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"There is a trade deficit in the hood."


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Toward Fair Trade in the Hood

 

There is a trade deficit in the hood. This trade imbalance is initially internal: North American Africans refuse to patronize each other, preferring to enrich others who rarely buy from North American Africans, including whites, Asians, Arabs, Latinos, et al. As we make our daily round, we should ask ourselves how much money do we spend with each other and how much with others than our own kind? It is simple math that our businesses will soon go out of business for lack patronizing by us. Yes, other culture groups thrive on each other and us. Ask your self why we have a trade deficit with Arabs, Asians, Africans, Latins,et al. Ask yourself why are North American Africans the 16th richest nation in the world with a trillion dollars income but languishes in poverty because of the internal and external trade deficit. 

 

Why do we spend money with people who never or rarely spend money with us? Is this not the sign of mental illness?

Buy Black campaigns are a failure. The Kwanzaa ujamma or co-operative economics is a joke. 

 

Often vendors at our fairs and festivals are non-Black such as Koreans selling us barbeque but when has a Korean bought anything from a North American African?

 

This trade deficit must end immediately. We want fair trade or no trade. And no matter how painful it may be for us to patronize each other, we must do so for our economic survival and thrival. Imagine this: if we spent most of our trillion dollars annual income with each other, we can tell the white man fuck you and your reparations. We will give reparations too ourselves. We will give economic justice to ourselves. We will solve our traumatic slave syndrome our selves through peer counseling and discarding all residue of white supremacist values and behavior, including bullshit learned from public schools, European religion, literature and the monkey mind media, including television and Hollywood that perpetuates the world of make believe and conspicuous consumption Dr. E. Franklin Frazier told us about in Black Bourgeoisie.

--Marvin X

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---RANT ALERT--
This is going to be a long one....lol




 

 

 

I think the author is right to lament the lack of Black economic and social unity in the community but I think he may be a little misguided in where he's placing the blame or what the problem is.
 

Many will not like what I'm about to say but this again goes back to the same explaination I had for why so many Black magazines and book stores have gone out of business.

For the past 50 years or so the intellect of AfroAmerica has declined dramatically.
In other words, for the past 50 years or so AfroAmericans have gotten dumber and haven't functioned on a "community" level like most other groups because of this intellectual decline. 

Because of this intellectual decline they aren't opening up REAL businesses (4 walled establishments) as much as they used to, and those they DO open up aren't being properly operated or maintained.  The intellectual decline has lead to laziness, apathy, poor sanitary conditions, poor customer service skills, not keeping up with the paper work, and many other problems.



Let's just take the Black barbershop for example.................

Go into most Black barbershops today and many of these young brothers aren't even practicing the basic cleanliness and customer service skills that older Black barbers were practicing for decades before them with less education.

Infact, most don't even say hello or good morning to you when you walk in.

They just stare at you to let you know you're next to get faded.

You sit in the chair and without even giving you eye contact

<_<---"Ahiight....whachoo need mayne?"

Starting off hard and indifferent.

These young clowns are using the SAME BRUSH on everybody's head and ain't even using those ultraviolet sterilizing lights or alcohol to sanitize the tools they're using!
Just spreading germs from one person to the next.

And if it's 2 or 3 of them cutting,  they're smelling like weed and having a conversation with EACHOTHER about bullshit....not with the customer in the chair they're cutting.

They have their boys  and lady friends hanging out at the shop taking up space and doing nothing but instigating and gossiping and taking more of their attention away from their work and their customers.

And unlike the old barbershops where men had intelligent discussions with a little jazz playing in the background......today if you don't know anyone in that shop you better keep your mouth shut!
Not the type of environment you want to take your little sons to.

And after all of that they want to charge you $20 for a half ass cut and then EXPECT and in some cases DEMAND a tip!


And don't get me started on the soul food joints today.

Where are the sit down Soul Food restaurants today?
Most of them are places where you go up to the counter, ordrer the food, get it...and take your ass back home.

".....because WE ain't going to wait on you or clean up being you or serve you drinks and napkins."

