Everyone Can Broadcast Themselves But Black Men on YouTube

Dan Freeman. (AvenueRants)

General Backlash.

Thugtician.

Sergeant Willie Pete.

KaptainSolo

RichScorpio

GManonLive (GMan4evaonIT)

Mayor of Blacktown

HarveySuperboy

HeavenlyTruth1

Supersedragon (now Superblackdragonrage)

Tommy Sotomayor

And countless others.

Who are these men? Black Men who have had their accounts flagged on YouTube. Black Men who have had their channels deleted on YouTube.

These were Black Men who made videos talking about Black issues from a Black male point of view. Their content was intelligent, though provoking, and even entertaining. I often enjoyed listening to these brothers’ videos as they allowed me to hear from someone who had experiences similar to my own.

As a Black man living in the predominantly Latino South Bronx), I rarely see or hear from any Black men these days. I rarely hear our stories or issues discussed in any public forum. YouTube was the only place where I could go for content featuring African-Americans.

With Television in the second decade of a virtual Blackout, YouTube was the only place I could go to see Black faces. To hear about issues regarding Black people in the Black community. To learn about people who looked like me by people who looked like me.

It upset me to learn of Dan Freeman’s account being deleted on YouTube. This was the third time YouTube deleted Mr. Freeman’s account.

This time YouTube says it deleted his account for hate Speech.

I call bullshit on that.

There was nothing hateful about Mr. Freeman’s last video. But there was malice of forethought from a cabal of individuals behind flagging of his videos and the deleting his channel.

Studying this issue on YouTube over the past two years, there’s been a clear pattern of discrimination against Black men on YouTube. The videos of Black men are more likely to get flagged on YouTube than the videos of Black women or other races. They’re more likely to get deleted on YouTube than the videos of Black women or other races. They’re more likely to their channels deleted than Black women or people of other races.

When a Black man like Tommy Sotomayor can get his videos thumbsed downed and flagged within seconds of posting, there’s pattern of discrimination behind it. When a Black minister like TMOT has a video deleted there’s a pattern behind it. And when an intelligent Black man like The Iceman gets his videos taken down for trying to help Black men become better Black men it’s clear to me that there’s a pattern behind it where discrimination is practiced.

These men only get their videos flagged when they speak on issues relating to Black people and the Black community.

And especially when they speak about social issues and social interactions with other Black people. Especially their issues regarding to their social interactions with Black women.

Everyone can broadcast themselves on YouTube. Except Black men.

This censorship has to stop. Black men on YouTube have a right to speak their minds about issues in their community. It is their first amendment right as American Citizens under the Constitution of the United States.

If racists can get on YouTube and promote their hate, why can’t Black men talk about the issues in their community? If White Feminists can promote their misandry and hatred of men on YouTube why aren’t Black men allowed to speak their minds about the issues in their community? And if Black women are allowed to discuss their issues with Black men on YouTube, then why aren’t Black men allowed to rebut those arguments in an intelligent articulate way like Dan Freeman, TommySotomayor, Thugtician and countless other Black men used to?

Why is it when Black men want to come to the forum all of a sudden it’s time for Google to enforce the law? Why is it when black men want to make videos about certain topics it’s a violation of terms of service? Why is it all of a sudden hate speech when Black men come up to the podium to speak?

But a Black woman like MsProphet123 can post up a hate-filled diatribe about Black men and it stays up for over three months without a single flag. Without having her channel taken down.

Gonzo SSM can post a racist cartoon about Black men and it stays up for over a month. He can even follow it up with yet another racist cartoon about Hispanics month later.

But his clearly racist videos presenting Black men in a negative light don’t get deleted. His channel doesn’t get taken down.

But the channels of Black men who speak intelligently about the issues of the Black community aren’t allowed to be on YouTube.

If this isn’t discrimination, I don’t know what is.

Brothers, it’s time we took legal action against YouTube and its owners Google. It’s time we all filed a class action discrimination lawsuit against YouTube and Google. Their double-standards regarding the removal of content Black men produce cannot be allowed to go on. They cannot continue to be allowed to censor the views of Black men. It’s a violation of our constitutional rights of free speech. If a Black woman can make a video singing about fried chicken, then why can’t a Black man make a video explaining to others why this is offensive to black people?

BWID- BIG WOMEN IN DENIAL

BWID

What are BWID? BWID stands for:
Big
Women
In
Denial.

Big Women In Denial are those women who refuse to accept that they are no longer the slim sexy hottie they were in their younger days.

