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The Return of Vanguard Sound! “Masquerade EP” VS012

Back to The Front!!!!

After a three year hiatus Vanguard Sound! returns to the act of releasing records with Amir Alexander’s
“The Masquerade EP”.
A four track EP with a cut for every dance-floor scenario.
Soulful, bluesy House. The deepest of Deep House. Epic late late night Micro-House (Berlin Minimal). And Classic “Vanguard Sound!” Modern “Jacking” Chicago House.

“The Masquerade!” (Feat. Tim Collins)

My first official attempt at the “Soulful House” sub-genre. This track is based on the chord changes of George Benson’s “This Masquerade”.
Tim and I had discussed a possible collaboration for years. Then one day suddenly (much like all the inspiration for my creative pursuits come), inspiration struck.
“Why not do a remake of a classic by a guitar virtuoso?” And like that, I set about making a track based on the changes of Big Brother George’s OG.

Upon the completion of a basic rough mix, I linked it to Tim. When he found the time, he traveled to a very nice pro studio to have them engineer and record an improv session.
Tim did a single take of improvised riffs . Jamming to the track I sent him. Then sent me back the results.
After which I set about editing down his seven minute jam; taking the sections I felt best fit my overall vision.
The results of which are what can now be heard on the final cut, and official release.

In keeping with the original; a Jazz improvised number, I decided to “take a solo” myself.
In order to compliment the “organic” sound of Tim’s steel string acoustic guitar, I chose the legendary Hammond B-3 organ to perform my solo with. And with the magic of midi, alongside my production skills. I was able to get the sounds inside my head out of it. As midi allows one to record a performance a bit slower then bring it up to speed. It also allows for the correction of missed notes, and rhythmic hiccups. Thus giving the impression that I am a much better keyboardist that I currently am (full disclosure).
Although, I do indeed plan to build upon my rudimentary piano playing skills by taking lessons online from Tim (who is a professional piano and guitar teacher) as soon as my meager survival budget allows me the funds to do so.

Never am I content to just cruise and plateau with regard to my artistry in any of it’s manifestations; this particular track sees me “setting the bar higher” and stepping outside of my comfort zone to advance my skill-set as a musician, producer, writer, and arranger, etc.
I also seek to become a better keyboardist and better performer as well.

“Freaks of The Deep!”

A track that single-handedly got me booked to open Circo Loco’s ADE party in October 2017.
Antonio loved it so much he asked me to send him an mp3 to listen to, and then booked me for their ADE party after I premiered it that summer in the main room to stunning effect.

I sat on this track and kept it as an exclusive secret weapon for years until I could find the perfect label to release it on.
Since I am a “slept on” (grossly underrated in the opinions of the many die hard supporters who’ve told me this) artist already, it made sense to me at the time to seek to release this track on a label with a profile as large a possible.
Try as I might, this did not happen. Despite every label I submitted it to absolutely loving it.

After the third ‘thanks but no thanks” from some highly esteemed label heads, the idea began to brew in the back of my mind that I would re-launch Vanguard Sound! with it. And this is exactly what I’ve done.

Based upon the initial sales of what amounts to a “free” EP, this track will also be slept on. But at least it’s existence, is known and the track is undeniably “thorough” regardless as to whether it is ignored by the scene at large or not.
To quote David Byrne of The Talking Heads….. “Same as it ever was”.
I am quite pleased with my un-celebrated “cult hero” status within the deepest and truest trenches of the international underground dance music culture, and or scene.

Freaks of The Deep World Premier at Circo Loco Monday
5 Jun 2017

“Blessed Are The Meek!” (Amir’s Zero Dark Thirty Epic) 

The track that is now a certified modern classic and Panorama Bar anthem is now reiterated in epic fashion.
Written during the same sessions at the end of 2019 that spawned the two tracks that will be on my next vinyl release on Chiwax. (A “Blessed Are The Meek” remix EP. More on that in a later post).
When I made this last, and definitive end all be all version; I was inspired by my track Catacombs 2 from my “Wisdom” EP. Which is my most recent vinyl release.
(Out and for sale now on Thomas Melchior’s My king is light label).

Deep, dark, heady, late-night, minimalist Micro-House is the aesthetic. Much in the spirit of the Berlin school of all things Micro and Minimal.
Once again wishing to grow as an artist and step outside of (and or expand) my comfort zone; I set about creating a hypnotic seventeen minute “epic” mental, emotional, and physical workout aimed squarely at the late, late night/early morning after hours dance-floor.

“Blessed Are The Meek!” has such an interesting, and seemingly unending story. And this track (at least for now) is the final chapter in what is now it’s fourth summer of dance-floor relevance.
I feel truly “blessed” to have been chosen to be the “vessel” by which this certified modern classic was brought into the world.

“Dick Pilates!”

Built around an insanely funny vocal by a woman who prefers a small penis she can dominate, versus being “subdued” by a large one; the final track of the EP is already a “cult classic” among the truest of true fans of Vanguard Sound!
Completed five years ago, and only appearing on a single podcast of some of my unreleased and exclusive tracks; Dick Pilates was requested several times during my “Love and Fear” album tour that took me all over Australia, on to Ibiza, and then to New York and Washington DC back in the summer of 2015.

Seemingly lost to the “memory hole” until now. This track was also a super exclusive “secret weapon” for years.
Now with a full re-engineering and mix-down (while keeping the OG “original” Vanguard Sound! aesthetic the heads have come to know and love), D.P. is now available for all who would like to posses it. For the first time ever. Exclusively on my Band-Camp page. As are the other three tracks on the EP.
In fact, they shall remain exclusively available only on the Vanguard Sound! Band-Camp page.

To be completely shunned and ignored because one’s work destroys “the bell curve” and challenges the “status quo” by definition is the very essence of what true underground is. Those who know, know well. Those who do not know, know not due to the lack of “press coverage”. And NOT due to a lack of creativity, and or quality.

100% pure independent true “Underground” House and Techno. With zero support and or exposure from the “mainstream” dance music media outlets.
As being called underground, and functioning as the underground are two entirely different things.

A few words about being content with being ignored and my truly underground underground status within the international scene……
“Unobtanium Arts!”

Yes…. I too am human, and bleed red blood like everyone else. I actually do have feelings. I simply work diligently to control them. Versus them controlling me. My “hard as nails” stoic persona is no act. Ask anyone who really knows me.
No!
It is a basic survival necessity. Being a true “artist”, versus being a “talented performer” in this “slippery”, shark tank music industry is a loveless, thankless life. Especially when you are an artist who is both loved AND (truly) hated for the exact same things.

“Embodying Excellence”

Truth be told, I have in the past completed various projects and felt quite “proud” of my accomplishments. (Though a few years ago, I “canceled” (LOL!) pride in my life. Now I only seek to be “satisfied” with my work.)

Being a “true student” of this art-form, I am quite fortunate to be able to “gauge” my work with ice cold objectivity. Meaning, it doesn’t matter if I made it. I look at the best who ever did it, and then seek to equal, or hopefully supersede the level/quality of their work in order to truly “advance” the art-form(s), and “enrich” the culture (as should be done if a form is to truly advance), but I think that this mentality is likely rare.
Who knows???

