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Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 5560
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 04:47 am: | 
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THE BRIDGE: All Bets Are Off
By Darryl James
May 22, 2007
*When you gamble, at some point, all bets may come off the table, because for some, either there is nothing to lose, or there is nothing to gain.
As a people, Blacks may have come to the point where all bets are off.
We’ve reached a point where everyone knows that they don’t really have to care about us. There is no incentive to do right by us on any level because we haven’t done what we need to do to control our communications, our economy or anything that we actually could have controlled.
And, sadly, things will only get worse, because the disparity in our society between those who have and those who have not will get worse, which means no one has a vested interest in playing with people who have nothing to offer.
America no longer has a moral line to toe—people recognize the conflicts and contradictions in religion and the lack of morals in every form of leadership.
All that’s left is money, so there is no more fronting.
It’s just not cost effective to care.
At one time in the past, we could point to people who were deteriorating and recognize that they were the result of families or communities that were rotting away. Accordingly, we could find ways to rebuild their families or their communities and raise the level of the national community.
But the people we see currently who are deteriorating are the direct result of society at large deteriorating, which means that it will be a Herculean task for any family or community to rebuild itself when everything around is falling apart.
The Black family is falling apart.
The Black community is falling apart.
At one time in the past, we could point to specific efforts to destroy Black men or to destroy the Black community. But sadly, the Black family and Black relationships which could lead to Black families came under attack from outside and from within. Now, many of us believe that there are no attacks and that we are simply weak as a people.
Powerful tools were employed for such destruction, including media manipulation of our image and misinformation passed around as truth.
But those of us who are aware can prove that there are plentiful elements pulling at our community, which have been in place and which will not be easing up any time soon.
Many of those elements are legacies of destructive tools of the past.
From prohibited alcohol and to heroin and cocaine and to crack, illegal substances have been dropped in our communities, creating violence-based street commerce and the erosion of families as family members abandon everything good in favor of the addictive substance of the day—either to consume it and self-destruct, or to distribute it for community-wide destruction.
Access to capital has been strategically withheld, using former tools such as character loans before the advent of FICO scores and redlining in communities where we still attempt to live based on shared skin color.
Access to legitimate education has been withheld, leaving some to turn to alternative (and often illegal) vocations to pursue financial security.
Legal alternative vocations are limited, because training for vocational skills just isn’t easy to come by any more.
Access to guilds and unions has been withheld, making it difficult to garner the most coveted jobs, protected by members of those organizations.
Take the sum effect of all the above-listed challenges and then watch the community tear itself apart. Come back after two or three decades and when the smoke clears, most of what will remain will be assimilationists perched to abandon the community and criminals preying on the community, with average citizens skirting between the two seeking a meager but steady existence.
However, many of today’s assimilationists are taking with them some things previously thought to be left to the very poor to shoulder. These things include an abject embracing of brand names with very few valuable things stored for the future, poor role modeling for youth and of course, a seemingly unbreakable relationship with substances, including today’s growing substance of choice—heroin.
Yes, baby, smack is back!
Drugs are now moving into middle Black America, and taking up permanent residence, instead of residing mainly amongst impoverished “hood” people.
Stop paying attention to rap records, stupid movies and the evening news.
Look around you Black people, because things are much different from what too many of us believe.
We may be over.
We had our shot.
In a boxing match, you have a couple of chances to land good shots and then push all the way through to a victory, or at least to a secure place in the arena.
But first, you have to be a respected contender.
Let’s be honest: No one has much respect for Black people. Not even the respect based on fear. There was always a threat of rioting or protesting, but now, riots are unlikely to occur with any real fervor seen in the past and protesting has been fully pimped out, tamed and commercialized by the likes of Jesse and Al, who are both disingenuous clowns who really mean nothing.
Contrary to the empty threats they make to the white corporate and political power structures, we are no longer organized. We have no cohesive tax based and really, no real community, so no one is forced to respect us.
We’ve essentially become a joke.
From “Independent Women” claiming not to need men, tacitly embracing the erosion of the Black family, to men in their forties dressed like hip hop clowns avoiding real adult responsibility--when did we become that and cease to be taken serious on any level?
When we began to embrace ignorant, self-effacing comedy as an industry.
We’ve become a less serious people. Comedy depicting us as horrible people is now the order of the day.
We are allowing ourselves to be commodified as less substantive, conscious responsible less interesting people.
