Troy

@Delano I find using the speech to text function works well when I post using my cell phone. Though it does sometime choose the wrong word, it is better than typing. Touché @Pioneer1 LOL! @Cynique, well I know women you can take a joke and others who can't. This is also true for men. As a guy coming up the way I did, if you could not take a joke, or took everything said to you seriously, you would never have made it... just as I wrote that I realized, in hindsight, that is probably our collective problem. We spent so much time demeaning each other it probably did have an adverse impact on our how we perceived ourselves and our potential for success... Del were you ever teased by any of the kids in your neighborhood for being smart, or going to that fancy school? I was called "brainiac." By the time I got to high school the last thing I wanted to be known for was being smart.

@Pioneer1, that is the purpose of the website; to provide a platform for authors to make readers aware of their books.

Though Mayweather and Strawberry are incredibly talented at their respective sports they are not, nor do they say they are geniuses. They do not represent most men. They are guys, like 45, who have actually had women throwing themselves at them for most of their adult lives. It is easy to understand why they might have less respect for women, than the average man, and get away with grabbing their pussies.

Pioneer Game of Thrones is an incredible production, with great writing and acting. Each episode it better than most movies. Sure it is a product of the culture which produced it. Any culture is capable of great art.

Maybe I'm just stoopid. I don't know what Del's excuse it It could be men are just dumber that women. Seriously, you can't possibly be deficient in technology. You'd run rings around most of the people I know anywhere near your age. If you think you are bad in math it is probably because you had crappy teachers when it mattered most. Nope, @Pioneer1, your problem is not syntax, just reasoning

Like white racism, I think the drivers are cultural, not inherent to the person or their gender. But keep in mind I'm not speaking in absolutes. I'm not saying there are no differences in thinking due to gender. I'm just saying there are certainly not as many as we think they are are. Most of these differences, I'm arguing, are defined in our culture; the way we are raised the media messages we are sent, etc. Not all cultures see the same differences between men and women that we do.

I'm not saying there are no gender differences, I'm just not sure the ones Cynique described are. Are you sure those influences are not based on culture? While I love me some fried chicken (I make it at least once a week), many white people love fried chicken too.

It took my site 6 years to recover. Many sites were just obliterated My site id the 2nd on the list

@Delano that is easy, because both men and women exhibit the characteristics Cynique describes. Now I know stereotypes might support the generalizations, but stereotypes don't reflect reality. If i may, I think you and I both defy cultural norms and stereotypes in a number of ways.

@NubianFellow, all you have to do, to embed a youtube video, is to post the link. It will automatically embed--unless you tell it not to. I'd like to see the video. As we speak, I'm researching the top Black owned websites. The subject is really worthy of a book. Here is a a video of a website I stumbled across in my research they are not Black owned, but their story follows a very similar trajectory as mine. We started at the same time. The only difference is they grew much bigger. Not only is there site https://www.naturallycurly.com/ killing AALBC.com, but they are killing most other Black owned sites. It was a well done video, but honestly it was hard for me to watch, I was actually envious of their success. Now I know more people care about hair than books, but sheesh... I agree with you on many accounts, but Black websites like mine struggle not only because Black people won't support it. In fact I'd argue the website is still alive because of Black people. There are plenty of readers, willing to support a Black owned site. But the competition from social media is fierce and Google is a very flawed.gatekeeper. Check out this graphic below; it is indicative of the traffic for several websites including my own. What it shows is the impact of the Google's "Panda" algorithm update in 2011. My website's traffic dropped 75% in a single day. It took me a full 6 years to recover what I lost. 2017 will be the highest level of traffic ever, but imagine if I were not needless penalized for what I argue is a terrible decision on Google's part. I hung around but MANY Black websites, already struggling, were utterly destroyed--most never knew what hit them. In desperation, many fled to social media to regain an audience. @Cynique, Google's goal is to get everyone on Earth addicted to their applications to make as much money as conceivably possible regardless of the damage they cause. I understand you don't see much cause for concern. most people don't. But if that video did not cause you to think about about how Facebook is adversely impact not you personally, but all of us, then I'm sure there's anything I can possibly say to make a stronger case.

