Troy

Cynique I seriously doubt Creflo endorsed Trump, at least I would not believe it unless there was a reputable source indicating this. From what I see after about 30 seconds of looking, are people creating content around a rumor started on some social media site. Again, many sites make money just propagating nonsense--and it does not have to be true. I do not think a Black Church or the Christians that run it are stupid for inviting Donald Trump to speak. In fact, I'd think it is smart. Perhaps if the Democrats thought Black folks would entertain voting Republican the Democrats might not take our vote for granted.

I would not sweat it in this case Cynique as you've provided information about the source of the content, copied only three sentences, and linked back to the site--you've done them a service helping to promote their site. Besides it is not like the site is heavy on content the page itself was just a bunch of tweets copied from Twitter It is interesting that the site http://blackgirllonghair.com/ where you pulled the didn't even link to Leslie's website. I'm also saying to myself, "Leslie Jones has nude photos?!" Honestly very little that happens on a Twitter interests me. The hash tag will be of no consequence... it is not like the hacker (assuming Leslie's sites was indeed hacked) will see the Twitter activity feel bad and stop hacking sites or apologize to Leslie. What also intrigues me is how many sites revenue model is based solely upon amplifying these silly issues. #BlackMenSupportLeslie

New Rules: No more quoting quotes of quotes. If a quote is used in a response the actual response must be longer than the quote When conversation degrade into a back and forth name calling they will be locked. I will just remove comments that don't comply. Application of the above rules are at my sole discretion,

No. But the question is moot, because "she" would not be competitive with male athletes--certainly not world class athletes.

No Pioneer I meant what I wrote. As you mentioned "South Side" would be familiar to many--as a Black urban ghetto. There is nothing Ghetto about the Obama's sensibilities, upbringing or relationship. Why would Hollywood try to project that image?

I don't know anything about this story other than what you've posted here Pioneer. If you are saying this person is competing in the Olympics as a woman, I'd be pretty confident that she is a woman. I think they check the gender... I missed this story, but I suspect the REAL reason it is kept going is that the media propagating the story are making a lot of money. I bet the ladies of "Black Twitter" are making the owners of Twitter richer as a result as well...

Cynique, to answer your question simply, in the overall scheme of things the letter is of no significant consequence. The problem with the letter is that if we assume assume the tactics outlined in it are the root cause of our problems, we will never solve anything. Pioneer, your question illustrates exactly why the letter itself is so problematic. Rather than me answer your questions directly I'll point you to the blog post where you will see a book (which can be read in an hour or two), that will answer your questions. I think one of the consequences of getting older is that we think the past was just better. As the dominant culture ages this feeling becomes part of the zeitgeist. As much as I gripe about contemporary America, I would not trade it for the America of 30 years ago. But if I was an adult 60 years ago I might feel differently. But I doubt it. I enjoy the American south, and I'm sure I'd prefer the post Jim Crow version. Plus modern technology is just fantastic! I think smart people can make reasonable argument about the relative superiority of any era over another. Maybe we were better off in a pre industrial age, when there was clean air, food and water. A time where we were largely ignorant of the the rest of the world and no one traveled more than a few miles from where the were born. We were in tune with nature and God. Maybe we were better off back then...

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I hear you Cynique and know from experience what you say it true--in some instances. But I also know that there is an audience for people that do not want to be deluded; people who chose to take the "Red Pill." I also appreciate that this audience is in the minority. I just finished the article about the WIllie Lynch Letter hoax. I decided to put the article on my blog rather than a discussion forum conversation. When you get a chance please take a look at it and let me know what you think about the article in the context of being perceived as too negative. There are some that are really good at exposing truths without coming across too negative, most of these are satirists or comedians, who have the ability to inform folks about harsh realities and getting them to laugh at the same time. This form of communication is not in my repertoire of skills, besides i'm more interested in getting people to do something about a situation not just laughing about it.

