Troy

True. We can't let that be the reason that we are not spiritual beings. I believe that we have lost a lot of knowledge due to the perversion of spirituality through religion for reasons of control and power.

@aka Contrarian To me saving my mental health by not subjecting myself to the algorithm, not contributing to the wealth of multi-billionaires, and supporting Black-owned indie platforms is not worth the trade-off. It is not like I'm on a media blackout. I listen to the radio almost daily and read newspapers and magazines. Despite that I still did learn about day light savings time from another human being, so I did not miss-out on the no-so-trival event 😉

It appears social media has sucked all the air out of the room. That started more than a decade ago. I'll start another conversation about this here ▶

There are so many reasons why there is not much participation on these forums, but there are many reasons why people do participate. Trying to appeal to people on the positives and downplay the negatives is challenging, but I'm open to ideas. I should be clear what I mean by participation: I mean people who post comments and start conversation There are currently 9,652 people who have an account on this forum, but only 917 of them have made at least one comment. Only 250 have made 5 or more comments--that is less than 3% people who have created account. 65 People have made 100 or more comments, but many of those people have not posted in years It is not like the forum is not being visited and read. In the past year almost 774 visitors spent an average of almost 13 minutes per visit on the site! That is a long time. In the past 12 months, 18.861 people visited this conversation "Blacks commit 60% of ALL violent crime — but only 14% of the population" and spent almost a minute there on average. "Pete Davidson And Jewish History" is also a popular conversation started by @Pioneer1 almost 2 years ago; in that past year that page was visited on average, by 11 different people a day--every day. Another Pioneer conversation, "People Ignoring Their Smoke Detectors" is visited by more than twice as many people, a day, than the Pete Davidson page! Visibility is not really the problem. I think the problem is visibility within the community I'd like to attract--Black people who participate. At any given moment there are at least a couple dozen people on the site. The screen shot (shown below) shows people on the site as I write this. The vast majority are people without accounts (or no logged in): Also, I approve new accounts on a daily basis. People are still signing up, but not participating in conversations. In the old days before the corruption of Google's Search engine. The site was far more popular as it was able to attract more readers and participants organically through search. Still, there is no reason this platform is not far more popular, given the existing traffic. I guess I need a professional to do more active promotion... In the world of AI generated content the ability to engage online with actual humans (as opposed to social media bits) may result in a resurgence in the popularity of independent discussion forums like this one. One can hope 🙂

Hi @Rosey Lee Looking forward to your 2nd Novel: A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel List Price: $17.00 WaterBrook Press (May 13, 2025) Paperback, 272 pages Fiction

of course there is I did not mean to suggest there weren’t. All I’m saying is that TikTok is not one of them.

My daughter mentioned it to me yesterday if it wasn’t for her, I would not have heard about it anywhere else. Talking about daylight savings time doesn’t generate revenue. You be much better off talking about how LeBron James got into Stephana Smith’s face at the Lakers game. We should get rid of daylight savings time anyway it serves no purpose other than to confused people wreck havoc with our sleep schedule.

If you ever been to South Africa, I imagine you would not be able to understand why a white South African would come to the US? One, the country is beautiful; two, they are doing very well; three cost of living is higher; four they’d be safer in SA and five it is America….

They are still around. I meet one all the time.

If you mean by "modern" you mean far more effective at stealing our privacy, capturing our attention, manipulating our behavior by providing mindless entertainment, then yes. Of course that is what makes life worth living. TikTok is much more than just "entertainment." Nah, exploiting people for monetary gain ain't my thing. 🙂

The vast majority social media users are not monetizing their social. Social media companies derive so much financial benefit from our participation. They really should be paying everyone who uses their platforms. Sure, there are some people who are making money on social media. But if you haven’t already figured it out yet, I think social media has been a negative on our society — we’d be better off without it.

The leadership of the Black Panther party had security.Hampton was just a kid in a young organization, despite that the Black Panther party was perceived as a threat. The BBP was well known for their security measures armed, patrols, defense training, etc. As you know, the BBP were also infiltrated by the feds. again, none of the security measures taken by smaller organizations can’t do much against the United States government

yes, but a tool used against us not by us.

