Baser billion, I was in no way saying trading pencils for food is a good thing. I would never advocate that, I like everyone else would rather they didn't have to make that choice. I agree, we need money to live.....but money is not an expression of an individuals worth. The fact that an individual is poor shouldn't make you ashamed of them.

My point was really that often poverty leads people to be as self destructive as to engage in vices rather than tools to get out of the situation. You would have to ask yourself what a pencil represents.....well to me, it represents education, self development etc. They think like that because they may be down but they are not out. Its that type of spirit which makes a slave, know their situation yet still attempt to dig an underground railroad.


I agree with you about the state some of our countries are in, I myself came back from Nigeria not long ago, much of what I saw enraged me. There are many things I see in my country and community which I dont respect one bit, but I wont use it an an excuse to distance myself from my roots.

You have a point that some people engage in token gestures when renaming themselves, it often has its roots in what they see as rebellion to "the man" more than their own reconnection with Africa. Only the individual determines which it will be.

Incognito......yes, I agree we often dont have unity, and I feel its because we tend not to deal with issues which we know are there, whether its shame, anger, resentment, insecurity, inferiority. There is always an undertone of these emotions in one way or another. Many Black communities/countries worldwide have quite peculiar beginnings and many were hewn out of distrust, violence, forced union etc. How equipped are we really to perpetuate healthy communities, on which foundation? How far have we really gone to addressing our obstacles....(past just talking about it)?

I have a headache now.............lol