Cynique the inability to appreciate a "broader scope" is one of the problems with the social media fueled internet. People share falsehoods very quickly making it hard to distinguish fact from fiction. The death of journalism makes it even harder to learn the truth--at least online when many people now consumer "news." Fortunately there are still some decent newspapers and many great books on most subjects, but fewer people read these, and those that do are not the ones sharing lies on social media or spending time trying to dispel them. It should be obvious to anyone that the Trump photo, posted above, is fake, but once something like this get out it essentially impossible to take it back. People convinced that Trump is the next Hitler, share these images, because it reinforces their world view, while others who are easily lead consume these lies as if they are the truth. I've decided that I would take a more proactive approach when it comes to the spreading of lies as it relates to the books I sell. For example one lie that refused to die is the Willie Lynch Letter, but I'll post about that in a separate conversation

CBD, well alright!

Sure, I'd even be willing to bet most American's would have no clue what you are talking about if you mentioned email server in connection with Hillary. Depending upon the bias of the media you consume the email server is a non issue, or warrants prosecution. Ultimately it is a non issue since the government has already adjudicated the issue. Why bring it up now?

I wonder why they did not call it, "Hyde Park with You?" Looks like a cute love story though. I'm surprised I had not heard of this film before now. Good thing the Black swimmers have a cap on --otherwise Black Twitter would trash them too. We'd have more champion swimmers if our sisters were not so worried about their hair. The Olympics is racing toward irrelevancy with the doping scandals, politics, the adverse impact on the hosting nations, and Gabby's hair, it does not seem to be worth the effort. The world championships in each sport if good enough.

Well this is the flavor of the month for mainstream publishing. The twist of it being an actual subway might lend and interesting twist. I shouted the book out simply because Oprah praised it and it has been a minute since she has done this for a novel. Of course my cynical side suggested that I ignore the book, in favor of other important novels that can use the attention. Colson Whitehead's latest novel has gotten a ton of press as a result of Oprah, they don't need AALBC.com or the Black community for that matter. Our promotion of the book is taken for granted I also find it hard to image that Oprah has invested so much time, money and personal energy in promoting this novel just because she likes it. While I doubt it was your intent @harry brown, you've forced me to think a bit more deeply about given this title free promotion. This will be the last time that I promote an Oprah selection for free. There are too many other novelist that can benefit.

I don't think Trump supporters are just one thing that are capable of being described with a broad brush. Some I'm sure are just as you've described them, some are rabid racists, and others just want America to live up to it's potential. This is why I'm not so willing to reduce his supporters to racist idiots. Similarly I'm not willing to raise Hillary supporters to enlightened people... The results of the election will be interesting. I think the odds are that Hillary will prevail, but it will be interesting to see how many people come out to vote, who they select, and what happens as a result. I look forward to your commentary four years from now--either way.

A quarter of the Maywood residents voted against Barack Obama in the last election. This is an increase over the 2008 election. I wonder if the same significant portion of Maywood residents of Maywood (76% of whom are Black, and only 3% are white) would support Trump over Hillary, and if so, why? I don't think it can all be explained by a desire to be assholes...

Cynique, shared with us a picture of her childhood from 80 years ago. It was an idyllic picture of an America--during the Great Depression no less. When Donald Trump says "Lets Make America Great Again," what his supporters hear is a return to a time when kids can grow up like Cynique did. Black people like to interpret this to mean Trump wants Black people enslaved again. Today the white community is being ravished by a heroin epidemic; millions have lost their homes due to crooked Wall Street bankers; good paying jobs, for those without a college degrees have dried up; and those with a college degree struggle to find meaningful work that pays enough to get them out the oppressive debt they have piled on to attend schools which are really overpriced minor leagues for the NBA and NFL. White men are committing suicide at record numbers. Of course when white folks catch a cold... I'm not sure what percentage of Black folks, 80 years ago, grew up; without fear of violence; free of economic strife; and educated well; and how that compared to the way Cynique grew up. I bet the comparison was not favorable. I wonder what the percentage would be today. Does anyone think is has changed from 80 years ago? People want to go back to the way things were, but that is impossible, and for many Black Americans it would not be desireable.

I love you too Cynique. Happy birthday and may you have many more! I'm not sure what I'll do without you in this corner of the web... The book of your musings will come to fruition one day. If you don't get to see it your progeny will. Your presence here has touched many folks. Peace Your post made me think about something, but I'll share it in another conversation so that I do not to corrupt the positive spirit your message.

