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You Have Got to Be Kidding....right? (3124 hits)

Last night (Aug 9, 2008 ~ 8:00pm EST) I was having a conversation with a noted world-travelled, African African physician. Politics, marriage, education, kids, money...we were having the normal Black Folks type conversation. Of course at some point I interjected my theory on the difference between learned behavior and race.

Well at some point, we began to talk about Black folks and breast cancer and HIV/AIDs rates. Again, I talked about the difference between learned behavior (ethnicity) and this made up variable we call Black. I showed her an excert from my new book and she almost cried. Really, her eyes began to swell with water and she had to sit down.

She said, "do you know that no one is taking a look at this...we blindly assume Black male promiscuity causes higher HIV rates...we are at a lost as to why Black women suffer from IBC but assumed a s*xual relationship. She begged me..." please, please, please spread the word about your theories".

She then sat silent in her chair and stared at me with a huge smiled for the rest of the evening. Before she left, she gave me a long warm hug and whispered in my ear...you are a blessing from God.

So Ms. Claudette, this except is for you...

From Is Barack Black or White? http://www.lulu.com/content/3132461

***************************************************************
BLACK HAIR I
It is well known that African Americans suffer
from HIV/AID at rates higher than other known BIG
FIVE groups. Could there be a cultural relationship
between HIV/AIDs and one or more of the different
types of African Americans? We know that HIV is
spread by passing bodily fluids. Until now, we
assumed that “Blacks” were spreading the disease
through drug use or unprotected s*x. But again I ask,
could ethnicity play a role?

Go to any city or town in America that has an
African American community and you will find the
common staples that unite this diverse culture: The
Barber’s Shop of Hair Salon. On any day, flocks of
people from this culture take turns in the chair where
they are subjected to the same metal hair clippers that
cut the skin. Repeatedly, the barber will impart his or
her wisdom to the patrons, while using the same razors
that nick the flesh. As well, sharp metal and plastic
combs are commonly shared even though they rake
the scalp. Could this be another source of the spread of
HIV/AIDs? We will never know unless we begin to
look at ethnicity as an important factor in the
American discussion.

Note: it could be argued that since specific ethnic groups such as French
Americans or Chinese Americans HIV/AIDs rates have not been studied,
they may be considerably higher than African Americans.

BLACK HAIR II
Although some groups of African American
women suffer from breast cancer at a rate slightly
lower than that of White American women, the
mortality rate for African American women is worst.
Even further, African American women appear to
suffer from some of the more resistance types of
cancer than White women.

I suggest that because we haven’t defined the
African American groups in America or looked for the
relationship between learned behavior and disease, we
may be overlooking key factors.

OK African American ladies…I’m about to put
ya’ll out there. So either don’t read this portion if you
don’t want to hear this or read at your own risk!

While talking about the possible relationship
between HIV/AIDs and learned behavior, a good
friend told me about the relationship between hemp oil
in the hair and testing positive on drug tests. You see,
my friend Katrina had been warned by one of her
attorney friends to steer clear of the hemp oil products
for your hair. Although not unreasoned, that gave me a
little bit of concern.

Hemp oil provides long lasting sheen and
moisture for the hair, but it also has the same chemical
signature as marijuana, thereby giving a positive result
during drug screening. Well wait a second, if hemp oil
can make it into the blood stream…what about the
thousands of other harsh chemical that African
American females are trained to use in their hair. As
part of Katrina’s shared cultural norms, she voluntarily
has very harsh chemicals applied to her hair at least
once per month: “The Perm”.

In her guess, she’s had a “perm” applied monthly
for the last 15-years. Some African American females
have them applied even more often.

Who’s studying the relationship between “perms”
and cancers? Learned behavior may very well be
contributing to epidemics in America. But you don’t
know...what you don’t know.
***************************************************************

Posted By: Dr. Ahmad Glover
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 8:23AM
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Yes sir,
I am seeking graduate students to look into these and other areas. I've been able to broaden the scope of marketing and business researchers: ethnicity rather than race. I pray that many more disciplines begin to study the relationships between learned behavior and issues like disease, incarceration rates, pay disparities, etc..

It's 2008...we have to move past promoting race based and power/control theories.

One definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results...we have to look at these things from a different angle.
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 10:43AM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

This article was very interesting and it is definitely food for thought! Thanks for sharing this with me! Have a blessed day!
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 1:44PM
jackie ingram

Wow its amazing how simple things like perms, hair materials, tools and other things are overlooked, this makes me look at a whole of simple things from a different angle. Thats just a small window of what could be causing some of the cancers and other issues we face. Nice information.
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 2:39PM
Breana Parker

Mr. Hayes,

I too am troubled by the utter lack of funding for meaningful study of ethnic Black issues.

As for the hair care tools, I was scared to the bone when I read of the things that the many sterilization chemicals do NOT kill: HIV, Hep (pick a type) and many viruses. Heck, why bother cleaning...

And to some barbers,a spray, wipe, or brush is all the cleaning you get...

Pretty scary!
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 3:37PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

You're definitely on to something. I recieved an email a few years ago from a young man in Africa who told me about AIDS being spread through clippers. It was definitely an eye opener just as this post has been. We need more conversations on these health issues, spreading awareness and ultimately research on diseases that affect us disproportinately. Another site member, Esther Pinkston, said we need "Wisdom in Wealth and Wisdom in Health"! With these things nothing can stop us.
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 4:02PM
Regina w

Regina,

Years ago I sat in a barber shop in Africa and watched them cut hair and do their cotton ball alcohol on fire trick and wondered..."man I hope that kills whatever those razors are giving folks". Years later in Chicago I watched brothers us green alcohol wipes and wondered the same thing.
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 5:30PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

Yes
Dr. Glover I believe that we need to be cognisant of what we do today. We must expand our awareness in this new age. billions and billions of dollars is spent on hiv/aids research. Is there a cure?
Who much money would be lost if there was?
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 7:08PM
michael perry

Dr. Glover,

Thank you for bringing up my awareness on this topic! I must admit though while I am happy at getting this information, I am also saddened at realizing the number of times I have placed myself at risk over the years. What is even scarier to me is what about all the brothers and sisters who are not aware or even worse, don't care abot this risk but place more emphasis on blending with the latest trends?
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 8:14PM
Willie Gregory

Willie,

I ask you not to fear the fresh hair cut:)
I'm not trying to drive our young Black barbers out of business. The purpose of this post is that we must be more aware of our learned behaviors. As well, we must challenge long held belief that we are more s*xual or risker than other ethnic groups in America. We know that learned behavior-life style contributes to many health risk...so what learned behaviors contribute to our HIV/AIDs risks?
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 8:26PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

Mozzell,

Check this out: http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=140&K...
Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 8:44PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3080244....

Sunday, August 10th 2008 at 8:57PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

My SUBJECT, as a long time professional some of these theories could be correct but allow me to enlighten you on how this could be true as well as the difference in " TRAINED PROFESSIONAL" . In our community all this takes place but if you go into these communities many of them are not licensed, these hairdoer's cannot tell you the time of process for fine, medium or course hair. Now, if you do not know that, I doubt if you know how it should be applied which is 1/8 in. to 1/4 in. from the scalp. By the time the body heat pulls it to the scalp the process should be finished and the degree of curl being relaxed should be achieved, stay with me. As far as the clips, razors, and barbering equiptment, first, what happened to barber shops? I mean real barbershops with barber chairs and the razor sharpening strap that hung from the side of the chair? They were replace with greedy salon owners who want to cash in on anothers talent and not requiring proper credentials for employment, they went from traditional sanitizing stations that barbers once used, where clippers where stored and sanitized. Now we have sprays and washes that you submerge the blade in, this process sanitizes as well as lubricates the blades. People do not wash their combs and brushes ,nor do they use the products that are available that would alleviate many problems. They go to Korean owned supply houses and buy products that every tom ,**** and harry can purchase and then turn around and charge astonomical prices for bull%^$@!

In a nut shell, we don't respect it as a profession because of the memories of Auntie doing it in the kitchen where all those professional pratices were not practiced, Anutie was not a professional, she was auntie. Changing the mind set, changes the person.
Monday, August 11th 2008 at 1:47AM
Melanie Ervin

I applaud Dr. Glover’s openness to answers to the problems that are devastating our community. Unless we seek our own answers, without needing others to validate them, we are left with whatever we get. We must be proactive, curious, and critically observant, and really look at how our behavior is the source of many of our ills. Not in order to blame, but to look at the things we have taken on as normal, but which don’t work well for us as African Americans. We must look at cause and effect. When we can establish the cause and change it, the effect will change.

Another benefit to us looking to solving our own problems is financial. Everyone knows that solving problems leads to financial gain. There are huge problems in our community and the world and the opportunities are endless. Being solution-oriented is the key.