Big Women In Denial aren’t just fat. They aren’t skinny. They aren’t old. They aren’t young. They’re basically any woman who refuses to admit she’s gained weight. That their bodies have changed.

Big Women In Denial are the kinds of women who know they are a size six and buy a size two. They’re the kinds to hold their breath and stuff themselves into a dress that clearly doesn’t fit, then hide the ill-fitting garment with a blazer or a sweater.

Not seeing how ridiculous they look.

They’re the kinds of women who are top-heavy and buy a fitted blouse a size smaller and try to stuff their big breasts inside that tiny shirt. They’re hoping and wishing and praying that the button that struggles to hold the pieces of cloth together against their buxom breasts doesn’t pop open leaving them with an indecent exposure.

Big Women In Denial are the kinds of women with size eight feet who try to stuff them into a size six shoe. The kinds of women who think they look good with onions and bunions in heels and toes brushing against the ground in sandals.

Big Women In Denial are the kinds of women who love knits. Unfortunately, they don’t know how to wear them.

A Big Woman In Denial loves knits because they stretch. They reinforce the delusion that they’re still small. And because the material clings to their bodies it reinforces the idea that they still have curves.

Oh they have curves all right. Just around the lumps and bumps.

When am Big Woman in Denial is the kind of woman buys knits she doesn’t get the larger sizes. No she’s the kind to buy her knits in an Extra Small. Worse, she thinks she’s an Extra Small from here on in.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t see the material straining against her body. She doesn’t see the stress marks forming around the torso of knit dresses. She doesn’t see the stress marks on the thighs of the leggings And in some of the more sheerer knit materials she doesn’t see the outline of her panties or her underwear appearing in the backside of the garment.

I have personally witnessed a larger woman wearing a sheer knit dress that was sizes too small for her. The material was so thin that I could see the color of the white thong she was wearing! And when she turned around in the backless knit dress I got a nice show of her breasts!

And in another case of BWID a skinny woman wearing leggings too small for her unintentionally gave me a show of her multicolored rainbow panties. The black leggings she wore were so stretched to the limit that the sheer material was giving a show to all those who had the misfortune of walking behind her!

What’s even more frustrating than the way BWID wear clothes is how they buy clothes. Instead of buying larger sizes or asking for larger sizes, BWID are the kinds of women to complain to manufacturers to change the sizing to smaller numbers.

And those retailers desperate for dollars change the sizing to please these women too afraid of a number tag in a dress.

Now this sizing up of Women’s clothes is great for the BWID who wants to live in a fantasy where she’s a size zero, but it’s frustrating for women slender enough to be an actual size zero.

Thanks to BWID, those smaller skinnier women struggle to find clothes that fit. I have several family members and female friends who wound up having to stop buying clothes at places like Ann Taylor because of the sizing up for BWID.

Thanks to BWID, we now have weird sizes like Double Zero and even Triple Zero. Hell, thanks to these BWID we actually even have a size zero. In 1993 a size zero was actually a two. In 1989 that zero was actually a three.

But because women who gained some weight wanted to stuff themselves in smaller sized clothes they had clearly outgrown, retailers and Madison Avenue Fashion designers changed the sizing.

Ladies, understand that your body changes. The size you were in high school will not be the size you are today. Especially if you have children.

And understand that certain designers are cut smaller than others. So there is no shame in sizing up a garment. Don’t worry about the numbers in the tag, Think about the way it fits. A size 14 garment that fits you is going to look more flattering than a size 2 that doesn’t.

Besides, the only person who is going to see that tag is you. The salesman doesn’t care; As long as they make the sale they could care less what size you buy.

On shoes: If you have to stuff your toes into a shoe, it's TOO SMALL for you foot. If your toes are spilling out of a sandal onto the ground, It's TOO SMALL for your foot.

And if you have a wide foot, then those thin strappy sandals and those high heels with the toe pointed out just aren't for you. I'm just sayin.

I know ladies like to say they have small dainty feet, but if you wear a size eight you wear a size eight. Better to walk around in a shoe your size and be comfortable than to have onions, bunions and hammertoes.

And here’s another piece of advice on knits for you ladies: Please put your hand inside the garment before you buy it. If you can see your hand through the garment, it’s TOO SHEER to wear without something covering it. Seeing your handprint through a sweater or dress or leggings is a clear sign that other people will see what color panties you’re wearing, or worse if you wear no bra like the lady I saw walking down the street, see her breasts and nipples!

Ladies, don’t be a BWID. When your body changes, accept yourself for the size you are. Buy clothes that make you comfortable. Remember, it’s the clothes that make the woman. Make the clothes fit you, don’t try to fit into them!