In the past, I felt quite slighted. In that I knew for a fact that my work was “good work” yet my earnings were meager at best. I have been, and still am literally “shunned” by the press. If not completely ignored.
Before I “mastered” my emotions, this hurt me greatly.

These days it makes me laugh. Knowing what a joke the whole “name game” popularity contest that is the nucleus of who gets “shine”, and who gets “shade” from the press.
I now overstand that I simply DO NOT fit the narrative. Not in my musical home-town of Chicago. Nor within the international “community”. There simply is not box shaped like me. Thus I cannot be easily put into one.
THIS is the life of a “truly gifted artist”; versus the life of a “talented performer”.

Your life will not be easy. You will be hungry. Poverty will be the rule and NOT the exception……….
YET!
You will have a very tiny core of beloved people (some say fans of your work) who actually recognize your contributions to the art-form that they love so much.
As there is something that you did/will do that truly touches/touched their very hearts and souls.
The exact same way some of my most cherished artists touched mine.

And THIS is why you must do it. THIS and this alone. Sacrificing your life and the potential to have a a very lucrative “normal job”. Wasting your talents and intellectual gifts for a “pipe dream”, as it were.
So back to the press and being objective about one’s work…..

If one IS of the proclivity to be their worst critic; along with being gifted skills and abilities of the highest order. They must then work as though their very lives depended upon doing so.
For free.
And with no recognition. Fully aware that the closer they come to fulfilling their potential, the wider the gulf of perception, and the more “irregular” the box to put one in must be.
The gift (once again), is the curse.
These days I am quite content at setting an unbelievably high bar for myself, “leveling up” and then raising it. Just like “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”.

The book tells the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a seagull who is bored with daily squabbles over food. Seized by a passion for flight, he pushes himself and learns everything he can about flying. His increasing unwillingness to conform finally results in his expulsion from the flock. Now an outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly pleased with his abilities while leading a peaceful and happy life.

One day Jonathan meets two gulls who take him to a “higher plane of existence” in which there is no heaven, but a better world found through perfection of knowledge. There he meets another seagull who loves to fly. He discovers that his sheer tenacity and desire to learn make him “pretty well a one-in-a-million bird.” In this new place, Jonathan befriends the wisest gull, Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous self-education, and teaches him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the Universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to “begin by knowing that you have already arrived.”
So what’s the point Amir?

The point is to enjoy being an artist. In the lineage of many greats who have gone before me. Unsung heroes who managed to move people. From the inside. Heart to heart. Mind to mind. And Soul to soul.
When I would get a bit down (past tense), I would often think of Fishbone. By ALL measures, the MOST under-rated band in the world. Insanely gifted. And completely un-classifiable.
Wealth, recognition from the press, and even good fortune NEVER came to them.
No! Quite the opposite.

No longer am I “waiting for the One Day”

So when I would look at my life and career, I could see clear parallels.
And THIS gave me a bit of comfort. Especially when I was not as strong in my faith.

Over a two decade period, this “once in a lifetime” band slowly fell apart. Until only two founding members were left. As being “crapped on by the industry” surely took it’s toll. However, in the years since that lowest of low points, many of the founding members have returned (and left again more than once).
Through it all Norwood Fisher and Angelo Moore have stayed true and stayed the course. For better and often for worse.
THIS is the life of a truly gifted “black artist”. Nothing more. Nothing less.

And so in closing…..

As a “truly gifted artist”, versus a very “talented performer”
I embrace the poverty life I’ve lived for the past five years. One that some of my peers fear may be their future.
But let’s hope not. As I would not wish this type of life on anyone.

It made me much stronger (along with the teachings of Christ Jesus and The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius). But for a person who is controlled by their emotions and not the other way around, this life would surely kill them.
No longer am I “waiting for the one day”
Nor must I think to myself “what would Norwood and Angelo do (or think)?”

For, I realized quite some time ago that I’ve already arrived.
And so every time I create a bit of work that has matched and or superseded the level of the artists who inspired me to do this work, I just know it, and keep it moving humbly.
A bit of praise from a true admirer means more than the wealth I shall never receive.
And the rare as “unobtainium” (LOL!) peer recognition, though greatly appreciated (never expected) is also cool. But I take it all with a grain of salt.

Either way, I seek to fly high. Then fly higher. Then higher. For me. Because I feel that I can. And for my son to prove that it can be done.
If you have been blessed with the basic foundation of “God given gifts” and a work ethic to “toil like a slave” ; all of your own volition, with no point to prove to anyone but oneself, then know…….

“The blessing is truly the curse”
THIS is MY life as an artist.

Talent hits a target most cannot hit.
Genius hits a target most cannot see.

Right then…….

Carry on Beloved. Have a “Blessed” day!

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The Hidden truth about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Is BLM legit, and Chaos inducing Puppet Masters – “Thoughts of a Social Iconoclast”

Thank you all very much for reading…..

I must humbly admit that the response to my last blog post and Facebook mini-essays has been quite surprising in the best possible way.
It is my aim with this series of essays to strip back the “veil of deception” that shrouds so much of the true history we are not taught in order to assist my beloved in breaking free from the true “Matrix” of lies that keep us shackled to the walls of Plato’s Cave, and or the term employed by the “bad guy elites” the ‘Artificial Womb”.


For the sake of scientific accuracy, and proper journalistic research practices, you must all pardon me for the technical nature of the first half of this essay.
There will be a lot of facts, dates, and historical factiods…., etc.

I cite references through hyperlinking, attributing quotes, and all that science-y stuff in order to establish credibility with the reader(s).
And also out of respect to the gravity of such a “touchy” subject.

A Social Iconoclast…..

Not amused

I, a philosophical, rational, logical thinker with a probing mind, may function at times as a bit of a social iconoclast.

“Iconoclasts see things differently than other people. Literally. They see things differently because their brains do not fall into efficiency traps as much as the average person’s brain. Iconoclasts, because they were either born that way or they learned to be that way, have found ways to work around the perceptual shortcuts that plague most people…..
Iconoclasts, at least successful ones, have a preternatural affinity for new experiences. Where most people shy away from new experiences, the iconoclast embraces novelty.
The problem with novelty for most people, however, is that it triggers some sort of fear system of the brain. Fear is the second major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person dead in their tracks….
There are many types of fear, but the two types of fear that inhibit iconoclastic thinking are fear of uncertainty and fear of public ridicule…..
The true iconoclast, although they may also experience these types of fears, does not let them inhibit his actions”
.
– excerpt from the book “Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals how to Think Differently”

Today we peel back the web of lies and obfuscation with regard to the true origins of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
It could be argued, quite (successfully mind you) that the Atlantic Slave Trade may never have existed were it not for Africans originating it by selling other Africans.
Of course, this is a highly controversial thesis. Therefore we must comb through the evidence very carefully.

That said, let’s dive in!

The origin…..