Just words. Not a threat. Omar Johnson say’s fiery things too, and is no more threatening.

OK, I'll give you that. Any Black man, criminally minded or otherwise has to respect the FOI.

That is why she is Honorable major of Washington DC as opposed to running behind kids and fetching beers for her boo. Still just cause you ain't read about it on some Wikipedia page does not mean she ain't gettin' hers. She may discreet. 😎

Many older people behave in a childish manner. That is understandable. I wonder, in hindsight, what your father would now say about the impact of the efforts of folks from the north. The south got segregated schools. I went to segregated schools all my life. I tested into a magnet school and was able to get out of going to my all Black and Puerto Rican neighborhood high school. Even today the south is a magnet for Black northerns seeking a better life in destinations like Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin), Atlanta, Charlotte, Florida (Tampa, Miami, Orlando), etc.

I have an MBA and I've done stupid things when it comes to money, so it not about literacy. It is about a system that is designed to exploit people -- especially Black people historically. The reality is that the system is rigged against everyone -- even white folks, which is why Trump appeals to these people. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer is axiomatic. Our system will crumble...indeed is crumbling. It is inevitable. I hate to sound so pessimistic; I can only hope that country can hang on long enough so that my children have a decent life.

How many people make up the FOI? Would the be able to fed off a local police department let alone the Feds? Dude if the government thought the Nation of Islam were a threat, there would be little the FOI could do to defend themselves. We already saw how easily they were infiltrated by the feds... again they simply don't have the manpower. Where are they buying their guns and ammunition? Who are the dependent upon? Will those supply lines continue if they are battling the government?

Is Green that Gen Z'er in congress. If so, this is what we have to look forward to. Again, this is the behavior I'm talking about. Why is a congresswoman dancing on TikTok. Green and Jasmine are interested in going viral. It is not just about making money it is about self-esteem. But it is also about being where their constituents are, so on some level they have to do these things to reach people... I guess. Umar lost me when he took folks money and failed to open a school. When the school is opened and educating students then he will have my ear again (what is the latest with the school?). I was not old enough to remember ( @aka Contrarian is), but my understanding is that in his day MLK was disliked by the majority of Black people. After King's murder people were FAR from indifferent with riots erupting in major cities all over the country. Even in modern times the public lynching of George Floyd resulted in a similar reaction. If you are really working for the people, Black people will care if you get killed. However, if are supported by "da man" the reaction will likely be indifference (no one will be rioting in the streets if Clarence Thomas catches a bullet). But if you are a tool of da man assassination is nothing you have to worry about anyway.

Whoa, just how old are you LOL! Well at the risk of objectifying our dear sister, she is right in the sweet spot age wise for me, though a big heavy for my taste. She does have a lovely smile 🥰. Based upon this brief conversation there is truly someone for everyone 🙂 While I was in Tulsa, the got rid of their Black Lives street mural too, a few years ago. It looked very much like the one in DC. I thought it was odd Tulsa got rid of theirs, considering it was literarily on Black Wall Street. I wonder if the folks in DC and Tulsa would have gotten rid of the street sign it said, "White Lives Matter"?

Actually the Black folks did defend themselves. Even going to the courthouse to ensure the Brother accused of accosting a white woman (the event that set the race massacre off) was not lynched (and he wasin't). They were just out manned and out gunned. Despite that they rebuilt Black Wall Street.

Did you, by any chance, shoot your shot and get nixed? Otherwise, what gives you that vibe 🤔

I'm sure I'm not smart enough to explain it sufficiently for you @frankster. I liken it to trying to explain why the world is not flat or why vaccines are a societal good to people who don't not believe these things -- I've meet these people IRL. The Tesla tower and Haarp Array, from what I know, produce much more power that what who'd pick up from ambient radio signals -- which again is not much, certainly not enough to power am automobile. We can have a different conversation when one is these cars is driving around that has been vetted by a third party.

Better than sneezing into your hand… besides, the cloth handkerchiefs are environmentally, friendly, saves trees and reduces waste. 😉