A Heartfelt And Public “Thank You” To A Commenter Named Gina For Her Help With Facebook Ads & The Market Information She Graciously Shared In Another Discussion

As regular readers know, I'm a firm believer in the importance of thankfulness; and expressing gratitude to those who have helped us along our paths.

Memories fade but, when reminded, my thankfulness does not. One of the most important lessons my parents taught me is to thank the people who help you. And to thank them again. And to pray for them whenever you remember what they did for you.

I sent the following email to Gina. I'm repeating it here to publicly express my thanks.

"Hello there, Gina!

{excited waving}

This is just a note to say a loud and heartfelt “THANK YOU” for the help and guidance you’ve so generously given me about Facebook Ads for my Written For The WW Romance Novel Consumer series of romance novels. And also for the extremely valuable market information you so graciously shared in your comments to an earlier post over at Not Your Girl Friday’s blog.

As I had mentioned earlier, a lot of indie fiction writers like myself have recently realized that—at this point in time—using Facebook ads often gives a better bang for one’s advertising bucks than advertising in other places such as BookBub, etc. My issue is that I don't really understand how Facebook ads work.

Your information and feedback has shaved significant time and money off of my learning curve, as well as those of the other BW entrepreneurs who were paying close attention to that portion of the comment section. As you know, business ownership is the path to personal freedom for those who take informed action. It helps one avoid the very ugly situation that’s developing with jobs described in this article.

I can't thank you enough for your information, feedback and help. Again, THANK YOU and may God bless you and yours!

Be Blessed,

Khadija"

To the aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience: If you haven't already done so, you need to take action regarding your business plans. Now. Nothing has changed (at least, not for the better in terms of being an employee) since I said the following back in February 2009:

The "Factory Age" of Rising Income Equality is OVER
From a 1997 book, The Sovereign Individual, by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg:

"[Otto Ammon, a 19th century German economist] believed that high abilities naturally result in people rising in income and social position. . . . He also believed that the 'true form of the so-called social pyramid is that of a somewhat flat onion or turnip.' . . . Modern industrial societies are indeed all turnips, with a small wealthy and upper-professional class at the top, a larger middle class, and a minority poor at the bottom. Relative to the middle, both the extremes are small.

. . . All of this is intriguing, but the immediate interest of Ammon's work lies in the major long-term shift we are experiencing in the relations, financial and political, between the top and the middle. . . . Most people could master the skills required for operating the machines of the mid-twentieth century, but those jobs have now been replaced by smart machines which, in effect, control themselves. A whole arena of low- and middle-skill employment has already disappeared. If we are correct, this is a prelude to the disappearance of most employment and the reconfiguration of work in the spot market. " pgs. 212-213.

"Societies that have been indoctrinated to expect income equality and high levels of consumption for persons of low or modest skills will face demotivation and insecurity. As the economies of more countries more deeply assimilate information technology, they will see the emergence---so evident already in North America---of a more or less unemployable underclass. [Khadija interrupting the quote here: Guess who this is? You get one guess.] This is exactly what is happening. This will lead to a reaction with a nationalist, anti-technology bias, as we detail in the next chapter.

The Factory Age may prove to have been a unique period in which semi-stupid machines left a highly profitable niche for unskilled people. Now that the machines can look after themselves, the Information Age is pouring its gifts onto the top 5 percent of Otto Ammon's turnip." pg.214 [emphasis added].

No More "Good Jobs"

". . . The model business organization of the new information economy may be a movie production company. Such enterprises can be very sophisticated, with budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. While they are large operations, they are also temporary in nature. . . While the people who work on the production are very talented, they have no expectation that finding work on the project is equivalent to having a 'permanent job.'" The Sovereign Individual, pg. 237.

Also, read the following blog post about how, in a connected world where "productivity is portable," the artificial differences in salaries between workers in different countries are evaporating. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2009/02/journal-normalizing-wagessalaries.html Please note the linked CNN story about how IBM offered its laid-off employees the "opportunity" of moving to India, Russia, and Nigeria and working at LOCAL salaries in order to keep their jobs.

My God.

Do you want to have your salary "normalized" with that of a similarly-educated worker in China? I didn't think so. Well, that's what's heading your way unless you make yourself as "sovereign" as possible. This means as independent as possible from your employer. This means having multiple income streams.

People, Get Ready.

Please Read And Forward This Post By The Black Woman Think Tank

The dynamics discussed in THIS recent Facebook post over at the Black Woman Think Tank have previously been discussed in BWE circles over the years. But I’ve never seen the message stated in such a concise manner. It’s important enough that I strongly urge readers to read this post right now—and the comments which are also extremely enlightening. And then to forward the post to the AA women in your lives that you care about. It’s just that important and to the point.