A philosopher once said that behind every civilization, there’s barbarism

The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in the transatlantic slave trade were people from Central and West Africa, who had been sold by other West Africans, or by half European ‘merchant princes’ to Western European slave traders (with a small number being captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids), who brought them to the Americas. Except for the Portuguese, European slave traders generally did not participate in the raids because life expectancy for Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa was less than one year during the period of the slave trade (which was prior to the development of quinine as a treatment for malaria). The South Atlantic and Caribbean economies were particularly dependent on labour for the production of sugarcane and other commodities. This was viewed as crucial by those Western European states which, in the late 17th and 18th centuries, were vying with each other to create overseas empires. – Wikipedia


In the 16th century (1500s) The Portuguese traveled to the Continent of Africa seeking gold. Instead, the rich kings they encountered offered them slaves.
“Until the late medieval era, southern Europe constituted an important market for North African merchants who brought gold and other commodities—and small numbers of slaves—in caravans across the Sahara Desert. But during the early fifteenth century, advances in nautical technology (especially the invention of the caravel, with its aerodynamic hull and triangular lateen sails) enabled Portuguese mariners to travel south along Africa’s Atlantic coast in search of a direct maritime route to gold-producing regions in sub-Saharan West Africa. Founded in 1482 near the town of Elmina in present-day Ghana, the feitoria São Jorge da Mina was of special importance in that it gave the Portuguese far better access to sources of West African gold.”

Elmina castle….

Elmina Castle was erected by the Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (St. George of the Mine Castle), also known as Castelo da Mina or simply Mina (or Feitoria da Mina) in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast). It was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, and the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara. First established as a trade settlement, the castle later became one of the most important stops on the route of the Atlantic slave trade. The Dutch seized the fort from the Portuguese in 1637, after an unsuccessful attempt to the same extent in 1596, and took over all of the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1642. The slave trade continued under the Dutch until 1814. In 1872, the Dutch Gold Coast, including the fort, became a possession of Great Britain.

I wonder if this piece of history will be canceled?

The Gold Coast, which is now Ghana, gained its independence in 1957 from Britain, and had control of the castle. Elmina Castle is a historical site, and was a major filming location for Werner Herzog‘s 1987 drama film Cobra Verde. The castle is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Slavery in Africa…..

Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa, and still continues today in some African countries.

Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the Arab slave trade (which started in the 7th century) and Atlantic slave trade (which started in the 16th century) began, many of the pre-existing local African slave systems began supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa.

Slavery in historical Africa was practiced in many different forms: Debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, slavery for prostitution, and criminal slavery were all practiced in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa. Plantation slavery also occurred, primarily on the eastern coast of Africa and in parts of West Africa. The importance of domestic plantation slavery increased during the 19th century, due to the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Many African states dependent on the international slave trade reoriented their economies towards legitimate commerce worked by slave labor.

Slavery was prevalent in many parts of Africa for many centuries before the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade. There is evidence that enslaved people from some parts of Africa were exported to states in Africa, Europe, and Asia prior to the European colonization of the Americas.

It has been said that Africa has suffered so much because of it’s self inflicted curse, by selling so many of it’s own people away

The Atlantic slave trade was not the only slave trade from Africa, although it was the largest in volume and intensity. As Elikia M’bokolo wrote in Le Monde diplomatique:The African continent was bled of its human resources via all possible routes. Across the Sahara, through the Red Sea, from the Indian Ocean ports and across the Atlantic. At least ten centuries of slavery for the benefit of the Muslim countries (from the ninth to the nineteenth) … Four million enslaved people exported via the Red Sea, another four million through the Swahili ports of the Indian Ocean, perhaps as many as nine million along the trans-Saharan caravan route, and eleven to twenty million (depending on the author) across the Atlantic Ocean.


By 1494, the Portuguese king had entered agreements with the rulers of several West African states that would allow trade between their respective peoples, enabling the Portuguese to “tap into” the “well-developed commercial economy in Africa … without engaging in hostilities”. “Peaceful trade became the rule all along the African coast”, although there were some rare exceptions when acts of aggression led to violence. For instance, Portuguese traders attempted to conquer the Bissagos Islands in 1535. In 1571 Portugal, supported by the Kingdom of Kongo, took control of the south-western region of Angola in order to secure its threatened economic interest in the area. Although Kongo later joined a coalition in 1591 to force the Portuguese out, Portugal had secured a foothold on the continent that it continued to occupy until the 20th century. Despite these incidences of occasional violence between African and European forces, many African states ensured that any trade went on in their own terms, for instance, imposing custom duties on foreign ships. In 1525, the Kongolese king Afonso I seized a French vessel and its crew for illegally trading on his coast.

Ghana and the Ashanti…….

Africans played a direct role in the slave trade, selling their captives or prisoners of war to European buyers. The prisoners and captives who were sold were usually from neighbouring or enemy ethnic groups. These captive slaves were considered “other”, not part of the people of the ethnic group or “tribe”; African kings held no particular loyalty to them. Sometimes criminals would be sold so that they could no longer commit crimes in that area. Most other slaves were obtained from kidnappings, or through raids that occurred at gunpoint through joint ventures with the Europeans. But some African kings refused to sell any of their captives or criminals. King Jaja of Opobo, a former slave, refused to do any business with the slavers.

According to Pernille Ipsen (in the book Daughters of the Trade: Atlantic Slavers and Interracial Marriage on the Gold Coast), Africans, namely Ghana, also participated in the slave trade through intermarriage, or cassare, meaning “to set up house”. It is derived from the Portuguese word “casar”, meaning “to marry”. Cassare created political and economic bonds between European and African slave traders. Cassare was a pre-European practice used to integrate the “other” from a differing African tribe. Powerful West African groups used these marriages as an alliance used to strengthen their trade networks with European men by marrying off African women from families with ties to the slave trade. Early on in the Atlantic Slave trade, these marriages were common. The marriages were even performed using African customs, which Europeans did not object to, seeing how important the connections were.

The Akan (/əˈkæn/) is a meta-ethnicity living in the southern regions of present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as Twi/Fante) is a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo family.

Subgroups of the Bia-speaking Akan groups include the Anyin, Baoulé, Chakosi (Anufo), Sefwi (Sehwi), Nzema, Ahanta, and Jwira-Pepesa. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of matrilineal descent, inheritance of property, and succession to high political office.

Akan culture can also be found in the Americas, where a number of Akans were taken as captives. Roughly ten percent of all slave ships that embarked from the Gold Coast contained Akan people. The primary source of wealth in the Akan economy was gold. However, the capture and sale of Akan people peaked during the Fante and Ashanti conflicts (as both sold many of their captives as prisoners of war). Akan conflicts led to a high number of military captives, known as “Coromantee“, being sold into slavery. The Coromantee soldiers and other Akan captives were notorious for various slave revolts and plantation resistance tactics. These captives were feared throughout America. Their legacy is evident within groups such as the Maroons of the Caribbean and South America.

Subgroups of the Akan people include: Ashanti Fante Akuapem Bono Kwahu Akyem Agona Wassa Akwamu

Ashanti Empire…….

