dagblog - Comments for "AMERICA IS LITERALLY DYING OF A LACK OF CHARACTER, INTEGRITY, AND MORAL SUBSTANCE "

Sorry, but I'm shutting down

Michael Wolraich — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 16:03:32 +0000

In reply to AMERICA IS LITERALLY DYING OF A LACK OF CHARACTER, INTEGRITY, AND MORAL SUBSTANCE

Sorry, but I'm shutting down this thread before it gets uglier. dagblog is not a place for discussing people's personal relationships.

Ramona,

Wattree — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 16:02:30 +0000

In reply to Did you get her permission to

Ramona,

It's cruel to you, but to her it's her man being honest with her. We ALWAYS say what's on our minds. That's how we educate one another and grow as individuals, and as a couple. MOPP (Manual of Political Propriety), which you obviously subscribe to, only serve to stifle knowledge, and there's no such thing as bad knowledge. It leads to women like yourself CLAIMING to want to be treated as equals, and then when you are, going in the corner weeping, and claiming that a man is a misogynist because he spoke to you with the exact same forcefulness that he would another man.
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If it weren't for MOPP, someone would have long since informed you that you were indulging in the height of hypocrisy, and you might have benefited from that. And by the way, what's the MOPP term for when a woman is brutally honest with a man? There isn't one. So as a woman, you want your cake and eat it too - either you want to be treated with equality or you don't; make up your mind. My woman does, and by the way, she also refers to me as "my man," do you have a problem with that as well? If not, why not? And finally, have you conjured up any other rules that mankind should feel obligated to adhere to? You're living by a philosophy of backward-thinking and complete hypocritical nonsense. You're PROMOTING a double standard instead of ridding the world of it.

Ocean-Kat,

Wattree — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 15:43:27 +0000

In reply to How can anyone form an

Ocean-Kat,
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As usual, you've missed the entire point of this discussion. It goes without saying that Rita is the one who's going to make the final decision. The point of this discussion is the pros and cons of what decision she should make. Re-read the first three paragraphs of the article. I assume that you're not Black, so what you don't seem to understand is how important it is for Black people to think collectively, and of the bigger picture.

CHARACTER
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WE SHOULD NEVER TRY TO DELUDE OURSELVES. FAILING TO COME OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE, AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY, SERVES THE EXACT SAME PURPOSE AS PROMOTING IT. THE PEOPLE WHO QUIETLY WATCH A LYNCHING ARE NO BETTER THAN THOSE INVOLVED.

Eric L. Wattree

This guy said that another Black woman looked like a monkey. The minute he uttered those words, all thoughts of self-interest should be set aside. That's the point I'm trying to get across to "my woman."

Peracles,

Wattree — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 15:02:38 +0000

In reply to I assume you know that

Peracles,

I'm simply treating Ramona like an equal, or like I would treat you. So just to imply that I should give her some kind of pass simply because she's a woman, is to suggest that she's not really quite equal, so we should treat her with kid gloves. If I told you the exact same thing, nobody would be the least bit offended by it, so what's the difference, is she an equal, or isn't she? I don't play these MOPP games.

Peracles,

Wattree — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 14:53:42 +0000

In reply to Ok misspoke - going around

Peracles,
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First, Rita is far from unknown. She started touring Europe as far back as the eighties, and her music is being played all around the world. When she arrived in Russia they already knew who she was, and many people came to her with her CDs for her to autograph. In addition, they sought her out while she was there to do a Russian television commercial.
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Secondly, the promoter hired her to do one tour, and not as part of an affirmative action program, but as an opportunity to make money. So the only obligation that Rita had to him was to give him what he paid for - and by all reports, she did that, and more. So the bottom line is, Robert was trying to corner the market on her services, and Rita had absolutely no obligation to limit her access to other opportunities in order to allow him to do that. Since she's returned home the guy has called her 15 times in just one day to try to get her to tour Israel in February, but he proved to be such a pig, she turned him down.
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So Rita is far from an indentured servant. She's performed with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world as her sidemen. She uses Nancy Wilson's piano player, Lew Matthews, routinely, and Barbara Streisand's multi-grammy award winning musical director, and the composer of "Here's To Life," Artie Butler, contacted her to explore the possibility of doing a project with her. He wrote a review saying, "When she song my song, I felt like she was singing directly to me." So Rita is not just some novice that this promoter picked up off the street, and she didn't appreciate the tactics that he employed that tended to treat her like one. First he tried charm; when that didn't work, he tried bribery; when that didn't work, he went to threats and extortion; and when that didn't work, he tried humiliation - and the latter is why I want to destroy his ass, and I have everything I need to do just that. But unfortunately, Rite has a soft spot, a compassion, that I lack.
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Finally, regarding misspeaking, don't worry about it. We're all human, and we all do it.