Evn the person behind the counter looks like she or he really don't want to be there but just "got a job" because their cousin or nephew who owns the business hooked them up.



Now clearly this isn't the case with all AfroAmerican businesses, but what I just describe is indeed the reality for too many.


Our people need help.
Intellectual help.

 

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3 hours ago, Delano said:

What is going to change 400 years of psychopathology

 

Necessity.

 

@Pioneer1 you need to visit places like ATL, the DMV, or NYC. There you will find proper soul food restaurants with great service, fine decor, and excellent food. Even here in TPA there are excellent Black owned establishments.

 

when i used to get my hair cut i did it at a fine black owned salon. They would serve you a glass of scotch or bourbon in a nice glass too.

 

Even AALBC.com servives because of the support of Black people.

 

All is not lost. The problem is we must do MUCH better and there are inidications that we are. 

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I've been to Soul Food places in Detroit and Atlanta WHERE I USED TO LIVE (...lol) and there were a few decent ones, but most of them I went to these past 10 years or so were as I described.

I have to admit I haven't been to any actual Soul Food places in New York.
The only "Black" restaurants I've been to in New York were Caribbean places that served jerk chicken or beef patties.....lol.

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One of the nicest Jamaican restaurants I been to is right here in Tampa. It is owned by a young Black couple.

 

You can't use Detroit as your yard stick Brother.

 

I went to a terrific soul food restaurant in ATL a few years ago. Im not sure if it is Black owned, but every soul in the restaurant was Black so I assume it was.

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20 hours ago, Troy said:

This trade deficit must end immediately. We want fair trade or no trade. And no matter how painful it may be for us to patronize each other, we must do so for our economic survival and thrival.

 

Yes, I agree.

WHEW! I never heard of MarvinX so, I learned something new today!  I loved his speech! 

 

11 hours ago, Troy said:

All is not lost. The problem is we must do MUCH better and there are inidications that we are. 

 

I agree.

11 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

I think the author is right to lament the lack of Black economic and social unity in the community but I think he may be a little misguided in where he's placing the blame or what the problem is.
 

Many will not like what I'm about to say but this again goes back to the same explaination I had for why so many Black magazines and book stores have gone out of business.

For the past 50 years or so the intellect of AfroAmerica has declined dramatically.
In other words, for the past 50 years or so AfroAmericans have gotten dumber and haven't functioned on a "community" level like most other groups because of this intellectual decline. 

 

@Pioneer1 I understand this too, however, blaming or placing the blame is one issue, but how do we overcome?

Understanding who to blame will help us partially, but what is the next step?

I listen to the speech of MarvinX in how he explained BAMN. He said that they got him off campus with a goal--By Any Means Necessary--BAMN!--And that is how I feel we have been, as you say, DUMBED DOWN!

 

It is not just our fault, this system has a movement, a movement against the general well being of Black African Americans and they have instituted movements against us BAMN! That also means that some of our own people are a part of our self destruction for this cause of White Supremacy and so, what do we do about that!?

 

Also, our own individual ignorance is damaging too, and not all of us have self-hatred and work against Black Businesses, but we may be doing it out of ignorance, so in this, I say, it comes down to individual self determination and the willingness to keep communicating with each other and coming to the table to discuss these pressing issues. We need THIS FORUM at AALBC and others. 

 

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@Delano when we were forced into segregated communities.  We ran business and built communities -- some quite prosperous -- we had too do this, for there were no other options.

 

Today our options are being restricted again.  While segrations is not longer the law.  It is the reality even in Places like NYC. Schools were sgregated when I went and they may be more segregated now.  The Stuyvesant HS is a popular example. 

 

Today, for example, there are more Black owned bookstores than there were five years ago. Amazon is not serving us, Borders closed, B&N is scaling back.  These are opportunities, not justy in the book space, but in other areas as well.

 

If Farrakhan can't be in Facebook, he can reach his audience on his own website and people who want to hear him will go there.  I'm not the only person who has left Facebook and I will not be the last.  I think (hope) it will be a growing trend.

