Tag: Personal Growth

  • Let’s talk about Black Privilege

    Let’s talk about Black Privilege

    Ready.

    B. Lorenzo Buckinchere

    Jun 15, 2025

    This coming Thursday, June 19, will be Juneteenth, the one hundred and sixtieth anniversary of the emancipation proclamation marked by the thirteenth amendment. This is a celebratory event that brought about the end of one of the darkest periods in American history, the trans-atlantic slave trade.

    This year is also the fourth anniversary of Juneteenth being a federal holiday, which first happened under President Biden in 2021. So I figured that now is as good a time as any to discuss the topic of Black privilege.

    They always talk about White privilege in a way as if to suggest that there is no Black privilege. This is done subliminally with the intent to create a perpetual state of mental serfdom within you.

    Speaking of mental serfdom, was it not the legendary reggae singer Bob Marley who once sang, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds,” during a song that he appropriately titled “Redemption?” Well I am here to tell all the Black dreamers out there that you definitely have privilege on this soil.

    First of all, Black privilege is not racial, it’s creative and academic. It also has a lot to do with your time and place of origin. You have the privilege of living in the greatest nation on earth, during a time where with the advent of the internet, you can find a way to make all your dreams come true.

    Time and place also has a lot to do with your native tongue. If you are a Black person in the west, you likely speak English as your first language. Which is a plus because English is the most recognized language in the world for the sake of global trade and commerce.

    Secondly, let me continue by reiterating what I have said repeatedly on my blog site. Which states that the same capitalism that allows your landlord to raise your rent while your employer cuts your hours, also allows you to turn the scorn and prejudice against you into creativity and ingenuity. If you really hone your craft, they won’t be able to tell whether you are a genius or a madman. Either way, they won’t be able to stop buying tickets to see your show.

    Vaudeville performers and New Orleans jazz musicians of the 1920’s understood this concept very well. So did the shoe shine guy, and they capitalized off it tremendously. They didn’t let the racial insensitivities of that time prevent them from showing up every night and making a buck. In fact, they used their creativity to take advantage of the prejudice against them.

    This evened the playing field overtime, and paved the way for their future descendants to enter a wider range of professions. Some chose law, others chose medicine, yet there are those who chose a more creative path. If they could do it without the internet in 1925, then what’s stopping you now in 2025?

    If you really want to get ahead financially, no one can stop you but yourself. They might try to sabotage you. They can definitely delay you for some amount of time, but they ultimately cannot stop you. Which brings me to my third point.

    You have the privilege of privacy, but you must enforce it. They cannot sabotage what they don’t know. If you operate in privacy, your chances for success increase ten fold. At some point you must arrive at a decision as to whether being friend centered is more important than your goals.

    This is especially true when you consider that half these motherfuckers who say they are your friends, are really spies and saboteurs. You don’t have any friends out here. You don’t even have god. You only have yourself. If you fuck up, that’s on you. Hold yourself accountable and seek wise counsel.

    Ok, so what do you have? You have the privilege of the English language as your native tongue. You live in a developed country with clean tap water and internet access. You have an accurate grasp on human nature that you can’t unsee past the age of thirty. You may not have the capital as of yet, but you have a master plan. Above all else, you either have privacy, or privacy is attainable, even in limited quantities for the time being. So then you have Black privilege.

    Happy Juneteenth!!!

    © Copyright 2025 The Buckinchere Publication, SP.

    All Rights Reserved.

  • A post-modern take on Maslow’s Hierarchy

    Ready.

    B. Lorenzo Buckinchere

    Feb 9, 2025

    As a human being, one will experience different needs at different times of life. It is a part of being alive, and you will have these needs as long as you remain living. There are different needs that will arise at different times of your life, based on your current story arc. Some needs are more basic than others, such as food, warmth and water. The more basic the need, the more likely it is to be repetitive.

    Of all the philosophers to explore the nuances of the human condition, none has come close to breaking down the hierarchy of needs quite like Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist of Russian-jewish heritage who lived between 1908 and 1970.

    Maslow first proposed the hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, “A Theory on Human Motivation,” where he listed a five tier structure containing a group of human needs in ascending order, suggesting that the fulfillment of one need would motivate an individual to tackle the following need on the chain.

    Maslow’s hierarchy is controversial, and contains some inconsistencies. Due to its hierarchical structure, many are of the few that the order of each need must remain intact, as one is not able, or should not be able to skip levels. But in spite of its imperfections, Maslow’s hierarchy is nonetheless the most frequently referenced hierarchy as it pertains to human growth and motivation.

    On the first tier, there are physiological needs, which include; breathing, food, water, warmth, clothing and sex. On the second tier, there are safety needs, such as; money, housing and transportation. On the third tier, there are social needs, such as; family, friends, sexual intimacy and a sense of community belonging.

    On the fourth tier, there are needs of esteem, such as graduating from college, releasing an album, publishing a book, or getting married. Then there is the fifth tier on the hierarchy, a need for self-actualization.

    Maslow may have structured his hierarchy with the best intentions in mind, however, there are some inconsistencies relating to the order of achievement. For example, except for breathing, one typically doesn’t expect for physiological fulfillment to be freely given unless one is a child, or disabled.

    Even with adult disabilities, one would have to be lucky enough to live in a country with a good welfare program, or else be left for dead. However, that is the exception. For the most part, you need a job in order to buy food. But in order to gain employment and maintain it, one needs to be liked and accepted by the group, or else they will either be used and discarded, or flat out rejected right off the bat.

    Social acceptance comes from level three on the hierarchy, so therefore, based on that reason alone, it seems as though one should gain social acceptance first in order to survive.

    Social acceptance is usually rooted in childhood connections that would have otherwise lasted a lifetime. But what if you constantly relocated throughout your childhood? Or what if you are just socially awkward? What if you are just an introvert?

    Centuries ago, or in fact, even as recent as the 1980s, you would be left for dead without social support. Conformity is primordially ingrained deep within our collective subconscious, that is why all normies would rather conform to society than embrace their true nature.

    Luckily today, with the advent of the internet, you can literally create something that adds value to the lives of others, and pay someone who is naturally more socially outgoing to market it for you. If you find that you are naturally an introvert, I recommend becoming an author and enjoying the benefits of faceless fame, the best of both worlds.

    However, creating something that adds esteem is found at level four of the hierarchy. One may choose to approach the hierarchy based on one’s own tastes and interests.

    For example, an extravert seeking employment may prioritize social conformity, even to the detriment of morality, while an introvert may choose to prioritize esteem. Another cause for concern is being able to secure food with no safe place to leave it, or no transport to even procure it.

    So here is my revised version of Maslow’s hierarchy as it relates to modern life. Particularly as it relates to eccentric introverts, because my blog is not for normies.

    First of all, make safety a priority. Once you are safe, do some soul searching with the intent of discovering your niche. This requires long, lonely periods of isolation from the world. My advice to set you up on the right path for rediscovering your niche is to remember what you loved to do when you were 18.

    It also helps if you keep in mind that you will naturally be good at whatever it is that you enjoy doing. That niche will provide esteem while also providing for all of your physiological and safety needs.

    Once you have rediscovered your niche and you are dedicated to your purpose, you will find that the right social support naturally forms around you. Others with whom you share a common interest will naturally gravitate towards you as they too become inspired.

    So once again to recap, safety first, then esteem, then physical needs, then social support. Self-actualization can only be achieved by becoming exceptionally good at performing your niche, the very best. And that can only be achieved through many decades of consistently showing up and honing your craft.

    © Copyright 2025 The Buckinchere Publication, SP.

    All rights reserved