The victims have to be the ones to stop the abuse. But we embrace it and become it—too many bitches, hoes and Niggers trying to live up to stereotypes and not aspiring to be about anything else.
Why would anyone respect that?
And, we live in a much coarser, shallow, uncivilized time anyway.
There has never been an environment where we have been so openly assaulted without retort—from Niggers to Nappy Headed Hoes—not even in the Fifties or Sixties. The most we had to endure in the daylight before were allusions to racist ideations, but in the current environment, the attacks are direct and visceral and shockingly, many of those attacks come from within our own ranks.
So, what can we do to stop the deterioration?
We’re not so far removed from the best times in our existence in this nation where things are hopeless. We just have to take decisive action.
We can take a page from the Jews, who immediately went about the business of healing and forward movement after the Holocaust. They wrote books, garnered therapy and ensconced themselves in specific industries to amass capital and wield power.
If we do these things, we can have another shot.
Then, we can step to the table with confidence and bet on Black.
Until then, all bets are off.
Darryl James is an award-winning author who is now a filmmaker. His first mini-movie, "Crack," was released in March of 2006. He is currently filming a full length documentary. James’ latest book, "Bridging The Black Gender Gap," is the basis of his lectures and seminars. Previous installments of this column can now be viewed at www.bridgecolumn.com. James can be reached at djames@theblackgendergap.com.
http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur33730.cfm |
Enchanted
Veteran Poster
Username: Enchanted
Post Number: 848
Registered: 11-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 08:41 am: |
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whos job is it to care about black peple? |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 4456
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 09:49 am: |
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Black people got to care about they own damn self.
First they need to care about themselves.
Then their families.
Friends.
Communities.
Black folks don't want to hear it but as long as some of them wallow in self hate and loathing it is pointless.
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Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 5571
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 03:50 am: |
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It seems he was telling it like it probably is....I did hear something about heroin being back on the rise. However there are a few things that I don't agree with. I think Jesse and Al are good people...so I disagree with him on that. And a more secular nation is a positive not a negative - religious people, left & right, are cold-blooded, imo, whereas non-religious people are more forgiving, more reasonable, flexible, and less driven by agendas and ideology. Most importantly, they put no real faith in moral or any kind of leadership anyway. So this "lack of moral leadership" doesn't really faze them as much.......especially the ones from my generation. We grew up on Reagan, Bush, Bill, and Monica Lewinsky, and that clown we got in the white house right now. We never knew a Bobby Kennedy or a MLK, so I for one don't even know the meaning of good/moral leadership, don't know what it look like. If corruption were to suddenly stop, sounds weird...but, I prob'ly couldn't take it, I've known it so long that it just wouldn’t feel right. So that's the 3rd point I disagree with. We're gonna be o.k., Blks & the nation, because it's what we're used to, and in a way we're immune. |
Schakspir
Veteran Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 1014
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 01:15 pm: |
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Why doesn't Darryl admit that the whole country is going down the toilet? Black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, etc., everything is basically on its last legs. Our president is an incompetent, retarded asshole; our congress and reps are all bought and paid for; our media is literally owned by the corporations, which are virtually owned(and operated) by the federal government; Russia, China, North Korea and other powerful nations despise us(and for good reason); the rest of the world is rejecting our phony values and medieval mentality(again, for good reason). Our transportation systems are a joke. American airline companies are among the worst and most incompetent in the world(U.S. Airways HAS to be worse than any one of them!!), bus drivers often show up whenever they feel like it, the homicide rates (across the board) have risen, meaningful jobs are disappearing, there's more garbage on TV than ever before, America is losing TWO wars, the "media" downplays the death/casualty rate to avoid national outrage--and George III is planning to get us into a third and fourth, possibly even a fifth! Whites do more drugs than ever before, especially meth, which is cutting a huge hole in the ass of white middle America. Jews are increasingly shit out of luck--without realizing it, largely due to the hijinks of AIPAC, and the government's obscene cohabitation with it(and by extension AIPAC's master, Israel, which singlehandedly has increased anti-Semitism to 1930s levels). Latino illegal immigration(of largely shanty-town dwellers and jailbirds)has sharply increased racism and hostility towards them ALL ACROSS THE BOARD. Asians, like Native Americans....are ignored. Unless, of course, one of them freaks out on a college campus and shoots three dozen people. And Arab-Americans are (of course) all guilty of terrorism--like us.
