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How can Blacks advance economically under Harris Biden?


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Delano,

There is a huge difference between the quality of writing and reporting in daily general circulation newspapers and business and financial publications.

And are you talking about publications with a paywall that limits access? Because the writing is much better when there are good editors in a news room and a paywall increases an owner's revenue. This means they can hire talented editors.

Weekly and monthly publications usually have fewer permanent staffers and rely on freelancers or long time correspondents.  But at daily publications, reporters are up against deadlines and some of them force reporters to file their stories in the late afternoon. 

What most people don't know is that at legitimate publications whose quality and accuracy is rarely questioned, reporters usually have to fight to get their stories into the publication. Those stories must have dependable attribution and good sourcing. That's because there are so many reporters on a staff who are also good writers and good reporters. 

I've known and managed both. Good reporters who were not good writers. And good writers who were not strong reporters. Now, imagine yourself a Black man in a sea of Whites some of whom resent you for being in their midst. Think that Black person can be incompetent and keep their job for long?

There are times when a source cannot be named, which we editors call using a quote without the attribution, because the source might get fired for revealing information.

If the editors are of poor quality, then you're going to get poor quality writing. And this is also true with teachers. If a teacher does not how to write well, their students will not learn how to write well either.

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I am not sure if anyone who posts in these discussion forums believe they have the right stuff to write for the print news media. But if you do, take a gander at this analysis piece:

https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Writing-Magazine-and-Newspaper-Articles

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On 12/4/2020 at 11:56 PM, Stefan said:

We are a nation of terrible writers. 

 

I still disagree with the statement for a variety of reasons; one and most importantly, there is no data to support it. Indeed all the information available to tends to counter your statement.

 

American had the best educational system on Earth.  This fact that many Black people and poor people don't enjoy this system is another problem, but the world's elite come to America to be educated.

 

The number of great books created by American writers every year tells me a completely different story.  Great writing even comes out of the most impoverished conditions.

 

It can be more easily argued that we are a nation of great writers.  This does not mean we don't have poor ill-informed writers -- of course we do.  But don't based the nation's writing ability by what you see on social media.  Social media and discussion forums are most likely biased toward poorer uninformed writers.

 

This forum has enjoyed the writing of many professional and skilled writers, including you @Stefan

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6 hours ago, Stefan said:

Think that Black person can be incompetent and keep their job for long?

I was going to agree with you, but I do recall one incompetent Black guy at Merrill Lynch.

No the sites I go to don't have paywalls, otherwise I wouldn't go to them.

I am going to piggy back on a distinction you made about the difference between writer and reporters. Cynique was a writer and a thinker. Troy is a better thinker than writer. Pioneer is a better writer than thinker.

Even though I don't comment, I find the interaction between Stefan and daniellegfny interesting. Even you profile names are a study in contrast.

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Hey @Delano despite what you write, I have recently begun describing myself as a "writer."  I recognize I'm not as good as most others who call themselves writers. 

 

I have taught a section on writing to prepare students for the GED test. I have been writing for this website for over 20 years. I have paid writers and edited their work for this site. I have been paid to write for other publications including a book

 

So while I don't go around boasting about it, or put if high on my set of skills, I include it.  Just some context 🙂

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30 minutes ago, Troy said:

So while I don't go around boasting about it, or put if high on my set of skills, I include it.  Just some context

You once said that you don't proof your post. You used to have lots of typos I was worse than you. A bit more context

What this says to me is that  you, and Troy, and Pioneer often write what you don't mean to write, and don't realize this.  This is something Mel never does.  Her writing is perfect. - Cynique

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Nothing is perfect my friend 😉  I began to see that once was sophisticated enough to think about it.

 

Sure I write I can write something they did not actually mean to write, but if it is important enough and unclear someone else will ask for clarification or make a correction
 

Posting has becoming even more challenging as the auto correct and type ahead features can modify a post seemingly without you realizing it and introduce errors that are just bizarre.  [just now, looking over what I just wrote "auto correct" was written as "author correct."  I know I did not write "author"].

