Bullshit Busting: Dealing with Actual Facts

To start the bullshit busting section of "The System" where we will be reviewing memes, news, urban legends, rumors, and conspiracies to separate the facts from the fiction. We'll start by looking at some ways to do the knowledge to see how information and misinformation can help and hurt people looking to make a difference in their communities. First up is a tool kit organized by Carl Sagan he called the "Baloney Detection Kit". I'm summarizing the points here, but you can check out the links to find the full text(That's your first test).

Carl Sagan's Bullshit Detection Kit

1) Fact check(and double-check) the facts and evidence
2) Check the facts from different points of view
3) No expert or authority is too good to be questioned
4) Every story has more than one side. Look at all of them.
5) Check all the ways your point of view could be wrong. If you don't, somebody else will - and don't get in your feelings when that happens.
6) Numbers and video don't lie, not always. Use them.
7) Weak points weaken arguments(go back to #5)
8) Occam's Razor: The argument with less holes is best
9) Claims that can't be tested are worthless

With these tools we can take on whatever information we want and discern between fact, fiction, hoaxes, satire and handle it that way.

Money on the Net: A Revisit

"Wealth is a persons ability to survive so many number of days forward - or, if I stopped working today, how long could I survive?"
- R. Buckminster Fuller

One night I was glued to the computer with a few drinks and cigarettes, a calculator, and 10 or more internet tabs open with everything from online gigs for pocket change, investopedia and marketwatch for investment knowledge, my bank account for moving cash, and my girlfriend screaming for me to go to bed... No matter how much sleep I may lose on those binges, preparing for the day I leave my job(whether fired, laid off, quitting, retirement, or death) is what makes each start of the work week, and work day more bearable....

 This independent study has turned into a weekly, if not almost daily habit. This month I decided to give up smoking and drinking to see how much money I could save and invest in other areas. I was recently studying the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and although I have already been implementing a few of the asset-building activities the author mentions, I welcomed the new perspective on financial literacy concepts. One of the most important is the distinction between an asset and a liability.

Asset = money made whether I work or not

Liability = money spent whether I work or not

So with this new knowledge, we will add on a previous post discussing the opportunities for making money online. Except for number 1, the methods in this list will deal with the idea of generating "passive income" through assets.

1. MTurk

Mturk.com is a website powered by Amazon where workers can search for Human Intelligence Tasks("hits") which are posted by other users. The tasks can be as easy as copying text from a business card and taking surveys, to more advanced hits such as transcribing video and audio recordings. The payment for hits can range depending on how complex or time consuming the HIT is. The hard part is reviewing the gigs that make the most sense to perform, and match your working style and interests. You won't get rich, or even replace your current paycheck, but you can make some extra pocket change.

2. Stocks

When you buy stocks, you own a piece of that company. To raise money, companies will often sell partial ownership of the company as a stock in exchange for money. The company uses this money to grow its current business, or fund new ideas and opportunities.

When dealing with the stock market there are a number of ways to make money. The 2 main methods are sales profits and dividends. How you invest depends on your style and financial goals.

Dividends = Money the company pays you for owning the stock.

Dividends are for long term income and saving money for retirement, children's college funds, and other long term events. Dividends are paid out over time - usually every quarter(3 months). Regardless of what the stock's price is, as long as the company is in business, you get paid.


Gains = Money you make after selling the stock for a profit.

  Trading stocks for gains you get the money as soon as the deal is made. You can either reinvest the money on a different stock, or you can keep the cash. There is also more risk here because the value of the stock can cause you to lose money just as easy as it can make money.

3. CD's and Bonds

Certificates of Deposit(CD's) and Bonds are both like a friend giving you an "IOU", but you invest in them for different reason. A CD is bought through your bank, it's another way of saving your money. The bank holds your CD for anywhere from 3 mo to 5 years, depending on how long you agreed they could hold it. When the time is up, the bank pays you interest on the money you let them borrow. This is giving the bank a short term loan.

 Bonds are similar to CDs and work pretty much the same way. The difference is bonds can be bought through a company or a bank. It is a long term loan, usually for 10 years or more. But bonds also normally have a higher interest rate, so more money is made when the bank or company pays you back. 

