Is Black America Paying Attention, Smart Enough and Resilient Enough to Handle What May be Coming?

[nels]

"What Malcolm X thought about liberals": Was Black America Listening?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55kQfachBQ

- - -

"The Ballot or the Bullet": A Binary Option for Black America?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballot_or_the_Bullet

[ProfD]

Malcolm X understood that both the fox and the wolf were running around in the same forest.

 

Liberals (Democrats) and conservatives (Republicans) are two sides of the same coin.

 

Neither party  is interested in doimg much of anything for AfroAmericans.

[aka Contrarian]

Seems to me that, dating back to the 1960s, Whites in general, and Conservatives, in particular, have relied on quotes by MLK and Malcolm X to shut Blacks down. All these "wolves in sheeps' clothing"  needed to do when trying to placate or mute Blacks, was  to tailor the  words of Malcolm and MLK to bolster their arguments, and negroes would back off.

In reality, neither of these 2 black sacro-sanct icons were infallible or right about everything, and time has taken the sheen off of some of the ideas they embraced. MLK was wrong about integration being the key to racial harmony, and Malcolm was duped by Elijah Muhammad and bamboozled by the Black  Muslim  version of Islam. 

Yet, to this day such manipulation continues and few Blacks opt to challenge any quotations attributed to Brother  Malcolm or the Reverend Martin King and brought to their attention by those with ulterior motives.

 

These 2 black leaders both lost their   lives in the ongoing struggle that continues to this day.

But their words live on and continue to haunt us. Seems to me.

[nels]

8 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Whites in general, and Conservatives, in particular, have relied on quotes by MLK and Malcolm X to shut Blacks down

Seriously?

11 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

such manipulation

? Not exactly following your response, which doesn't seem (that) clear to me. One thing is likely more than certain, Black America appears destined to be permanently supplanted by others much sooner than it thinks and neither white Americans or conservatives for that matter can be blamed for the inevitable. The following may be just the tip of a very big iceberg.

 

Chicago Citizens Confront Mayor Brandon Johnson About Proposal To Spend $70 Million More On Migrants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WlQ-bToa7c

[aka Contrarian]

@nels go back to sleep, Tiger, Tiger, - or Leopard, Leopard. Nobody takes me seriously. I'm just hangin' around here, bidin' my time.

Buenos Noches. 

[ProfD]

6 hours ago, nels said:

One thing is likely more than certain, Black America appears destined to be permanently supplanted by others much sooner than it thinks...

True. Especially as it relates to politics.

 

Black folks haven't gotten anything out of loyalty to Liberals. 

 

Black folks wouldn't fare any better as Conservatives.

 

If Black folks do not come up with an agenda/interests pretty d8mn quick to which politicians can be held accountable, once supplanted by other groups of people, Black votes will really become an exercise in futility by 2040 if not sooner.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfD To state that black folks haven't gotten anything out of their loyalty to Liberals is to say that they haven't made any progress from the way things used to be, and that isn't true.  Unless your idea of progress is a total take over of the country by its black.minority

 

 

[ProfD]

35 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfD To state that black folks haven't gotten anything out of their loyalty to Liberals is to say that they haven't made any progress from the way things used to be, and that isn't true.

Please feel free to list legislation Liberals have passed specifically to help Black folks.

 

Democratic POTUS Lyndon Johnson was a tall order racist. Even he referred to the Civil Rights Act as the "nigger bill".

 

IMO, Black folks have made progress in America by default just like white women.

 

Black progress in America did not come from loyalty to Liberals. Definitely not through policies specifically for us. 

 

Liberals haven't put forth any bills to adress reparations. They did come up with a 1994 Crime bill leading to mass incarceration of Black folks. Gee thanks.

 

Look no further than the current administration. Black folks helped put POTUS PJB in the White House.

 

Billions of dollars in foreign aid flying outta here as we type. Yet, there's no line item for reparations in any bills.

 

Liberals pander to Black folks during election cycles and leave them high and dry once elected. It's been the same sh8t for 50 years and counting. 

[nels]

3 hours ago, ProfD said:

Black folks wouldn't fare any better as Conservatives.

