Too Sensitive?! How can this be?!

You know... I'm no stranger to a good conversation.... or I guess you can say that I've definitely been a bystander (far too many times, if I must say) of an argument or a debate.  And one of the things that irks me the most is when people start throwing out gender roles and what they think a "real man" or a "real woman" should be like.  Sometimes it's hilarious to me... sometimes I can't stand it.

One of the things I'm starting to get upset about is the whole.... "You're too sensitive" mumbo... I posted this on Facebook not too long ago.......

.....Since when did it become a crime to be too sensitive?! How is THAT considered to be feminine (in a negative sense)?! If I chained you up in the basement.... sliced a large gash in your arm and let it bleed out... and every couple of hours I stopped thru to sprinkle a little salt in it....we'll see how insensitive you are at that moment.....

And after you UNDOUBTEDLY.... start wailing in agony... I'll make sure to tell you... "You're too sensitive and you acting like a lil bi*** right now" "Man up"....  

The truth is.... We all need healing... Almost everything you think you know about bein a real man and a real woman was taught to you by non-blacks.... We starting over from ZERO POINT.... 

This is not an indictment against any particular gender group.  NOOOOOO.  Not at all.  I just wanna get that out the way before I really get started.  Black people have been so lost as to the knowledge of self for so long... that we have taken on the characteristics of our oppressors in an astoundingly potent manner.  We do a very good job of hurting ourselves just as much as the oppressor has hurt us.  Historically, he recruited some of us to carry out this specific purpose.

Men emasculate other men on the regular.  Trashing women all in the same.  You can't call a man a bitch... or say he's acting like a woman and not diss the woman in the same breath.  We've made it ok to say that if  there's some kind of personality trait or emotion that you don't particularly care for.... you can associate that with being like a woman.  And women do it to other women just the same.  Sooner or later.... Women won't want to be womanish anymore....All those same insults that make you feel less than stellar, less than what you were created to be here on this planet, women hurl em at women and men all the same.  And what kind of world do we live in where women constantly "emasculate" other women?!  What kind of man would readily accept from a woman (who knows nothing about what its like to be a man) the level of shame she's trying to place on him for not meeting her expectations of what a "real man" is supposed to be?

Why is it like this, you may ask?  Well we live in a society based on competition and superiority/inferiority.  In gender relations.... Male is greater than female... Therefore, even females tend to lean towards being more manly.  They want to be strong, independent, emotionless, tough, unyielding, less needy, individualistic.  That is the ideal personality in this society.  No matter how you physically look.

When conflict arises, all of the Machismo and Bravado comes out, and a simple conflict over a simple issue may turn into a battle of honor, respect, and reputation.  We turn what would be non-violent arguments into brawls when we bring those elements into play.  Mostly because we've been taught to compete with one another.  Being a man means being on top, being the best, being dominant, being in control, being protective in modern society.  Any time any of those components of our psyche is threatened by our environment or surroundings, it then becomes like a trespass or a challenge to our manhood.  We're supposed to be physically imposing, physically combative, stronger, warlike, infallible.  As soon as something comes along that proves we're not, or that there's someone greater than us in any of these attributes.......We, all of a sudden, take it as a loss of manhood stripes.  It's like we sat and watched National Geographic to determine what manhood and womanhood is all about.  Men ram into each other and women love the winner.  Women allow themselves to be submissive for the ram that has the most physical prowess.... And her life can drastically change over a battle that she wasn't even involved in.... And the ram that loses might as well be a goat... a woman goat.....  I pose the question... when was it OK to identify your personality with that of the BEAST!!!!!! When did animal behavior become the benchmark for human relations?

We've all seen the videos.... tons of em exist... There's a video of a young man cold-cocking a lady who was all up in his face for calling him all kinds of stuff.  "Bitch, Bitch-Nigga, Pussy-ass-nigga.  Sorry to be so blunt, but you know what I'm talking about.  A girl trying to emasculate a boy..... and that all seems fine until he knocks her out.... Then everybody chimes in.... calling him the same exact things that she was calling him in the first place.... cause he decided to put his hands on her.... thus, breaking some unwritten code concerning male and female behavior in relationships.  Now he's labeled too sensitive... He's too emotional... He's a punk.  No man should ever hit a woman.  What's wrong with him?!

