Kalexander2

@Mel Hopkins: Thanks sister, just subscribed to 'awesomelyluvvie' newsletter. Yes, it does appear our sisters are spearheading a movement White woman are benefiting. Just another example of the need for Black folks to adjust our tactics in a way it will backfire when used by Whites. In a way that will expose lies rather than echo truths. 

Out of couriosity, if it were up to, say, you what name would you choose, instead of 'me-too,' and what end would you hope to accomplish?

Conflicts Between the Privileged Often Spills Over, Interfering with Efforts of Blacks Vying for Power, Until it's Inconvenient: The inconvenience emerges not from the revelation that Blacks might get ahead. The inconveniences are usually known, assumed and acknowledged. It is not news that Blacks are a significantly poor population that have no means of competing with the privileged, any more than it was news that black Americans are being murdered with impunity; or that in the Americas and the world over Blacks could be empowered and saved are being targeted by policy makers for experimentation in how to manipulate, enslave people in the 21st century. 

@Mel Hopkins, questioning validity, very clever women. Now, no, Iran have not claimed responsibility, but the chatter (around here) is the missiles came from the province of Golan Heights, or Damascus. Neither side is talking a lot about the attacks and retaliatory responses. I'm closer the Israeli/Egypt/Jordanian/Syrian border areas. I intend to get a closer look next week when I go the Alaa (a vacation area). Israel is on high alert, Jews are spending nights in nuclear fall-out shelters, walking around carrying automatic weaponry. Arab Palestinians are going about their lives normally.  

Stephanie Baskek wrote, 05/04/2018: "When there’s a gold rush on, the thing to do is not to dig. Instead, sell shovels to all the suckers who think they’ll get rich digging for gold. This is one of the lessons that investigative reporter Corey Pein learned when he moved to San Francisco at the height of the Silicon Valley start-up boom. In his analogy, the gold rush is the tech boom, and the suckers are all the start-up wannabes who flock to the Bay Area for a slice of the venture-capital pie. And all of us, the consumers, who fell for the excitement of the gig economy and the lure of a free social network that promised to never sell our data? We’re suckers, too."

Thanks, sister Hopkins very interesting, I too am still foggy on cryptocurrencies. I saw that bitcoin is being promoted, really-hard, by conservative and financial network sites. Like anything humans put value on, there's somebody standing by to exploit it. The catholic church was the corruption of gold and the dollar. I need to watch the video though.

 @richardmurray: Doubt sister Hopkins meant where that's going, but i'll leave it up her to check it up!

@ Richard Murray: Not exactly, Mr. Murray; a child can be programed to be whatever the parent wants; priest, serial killer, politician, fool, wise man, etc. Although a child can learn to be any of these things without guidance, there is always some external/internal influence.  However, just as there's no guarantee a machine will take the program it's imbrued with, or continue functioning as expected, nor is it guaranteed a child will turn-out as expected.

For instance, Donald Trump, constantly ridiculed by his father who said he was too soft, weak, a loser, etc., find validation by pointing out the faults in others, calling them losers, "you're the loser, not me because I can make you suffer." This is to say not all guidance turns out opposite, some just turn out to be side-ways or misguided. 

@Richard Murray, yes sir, I don't recall hearing that specially because they promised so many ludicrous polices. But to witness this 'heartless' move in real life only adds to my sense of hatred for Trump/Carson. To think of the plight elderly Blacks, children and widows without protection from the elements, without a place to call home or hope for a future. Not even talking about how worse matters are going to get for Black folk. Or is that a 'blood red' light at the end of this tunnel?

Precisely my point, @ruchardmurray!

I say, "may" because of the time I spent with her from during her trial involving the San Quintin Six (United National Community to Free Angela Davis and Political Prisoners), her disposition of Black professionals and politics.   Yes, she is very insightful.  

Yeah, the time difference here is about 11 hours ahead.  I am, in the Middle (near) East, specifically, Jerusalem Israel (actually Palestine) for just over five years now.  

Curiosity about where it is said to have all started, according to the history of western civilization; the holy languages and needing a change brought me here, the cradle of civilization.

We’re on the same page with respect to ‘reaching out to readers’ only varied approaches towards the same end.  

It is so true, brother, but times respect rhetoric of Coats because he helps politicians get Black votes.  And because he's a damn good journalist.  Of all mainstream news media, The Atlantic and Associated Press stand out as most reliable for unbiased information, to an extent.  A family member (Dr. Angela Davis) may disagree with your assessment of Coats.

I am in the process of putting together a formal detailed proposal for just such a project, my time and energy levels (unfortunately) are pretty much spoken for these days.  But I should have completed working draft within the several weeks (4-6).

Sorry for not getting back to you before now, I was camping out at my favorite spot at the Dead Sea area in the Jordan Valley.  Back home now!

@Troy, I was being facetious (flippant); treating the seriousness of the big five biases towards Blacks authors issue with deliberately inappropriate humor (universal Black guidelines) because it seems every White group has its own guideline/handbook when dealing with Black people. Going off the rails like that helps me maintain my own humanity.  I do apologize.

Nor, have I inferred any of the big five’s go against Black writers, all, however, find little commercial value in Black stories.  Not just stories about the Black experience (literary fiction (my favorite)); even sci-fi, mystery, thrillers but to a disadvantaging degree because they are different.  

e.g. “It’s not what you say but how you say it” (BS) referring to rhetorical ‘tone’ expressions of Blacks is quite different from that of Whites.  It drives me up the walls every time I hear the term ‘unappealing’ or ‘inappropriate tone’ etc.  Yet, it must be realized and, accepted that story structure and plot have (tried and tested) requirements that satisfy all elements of story craft, to be successful.

