierly dismiss the NOI as misogynist -- mainstream american culture is far more misogynist. On of my favorite speakers is Dr Minister Ava Muhammad. Sh ios a power sister, but you read about here in Essence...

Yeah James is an iconic figure in the Book industry. It is hard to believe it is the ONLY Black owned bookstore in Los Angeles, CA -- a city of more than 400K Black people.... Then again NYC have 5 times that many Black people and only has one general interest Black owned bookstore too (if you don't count church book stores). @Cynique james was the Black Pack Party in Chicago that you attended.

@Pioneer1 sorry man the words are interchangable, though as Del suggested assist sounds a more proper or formal You can HELP someone in being a drug addict by giving them more drugs.You can HELP an alcoholic by handing them a bottle. No where in the definition of the word "help" is there a guarantee of a positive outcome. Help or assistance that ultimately turns out to be unbeneficial does not mean help or assistance was not provided.