Goals for 2013

Last year I had a lot of goals. This year I only have one:

Stay in the game.

After four years out of work, I’m focusing all of my energy on staying afloat. Down to my last three hundred dollars in the bank, my mission is just surviving 2013.

Paperback sales have been stagnant. If it weren't for eBook sales I wouldn't be making any money.

Unfortunately, it's not enough to live on yet.

So one of my goals is to find a way to keep going in the face of all these challenges.

The publishing business is filled with struggles. But anyone who is a part of it knows it’s a long-haul business. I’m praying I can get through this rough period and eventually get to a better place.

With me unable to find that full-time job it’s going to be a struggle to keep my books in print this year and the SJS DIRECT imprint going. All About Marilyn and The Temptation of John Haynes may get one more year in print. That’s all I can afford at this juncture.

Unfortunately, due to my ongoing financial issues the paperback edition of All About Nikki-The Fabulous First Season will be going out of print this August. While the eBook does well sales wise, the paperback has never sold a single copy.

So with a heavy heart I have to say goodbye to the Nikki paperback. It’s a shame too. There's a lot of  great work I put into the page layouts for that book and no one but book reviewers saw it. The production quality of that book is on par with anything coming out of a trade publishing house.

In spite of that setback, I’m working towards getting All About Nikki- The Sensational Second Season published as an eBook. I was halfway done with preparing the print version of that book when financial issues and slowing sales forced me to stop production. Seven episodes are complete. Six more need to be done to finish the overall storyline I outlined. Not making any promises, but it or part of it may be one of the offerings for the Summer YA eBook exclusive series.

I’m also working towards getting The Thetas ready for publication. My first full novel after two years focusing on self-publishing and promoting, working on that book has been a challenge. The first act is where I want it to be, but I’m still in revisions of the second and third acts. I’d like to have The Thetas be part of the YA eBook Exclusive series in some capacity. But with all the hours I’ve put into that book (research, editing, and writing) I really want to see it make some sort of financial return.

Due to my financial issues, I’m forced to take paperback production of my future titles to CreateSpace. That’s how Isis: Amari’s Revenge and Isis: The Ultimate fight were produced last year. While I prefer Lighting Source for my print needs due to their large international distribution network, CreateSpace allows me to keep the SJS DIRECT imprint publishing for the interim through Amazon.

In spite of my financial and personal issues, there will be a Summer YA eBook series for 2013 on Smashwords. I love doing that campaign. I love sharing the gift of reading with people all over the world. I’d like to think I’m helping people with that project.
As I persevere in the face of these obstacles I still have some goals set for 2013. Goals such as:

I hope to write more about Writing on the blog this year. I know I make this promise every year, but I’d like to dedicate at least a blog a week to that subject. With my 20 years of experience, I’d also like to think that I could show other writers a thing or two on the subject.

Writing more about Men’s issues. Another subject I love writing about is Men’s issues. Over the past year those blogs are some of the most popular, with some getting over a hundred pageviews. And the feedback I’ve been getting on those Men’s issues pieces has been extremely positive. So I’d love to just dedicate a day just for blogs featuring men’s issues.

No more articles about Black women. In shifting the focus of my writing about Men’s issues, I’ll be leaving Black women alone. While I wrote pieces in the past about Black women, from a Man’s perspective so sistas could understand how men felt about them, I realize it’s just counterproductive to write on that subject. Instead I’d rather focus on how men can improve themselves and improve their quality of life.
Doing something to spur eBook sales. I’ve been brainstorming on ways to get people buying eBooks.

Networking with other writers and professionals in the publishing industry. I think social media has taken me as far it can go. If I’m going to further expand my readership and get more new readers to discover my work I’m going to have to network with other writers and professionals. Now I can’t afford writers’ conferences, but I’m brainstorming ways of meeting new business contacts. I even floated the idea of just standing in front of Rockefeller Center and handing out promotional cards for my books.

Moving past the African-American audience.  My demographics for my paperbacks, eBooks and the blog have been mostly White and foreign readers. When I first got into writing, my mission was to serve the African-American audience and enrich the African-American community.

But in spite of my best efforts most brothers and sisters don’t seem to be interested in reading the stories I want to tell.

So I’m pondering moving past that audience of readers to the larger audience of people all over the world who want to read my writing. It’s a scary place for a Black writer like myself, but I feel I have to go where the readers are. That’s the only way I can make money on my writing.