@dashi365, I saw the screening back in January of 2010, when the film first came out, at the IFC Center in New York City's Greenwich Village. I like that theater because they often have the filmmaker and the actors discuss the film after the screening

@Del my bad, sorry. @Cynique, we may be on different wavelengths at times but that is not solely due to gender.

I posted the video below on my blog: How Facebook is Perverting Your Internet The video does a great job, but absent the outrage, which The New York Times can't express, I'm not sure how effective this video can be. Nobody really cares about some Nigerian selling a purse with the free data plan provided by Google. When Facebook is goose stepping down mainstreet, slaughtering anyone who speaks out against them, then we'll care. Then again we'll probably be on Facebook's side... Winter is coming...

Ha! I corrected the typo before I read your comment @Cynique, I usually reread what I wrote before reading a reply. The passage of time makes it easier for me to edit my own writing, but I see you understood what I meant... Why would you be surprised that I like Game of Thrones? The production, acting and story so far above anything else on TV. I could do without the gratuitous gay sex, but it is HBO and they cut it out completely this season. I really like the Tyrion character--what an actor, but I like all the character--even the ones I hate. I love science fiction movies much of it is not very good. I enjoyed the film Her, Ex Machina, I'll watch the Star Wars and Star Trek, but am usually disappointed, as they are made to please young boys. When I think about "winter is coming" I liken it to our society's senseless bickering when that are much more important things to worry about, that effect us all. Man made climate change is a perfect analogy; most would rather continue fighting each other than working to together to deal an impending doom. The same goes for indie websites, all fighting amongst yourselves while Amazon and Facebook are growing ever more powerful. Christians would argue the rapture draws nigh. Winter is coming indeed.

@Cynique, I understood your statement. Why do I to keep mansplaining that I understand that Bill was not influenced by the future misogyny in 1980s rap to beat his wife in the 1970s?! It looks like you simply did not understand what I wrote in reaction. Perhaps, as you suggest, I don't write well enough, or maybe it is a case "femstanding," the female way of understanding In the context of the whole sentence, are you saying that you had no idea which word I meant between, "reality" instead of "relativity"? Sometimes spell check corrects on the fly and if I don't see the red underline, I may miss an otherwise obvious typo. We already spoke about the difficulty of self-editing. Actually, I spend more time trying explain things to Pioneer and Del than I do you Cynique. Is still called "mansplaining" if it is one dude explaining talking to another? @Del, at the risk of mansplaining, Pioneer and I can be on the same side of an issue, but for different reasons. In most cases, many of the things we discuss here are naused and multifaceted; there are many sides to one can take. It seems however, that most people for the sake of simplicity, laziness, or perhaps human nature refuse the acknowledge that many issues are complicated and that there is no "right" or "wrong;" answer. It is very easy to lump all 45 supporters into the racist bucket, but if you that you'll never understand why many people actually support him. Similarly, if you group all women together into having brains that are more "fine-tuned and detailed" than men, you'll tend to view people with that prism and fail to completely understand them. For example, you can't run a massive website single handedly without paying attention to detail--it would get away from you and become unmanageable. Any programmer knows you simply can't write code without paying strict attention to the most minute details; a single character out of place can literally bring down an entire website. Obviously I wrote that to demonstrate that I'm fully capable of being detailed oriented. Do I have a female-like brain? It that is the case how would one explain the typos in my posts?

Hi @Linda Chavis, I don't see it as hate. I seems to me that whenever a Black person critiques another Black person the negative connotation of "hate" is applied. Essentially Monique is arguing that she, and other critically acclaimed Black female actresses are not paid on par with white actress and that other Black people help perpetuate this situation. One can take issue with Monique's use of language, but the essence of what she was saying is true. Linda do you (or anyone), disagree with Monique's assessment? I don't think Monique has the desire or skill to organize the creation of another actor's union.