An excerpt from my book 7 Principle for Purposeful Living;

Let’s face it; everyone has problems! The ability to solve problems is not a specialty; it is a necessity for successful living. As a society we are outer directed when it comes to solving our problems. We have specialists for every aspect of living that you can imagine—and even many that you can’t even imagine. Problem solving is really a creative matter. The key is to look to your own creativity for solutions.

Problems offer you new and creative ways to live successfully. Here are three ways to creatively approach a problem.

· Do something different and get a different result. What you are doing is not producing the results you want.
· Think outside of the box. You want a particular outcome, but do not have the solutions in your consciousness.
· Every problem has a solution and you are not seeing it. The results you are producing are not fitting your pictures.

If you honestly look at solving your problems from these distinctions, you will be empowered to solve any problem creatively and with ease.
First, what you are doing is not producing the results that you want, is often hard for people to see. The old saying, “the definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing and expecting different results,” is appropriate here. Many people think that what they are doing is right so they keep doing it, not realizing that by wanting to “be right,” they are sabotaging their ability to solve the problem. How many times have you been able to see the solution to someone else’s problem, but when you point it out, the person begins to argue with you. He or she will say “but...”followed by some reason why they are doing what they are doing. He or she does not acknowledge that the problem is not being solved. The person will give you an exhaustive list of all the things that they are doing, along with how many times that they did it, but miss the fact that it isn’t working! The person is more interested in “being right” then they are in solving the problem. Do something different and get a different result—that’s creativity! Think outside of the box. Stand on your head, use your left hand, write with a purple pen—just do something differently.
Second, you want a particular outcome, but do not have the solution in your consciousness. The truth is there is always a solution to a problem. Some people tell themselves that a problem is impossible to solve, if they only realized the Truth, they would be well on their way to finding the solution. There is always a solution—creativity is the key.
There is an old story about a professor who left an “unsolvable problem” on the blackboard from an earlier advanced mathematics class. When the next group, a basic mathematics class came in, one of the students sat down and, thinking that it was a pop quiz, quickly solved the “unsolvable problem.” Nobody told him it was “unsolvable.” His consciousness was completely open for the answer to appear. An open mind is essential to creative problem solving.
Do you frighten or paralyze yourself with worry and fear when you face what you perceive to be a big problem? If so, I suggest that you lean on the Truth; every problem has a solution. There is no great or small in Spirit. You always use the same Truth no matter what the problem is. When you realize there is always a solution, you can even turn a problem into a game! You know the solution is there, so have some fun looking for it. It’s like an Easter egg hunt. You know the eggs are out there so the fun is in looking and finding. If you are not sure whether there are eggs or not, it is not as much fun to look. When you can raise your problems up to the level of “game” you are in the flow of pure consciousness where no problem exists. A problem is only a problem because you have not discovered the solution.
Third, the results that you are producing do not fit your pictures. This is sometimes difficult to accept, because we want what we want the way we want it. A simple example would be when you are hungry. How many times have you been hungry, but declined the food that was offered to you. Your response may be, “I don’t want eggs or I don’t like that.” The solution to being hungry is to eat food, not to eat some particular food. The same can be said for people who are out of work and say they can’t find a job. There are always jobs. It just may not be the one that you want. In fact, taking a job that you don’t want may lead you to the job of your dreams, if you do the undesirable job with a cheerful heart.
Thinking that something in particular will make you happy will not solve a problem, it is actually the cause of most problems. It is willfulness and addictive behavior. There is no Truth in this type of thinking. You will never be satisfied if your happiness requires a particular form. You can decide to be happy and let the chips fall where they may. You can also try to control and manipulate the world to give you what you want, in exactly the way that you want it. Good luck! Not accepting the solution because you don’t like the form it takes is immature thinking. Spiritual maturity means that you know that Spirit will provide and you accept what is offered. By not accepting what has been offered, you block your access to the flow of Spirit. The flow of Spirit demonstrates as creativity. Open yourself to a creative solution and find new ways of doing things.
The more you say yes to life, the more life says yes to you. Look carefully for a solution to present itself. If it is not harmful to yourself or others, then your problem is solved. If you need money and someone offers you a sandwich, say yes and thank God that your need has been met. You were fed and you did not have to use money for it. Solutions do not always look the way that you think they will, but they are always present.
In fact, a great way to open yourself up to a solution is to be grateful for the problem. Acknowledging a problem presents an opportunity for learning. It is guiding you from what doesn’t work and to what does. You are a creative being waiting to express creatively.
Try new things! Many times you hear someone say “Well, we always did it that way,” but, is it solving the problem now? If the answer is no, then something new needs to be added. When you are unwilling to be flexible, you are unwilling to find the solution to the problem. Flexibility is necessary to creativity. It’s about staying open to new ideas.
One way to increase your options and your flexibility is to brainstorm. If you don’t think you are creative, and there is no Truth to that, by the way, have a friend brainstorm with you. This can help you to get outside the box. Another way to increase your flexibility and creativity is to use a technique called “Mind Mapping,” developed by Tony Buzan. Meditation is also a fantastic way to solve problems. When you meditate you open your mind to the endless possibilities of Spirit. Meditation is a wonderful way to open to your own creativity. All three methods used together are good for solving a stubborn problem. Use whatever method that works for you, but be willing to be flexible and the answers will come. We all remember McGyver, he definitely used creativity to solve problems. Creativity is not just about artistic expression; creativity is a tool for successful living, adventure, and even for problem solving.