Evia has talked about how BW desperately choose to believe that if they’re nice to (and mule and cape for) BM and others, then these people will somehow automatically be nice to them. African-American (AA) mammy mules continue to believe this even as they’re taken for granted, disrespected and otherwise mistreated in a variety of ways. AA Sista Soldiers are Stuck On Stupid in choosing to believe that if they continue to support BM then a Black utopia will somehow be ushered into existence. Even though this has never worked . . .

I know this intellectually. But I’ve still been emotionally shocked at the spectacle of mammy mules and Sista Soldiers putting their lives—and their children’s lives—at risk by manning the front lines at protest marches and riots in Ferguson, Missouri. Various BWE bloggers have been discussing the folly and downright madness of this:

African-American Women Who March In Ferguson,Missouri Are Fools With A Death Wish

Smarter Bw Continue to Escape & When Black WomenPose as Frontline Combative SheMales, They Teach ALL Men to Treat BW Like MEN

RACE WOMEN STRIKE AGAIN: When sister soldiering goesWRONG and becomes DANGEROUS

GET YOUR LIFE!

I’m highlighting the BW Think Tank post above because she’s talking about the utterly false, emotionally-charged beliefs at the root of mammyism and Sista Soldiering. AND at the root of what has been horribly wrong for a very long time with AA women’s interactions with BM in general including their BM sons, nephews, etc.

It also reminds me of something a gentleman reader of my blog mentioned to me during an email conversation: His experiences with AA women have shown him that far too many AA women refuse to acknowledge reality. Instead of reacting to reality, they react to the way they believe things are supposed to be. Obviously, that behavior pattern does not benefit AA women.

I’ve read recent online discussions in which the mammy mules claim that they support BW risking their lives to march in Ferguson because “What if it was my son, husband, etc. that was shot down?” This is the same excuse the mammies and Sista Soldiers habitually give for their endless muling in support of BM. I’ve always known that particular stated motivation is a LIE, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was underneath that particular falsehood until reading recent discussions at the BW Think Tank Facebook page.

One of the commenters to another recent post over there clearly stated the TRUE nature of the mammy mules’ relationships with their sons: It’s EMOTIONAL INCEST.

The mammy mules are emotionally using their sons as replacements for the missing sperm donor or husband.

That’s why there’s such a strong vibe of “That’s my MAN!!!” coming off the mammy mules’ statements whenever they mention their sons. I’ve always perceived that “off” and sick undercurrent to the way most AA women talk about their sons. I’m just being totally candid here. Most (not just many, but most) AA mothers I’ve seen talk about their sons do so with the same emotional tenor in their voices that women tend to use when talking about the men they’re in relationships with. It’s a strange and creepy thing.

The other thing that let me know the mammy mules and Sista Soldiers were lying about what really drives their urge to coddle and carry grown-azz males is that this behavior is NOT rooted in love for these men. To truly love a man, a woman has to RESPECT him. And really, healthy men don’t just want their women to respect them, they want their women to ADMIRE them.

These mammy mules don’t truly love the BM they claim to be marching for. Instead, they’ve got some sick and twisted obsessions that they’re feeding with their behavior. Because by taking up mannish responsibilities, the mammy mules are demonstrating that they DON’T respect BM—including their sons, husbands, fathers, etc.—as men.

This is why that whole “What if it was your [Black] husband, son, father, brother, uncle, nephew, etc. who was gunned down by the police?” argument was unfathomable to me. As I said in my recent blog post, I STILL would not participate in a protest nowadays.

It would be up to the surviving MEN in my family to handle the family business regarding the killing of a relative. It would never occur to me to try to usurp their role as MEN. Because I respect their manhood. [As to my male relatives who are simply biologically male, they have shown themselves to be unworthy of my concern. I don't spend much mental energy on unworthy individuals.]

My father and other male relatives who are MEN would be deeply insulted if any woman—much less a woman who’s kin to them and knows them—acted as if they can’t play their position as men.

The other important thing about Breukelen Bleu’s post is that she’s pointing out the importance of looking at matters the way men see them. Too many AA women refuse to do that, and stay losing as a consequence. Back to that “What if it was your [Black] husband, son, father, brother, uncle, nephew, etc. who was gunned down by the police?” argument that I found incomprehensible: That argument didn’t compute with me because I know the REAL message the men in my family would receive  from my actions if I was crazy enough to go into combat for them.

Again, I’m going to be real and say this the rough way. The REAL message that men receive when mammy mules put themselves on the front lines for them is: “I feel that you’re a punk-azz b*tch who can’t handle your own business. So I—as a woman—have to step in and handle it for you.” THAT is the message that men receive from that she-male mammy mule and Sista Soldier behavior. That message p*sses men off.

That is one of the underlying reasons why unemployed and underemployed negro males resent, hate, and often beat the women who are foolish enough to financially prop them up. Men don’t like getting an allowance from a woman. A weak, trifling, no-value male will live off a woman, but he still resents the situation. And he’ll take that “allowance” that Boo-Boo The Fool gives him and spend it on romancing another woman who won’t spend money on him. A woman who doesn’t take up the man’s role.

