Why Were Obama, Andrew Breitbart & Ben Jealous So Quick To Demonize Shirley Sherrod? is a post from: Acts of Faith In Love & Life

Who wants to be integrated into a burning house? – MLK

Where’s Newt Gingrich when you need him? He was offering his assistance and support to [...]]]>

Why Were Obama, Andrew Breitbart & Ben Jealous So Quick To Demonize Shirley Sherrod? is a post from: Acts of Faith In Love & Life

Who wants to be integrated into a burning house? – MLK

Where’s Newt Gingrich when you need him? He was offering his assistance and support to the NAACP last week in their stupid misguided attempt at promoting faux controversies and blatant fundraising schemes fighting racism by denouncing the Tea Party. Not to help black people of course but to divide and conquer.  I bet you Ben Jealous would sure love a distraction story right now.

This is the same Newt Gingrich who led a very successful Republican obstructionist/attack  agenda when he served as Speaker Of The House during the Clinton Administration amongst other things. Thanks to Billy Jeff’s proclivities, their failed attempt at impeachment and constant pressure he signed the very flawed Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law. I’m reminding you dear readers of this most recent history because it ties into this latest debacle from the last 24-hours.

We all know how redundant the FCC is especially if you use online media, have a cell phone, watch cable, listen to the radio, require internet access and have seen prices skyrocket while the quality of programming has sunk to the depths of mediocrity. That’s due to the deregulation that allowed for a concentration of media ownership by one company. Some would simply call it monopoly, but it’s not nearly as fun to play as the board game.

We’ve seen what havoc banking deregulation (initiated by Republicans, co-signed by the co-opted and spineless Democrats)  has brought down on this country (and the world). Our economy has yet to recover and will never go back to the way we once knew things. Due to the constant deregulation pushed by the Republican agenda conglomerates have taken over, independent media has been almost completely marginalized and terrestrial radio is craptastic.  In case this doesn’t connect with you, 1996 was also the year Fox went on the air. Oh happy joy!

What the FCC hasn’t bungled, the FTC will gut and kill off given the chance since they’ll be targeting those of us who write content in online forums and use social networking. So rabble rouse while you can before they roll up on us gangbanger-style.  

This ties into the lack of enforcable standards of so-called traditional journalism along with television standards and practices – of which there doesn’t seem to be much left.  Andrew Breitbart took it upon himself to enlighten us with a doctored version of a speech given in March by former USDA Director of Rural Development for Georgia Shirley Sherrod.

In this speech Sherrod discussed her own personal history at separating unfavorable racial attitudes and unpleasant life experiences in light of meeting the needs of people. Just a quick background, Sherrod is 62 so she would remember the Jim Crow era and life before Civil Rights. Also her father was murdered by a white male KKK member when she was 17. She went on to tell how she had to set aside the previous negativity when she oversaw a case involving a white farmer who needed assistance.

She was not an employee of the USDA at the time. This also occurred in the 1980′s.

Breitbart made it seem as if this was something that happened recently while in her current role instead of a Reagan-era event. Remember Ronald Reagan, the denier of AIDS and race-baiter? Fox News and quite a few others who lack real journalistic standards jumped all over this story.

So let’s connect the dots: Gingrich  –> Breitbart –> Media That Spins A Negative False Story  –> Race  Distortion vs. REAL Racism–>

Now how does the NAACP jump in the mix? Well….I think they were so busy being outraged they didn’t bother to do any DUE DILIGENCE. They publicly condemned Sherrod for…wait for it…RACISM! Of course the NAACP knows all about racism…against black women for ignoring the needs of their most loyal constituents. Let’s never forget how the West Palm Beach chapter joined with Rev Hot Comb Al Sharpton in defending the now-convicted Dunbar Village rapists.

Trail of Shame for the Shameless: Gingrich —> Breitbart —> YELLOW JOURNALISM —>NAACP —> SEXISM and…the Obama Administration.

How? Well they also denounced Sherrod and she was coerced into resigning. She was harrassed while she was driving for goodness sake! Didn’t any of these people take Oprah’s No Phone Zone pledge?

Apparently they were scurred of Glen Beck doing a story on Sherrod but curiously enough he refused. Since Beck hasn’t let something like facts get in his way of spreading chaos and mayhem perhaps someone should’ve paid close attention. Sherrod should have told them to shove it and hired a lawyer immediately but she’s probably a loyalist who takes orders without question.  If the Obama Administration was not hell-bent on distancing itself from the needs of blacks and stopped being overly concerned with the right wingers (i.e white people mad he’s in office) then perhaps Obama would take a stance for something for a change.  It’s a combination of obvious fear on the part of this President for standing up to the obstructionists and the lack of control over his message that makes him appear far too eager to meet with the approval of those who will always seek his failure.