Kente Cloth

The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: Asanteman) was an Akan empire and kingdom from 1670 to 1957, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from Ashanti to include the Brong-Ahafo Region, Central Region, Eastern Region, Greater Accra Region and Western Region of present-day Ghana. Due to the empire’s military prowess, wealth, architecture, sophisticated hierarchy and culture, the Ashanti Kingdom has been extensively studied and has more historiographies by European, primarily British authors than any other indigenous culture of Sub-Saharan Africa.

*The name Asante means “because of war”. The word derives from the Twi words ɔsa meaning “war” and nti meaning “because of”. This name comes from the Asante’s origin as a kingdom created to fight the Denkyira kingdom.

Slavery was historically a tradition in the Ashanti Empire, with slaves typically taken as captives from enemies in warfare. The welfare of their slaves varied from being able to acquire wealth and intermarry with the master’s family to being sacrificed in funeral ceremonies. The Ashanti believed that slaves would follow their masters into the afterlife. Slaves could sometimes own other slaves, and could also request a new master if the slave believed he or she was being severely mistreated.

Interesting note…..

Kente Cloth
Kente, known as nwentoma in Akan, is an indigenous Ghanaian textile, made of interwoven cloth strips of silk and cotton. Kente is made in Akan lands, in Ghana, from the historic Ashanti Kingdom, including the towns of Bonwire, Adanwomase, Sakora Wonoo, and Ntonso in the Kwabre areas of the Ashanti Region.

In my research for this essay I could not help but notice that almost every website I saw regarding Kente cloths had a date of 5 June 2020. And they all conform to one another.
Knowing what I know about how the corporately funded mainstream (matrix) operates, this appears to be a massive “damage control” ploy. As the fallout post Nanci Peloci and her “get along gang’s” highly insulting “pandering ploy” a few weeks ago backfired on them massively.

It is also not lost on me that several “fact checking” websites (many who’s funding can be traced back to the eugenicist and population reduction proponent Bill Gates and his foundation) ran disinformation stories in an attempt to downplay the “slave trading” history of the Ashanti (warrior) people.
With almost two decades of this type of research under my belt, I can sniff this type of thing out from a mile away, but I digress…

Now…..
These people are highly intelligent and highly educated. They are all students of the “Hidden Schools of Mystery Babylon”, well versed in the art of speaking only through ”symbols” in public. Those with eyes to see into a thing can see some pretty nasty mockery underlying other overlying pandering.


Despite appearances, these people are NOT stupid
Props to Traxman for the flick (photo)

Dahomey…..

The Kingdom of Dahomey (/dəˈhoʊmi/) was an African kingdom (located within the area of the present-day country of Benin) that existed from about 1600 until 1904, when the last king, Béhanzin, was defeated by the French, and the country was annexed into the French colonial empire. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by conquering key cities on the Atlantic coast.

For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Kingdom of Dahomey was a key regional state, eventually ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organized military. Notable in the kingdom were significant artwork, an all-female military unit called the Dahomey Amazons by European observers, and the elaborate religious practices of Vodun with the large festival of the Annual Customs of Dahomey which involved large scale human sacrifice. They traded prisoners, which they captured during wars and raids, and exchanged them with Europeans for goods such as knives, bayonets, firearms, fabrics, and spirits.

Human sacrifice of captured and enslaved people was a regular practice in Dahomey

My people are a military people, male and female; my revenue is the proceeds of the sale of prisoners of war….. I cannot send the women to cultivate the soil, it would kill them…All my nation, all are soldiers. And the slave trade feeds them.”Ghezo (King of Dahomey) excerpt from the book “African Military History”

Dahomey’s female “Amazon Warriors” are a very interesting aspect of their culture, but for the sake of time and brevity I must leave you with a link to further research this highly interesting topic.

The mighty Dahomeyans had a hand in the horrible capture, dehumanization, and sale of their fellow African continent brethren. The African slave trade shines a light on just how complex the continent’s individual as well as collective identities really are.


We U.S. Born “black people” are seen and see ourselves as a mostly homogeneous group. With the possible exception of first and second generation of African and Caribbean immigrants. However, in Africa, even differing tribes within a single nation can and do view those outside of their immediate group as “the other”.
As an “American black dude” I find this phenomena immensely fascinating. And yet another part of our historical and or cultural identity that is swept under the proverbial rug.

The crabs in a barrel effect……..

It is quite interesting to note that we U.S. “black folk” have an innate distrust for one another that functions in much the same way as our African “tribal” ancestors. We have been taught either anecdotally, as well as from experience that some of us are simply not to be trusted. (Just like every other race, creed color, and or phenotype of human on the entire face of the earth).

learned helplessness does UGLY things to a people
But not identifying as a victim EVER, fixes it xx

One interesting experience I will share with you here now.
A few months back I was approached by a/some fellow African American (sic) “colleagues” about joining an “empowerment and solidarity” support and networking group on Facebook.
I, having already “broken out” internationally really stood nothing to gain except for the joy of seeing some of my people “come up”.
Seeking to assist my peers with a less visible profile, I invited several of my high profile “Black American” (North American out of respect for my South and Central American Beloved) peers.

Most, having “been there and done that” never accepted, but one in particular came with a bit of “painful truth”. He joined the group conversation to “feel it out”, but expressed his skepticism with regard to the viability of the group. Saying “black people kill each other”. To which I had to publicly concur.
Instantly, this artist was called a “goofy” insulted, bullied, and shame bashed for simply stating an obvious, but painful truth. Said artist is from Jersey City. Growing up in Hoboken. A bridge ride away from Manhattan. This artist is the inimitable wunderkind, Mr. Joey Anderson. (whom I contacted personally to ask permission to quote him for this essay).

Obviously disappointed at what had just occurred, I once again reiterated my support for the truth bomb Joey had just dropped. I also wrote to the group that lack of organization and in-fighting was a major reason our people are “unwelcome guests” in the “House we built” and that for this group to work, we would have to be very mindful of this historical “hobble”.

A day later, I was ejected from the group. Which disbanded and then reformed without me.

Now to be fair, the founder of the group sent me a new add request after un-friending me. Which I sat on for a few weeks thinking it over. As “once bitten twice shy”.
I eventually acquiesced in the spirit of peace, love, and tolerance I “preach” in my writings on Facebook. As to be 100% “congruent” in my words and deeds.
This artist humbly apologized and I accepted gracefully in the true spirit of “black unity”.
“Water under the bridge” I told him.
And since this time, this artist has been very supportive online with regard to my recent maneuvers and posts.
Walk the talk.

Side note….
(it must be mentioned that there are many U.S. People of color who believe that they/we are decedents of one or more of the Biblical “lost 12 tribes” of the original Hebrews. That particular rabbit hole goes quite deep, and is a bit off topic. Therefore I will refrain from exploring it here at this time)


So with this indisputable, historically accurate evidence; we can see that the Transatlantic Slave Trade is in many ways, a European extension of an already centuries old African Slave Trade. The horrendously inhumane rabbit hole of humans being sold into slavery goes so deep, that I at some point must leave it be to be addressed in some of it’s other iterations at a later time.