 

Of course simply going over what you have written will clean up a lot of problems.  Often the choice for me because of time (I'm rushing to write this as I have a plane to catch) is between clean copy or not posting at all. I err on posting .  I have corrected errors days -- even years after making a post, especially if I see it is being read frequently.

 

Different people have different levels of tolerance.  Cynique used to hate the @Pioneer1 often writes "definately" that never bothered me in the least, because I knew what he meant, but once she pointed it out I ways notice it.

 

Your writing was indeed riff with often unintelligible words I only gave you grief about it when you critique others for their writing.  I also assumed you were using a handheld, so I was willing tolerate it.

 

Even great writers benefit from editors, even then it is still not "perfect."  Good writers may strive for perfection, but recognize it is unachievable. Great writing comes really close and most writers are not great 🙂

 

 

 

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You and I see things very differently. I feel  Cynique was saying was, that there weren't grammatical errors. It is interesting that you mention that you are time poor. Since when I said that I had more time than you, at my disposable you bristled. You may not have noticed but I have a different tone. Less mentally combative and argumentative. I am aware that my writing in the past was a cryptic both intentionally and unintentionally. 

 

If you are interested I can help you maximise your time or get the most out of your efforts.  

Although I have to say that I do enjoy writers when they post here. Their voice or style infuses their writing. 

When I was hanging out in New York I use to read at a few of the poetry nights. I read this controversial piece and another poet came up and liked the piece. He was the resident poet at the Langston Hughes House in Harlem. It was a poem where the first letter of the word followed the letter of the alphabet. I didn't know this was a type of poem. 

 

Arriving Bulldykes Can Decide F@#$ing Girls Has Its Joys, Knowingly Let Me Not Obey Pudendum Quivering Restraints ...
I can't remember the rest, I wrote it more than 20 years ago.

 

 

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Delano,

The Black executive at Merrill Lynch & Co. you are referring to is Stanley O'Neal, the bank's former CEO and chairman.

Not only did O'Neal run this storied Wall Street bank into the ground, (he presided over the largest quarterly loss in Merrill Lynch's 93-year history), O'Neal was a bit of an azz hole. That quarterly loss totaled $2.3 billion. As far as his personality, financial publications referred to O'Neal as being acerbic, which means caustic when it comes to dealing with others.

But you know what else O'Neal was responsible for? Being part of the subprime mortgage crisis wherein bank managers approved hundreds of million in mortgage loans to individuals they knew might default. And default they did. Which was one of the leading causes of the 2007-08 financial meltdown which eventually morphed into the Great Recession.

The government was so ticked off at what Merrill Lynch did, they ordered the bank to pay a $8.4 million fine. 

Oh, but what happened to Stanley O'Neal? Why, the board told his light skinned butt to leave in 2007, but gave him a nice $161.5 million severance package. As my older friends in Journalism used to joke all the time: "Nice work if you can get it."

You have an attentive mind, Delano.

 

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Troy,

We are a nation of TERRIBLE writers. 

People can call themselves what they want to. But the proof is in the sum total of their output. If they've made a habit of not writing much themselves but are wont to quote others, then they're not writers. 

Name the opinion or Op-Ed writers at major publications who quote others every five or six sentences? Do you know of anyone at any major publication who does that? 

Don't tell me to lower my expectations. I demand excellence. Or at least a faithful and honest try. I know most people will never be professional wordsmiths. But they can improve their writing ability. 

I created this meme about 10 minutes ago as a critique of those who think quoting someone every six sentences should be the norm.


 

Yoda adult.jpg

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@Delano 😉

 

@Stefan  I read the article and was surprised how small the amounts were paid to writers. I pay more to my editor to edit an article.

 

The real problem is that many writers will write for free just to get a by line. HuffPost was notorious for exploiting writers who did this.