Some people won’t even allow for such concessions and see a trend where blacks will be literally ignored into oblivion. It’s certainly time other black people reassess their near-blind support for Obama and start exacting some standards PUBLICLY. A reality check is in order for the condition of the entire collective. After all, black women were the largest percentage of voters for Obama to begin with. The backpedalling (or CYA) from the White House has already begun as it’s floated by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack it was his decision to fire Sherrod without input from the White House. Yeah right.

The NAACP misleadership should be ashamed of themselves for jumping the gun and attacking a woman who could be the grandmother next door. Her speech was taken out of context and no one bothered to check!  Ben Jealous was on tv last night making a fool himself apparently but by then I was tired of watching this media circus. He and Obama are at least a generation removed from those who fought for Civil Rights. Nor is Obama African-American. They’ve certainly enjoyed the benefits of the sacrifices of women like Shirley Sherrod. Breibart is a less-clever copycat of yellow journalists but his throw rocks and duck tactic is effective yet predictable.

It’s time we take a stand for justice.

1. Ben Jealous needs to be fired

2. President Obama needs to apologize to Sherrod – and us for his failure in leadership

3. Shirley Sherrod needs to have her job reinstated OR whatever else she wants (including winning a defamation lawsuit against Breitbart and the NAACP)

4. We need journalistic standards and integrity put on the front burner and an overhaul of the monkey-see monkey-do crew

Perhaps Sherrod can embark on a career discussing race and sexism in a society where white and (half) black men all join together to piss all over who they view to be defenseless : a black woman. Or take a nice looong vacation. It’s shoould be HER choice and I hope she doesn’t let them off the hook without recompense. Thank goodness an inter-racial and inter-generational group of people  have pushed back against her being permanently blacklisted. I’m also relieved to see black people distinguish the difference between a true injustice versus excusing criminals.

Andrew Breitbart is just flexing his muscles as he makes his play as a more telegenic Rush Limbaugh. He’s as greasy and slimy as that BP Oil Spill and even more toxic. No matter, he’s tipped his hand. Lucifer wants us to know he has better things to occupy his time with than messing with 62 year old grandmothers – but Breitbart’s just shot up on the list for the Hell Hounds to greet in the pit.

Ben Jealous says he’s “sorry” and he’ll talk to Sherrod when he’s back in GA. Does she even want to meet with Jealous? Sounds like it’s on his “high-priority” list between swimming in warm tea, television appearances and fighting white hegemony for profit.

Obama will continue to kowtow (let’s keep it real) but at least it’ll be far more obvious to those that ought to be paying attention. This is a teachable moment so pay attention: black males will continue to jockey for power in a partriarchy-based hegemony war  with white males at our expense even at that level. They need to know black women will not continue to be used as canon fodder. 

The rush to frame racism, misuse charges of racism and denial of racism by males in power will ALWAYS fail when they refuse to account for their SEXISM. Obama wasted his race “grace period” when he foolishly stuck up for Skippy “I’m more European than African” Gates last summer. Remember the “Beer Summit” where the white cop said he would not aplogize and didn’t? Shirley Sherrod deserves so much more! If this is how the administration is going to treat blacks (particularly black women) in America it’s going to be a rotten six years (provided he’s reelected).

Here’s something else for all the black women who continue to support the do-little organizations from the Industrial Complex and/or blowhard politicians and pundits to consider:

After you’ve devoted all of your free time building them up and your financial resources at sustaining them what have they done for you lately? They’ve moved from ignoring the needs of black women (supporting black male criminals and miscreants)  to openly attacking you. Do you still plan on supporting them after this? Or will you claim it was anomoly? Don’t be caught with no safety net or backup support when they’re done leeching from you.

This is the video in its entirety. If you fast forward to 16:00 you’ll get to the best parts.

EAVB_GIGBHCCXLZ

Beyonce Bounces & Jiggles For A National Audience And That’s A Good Thing? is a post from: Acts of Faith In Love & Life

I heard about but didn’t watch the Beyonce television special that aired Thursday evening.  I find her music utterly boring and know that no matter how popular she is [...]]]>

Beyonce Bounces & Jiggles For A National Audience And That’s A Good Thing? is a post from: Acts of Faith In Love & Life

I heard about but didn’t watch the Beyonce television special that aired Thursday evening.  I find her music utterly boring and know that no matter how popular she is today (in part due to hard work and her appearance) it will not endure decades from now. Plus her videos offend me. Cheap titillation for the masses works for the masses not for individual enlightenment. It really irritates me to hear people bestow icon status to someone who was at the right place at the right time (after Aaliyah’s death) and positioned accordingly.

