The 'N word' briefly revisited

I think people who seriously ask that are defensive for some reason.

But no, and no.

Just for the sake of conversation.

I think people who seriously ask that are defensive for some reason.

But no, and no.

Just for the sake of conversation.

...and flushd, thanks for your thoughtful replies...

Blatham - I thought Crash was very good - contemporary as I've seen, and had a genuineness...

You mean when the makeup artists told him he needed a penis extension?

Anyone who's read your posts would have no trouble understanding why you in particular would have a difficult time addressing this topic straight-up, cjhsa.

But no, I don't recall that part of the Oprah show.

You have the sense of humor of a jackass. Oh yeah... I forgot.

okay. but this kind of response is a little snarky considering the input i've offered on your thread;


it's just a simple, and fair, question. but that's cool. do your thing.

Hmmm... it's hard to forget that about you....

I think you're right, DTOM - you didn't deserve that tone, and I apologize...

You know Snood, I like your Spike Lee avatar better, don't know why, just did.

Who is the avatar you're using now. (And no it's not because he's black, it's because I don't watch movies or tv much and don't know who hardly anybody is anymore).

Have you ever used Samuel L. Jackson as your avatar. He's really hot.

That's Lawrence Fishburn. He usually doesn't look so sullen.

Oh yeah! I like Lawrence too!

He was great in Othello.

You're right, he ususally doesn't look so brooding.

Like he's just itchin' to have some white person come up and say "Hi Larry" so he can get all bent out of shape how the white person's only talking to him because he's black, and he trying to hide his hatred for him by cleverly saying "Hi Larry"

I wish shewolf's spleen would get better, cause then I'd tell her I'm tired on her standing on my caucasian neck.

I don't even have purple nails today....They're cobalt blue.......but nooooooooooooo, shewolf would be all like "you've got cobalt blue nails because a weave takes too long, and you white women can't sit still for more than 10 minutes.

dang shewolf.....

Chai:



Yeah, you can tell he's obviously paranoid and psycho like that, from that picture. He probably also makes inane comments regarding race because he's so insecure and defensive when the topic comes up, and that's the only way he can deal with it. Look at the eyes. It's all right there.

I thought it was the greatest running back of all time:

Yeah I can see the resemblance - maybe they're cousins....

Oh for cryin' out loud Snood!

Can't ya even tell when someone's messin' around!?

No, I guess you have to analyze everything someone sez and pick out the one thing you can jump all over…..

OK, I think we beat this horse to death with the "N" word….you say white people are made because we're not allowed to use it.

Others have their own view on it….Mine is I don't choose to you that word because I personally think it's ugly and right up there with the worst word you can call a particular part of a females anatomy….I just can't get either of those words out of my throat, along with some others.

I don't really give a crap why some feel it's okay to use it….as a matter of fact, since I don't watch movies too much….I have to in all honesty say I haven't heard anyone, white, asian, black, hispanic say that word while I was around for a couple of months. No, I don't live in some sheltered white world, I just don't associate with people who talk like that….and usually you don't hear strangers saying it while you're standing in line at the drug store, or while waiting for a table in a restaurant.

Great goggly moggly…. You're making me think of this time that was the closest I ever got called out for being racist or prejudiced or whatever other word you want to use……

I was trying to tell someone, a black woman, how to recognize someone I was arranging for her to meet in the lobby of this hotel, because they were going to a meeting together.

I told this black woman how to recognize Janice.....I said….."She's really pretty, she looks just like Whitney Houston." Just for the record, Janice knew she looked like Whitney Houston.

So anyway, this woman reports me because, I don't know, I had the audacity to compare a woman who looked like Whitney Houston to Whitney Houston. ****-fire….she didn't look like Cameron Diaz or Lucy Liu. It was like this black woman made this judgment that I would never have said to or about a white woman…."Oh, you'll recognize her because she's really pretty, she looks just like Scarlett Johannson, Penelope Cruz. Or if it was a man…"Oh, you'll know him because he'll remind you of Johnny Depp, BD Wong, or God forbid Lawrence Fishburne.

That's just what you do all the time Snood, you're so looking to see where people hate you because of some extra melatonin your skin, that you can't see that maybe they aren't talking to you because you're such a downer every single second.

I which you would change your avatar back to Lee or to Jackson, I think they're better looking guys. Especially Jackson, oooh baby that look in his eyes.

God Snood, you're so busy looking for the hate, you can't even see me as an individual….just like you accuse others of doing.

Now you're going to tear everything I said apart, looking for hidden agendas, the opportunity to repress someone, I don't even know what all else, when all I thought I was doing was having a convo…..

Sometimes, a cigar IS just a cigar.


Oh, and Nelson's pretty nice too…..not very sexy though.

Damn, he's one sharp dresser too.

Damn - I learn something new everyday on this forum. I was thinking about Chai saying that Snood has more melatonin than us white folks. And I'm thinking to myself, "melatonin, melatonin- now I know I have extra little spots of melanin on my caucasian skin which gives me freckles - but I thought black people had the same thing - melanin- only in larger amounts and more evenly distributed - but hey maybe they do have something I don't and it's called melatonin.