4. Mutual Funds

Mutual Funds combine stocks, bonds, and CDs with other form of investment into one package. The money for these investments comes from groups of investors pooling their money together. Mutual funds are managed by a broker, who handles what to invest the money in, how long, and when. As an investor you buy a share(or part) of the mutual fund. Whenever the fund makes money, through dividends, gains, or interest, that money is paid out to the owners of the fund in dividends. As the value of the funds investments grow, the price of shares for that fund grows too. You can also sell your shares in that fund for cash.

If you don't feel comfortable researching individual companies, or watching the market for the best deals on stocks, bonds, and CDs, a mutual fund is a convenient investment opportunity. But they are also riskier. Just because you have a broker handling the funds for you, doesn't mean they can't make mistakes.

For those who have experience in the investment field, it works like a game to them - no different than going to the casino. The same way you can hit it big and make a lot of money, you can lose it just as fast. It doesn't take a lot of money to get started, all you need is a bank account. I had only $50 in my account when I bought my first stock. By doing your research and taking educated risks, you can make investments work for you, and make money, while managing it all from your computer.

The Black Silicon Valley

Ironically, I was listening to this song earlier in the day. Then heard Black In America was on.

I thought it was pretty good. As a people, we consume more technology than we produce. And with those working to create their own start-ups being in the NewMe Accelerator program, they already know what trying to break into the industry will be like. The telltale part of the show was when the Indian guy was telling them he had to use a white guy just to get his idea accepted into Silicon Valley. It shows us what the obstacles are and what level we'll have to be on to get known, for those of us in looking to get into the tech industry. But of course, the only way to recieve the best treatment and do business on our own terms is if we have our own cultur/economic centers, a Black Silicon Valley, similar to the Black Wallstreet we've had in the past.

I was in school for computer science... haven't finished the degree yet as I started working full time in anticipation of becoming a father. But I also saw that most of the people they featured on the show never graduated, and actually stopped at the same level that I did. Shows me, and hopefully others in my position that there's still more to struggle for than just getting a job. Takes self-education and motivation though. I've actually got quite a few ideas for software, games, and possible phone apps. Haven't been in school since the Spring semester of 2011, but I've still been trying to pick up where I left off and teach myself what I need to know about these programming languages to make them a reality.

A lot of times people in the conscious community get carried away with the "Matrix" talk and forget, or purposefully ignore, the fact that there are a lot of people who claim to be conscious but are out of touch with the average person that has to work a 9-5 or has dire financial problems that need to be solved.

 I'm not saying that independence shouldn't be or is not the main goal. But it takes money to start and run a nation, and money and skills to start a business. And you have to start small before you can move up to a city-wide, nation-wide or global clientele - all depends on what you're trying to do but the possibilities are endless. Build up clientele through your reputation and so on. I understand all that full well.

On an economically competitive level, we have to have some kind of training or skill development self-taught or otherwise. Nobody's going to do business with a doctor (holistic or not), a computer technician, carpenter, a teacher, etc.. with no training or certification. And if he/she fucks up while performing their job, they can't say "well there's nothing you can do cuz im not a citizen of the country(or a Sovereign Citizen) so the law doesn't apply to me" and not expect an ass whoopin(LOL).

I don't just sit on my ass waiting on someone to give me a hand out. I (1) use long ass facebook comments/conversations like these to write blog posts(http://blackmindsdev.blogspot.com/

), I recently started doing gigs on Fiverr.com, and since i'm not in school right now I've been teaching myself C++ and Python so I can actually create some of the software ideas I've come up with over the years.  There's money on the internet, and technology is and will be one of the many ways that black people will become competitive in the global economy, but unless you have a large following then you're just paying dues and scratching up money where you can. And I'm (2) looking for decent paying jobs that will a) help me develop my skills so i can run my own business, b) have a financial cushion for when I'm not getting much clientele, and c) have some start-up money (primitive capital) to be able to afford more books to further develop my skills and buy better equipment. Until then I've learned how to make do with freeware. Before I buy something I see if there is an equivalent free version. If there isn't then I try to get it cheap, or just do without. It's called survival and anybody with common sense would say that I'm not going to sit on the computer all day and not figure out how to use it to make money - applying for jobs or otherwise. There's more than one way to get up, get out, and get something.