Most men have different emotional needs from a relationship than what most women want from a relationship. As Breukelen Bleu notes, BW need to stop superimposing women’s thought patterns on men.

Also stop being the “Day 1 Chick” who nurtures and dates struggling men. [Head-scarf flutter in salute to commenter over there named Elizabeth who shared this link. Like I said, the comments are as informative as the post.]

The widely-observed pattern is that as soon as they get where they want to be in life, men dump the women who were with them before they became successful. This pattern applies on the individual level. It also applies on the group level.

A weak male (or group of males) will use a woman who’s foolish enough to take on manly responsibilities and prop him up while he struggles. But he doesn’t respect her. He doesn’t like her. He doesn’t value her. He certainly will never love such a woman. In fact, he usually comes to hate such a woman (or group of women).

Here are some “movement” examples that most AA women either don’t know or refuse to acknowledge:

• Complaints from BW that W.E.B DuBois only used light-skinned women with naturally wavy hair as cover models for The Crisis Magazine.
• Walter White of the NAACP dumping his Black wife of 20+ years for a White South African woman.
• Dr. King cheating on Coretta with WW. All of which was audiotaped by Hoover's FBI, which tried to use these tapes to blackmail Dr. King into committing suicide.
• Elijah Muhammad cheating on Sis. Clara Muhammad with dozens (if not hundreds) of mostly light-skinned women (and underage girls).
• The Black Panthers' focus on having sex with non-Black women, as well as their extreme chauvinism. For those who don’t know about this, I would refer people to “A Lonely Rage: The Autobiography of Bobby Seale.” It's . . . eye-opening. In ways that Mr. Seale probably didn't anticipate when he wrote it.
• Rev. “Baby Daddy” Jesse Jackson cheating on his wife. My mother kept an old magazine interview with Rev. Jackson from the early 1970s where he's quoted as saying “variety is the spice of life” when asked about his marriage (thereby publicly disrespecting and humiliating the wife who was with him when he had nothing).

The mammy mules and Sista Soldiers who think BM are going to appreciate or reward them for their support are delusional. The mammy mules and Sista Soldiers are also lying to themselves about what truly motivates their choices. They claim they do what they do out of love for the males in their lives. The mammy mules don’t love the BM in their lives; they’ve got some sick and twisted obsessions that they’re feeding with their behavior.

Again, stop being the “Day 1 Chick.” You want to be The Spoils that a man wins AFTER he has achieved success.

ADDENDUM. Especially don't be like the fool below, who is obviously Too Stupid To Live.

African-American Women Who March In Ferguson, Missouri Are Fools With A Death Wish

The primary reason civil rights protest marches worked in the 1950s and 1960s was because of the Cold War.

Since most African-Americans don’t bother to study our own history, we don’t understand the unromantic ingredients that helped make the civil rights movement successful. Most of us have no idea about the huge role the Cold War played in the movement’s success.

To put it plainly, Uncle Sam was locked in a serious competition with his European cousin Soviet Ivan. By the 1950s, both of them were competing for influence among the newly-independent nations of the third world. Uncle Sam was deeply afraid that large portions of the planet might join an alliance with Soviet Ivan. Every time photos and news film leaked out of Uncle Sam mistreating his disenfranchised AA citizens, Soviet Ivan would publicize this to people in third world countries. Soviet Ivan would say, “Look at how racist Uncle Sam is! Look at how badly he treats his own Black citizens! That’s how Uncle Sam will treat you if you join his alliance.”

And so, Uncle Sam felt some external pressure to make concessions to the civil right movement because failure to do so was seriously undermining his foreign policy goals. During the Cold War, Uncle Sam had pragmatic reasons to care about how foreigners felt about him. Uncle Sam only cared because he had a serious, equally armed enemy who was courting these foreigners.

Protest marches don’t work anymore because, after the fall of communism, the U.S. no longer has to compete with another hegemon for ideological influence in the 3^rd world.

The Soviet Union collapsed over twenty years ago. There’s no Cold War. Uncle Sam has no reason to care about how he or his actions look to anybody.

There’s NO modern day equivalent of the Soviet Union to embarrass the U.S. by making an international “fuss” if American police are filmed shooting you in the head while you foolishly engage in a protest over the police killing of a Black male. “No 1 curr.” Today’s political and foreign policy context is totally different than the set of circumstances that enabled the victory of the civil rights movement. Which leads to my next point.

21st century/War On Terror-era American police departments use military-style weapons far beyond what they need, or what some veterans say the U.S. military would use when doing crowd control. The modern-day American police reportedly have more firepower and apparently less fire discipline than military crowd control. Even WM combat veterans are alarmed by this.