I feel confident at this point that the backdrop is set. And a mental picture has been taken, processed, and developed in the minds of the reader(s).
And since my exposure of this hidden aspect of “Black American” history is but a fraction of the entire equation, we shall now move on to iconoclastically examine another under scrutinized aspect of modern-day “U.S. Blackness”

Do black lives really matter?????

Some of what I am seeing being done under the umbrella of “Black Lives Mattering” is quite an embarrassment. And I honestly cannot be associated with such foolishness.

Let’s talk about this…..
I pose the question to you all, “what is the biggest killer of black people in the United States?” And before I state the indisputable answer, I pose one more question;
If Black lives really matter to the group that flies this particular banner, and or chants this neuro-linguistic slogan, then surely they are protesting the single most destructive and effective destroyer of black lives in the nation of the USA, aren’t they?

Neurolinguistic programming(NLP) is a psychological approach that involves analyzing strategies used by successful individuals and applying them to reach a personal goal. It relates thoughts, language, and patterns of behavior learned through experience to specific outcomes.

Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP), in short, is the method of performing mild hypnosis through conversation for the purpose of persuasion. By using certain verbal and non-verbal language patterns, an NLP master can trigger specific responses in their subject’s subconscious mind. –
Learning To Pull The Strings Of A Stranger’s Subconscious: NLP

“NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming is one of the world’s most prevalent methods of mind control, used by everyone from sales callers to politicians to media pundits, and it’s nasty to the core. Here’s ten ways to make sure nobody uses it on you… ever.” –
10 Ways to Protect Yourself From NLP Mind Control


Back to the first question….
The answer is abortion. This is the largest killer of “Black Lives” by an incredibly wide margin. In fact, for every 1000 black children born, 479 are killed before they ever take a breath. This is astounding mathematics. Practically a 50% ratio. This beloved, is no less than genocide. Yet, BLM does no protesting of abortion clinics.
No! Quite the opposite, they (on their own website) promote it.

Let us now examine a bit of “double speak” from their OWN website…..
“We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children.”
These words are found in the paragraph DIRECTLY under the above statement
We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure….”

So now, which is it? There is a blatantly obvious contradiction. One that anyone employing rational logic and seeking true overstanding can plainly see immediately.
So why, I now ask the reader, does no one else seem to notice this? At least not among the legions of “followers” now marching and disrupting peace and order claiming “Black Lives Matter”.
Empirical science has proven that children raised in a two parent household have a much better chance at having a happy and successful life.

Children raised in intact married families are more likely to attend college, are physically and emotionally healthier, are less likely to be physically or sexually abused, less likely to use drugs or alcohol and to commit delinquent behaviors, have a decreased risk of divorcing when they get married, are less likely to become pregnant/impregnate someone as a teenager, and are less likely to be raised in poverty. (“Why Marriage Matters: 26 Conclusions from the Social Sciences,” Bradford Wilcox, Institute for American Values, www.americanvalues.org/html/r-wmm.html)


Why don’t THESE Black Lives Matter?
Incongruent!

Now, back to the “black genocide” that is completely ignored in the US…..

“Abortion impacts African Americans at a higher rate than any other population group. In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an Abortion Surveillance Report. According to that report, black women make up 14 percent of the childbearing population. Yet, 36 percent of all abortions were obtained by black women. At a ratio of 474 abortions per 1,000 live births, black women have the highest ratio of any group in the country.” –
Abortion: The overlooked tragedy for black Americans – Walt Blackman

So once again, why no mention of this from BLM? It stands to reason that such a highly organized and well funded organization would know this if I, a mere “gym rat and DJ/Beatmaker” would, don’t you think?

Let us dive further into the things BLM’s website wishes us to know (in their own words)……
“In 2013, three radical Black organizers — Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi — created a Black-centered political will and movement building project called #BlackLivesMatter.”
“Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention……”


Having been at this “rabbit hole research game” for almost 2 decades, I have come across my fair share of “shills” “controlled opposition” front movements, “straw man” decoys, and “useful idiots”

In political jargon, a useful idiot is a derogatory term for a person perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the cause’s goals, and who is cynically used by the cause’s leaders.

With all the blatant contradictory incongruence, double speak, radical subversive ideologies, stated purpose of “disrupting” the nuclear family, and dubious funding, this group does not at all function as they should based upon what and who they say they are. Therefore, this group should be viewed with a dose of healthy skepticism at the very least.

Congruence and Controlled Opposition……..

congruence

If it happened to the Black Panthers, it can happen in BLM
Don’t you think?

/ˈkɒŋɡrʊəns/

noun

noun: congruence; plural noun: congruences

  1. agreement or harmony; compatibility.

“the results show quite good congruence with recent studies”

I vote for neither side. They’re ALL puppets.

A controlled opposition
is a protest movement that is actually being led by government agents. Nearly all governments in history have employed this technique to trick and subdue their adversarie. Notably Vladimir Lenin who said ””The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.”

So if we take into account BLM’s “footprint” and the fact that oftentimes, well meaning grass roots organizations are often infiltrated by either or:
1. Government agents and agencies such as Co-Intel Pro. In the case of the “Black Panther Party”.
2. Radical (often Bolshevik Marxist) subversives such as the Frankfurt School infiltrating universities both in the U.S. And around the world.

At this point, we must continue to scrutinize BLM and watch them carefully as this organization is the prefect “petri-dish” for such infiltration to fester and take over. Using the cover of a grass-roots movement to either neutralize, and or subvert is for their own nefarious causes.
Ask some who makes a living of studying, combating, and or chronicling these types of groups and subversive movements, and they will tell you that BLM displays all the hallmarks of either controlled opposition, or a radical subversive movement. If not both.

I myself choose to continue to watch and reserve judgement for now. Healthy skepticism shall be my modus operandi moving forward with regard to how I view this odd, disruptive possible wolf in sheep’s clothing. Innocent until proven guilty shall be the way until further evidence proves definitively either way. In the meantime, I will avoid taking sides and remain an independent, non-partisan, apolitical free thinker.

Question everything!

In their OWN words!!!!
The enemy IS among us!

The “Digital Punch In The Face”

The CHAMP!

When Mike Tyson was asked by a reporter whether he was worried about Evander Holyfield and his fight plan he answered; “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth (face).”
What Tyson said is similar to the old saying “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”.

I explored this idea in a recent Facebook mini-essay you can find here…..

The way that the term “digital punch in the face” I recently created relates to the BLM movement is the way this “organization” seems to always lurk around and feed the flames of emotional trauma the corporate media promoted and highly polarizing narrative of black people being under constant attack by police. Yet, the numbers do not support this.
Something does not add up.
And “if something does not add up, then it must be subtracted.”


Something about the name “Black Lives Matter” instantly rubbed me the wrong way back when I first heard it a few years ago. Like many, I thought to myself “wait, when did anyone EVER say that they did not matter?” It struck me as pandering, and even mocking. SUPER CRINGE, but I digress….