How would you know that?

9 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

Nobody takes me seriously

Rule: Don't debate irrational circular arguments. Good luck and have a nice weekend.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfD You are fixated on using  reparations as a yard stick  and employing  a selective criteria that lacks perspective while invoking what has become become the patented black narrative. 

You  choose to diminish  the fact that a black man served 2 terms as POTUS  and Liberal  Democtats  helped elect him. The liberal Democratic administration  currently has a black female  VP even if she,  like everyone who holds this office, wields little power. There are also  black males  holding the  offices of  Conressional  minority leader and Secretary of Defense,  black females holding the positions of  Supreme  Justice Court Justice and white house press secretary. Black democrat-appointed Judges and district attorneys  and democrat mayors all over the  country. And it's  not as if Federal grants and funds  are not pouring into urban areas.  But it can never be enough for the critics who are reluctant to place  blame where it belongs.

Hispanics are the largest minority population and they are more monolithic than Blacks, not to mention the Latino nationalities of the migrants.   

In reply  to nels' question, the answer is "NO". 

[ProfD]

@nels, the Conservatives consist of millions of racists.  No way in h8ll they would do anything to help Black folks.

 

@aka Contrarian, I'm not diminishing the fact that Black folks have been elected to and/or chosen to serve in positions of power.  That's great from an individual perspective. 

 

My contention is that even Black folks in the highest positions do not individually or even collectively wield  enough power to overcome any aspect of the system of racism white supremacy. 

 

The VP has admitted she wouldn't do anything specifically to help Black folks.  She has been reduced to a POTUS side-piece and empty talking head.  Liberals used her to secure the Black vote.

 

The Congressional Black Caucus hasn't produced any legislation specifically to help Black folks.  But, they sign the anti-Black bills. 

 

In the meantime, one Asian congresswoman could introduce an anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill which they all signed.   

 

Liberals haven't produced anything tangible for Black folks. Yet, they pander to us when it's time get elected.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfDWhat specific legislation do you want passed besides the one for reparations?

The hundreds of patronage jobs  handed  out are the payback for the black vote.

And I was speaking of the  Democratic Congressional House  Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, not a black caucus member.

Black Liberal politicos who themselves benefit from the black vote do look out for their constiuents. That's why they get reelected.

Yet, like a spokesman for the Republican Party, you parrot  its  line, in denial about grass root reality. 

[ProfD]

@aka Contrarian, I notice you didn't list any legislation Liberals have passed specifically for Black folks.

 

The reparations package would be expansive enough to cover several things but to name a few:

 

Free healthcare

Free higher education

Zero interest  housing loans

Zero iinterest business loans

Land

Stock

Repeal unfair sentencing guidelines

Repeal laws that disproportionately affect Black folks 

 

As two sides of the same coin, both political parties have handed out the similar patronage jobs and other crumbs to Black folks.

 

Conservatives had Condie Rice, Colin Powell, JC Watts, Ben Carson, Clarence Thomas and others. 

 

I'm not affiliated with either party so I do not parrot their party lines. I call balls and strikes as I've seen them over the past several decades.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfDI don't have to iist any black legislation Dems Liberals have passed because that's your smoke screen, not mine and - I'm not on a crusade. All that really needs be done in that area is to enforce  the laws that are already in place.

Organizing a movemrnt to promote your reparations "wish list"  should be your priority instead of bad mouthing Liberals, a tactic that accomplishes nothing but, as is the case with you diehards, you keep doing the same :thing over and over, expecting different results

And lotsa luck in forming a coalition with  Hispanics that calls for these newly empowered Amigos to jump aboard the black reparations band wagon. 

A good slogan for your reparations  campaign would be: "IN A PERFECT WORLD" . 

                    Adios.

 

[ProfD]

@aka Contrarian, asking for legislation Liberals have passed specifically for Black folks (AfroAmericans) is legitimate and not intended as a smoke screen.

 

I provided the example of the anti-Asian Hate Crime Bill. There are bills specifically for the alphabet soup community covering hate, gender neutrality and marriage. There are bills that allow the children of illegal immigrants to stay in the US.

