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  • Politics Is Like Hiring A Hitman
    by Scott Woods inPolitical on2020-08-13

    For me, politics is like hiring a hitman. I have values and things I care about. I care enough about them to at least bother voting for 5 minutes every year for one issue or another. And because I care at least that much, I vote for people who align with the ability to realize the things I care about.

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  • Punching Above Our Weight
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-07-24

    I believe our vote is the punctuation of our voice. Without that resounding exclamation mark, I believe our voices are just incoherent noise.

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  • BLACK PROGRESS AMIDST SOCIAL CHAOS
    by Roger Madison Jr. inPolitical on2020-06-16

    Recent events have raised the profile of historical injustice and inequities here in the USA. The entire world has taken note of the fact that BLACK LIVES MATTER.   We invite all of our friends to engage in actions that result in the greatest movement for change in our history. It is imperative that we take advantage of this opportunity to affect a positive change by ACTING IN OUR SELF-INTERESTS.

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  • Living in a Black No-Man's Land
    by Roger Madison Jr. inOur Community on2019-10-28

    There are many narratives that define the Black experience in America in this 2nd decade of the 21st century. Our striving over the centuries of our sojourn in this nation is a tapestry of every human experience -- oppression, enslavement, forced assimilation, dehumanization, exclusion, segregation, isolation, struggle, perseverance, achievement, excellence, celebration, mourning, despair, progress, setbacks, lynching, assassination, genocide, terror, self-hatred, low esteem, pride,...

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  • Fighting Racism
    by Scott Woods inOur Community on2018-10-25

    I had a boss who was racist. Not an outright bigot, of course; her toolbox was more subtle than most. We bumped heads a lot over inconsequential things. She frequently couldn’t keep my name out her mouth. Lot of gaslighting. You know…2018 style. I tried a lot of ways to combat or navigate her issues. None of them worked, and that’s saying a lot because I’m really good at fighting racism. But at the end of the day – every day – she was my boss, I had to deal with her, and that was that. Finally I...

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Is The Friend Of My Friend Really My Friend?

The proverb "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" suggests that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy. Can there be a more positive corollary in social media?

How about, "The friend of my friend is my friend." We have all heard something similar to, "Well, nice to meet you, Tom. Any friend of my brother is a friend of mine." Can we really leverage social media to "help our friends?"

I have seen anecdotal indicators that viral posts, videos, tweets and such are powered by the sharing of "friends with friends." Some have even quipped that "Social Media is the new word of mouth."

Recently, I have seen the advent of Black-owned crowd funding sites, and other enterprises that attempt to leverage the connections between Black social media friends. Sadly, my experience is that these endeavors don't enjoy the viral success of their mainstream counterparts. Many Black-owned businesses have an Internet presence, and their own contact lists. Why aren't these "connections" at Facebook and Twitter resulting in a multiplier effect among us?

Often, the "spending power" of Blacks is referred to and compared with developing countries. I would like some feedback from this group about how we can create more viral phenomena among our connections. 

I would like to share a story. A friend recently asked me to support their application for a potential $25,000 grant from Fedex by casting a vote every day during the contest period. I shared my vote with my FB friends, and one of them asked, "Why should I support this business when I don't share in the trickle down?"

My reason for voting for my friend was "the kindness shared among friends." Sharing my vote with my friends should engender additional support. Right? If not, why not? I have more than 1570 friends, and I know they are all busy. I didn't expect the response I got. People win these contests because their friends vote. I once heard that "the Internet is held together by the kindness of strangers." What about the kindness of friends?

If we are not attracted to join groups of friends with like-minded goals, how will we ever leverage our "economic power" to help our friends? I understand the due diligence required to make an investment, but how difficult is it to click and vote when a friend asks for support? Let me know if you support your friends when they ask you to vote.