(Updated 6/22/13) I have also attained the COMPtia A+ Certification, and I am currently studying to get the Network+ and Security+ certifications. The ultimate goal is to turn my knowledge and skills in computer repair and maintenance from a side hustle to an independent business. So once things pick up and when I get out my situation I can go back to the youth on the street in the same situation I came out of and say "I was in the same situation and this is one way to get out of it." But to do that you have to be in tune with the masses of the people, specifically the youth, because they're the main ones who need to be reached. They're the ones who make up the statistics that conscious people rant and rave over but preach to the choir (other conscious people) about, or teach the congregation (the masses) shit that goes over their heads or does nothing to solve their immediate, every-day, real life problems. If you're out of touch with those people, then no matter how you dress up your presentation they're either not going to listen, or they're going to give you more credit and power than you deserve which is no good for them. And that's the shit that I'm saying needs to stop.

Starting a nation and all that is good, like I've said before doing business and living under traditional African principles is a great goal. BUT focusing on starting a nation and developing our own laws and currency and all that is jumping the gun when the people you're supposed to be reaching can't or don't know how to pay their bills and fight dictators and corrupt politicians in the country they're living in now. And unless there are safeguards in place that the masses of the people know how to utilize, then those same masses that exist today on the bottom rung of society will exist in that future nation. They will be the worker ants of that new nation without a pot to piss in while they put money in the pockets of a new dictator with a black face. Denouncing your citizenship to where you don't have to pay taxes to America or any other European nation is all good and well but you have to have another nation to go to and a means of getting there or creating it (and PROTECTING it).

A Petition for Mumia

Mumia Abu-Jamal

When I was 6 and 7 years old, my mom used to listen to NPR while she was dropping me off at school. There would always be a segment of a man speaking. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, but one thing that stuck with me was the ending "From death row, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal". I've always researched Black history and when I got in my teens, I remembered that name. I looked it up, and read about the Panthers, and further into Mumia himself. I started listening to and reading his commentary on a regular basis 4 years ago. I also had the chance to look at some of his court transcripts and found that he initially had not been given adequate resources to defend himself. Abu-Jamal has been fighting for his life and freedom for decades. He recently won a battle to be taken off of Death Row. Since then, as opposed to being placed in the general population, Mumia has been placed in the Hole.

I think that Mumia's case and others like his should open up legislation as well as discussion about citizen's rights to defend themselves and others against police abuse (violent or not), under a clear cut set of circumstances. We know that some officers have in the past, and will in the future abuse their power and take advantage of any group they so decide to discriminate against. But their power to protect and serve does not mean that we should be placed as permanent victims of their brutality, railroading, abuse, as well as the condition of minority Political Prisoners, and the causes that lead one to become a political prisoner.

Support Mumia Abu-Jamal

If I Were Black On the Internet

The Jerk

Since I've started learning more about money and the Internet, I've come to see how certain habits we as humans have translated from the real world to cyberspace. One specific example is our tendency to herd towards things that could potentially harm us, or have no affect on us at all, all in search of the thrill of seeing and discussing shocking, sometimes distasteful, and almost always taboo subjects and events.

Recently, a Forbes Magazine author posted an article called "If I Were a Poor Black Kid". News feeds all over the net had something to say about the article. Black publications on, and possibly even off, the net are publishing their own articles, essays, and Facebook comments in response to the buzz that this man's article has created. Of course within the Black community this has created another fighting ground between the political and social camps of those who agree with the author’s statements and those who disagree. Of course, everyone is a critic, and entitled to their opinion. Regardless of what the author’s true intentions behind writing the article, or what anyone may think about him or the article itself, one thing everyone seems to have forgotten is that someone (Forbes) is making money from the attention we’re giving it. It doesn’t matter whether he had good intentions or bad intentions behind writing the article. We’ve made it too easy for people outside of the Black community to make money from putting their 2 cents in about our community, its condition, or the reasons for its condition. When someone says something insulting or degrading about the Black community, we flock to their doors just to see/hear them say it again. It speaks volumes about how little many of us understand about how money is made on the internet.

This situation with this article and others like it – even in other forms of media - is the same. Online, businesses get paid based off the number of viewers coming to their site, as well as any products or services they may sell. So all the people who went to that page to read it just so they could disagree and post comments on the page, or posted the link for others to go back and read it are STILL PUTTING MONEY IN THE AUTHOR AS WELL AS FORBES’ POCKET. Kind of like when Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre made The Chronic dissing Eazy E. Eazy still got paid royalties for every song Dr. Dre made on that album.