 

There are no bills or laws on the books that specifically provide AfroAmericans with reparations or anything I've listed. 

 

Diehard Liberal loyalists don't want to hold them accountable for anything. It doesn't matter that they haven't produced tangibles specifically for Black folks.

 

To be clear, Conservatives haven't provided Black folks with anything. They don't pretend or pander to us either. 

 

I'm not bad mouthing either group. Merely stating facts as it relates to the tangibles I listed above.

 

Dr. John Henrik Clarke brilliantly stated that as Black folks "we have no friends".

 

In that regard, it doesn't make any sense for AfroAmericans to reach out to any other group of people to support us.

 

Brown and yellow and other Black people are trying to assimilate into the fabric of whiteness. They just want to be here and tap into whatever goodies, guarantees and giveaways this country provides.

 

No other group of people have a claim to stake in the US  as it relates to the original sin of slavery.

 

Native Americans have their own claims to stake. Taking the reservation deal put them in a box. That is their business to unpack. 

 

I don't look at it as a crusade or leading a movement. I've laid out what I think would begin to pay the debt that America owes to AfroAmericans.

 

Realistically, I'm aware that reparations is a nearly impossible lift for two reasons:

 

1) Old AfroAmericans have given up. They took the bait of Civil Rights and affirmative action as compensation.

 

2) History is being whitewashed in such a way that the current and future generations of AfroAmericans will be left to settle for the status quo.

 

Thankfully, I'm very fortunate that I personally don't need anything from Liberals or Conservatives.

 

That won't stop me from calling balls and strikes as I see them. It would be irresponsible of me to stay silent and not fulfill my duty as an AfroAmerican spokesman.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfD Carry on with your mission. l will remind you that I divorced the "black race"  and don't share your passion for lost causes.  But miracles do happen. Hopefully one will materialize before Nature takes its course and  the "Afro-American" element of this country's population  dissolves into the mainstream.

I wish you well in the gesture you are making.

[ProfD]

 

1 hour ago, aka Contrarian said:

But miracles do happen. Hopefully one will materialize before Nature takes its course.... 

I believe it will take a miracle in the form of a catastrophic event or natural disaster to solve the problems between humans. I doubt that we'll be around to see it happen. 

 

In the meantime, for those who still have the energy, we can discuss and debate and offer solutions to anything including lost causes. 

 

The record could survive the wreckage of such an event or disaster in the form of our digital footprint.

 

That record could help a future generation. Hopefully they will already be on code in terms of taking care of each other. 

 

At best, the record will be unnecessary but they'll know we were thinking about being better humans.

[Delano]

Black people used to be property. Some Blacks do well. I don't feel that Black people will ever have the same rice type of success as other immigrants or Native Americans. For two reasons lack of unity. Which may be the result not having a culture or language that they own. Also Blacks define the bottom. 

 

Racism is a really effective tool in class warfare.

[Delano]

It is highly unlikely that Blacks get monetary reparations. If it does happen then the money will most likely be controlled by non blacks. 

 

People like equality in theory bit not in practice. So while many will say they want equality. The want it to come out of someone else's pocket.

 

Should every one living in America pay a tax to Native Americans or just give them 1%

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Delano said:

I don't feel that Black people will ever have the same rice type of success....lack of unity.

Right. We've been splintered. The common enemy of racism white supremacy doesn't tie us together.

 

57 minutes ago, Delano said:

It is highly unlikely that Blacks get monetary reparations.

We definitely won't get it if there's no demand. 

57 minutes ago, Delano said:

People like equality in theory bit not in practice. So while many will say they want equality. The want it to come out of someone else's pocket.

 

Should every one living in America pay a tax to Native Americans or just give them 1%

The US doesn't seem to have a problem sending billions of dollars from taxpayers to foreign countries.

 

Just today, congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid package to provide money and weapons to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. 

 

I've heard charity is supposed to start at home. I guess it only applies to certain conditions.

[Delano]

@ProfD Africa probably has the highest number of starving people of any continent. There are places without clean water, but yet there is an abundance of natural resources. There is always more money for war than food.

