Troy

Oh brother... I'm not defending the white woman for she was stupid too -- and i have already made that clear. But is that the real crux of your problem with my opinion on this subject? Is your hatred of Miss Ann that deep, that my unwillingness to jump on the overt racism band wagon cause for you describing me as coming to her defense ...please. You are older @Cynique and have a recollection of what real, overt racism actually looks like -- when it was codified into our laws. No, those days are over and no amount of hyberbolic handwringing over a dumb altercation will convince me we are back in 1850, or even 1950. Are Black people (actually poor and working class people of all colors) out the woods yet? Heck no. But we've come a long way and this altercation is the least of our worries. There are people who are homeless because of racism and all our attention is on these too dimwits. No, I'm sorry, I can't brong myself to care about this particular cry of racism.

Actually, I was unaware that the woman called the police. So what? Homie obviously made it home, as he recorded that too. What did the police do when the showed up? Was he arrested, choked out, what? What did the police do to cause you so much distress @Chevdove? Oh Brother..., something tells me much of this is in your imagination -- particularly given your reaction to the apartment story. I've been to St Louis a number of times over the years and have never experienced such "tension." @Cynique, I'm not trying to get you to change you mind. I'm trying to understand your reasoning and to express my own. I'm glad you clarified your son position regarding the "Arab's." This is important because people tend to group all kinds or unrelated situations and behaviors as if they are all connected -- when they are not. So while there are people who treat Blacks with open hostility there are many more who do not. Now for sometime who consumes a daily diet of these types of videos and related alarmist opinions and rhetoric via on social media, I can see where one might think there is a rabid white racist in every corner. Now I'm not naive I recognize racism is a problem in this country, indeed it is one reason I run this site. But you too are going off the deep end with this stupid apartment building story. If this is your evidence of a racist American I guess we have come a long way. There was a time when a surly negro, like my man with a video camera, would be swinging from a tree -- here's to progress ladies 🙂

@Cynique I fail to see why your son not wanting "arabs" immigrating into this country is racist. Is Arab now a race? Perhaps his reluctiance to have arabs come into the country has more to do with the perceived threat of terrorism or perhaps Islam than what you are calling racism. We agree on the racist nature of Americans origin. Yes yellow journalism is nothing new. But surely you're not trying to compare the 24/7 hour per day social media fueled "journalism," from a century ago? Cynique, I'm not trying to minimize the situation. The situation is minimal on its own. Even if we knew for certain that the woman racially profiked that "man," surely you have to admit that there are many more things of significance that occur on a daily basis. Now that I know your actual motivation for seeing this story being shared is the opportunity to spite white folks. Because obviously this situation on its own merits does not warrant much attention. Still even rubbing white folks noses in their racism is not worth it in this case. It strikes me as trifling.

This is indeed a really good question. No one person as the answer, but collectively we do. Hopefully they'll be some good responses.

@Cynique, it seems you are viewing my positions as absolute. You seem to believe, or at least you often suggest, that I don't believe any Trump supporters are racist. I do believe 45 has racist supporters; the Klan obviously supports 45 and that support appears to be mutual. I just don't believe they ALL are racist, your son is a perfect example of this. I've never engaged with a trump supporter on social media, but I have in the real world. Of course there are profound differences between engagement on Facebook and in real life -- so much so I would never equate the two, because they are so different. No, the media is not perfect, nothing is perfect. Again, I try to consume news from a variety of sources. Social media is simply not part of my mix for the reasons discussed. While I don't read my social media news feeds or watch network news I'm not a hermit and I'm exposed to these sources, so I can still speak from experience. When I'm on Youtube I'm usually looking for a specific video or substantive information about a person or subject. Substantive information is simply not on facebook or twitter, so I don't spend much time there. Yesterday, I was interested in learning way to convert a ONIX file for books into a format that I could use to update my database. I looked at videos in XML, JSON, AJAX, JQuery and Javascript. Youtube, despite your seemingly passive disparagement of it actually has useful information. Facebook and Twitter do not. I don't learn anything useful on those platforms. Facebook and twitter are consumed passively by most people. Users scroll through a news feed designed to keep them focused on the platform for the maximum amount of time. The draw is extremely powerful. I had to remove the applications from my cell phone otherwise I too would be compelled to spend every idle second scrolling or swiping. I'm at the point now where I view those platforms as not just a waste of time, but actually detrimental. But I don't look down on people who use these platforms, because they are human. I do a few things I should not do too; it is part of the human condition. Perhaps it is why I'm not so hostile against all 45 supporters -- even the racist ones. The American culture is quite good at creating racists. The media, and social media in particular, has helped a great deal in creating racists... look at who is in the whitehouse. People see the silly altercation between the Black man and white woman as proof the country is full of racists. The number of videos showing these things is just fuel to the fire. Racists have their world views reinforced and people previously able to think objectively about something are now polarized. No, this is can not possibly be a situation of a woman trying to prevent a non-tenant from entering her building -- it must be proof of racism! No other options can be entertained. Fifteen years ago no one would have even seen this video, and it would never have risen to the level of national prominence. Home boy would have had to handle the situation like an adult man. Again, our society is less well off because of this.