Also, at that moment, they finally say that it's alright for her to be a girl.... the weaker of the two.  The victim, the less physically-dominant, the emotional.... Only when she's bruised and beaten is it alright to associate that emotional state with normal female behavior... When she's hooting and hollering tho... Name-calling and acting dominant before the punches were thrown... Nobody had a problem with any of that either.  Or at least they didn't step in to protect the male from her emotional tirade.  Everyone usually says... that's how girls are these days... and HE has to be the "Bigger Man".  No one says that a guy is the "Bigger Man" until he walks away from somebody already perceived to be weaker than him.  Even though she was emasculating him in the process, and posing as the more dominant figure, nobody told her to be the "Bigger Man", cause that wouldn't make sense telling that to a female, would it?   But we also expect her to know that she is the Weaker Woman and walk away and be the Bigger Man?!  Man... how does that work?!  The question in her mind has to be..... Either be like a man and dominate the woman-like man, or be like a woman and be weak and helpless..... A confusing situation for a young woman, nonetheless....

So how confusing is this a situation for a young man?  A woman can gash and slash you.... and poke at your wounds constantly.  Oppress and beat you... and it's wrong for you to have any kind of emotional response about it?!  If you defend yourself, you're a coward.  If she successfully beats on you, then you're a weakling.  Nobody's gonna stop her from oppressing you, cause they believe you should be able to defend yourself?!  Half of the people are looking for entertainment, and definitely wouldn't mind calling you a chump for the rest of your life.  So they're waiting to see how this turns out.  Either way, your reputation will stick and stay with you for the rest of your life.  Damn.  Men are supposed to be invincible I guess.  Inside and Out.   What is he supposed to do next time when he's put in that same position?!  Sit there and let her dig deeper into his perpetually renewed wounds?!   Next time she might not play so nice.  What if emasculating insults turns into baseball bats and pistols?!   That's how we treat the weak, right?  As if their lives doesn't matter....  If you were a real man... you would be able to overtake her anyway, I suppose.  Or let the bullets bounce off of your chest.  That's what a "REAL MAN" would do.....

The fact of the matter is that everything we learned about gender roles came from people who didn't have our best interests at heart.  They've never gotten this issue straightened out.  They're never going to figure it out.  They don't know what a real man looks like.  They don't know what a real woman engenders either.  They're guessing and overvaluing certain traits and devaluing others.  Ignoring parts of their soul at the expense of their very own health and the health of their environment.  Maybe the problem is, the people who created this outlook on gender ain't REAL people.  They're MADE....and we shouldn't seek to imitate a made human.....

What we need is BALANCE....... Balance of all personality traits.... that's what keeps a person healthy and a relationship healthy as well.  A Real man and woman have this balance.  A real man has no problem dealing with his emotions and sensitivities as does a real woman.  Neither one of them sets out to dominate any other person.  They only dominate themselves.  That's what being "real" is about to me.  We need more really real people.

Pros and Cons of Network Marketing... Or My Thoughts on the Topic...

I AM (Currently) A 5LINX INDEPENDENT MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE.... don't let that turn you away from my page.... WHY?!  Cause I could really care less about a 5linx..... What I do care about is MY PEOPLE.  I care about our freedom.  I care about peace.  I care about spiritual awakening.  I care about community and fulfilling one's life purpose.  I see that economic empowerment is a big part of nation-building.  I care about family and the education of our youth.  I want us to be able to find ourselves without money being an issue.  What I truly would like is if fiat currency was done away with altogether... but until then.... we have the former....