Perhaps it is my ability to recognize neuro-linguistinc programming being used on me.
I don’t know. But for whatever reason, I felt like I should keep and eye on this group’s “foot print”.

So now in light of current events, especially those in the state of my birth, Washington State. In a city adjacent to the one I was born in Tacoma. On Fort Lewis Army base.
The city in question is Seattle. Where we now have a whole ceccession on our hands. WTF is that nonsense?
(the philosopher in me asks).
These people do not represent me in any way. What are they really doing there? What do they want? And why are they not being stopped?

Unfortunately, I am quite sure I know the answer to all three of those questions.
1. Please go back to the previous blog post and check the link Yuri Bezmenov’s lecture?
2. Please see the above?
3. They are not being stopped so that the presidential candidate colloquially known as “Orange Man Bad” LOL; can give his opposing party (different wings, same bird) the proverbial rope to hang themselves.

Logic dictates that he will point out to the fact that a major portion of BLM’s donations are funneled directly to the opposing party. And link them in his stump speeches. As well as pointing out that Seattle itself has an ineffective Democratic mayor. And that Washington State has a Democratic Governor who has lost control of the affairs of the “Evergreen State”.
It’s as if the opposing party of the man they call “Dump” are losing on purpose. Especially when you factor in “Creepy Uncle Joe”. Nuts! You cannot write better fiction. Crazy times.

So with people already wound up as much as they are, and looking back at the reaction to the last election; I foresee hella mental meltdowns. And perhaps if it has not already happened by then, full on blood in the streets.
Thus, the reason for these posts here and on the “book”.

Simmer down beloved. This is how “social engineering” works. So I need my people (regardless of skin color) to now cut the invisible puppet strings. Some very evil people have stated many times in their writings that they wish to utilize the Hegelian Dialectic
{Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis aka Ordo Ab Chao (Order out of Chaos)} to bring about their oft written about New World Order.

Don’t be this broad. …. If you’re not her already, beloved x

To do this, they state in their own words that extreme chaos is needed to manifest this into reality.
The following was spoken by David Rockefeller at the Bilderberger Meeting, Baden Germany, June 1991. Rockefeller has devoted his life to one world government, i.e. the New World Order (NWO). He founded the Trilateral Commission and is integral to the Council on Foreign Relations.

We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost 40 years. … It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”

Later, he notes: “Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure, one world if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.”
“We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order.”- David Rockefeller 23 September 1994
(His own words. Not mine)

The New World Order is a whole thing. Despite the Wikipedia disinformation
See for yourself

The primary obstacle blocking the “sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers” is a strong, democratic, sovereign America. Both cannot exist simultaneously. Therefore, our mortal enemy has been decimating America for decades, the battlefield littered with the middle class, dazed soldiers wandering in despair, jobs lost, pockets empty, homes foreclosed, dreams crushed and forced to bow to their oppressors if they travel by air. America is on the verge of losing our battle for freedom and has not yet even identified who the real enemy is.

The age-old dream of world domination is alive and well. Our real enemy are the globalists, scientific-technological elites who, as Eisenhower warned, are attempting to establish the NWO. Their primary weapons are perpetual war and central banks, i.e. the Fed which is a cartel of international bankers, including Rockefeller, who control our economy and, astoundingly, have not been audited during the 98 years they have systematically destroyed the dollar while becoming inconceivably powerful. Jefferson, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson – the list is long and distinguished – all scream as to the lethal danger of a central bank. – The Aspen Times “Beware New World Order 15 August 2011

Ordo Ab Chao…….

As above. So Below.

A Latin expression, meaning Order out of Chaos. A motto of the Thirty-third Degree, and having the same allusion as lug e tenebris, which see in this work. The invention of this motto is to be attributed to the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

– Source: Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry

Many bands and other sources outside of freemasonry have used the term in various works. The term was recently manifested in book title with the release of Order Out Of Chaos The Landmarks of Freemasonry authored by Sean R Bailey.

Although many books have been written on the theory of the masonic landmarks, few are available that provide a complete overview of the centuries of attempts at making any one set of landmarks universally apart of the Masonic Code. This book provides the unique perspective of the many attempts by Authors and Unique men in Masonry. Beginning with the basic concepts of what constitutes a
Landmark, each chapter then traces the steps taken in applying what has been written into what we as modern masons use today in our daily life’s.

The book assumes the reader has a basic knowledge of the” basic” concepts of Freemasonry. It is especially well suited for identification of the dynamics of masons around the world. As no one jurisdiction is the same. So is the case for the landmarks they have instated as code

We now live in the rabbit hole…..

Welcome to The Brave New World!

With these highly charged, and often controversial topics, it is easy to get “lost in the sauce” of conjecture, feels over reals, tin-foil hat-ery, and eyes wide shut fear.
Therefore, I feel that since we’ve now crossed the bough of actually naming the New World Order in this essay; it is a great time to “hit the brakes” and cool off with a bit of a mental/emotional time out.

Everyone can sense now that the “identity politics” being practiced these days is a broken system. One that seems to be doing much more harm than good. We also have more and more people beginning to question the true intentions of the corporately controlled mainstream media (matrix); that is obviously “socially engineering” the people who depend on it for (dis)information, and and UNDER-standing (versus overstanding) of the world we now live in.
And what the whole fuq is up with CHAZ?

(laughs out loud!)

Live Free or die!
Freedom is not being bound by the opinions of others.

One last thing……

You know you’re not a racist. So DON’T virtue signal. It hurts more than it helps xx

White guilt is a form a passive racism. STOP IT!


Next essay we MUST explore the origins of the US democratic party.


With all the most humble love and gracious respect I can muster. Because my Beloved deserve no less.

Amir Alexander – Iconoclast

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The Musings of a Modern Philosopher…..

Philosophy….

/fɪˈlɒsəfi/noun
1. the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
2. a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.

Classic philosophical questions include: “is it possible to know anything and to prove it?” and ‘what is most real?’ Philosophers also pose more practical and concrete questions such as: ‘is there a best way to live?’, ‘is it better to be just or unjust (if one can get away with it)?”, “do humans have free will?”
Looking back, it appears that I was a born philosopher. One of my first memories was looking at both my parents and wondering why I ONLY saw out of my own eyes and did NOT see out of theirs.
I was quite struck by an overwhelming sense of self. And or, self awareness. This would be no older than age two. In fact, I do not think I had really learned to speak yet. But there I was. Pondering the idea of…..

I am me…….

I can remember this far back.

“I am me”. This was my first great philosophical pondering. Dad is Dad, Mom is Mom, and I am me. I also knew at that age already that I/me, had had something to do. I felt a strong sense of “personal greatness”. That I was here to affect the “world of man” (woman, and or other) in a way that would be “world reaching” on an international scale/level.
Everyday for many months this went on, and throughout my entire youth it was an idea I revisited from time to time for the rest of my childhood years.

too smart for my own good…..