 

It is not that people like me don't engage online any longer -- we just go where we are treated better.  I've visited Lipstick Alley in recently years looking for alternatives to Facebook -- I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

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Chev

 

That also means that some of our own people are a part of our self destruction for this cause of White Supremacy and so, what do we do about that!?


You're abolutely right.
Infact a LARGE PORTION of our people are guilty of self destruction in the community.

What has worked for me and most other AfroAmericans I know who seek to improve themselves is to SEPARATE ourselves from the self-destructive elements.  When I say seperate I'm talking both physically (moving away from and avoiding known trouble makers) as well as separating ourselves mentally and culturally (not listening to self destructive music, engaging in self destructive behavior, or watching movies that promote crime and murder in the Black community....Empire comes to mind) and seeking the company of those of like minds so that we can build among eachother.

Ideally, the goal should be to CLEAN UP the community and rid it of those criminals and savages who engage in grossly self destructive behaviors like gang banging, pedophilia, rape, and theft.

The problem is the Caucasians in Law Enforcement often times protects those who are engaging in this behavior in our communities or keeps it contained in AfroAmerican communities in an attempt to keep it out of theirs.
They actually enable most of the bullshit you see going on in Black neighborhoods.

If it were totally up to us without any outside intervention I believe decent AfroAmericans would have organized and ran out the drug dealers, murderers, and pedophile from our community a LONG time ago.

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On 5/15/2019 at 10:50 PM, Pioneer1 said:

And don't get me started on the soul food joints today.

Where are the sit down Soul Food restaurants today?
Most of them are places where you go up to the counter, ordrer the food, get it...and take your ass back home.

 

@Pioneer1 I read this the other day and been wanting to comment!

I am just popping in for a little today--too busy--

But I tell you, I feel you on this one!!!

 

I have a lot to say about this!

My family gives me a hard time being from the north, but I was indoctrinated on my culture when I was young so, I love soul food,

and have become frustrated for not being able to find a 'sit down' place near by, that really, really, really serves SOUL FOOD!

 

 

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Chev

I can still remember as a kid going out with my family to Sunday dinners (often after church) to different Soul Food restaurants around the city. 
There were so many to choose from.
My father would take us to different ones and you didn't have to worry about people cussing, fighting, or act a fool around you and your family.

In many AfroAmerican communities today there are no or very few actual "sit down" restaurants PERIOD whether you're talking about Soul Food, Chinese, or fast food.   Most of them are designed for you to walk in or drive up, place your order and pay, get the food, and LEAVE.

The message they're sending the customers is: Get your shit and get up out of here.....Lol.

Most of the sit down and relax, customer service oriented restaurants today are only the fancy restaurants like Ruth Chris.

I think most AfroAmerican youth (25 and under) are missing out on a LOT of amenities that used to be taken for granted in our culture. Most of them don't know what it's like to go to a Black establishment and get waited on by Black people with a smile and eat food cooked with love from ANOTHER Black person.

I still remember the old greasy spoons in Detroit that were Black owned and Black ran.  Early in the morning as early as 6am or 7am Black folks heading to work in the morning would stop in these joints for a full breakfast of grits, eggs, coffee, pancakes, ect.....and meet up with eachother.
I'm getting hungry just THINKING about them!

I don't know if you remember but there was movie back in the 80s called the BLUES BROTHERS in which Aretha Franklin portrayed a waitress in a greasy spoon while performing the song "You better think".   I remember Black waitresses like that who would call everybody "baby" and put a lot of SOUL in serving their customers.
You don't see that today.

You see Black youth walking around eating pizza or chili fries most likely made by someone who does NOT look like them or give a damn about them.

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On 5/19/2019 at 9:41 PM, Pioneer1 said:

I still remember the old greasy spoons in Detroit that were Black owned and Black ran.  Early in the morning as early as 6am or 7am Black folks heading to work in the morning would stop in these joints for a full breakfast of grits, eggs, coffee, pancakes, ect.....and meet up with eachother.
I'm getting hungry just THINKING about them!

 

@Pioneer1 Yes, me too!

I am wondering is part of this due to a push for more healthier food?