As far as 5linx goes... Its not really that much about the products or services we would be selling more than the team building which in turn leads to nation-building.  I would say that the most appealing thing about 5linx over some other mlms is that a few of the products are essential products that everyone uses in their homes today (gas & electric).  There are also products that businesses need to use to be competitive and functional in any marketplace (payment processing, text marketing).  The fact that most of the reps in 5linx are black is somewhat appealing and most of the top earners happen to be black as well.  I guess that's ok on the surface, at least.  Also, 5linx allows you to do one thing, one time, the right way, and it could possibly be the end-all to all of your selling and recruiting days in network marketing.  Most other mlms need you to continue pushing product volume.  When they product gets old and stale, or people aint feeling it no more, The company dies.  Electricity, GAS, and health insurance aren't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.  So 5linx has a leg up on the competition.  It's not uncommon for someone to strike a deal with a major customer that puts 5 figures in their account every month for as long as that account is held.  For most major companies, they'll never change some of their services.  You can pretty much count on that money being there forever.  SO.... for those introverts, or "I don't feel like selling anything" people.... you could potentially make one deal that could change your life, and your family's lives, forever.  AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO CHASE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AWAY IN THE PROCESS.  Because how do you build unity when everyone is running away from you?

One of the worst messages I think about network marketing is the fact that you have to say "Forget my family and friends, I'll leave them behind.  They're too blind to see this goldmine".  That's kinda harsh... these are people who you will never be able to do away with.  When 5linx is dead and gone... you don't want these people to still avoid you at all costs.  You don't wanna be the person not invited to the family reunion, right?!.  You don't wanna be the person that got your cousin involved and it didn't go so well.  Now the trust between you and them goes awry.... FOREVER..... I mean you SHOULD be able to approach this thing by yourself, without them, but you definitely don't wanna alienate yourself from your blood.  Anyway, I digress....... with 5linx you don't even have to focus on recruiting people.  It is a CUSTOMER ACQUISITION based company.  You can do well just by selling products and services on your own.  Maybe family will want to join you after they see you're doing well in that area.  That's what this whole game is really about anyway.  Most people quit cause they can't sell products.  They spend most of their time trying to recruit people who don't wanna sell anything either.  No money is coming in and no money is dished out..... The bad part about all this is.... most mlms don't really teach you how to be good salesmen.

But when all goes well.... And it will at some point for me... the idea behind all of this for me is.... Why not build a nation with people who don't have to argue about splits or shares and those who don't feel the need to check each other's pockets?!  I don't care about the rhetoric or the people who own the company.  I don't care about their feelings or sympathies towards my people.  I don't care anything about anything that the company claims to stand for or aspire to be.  As long as the products seem to make sense, and are generally in accordance with nature or the times that we live in...... I figure it's worth a look.   I really don't care about the products.  They all make the same claims... They all will be trumped at some point in time by a new shinier product.  BUT, As long as they're giving people a viable chance to take the money off of the table that they're so willing to put up.... I figure it's worth a look. If they're saying that that the potential money on the table is unlimited, then I figure it's worth a look.

We talk a lot about BUYING BLACK.... When really we are just buying black with black-owned, white-printed-and-created dollars.  Why don't we get some of those white-owned white dollars to buy black for once, without having to go to a 9-5 and spend our entire lives losing ourselves for someone else's dream?  That is the only way black people are bouncing money out of the other race's communities.  In Network marketing/direct sales, they're willing to put money on the table and dare you to work together to take it off of their hands.... Isn't that worth a look?!  I personally believe if we could overlook all the stuff we see on the surface and grasp a vision that says... "these white folks are targets and they think we won't join together and take their money", we'd do BIG TIME NUMBERS in 5linx.  Look.... it doesn't matter if these white folks who started the company get rich in the process or not..... THEY'RE GONNA GET RICH ANYWAY... be it from black dollars or white or yellow or brown or purple.  It's gonna happen.  This system is designed for them to have many avenues to wealth.  What difference is it gonna make to make 3 more white people a little bit more money?  At least we all now have the ability to have a lot more money..... TOGETHER.... to get what we need to get done as a TEAM... so forget 5linx... this is about US!!!  We don't even need money to be honest.  I'm not a money person.  But tI want to be able to have everyone answer a simple question..... "WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING WITH YOUR TIME, IF MONEY WAS NOT AN ISSUE?!"  We spend our whole lives chasing bucks.  So we can give them right back to people who print them.  WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO WE ARE CAUSE WE LET MONEY BLIND US?!  We actually could shut all of this down in an instant.  What if I told you that we really don't need money to get anything done.  What if I told you that money is just energy.....  Your energy.... And you waste it for your entire lives working for someone else's dream?!  Let's take off the veil.... TOGETHER....