However, it is true that whatever is happening to the nation at large happens to an exaggerated degree in Black America. Black America's disentigration mirrors that of the outer society. And at the very same time, Black America is also a reflection of what the outer society is going to look like in 15-20 years. Russia, or Romania, will give you a good idea what white middle-class America will look like on the skids. |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 4469
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 01:43 pm: |
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Why doesn't Darryl admit that the whole country is going down the toilet?
(EXTREMELY GOOD POINT!
Us being the mindshaft canaries we will begin to manifest these symptoms earlier-- |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 508
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 02:31 pm: |
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Chrishayden, I thought I'd bring to your attention that you have only 4 thousand posts, Cyn-Cyn has 8 THOUSAND.......... what do you have to say about that? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 8670
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 02:34 pm: |
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Not to worry. According to a special on the History Channel, a common thread of prophecy dating back to the Greek Oracles and Bible revelations and Mayan calendars and Lakota Indian shaman and Druid runes, in December 2012, when the earth and the sun become aligned in a position that hasn't occurred in 25 thousand years, the earth will reverse its orbit, the poles will shift and utter chaos will ensue, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions. Bingo! We hit the doomsday jackpot. Have a nice day, folks! |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 4478
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 02:46 pm: |
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Chrishayden, I thought I'd bring to your attention that you have only 4 thousand posts, Cyn-Cyn has 8 THOUSAND.......... what do you have to say about that?
(That I am the strong silent type
Apparently them women run they mouf in CYBERSPACE too. Haw haw haw! |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 513
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 04:00 pm: |
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You still got it Cyn-Cyn, you still got it........I think. Chris, did you get any of that. Orbits and moons and tsunamis, sounds like a cell block I visited. |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 514
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 04:05 pm: |
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Okay y'all, I've drank my last sip of coffee and these folk gonna run me out of here. I have to go visit the man and update him of my progress and whereabouts. Damn, the life of a fallen...ahhh ahhhh....Thumpster......coffee will make you blackster......ahhh A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA.....BUT....it ain't over yet. I AM STILL HERE!!!! |
A_womon
Veteran Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 1560
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 04:11 pm: |
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YES LAWD! PRAISE GAWD YOU'S STILL HYEAH! BYE MR. CAREY! You know you can get online at any library too!!! |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 5580
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 07:43 pm: |
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Darryl James undoubtedly took this approach because Blk ppl already know how f*cked up America is (that’s all the American media (and global media esp.) talk about) however we refuse to acknowledge admit or accept how messed up we are. We don’t even talk about AIDS like we ought to when it should be number one on our agenda…not to mention some of the issues he’s brought up here or the questions raised by A. Samad on the "Greater Obstacle" thread. That’s why James deliberately came down hard on these controversial Blk issues, imo. He thinks it’s time to break the ice. (He did say all of America is f*cked up, btw.)
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Troy
Veteran Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 652
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 10:02 am: |
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Schakspir: "the whole country is going down the toilet"
ChrisHayden: "mindshaft canaries"
Ditto That!
Chris I think we need to try to care about ourselves, families, friends, communities, country, world all that the same time. I understand you imposing the priorities, but I believe if one only cares solely for themself this is actually counter to caring for one's family, communitiy, etc...
It seems we (not just Black folks) care more about ourselves than anything else and this is the main problem.
People do see why caring that their neighbor's son get a good education is actually in their own best interest. Instead we look at it as a competition.
Al Gore talks about global warming, but personally consumes for energy than some small communites.
Folks like Shapton and Jackson; earn a great deal of income off the the suffering of others. The have literally made a extremely confortable living off racist (perceived or actual) white people. They have no risk of going out of business as their will never be an even to white people doing thing on which they can pounce and profit.
Now I've given both Jackson and Sharptom money and I've heard them speak on many occasions, but fundamentally I think their actions are motivated by money as much as community -- making them no different that most of us.
The profit motive has caused us to be more concerned about ourselves than anything else. It has now become a strategy for women to marry men, divorces them and take half their wealth (pension and everything), impact on the kids is ignored. This continues to chip away at marriages.
So drug dealers will continue to sell drugs, rappers will continue to spit the the virtues of thuggery and mysogny, a schools wil fail to teacher as long as they all get paid and the no percieved personal consquencies.
Tonya thanks for sharing
Peace
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