How many of you have seen Black Panther?

I saw it last night. Enjoyed it for the action and beauty of scenery and characters. I love seeing how buff and skilled some of these characters are as it inspires me to train more. And Hollywood sure has mastered how to use beautiful faces and music to entertain and charm us!

Let's fight our way to peace?

Something I felt annoyed by: there seemed to be quite a bit of anti-white propaganda. In the film, they call white people "colonizers." How long do all white people need to be responsible for what some (usually gov-approved) slavers of a specific skin color did (and black people did it too) generations ago? Collectivise often? Assuming "we" need to "fight" racism, is it really productive to BE racist in order to "fight" racism? I don't think so.

Why did I put "fight" in quotes? Because I don't operate under the illusion that "we" need to "fight" each other.

I'm tempted to say "the only entity we need to fight is government," but even then, I believe the more effective strategy is to ignore government as much as possible while building great tools that will bring about so much understanding, collaboration, security, and efficiency, that even the most heavily programmed people will recognize the uselessness of government and the most impoverished will be uplifted. A thing called blockchain comes to mind :-)

Here's an article I wrote on HOW every person can make a difference: https://steemit.com/life/@scottermonkey/what-can-one-person-do

Is empathy a solution?

What I want to see is us EMPATHIZING with each other. What is empathy? Well, everyone has their own definition. My favorite is: It's listening without filters (moral judgment, evaluation, blaming, shaming, guilting, or demanding) in order to really understand another person and why they choose the actions they choose. We don't have to actually feel what another person is feeling in order to empathize. It is our choice. At the very least, empathy is imagining what it is like to be in another person's position.

What path do you think moves us closer to peace:
(1) "You have ideas and speak words that I don't agree with, so it's okay to silence you."
OR
(2) "You have ideas and speak words that I don't agree with. Where did that come from? Did you experience xyz at some point and that influenced your opinions?"

I want to be fair, so here is the typical rationale for shutting up someone speaking "wrong" ideas: If you allow them to speak, it is like a disease that can spread. I hope it is obvious what kind of can of worms that "rationale" opens up. Along with the positive side of allowing (haha) people to say the things we are uncomfortable hearing, for sooo many reasons, including: (a) The light of truth can only illuminate that which is allowed to be seen; and (b) Forcing people to bottle up anything can lead to carbonization, right? ;-)

More on how powerful a tool empathy can be, especially with someone you consider to be an "enemy:" https://steemit.com/empathy/@scottermonkey/six-ways-practicing-empathy-with-a-stranger-or-enemy-benefits-you

Marvel, Hollywood, 'Murica, and the Pentagon

The other thing they seem to be pushing in Black Panther is interventionism but yay at least not military interventionism, even if many (most?) kinds of interventionism seem to hurt struggling economies more than help them.

How could that be? Quick example: Air drop 10,000 mosquito nets into a third world Country. Watch as their net-makers go out of business and the Country becomes dependent on the West for their nets now. I say that caring with a dash of forward thinking about cost and consequences is far more compassionate in the long run.

I'm sad to see this [populist nanny statist] perspective infect Marvel but I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it's Hollywood, Commifornia. Not to mention - but I am mentioning - the Pentagon extends massive amounts of monetary, material, and informational assistance to films that toe the pro-elite-agenda propaganda line.

What are your thoughts about the film?

I'm open and eager to hear your perspective - especially counter-views - on this topic!

Finally, is the illusion of security worth your integrity?

Do you pledge allegiance to the flag? How far does your allegiance stretch? How many atrocities does the USA have to commit against its own people and other peoples for you to revoke that allegiance?