First of all, I don't know whetter you have respected me: you dissed me when you ignored all the arguments I brought forward and just replied: "Your argument is illogic" and "The word negro is not offensive!" Is that respectful? I don't think so, so basically, if you feel that I was disrespectful it was you who begetted your own disrespect. The mirror is still a great object.

My aim, or better yet our aim (should be) liberating ourselves from mental slavery. Right? I think any conscious black person would agree with that. But you must start somewhere, and where is the best way to start your liberation?

First of all you must give yourself a name, you must liberate yourself from the designation, the identity (or maybe better defined 'the lack of') that was imposed on you by the (former) slavemaster. Because the white man didn't even give you a name, but he gave you a designation. A name is an identity, but 'negro' is not even a name because it is not related to anything, so you as a 'negro' have no option but to adopt to his (the slavemaster's) identity. The slavemaster has a name (thus an identity); he can relate to a geographical landmass, a language, an heritage, you name it!

So the first step to mental liberation is freeing yourself from the designations the (former) slavemaster has imposed on you, and than you give yourself a name which relates to those institutions which are necessary to build up an independent African paradigma: you want to be able to relate to a geographical landmass, a language and a rich history; you don't want to feel landless when the white, or any other kind of man talks about his land, you don't want to feel dumb when the white, or any kind of man talks about his language, and you don't want to feel like a baby when the white man or any kind of man talks about his history, about the great deeds of his ancestors. You want to be able to talk about the great deeds of your ancestors as well.

That is the starting point; once you have got your own name you have made a start to develop your own African paradigma, to develop your own identity. But as long as you uphold the designation that the (former) slavemaster has imposed on you you might always get confused at the least undesirable moments.

I don't buy the argument that the word 'negro'is easy recognizable you know, that's not the point, the point is that you stil submit to the white man's name calling, that you still have not made a start yet to develop your own paradigma, your own African identity. That's the point! If you build a house you have to start with a good fundamental, you don't start with the roof, because otherwise your house might collapse when you are half-way building it!

So to my opinion you are frustrating our mental liberation by using this desgnation that the(former) slavemaster has imposed on us, and by saying the word 'negro' is easy recognizable you are using oppresion as an argument to frustrate our mental liberation, oppresion as an arument to uphold oppresion. The word has always been used to oppress black people, to rip them of their identity, and because it was used for that purpose the word is so widely known nowadays, so basically you are rewarding the white man for his oppresing methods, using his oppresing methods as an argument to keep us from naming ourselves.

And again sister Bantu-Kelani, I say this with nough respect for you, so please don't feel offended, because we are all here to learn. At least you can take my arguments into consideration, instead of saying "it's not offensive" and "your argument is illogic", because that's not reasoning and not REASONABLE, you got?

You have started some great topics, and I am sure you will continue to do so, but negating other participants their arguments is not the way. I agree with you on most issues, let their be no doubt about that, but I am only quite confused how a conscious person like you can use a word like 'negro', because all persons I know who use words like that are very ignorant, people who don't know and don't wanna know anything about their own history. But I can't say that about you. So I was very confused.

One Love!

It's gona take bravery to stop (mental) slavery!