If you hear gunshots or see smoke, you don’t run in that direction to see who/what/when/where/why. We run the OTHER way. It’s a survival tactic, right? Well the same way we apply that tactic to preserve our physical wellbeing, we should start applying it to our financial and mental well being as well. If someone says that an article, or other form of media is disrespectful to us and it goes viral, then as a people instead of leading others to go see/read it, we should ignore it. It can be viral in every other community all it wants to be, it should stop when it gets to us. Which would have some type of impact, given that studies show we have the highest online presence - especially in social media. Now of course, people will still read the article. The thing is, we shouldn't continue to include ourselves in those publicizing and discussing it. Now once the smoke clears, of course let's go in picking it apart to see (being honest with ourselves) what we can take from it to preserve or improve our condition – and leave the rest where it is.

The attention and money that companies get for publishing this kind of content takes away from the web hosts, writers, artists, and businesspersons who have something worthwhile to offer their communities, their respective social group, and the world. That’s not to say that we should only take in moral, uptight, or politically correct media and content ALL the time. But let’s make sure that we’re not helping the trapper by flocking to it.

Discipline and Punish

Discipline and Punish

On September 21, 2011 the entire United States witnessed the lynching of a Black man. The execution of Troy Davis should serve as a wake up call for whites and others to a couple of factors many Blacks and other minority groups have known for decades. One, racism in the form of white supremacy is still just as powerful as t has always been. As much as people would like to ignore it or deny it, this is a known fact. Two, the entire criminal justice system, from the police to the courts, to the prisons, is flawed and easily corruptible. It is geared toward imposing the will of the white ruling class on the lower classes. The Troy Davis case proved both of these points.

The situation reminded me of Michel Foucault’s (pronounced me-shell foo-co) book Discipline and Punish. In the book, Foucault explained the evolution of capital punishment and the development of the prison system. He explained that originally governments used public torture and executions as the primary form of punishment for crimes. The idea was that the condemned would serve as an example and deterrent to other criminals – even for the smallest of offenses. The media’s depiction of medieval executions is somewhat inaccurate. During such public executions, the public would be comprised of those who supported the execution and those who opposed it. After the execution, riots would erupt between the opposing groups. Those executed were often seen as martyrs. When groups become organized and gain dominance during riots, those riots become revolutions. The fact that these riots occurred proved that public executions weren't an effective method of dealing with crime or dissident activists.

A more effective method of dealing with criminals was needed as society evolved with new forms of government and industrial technology. This led to the development of chain gangs and labor camps. The labor camps and chain gangs put the inmates to work deemed useful by the government and other special interests, there was still always a change for rebellion and escape. The chain gangs punished prisoners by assigning them to jobs that reflected the nature of their crimes. The prisoners were said to pay their debt to society by physically working to improve the aspects of society that they had previously damaged. This method of punishment was supported by many reformers because it was more humane than public torture and executions.

Over time, governments developed the prison as the main method of punishment. Prisons became a way of using the same method of punishment for all crimes. By observing, training, and controlling every aspect of the prisoner’s life governments and prison authorities sought to impress a generic ideal of discipline to all f its convicts. Foucault explained that this method of punishment was meant to create people who would easily return  society to hold positions in institutions that required the same discipline such as schools (as students), (blue collar) jobs, and the military. The general function of all four of these institutions is to break a person down mentally and/or physically so that those in control of those institutions can build the subjected people up to be who/what the institutions were designed to make them. In capitalistic countries, the ruling class wanted (and still wants those convicts to serve as the manpower behind the institutions that keep the ruling class in its position at the top rung of the economic and political ladder. Needless to say, prison also has a secondary affect on one’s financial health. It affects not only the prisoner’s ability to generate income, but forces his family to fill the void of financial support that is left by the inmate’s absence. And without the financial ability to join the ruling class (primitive accumulation of capital), according to Marx, one has no other choice but to become a member of the working class (which includes both the middle and lower classes), or the lumpen (the criminal segment of the working class). This explains why many of the people who are released from prison often return.

Most of the forensic methods used today are primarily for the purpose of finding a suspect guilty of a crime. Forensic evidence maintaining one’s innocence is mainly the other side of the coin. The criminal justice system operated the same in the early days of America and developed similarly leading to the current day. Discipline and Punish explained this process for the entire Western world. As a friend of mine put it, “Michael Foucault is the white man that every Black man needs to read.” (The same goes for Karl Marx and The Communist Manifesto as well.) Despite the evolution in the methods of punishment, little was done to secure safety nets for those who were wrongly accused, let alone provide effective methods of repairing the damage done to such individuals. Such is the case for Troy Davis and many other political prisoners like Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier.