I agree, I saw Gabby's hair and I knew the feral children out there in social media would probably have a field day. I thought this lesson was learned four years ago... Media who give a crap about Black people would either ignore it or identify it for the stupidity it is. I guess the morons on "Black Twitter" would be happy if Gabby's hair was exactly like some little white girl, in a artificially relaxed ponytail... This is why so many Black girls avoid sports like the plague--they are too worried about messing up their hair! Black Twitter: Dissing Black women while enriching white men

I drove from Hilton Head, NC to Tampa Fl yesterday and I learned about Gabby being ridiculed on the radio by what was described as "members of Black Twitter." I know Gabby is relatively young, but she is far from a child and has to know these comments have nothing to do with her. These people are childish and mean. They don't know Gabby. If Gabby actually burst into tears as a result of reading something on Twitter then she needs needs to stay off the platform. Gabby, noone, deserves to be treated the way she has been. The notion that this treatment is an understandable consequence of being a successful athlete is sick. Now it would be impossible for her ignore the negativity hurled her way, this is how Twitter makes money providing a platform for trolls. The rest of the media spreads the nonsense because it makes money for them too. The fact that we continue to support a business whose model is to serve as a platform to regularly demean Black women betrays collective weakness as a people.

Pioneer the article was written for other academics, but anyone with a college education should be able to follow it. But given the state of education in the U.S. I can understand that it would be over the heads of most Americans. Of course the study was picked up by the media and summarized, but I usually don't focus on these pieces as sometimes the conclusions they draw, or inferences they make, don't follow from what was actually published in the study. For example, I don't see why you say they "lumped" news conspiracy theories and rumors. Maybe that was mentioned in one of the articles, but that was not done in the study.

Cynique I can't think of a reason why Pioneer can post a photo and you can't. Which browser/version (look in the browser menu and select help or about) and what operating system are you using? If you are using Chrome maybe it would just be easier to remotely access your computer and show you what to do.

@Cynique, did you ever sort out the image posting problem?

Yes, Virginia, Black or white, we are all being manipulated. As with anything else, there is a broad range in the impact this manipulation has on individuals. The some of the most severely impacted people, as previously discussed, never change an opinion, rejecting any new information, no matter how factual, that conflicts with what they already believe, while embracing supporting information, no matter how outlandish. Of course social media, and the media in general, tends to exaggerate this; which has more profound implications on the broader society (example: Donald Trump). People are complex and wear masks. What we know about others is a combination what they choose to show us and and how we perceive it--which usually is very different than what the person is actually like. Some people don't even understand their own motivations; they just react and do what others say, with out taking a split second to reflect... In the case of the outwardly confident "ghetto sistas," unconcerned about their weight loud and flamboyant; I've know a few over the years. If you get to know one or two you might discover their outward appearance could be a shield, a facade to help protect them from the hurt our culture heaps on them relentlessly. They may actually care more about their weight that they would ever let on. I've driven at least 1/2 a million miles and have been pulled over more times than I can remember. Most recently, about 18 months ago, for two moving violations in Harlem. I went to court because the citations were bogus. The officer presented first, and blatantly LIED about what I did. indeed the circumstances of my situation would have made, what he described, impossible. A good attorney would have probably gotten me off based upon this, but I was unprepared for the officer to lie and offered a less than optimal defense. The judge threw out one of the offenses and reduced the other. I wanted to fight even reduced penalty, but it would have cost me more time and money so I paid the fine and took the 2 points against an otherwise clean license. I say this to say there are MANY Black men sitting in jail because of similar situations. You can get arrested just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can end up in jail waiting for a trial simply because you don't have any money for bail. You ultimately accept a plead deal, because you want to get out of jail, and don't have the resources to mount a real defense. So you take the charge to get out of jail, but now you have a record. You don't have to be a criminal to have a record, just Black and poor. Of course you'll now be perceived as a menace by the larger society, and your self esteem is shot because you've essential become unemployable unable to escape a life of poverty The real problem in our culture is that few of have any real sympathy for each other, because we can see beyond the sound byte or the meme. Personally this is one reason I don't watch a lot of TV and don't really do social media. Once piece of advice I got long before the rise of social media is, "If you don't have nine sources of information you are being lied to."

Well @Pioneer1, what is your verdict in this case? Are you suggesting that these folks are trying to mislead people with facts? The really fascinating thing about the arguments presented here is that they illustrate the very essence of the article.