I was told many times growing up that I “was too smart for my own good”. It appears that this was indeed true. As my Pisces Moon sign allows me to at times embody both thesis and anti-thesis at the same time. Always “very mature for my age”, but up until a very painful and demoralizing “loss of innocence” that occurred about five to six years ago; I was also “painfully naive”
When I was coming of age in the United States of America, the median IQ Intelligence quotient was 100…….
(IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation “IQ” was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term “Intelligenzquotient”, his term for a scoring method for intelligence tests at University of Breslau he advocated in a 1912 book. Historically, IQ was a score obtained by dividing a person’s mental age score, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person’s chronological age, both expressed in terms of years and months. The resulting fraction (quotient) is multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score. For modern IQ tests, the median raw score of the norming sample is defined as IQ 100 and scores each standard deviation (SD) up or down are defined as 15 IQ points greater or less. By this definition, approximately two-thirds of the population scores are between IQ 85 and IQ 115. About 2.5 percent of the population scores above 130, and 2.5 percent below 70)

*Psychologists revise the test every few years in order to maintain 100 as the average. Most people (about 68 percent) have an IQ between 85 and 115. Only a small fraction of people have a very low IQ (below 70) or a very high IQ (above 130). The average IQ in the United States is 98.
So the median IQ in the country I grew up in (one that seems to be, or seemed to be one that the entire world marveled at, if not in some way admired as a “great nation” {though many now will tell you that it was never great}. Despite many people around the world still excited at the prospect of taking holiday, or even migrating there until only very recently) is decreasing but I digress…

Intellectual Isolation

I tested every other year throughout my entire school career in the 99th percentile on our C.T.B.S. (Comprehensive test of basic skills) Tests. This is an IQ/placement test given to ensure that children of equal IQ are placed in the same homeroom, math, science, English/grammar/composition classes. The 99th percentile means that I was in the top 1% IQ range of all the children of my age group in the entire United States. No boasting, only painting a mental picture to help the reader overstand some of the things I will expound upon later in this essay.

That’s my soul up there – The Police


There is a thing called “intellectual isolation” it goes as follows…..100 is median and or average. 70 and below is considered a “retarded” and or stunted/slowed development IQ. Anything over 130 is considered very high. (For the sake of humility I will not state my exact number, but suffice it to say, it is firmly over 130). The basis of “Intellectual Isolation” theory is that people with very high IQ are just as “far out of the normal” as a “retarded” person. And without the proper skills to function in the world of most people, they will often be perceived, and thus treated like a person with a “cognitive deficiency”. (talk about the irony). This hurt me greatly. To be considered and treated like I was “dumb” by people who were vastly less gifted at times. But that was then and this is now. It made me stronger. And for this is am most humbly grateful.

Eureka Moment!!!!!

THIS was my life. Even up until a few years ago. When I was in “free-fall” career wise, relationship wise, friendship wise, and emotionally. I remember clearly thinking and even saying aloud “I need to learn to make my IQ work for me and not against me”
Ever the researcher, I was trying to self diagnose. As I am a Man, and thus a “problem solver” Heterosexual Women can likely relate to telling their man their feelings about a situation that brought them down, and then the man trying to “do something” when all she wanted was for him to listen. Men can relate as well I am sure. This is because he was trying to “solve the problem. So to continue…

I even thought at one time I might be high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome for while. That is until I FINALLY discovered I.I. (Intellectual Isolation). Talk about “killing me softly” The peer reviewed white papers and various literature were describing my entire life. OK, I know my enemy. I can now attempt to defeat it. “In battle, “You can’t hit what you can’t see”. Now that I had a proper overstanding of why I was so different, I could now address my particular needs.

My school peers would all go to “gifted studies” from time to time, and despite being in the exact same classes with them, I did not get to leave and go to “gifted” with them. The reason being was that when I would bring home my test scores, and the gifted studies applications to my mother, who was deep in her cocaine addiction at the time. And she would not even read them. Thus I never received the proper “coping skills” that gifted studies gives these children who are “so far out of the norm”. To top it off, I also suffered from dyslexia. Talk about a tough break.
So for the last five years, I have worked very hard to overcome myself, and I am no longer “too smart for my own good”. “So why does this matter?”, you may ask. To which I say, please read on? It will all become clear soon.
Talent hits a target most cannot hit. Genius hits a target most cannot see. Remember this. We will revisit it in a bit.

The Empty Cup…..

one who knows everything cannot learn anything

The Empty Cup….”Empty your cup” is an old Chinese Chan (Zen) saying that occasionally pops up in western popular entertainment. “Empty your cup” often is attributed to a famous conversation between the scholar Tokusan (also called Te-shan Hsuan-chien, 782-865) and Zen Master Ryutan (Lung-t’an Ch’ung-hsin or Longtan Chongxin, 760-840).The “Empty Your Cup” ConversationScholar Tokusan–who was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma–came to Ryutan and asked about Zen. At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest’s teacup but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table. “Stop! The cup is full!” said Tokusan.”Exactly,” said Master Ryutan. “You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can’t put anything in. Before I can teach you, you’ll have to empty your cup.”This is harder than you might realize. By the time we reach adulthood we are so full of information that we don’t even notice it’s there. We might consider ourselves to be open-minded, but in fact, everything we learn is filtered through many assumptions and then classified to fit into the knowledge we already possess.

One who knows……

Confucius

Confucius said: … Recognizing that you know what you know, and recognizing that you do not know what you do not know—this is knowledge. Yu said:…. shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it;—this is knowledge.

Identity Politics and self Righteous indignation…..
In the past decade, as it appears on the surface that we are more open-minded, tolerant, sophisticated, and educated. Yet, we “function” as the “inverse” of these things. ‘Dumbed Down”. Why is this? The philosopher asks. What is the root causation?
One likely culprit is “Identity Politics” which appears to be the “weaponized version” of the “agree to disagree and find the middle ground of politics” we used to engage in.
Successfully, I might add. The philosopher asks probing questions. Stoically. As the “Meditations of Marcus Aurelius” instructed us to do. Where ever identity politics goes. Calm, rational discourse cannot. It destroy’s people’s ability to engage in it successfully. But why???

Emotions < Logic

Logic = Meltdown

To engage in rational discourse, the parties involved must be rational. But the emotions led “own group preference” steeped identity politics ideology causes “Cognitive Dissonance”. Which CANNOT hold up to scrutiny or logic. It crumbles under the pressure of reason, logic, and facts that support a dissenting opinion.
The world before “Triggering was a thing”….
For any truly open minded individual, different points of view should be welcome. This is an opportunity to learn new things. But if we already know everything, we can never learn anything. This refers back to the empty cup I spoke on before. Without open, rational, dissension and or discourse, we humans begin to seek what is known as “confirmation bias”


Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information that confirms or support one’s prior personal beliefs or values. It is an important type of cognitive bias that has a significant effect on the proper functioning of society by distorting evidence-based decision-making. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. For example, a person may cherry-pick empirical data that supports one’s belief, ignoring the remainder of the data that is not supportive. People also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs. Confirmation bias is a broad construct covering a number of explanations. Biased search, interpretation and memory have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series) and illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations).