These are Bosnian War, Afghan War and Iraq War combat veterans talking.

This is not a joke.

Know and trust that when you participate in one of these protests nowadays, you are literally putting your life on the line.

When you as an African-American (AA) woman participate in these protests, you are putting your life on the line for AA males who don’t and won’t march for you. You also put yourself at risk of being maimed when you participate in these protests. Will those same AA males appreciate you and your sacrifice if you get maimed and lose your outward beauty at one of these protests?

Imma say it the rough way: You’re a fool if you risk being maimed and killed for AA males who will go right back to calling you and other BW bitch, hoe, trick and THOT as soon as the protest is over. To the mammy mules who argue, “What if it was your [Black] husband, son, father, brother, uncle, nephew, etc. who was gunned down by the police?” My answer: I STILL would not participate in a protest nowadays. It would be up to the surviving MEN in my family to handle the family business regarding the killing of a male relative. It’s not my role as a woman to be on anybody’s front line serving as cannon fodder. It’s not a woman’s role to go into combat against males.

As I said in THIS POST, men fight other men; and protect the women of their group from being attacked by outsider men. At least that's how things operate among non-African-Americans. That’s how things operate among other ethnic and racial groups that have M-E-N among their collectives. [As opposed to being composed of non-protective males.]

A woman shouldn't be placed in a position to be on the front lines of any conflict with men. That's not anything to applaud. And the foolish AA women who engage in that bring death and destruction down on their own heads. In more ways than the obvious ones. Recent online discussions have highlighted that particular angle.

I strongly urge readers to check out the following two recent Facebook posts from the Black Woman's Think Tank. Here's a partial quote from each of them. You really need to read them in full along with the comments. 

Excerpt from THIS POST:

“Ladies. Just how far are YOU willing to go for the 'liberation' of the Black People? How much are YOU, personally, willing to give up to see the injustices against the Black Male, rectified? Are you willing to be beaten? Are you willing to be shot? Are you willing to DIE? And if you are, then what do you believe will happen AFTER he is liberated. Are you next in line? Will HE set YOU free? Will YOUR standing be any better than it is now? Has HE had a history of paying shit forward, and taking care of YOU, after you've taken care of HIM?

These are the types of questions you need to be willing to answer, before you go posting all this "Im am Trayvon' and "DONT SHOOT. I Want to Grow Up" stuff on your FB page and Avatar. You may want to ask yourself if YOU are ready to stand and FACE what you feel seeks to destroy Black Men, and are YOU willing to be taken out in the name of "The Revolution". Those of us who have a deeper understanding of certain kinds of energies, and have some understanding of Dark Wisdom, know how DANGEROUS it is to associate you or loved ones, image, with that of The Sacrifice - (something or someone that is used, slaughtered, compromised, negotiated, slain, abused, sold or imprisoned so that someone else can WIN!, benefit, avoid punishment or feed off of that energy). When you place YOUR image in the position of those who have already been Sacrificed, you are literally saying that YOU TOO, are willing to be used in that way.

In essence, THE VERY THING YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE PROTESTING AGAINST, YOU ARE ASKING FOR.

Many BW feel that is is their DUTY to rally, picket, protest, and lend their emotional, mental, economic and physical energies to the causes that seek to address the injustices black males experience that occur at the hands of outsiders. But since ONE SIDED LOYALTY is always at play in the BC, most BW will NEVER see their investment returned and will find that if and when THEY find themselves in a compromising position, they will NOT find their interests as vehemently defended as those they felt so compelled to rally for.

Breukelen Bleu and The Black Woman Think Tank., has a standing ‪#‎stayingoutofit policy when it comes to any of these very public battles to defend Black Manhood. . . .”

Excerpt from THIS POST:

“According to statistics, 10.8% of Black Males are married to non-black partners and 19.7% cohabitate with non-black women. And while actual numbers are hard to find, anecdotal evidence of the ever increasing number of mixed raced children that result from these marriages, cohabitations and relationships equal to a good portion- lets saaaayyy....20% of black males, having children by non-black women.

Now, I'm no statistician, and my math is rudimentary, at best, but in the end, it's clear that at least 20% of Black Men have ties to women who are NOT African or Black American and at least 20% of them have children, households, marriages, economic, genetic, sexual or emotional ties-that-bind to non-black chics in some way, shape or form. So in essence 20% of Black Men have women who are NOT African or Black American, but who SHOULD have a vested interest in Black Male issues, concerns and causes, by default.

