Interviewed by a Vampyr

Dem Vampyr - I first was impressed with your interaction, knowledge and poise on my FB friend's page and wanted to learn more about you. I find myself disagreeing with most of your viewpoints but willing to listen and learn myself. I look forward to the enlightenment and wanted to send this note just to say I appreciate the way you interact and handle diverse opinion....at the end of the day, we are all equal human beings - that is the bottom line. Trying to get us all treated the same way is the challenge.

...you and I are very likely completely different in so many ways but I feel we do share one essential element that to me is 'glue'....and that is to treat everyone with the same respect...how we get there is the challenge but I am open to all views.....

M. Rasheed - Thanks for reaching out. This was a cool post, and I appreciate the heartfelt civility.

Dem Vampyr - Thanks for accepting my friend request and have a good weekend....I am off to the Carpathians

M. Rasheed - Oh, cool! Have fun. I look forward to interacting with you in the future. Take care.

Dem Vampyr - I can feel the passion in your messaging but strongly feel in order to truly create change (even if one person at a time) the races (and I don't even like referring to humans with the term 'race'...and that is not meant to deny the pride we all should have in our ancestry but using 'race' as if we are not unified by our commonality) need to find acceptability with what is happening and what should be done to combat and overcome inequalities. Unfortunately I feel 'people of color' ('blacks') have to be the 'better' person and slowly enlighten versus a hard core push. Over time I can discuss this more but right now it's imperative you understand my objectives and who I am (a middle aged white guy) who 'has wanted to' and 'still wants to' help this cause. So I will tell you about myself and want you to challenge me so you can hopefully eventually trust me and view my responses with sincerity and not blanket rejection. We want the same 'end goal'....

M. Rasheed - Dem wrote: "I can feel the passion in your messaging but strongly feel in order to truly create change [...] I feel 'people of color' ('blacks') have to be the 'better' person and slowly enlighten versus a hard core push."

I have the rudimentary freedoms I currently hold because of the rivers of blood spilled during the Civil War.

It seems pretty clear that whites will not give up their anti-Black wealth generating systems by my just trying to reason with them. It didn't work before, and the brave men & women of the 19th century were far more eloquent than I.

Dem Vampyr - I don't believe injustices can be 'exposed and overcome' with force and especially with just one side. To me, the best way to 'start' to change the 'bad' whites with the 'good' whites (or at the very least a partnership of 'good' whites and 'good' blacks). And hopefully taking no offense, I would like to simply refer to our races as blacks and whites for our conversations.

M. Rasheed - You don't believe that the battles represented by the Civil War that led directly to the long-sought after goal of releasing the oppressed Black people from chattel bondage could be considered "force?"

Dem Vampyr - That was then...this is now. Force will not work today. And note, the efforts of the Civil War were led by a white - President Lincoln. To bring about change today the movement also has to be co-lead by a white....and a beloved one with established support from all races.

Obama was elected because he was the first half-white President...see what I did there (understand your objective and attack unconventionally)

.....we want our targets to not respond with FU but with Hmmmmm. Anyway, have a good day as I am off to the race (4 kids).

M. Rasheed - Force will work because it's the only thing that the bullying oppressor figure understands. It also happens to have a scriptural precedent as the prophets of the One God of Abraham were often required to draw swords to release the oppressed from the barbarity of unreasonable men. You can tell that whites fear a Civil War sequel because of their nigh-continuous advice that 'force won't work' and Blacks should just shed themselves of their resentments and forgive whites whenever they get all lynchy ("I CAN breathe.") To me, that means whites wish for the unlimited freedom to abuse Blacks at will, and for Blacks to allow it to happen. Under such conditions my people will never be fully free, but will in fact be returned to the chains of chattel.

Lincoln didn't lead from the battle field, and it isn't insignificant that he was the first POTUS killed during his tenor.

Dem Vampyr - respectfully disagree....you will never see in your lifetime what you wish (and that is not force but the end result - acceptable equality). You can only hope your grandchildren see a better day (as your grandparents now see you). Racism (on both sides - yes, there are those that hates Whites just because of their skin color) will never stop but the aspiration is to make that mindset such a discouraged mentality that is in the closet. It must happen with the mind - not muscle.

M. Rasheed - The slave owners attempted to over-step their bounds based on the same greed that fuels them today, Lincoln refused to allow it, and then we had war. Since the greed of the president's enemies was intimately hinged upon the slave economy itself, Lincoln played the ultimate trump card to end the conflict.

Dem Vampyr - I also think there was a human element involved - like we are all human beings.....

M. Rasheed - Obama was elected because in his intelligence, class and poise, he represented the literal opposite of what the uncouth previous POTUS displayed. The people believed in his ability to fix the nationwide damage caused during the previous administration.

My "target" is my own people as I long for them to be free from this subjugated/exploited state that they may be politically and economically empowered and included in the mainstream, and not just 'assimilated integrationalist tokens' supporting white-owned institutions.

Dem wrote: "you will never see in your lifetime what you wish"

People said I would never see a Black President of the USA in my lifetime, too.