Cancel Culture……

Self righteous keyboard assassin

THIS is what happens when we enter the dark dark climate of “cancel culture”. No definition needed I’m sure. As the book (Facebook) is rife with it. Express a differing point of view…. Get canceled. Engage in “normal” old-fashion politics… Get canceled. Be a dick….. for SURE get canceled. Make an honest mistake, or miss-speak amongst the wrong crowd? CANCELED!
This is a very base, destructive, callous, and EVIL ideology. One that seeks to ruin a person’s WHOLE life, strip them of the ability to provide for themselves, their significant other, and or their very children. Why not take the time to inform and educate a person who makes a gaffe and truly does not know what they are now being punished for miss-expressing. Would not we want this done for us?
The “philosopher asks…. Do these people really ever take the time to think about how evil and destructive an ideological phenomena that would seek to thrust women and children into “abject poverty” not to mention any Men who might find themselves victims of the practice. As Men, and true masculinity, versus “media machismo” is CLEARLY under attack. (but we will leave that particular “social land mine” for now). I will just say that sexuality, and or gender characteristics is NOT a “zero sum game”

Zero Sum Game

In game theory and economic theory, a zero-sum game is a mathematical representation of a situation in which each participant’s gain or loss of utility is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the utility of the other participants. If the total gains of the participants are added up and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero. Thus, cutting a cake, where taking a larger piece reduces the amount of cake available for others as much as it increases the amount available for that taker, is a zero-sum game if all participants value each unit of cake equally (see marginal utility).

Meaning if one party is successful and or wins, all others must fail, and or lose.

In contrast, non-zero-sum describes a situation in which the interacting parties’ aggregate gains and losses can be less than or more than zero. A zero-sum game is also called a strictly competitive game while non-zero-sum games can be either competitive or non-competitive. Zero-sum games are most often solved with the minimax theorem which is closely related to linear programming duality, or with Nash Equilibrium.
Humans have a cognitive bias towards seeing situations as zero-sum, known as zero-sum bias. But once again, I digress…
The point is, we are existing in an very toxic environment that no longer allows differing points of view. The philosopher asks… Why is this? And what is the difference between the current, and former generations?
It appears that “Safe Spaces” and “Trigger Word” culture has left people emotionally unable to cope with the real world devoid of “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings”. So do these things help? Or do they do more harm than good? The philosopher asks these questions.

“The Hubris of Icarus”

Proverbs 16:18 King James Version (KJV)
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Never before in modern history have we had the real time embodiment/fulfillment of so many literary classics playing out at the same time right before out very eyes. From the “oppressed cum oppressor” scenario found in Eric Blair, aka George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”, to the…..

“The Flight of Icarus”
In Greek mythology, Icarus (/ˈɪkərəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἴκαρος [ǐːkaros]) is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth. Icarus and his father attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. Icarus’ father warns him first of complacency and then of hubris, asking that he fly neither too low nor too high, so the sea’s dampness would not clog his wings nor the sun’s heat melt them. Icarus ignored his father’s instructions not to fly too close to the sun; when the wax in his wings melted he tumbled out of the sky and fell into the sea where he drowned, sparking the idiom “don’t fly too close to the sun”. This tragic theme of failure at the hands of hubris contains similarities to that of Phaethon. Today’s ubiquitous “Self Righteous Indignation” mirrors Icarus’s flight exactly. Drunk on fakebook likes and hearts, keyboard assassins soar high fueled my their own self righteous blindness to anything but their unchecked and undisciplined emotional diarrhea. Quite troubling and sad to watch as, what goes up must definitely come back down, And what goes around will most surely come around. Classic “Monkey Trap” folly.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” – George Orwell

The Monkey Trap….

Seeking confirmation bias is a classic monkey trap

“The Monkey Trap”The trap “consists of a hollowed-out coconut, chained to a stake. The coconut has some rice inside which can be grabbed through a small hole”. The monkey’s hand fits through the hole, but his clenched fist can’t fit back out. “The monkey is suddenly trapped.” But not by anything physical. He’s trapped by an idea, unable to see that a principle that served him well – “when you see rice, hold on tight!” – has become lethal. One striking example is what psychologists call the Einstellung effect, describing the way preconceptions can blind us, in almost a literal way, to better ways of doing things. In clever experiments by Merim Bilalic and his colleagues, chess masters were presented with a board arranged to offer them two paths to victory: a well-known five-move option, and a more obscure one, requiring three moves. Even these superb players often couldn’t see the best way to win, because the one they knew better colonized their minds. Later, those who’d missed the three-move solution were shown a similar board on which it was the only way to win. Now none had any problem seeing it.
Self righteous indignation can blind the person full of it, and thus be the agent of their own undoing. Avoid this at ALL cost if you have wisdom.

Normalcy Bias…..

In this Brave New World, expect the unexpected. It’s already happened twice since March

“It WILL never happen because HAS never happened”

Our normalcy bias was shattered last month when what appears to be a WHOLE MURDER was filmed and broadcast around the world for all who were unfortunate enough to CHOOSE to watch it.
Normalcy biases will continue to be shattered in this “Brave New World” we now live in. I, the philosopher holds NO normalcy bias. As I also study history and Cultural Anthropology. Fully aware that the ONLY constant in life is change, and or “novelty”
Most novelty with regard to true progression has slowed to a crawl. The form of novelty we encounter is now “computer” and “screen based” Examples; everything to do with A.I. (computer) Any and EVERY type of pornography (including the girl next door tricking her precious body part time for strangers to make a few extra bucks on a webcam or this new “friendly friends” thingy I keep hearing about. (screen)These are but two very common examples. There truly are too many to name here.

Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars….

An actual leaked document you should read

Why is it that no prior generation held the same hate for those who hold differing points of view? Could it be that they have been weaponized by “Corporate Media”?
The truly curious among you seeking true overstanding would do well to research the work of Yuri Bezmenov. Therein you will learn the true nature of the subversive tactics being employed by the corporate media. I have enclosed a link to a free pdf. copy of the leaked military document “ Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars” here, and also on my profile page. Necessary reading for anyone who wishes to overstand the true nature of the threat we all face with regard to the ever increasing chaos and despair that is ubiquitously conspicuous.

*Yuri Bezmenov has some information that may be difficult for the easily offended to hear, but anyone with a strong, open mind should at least listen. The views contained herein are not necessarily those of the author. (Trigger warning)

In closing….

There is so much more ground to cover. This essay, though long by some people’s standards, has barely scratched the surface.
These are a few not so random thoughts and “ideas” I ponder quite often as I seek true overstanding of the world we now see. As a modern philosopher, and “Elder Spokesman” of our beloved culture, it is my duty to utilize the seemingly extraordinary gifts I have been given to help those who were not “gifted” in this way.
Why would I do this? Because my faith teaches scholarship, discernment, wisdom and compassion. I am also motivated by this question as I survey the land of the “online” and real physical/tangible worlds……
“Where are the Philosophers????”
Fin
Amir Alexander – Father, Musician, Scholar, Social Anthropologist, Child of God, Philosopher, Man