Troy Davis’ case was questionable to begin with, given that 7 of the 9 primary witnesses claimed that they only testified against him due to pressure (meaning intimidation or threats) from the police. One witness was told that he would be charged as an accessory to the murder if he refused to testify against Davis. It’s actually very common for them to use such methods to extract information from someone, whether that information is correct or not. I’ve seen it personally a few times before I was educated on what was going on. Obviously, neither the police nor the courts would ever take responsibility for such actions. Needless to say, many will try to use the fact that 7 of the 12 jurors were Black to rove that Troy’s case is not an issue of race. The thing many don’t realize, or choose to ignore is that anyone of any race can be used to support white supremacy directly or indirectly.

To those who understand the concept of being “safe” when it comes to race, it’s obvious why Obama decided not to say or do anything to help. He was most likely advised not to comment, whether he personally wanted help or not – and he took that advice if that was the case. Regardless, Obama has never spoken out in favor of Black men, not even during his campaign when Diop Olugbala posed the question “What about the Black Community”. Although he ironically was a member of a church that, according to the media, supported Black Nationalism to some degree, he seems to have distanced himself from those circles.

Hundreds of thousands of people called for Troy’s clemency. Celebrities (such as Big Boi of Outkast), regular citizens, a former FBI director, and even George W. Bush (of all people) opposed Troy’s execution. The flood of calls, emails, Tweets, and petitions finally won Tory a temporary delay of his execution minutes before he was to be executed. The PEOPLE did that. The Supreme Court took hours reviewing the case only to maintain Davis’ guilt. Maybe they saw something no one else saw or paid attention to. And if that is the case, then those who opposed Davis' execution should study the court transcripts the same as every other court has. Otherwise, the highest court in the land refused to admit that the justice system failed and killed an innocent man.

Tribute to Aaliyah

I know I'm a few days late from the anniversary of Aaliyah's death, but I'd still like to dedicate this blog post to her career and memory. Let her death be a reminder of how the decisions we make now can affect our lives and the lives of others tomorrow.

BlackMind (Game) Development

The first step in creating any kind of video game or phone app is a game design document (GDD). For the bigtime game companies the GDD is usually 30+ pages typed. Right now I'm brainstorming and developing a design for a game. No development team, sponsors, or partners yet, and still working at the dead end day job. There's about 15 pages etched out in a notebook, I haven't started typing it yet. It's still a ways to go with the GDD before development starts, but when I'm done I'll have enough plans to make a text-based(that means no animation) or graphic computer game or phone app. Can't afford to make a console game yet, you need to buy a license from the manufacturer. I'm new to the business of game development, but I'm going to keep news of my progress in the business, on the game I'm working on, and information I learn along the way here for others to use. Beginning C++ Through Game Programming is one of the books that got me started.

Another site that's good for references is Sloperama.
For more info on game development companies in your area you can also go to the International Game Developers Association's web site.

The Ballot

Today I wanted to talk a little about voting and how we as a people can use it to our advantage. Whenever election time rolls around (for anything) we all hear the average person on the street, and people in the "conscious" community say "I don't vote because voting doesn't work" or xyz excuse. Really, if you understand how the system we're living in works, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We as a people get screwed over between elections (and every other day), so we don't vote. Since we don't vote, the people who DO vote are the ones who either make the decisions, or choose the people who will make the decisions. And 9 times out of 10 they aren't going to work with our best interests in mind. So, we get screwed over and voting doesn't work (for us)... because we didn't vote. Nothing happens TO us. Only what we did or didn't prepare for.

There are different ways to vote, different issues to vote on, and different areas of life where voting and elections are a part of the decision making process. The 2 that I focus on here are government and business. In government, we vote for the candidate we believe will represent our best interests. That's the idea we're told at least. The candidates may not live up to the "word is bond" principle by doing everything (or anything) that they said they would do, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't vote.  Don't like Democrats or Republicans? On all levels of government (local, state, national), there are many other parties besides the Democratic and Republican parties. There isn't much difference between the 2 parties anyway, they just have different ideas on how the same goal should be achieved - overextending America's influence... aka dominance. The other parties usually don't get as much airtime in the media because people don't look into them, or look for them, like they should. Other organizations and parties have other methods of resolving political issues. Some with candidates who may be more open to listening to our demands and working with us to make them happen.

As a people our past experiences with voting have been bitter sweet. From poll taxes to reading tests and threats, to "zoning", registration, and ballot issues we have had to struggle for our right to vote from day 1.