Now as for me and my relationship with 5linx?  Let me Explain.... Most of my cohorts in the biz would look at that first sentence above and say.... "Well that's why you ain't gon have no success, Cause your attitude sux".  It's not just about my attitude towards the business, it's the fact that I understand the purpose of the business and the mentality of the people inside.  AND...... the fact that I haven't gotten my financial freedom out of it yet.  I'm not gon lie... I'm a little peeved that it isn't even 1% as easy as I thought it would be, even though I believed everyone when they said..... "It won't be easy".  YES It still managed to go above and beyond even what they probably expect in terms of difficulty....

As far as the term "financial freedom" goes.... I don't even like to use the term FREEDOM when dealing with 5linx.  I, personally, feel like it is a bold faced lie.  I'm one of those people that believes in absolute freedom.  Not the halfway-done, overrated, degrees-of-freedom system which is offered to us.  The one where they make all the rules, and tell you you're your own business.  The one where they tell you that you are in control while you're still under their umbrella.  Freedom?!  As long as we are under this system which was not designed for our benefit then we'll never have freedom.  As long as there are laws and rules concerning fiscal rights and responsibilities, then we'll never have absolute financial freedom.  But for all intents and purposes, 5linx looked like a good investment FOR NOW.  It's like going to vote......  You know that most, if not all, of the candidates aint worth a damn... but you're steadily trying to pick the lesser of all evils.  Damn! What a situation to be in.....

Do I go to work everyday and save money and hopefully get out of the matrix one day?  Do I save enough money to start my own venture and end up employing others to help me achieve my dream, thereby enrapturing them in my very own matrix?  Or do I choose someone else's mini-matrix because it looks like the quickest way out?  Do I even deserve a quick way out?  Was it meant for me to endure the most epic struggles that society has to offer for me to build my character up to its requisite level for meeting my life's true purpose here on this planet?  Is this particular endeavor MY STRUGGLE?  Is there a lesson in struggle for me that tells me I should be seeking it on the daily? Why would that make sense?  Why should I be looking for struggle?  Don't I have enough of that finding its way to me without me searching for it and engaging in it on my own?!  These are all questions I tend to deal with and I'm sure many others deal with as well on a regular basis.....

Anyway.... What makes 5linx ok for now..... They sell products that everyone uses daily.  Products and services that 99% of us just can't help but to use like Electricity and Gas.  They even have a health insurance marketplace which is useful now because of ObamaCare.  Littered throughout the plan are other services and products that deal with weight loss, nutrition, Business Marketing and discount programs, Security systems and monitoring, and some other somewhat useful products.  The compensation plan is decent.  The company has been around for over 14 years.  And they haven't taken off in Atlanta, yet; which is where I live (if I haven't stated that anywhere before).  So I guess that means they have stability and growth potential.  Also, out of the tons of representatives in the company, a lot of people are actually black.  I believe it is primarily for the reason I stated above..... In other words....  Why not get paid for essential services that you've been using in your homes for your entire lives?  Easy to market to people who struggle with these bills historically.

The compensation plan is decent, but geared towards the higher ups (as usual), the more business savvy, and the more socially-inclined.  (Hmmmm where does that put most black people then?)  There are ways to strike it rich quick... and it requires some creativity and doggedness, or just a good elevator pitch, the right look, and a chance meeting.  There's unlimited residual income and it's not too uncommon to see someone pull in at least 10,000 per month.  That's even considered to be on the low end for a lot of reps that have reached certain positions.  And not to mention, they love to tell you how fast a "regular" guy just like you achieved a position that made him over 5 figures per month and how he retired his mother instantly.  Plus... You get paid out weekly and everything is done by a computer.  No one can hold you back or stand in your way.  I've gotten paid for what I've done so the money is real and the payouts are on time like they say they are.  I can't complain about any of the things I've just spoken about.  It's legit.