So, as part of The Black Woman Think Tank's ongoing study of the oppression of the Black Male, I'ma need to see those women accounted for - that 20% represented in Ferguson, MO, and at the next rally, protest and riot... in every city...for any reason... and every cause, held on the Black Male's behalf. I mean, this IS a team effort, after all, and since BLACK women are being made to feel obligated to get in 'the good fight', then Im'a need to see - standing RIGHT next to Al Sharpton and The NAACP - Becky, Mei Ling and Rosita... and I'ma need them all to be screaming "No Justice. No Peace", "DONT SHOOT!" and "Free Lil Boosie ", in whatever "native" tongue they used to prove to negroes just how 'exotic' and 'worthy' there were of his attention and time. Im'a need for Ms. Pakistan, Ms. Guatemala and Ms. Arabia to stand next to the hundreds of Sistas that show up to defend the honor and rights of Black Men every year. . .”

I totally agree with Breukelen Bleu about this issue. In the first post mentioned above, she  referenced two recent news stories of BW who were killed after attending anti-gun violence events in support of the [already dead] AA/Black community. With all due respect to the sincerity of these two deceased women, I believe they unwittingly and inadvertently offered themselves up as human sacrifices by participating in those type of Sista Soldier activities.

Self-actualizing women gravitate toward neighborhoods and collectives that offer greater physical safety and security. And away from physically dangerous Blackistans and Blackistanis. Including away from Blackistani rallies and meetings.

God respects free will, and so do I. It’s your life. You can risk it whenever and for whomever you wish. I’m just telling you why I won’t be out there protesting with you in defense of Black males. I value my life too much to risk it like that. AA males need to learn how to handle their own business for themselves. Or not. It’s on them.

Just Say "NO!" To The Attempted "Columbusing" Of The BWE Social Justice Movement

I'm not surprised that there are colored girls out there trying to rewrite the history of the Black Women's Empowerment (BWE) social justice movement. That's what usually happens when a movement succeeds (along with an influx of opportunistic latecomers).

An attempt at revisionist history came up in the comment section to the excellent post "What's In a Name?" over at the blog Not Your Girl Friday. It was good to see a lot of people who were present at BWE's beginning (particularly Evia, blog host of Black Female Interracial Marriage) talk about the actual history of the BWE movement.

The REAL history of the BWE movement from those who were there at the beginning and in the early days

Those who are interested in the early history of BWE should read through the comment section. I'll quote some of the comments here.

I said:

Khadija Nassif   
August 7, 2014 at 4:25 am    

Josephine,

On the one hand, I like loyalty. In terms of my own ethnic group, I think it’s a very good thing that more AABW are learning to speak up in support of the BW who helped them as individuals. I hope that more readers who appreciated Rev. Lisa Vazquez’ work speak up in support of her work and add their voices to this conversation.

I can disagree with another activist regarding certain issues, and still deeply appreciate that person’s work regarding other issues. That’s how I feel about Rev. Lisa’s work. I have no problem or hesitation in praising the aspects of a person’s work that I agree with. As I did when I praised the parts of Rev. Lisa’s work that I’m thankful for—such as her emphasis on introspection (as I said in my earlier comment).

It’s okay for activists and anybody else to have points of disagreement.

You said, “Rev Lisa Vasquez never once said that she was not black.” Who said she said anything like that? I haven’t seen anybody say that here. I don’t know what it is that you’re responding to when you say that, because I didn’t see anybody make that claim.

You said, “All of this has nothing at all to do with race, and when one group shows pride in their ethnicity, they are not offending another group who may share the same race with them.”

Showing pride in one’s ethnicity is a good thing (which I think I’ve mentioned in my earlier comment above). I have pride in my ethnicity. All that is great. So, I can agree with that part of your statement that I quoted above. Nevertheless, nobody gets to pick and choose what another person finds offensive.

I don’t celebrate Kwanzaa, but I DO believe in its principles, including the principle of Kujichagulia/Self-Determination for all peoples of the world. Every people’s right—including AAs’ right—to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

That means outsiders—any and all persons who self-identify as something other than AA (persons who self-identify as somebody ELSE)—don’t get to define AAs’ ethnic identity or culture. Much less get to claim that AAs don’t have one. Outsiders don’t have any legitimate place in that type of internal conversation. And I notice that nobody even tries to go there with anybody except AAs. Because other people have boundaries and would never stand for it.

You said, “The bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement comes from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet.”

{record scratch sound} NO. No, I’m not going to let that revisionist history pass. NO, “the bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement” DID NOT come from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet. NO, that’s not true or accurate.

Rev. Lisa Vazquez was ONE OF SEVERAL early voices. As I recall, the BWE pioneers such as Evia, Sara, Halima, Focused Purpose (who in recent times has focused on religion) and some others were already blogging before Rev. Lisa became known.

In my view, what Rev. Lisa DID do moreso than anybody else in the early years of BWE was:

(1) bring the importance of introspection to the BWE reading audience’s attention (she took the conversations deeper than where they had been at that point in time);

(2) popularize and spread the idea of “divestment”/BW divesting from the Black community; and

(3) tirelessly spread the word about her blog AND about other BWE blogs throughout all corners of the Black blogosphere (unlike some of the BWE-lite latecomers, Rev. Lisa’s efforts didn’t revolve around self-promotion).