2013 is going to be a rough period for me. If I can get through it in one piece I’ll thank God. I’m just hoping I can make some progress this year and I’m not set back.

2012 Year in Review

2012 for me was a year filled with progress. And a few setbacks. As I go into 2013 I’m hoping I can still find a way to build on that momentum in the face of shrinking finances.

Ten Years in Print! Yay!

I celebrated 10 years as a self publisher this year. I’ve actually been publishing books and eBooks longer than I’ve actually had paying jobs.

Ten years ago I had one book. Today I have close to 25 available.

I gained some new skills this year. With my catalog of paperbacks and eBooks expanding to close to 25 titles, I’ve had to learn how to manage my catalog so I could maximize readership and keep titles relevant with readers.

What I’ve learned is that catalog management is something a publisher has to do to spur interest in poorer selling titles. Some of these books are great, but haven’t found an audience, others have fell off or stalled.

Most of these titles just need a little promotional jolt to get them back on the track to sales again. And with some online promotion, I managed to get sales back up on these titles again.

As a part of catalog management, I’ve moved some titles around. That’s why readers won’t see some eBook titles on Smashwords or Pubit! but will find them on Amazon.

On the eBook front I’ve managed to further expand my readership. Thanks to Amazon’s KDP select program and Smashwords I was able to reach even more readers all over the world this year.

Some writers may hate the free promotions of the KDP Select program, but it has pretty much built up my readership. The eBooks I gave away helped me establish an audience over the course of this year.

First title to have 1000 digital sales!
(counting free copies)

With the help of these free campaigns, I had my first eBook to go over 1000 sales. The retitiled Cassandra Cookbook, A Recipe For $ucce$$ was a runaway hit in digital format. The eBook got quite a few positive reviews at bn.com and is starting to sell on Amazon’s kindle.

Second eBook to get over 1000
readers!

All About Marilyn also moved over 1000 free units on Kindle with the KDP Select program. Each time I’ve posted up as free it’s been ranked #1 in screenplays, #1 in screenwriting and for a moment on Christmas Day it was #3 in African-American Women’s fiction.

The YA eBook exclusive promotion was a huge success this year. The four offerings Stop Simpin, The Politics of Hell, Spray Em’ Up and All About Nikki-Sensational Season 2 Sneak preview were runaway hits.

All About Nikki Sensational Season 2 sneak Preview got over 400 downloads across Smashwords’ network. And over 30 Facebook likes on Smashwords.

Stop Simpin got over 200 downloads across Smashwords’ network. But it got over 50 Facebook likes.

Spray Em’ up was a sleeper hit with over 125 downloads. It got 25 Facebook likes.

The Politics of Hell did fairly well with over 100 downloads. It got 7 Facebook likes, but in spite of the slow movement, it led to some indirect sales of The Temptation of John Haynes and Isis.

In August I launched a new campaign called Hot N’ Steamy Shorts for Kindle. It was a moderate success on Kindle. The Muse did much better in the U.S. than Happy Birthday which did much better in foreign markets.

I also self-published more non-fiction titles this year. Encouraged by my writer friends to expand the readership of my blogs, and with the success of An Analysis of the Comic Book Industry’s business issues, I decided to produce a series of eBooks based on some of the more popular subjects. Books like Stop Simpin, A Counteranalysis of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Myth of the Strong Black Woman were originally popular blogs or based on popular blogs. Thanks to those eBooks I’ve managed to reach readers who wouldn’t regularly read the blog or who haven’t discovered the blog.

All new for 2012!

In the fall I managed to publish a pair of paperbacks to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Isis in print. Isis: Amari’s Revenge and Isis: The Ultimate Fight.

New for 2012!

The digital versions of both books were smash hits on Black Friday in November with over 250 downloads of both on a free promotion.

A Holiday campaign netted over 125 readers for both.

The eBook version of Lawrence Cherry’s Commencement is a big hit with Christian readers. Every time Larry offers it for free it seems to do well. Even better, people are willing to pay for it after the promotion ends.

The Temptation of John Haynes had double digit sales in digital copies.

All About Nikki-The Fabulous First Season also had double digit sales in eBooks.

With the free promotions and other campaigns, I managed to sell over 5000 eBooks this year.

Along with growth in the digital market, The blog also expanded its audience. This year shawnsjames.blogspot.com broke over 50,000 pageviews. We had our first day with over 300 hits and several weeks with over 200 hit and 250 hit days.

Several articles were huge hits this year. Several articles got over a hundred hits this year. A few got over two hundred. And a couple got over four hundred.