@dlgrowe, I don't recall seeing this post before now. I'm actually working on an update for this site that will allow visitors to easily discover books, written by Black people, in this category. The are a number of categories in which books can be found (see below). I plan to apply categories to all of the books on the website (about 12K) to make in these categories more easily discoverable. For example if you can click the following link if you are looking for books dealing with Religion / Christian Life / Women’s Issues. There are only a few books that have been categorized thus far, but when I'm done you'll find hopefully find the books you are looking for. AALBC does have many books for young children and it is growing. Historically, however, we have focused on secular books for adults, so I don't think we will have many book that fit into the categories below. I just ran a rough search for titles in these categories and I did not find any written by any a Back authors that I could identify. That does not mean they don't exist, but as the premise of this post suggests there may not have been very many published. When there is an expressed demand for specific types of book I attempt to meet that demand. As always when you discover books please post them here so that other can learn about them too. Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations / Christmas & Advent Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Action & Adventure Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Animals Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Bedtime & Dreams Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Comics & Graphic Novels Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Early Readers Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Emotions & Feelings Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Family Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Fantasy & Science Fiction Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Friendship Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / General Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Historical Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Holidays & Celebrations Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Humorous Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Learning Concepts Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Mysteries & Detective Stories Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / People & Places Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Relationships Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Social Issues Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Sports & Recreation Juvenile Fiction / Religious / Christian / Values & Virtues

No, I don't give the the media any slack because they know better but are seemingly only concerned with profit. People on the other had are victims of the media. We depend upon an unbiased media to do the work we can not possibly perform ourselves. For example, there are people who don't believe that man made climate change is real, I don't blame them; I blame our media. I listened to that women (Candice something or other) in the video with seth rogan, say she did a "deep dive" into the subject and came away completely doubting climate change -- very possible because there is plenty of information out there -- This is assuming she was being completely honest (which is suspect if you ask me). Similarly, when people embrace 45 as a great businessman and effective president I don't blame them because there is plenty of media outlet pushing this narrative. It does not require 'bending over backwards," all it requires is simple observation and willingness to see something from someone else's perspective. But this is a point we'll have to disagree on. @Cynique do you know any 45 supporters, have you spoken to any? I know a few and have spoken to others none of them stuck me as racist (most were Black). Like politics, religion, and climate change, once people commit to a position it takes something very serious to get them to change. @Mel Hopkins, I understand voter suppression is rampant in your Georgia. Some of the strategies are quite sophisticated. It is the same here in florida. we have a measure on our ballot to give felons who have completed their sentences the right to vote. Seems like a no brainer, but those opposed feel this gives criminals more rights than their victims. This is just another tactic to suppress the votes of democrats... Your Stacey Abrams election will be quite telling. I not sure anything as changed as far as people are concerned -- wanting more attention or have they civil right violated. What has changed however it that people seeking attention have a platform, called social media. Again, I'd be willing to bet none of the men I know would not have shot a video of the woman and put it on twitter or Facebook. They would have used their key or shoved her aside.

@Cynique I believe America has always been crazy, the the election of 45 just made it as obvious as ever. However I don't let mainstream and social media off the hook. They provided a tremendous, free, platform for donald trump to reach the masses. Starting with the "reality TV show that created the fiction of Trump being a great business leader, which many people continue to believe. Keep in mind, while there are certainly racist, disgruntled, and all the other groups of people you describe who voted for Trump, you are neglecting the people who voted for him because the buy into his narrative -- completely, and without reservation AND who are not racist. These people may live in a pro trump bubble. Where all they hear is how great the country is doing; we have more jobs that there are people available to do them; the stock markets are at an all time high; and 45 is responsible. You better hope the Mueller investigation takes 45 down because he'll likely survive for a 2nd term. That "woman of color", Warren, has zero chance. 45 picks these prospective candidates off the fish in a barrel. He is actually quite good at playing the media in this regard. While the country is crazy I don't think the people are inherently crazy. I think living here, under the 24/7 influence of marketers and young white men who now run the media, is making us crazy. I know most people like to diminish the impact of the media, perhaps because they feel unaffected by it, but the evidence is pretty clear. Our making 45 the president should be evidence enough... We call 45 crazy, but we really need to look in the mirror.