So I looked it up- and found out that melatonin is a hormone sythesized by the pineal gland, which produces marked lightening (as in to make lighter - not darker) in amphibians as well as inhibiting gonad development and influencing estrus (sexual urges) in mammals.

So Snood, unless you've suddenly noticed you can breath underwater and on land, your skin is lighter, balls are smaller and you've either had a marked increase or decrease (it didn't specify which way the old libido would be influenced) in terms of your sexual urges- not to worry - you probably don't have more melatonin than us white folks.

And just my two cents - I'd vote for Lenny Kravitz for your avatar- he's hot and he's all about lettin' love rule.

Oh, thanks for pointing that out to me A....I guess I did mean Melanin...

Hmmmm....another learning experience.

Wikipedia
melatonin


Melatonin
5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine
Empiric formula C13H16N2O2
Molecular weight 232.28
Bioavailability 30 - 50%
Metabolism Liver
Elimination half life 32 - 40 minutes
Excretion Urine
Pregnancy category ?
Delivery 1mg, 2.5mg, 3mg, and 5mg capsules;
1mg/mL or 1mg/4mL liquid;
.5mg and 3mg lozenges;
2.5mg sublingual tablets;
1mg, 2mg, and 3mg timed-release tablets

Indicated for:


insomnia
jet lag
sleep disorders

Melatonin, 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a hormone produced by pinealocytes in the pineal gland (located in the brain) and also by the retina and GI tract. It is naturally synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan (derived from serotonin) by the enzyme 5-hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase. Most of biological effects of melatonin are produced by its binding to and action on melatonin receptors[1]. Melatonin is also synthesized by various plants, such as rice, and ingested melatonin has been shown to be capable of reaching and binding to melatonin binding sites in the brains of mammals[2][3].

It is referred to by some biochemists and human physiologists as the master hormone, because it regulates the production of most human hormones, both paracrine and endocrine. Melatonin produced in the pineal gland acts as an endocrine hormone since it is released into the blood, whereas melatonin produced by the retina and the GI tract acts as a paracrine hormone.

Nobel Prize laureate Julius Axelrod performed many of the seminal experiments that elucidated the role of melatonin and the pineal gland in regulating sleep-wake cycles (circadian rhythms). Normally, production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light and permitted by darkness.

Melatonin can suppress libido by inhibiting secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) from the anterior pituitary gland, especially in mammals that have a breeding season when daylight hours are long, such as sheep.

Certain studies have noted that wearing garments such as bras are linked to a decrease in melatonin production[4]. Beta blockers also decrease nocturnal melatonin release[5].


Medical uses of melatonin
In recent times, melatonin has become available as a medication and a dietary supplement. Because it does not have to be prescribed and is in the public domain, there have been few clinical trials conducted to determine its effectiveness in treating diseases.

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that can easily cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier. Unlike other antioxidants, melatonin does not undergo redox cycling, the ability of a molecule to undergo reduction and oxidation repeatedly. Redox cycling may allow other antioxidants (such as vitamin C) to act as pro-oxidants, counterintuitively promoting free radical formation. Melatonin, once oxidized, cannot be reduced to its former state because it forms several stable end-products upon reacting with free radicals. Therefore, it has been referred to as a terminal (or suicidal) antioxidant[6].

Its antioxidant activity may reduce damage caused by some types of Parkinson's disease, and may increase longevity; it has been shown to increase the average life span of mice by 20% in some studies[7][8][9].

Additionally, when taken alone, it is an immunoregulator that enhances T cell production somewhat. When taken in conjunction with calcium, it is a very potent immunostimulator of the T cell response. Due to these immunoregulatory effects, it is used as an adjuvant in many clinical protocols; conversely, the increased immune system activity may aggravate autoimmune disorders.

Melatonin appears to have some use against insomnia, jet lag, and other types of misalignments in circadian rhythms. It has been studied for the treatment of cancer, immune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and sexual dysfunction; the results of most of these studies remain inconclusive. A study by Alfred J. Lewy and other researchers at OHSU found that it may ameliorate SAD and circadian misalignment[10], but as of 2005 it is generally considered to exacerbate both clinical depression and SAD.

Melatonin receptors appear to be important in mechanisms of learning and memory[11], and melatonin can alter electrophysiological processes associated with memory such as long-term potentiation (LTP)[12]. Melatonin has been shown to prevent the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein. Hyperphosphorylation of tau protein can result in the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, a pathological feature seen in Alzheimer's disease). Thus, melatonin may be effective for treating Alzheimer's disease[13].

There may be other, far-reaching therapeutic uses for melatonin, such as in the treatment of various forms of cancer, HIV, and other viral diseases[14]. For instance, it has been shown that melatonin is involved in the regulation of body weight, and may be helpful in treating obesity (especially when combined with calcium)[15].


Safety
Melatonin is practically nontoxic and exhibits almost no toxic side effects, except for the occurrence of somnolence in most of the population at higher doses. Exogenous melatonin normally does not affect the endogenous melatonin profile in the short or medium-term. However, melatonin taken in combination with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) can lead to overdose because MAOIs inhibit the breakdown of melatonin by the body.