The only thing that is tough to deal with is the fact that these white folks aint no different from many other white folks in that they are greedy.... They don't care about us more than they care about our money.  They want CUSTOMERS.....if you aint producing customers they don't care about you.  Just another number... one of those weaklings... not strong enough to produce.  And they'll never say that... they'll get your cohorts to say it for them... the company wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the people in it... but the people in it are somewhat a product of the company culture.... everyone tends to let the company off the hook for its shortcomings.... and piss on others who aren't able to rise above the pitfalls created by those shortcomings....when they claim to be about transformation... I see a lot of the same things in 5linx that I see in corporate America.

Now.... There is a bigger issue with network marketing schemes that makes black people an easy target for sales.  First of all, we have no sense of self.  We're easily fragmented, divided, and broken down.  This makes for big business.  Most mlms devise their schemes based on breakdowns in unity and togetherness because they know it generates more revenue during the rebuilding process.... They preach this rebuild and constant push-through-and-forward rhetoric all the time.  Easy targets we are because we've, historically, been bad at trusting one another and sticking together for hundreds of years, especially us Afrikans in America at this time.  Most of the time, if people would just stick together and stick to a strategic plan..... A lot of these companies would go out of business because they gamble hard on the revenue generated from the breakdowns vs. the stick-and-stays.  As a sidenote, this could very well be one of the reasons why some people think these companies are scams.  They were designed for at least some people to fail.  There's money in the failure.  You'll see it in some of the ways that some of these companies operate.  They don't care if you're angry or disgusted with some of their business practices, it's designed to weed out the people who are "all for the brand" or "not all for the brand".  They might have wonderful products... but the shipping takes too long.  Or they might have good prices, but the customer service is terrible.  No different from many other corporations in America, but THAT WOULD BE FINE IF THEY DIDN'T CONSTANTLY PREACH HOW THEY ARE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD!!

Second, Blacks are more prone to paralysis due to religion.  Religion has us ready to wait on the lord and let him do all the work while at the same time trying to apply the adage of, "faith without works is dead".  We're a very scatter-brained people.  We feel like we need to move but we don't know when to move at all.  Some of us refuse to move.  We go back and forth with ourselves and each other until we give up and sit still.  Sometimes I find it amazing when I look at all the work done in the 1960s.  That wasn't too long ago but my how times have changed.... Hold on though, I can't let the spiritual dogma pitchers just sneak out of the room without taking their lumps.  There are also those people who try to drop the jewels of enlightenment on you... and lure you in by some kind of mystique.  They talk about the "Law of Attraction" and the biblical "transfer of wealth".... and they use it to meet their ends.  You mix those trite sayings with some monetary success and people start to pair the two together.  Like.... "that person must know what they're talking about because they're getting paid!"  When most of the time it looks more like a flawed perspective or interpretation of spiritual science being used for monetary gain.... it can be outright disgusting at times.

We look for a message from a particular direction.  We all have our different sources.  Most of us don't believe in ourselves and need a leader to tell us what to do next.  Knowing this......... All you would need is a few strong speakers (disciples) who look the part of what these people deem to be a messiah... and you send them out and spread your message to the masses and they'll fall in line.  It doesn't matter if the message isn't what the people necessarily would like to hear.... The owners hand off the sermons to the top earners and the earners deliver it to the congregations.  Voila!!! Anything can become acceptable when you hear it from a millionaire who looks somewhat like you... just add the fancy watch, tailored suit and Bentley.   Not to mention, they regularly tend to quote scripture when they give speeches.  Nothing pulls you more out of your own frame of mind than a good old scripture.  If you were feeling down about your plight and current position, or anything negative that may have occurred to you, nothing makes you forget all of that like a good old quote from the Bible, eh?  Most of the top earners are people from churches.  The only time you can seem to get a modicum of togetherness with black people is on a Sunday in a synagogue.....