[ProfD]

4 hours ago, Delano said:

@ProfD Africa probably has the highest number of starving people of any continent. There are places without clean water, but yet there is an abundance of natural resources. There is always more money for war than food.

If Africa was allowed to control its natural resources, it would be one of if not the wealthiest continents on the planet. 

[Delano]

So what hope for you have for Black America ?

 

 

1 hour ago, ProfD said:

If Africa was allowed to control its natural resources, it would be one of if not the wealthiest continents on the planet. 

 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Delano said:

So what hope for you have for Black America ?

I still hope that Black America will become united in 1) having more love for each other, 2)  creating opportunities to build generational wealth, 3) coming up with interests to which politicians can be held accountable, 4) demanding reparations  and 5) replacing the system of racism white supremacy with justice. 

 

Again, I know its a tall order. But, it's the only way we're going to overcome the racism that affects all of us.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfDBesides making demands from America, do you have any expectations from AfroAmericans when it comes to emulating those  whom they despise?

 

And - I would hope that those who come after you will be less condescending about your aspirations than you are about the "old AfroAmericans" (who had the gumption to initiate  the effort and who fought in the trenches to bring about changes for the better.) Keeping in mind that recognizing those  "settling" for the tangible  "bait" of civil rights and "compensation" of  affirmative action is just as important as glorifying  the good intentions of those whose goals were never achieved.

The saga for racial justice  is a process made up of different stages, and its legacy is a shared one.  When crafting this "folk lore"  you hope will be preserved in high tech hieroglyphics, the final act rather than ennobling the single symbolic act of heroic intentions, should  be an expanded tale, recognizing the reality of  those who cleared the path. 

 

As an old head, who took pride in the heroes and martyrs of the civil rights movement, I become a little offended at the way younger generations tend to mock our goals and efforts and achievements. LBJ is an example that they and Republican conservatives like to throw up in our faces. But the fact of the matter is, is that we had enough guile to not judge Johnson by what he said, but by what he did: which was to sign a far reaching civil rights bill.

 

So, my dear, keep hoping for the miracle that would silence  this cynical old contrarian.

 

 

  

 

 

[ProfD]

5 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfDBesides making demands from America, do you have any expectations from AfroAmericans when it comes to emulating those  whom they despise?

I hope that AfroAmericans find themselves and realize their true potential and real power.

5 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

And - I would hope that those who come after you will be less condescending about your aspirations than you are about the "old AfroAmericans"

Millennials and Gen Z won't be condescending as it relates to any generation preceding them because 1) they're absorbed in social media and their present and 2) Black history is being whitewashed.

5 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

As an old head, who took pride in the heroes and martyrs of the civil rights movement, I become a little offended at the way younger generations tend to mock our goals and efforts and achievements.

No offense intended. I have much reverence for the pioneers who led the movement and paid the ultimate price with their lives.

 

The  beneficiaries of the struggle...we need to talk.

[Delano]

Black Americans have survived not thrived as a whole.

 

Whenever Black people have succeeded they were eradicated. Power only concedes to a greater power. 

 

One possible way of creating more fairness is socialism. However that has been demonised. When you say socialism most people think communism. Without understanding that socialism is both a political and economic system.

The following are examples of socialism: insurance; libraries; museums. In fact all government payments are socialist including military expenditures.

 

@ProfD I order for your vision to be realised the population has to be reeducated. Most societies prefer an entertained as opposed to educated populace. This goes back to Rome and is true in the US, which is similar to old Rome.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Delano said:

Black Americans have survived not thrived as a whole.

Survival mode has become status quo.

1 hour ago, Delano said:

One possible way of creating more fairness is socialism.

 

@ProfD I order for your vision to be realised the population has to be reeducated.

Socialism in the form of a UBI (Universal Basic Income) is inevitable as technology wipes out more jobs in America.

 

Of course, we already have an idea of how UBI will be distributed based on the current system.

[nels]

On 4/19/2024 at 10:58 AM, ProfD said:

Conservatives consist of millions of racists

Really? Keeping this conversation unabrasive, it would be interesting to know how you came up with that one. Racists exist everywhere, but it seems like only black American is fixated on it via the gaslighting a$$-whipping that it continues to receive from the Democrat Party that it religiously votes for every four years. How convenient.