@Chevdove this is hyperbolic, no one's "life was destroyed." The Brother will be fine, and I'm sure he is basking in his 5 seconds of fame. Still, it is not clear from your response whether you believe this woman should have lost her job. Chevdove I told you I've seen many Black women go off on white men on the subway. You did not take me at my word and told me you found it "hard to believe". I easily find an example and you tell me you were already familiar with it?! I'm confused... are you saying the Black people don't profile white people? Chevdove I'll let you in on a secret; we all profile people. We observe people and we prejudge them based upon cultural stereotypes and personal experiences. This is natural and perhaps necessary for survival. I'm not saying we are always correctly assess people when we do this but again we all do it. This does not give us license to shoot a someone driving down the street.guy driving down the street (incidentally putting this in the same category with a guy being challenged when entering a building is a bit extreme don't you think?) @Cynique I seem to recall the woman was married to a Black guy. It seems to me someone who is actually married to a Black man would be a bit more sensitive to the issues we face. Still I'm not saying the women did not racially profiles the man -- neither one of us can know whether she did or not (she denies it). What we do know is that the situation escalated unnecessarily. Are you kidding me?! I've spend the better part of my adult life trying to "rock the boat." As far as the survey you are citing I'd have to see it. I suspect you are drawing conclusions it did not make. Please share a link. The fact of the matter is there are white people who voted for Obama twice and then voted for 45. At least 10% of Black people voted for 45 a well. Racism does not explain the behavior of these voter. Were there racist that voted for Trump ? Of course! Racists vote in every election for both republicans and democrats. Look, I'm not saying racism doesn't exist. One of the reasons I run this site is in direct reaction to racism. I'd also argue one of the reason this site has a harder way to go than a comparable white site is also because of racism. So we will continue to disagree on the relevance of this situation. I've seen way too much that is far more significant to make a federal case over some dude being prevented from enter a building without using his key.

@Chevdove yes the woman handled the situation poorly. You believe this deserved national attention. I don't. Do you also believe she should have lost her her job as a result? If every perceived instance of so called racial profiling made national news we would not have time to report on anything else. I've been racially profiled more times than I can count and you know so what -- no only really cares -- nor should they. People are getting locked for petty bullshit and murdered. People are homeless and don't have clean drinking water. They deserve some attention... So some women stopped this dude from entering coming in behind her -- big deal. Let her close the door and use his key -- end of story. The little baby posted the video on social media and now we are supposed to react as if he was lynched -- come on! Surely there are better things to worry about.. right? If nike makes a commercial with this dude in it I will puke -- swear to God. Visit NYC and ride the subway you'll see Black women curse white guys out all the time, for a wide variety of personal slights both real and perceived. In fact I just ran a search on "Black women cursing out white men" and the first thing that came up was a sista going off on a guy on the NYC subway: https://nypost.com/2018/05/28/black-woman-goes-on-angry-rant-against-jewish-man-on-subway/ Again this is not unusual; I've been this many times, so the idea that someone posted it on twitter is no at all surprising. The local paper copied this up on Twitter and "reported" on it on the website. Again this is a poor use of journalistic resources -- welcome to 2018... modern journalism. Chevdove should this be national news too? Should this Black woman lose her job too?

Maybe Kanye needs to be enslaved, or at least not treated as if every word out his mouth matters or is relevant. The media coverage of Kanye is boring; too bad it is so difficult to avoid haring about him.

@Cynique are you seriously saying that women deserved to lose her job over not allowing that man to enter her building?! I doubt you've lived in a building like this, don't have a frame of reference to base your opinion, and are relying on the reactionary uninformed opinions of the social media mob. If this is what you mean by "upgrading," I'll happily remain in the dark ages. Of course that situation would have been handled completely differently were two "adults" involved. Instead you had two people behaving like babies; a grown man running to social media like a pu--y and a woman acting like she owned the damn building. Meanwhile, the network news feeds into this stupidity by broadcasting as it was newsworthy. Again, two reasonable adults would have easily dealt with the situation and we could be talking about something more substantive. Seriously, Cynique and Chevdove, think for a moment; do either of you truly believe the altercation between this man and the would warranted national attention; that somehow your knowledge of this engagement makes you more knowledgeable, informed... better off? This is not an example of racism; this is an example of stupidity and a reflection of the fact that our news media now trolls social media for things to cover -- this is rather pathetic if you ask me and not a reflection of progress. @Chevdove I already said I had not real issue with the man filming the woman calling the police based upon what I saw -- at least not enough to discuss it. I would however stop short of jumping to the conclusion that it would have been a "terrible outcome for him." I also don't like the idea of lump all of these incidents into the same bucket as if they were all related and evidence of the same thing. Again, I understand social media does not handle nuisance or complexity very well. As far a Black women stepping to white men. Come to NYC you'll find no shortage of sistas willing to do this -- trust. I see it all the time.

