Troy

Del don't be so hard to on K2. How can he possibly accurately assess anyone based upon a few statements. We all say things, or arrive at conclusions, based upon limited information that ultimately turn out to be wrong. K2 may feel differently over time. Besides you know your level of education. What difference does it make what he or anyone else thinks or says about it?

If it was a bit tighter it would make a good meme. Nonetheless, the sentiment is on point.

Yeah, she is probably racist but I give comedennians a lot more leeway in what they say. Their profession is based upon saying crazy shit. Now what she actually does is another story. Now she touts she as one who has been fighting for civil rights her entire lifetime. This seems hyperbolic, can't I have no clue what she has been doing. The interesting thing is that Roseanne actually favors Valerie. Neither one would qualify as "fine" in my book. But now that I see what Valerie looks like. I see now the statement was clearly racially motivated, cause Valerie looks like a white woman to me.... What starbucks needed to do was can that manager, pay off the dudes who they called the police on (which they did). The company wide training was merely a publicity stunt, to stop people from going to their competitors which they are already doing. They hired Common. I guess since he was in the movie Selma he is best suited to train employees not sic the po-po on loitering negroes.

That is high praise @Cynique thank you. @Pioneer1 you can't have it both ways man. You can't say on one hand that Del's observation that you are humble and your admission that you are not are perfectly valid, because they are subjective, while his observation that you are honest is statement of fact. The truth of the matter is @Delano is in no position to assess your honesty, despite his psychic abilities -- man you aren't even honest about your identity. All he, any of us, can do is express an opinion. However, we will never know if that opinion is accurate. As far as humility, this we can assess that based upon the manner in which you express yourself. Again, as you freely admit, humble you are not. This assessment is not nearly as subjective as you are trying to make it seem. Anyone who believes they know more the the world's scientific community cannot be humble. K2, Del did a some readings in my home for a group of friends it was a very nice evening and everyone had a really good time. Del, in person, is a very laid back, unpretentious dude. I think these forums allow us to express sides of ourselves which we would not typically present in the real world. I think however when you use an avatar you can take these liberties to an extreme that you might not when you using your real identity.

Maybe she is not a racist...

Honestly I think this is political correctness run amok. A comedian makes stupid statement and all hell breaks loose. People need to really get off Twitter if their tender sensibilities care stand it. The idea that journalist are being paid to cover the rambling of this particular racist is astonishing. Without exaggeration I've called FAR worse on my own website. There are more racists statements made on Twitter on a daily basis than anyone can count. Does it really matter that Roseanne made the statement? If so why? If the media didn't cover the tweet would anyone out side of the twittersphere have known? And if Starbuck don't want people coming into their store, making themselves comfortable without buying anything why can't they throw the moochers out? If I was asked to leave I would have brought something or left. There things that racists are doing that have a far more profound effects that go completely ignored or unaddressed. You don't like Roseanne or Starbucks boycott them.

What!? @Delano Pioneer just rejected your assertion to his being humble, and you rest your case? You also made another statement that you couldn't back up; I call you on it, and you call it "bait." Bait for what Del? Why are you so paranoid? You only feel like someone is trying to trap you because you must have done something you are afraid of getting caught it. I think if you reflect on your reactions to things you'll better understand you own motivations, for you seem to be motivated more from what is inside you than what has actually happened (what I described earlier as your "gut" reaction.) Again I was not trying to trap you. I was simply trying to understand where you were coming from by making it crystal clear that I saw no justification for what you wrote and inquired where you came up with the idea.

🙂 Me too. Del you see my statement as condescension and now arrogant to boot. This is tantamount to just call me names. At the risk of coming across as condescending, a strong argument would be much more effective at getting your point across. The thoughts that drove you to write this statement is purely a figment of your imagination Del. Can you describe why you wrote this?