I assume you know that

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 14:00:58 +0000

In reply to Ramona,

I assume you know that suggesting a woman will take criticism by running off to the corner weeping is HIGHLY insulting and sexist. Before Ramona bans you, I was just curious WHY you're behaving like an asshole when even by the old-school manners you often evince it wouldn't be acceptable to insult women. Are you so thin-skinned you can't take a punch or a tap without losing all of your professed values? (aside from "alarmingly exaggerated sense of self-worth"). Maybe you won't answer me, but perhaps in your drifter days ahead you can ruminate over it. You are a misogynist - a man is not "misogynist" just for speaking forcefully, but for speaking in a rude, sexist and female-hating way - to women or about women.

Ok misspoke - going around

PeraclesPlease — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 13:28:17 +0000

In reply to Peracles,

Ok misspoke - going around him with him knowing - that would make any promoter happy, no? Put up the expense to bring an unknown act to Russia, knowing someone else will get the follow-on engagements if successful? Everyone loves lose-lose situations. " But this particular promoter is self-serving, and once he saw that Rita was making connections outside of his sphere - and above his sphere - he was doing everything he could do to prevent that from happening, and one of his tactics was to... "

"But I may want my son to go

HSG — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 13:25:58 +0000

In reply to I agree as well.

"But I may want my son to go to a private college, if it suits him. It would have suited me, but I couldn't afford it. I want him to have the choice. I don't expect that taxes should get in the way of that."

Honestly Michael - I don't have much sympathy for this viewpoint. If your tax payments make great public colleges/universities affordable to all including your children then to me that is enough. I would add that one of the primary drivers of more expensive private colleges and universities is more expensive state schools. The Harvards and Stanfords of the world can only price themselves so much higher than the Michigans and Cals. If the latter are basically free, Harvard and Stanford will have to cut their tuition which they can do since they have multi-billion dollar endowments.

One other point, private schools are right now often cheaper than public ones for top students. Couple of examples, many years ago a former intern of mine - with excellent grades - got such an enormous tuition break from USC that it was cheaper for her than Berkeley. Currently, a friend's daughter attends one of the Claremont Colleges but because of her family's moderate income - ca $60,000 - they effectively pay no tuition.

Ocean-Kat,

Wattree — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 13:16:23 +0000

In reply to Being as I'm a huge fan of

Ocean-Kat,

Wake up, man. Haven't you realized by now that people like Playthell and I don't give a flyin' shit what you think? Anything that we think, or say privately, we'll say publicly. We don't play "socially polite" parlor games, or by the standards of MOPP (Manual of Political Propriety). MOPP was designed to accommodate those with covert and untrustworthy motives. Take you, for example, since you find it necessary to hide behind a screen name, you obviously don't have the courage of your own convictions, so how can anyone take you seriously? Playthell and I live by our own standards - "Say what you think, call a hat a hat, and be willing to stand by your convictions. It makes life much simpler, and people never have to wonder what's going on in your mind.
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"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion, and it is easy in solitude to live by one's own; but great is the man who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness, the independence of solitude." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Being as I'm a huge fan of

ocean-kat — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 10:26:55 +0000

In reply to RM,

Being as I'm a huge fan of sucker punching people as the most appropriate reaction to offensive speech I have to say you've done your friend a big favor publishing his correspondence with you here. Consequently with his advocating such a sneak attack I've no doubt everyone reading it has gained a new found respect for Playthell Benjamin as a public intellectual from reading your post.

I'm sure that just like Rita, Playthell also gave you permission to publish his correspondence with you on a public forum.