Maybe some people believe Soul Food is unhealthy.

I don't think it is unhealthy anymore that other kinds of food, but I wonder if there is a movement to stop eating Soul Food for this reason.

I think Italian food has also gotten a bad rap, but people still love it and there are still restaurants around.

And then, there may be other reason for the lack of Soul Food restaurants such as economy.

 

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On 5/19/2019 at 3:20 PM, Pioneer1 said:

and seeking the company of those of like minds so that we can build among eachother.

 

@Pioneer1 definitely.

On 5/19/2019 at 3:20 PM, Pioneer1 said:

The problem is the Caucasians in Law Enforcement often times protects those who are engaging in this behavior in our communities or keeps it contained in AfroAmerican communities in an attempt to keep it out of theirs.
They actually enable most of the bullshit you see going on in Black neighborhoods.

 

One of the big ills of segregation.

 

On 5/19/2019 at 3:20 PM, Pioneer1 said:


If it were totally up to us without any outside intervention I believe decent AfroAmericans would have organized and ran out the drug dealers, murderers, and pedophile from our community a LONG time ago.

 

I don't know about this, however, I think we would have made a better attempt at it than this government but, I don't think it would have been a complete job.

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Chev

You're right!

The biggest argument I've heard for there not being more Soul Food restaurants is because the food is supposedly so unhealthy for you.
The thing people need to understand is that although most Soul Food is dense and calorie rich, it's also rich in calcium, vitamins, minerals, and proteins needed to build the body up!
It was made to sustain people who were doing hard physical labor all day long and compensate for the minerals and tissue damage done with intense labor.

It's the same with most Italian food!
Most people don't realize that most of the Italians who came to the United State were the "dark" Italians of southern Italy and Sicily who were considered the slaves or peasants of Italian society and THEY were used to doing long hours of hard physical labor either in agriculture or building ships in the hot Mediterranian sun so THEIR food....similar to Soul Food....was calorie rich and consisted of a lot of fat and starches (pasta) for energy to work all day.

Most people haven't had authentic Italian food from Sicily and southern Italy but when I lived in Detroit I used to drive across the Canadian border every so often and go the the Little Italy or take women there for dinner for some REAL Italian food.
A little history......
Detroit used to have a Little Italy inside the city but Al Capone had it moved to across the border to Windsor Canada so that he could set up a liquor operation overthere as an excuse to bring liquor back and forth across the border.

But back to Soul Food...............

As full of fat and calories as it is, I'll take REAL food over the fake genetically modified garbage they're serving in most restaurants any day.
I'd love to go back down South again to my people's houses and eat those green beans swimming in butter and fat back, or that corn bread full of bacon (cracklin' bread).

What I see popping up around the country now is a lot of "vegan" Soul Food restaurants which is almost sacrilegious to call that tofu garbage "soul food".

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11 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

What I see popping up around the country now is a lot of "vegan" Soul Food restaurants which is almost sacrilegious to call that tofu garbage "soul food".

 

@Pioneer1 Hilarious!

 

12 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

As full of fat and calories as it is, I'll take REAL food over the fake genetically modified garbage they're serving in most restaurants any day.
I'd love to go back down South again to my people's houses and eat those green beans swimming in butter and fat back, or that corn bread full of bacon (cracklin' bread).

 

Oh yes! I can smell the bacon in my brain right now! I can taste the corn bread in my mind right now!

 

That is SOOOoooo interesting what you wrote about Southern Italy and the Italians in Detroit and Canada.

 

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Their history is very interesting........
The Sicilians and Southern Italians were dark skinned with Arab and African feature from their Moorish ancestry and were heavily discriminated against back in Italy from the whiter Northern Italians.

Infact, this discrimination was is one of the reasons they formed the Cosa Nostra (Mafia) centuries ago.....to protect themselves from being exploited by the white Italians who controled the government.

It was mostly the dark Italians from Sicily and southern Italy who came to America because they were catching so much hell in Italy.

Today they're all mixed up and most of them had so many children with non-Italians that most of them look like other White people, but you still see some Italians with dark skin and kinky hair.

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