Most of the blogs related to Men’s issues have been very popular with men all over the world. In fact, most of the articles I’ve done relating to men’s issues have become reader favorites. In the keyword search, many men are looking for those particular blogs.

And people all over the world have been linking to the blog. The blog has been referenced by other bloggers, tumblrs, message boards, and even some news sites. It’s also been linked by sites like WordslikeWhoa.com and several others dozens of times.

Guest blogger Lawrence Cherry was a huge hit in his first two blogs. Expect more from him in the future.

Along with all the progress came a few setbacks. In spite of all my best efforts, paperback sales are still stagnant. I haven’t moved a paperback since March 2012. I’m still trying to find a way to make paperbacks move, but from what I’ve been seeing more people want eBooks today.

But I really want to keep my paperbacks in print. And I’d like to see them start selling regularly.

I was also setback in my quest to bring a scene of All About Marilyn and All About Nikki to YouTube. I guess I was a bit too lofty with that goal. But I'm still working out a way to do it.

I’m getting the hang of making YouTube Videos. And I think I’ve found a format that makes me comfortable. A simple black screen with audio.

And I think I’ve found what I want to talk about in those videos. Originally I wanted to make videos about my books and promoting them.. But I’m finding that I’m more comfortable with making videos about writing. So if I make any more videos, they’ll be about writing and related to writing and the business of writing..

2012 was a good year for me. I moved a little further along the road of progress, but I still have a long way to go. I still don’t make enough money to live off my writing. But I’ve made some progress towards making it pay.

I want to take a moment to thank all my readers for taking the time to check out the blog. Without all of you I wouldn't have come this far.

Shawn Gets Racially Profiled At Associated Supermarket- He's NOT Shopping There Anymore

Today December 29, 2012 I got racially profiled at my neighborhood Associated Supermarket on 167th Street and Sheridan Avenue .

At around 12:00 I’d just gotten off the bus from Path Mark and I had bags with me. After I went in with my bags I bought two gallons of water. After I paid for my purchase I was stopped by some dude in a coat. Not a licensed certified security guard in a uniform but some Hispanic dude. He pointed to the Digiorno pizza I had bough talking about I had stolen it. I showed them my receipt from PathMark and they backed off.

Why am I mad? I’ve gone into this store for over 25 years. I’ve walked past their bag check for over two decades with no problems. And I’ve walked into this store with hundreds of dollars of merchandise from other stores.

Today they decide to racially profile me. Now several other Hispanic women had walked into that store with bags, strollers, backpacks, and just about anything else. And they walked out with no problems.

Me and my sister walked into that store the day before with bags, bought some eggs on sale and walked out with no problems.

But today they decide to racially profile me. Me. the Black customer.

Why do people walk by that bag check with their bags in that store? Because it’s NOT SAFE. People leave bags there and the clerks just WALK AWAY. Yeah, they leave your stuff there UNATTENDED so ANYONE could steal it.

And all those shopping carts left at the front are a FIRE HAZARD.

Worse, when they lose a customer’s property they refuse to take responsibility for the loss. That’s right these ghetto stores want the right to check your property but don’t want to exercise REASONABLE CARE when it’s in their hands.

When I was a kid I was told we had to take racist treatment like this. That it was a part of life in the ghetto.

I’m sorry but those unwritten racist policies of life in the inner-city are no longer acceptable to me. Because they’re just a revision of Jim Crow laws for the 21st Century.

As a Black man who knows his rights I’m no longer taking this type of abuse sitting down. Along with this blog I’ve sent an e-mail to Associated’s corporate offices letting them know I won’t be shopping at their 167th Street location or any of their other stores.

My money is valuable.

And my time is precious.

When the employees of businesses racially profile me, they show me they don’t value my business. And when a business doesn’t value me, they don’t get any more of my money.

Now that I’m an adult I understand that Racial profiling isn’t bad customer service. It’s just bad business.

And I don’t have to put up with it anymore.

Associated Supermarkets you have lost a life-long customer today December 29, 2012. I’ll be taking my business to your competitors from now on

Holiday Hiatus Random Pics #2

Custom Action figure pics!

Year in Review up Sunday! New blogs return in January! 

The Holiday Hiatus begins...New Blogs return in January!

....And that ends another year on the blog. Going on Hiatus until January 2013. Wrote more articles this year than last. Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs and supporting my writing.

While there won't be articles  there will be filler this year and it'll be mostly art, action figure photos and the like. After getting my DC Universe Signature Lead, Platinum and Tin,  I now have a complete set of  DC Comics' Metal Men. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Metal Men!