I greatly admired the systematic way she made the rounds at all sorts of Black blogs spreading the word about (and praising the work of) several BWE bloggers. She would comment at (and spread the word about divestment at) all sorts of “mainstream” Black blogs that I just didn’t have the fortitude to deal with. I often had the experience of running across all sorts of Black blogs that were new to me, and discovering that Rev. Lisa had already been to that blog several months earlier leaving comments. Including comments about divestment, and also comments that encouraged readers to check out some of the pioneers’ blogs.

Among the other praiseworthy accomplishments I mentioned above, Rev. Lisa Vazquez was quite thorough, systematic and generous in helping to increase the audience for other BWE blogs. Thereby increasing the reach of the ENTIRE BWE movement.

I believe that BWE’s success came sooner than it otherwise would have BECAUSE of how thorough, organized and systematic Rev. Lisa was in spreading the word.

That was one of several things I deeply admired and respected about Rev. Lisa’s work. Again, having points of disagreement does NOT equal condemning someone’s work.

Reply

 

An African-heritage long-time BWE commenter named JaliliMaster said: 

JaliliMaster

 

August 7, 2014 at 2:28 pm

“Rev Lisa Vasquez never once said that she was not black. The bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement comes from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet.”

I have great respect for the work she did, and her blog made me think about certain things very deeply, explored issues that were only previously touched upon, etc, so I’ll just ignore that comment, but say that you are wrong. There were several early pioneers in BWE, Rev. Lisa was one of them. But to say that her blog provided the “bulk of ideas of the BWE movement “, does that even sound credible to you. Just think of what it is you are actually saying! [ . . . ]

Another (African-heritage) long-time commenter named FoxyCleopatra said:

FoxyCleopatra   

August 7, 2014 at 8:54 pm

Josephine,

As much as I am trying hard to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are not trying to stir up nonsense….I can’t. I have re-read the comments that i as well as others made and cannot figure out what it is you are responding to. Who said anything about Rev. Lisa not calling herself black? In fact didn’t Jalilimaster mention that she said she was black Puerto Rican? My point simply was that why is it fine for other black ethnic groups to identify as such and have pride in their ethnicity/nationality but then some people want to deny AAs the same? What does me making this point have to do with the comment you wrote.

As for this….”The bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement comes from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet.”……..I’m not even going to go there with you. I had something to write in reply but after reading Jalilimaster, Khadija and Evia’s reply, I’ve got nothing more polite to add. Black Women Blow the Trumpet was definitely one of the 5 or so early BWE blogs I used to frequent the most, but to say the bulk of BWE comes from her is beyond disrespectful to the other BWE pioneers! By the way, didn’t Rev. Lisa dislike the term ‘movement’ being used to describe her blog?

Reply

• JaliliMaster

  August 7, 2014 at 9:37 pm

  “ By the way, didn’t Rev. Lisa dislike the term ‘movement’ being used to describe her blog? ”
  True, she insisted that it was a ‘Think Tank’, and I had no problem with that position, so that is what I referred to her blog as.
•  
• It is good to give people their due, but in the process, be wise to not diminish or erase the effort that others put in.

  Reply

A White commenter who was present in the early days of BWE said:

arthur

August 8, 2014 at 4:02 pm

“The bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement comes from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet.”

This is not so. The main voices of the early days of BWE were Evia, Halima, Gina at WAOD, Aimee, Sara and a few others. The Rev Lisa was there as a voice in the conversation, not as the leader of thought.

Reply

Evia said:

Evia

August 7, 2014 at 7:05 pm

 

@Josephine–You said:

“The bulk of the ideas of the BWE movement comes from Rev Lisa Vasquez’s blog which was entitled: Black Women Blow the Trumpet.”

Now, Josephine, why did you come here with this LIE? Do you think we all have amnesia? I had retired my boxing gloves but I’m a tireless fighter when I need to fight, so I’m ready to slug this one out forever–if necessary. Enough is enough! So put up or shut up! Normally, I stand clear of these types of online slugfests but I’m ready. This is just WRONG.

I, too, value Rev. Lisa for urging AA and other bw to look inside at the role they play in their plight, but unless you can show and prove that Rev. Lisa started posting the primary talking points of BWE ideology–and in this particular framework–prior to July 2006, I’m calling BS on this. One of the MAIN reasons why I’ve hesitated to move my main site and the various related sub-sites of mine on Typepad is because I KNOW that folks like you are going to step forward to say that they, or someone else of their choosing, are ones who invented BWEology. We know how this goes. I knew the Columbusing of BWE would begin at some point because it’s been effective!! So, in the interim, you’ve decided to advance Rev. Lisa’s name. LOL! Are you serious or is this a trial balloon you’re floating? A LOT of us (Khadija, the names she mentioned, etc) have contributed to this body of work and some of us beat the drum tirelessly about various aspects of it more than others, and some of us have shrilly amplified certain parts of it more than others, and Rev. Lisa made a worthy contribution, but she was NOT the contributor of BULK of these ideas.

