Shawn’s Official Policy On “Beefs”

On May 21, 2014 I had a Black woman come to my Twitter page upset over the blog Why Black women choose Thugs over good Black men. This woman was so upset they left several tweets, including one where she said she’d never read my blog again.

Yet this woman still followed me on Twitter.

Clearly she was looking for me to have a “beef” with her.

However, I understand It takes two people to argue. And one person to hit the Block button.

I didn’t see the angry tweets until the 24th  when my internet was back up. And when I saw them I let the person know the blog they were so upset about was over three years old. Then I blocked them.

Here’s the Shawn James policy on “Beefs.”

I do not do “beefs.” with people. Not YouTube beefs, Twitter, beefs, Facebook beefs or any of that silly nonsense.

I do not go back and forth with people even in the comments section of the blog. If you disagree with a point in a blog that’s your right. If you want to leave a comment, then cool. If I want to rebut your points then I’ll do that.

But if I see an individual trying to start an argument or bait me into a circular argument where things just keep going back and forth with no real conclusion I’m going to shut it down.

I’m 40-year-old-man. And 40-year-old men do not do “beefs”. I didn’t do “beefs” in junior high school, or high school. I always believed the whole idea of going back and forth with someone who disagrees with you is a waste of time.

My time is too valuable to waste on “beefs”. I’d rather spend it on doing something constructive like writing my books, writing a blog, or promoting existing books.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s when I was a teenager, I saw many Black men killed because of “beefs” here in New York City. Because these males (and some females) were too proud to agree to disagree, they insisted on keeping a debate going until it turned into an argument. And when one side realized the other wouldn’t concede or they couldn’t win the argument, they resorted to name calling. When that didn’t work, they came out with fists. And when that didn’t get them satisfaction they came out with a gun.

One man was dead. The other spending the rest of his life in jail. All because they couldn’t agree to disagree.

Growing up in a time where over 2,200 people were murdered over silly nonsense like a basketball game on TV, a woman in the club, or a pair of shoes, I know how dangerous a “beef” can be. And that’s why I refuse to engage in one.

Again, if you have an issue with any blog I write, take a step away from the computer and realize the internet is not that serious. They’re just words on a screen. People have different opinions and it’s their right to post their views on their page. If you don’t like the content, click off the page. There’s three trillion websites on this World Wide Web, spend your time on one of those pages.