@Chevdove "Polite" people do not film personal interactions and put them on social media. While this is legal, I think it is rude and an invasion of one's privacy. As far as the last video, the brother seemed to be filming a protest and appears to have caught a woman lying to police about the nature of the protest. I don't have a problem with this one -- based upon what I see here. It is interesting that all of the videos have been turned into "news" stories and have been reported on network TV. Seems to be lazy journalism, if you ask me, and not very elucidating. Is this what broadcast news looks like now? I stopped watching this type of news before the rise of the internet, it looks like it has continued to go downhill... I see why so many people get their news from social media; why watch it on TV when you get get the same information on twitter, and probably with better insight.

Seems like another situation blown out of proportion by social media. The lady did not know the man and had no obligation to let him into the building. It never would have occurred to me to whip out my cell phone record the interaction and put it online. I would have simply let the woman close the door and entered with my own key fob. Simple. People who live in these types of buildings know this. Besides, "Luxury" apartment buildings have doormen to handle these situations.

This information is not exactly revelatory Del. What is interesting is Twitter releasing the data. I dont believe for one second that this is all of it or that Twitter even knows the full scope of the problem. They should also help the publuc understand just how there platform is gamed by monied interests and it is not just Russians manipulating us. Our president regularly uses Twitter to play the media.

@Delano Would you correct the typos. What you wrote is unclear to me. Thanks.

The notion that all we know, all that we can know, and even all that is knowable is locked into the gray matter between our ears seems unlikely. The majority of the "stuff" that is in outer space scientists have no clue what it is made up of. I suspect the same is true of consciousness. But I don't know perhaps it is just wishful thinking.

Well the African Nations are an artificial constructs created by Europeans a little over a century ago, with zero consideration for the cultures present, when they carved up the continent up for themselves. The national boundaries are their invention, so they can talk about amongst themselves anyway they choose and they do. They put Egypt (Kemet) outside of Africa (Alkebulan) long ago. They had to remove the great technological achievement from being associated with Black people. Why do you listen to what Melania was doing over there anyway? Again, this is just white people talking amongst themselves -- I guess to make themselves think this first family is not the complete freaking dysfunctional disaster that it is...

Ah the four horsemen, Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins (I forget the other dude's name). Actually @Pioneer1 I would listen to these white men over some "nicca" on the social media, They are very smart, informed, articulate, and not afraid to risk ruffling feathers -- very interesting guys. @Cynique Thank you. But it will do no good. @Pioneer1 is convinced racism is the root of all society ills - remove racism and everyone would be living in perfect harmony. We'd all be Kings and Queens living in Africa in the world of Wakanda were it not for white racism, right Pioneer?

I believe we are all geniuses in one way or another. Sometimes it is a matter of luck whether one's genius is discovered and also valuable. There are people who are "super recognizers" meaning they can see a face once and always remember it. These people are highlightly sort after by police departments, many super recognizers do not realize they are genius at this particular skill -- assuming that everyone was like them. Being genius at putting a inflated ball through a hoop, 10 feet off the ground, is a very valuable skill today but completely useless for most of humanity's time on Earth. Einstein was both smart and inspired. As a theoretician he had to be really good at math but it was his thinking out the box really set him apart allowing him literally rewrite the laws of physics by intuiting the warpage of space/time -- something that escaped another genius, Newton.

Yeah FDR died two decades before I was born. Back then the differences between the parties were much less stark. It also seems there was less corporate control over politicians -- at lest it was not so obvious.

OK got it. It may take a minute for me to get to this, as I'll fully engaged now, but I will. BTW @Valjeanne Jeffers, ASINs don't have meaning outside of Amazon (some booksellers might take offense 😉), though for printed books this number is usually the ISBN10 (which are always 10 digits long).

Well there is indeed cause for concern. Liberals are like sheep who are easily led to a slaughter -- "...surely my fellow man can't possibly be this evil!? What harm could possibly come to me?" I believe the fundamental difference between the left and right are genetic. Some people are predisposed to be conquered and others are more predisposed to be conquered. The right gets off on raping, pillaging, and plundering. I'm totally serious. This is one of the reason they love weapons. A few hundred years from now people be learning about "45" and what a great leader he was. Sure these people may be living in some dystopian mad-max like future. But history has a tendency to repeat. The sad part is, unlike most of the people in the past, we have access to history. We are just too greedy and stupid to learn from it.

But @Delano I feel like I'm missing something. Why is this significant?