So I really hate to admonish some of you but you leave me no choice. I’m all for being free, proud of your body, footloose and fancy free but come on! Yup, it’s time to break out my ruler and rap some knuckles. Honestly many of you should know better. In fact many of you DO know better but no matter. You like what you like. Despite all progressive agenda fighting and declarations of outrage over inequality you simply like to see a black woman shaking her a**. Oh and other women of color too – but hands down it’s black women for the win loss.

Of course in Bouncy’s case I may need to qualify her “blackness”. One day it’s light-skinned, the next it’s Creole and it’s even Latina according to her interview with the magazine. Now other cultures are wonderful. We can learn much from each other. Some of us even have a shared experience of past capture, forced labor and similar DNA. It’s just funny though because I don’t recall the last time I’ve ever read a national (cultural) magazine where the subject waxed philosophically about how they wished they were a different ethnicity.

Leave it to black people for that one because how many enjoy pointing out how they’re x, y, z and a in an effort to make it clear they’re a different kind of white brown meat? Not that acknowledging one’s heritage is a bad thing but think about how many blacks (and I’m pointing the finger squarely at African-Americans) have claimed to have “Indian blood” in them all the while the real American Indians are pulling tribal rolls and forcibly revoking status of those with majority African DNA – but not those with European DNA. Even brown-skinned Latinos with similar African DNA who may look black tend to make it clear they are NOT black. Just sayin’.

I also find it disappointing but not surprising how many cis gay men love to keep women in their place. That place being a body appropriated for male objectification. In the case of black women it is often added with the continued role reversal of women taking on responsibilities of black men as a collective due to their mass abandonment/defection. We have a more recent example with Adam Lambert. Boy did I champion him hard during last season’s American Idol. I knew he was going to be somewhat marginalized due to his orientation and being the justice seeker I am, I wrote about it. So imagine my rage when I saw the spread in Details magazine. Yes, spread is a totally applicable word for that photo shoot was all soft-core porn and anger. Sex and violence directed at women is what we’re supposed to fighting against, not celebrating as “edgy”, “artistic” or any other BS excuse he and his team would choose to come up with. It’s why I wait to see how those who claim to be liberal and progressive behave in scenarios that don’t directly affect them to see if that fairness they seek is extended to others.

So yet another male basks in his privilege to dominate a woman even when he isn’t interested in them. I care not one whit about the flack Lambert’s received over his “dark and edgy” but musically boring performance during the AMAs either. There is no difference between that message of bared flesh for male consumption in Details and the one produced in hip-hop music and videos. It’s trite and T-I-R-E-D. Even when women try to be edgy that way it falls flat because it lacks sincerity. Gimmicks are for card tricks, Vegas and magicians, not recording artists who want to have enduring careers. Alas, there’s the rub. Quality versus the glut of crap-tastic “artists” being force-fed to an ever-quickly tuned-out audience. Yes, as always there are exceptions but puh-leeze one drop in a bucket of piss doesn’t make a lick of difference.

Bringing this back to the subject at hand – Bouncy – can do whatever she wishes in her career by the way. It’s her choice. Yet I loathe to hear people fawn over her skills as a “performer” while ignoring the big giant pink elephant in the room. She’s working the room better than the $500/night stripper exotic dancer at the local “gentleman’s club” and there’s no little difference between what both women are doing to earn a living. Of course she’s not the only one, Shakira being another who abandoned her roots music for an English language audience and hip shaking. Why? She’s an amazing songwriter who does actually write them and isn’t simply jacking credits. There are others as well like Miley Cyrus who danced on a pole at an awards show  - geared for children. I can’t not mention Britney Spears either. The porn-i-fi-ca-tion that’s taken over and where it’s being made to seem normal is a huge problem.

It is black women though who are in the most vulnerable position across the board as a collective. We can’t afford to do what other women do. They are protected. We are not. Our image is being assaulted by a host of trough-eaters looking to cash in on presenting our insecurities as pathologies that we can’t overcome. Which many still don’t get. It’s no coincidence this effort is attached to black (and mostly male) faces just as our collective image was prominently elevated by the First Lady of African-American decent.

Janet Jackson’s career has still not recovered from the debacle following the Super Bowl performance. As long as it’s acceptable within the “black” community for artists like Beyonce to put themselves out there they will continue to do so. It has not gone unnoticed how the number of “black” female artists are now almost exclusively bi-racial and multi-cultural unless they’re white women (i.e. Fergie) who have a developed “black” sound. The booty-shaking will even be labeled  ”empowerment” but there’s nothing empowering about reinforcing Saartjie stereotypes. Even Madonna – who has thrived on provocation (and cultural appropriation) didn’t cross certain lines. Once you’ve put yourself out there you can’t control how others react and I know many would be upset if non-black – ok – white men started talking about how much they like to see Beyonce “performing”. So if that’s the case then why be okay with it NOW?