I got into putting forth and promoting some of these major BWE concepts AFTER I ran across Halima Anderson under attack on a black nationalist site back in late 2005/early 2006. I looked her up and saw that she was promoting IR dating for bw who were interested in going that route, and since I was IR married, I wrote to her to lend my support to what she was doing.. Also, there was another woman, a black biracial British woman whose writing pointed me at the ways in which bw’s image was being defiled by bm, but despite how she was aware what bm were doing, she still defended them.

Of course, Halima pointed out the vileness of this pattern, and pointed out that a very similar desecration of bw’s image was occurring in the UK by bm there. I was of the same mind as Halima and tossed my hat into the ring because no one was going to freely pee on my grandmother’s image and AA women of her ilk–on MY watch without a fight. So, if anything, HALIMA ANDERSON, is the originator of both the foundation and some of the current flesh and blood ideas of BWE. Mind you, this was 2 years before I ever heard of Rev. Lisa. So, you’ve got to PROVE that she was writing about these concepts PRIOR to July 2006 because that’s when I started from the beginning talking about a host of very basic concepts like ‘first and foremost’ and bw supporting other bw and only supporting those who support them (RECIPROCITY)–that to me were just simple common sense.

So, where’s your PROOF? Surely, you have it. Other than that, you must think we are FOOLS. But if you can prove it, I’m more than woman enough to apologize to you.

I was the one who put forth the commonsense concepts such as bw Marrying Well, hypergamy, the Magical Thinking that plagues many AAbw, the DBR mentality of many AA men, the critical need for bw to Vet, escape/marry out, blacks being perpetually surprised, AAbw being okey-doked, the need for a RUCOSS, the value of intentional communities for AAbw, and I could cite some more key concepts that are now a part of BWE. Most of my billion-word articles are still online–lol– along with the dates and the ones that are not there on Typepad are on Bloigger.

Okay . . . .Insofar as anyone claiming they’re NOT AA, I’ve never cared about that. I’m AA and my ancestors were too. I don’t care whether anyone else is. I’m enough all by myself as long as others who say they’re not NOT AA don’t step up to share in the any part of the pie that AAs have fought for and won and don’t look for support from AAs when their azz is being fried.

I do NOT approve of trying to force anyone to acknowledge their AA-ness. I don’t care about them and if they ever need help, my boundaries are always in place, so I can ignore them easily. I don’t even waste my energy talking to them. And it sickens me that other AAs try to force other blacks to be black or be AA. UGH!!! It shows a total absence of racial or group pride to try to claim people who don’t want to be a part of your group or race. Being an old school AA is something GREAT to me!! I don’t need anyone else to share in that greatness. However, my sons are partially Nigerian and partially AA. We emphasized their Nigerian culture when they were growing up because there were a lot of progressive, family-minded Nigerians around them who were very willing to practice and teach the culture, whereas so many AAs have abandoned the fledgling culture that AAs used to have–that culture that brought us up to and through the Civil Rights era and enabled us AND ALL other blacks in this country, ALL POCs, ww, and gays to make great strides in this country. It’s not my or my children’s fault that others AAs have lost their minds and willfully abandoned AA culture. I understand the importance of culture, and I knew I needed a cultural umbrella under which to raise my sons.

I am VERY thankful to the Nigerians and other Africans who were a big part of helping to shape my sons into the young men they are today and to the Nigerians and other Africans who contributed in various ways to supporting ME. The fact is that I’ve always been able to count a lot on Nigerians and other Africans for support during the decades and even now when more than a few AAs refused to support my entrepreneurial pursuits or only do so when they felt like it. It’s the stone cold truth when Khadija says that AAs tend to boycott other AAs products and services, no matter how high quality they are.

So, I am always going to support those who support me and I will support them first, since I believe STRONGLY in on-par Reciprocity.

Reply

 

A commenter who was present at BWE's beginning named ForeverLoyal said:

foreverloyal

August 7, 2014 at 11:14 pm

Just popping in to say that I also remember the actual history.

 -I was on Evia’s site back when it still had the hostname suffix on it.

 -I read Racial Realist when Khadija commented regularly there (and was still a black nationalist. As an aside, she was such a strong communicator that I used to believe that if she was still hanging in there, maybe things weren’t so? so? dire in the black community. After she changed her position it was like “Well damn. There goes that”)

-I was on Halima’s site in the early days as well as Focused Purpose. She did a post announcing the start of Khadija’s first blog

 -I was on Rev Lisa’s site in the early days as well. Her contributions were invaluable.

