"Do black people really want unity?"

* You should clearly state what you mean by unity and how you think it could be attained.

"Or do we want to have disputes about who is more Afrikan than the next?"

* I will not accept any and everyone as an African by race. Since you know that, is this another attempt to misrepresent the Colorism Debate? Any white person who claims to be African could ask that same question.

"Is it best to focus on idealogical differences or similarities?"

* It is best to focus on differences and similarities.

"Is it folly to expect all Afrikan people to think the same due to the fact that Afrikans is not one monolithic group? Afrika is filled with different religions and cultures."

* This is another SPIN you are trying to put on this debate. Are you saying when you are holding to your position in any number of debates you are doing so because you want everyone to think like you?

"But do we all have to think the same to unite?"

* NO. However, there can be no unity with ones who deliberately lie and distort. Let's see how you define unity (try original ideas and not clichés and quotes).

"So what do we do when one Afrikan has a different view of the other?"

* Reason it out. There is no problem with people having different views; there are problems when people deliberately misrepresent the views of others, resorting to character assassination as a means of distracting from their own errors. Selassielive, there are obvious contradictions and misrepresentations in several of your posts. People should not tolerate lies.

"Do we insist that our view is the correct view and the others are wrong?"

* In the Black Leadership Debate you have not reasonably shown that you are advancing a BETTER or even a DIFFERENT view. You simply don't seem to like my view. You have not challenged any aspect of what I have actually stated. Instead you have tried to give a false impression about my views.

Let's say you made an error initially. When it was pointed out to you, you could have dealt with it instead of just refusing to respond to that post while continuing to peddle what can now be called deliberate lies. What you have done is woefully distort and/or lie about our general views on black leadership. There are several example posts of yours like that on the board. They are like elephants in the room.

"Do we verbally insult those who have a different perspective?"

* We should not. But you do it and you COULD claim that others (including myself) do it to you (I doubt you can prove that). I will not accept your take on who is insulting who, since in my view your recent distortions/lies over this black leadership issue can be viewed as another attempt to insult.

"Arent there many paths to the same destination?"

* Sure, there may be many paths to some destinations. I doubt that everyone has conceptualized one ultimate destination to know for sure if there is one path or many paths to that destination. Instead of clichés, simply define the destination you are referring to here.

"Do we stand firm on something that was imposed on us by Europeans (colorism for ex.) or do we try to transcend these things?"

* Again you are attempting to mislead. My response to the legacy of Racism and Colorism is based on my stated Principle that people who are most systematically affected by the ills of something should be the people to lead the pace for redress. If they are informed and developing, they would be armed with the direct experiences and confidence to speak on the issues. They should be the ones to benefit first from ALL efforts to redress the issue. More of my views here: http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/cgi-bin/forum/config.pl?noframes;read=69906

"Is there really any benefit to alienate brothas and sisters in the name of standing firm?"

* Yes. If people are deliberately distorting and lying then all other interactions with them, besides showing them their errors, contribute to extending the corruption.

"Isnt it more beneficial to embrace all shades of black brothas and sistas who are fighting for Afrikan liberation ?"

* I believe this is another attempt to misrepresent the views expressed on Colorism. Who said we should not embrace different people? My comments should show that it is not about alienation, but about redressing wrongs and organizing in a manner that does not allow those who have systematically experienced the worst in the system to be continually mashed down by others. I think that some people who say they are fighting for African Liberation do not have a clue about what that means and how it could be attained. I feel most are still looking for fame, fortune, sex, and a 'good time'. Too many have simply learnt revolutionary words and clichés, while lacking original thoughts.

"Will we ever put away our petty differences?"

* What some will call petty differences may be a big deal to others who are on the receiving end of the abuses from those differences. People only talk about putting away differences when they feel it is more advantageous to them to keep the status quo. We should NOT tolerate lies and/or deliberate distortions. Lies and distortions are not petty differences.

"Is Afrikan unity an illusion to be pursued, but never obtained?"

* African Unity will remain an illusion to those who lack integrity. It is no illusion to I.

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

* We should carefully work out our relationships/alliances or eventually we find ourselves 'sleeping with the enemy' metaphorically speaking and/or quite literally.

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PS: You are grasping at clichés to speak for you and are using them badly.