@Cynique, I never thought you wrote that Bill was influenced by Rap, not did I write anything to imply. That does not make sense. I know you know Bill predates rap. In fact I even wrote that you were probably right I'm beginning to see that when one person (A) has a disagreement with more than one other person (B and C). The person A has difficulty distinguishing the options of B and C, and just lumps them all together. The reasons for the disagreement are not nearly as relevant as the disagreement itself. I'm not singling you out Cynique. Del does this with me an Pioneer, and I see this in the broader society as well. Yeah, all the other social media platforms are designed for handheld devices. Facebook is really the only one that is also designed for people using laptops or desktop computers. Consumers use held held devices predominantly. Only content creators bother with laptops or desktop devices and these folks are decreasing in numbers... @dashi365, I would encourage you to see the film. It is a very nice treatment of the man. Went I saw the film Bill Withers spoke after the showing. He came across as a great guy. I was just disappointed to learn that he beat his wife, and that the wife was not mentioned in the film. That part of his life was erased as if it never existed, which I felt made the film worse because I realized it was an incomplete depiction of Withers.

Is it my lack of consuming social media or have Black LIves Matter been quiet lately? I did read about the acquittal of the the police officer in this shooting and the subsequent protests. I love that metaphor, "winter is coming;" it so perfectly describes our current state. Of course it has no meaning to someone who has not watched the Game of Thrones Series, but if you have the phrase packs a punch. @Cynique did you read the George R.R. Martin's books? Was the phase used in them or is that something made up in the HBO series?

Yes, Gwendolyn Brooks is a revered by poets throughout the country. Her name is kept prominent by Third World Press and Chicago State University, which is home of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing. I was unaware of Brooks' views on religion, but that perspective does not surprise me.

I dunno, you may be right. I guess I'm looking at it from the perspective of a 50+ year old raised in a culture where we gave up our seats, held doors; you know all the stuff people seem to give two sh-ts about nowadays. Yeah, memes are a thing all to themselves and perhaps the reason for Snapchat's very existence. People show me memes all the time. Most I don't find most funny, but I do enjoy some. For example, @Cynique, I really liked that video you posted, which was supposedly a documentary of America produced by the North Koreans. It may have been propaganda for the North Korean population, but I saw it as scathing commentary of American culture. When you seek out political and religious discussions are these with people you know, or are you looking in related groups and the like? Do you use any other social media besides Facebook?

@Connecticut Black News Inc, please elaborate.

Nah rap is not to blame here. brothers like Ike Turner and Bill predated the emergence of Rap. In fact, rap was all about having fun when it started; the misogyny came later, around the time the corporations got involved. side bar: @Cynique, how are thing going on Facebook? I saw that you've been liked my stuff--thanks! How as the activity been; has it grown, stayed the same, or slowed down in recent months?

Thanks for sharing that Dashi. Did you see the documentary film about Bill's life? You know Hyman ended her own life, right?

The Academy award winning actress Monique says, Black Women Will Never Be Paid What they Deserve, and the women in Girl's Trip were not either, because "Will Packer is a "low budget producer."

The video below had the title, Monique says 'Girls Trip' was a low budget movie & Will Power Packer is a low budget producer. Since I just posted information about the success of Girls Trip. If was surprising to learn that these actresses will not earn what they deserve. "Make 'em famous, not rich." These are the earnings reported by Forbes Magazine for actress from June 2016 to June 2017. #10 - Amy Adams ($11.5 Million) #9 - Julia Roberts ($12 Million) #8 - Cate Blanchett ($12 Million) #7 - Charllize Theron ($14 Million) #6 - Emma Watson ($14 Million) #5 - Mila Kunis ($15.5 Million) #4 - Melissa McCarthy ($18 Million) #3 - Jennifer Lawrence ($24 Million) #2 - Jennifer Aniston ($25.5 Million) #1 - Emma Stone ($26 Million) Apparently, no Black actress, including all of the Oscar winners, will come close. According to Monique, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Lee Daniels. Are not just complicit but help keep this condition in place. For perspective, all of these white women made less that the top 10 basketball players (#10, Kyrie Irving earned $30.6MM), all of whom are Black. This gives you an idea of just how much money the NBA makes. Something tells me even Lebron James who earned close to $90MM (if memory serves), deserves to earn even more. What are the owners earning.