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, nels said:

Racists exist everywhere, but it seems like only black American is fixated on it via the gaslighting a$$-whipping that it continues to receive from the Democrat Party that it religiously votes for every four years. How convenient.

Black folks know the KKK is filled with racists.  No need to seek a membership there. 

 

Democrats have brainwashed Black folks in believing there is some good among them despite the racists hiding in plain sight.

 

One party would love to roll America back 100+ years.  The other party governs through benign neglect. Either way, Black folks come up short.

 

So, I see US political parties as two sides of the same coin.  No difference in color.   Not even the Red and Blue.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfDThe lens you and nels view this subject from is a blurred one, as far as I'm concerned.  It's like you regard  black voters  as non partisan 

Indepenðents, standing around trying to make up their minds about who to vote for. It doesn't seem to occur to you that black people  vote for Democrats because they ARE  Democrats. That is the party most of  them belong to, the party where at the local levels, average blacks see people who look like them running the show,  the Mayors and Aldermen and  Police Chiefs and County and  State Officials and powerful Machine bosses, - who are usually Democrats, and they feel at home. The reason they by pass Republicans is because they don't identify with them. To say that the  Democratic Party woos black voters is like saying a husband courts his wife.

 

 But you conveniently choose to discredit all of this as being about individuals rather than race. And this is where you expose how naive you are. You confuse politics with altruism.  Unfortunately,  politics is not about selfless charity and serving the needs of the great unwashed masses and the have-nots and  the opressed minorities.  It's about wheeling and dealing, about perfecting "the art of the possible" . And, of course, about power corrupting. 

 

Get real.  If the government isnt showerkng Blacks  with a abundance of blessings, then take that up with  da Lawd.  Not the Democratic party where Blacks reside in great numbers.

Jesus done failed y'all.

[ProfD]

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfD It doesn't seem to occur to you that black people  vote for Democrats because they ARE  Democrats.

 

That is the party most of  them belong to, the party where at the local levels, average blacks see people who look like them running the show, 

I get it.  I just don't subscribe to it.

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

To say that the  Democratic Party woos black voters is like saying a husband courts his wife.

What good is the husband who courts his wife and has side pieces (mistresses)  all over the place? 

 

I guess as long as the wife is getting *something* i.e. a roof over her head or some other trinkets, she should shut up and settle for it.
 

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

 But you conveniently choose to discredit all of this as being about individuals rather than race. And this is where you expose how naive you are. You confuse politics with altruism. 

Naive is believing that politicians give a sh8t about a group of people with no  permanent interests to which they can be held accountable.  

 

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

 

Unfortunately,  politics is not about selfless charity and serving the needs of the great unwashed masses and the have-nots and  the opressed minorities.  It's about wheeling and dealing, about perfecting "the art of the possible" . And, of course, about power corrupting. 

When it comes to politics, Black folks are showing up in Las Vegas playing penny and quarter machines.  Never taking at seat at the table in the high roller room.

 

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

Get real.  If the government isnt showerkng Blacks  with a abundance of blessings, then take that up with  da Lawd.  Not the Democratic party where Blacks reside in great numbers.

Jesus done failed y'all.

Many Black folks are being strung along and oppressed by both politics and religion.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfD   You owe me no explanations.  As I said, you and I view the subject at hand through different lenses and your responses proved this because you misinterpreted many of my observations.  in particular what  I  said about Democrats wooing Blacks being like a husband courting his wife. Which simply meant  it wasn't necessary to court her because he was already married to her, not the scenario you created to tailor your response to.

And, of course, we disagree about whether Blacks are sitting at the table with white Democrats  because you insist on underestimating local politics. 

 

I repeat: you and I view this situation  through different lenses. So be it. 

[ProfD]

27 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfD   You owe me no explanations. 

 

I repeat: you and I view this situation  through different lenses. So be it. 

Surely.  We are not supposed to agree on everything or anything.  There would be less room for discussion/debate.