But, whose fault is it when their elected official's fail their word? It's ours. Because they are elected officials, they are suppose to represent us in the government. Politicians work for 2 things, money and votes. If you're not giving them contributions to their next campaign, sponsoring a program that they came up with, or voting for them, then your opinion doesn't really matter. Part of "civic participation" involves keeping your elected officials in check. Attending meetings, contacting them, telling them about the problems you have in your neighborhood or community (and possible solutions), fighting for minority businesses to be contracted by the government on all levels - all of those fights are fights that voting citizens have the influence to fight. If you put a politician in the position where he has a choice between being reelected and a pissed off voting bloc, he will work to solve their problems. Elected officials are supposed to, or claim, that they serve us, so it's up to us to make sure they do that.

The next method of using the ballot to our advantage is in the business world. When you buy stocks, you become a partial owner of that company. Many businesses allow for stock holders to vote on certain decisions the company will make. The issues shareholders can vote on depends on the company, but some of those issues include selecting the executive board/board of directors, deciding on company policies such as whether to develop reports disclosing their spending habits and political support. Just as in the political world, the more people you have voting together for the same cause, the more power and influence that group will have. Buy stocks, and vote.

Stop making excuses to not get involved and stay on top of what the people who influence your life are doing. If you leave someone else to make life-changing decisions for you without checking them, then you can't say anything when they reap the benefits of your work, too. Government and business are supposed to be here to serve us, not give us toys and dreams to chase while they take off with the spoils of our wok in the process.

Child Support Aint No Punk

As much as our celebrity and individual cultures glorify promiscuous sex, very few of the music, movies, or any other industry we get ourselves into have much to say about what happens after all the fun and partying is over with. The most we get from these industries is "watch out for the traps some women set" and to "strap up". Very little of it goes into detail describing what life is like once "complications" come up, after the AOP (Acknowledgement of Paternity), or birth certificate (depending on where you live) is signed. If those complications prevent you from staying with the mother, chances are you will end up paying child support.

In Texas, child support starts out at 20% of your check, before taxes are taken out. Every 3 years, or whenever you get a substantial change in your income (large increase or decrease) you will go to court to have your funds and sources of income reviewed, and you will be assigned a new monthly child support rate. The woman can also ask for more money if her financial situation changes. Whatever the case may be, the matter is taken to court, where a judge will decide whether to raise, lower, or maintain the CS payment rate.

Don't have the money? Well, the judge can give you time to get it (usually 30 days, but then again, it's up to the judge). Still don't have it? That's a felony with 6 months jail time. What kind of jobs are out there for felons? You can (or will) also lose your driver's license or any other kind of license you have (commercial driver's license, hunting license, conceal and carry license, certification, etc.), and take hits to your credit. After you get out of jail, you will still owe the woman the original amount, plus 12% interest to the state, which can also be compounded. (That $5000 can turn into $10k real quick.) And remember, all of this is taken out of your check BEFORE taxes. You may not even get one. Then whose car, house, business loan, credit card, or student loan can you get with no money and bad credit?

Also, even if the woman doesn't put you on child support right away, she can still file to place you on child support at any time up to 3 months before the child turns 18. You will have to pay child support for all the years that you "missed", plus (again) the 12% interest to the state, per month. There is also no guarantee that the money will be spent on your child(ren) - but that depends on the woman. What if you could PROVE in court that she wasn't spending the money on your child? You still have to pay. You might not enjoy seeing that new car, jewelry, TV, etc. that she bought for her and her new boyfriend, but if all that is what "coming up" means to you then you should be proud to know that you bought it for them. You can try to fight for custody if you want. If you have permanent custody of the child, but 97% of the time, you will spend a lot of money losing that case. Most of the resources I found on winning a custody battle as a father involved dramatic and (legally) unreliable or irrelevant arguments. (Example: writing own what times you picked the child up, what time you read to them, which books, and how long, etc.) You also still have to pay child support even if the mother refuses to let you see the child, including if she moves out of state.

With all the horror stories (that I've heard from people on child support now, and a brochure from the government) where does this leave us?

1)      Watch where you stick your d*ck. If you’ve gotten to know the woman well enough to jump in the sack, you should know if she is the type to put you on child support, or not. If so, you should know if she will put the money to good use or if she will use the courts to cut your manhood to make a living off you (and/or whomever else she gets pregnant by).