 

Meanwhile writers demanded that far smaller black-owned publications had to pay them, while they gave Ariana Huffington free articles all day long. Black publications were dropping like flies while Ariana Huffington became very wealthy.

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I was a full time staff writer who got to travel, eat some pretty good, took my son with me on many trips, filed expense reports and had health benefits.

But that's only if one is on staff. Yes. freelancers are treated pretty badly at many publications. But not all. Depends on your writing talent and personality.

I was always a staff writer and later staff editor. My value as a fluid writer who could generate multiple sources for each news story and my friendly and outgoing demeanor made me a positive asset. This is why an innate talent for writing, being personable and able to ignore obvious racism was crucial to surviving as a Black Journalist. 

Sourcing is iron-clad proof of one's ability to back up what they write. When I posted snippets or links from news stories from reputable news websites to prove my contentions, those  supported my ledes. When I said more Blacks were voting for Trump, I posted news stories which said the same thing and that was the proof!

It is amazing that certain ones couldn't figure this out. 

Some of you could be excellent writers. But do you know what you need? An Editor. 

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On 12/9/2020 at 8:00 AM, Stefan said:

I was a full time staff writer who got to travel, eat some pretty good, took my son with me on many trips, filed expense reports and had health benefits.

 

@Stefan your opening sentence needs editing. I normally would just overlook it because I'm pretty sure you meant "eat some pretty good food..."

 

I only bring it up because you've been so harsh on the writing skills of so many others -- the entire nation. What do you think about this sentence? Does it diminish your skill as a writer? Should we look at you and all people who post all forms as terrible writers?

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Troy,

 

Like most things in this country, Journalistic and Writing standards are based on what is best for White people. 

For Black people to make it as a magazine or news writer, they have to learn what is important to White people and use that as their starting point. 

Regarding your point and eating pretty good food, as I get older, I am wont to leave out words. That's why editors will always be needed.

I am not harsh on the writing of others because so few people in this discussion actually WRITE. They simply fill up a comment box with quotes from people who can actually write. That is what I am harsh about.

It is kind of funny that those who can't write, but think the use of endless quotes of someone who can is getting them somewhere. Yeah, it is. To a good laugh.

Leaving out words such as prepositions is a mental typo but the thought is there. Quoting someone ad nauseum without delivering your own thought process and self-defeating. Because the one who quotes has not advanced their view. They've buried it.

Now, when I used attribution, it came from a professional news website. One cannot become an accomplished or well paid writer without doing that. 

 

 

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Now if we can get back to the subject matter of this thread and end this long-winded polemic against me, I believe many Blacks many not be in a position to do well under a Biden administration.

Since millions face an end to pandemic financial relief programs during the last week of the month, hundreds of thousands of families face eviction for failure to pay rent, an end to beefed up unemployment benefits and an economy that is still moribund and in some places still sinking.

My immediate thoughts are how can we help those who are in desperate straits. 




 

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8 hours ago, Stefan said:

My immediate thoughts are how can we help those who are in desperate straits. 

When has that been the objective? Are you suggesting socialism or the abatement of capitalism, of the Milton Friedman, the market is the best arbiter to distribute resources?

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Delano,

I always think of the poor, the homeless and the downtrodden.

Being in financial journalism for 10 years solidified my belief that too many of the needy are really decent people.

I am not a Socialist. And I will forever despise the idiots who were too butthurt to accept Bernie's loss for the Dem Party nomination in 2016. Because they decided to vote for third party candidates who had no chance of winning.

Their stunning immaturity and betrayal is what helped elect Trump who preceded to make things ten times worse for the decent. We are stuck with the economic system that we have and it's not going to change anytime soon.

And since so many Blacks are of the belief this Covid-19 vaccine is the result of racism, (meaning it's guaranteed to kill us), we're going to lose thousands of good, intelligent and hard working people from our community. 