Third, one of the main focus points of most of these companies is to "find people who want something more out of life".  Now if you haven't noticed.....  We've been in dire straits as a people for a very long time.  We have no togetherness, We have no businesses.  We have no support.  We have no MONEY.  We get shot in the street and treated inhumanely on the regular.  Yea.... OF COURSE... we want something more out of life.  Do we have many options?   Due to all the things I've just stated.... not as many as most other ethnic groups.

We've been deemed the most consumeristic segment of the economy since.... well FOREVER.  EVEN THOUGH we don't have MONEY supposedly!!!!   Somehow we find a way to put over $1 trillion USD back into the pockets of everyone else but ourselves.  We've all heard the stories about Black dollars not bouncing.  Our money is rock-solid and brick-like..... no bounce.  We spend, spend, spend... and we mostly spend on things we don't need.  Well when you're a people who don't have a sense of self.... and you're desperately trying to get back to that stage of remembrance.... You tend to develop a few habits to ward off the pain you're feeling.  Most people try to escape.... There are many ways to do that... I named a major one above in Religion.  Others develop other habits... which usually tend to end up falling under one of the 7 deadly sins categories......

So when someone presents you with a bunch of options.... you're liable to try just about every single one of those options out until you feel some kind of good about yourself.  It doesn't matter what the best option is to fix the cause of the issue.... we have to try them all...  So as long as there are entities out there who can continue producing more buying options........  black people will buy them all.

With all the above said, you can see how blacks can be targeted by these companies to be representatives and customers.  We buy the most crap already and we desire the most to be out of our current circumstances within this country.  Mix that in with our current inability to unite under a common goal, stick to the plan, and trust one another.  Oh yea, let's not forget that we don't know ourselves and can be led along by anything that looks fancy or full of the faith... Black people are a GOLD MINE.  Yes Indeed!! We are!!!!  But for more reasons than just these listed above.  I'll speak more about that later, I'm sure.

So even after all of this.... I'm still in 5linx.  And I'm gonna try to make it work.  I can't expect everyone to see this thing the way I do.  But something must be done.  I can't sit around and wait any longer.  I'm gonna give it my best shot to make this work for us.  This is DEFINITELY... not the last step for me on my journey towards freedom.... I want to build with you guys.  I want to help you all find the time and space to free your minds... Yes... I wanna be the Morpheus to your Neo.  I want us all to find the Oracle together.  If you wanna hear more about my vision... just hit me up on here... we can talk about it... I can tell you how we can actually make this thing work.  Who knows.... If we get enough people.... IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE QUICK AND EASY!!!!

PEACE TO YOU ALL...

A-DUBBLE....

MY 5LINX WEBSITE

Extended Description of this page...

Welcome and Greetings to all who may visit,

This page consists of the musings of a young black man entering into a stage of life where transformation is bound to occur. I was encouraged to start a blog because most of my posts on FB began to get so wordy, that it ended up looking like a blog entry anyway.  I practically had to censor myself too much on there for the sake of my reading audience.  But I rarely would get comments or many likes, although I know for a fact that some people were reading my posts all the time.  This blog is a way for me to let loose.  Not care about readership that much.  Just get it all out.  I usually like to paint a picture like an artist when I write... so it requires people actually having to READ...I ask a lot of questions that I hope people try to answer, not necessarily thru comments, but at least on your own accord.  I hope you all find this blog insightful and mind expanding.  Some of yall gon wanna argue...I just want you to keep this in mind before you engage though.... There's certain points that I'm just not gon change on... I'll listen to you... I'm not going to outright trash your opinion (maybe) but that definitely does not mean I have to agree with anything anyone else says.  So enjoy!
 Anyway, To use a sports analogy, if I had to pick a specific point in the game of life that we're at, I'm gonna say... we're almost at half time. I've seen the game, I've seen how it's being played. I know what side I'm on... what jersey I'm wearing.... I've made a few scores. I've made a few turnovers. I may not like the way the game has been going so far, but halftime adjustments are on the way!  And I'm looking forward to seeing what Coach is drawing up on the board. Cause it's time that we change the game.  I will be speaking about mostly anything that comes to my mind and things that have shaped my journey.  I invite you to come with me and keep an open mind.  Peace.