2)      Be present to educate your kids. The boys need to know how to avoid putting themselves in that position in the first place. That means going past their feelings to learn about the women that they form relationships with, since they all have their own patterns and habits. and how to handle the situation if he slips up and falls for “the trap”. For the girls, they need to know how to live independently so they don’t have to depend or prey on any of the men that they form relationships with. Child support was originally meant (or should only be) used against parents (women can be placed on child support, too) who aren't living up to their responsibility.But to know that, that boy and/or girl needs to know what a man taking care of his family is supposed to look like. That example should come from you, and others in the community.

3)  Fix your own problems to maintain your family. We all have insecurities and vices that we fight every day. When we beat one, another comes up. The key is to be aware of how and why these vices and insecurities cause problems, and how to resolve them. At the least, keep them from interfering with ou own growth and family life.

Although we should be trying to maintain our own families, child support can be seen as a fire being put under our asses to make sure we at least make an effort to maintain them. Is the state doing this because they care if our families stick together? Honestly, only to the degree that stable families (or dysfunctional families for that matter) either help or have a neutral affect on the state itself. We should use the pitfalls explained in the stories above as motivation to rise to that occasion once we enter a relationship, or become parents. If not fear of the pitfalls, then the children and their future. Maintaining the family structure is part of how the Black community is to get its power and freedom.

*The details used in the description of child support came from stories of men on child support, and from the state(Texas) issued brochure on child support, custody, and visitation rights of noncustodial parents.

A Discourse on Black Power

Fred Hampton, Jr., Immortal Technique, and the Watsonville Brown Berets

The other day I had a conversation with a friend of mine from high school (who happens to be Hispanic). I had told him about the blog and we had a discussion about the purpose and content. He wished me luck, but was concerned about the blog being specifically made for Black people, saying that it seemed exclusionary or separatist.  I compiled my responses to his questions and comments into one post.


Being Black, and seeing the condition we're in, I feel an obligation to work on improving our condition. I was nurtured into thinking this way, and naturally drawn into it. My mother taught me about the danger I was in as a Black man in this country, as well as how to read and learn about my history. I took that and ran with it (since the age of 7). I study and appreciate all cultures worldwide, but I make it a point to study my own. No one says anything when Asians release a video game or movie strictly about Asian history and culture, or when whites release a TV show with only white actors, or if they release a video game with all white characters. They are dealing with subjects related to their culture.


BMD is the same thing.


Although the bigger issue is class, each minority group has its own problems that are unique to that group with respect to its history in this country, or wherever they may be. No one is more qualified to talk about your problems and how they affect you than you are. Stokely Charmichael speaks on this in his book Black Power : The Politics of Liberation. You can't have a partnership with anyone else until you are secure and independent yourself. On an individual level, a person who can't help themselves can't help anyone else either. They have to have some level of independence. Otherwise, that partnership would become either parasitic on the individual's part, or predatory on their partner's part. If both parties are independent, prey/predator and parasitic relationships are less likely. And the same applies to any type of relationship. It is the same on a group level. Black people can't work with other races until they are able to function on their own. So yes, working with other races is, or will become, necessary because the real problems are social and economic class conflict (which goes above race and gender). But we can't have successful partnerships or ally relations until we get own out sh*t together.


Another example (in wake of the immigration issue): I work with Asian and Hispanic immigrants. Many of them speak their own language when talking to each other. The Hispanic guys also play the Latin station on the radio from time to time. They are doing what they're supposed to do, holding on to their original culture. Would it be right for me to tell them (when it is not work related) "Hey, you guys need to speak in English because I can't understand what you're saying" or "You guys need to change the station because I can't understand what the people on the radio are saying." Or "I just don't like Latin music." I can either A) Be parasitic and constantly ask them what is being said, B) Listen to the station without knowing what's being said, and appreciate the music for how I am able to see it. C) Listen to the music, not understanding it, and wishing someone would change the station, D) Be predatory and force them to change the station, or E) Learn Spanish so that I could understand what's being said both in their conversation, and on the radio.


Black Power, in it's original sense, doesn't mean having power OVER anyone else. It's about being in control of yourself and your environment. If you look at the content of the blogs, the things that I'm talking about are something everybody should know; the stuff that isn't culture specific. I'm discussing different avenues that we can us to get economic, political, and social power. Even then the content that is culture specific isn't or shouldn't be offensive.  If it is, you can't please everybody. You can either learn about it so you can understand in the future, or leave it alone.