Excerpt from “7 Principles for Purposeful Living” by Barbara Dixon for more information go to http://www.lulu.com/content/1414426

Monday, August 11th 2008 at 9:25AM
Barbara Dixon

This is an interesting topic. I am going through some hair 'experiences' right now because I have stopping 'perming' my hair. I have very thick, long, frizzy hair and I am trying to learn to love and style my own hair texture. I think I may stop coloring also. But I have realized that I am 30 and just now learning what my 'real' hair is like. Growing up my mother pressed my hair very well and so it rarely was (wavy, bushy, dry or frizzy) hard to manage. In my twenties I was in the salon at least once a month for perms, flat ironing and cuts and colors. I swore off chemicals while pregnant and then when I fell on hard times I stopped going to salon and therefore stopped putting as many chemicals in my hair. Now I am resolved to the fact that I have big hair. It loves to suck moisture out of the air and that has to be ok, because a light bulb went off and I felt concerned about what these chemicals do over the long run.

Anyway I wanted to convey that this culture feels unhealthy. When I look around at my predominantly black congregation most of the women (like 90%) are wearing weave. I wish we all had more appreciation for our natural beauty. I'm still learning myself. Many times I am more comfortable wearing all this hair pinned up in a ball!
Monday, August 11th 2008 at 9:32AM
Devan Green

The main thing that concerns me are we don't know or study the difference types of learned behaviors. For example, is there a relationship between Auntie putting perms in your hair in the kitchen and cancers? If there a relationship between perm-burns and cancers? Are there differneces between types of chemicals in perms and do we know the cause/effect of most/all and cancer? Are Black women in certain groups more prone: inner-city, extension-weares, started perming below / above the age of X...ie. could there be other causal factors?

We have know idea what these realtionships are. And worst...we don't seem to care!
Monday, August 11th 2008 at 12:47PM
Dr. Ahmad Glover

I was forwarded an email from one of my uncles relating to the use of anti-perspirants and breast cancer. The article made a lot of sense. It suggented there was a direct correlation between the two and that we should use deodorants instead. Has anyone seen this article?
Monday, August 11th 2008 at 6:47PM
Katherine Rutland-Barnes

this is a very interesting point, only if we knew what we was reading on those labels. most of the time you try to read the ingredients in hair products , but who really knows what they're really reading unless you bring a dictionary with you. when you mentioned catching HIV from being in a barber shop chair, that kind of got me , cause my wife use to be a hair stylist and she'd come home with some grose stories about people wanting to get their hair done and most of the time the hair stylist would have to do take care of the ones who did'nt take care of thier hair, and she told me about how the girls would have to threow eveything they used on that person, and disinfect the chair it was a big hassle ,but it was better than using the same comb. anyways I'm probably babbling now. very good read.
Tuesday, August 12th 2008 at 7:10PM
fritz WATTERS

thank you very much for that insight. You definitely give many of us something to think about. I am going to share your blog with many of my friends. Keep up the good work. That just gives me more reason to stay chemical free (never had a perm and never will).
Wednesday, August 13th 2008 at 2:59PM
Tiki W

Study the relationship between nail tips and cancer. I have worn mine for at least seven years. I know better but don't do better. Nail polish too, is a carcinogen.
Wednesday, August 13th 2008 at 4:48PM
Leslie McCloud