As she drops the mic... The is why the forum will always be know as Cynique's Corner, for this is her house! Cynique, what you wrote will not change Del's mind about you. He is bigger than that... it is easy to brilliant and charismatic people in high regard. 🙂 Thanks for setting the record straight. I'm sorry that the "gay white mason" caused your hiatus -- that is really saying something because even the Queen Kola Boof did not cause you to retreat 😉 and she could be vicious. Del I think the only reason you find what I say "condescending" is because you disagree with me, but can't argue on the merits. It takes all types of people to keep a forum going. It is easier when there are more voices. I believe this will change in our favor as the big social sites piss more people off and people begin to migrate back to indie platforms. Even the software that run this forum is rapidly improving, so I believe this will improve over time. I think the participation of women in these forums is a key missing component, but I'm not aware of a forum where men and women engage in an ongoing basis to note best practices. Lipstick Alley the standard setter for forums is primarily female. This forum used to have a great balance between the genders, which is what made it great, in my opinion. I could always come here and read something that would make me laugh out loud, that still happens but not as frequently. @Cynique's opening line, "...Egads, man, have you lost your mind?" made me laugh out loud I'm even chuckjling to myself as I write this. It is one of those jokes made funnier because people have a history. From Harry Brown to Richard Murray and from Del to Mel you all bring this thing to life. But occasionally someone like Cynique will come along and bring a brilliance that is rare gift. Welcome to Cynique's Corner.

@Delano Come on man, describing @Pioneer1 as humble is a bit much; don;t you think? I doubt he, himself, would use that word to describe his personality particularly as it has been presented on this discussion forum. Honest, sure, but no more honest than anyone else. Honest and humble -- LOL! Gimme a break! I'm not splitting hair here, Pioneer will go toe to to with anyone here. He will assert his opinion even when it is unpopular or flies against the entire scientific community. He can take a joke as well as dish one out. He is assertive and frequently initiates conversation on controversial topics -- indeed he enjoys this. His opinions and steadfast defense of them is a driving force behind this forum and his absence would be missed. No Del, these are not the makings of a humble person 🙂

Del the reason is, as Paul Mooney would probably say, "Tim Tebow is not a nigger." QueenX, still I believe Colin would have found another way to deal with police brutality if thought his relatively innocuous action would have resulted in his dismissal. I'd also bet if he did this prior to the "era of 45," he would have gotten away with it -- it still wouldn't have made a difference -- but he'd probably still be in the NFL. So no, I can't jump on the worship Colin bandwagon, because there are countless unheralded heroes grinding, everyday, making a difference in our communities, and no one sings their praises. We all know them, you might even be one. Again we can't use the oppressor's platforms as a tool for our liberation. In fact NOT using them is the best way to make a change. Imagine if Black folks stop watching and betting on football -- for just one season. Supposed we (and all out allies) took it a step further and boycotted all the NFL sponsors? Imagine the impact.

This event has been added to our database: https://aalbc.com/events/index.php?st=Washington#Seattle+Urban+Book+Expo

I wonder if I should update our Third World Press page with this information.

There is a lot to unpack there Del, but if I post a reaction to something on this forum -- I absolutely read what was written. I'm not sure you explanation of Cynique has not posting lately is completely accurate. She can better speak for herself, but she is in her 80's and has posted here longer than anyone else (almost as long as myself)... So you think Pioneer is the only one being honest, or rather more honest than most? That is interesting because I don't generally tell lies here. In fact I think I'm too transparent sometimes. I don't think Kalexander's opinions are any stronger than anyone else's -- certainly no stronger than yours or mine. I think you see his opinions as being strong (or egotistical) because, for some reason I don't understand, he rubs you the wrong way. Del I was not arguing as you stated, "that Feminism is of lesser importance than the Black struggle" I would however argue that is probably the case for a Black woman. There is a difference. The choice between racism and sexism is like deciding whether it is more important to fight for air or water. Obviously you need air more urgently, but both are very important. This is analogous to my view for Black women joining white women to in the fight for their rights. Sandra Bland was not killed because she was a woman. As far as Feynman and Newton it is easy to hold brilliant and charismatic (in Feynman's case) people in high regard. It is the folks you disagree with that you have to work on. I'll check out the Foster video before crashing tonight.

You believe whats published in the telegraph. Isn't that like a British version of the Enquirer? She ain't exactly a chick with a d-ck. If she lost those cornrows, got her eyebrows arched, and maybe a little make up, you probably wouldn't kick her out of bed. She is strong woman with a very athletic build and should be allowed to run with the other women because she is one of them.

The above is the quote I was talking about.

I guess compared to marrying you or I, it is a step up.

@Coach Michael Taylor, I'm not convinced there is a binary response to your question. Perhaps the answer is neither. From a personal perspective Colin's actions, outside of providing fodder for conversation, have not had an impact on my life, one way or the other. I'm sure the likelihood of being gunned down by law enforcement has not changed. Are you aware of any policies that have changed as a direct result of Colin's taking a knee? Do you think Colin, in his heart of hearts, would have taken a knee if he knew it would result in his being Blackballed from the NFL? Maybe he would have found an more effective way to effect change.