We cannot change the system from without. Those who hoard the wealth control the news media and will never be shy about using unequal distribution of resources, legal discrimination or riot police to keep themselves on top. 

I taught for one reason: To teach Blacks, Latinos and Asians  who somehow got through their young lives without properly learning how to write. I showed them through examples why is it is necessary for them to learn to write.

If they join the corporate world, I cautioned my students, they may find themselves asked to respond to a customer complaint by email, a query from upper management in writing or they may want to author a memo carefully laying out why their proposal is a good one.

I volunteered to write resumes and cover letters, used my photography talents to replace photos of some families who had lost all of theirs due to evictions or fire and tutored my students until they were ready to take their finals. One cannot do that if they're going to quote their boss all of the time.

I believe in helping and not criticizing those who are in need. Blacks are not necessarily going to do so much better economically under Biden and Harris. But at least we won't be facing a continuous barrage of racist and unfair government policies from a president who never thought much of us.

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Delano, 

I believe that nothing is going to change this economic system except a sustained push for fairness. An honest reckoning of this country's awful history and serious attempts at redress. 

Whites control most of the property, they control the currency and can alter its value when they want to. 

Our people have yet to survive Trump because he deliberately ignored how this pandemic was ravaging minority and poor communities. Our death toll is not final. And it may not be for many more months.

What Biden and Harris can do is ease up on the pounding that has been delivered by Trump and his racist supporters. But permanent damage has been done.

And it's not over. We could still be facing organized violence from die-hard Trump supporters who believe they can secede. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am respectful of all opinions and personal views as it relates to politics, religion, and other controversial topics.  However, it has been obvious on many occasions that most people are blinded by their own point of view and life experiences.  I am grateful for the learning opportunities that I get when I connect with people from different areas and cultures.  Although one thing stands true, "people shun you and are turned off" when you are not willing to show and give respect to others (even when their opinion is different than yours).  We should be able to share perspectives without being attacked.  We should be able to support one another even if we don't agree with one another's philosophy.  Different is ok and I embrace it.  Being different doesn't mean that I can't learn from you.  However, being harsh is an infectious, contagious disease anode don't do rude.  Before moving into 2021, assess your environment.  You may find that your front door is the one that need to be swept clean and attitude adjusted.  People have a difficult time as it is.  I want to support those that are team players. I want to collaborate with those that I can trust to be meek.  I have met so intelligence here.  You all are.  Just don't allow your attitudes to supersede the greatness that is within you.

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Ann Bray Smith,

If there's one thing I always will do on an online forum is peruse a different viewpoint. I just may not agree with it.

However, what I steadfastly refuse to do is suffer fools gladly. If those who respond to my posts do so with immaturity, I can always ignore them and often do. That does not make them right. Just childish.

If someone disagrees with a comment, then they should do it politely. These relentless and ad hominem personal attacks are silly and tiresome. 
 

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8 hours ago, Ann Bray Smith said:

I am respectful of all opinions and personal views as it relates to politics, religion, and other controversial topics.  However, it has been obvious on many occasions that most people are blinded by their own point of view and life experiences.

 

Yes, some topics are controversial but I SO appreciate you comments!

I may have a point of view, however, I come to this community because it helps me to adjust my own POV and sometimes, I need to do that!

 

 

 

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Delamo.

No, I have not read "Faces at the Bottom of The Well." Being an oldster, retired curmudgeon and all, I try to spend my pennies on items that bring me lasting joy.

But if you read the book, why does Derek Bell ask Blacks to abandon a misplaced faith in eventual progress? Because there is evidence of this all around. In Obama, in Kamala Harris and MLB owning up to Negro League greatness in a successful, but now faltering Black Business empires. 

Trump was an easily avoidable setback. If Blacks had not been deceived into believing Hillary was a die-heard racist, this country would have never experienced Trump. And the Black Race could have avoided a serious resurgence of White Supremacist ideals and support.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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