If I may, correction brother, the NYT bestseller review board isn’t what it used to be.  Their public reviews are not even about (never were in my opinion) exceptional stories.  I personally know several NYT editors who would review most any error free novel favorably, for a hefty price.  Usually, for a few thousand dollars (up front) for reading the work, and another few thousand for the review.  NO, PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE ME!

In fact, the Huffington Post novel reviews are actually taken more serious than the those of the New York Times, and there are many others.  All of which is little more than a bunch of pompous crap.  

No sir, best sellers are books that sell (a lot) with or without a review, period.  We do not, nor should we reach out to readers, except inasmuch as marketing goes, it is the stories themselves, (the writers) who reach readers, from all walks of life.  Which is motive(s) for my proposal?

Being able to snatch a readers’ inattention, starting at the cover, and keeping that reader in a state of an unconscious intrigue until the last page is read with stories they’ll never forget.  

That starts with you, and me, sharing our skills and knowledge of fiction/non-fiction stories, and public discourse by offering feedback to Black writers, especially beginning Black writers.  

I have!  the NYT, as well as the big five, advertise for diverse writers only.  Penguin Random House will accept well written Black material but they too go by the 'universal Black guidelines' if you know what I mean.  They gut Black works for crossover marketing to suit the White audience.  What we need to do (I propose) is to forego traditionally standards and get some of these Black male and female writers to produce exceptional material that SELLs.  All we really need is perhaps a dozen or so Black novels, market the hell of them (even if only Black readers buy) to ensure they become bestsellers.  Currently, only about 2 of the big five have Black developmental copy editors on staff.  Amazon has none.  

Make the big five, including Amazon, come to our exceptional Black authors offering publishing contracts; no greedy White publisher is going to overlook the Black market when they see Blacks buy and read books about Black folks authored by Black folks.

As I pointed out in my profile, among my double major, Journalism & Public Communication was the one I excelled in.  Developmental copy editing is something I've here in the Holy Land.  No a simple undertaking, this idea, but worth it.  

One cannot have all three (African American Negro), or even two, for that matter, not without losing one's self amid an identity crisis.  Brother Delano is set on to the right idea.  I think!

Space for Critique Feedback Proposal

Good evening brother, Troy, been thinking a lot about your site (AALBC) wondering why we don't have a 'critique circle' type space where Black writers here can submit their work for feedback and, critique work of other writers?  Such space may prove beneficial to authors, especially beginning Black writers.  

Since I've been here in the Holy Land working with various Arab/Hebrew, and English speaking writers and journalists, content, developmental, and copy editing I've learned a great deal (while learning on the job) about the importance/power of the written word.  That Black folk need to help Black folks master and/or improve in the rhetorical discourse, for whatever they're passionate about.  Far too often, non-Black feedback and critique fail to understand the essence of the Black experience when offering structural feedback on Black writings.  

Perhaps it can be done on a 'point system,' get a critique by first critiquing someone else's work first.  Just a thought!!

Thank you brother, TSegal, I intend to play with this resource, experiment some marketing ideas!  I'll keep you posted.  

@TSegal, those are some views you got there, brother!  However, this mess goes a lot deeper than most people realize.  For the sake of this discussion let’s say that instead of 400+ years for European White folks to get it together; they had over 1000+ years of planning.  I must use caution here as all I say must be accurate, though ever so unpopular.  Allegations of ‘anti-semitism’ holds must greater penalties than violations of civil rights.  Here we go!

Since before the Roman empire was established, Jews who separated from other European Whites were prosecuted by virtually every society on earth, they got tired and got smart. Really evil smart.

More than 1000+ years developing the theory of ‘double entry (modern-day accounting); 1000+ years studying (sizing-up their enemies) habits, likes and dislikes; 1000+ years stealing (plagiarizing) ideas, philosophies, science, ways of ruling a nation, and medicine from Black Africa (there were more than 2000 Black/Muslim universities in Africa) while infiltrating the very government they were subject to.  Gaining trust, even marrying into families of their taskmasters.

How astute would that group be after 1000+ years trial and error, and what would they do to the people who looked down upon them?  Yes, it has always been White on White crime before the phrase was invented.

Never forget for one moment, or underestimate the resolve of greed and power, and how even innocent children are fair game in the name of maintaining that power and feeding that greed. NO!  No sir, White folks are not hypocrites, they not fools; they have always practiced what they preach.  What they preach are all lies, contrary to the theologian riddled metaphor “mixing lies with the truth.”  They always lie and cause us to think it’s the truth.

I’ll prove it to you, right here and now!  How often do we hear Blacks (you and me) asset that we are entitled to the same rights as White folks?  What are those rights, I might ask?  Freedom of life liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Freedom for White folks is ethnocentric related (right to marginalize anyone different from them), kill whoever they want whenever they want and; freedom to follow the hegemony, their own.  SORRY, but I am not entitled to, nor want that kind of freedom.  Happiness for White is living perversely.  I don’t to be a pervert.

Just look at the most basic insignificant ways of living in modern society today, from the substance to subsistence, from what is acceptable to what is looked down upon.  What rules and social values would you ordain right and wrong?  All on the one hand.

On the other hand, it does cause one to think (again), and reconsider principles of theology, all of them, excluding none.  You’re on the right track, brother, keep up the question asking!!