 -Aimee’s blogging career was brief but made a major contribution.

I am another one who is not going to stand by and let the greasy lie (lol stole that phrase from Khadija) that Rev Lisa is almost completely responsible for the movement be told without a challenge.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

 Not today, not ever.

And I have a couple of Evia’s books with the dates on the posts.

 Anyone interested in the history can order them on Amazon, and I recommend them. I read them as they were posted online, but flipping through the book and going through them again gives a real appreciation for how it was in the beginning.

Reply

 

One of the biggest ironies in the history of BWE

 

For those who don't know, Halima (the blogger Evia referred to in her comment) is a Caribbean-British woman. I'm happy Evia commented because she filled in the blanks of some things that happened before I came on the BWE scene.

 

For me, the biggest and most amusing irony in the history of BWE is that many of the BWE pioneers and early BWE supporters first became aware of each other at a Black Nationalist blog!

 

I said:

Khadija Nassif

August 8, 2014 at 1:08 am

 

ForeverLoyal & Evia,

 

One of the biggest ironies in the history of BWE is that many of the BWE pioneers and early BWE supporters first became aware of each other at the Black Nationalist blog that you both mentioned. For those who don’t know, it was called Ruminations of a Racial Realist (as ForeverLoyal mentioned). That blog was written by a biracial Black British woman who is the daughter of (yet another) Black male Black Power hypocrite and a WW.

ForeverLoyal, you said, “-I read Racial Realist when Khadija commented regularly there (and was still a black nationalist. As an aside, she was such a strong communicator that I used to believe that if she was still hanging in there, maybe things weren’t so? so? dire in the black community. After she changed her position it was like “Well damn. There goes that”)”

{chuckling} Yes, I was still in my Black Nationalist trance when I started commenting there. That Black Nationalist trance had been shaken (but not yet shattered) when I learned about the Dunbar Village Atrocity through Gina’s blogging at What About Our Daughters. The Dunbar Village Crime Against Humanity was my first realization that things were even worse than I realized among the AA collective. I knew the AA collective had problems, serious problems. But at that point I still mistakenly believed that AA men “were in it together” with AA women and children. The “conscious brothers” over at the Racial Realist blog cured me of that delusion!

What the “Hotep,” BM ankh-wearing hypocrites and their BW Sista Soldier enablers/supporters don’t realize is that AA men’s ongoing failures and DBR behavior is the greatest and the most successful “recruiting sergeant” ever for spreading the BWE message. By their ongoing refusal to protect and provide for BW and children, AA men are burning their bridges with ever-increasing numbers of AA women. Including the BW who previously felt politically obligated to support them—such as former Black Nationalist women such as myself.

[Recently, it was another watershed moment to see the middle-of-the-road For Harriet blogger do a post explaining why she was NOT going to march for Eric Garner (basically due to BM's ongoing refusal and failure to reciprocate BW's support).]

It was the series of deeply selfish, DBR-type comments from so-called “conscious brothers” at the Ruminations of a Racial Realist blog that ultimately pushed me all the way OUT of Black Nationalist ideology. [And I had previously believed in that ideology since college.]

Whenever BW commenters mentioned the never-ending list of atrocities being committed against BW and Black girls by BM, these so-called “conscious brothers” would yawn and get right back to whining about WM’ss victimization of BM. The loudest BM voice on that blog was a man who later on married the blogger—they didn’t disclose their connection to each other until after they were married**. Meanwhile, he would challenge other commenters (BW who raised points concerning BW’s interests) to debate on that blog while never disclosing that his personal connection to the blogger. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not particularly ethical or good faith behavior to challenge people to debates in an online setting that (only) you and your blogger girlfriend know is not truly “neutral ground.”

[**I found out before they disclosed their connection to each other because I stumbled across a photo of them hugged up together in a couples-type of pose at another site.]

Anyhoo, this “conscious brother” would more or less dismiss any BM-committed atrocity by asserting that ultimately “the WM” was responsible for [feral, violent] Black males’ bad acts due to racism. I finally asked him whether or not he believed in free will.

The things these so-called “conscious brothers” said on that blog shocked me into the realization that the masses of AA males will NEVER protect and provide for BW and children—AABW are on their own, and need to act accordingly!

Without them intending to have this effect—

—the deeply selfish,

—profoundly irresponsible (marriage & family are the building blocks of any functioning nation. How can you build a nation if you refuse to marry and build families?),

—DBR-type comments the so-called “conscious brothers” said on the Racial Realist blog snapped me right out of my prior Black Nationalist trance and put me firmly on the road to BWE—LOL!

Reply

 

Check out the BWE pioneers' archives

 

I strongly urge readers to check out the BWE pioneers' archives, starting with a couple of excellent and still-current posts by Aimee.

 

Reinterpreting Wesley Snipes

 

I Ain’t Saying She’s A Gold Digger . . .