Black People : DEGREES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

[Isaiah]

I agree pan, I also think that people shut their minds off when they feel someone is about to tell them something that they really don't want to hear. No one wants their day ruined and no one wants to have to throw their beliefs away and start all over. It's like when a person starts eating healthy, and they have to throw away everything in their refrigerator because they can no longer eat it. Most people aren't willing to put forth the effort because they fear starting over and leaving their comfort zone.

When we are CHALLENGED to, as Kente said, leave our comfort zones we get "cognitive dissonance." All we hear is noise coming from the source of our discomfort... I think that's why the he-say-she-said stuff gets a lotta play from some of us... Drama doesn't necessarily involve us as thinking human beings... Like the Boob Tube, it enables us to be spectators to the spectacle...

How are we going to change that??? How can we get African people to DESIRE to elevate their consciousness... What is in it for them??? That, I think, is where we have to start... What is in it for a parent who raises a brilliant child??? What is in it for a brother to rather pick up a book as often as he tries to pick up a sister, or attend a business seminar per every movie he goes to see??? How can we get things like that across to people???

Peace!
Isaiah

 

[kente417mojo]

When we are CHALLENGED to, as Kente said, leave our comfort zones we get "cognitive dissonance." All we hear is noise coming from the source of our discomfort... I think that's why the he-say-she-said stuff gets a lotta play from some of us... Drama doesn't necessarily involve us as thinking human beings... Like the Boob Tube, it enables us to be spectators to the spectacle...

How are we going to change that??? How can we get African people to DESIRE to elevate their consciousness... What is in it for them??? That, I think, is where we have to start... What is in it for a parent who raises a brilliant child??? What is in it for a brother to rather pick up a book as often as he tries to pick up a sister, or attend a business seminar per every movie he goes to see??? How can we get things like that across to people???

Peace!
Isaiah

You know Isaiah, I really don't know how we can wake others up. I'm reading this book called "Mind Control, World Control" and it talks about how the U.S. is using different methods to control the actions of it's population. I run this across black people and all I get is a "O well, this world is going to hell anyways" attitude. Everyone is so content with just laying down and dying because they'd rather do that than fight. This is why it's taking so long for black people to move. This is why so many black folks sell-out, because they figure, if you can't beat em, join em. I rarely (an I can't think of any situations) come across a brotha or sista and tell them something, and they wanted to make an effort to change their behavior or actually follow-up on what I said. It's always the same B/S. I'll tell someone "Don't eat that, it's not good for you. It's been proven to make you sterile" and they say stuff like "Show me where it says that and I'll stop" or "Everything is going to kill us anyways one day". It gets to a point where I actually see why we are moving in reverse as a people. We are totally beaten down and uninterested in picking ourselves back up.


Can you believe that many people have told me that I read TOO much, and I should stop because it's making me paranoid?

 

[Isaiah]

Can you believe that many people have told me that I read TOO much, and I should stop because it's making me paranoid?

Brother, this is that QUACK stuff I was talking about in that "Breaking Down the Essence of God" thread... Totally unproven mythological nonsense, and we'd rather deal in that drama stuff, and than real, scientifically proven facts... THe real deal is just not sexy and racy and scandalous enough to capture our people's attention... I think that is why Africans would rather those 3 hours of preachin' on Sunday, than running a profitable business monday through saturday...

Somehow, we've got to build the kind of institutions that re-teach and re-educate our children, so that conversations of these kinds can become common-place with us... I mean, I actually know quite a few folk who are down with the information we discuss at Destees, and what we need to do is get more people networked into that circle of folks around the country...

I think we've blown so many great opportunities to impact on folk when we've had their attention, Kente... For example, the Million Man March... There was such an outrageous fortune to be had had Minister Farrakhan come to us with a really practical plan of action... Instead he stood there talking like he was some kinda numerologist... Whew, I cannot tell you how much that hurt me - still does...

Peace!
Isaiah

 

[kente417mojo]

I think we've blown so many great opportunities to impact on folk when we've had their attention, Kente... For example, the Million Man March... There was such an outrageous fortune to be had had Minister Farrakhan come to us with a really practical plan of action... Instead he stood there talking like he was some kinda numerologist...

I agree, we have indeed blown many opportunities. We have had black men and women who got media attention, but they chose to join the enemy because the other side didn't bring the same financial rewards or the same prestige. Let's not forget, many of our problems as far as our black leadership goes, were attributed to egos, instead of keeping their eyes on the task at hand. Honestly Isaiah, I don't think the future looks bright for African Americans. I'm just being honest and I hope I'm wrong. I see the materialism and destractions being at an all-time high. We are so far gone now. Even with the few conscious brothas and sista, we can not begin to create as many conscious black people compared to the demons that this country creates. I went to the Black Book Expo in Los Angeles this past Saturday, and there was a decent turn-out. When you compare it to the turn-out for Freak-nik or the "Up in Smoke" concert featuring Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z, you really seee where we're at as people. We'd rather pay good money to see self-hate, than go to a book expo that presents culture and knowledge for free. Go to a bookstore and look at the African American section. Now, I know white people aren't promoting black readers and authors, but money talks to these people. If the demand for black books was great, they'd feature these books in their stores because they're all about making money. The problem is, the demand isn't there unless the book is a trashy "romance" book filled with sex and bad grammar, or it's the "Downlow Brother" type book.

 

[Isaiah]

I agree, we have indeed blown many opportunities. We have had black men and women who got media attention, but they chose to join the enemy because the other side didn't bring the same financial rewards or the same prestige. Let's not forget, many of our problems as far as our black leadership goes, were attributed to egos, instead of keeping their eyes on the task at hand. Honestly Isaiah, I don't think the future looks bright for African Americans. I'm just being honest and I hope I'm wrong. I see the materialism and destractions being at an all-time high. We are so far gone now. Even with the few conscious brothas and sista, we can not begin to create as many conscious black people compared to the demons that this country creates. I went to the Black Book Expo in Los Angeles this past Saturday, and there was a decent turn-out. When you compare it to the turn-out for Freak-nik or the "Up in Smoke" concert featuring Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z, you really seee where we're at as people. We'd rather pay good money to see self-hate, than go to a book expo that presents culture and knowledge for free. Go to a bookstore and look at the African American section. Now, I know white people aren't promoting black readers and authors, but money talks to these people. If the demand for black books was great, they'd feature these books in their stores because they're all about making money. The problem is, the demand isn't there unless the book is a trashy "romance" book filled with sex and bad grammar, or it's the "Downlow Brother" type book.

Brother, I agree, and I wonder how did we let it get to this??? I know that the entrance of drugs into our communities in the '80's played a major role, and then we just about relinquished adult control of our communities to the juvenile drug lords... Now their mentality rules the day...

Kente, gotta agree with you that we will probably hit rock bottom before we get our heads out of the sand... Sorry to say...

Peace!
Isaiah