Yeah @Delano, you are probably right in that it is probably impossible to be perfectly objective. I did not say that your approach was emotional (though it may be). I wrote that you and Pioneer form opinions based "experiences and gut." Pioneer more so with experiences and your with gut (meaning intuition). I'm different in that I see the world through information. Here is a simple example: A few days ago I was talking into someone who was lamenting the fact that Grand Central Books, the #2 selling publisher on AALBC, did not have a single book by a Black author in their fall catalog (don;t quote me on the details). My first reaction was to ask how many titles are they publishing? She replied, "That is a Troy Johnson question." We know each other well enough to know exactly what that means. It is like when Google says that have a Black diversity network and a Black Enterprise magazine celebrates the this, while I view it as window dressing that covers up the fact that the company's history of hiring Black people is abysmal and Google has helped to destroy Black web based businesses. It is just the way I view the world, and I know it is different than most... Now if I don't have time to analyze something I go with my gut and then my experience, though my gut reaction is based upon experiences (and probably genetics).

True that. Sports, even ametuer atheltics, is now all about entertainment. Still she should absolutely be allowed to run with the women -- she is a woman. Do you remember the Germans back in the day 🙂 They did not about banned them. Her time does not even come close to that of a man, she wouldn't even beat the best high school runner. Maybe this controversy is all part of the entertainment value, to drum up curious spectators.

As they say, "don't hate the player hate the game." Out of curiosity I ran a query on Facebook and on Amazon. It was pretty more more of the same warmed over press releases. but there was one "article" from 2012, "IS FACEBOOK MAKING YOU POOR?" In it was the following statement. "...two professors found that the bigger a person’s social network was, the higher their mass body index was as well as their credit card debt load. The loss of self-control leads to over-shopping and over-eating." There was no additional insight, no nuance as it relates to Black people. Indeed all of the articles I've read on Black Enterprises website are like articles from many websites just a repeat of something someone else has written without adding anything new. We need a publication that actually speaks to Black enterprise and entrepreneurship. But I image that magazine would struggle for both advertisers and subscribers,

@Pioneer1, I agree 100% (could it be the hypnotic new avatar 😉) Is that your quote? Lets not forget who reaps the greatest financial rewards for both taking care of the formalities and typically owning the venues where we have fun.

I use a webrings with my student. It just makes it easier for me to visit all of my student's pages when grading assignments. If any one breaks the ring they lose points. Webrings predated search and allowed visitors to discover websites. Of course the webrings were self regulated; bad players were naturally excluded. One might argue that this process is less efficient than using search to discover a website because webrings can't scale to millions of websites. But I'd argue neither can google because few searchers go past the first couple of pages of search results -- that is assuming Google does not hijack the searcher first with their own service. Where Google really shines is finding content on web page. They are so good at this it is mind boggling.

...and it is a crying shame. For the past week I've been reaching out to contacts, in the Black media, attempting to get some substantive coverage of the adverse impact Google has on Black businesses. Now my rolodex is not particularly deep, so it has been tough going. Sure mainstream media has been all over this issue, but Black media has been largely silent and they are effected has much as anyone. The vast majority of Black newspaper websites don't get enough traffic pay anyone's salary -- which is astonishing given they are tremendous content producers. I'm also concerned that this lack of coverage is resulting in a great deal of ignorance, in the Black community, that is hampering the success of some of our businesses -- which effects us all. I recently tried to find one article critical of Google on Black Enterprise's website. All I found was positive articles that read like Google press releases like the article, "GOOGLE STEPS UP FOR FLINT." The 2016 even included this line; The Black Googler Network, which is one of Google’s largest employee resource groups with 12 branches worldwide, is also working with the foundation on the project and will help raise funds and provide support. This line might give one the impression that Google actually hires Black people. The number of Black employes is dismal at best. This fact is widely reported by mainstream media... Why won't Black Enterprise help their readers understand the how to deal with the problems Google is causing web based businesses and developing strategies to deal with it? All I can assume is that Black Entroise is beholden to Google for some eason, and if that is the case we are in more trouble than you can image, for Black Enterprise is arguably the most powerful voice for Black Entrepreneurs there is. If Google owns them this is just going to be a tougher fight.

"An equal chance?" What do you mean?