Celebrity: Why We Can’t Look Away

I tried my best to ignore the Tiger Woods saga.  In my mind, I would not waste my time listening to the various and growing number of mistresses.  But then mainstream media decided to take the low road.  I couldn’t watch my usual morning show with the peculiar interview of mistress No. ??. 

Then Eugene Robinson had to bring to the fore what most African American women already recognized about a consistency is Tiger’s conquests. 

I wanted to cover my ears and scream away the awful truth. 

But I still couldn’t ignore it. 

Why?

Newsweek Magazine has its theory on why we, as Americans, are (at least some of us) begrudgingly drawn into the train wreck of celebrity downfalls and failings.  According to Newsweek, salivating on celebrity is equal parts unifying and bonding experience for the American people:

Long before celebrity reached its apotheosis, the great gossip columnist and radio broadcaster Walter Winchell, who purveyed the malfeasance and transgressions of the rich, the famous, and the powerful to tens of millions of Americans, understood that celebrity was a basis for an ongoing, daily national conversation that also served as therapy to a wounded country, albeit with a savage subtext of revenge. Reaching his own peak in the Depression ’30s at a time of anxiety and fractiousness, Winchell managed to unify his readers and listeners around his narratives, not only distracting them from calamity but also giving them a rallying point of common reference that was every bit as powerful as the national symbolism that FDR promoted. Winchell turned us into a nation of yentas.

This function is especially potent today in another time of uncertainty and division, when Americans are not only disunited over politics and values, but also share fewer and fewer common experiences. In the past, television, movies, music, even books were sources of national cohesion. Dramatically lower ratings for broadcast television, reduced film attendance, and plummeting CD sales have all loosened the national bonds. We have become a nation of niches. Celebrity is one of the few things that still crosses all lines. As disparate and stratified as Americans are, practically all of them seem to share an intense engagement, or at the very least an acquaintance, with the sagas of Jon and Kate or Brad and Angelina or Jennifer and whomever, which is oddly comforting. These are America’s modern denominators, and in some ways Jon and Kate are our Fred and Ginger—not, obviously, talentwise, but in the way they provide escape and give us something we can all talk about.

Celebrities of today certainly don’t compare to Fred and Ginger, or more appropriately, James and Flo Evans and Cliff and Claire Huxtable.

But is it what unifies us across generations, political parties, office politics, and other pregnant silences?

Black in the Age of Obama: Things Have Not Gotten Better

Some say things have gotten worse.  But, the belief that President Obama’s election was going to turn the page on race relations, rekindle a renewed sense of purpose in black men, inspire personal responsibility, stop kids from getting killed in senseless street violence, and have world leaders singing Kumbaya was overly simplistic and exaggerated to begin with. 

It’s not as if I blame the President for not solving all of these social ills.  It’s that I never expected him to do so in the first place.

And much of this is not in his job description.

But a campaign centered on hope has created a harsh reality for those who believed Obama would “teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.”

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow remarks on the impact of Obama presidency on black America one year in:

So far, it’s been mixed. Blacks are living a tale of two Americas — one of the ascension of the first black president with the cultural capital that accrues; the other of a collapsing quality of life and amplified racial tensions, while supporting a president who is loath to even acknowledge their pain, let alone commiserate in it.

To be sure, Blow recites the usual – though no less depressing- economic and social data on the plight of black America: high foreclosure rates, higher unemployment, and less food security. 

Even still, black Americans have incredible pride and hope in our new President and continue to give him above 90 percent approval ratings.

Do you think this will ever change? 

Of note, Blow also reviews the year in black men transgressions in the public space.  Get your fill here.

DC Government Forgetting Who It’s Supposed to Serve

Colbert King shares the frustration of many: DC bureaucrats are more concerned with their jobs than the safety and care of its citizens.  King laments on the number of unsolved murders, unprocessed rape kits, and sub par education in the District:

Official figures on unprocessed sex kits were unavailable. But Hughes reported that 60 percent of sex-offense cases recorded thus far in 2009 have been closed. In 2008, the police closed only 53 percent of such cases.

Such a low closure rate for sex offenses, as with unsolved murders, ought to be cause for alarm. It probably is elsewhere. Not in the District.

There are no rallies at Freedom Plaza over sexual mayhem and dead bodies on streets east of Rock Creek Park.

Instead, we resort to songs and prayers on behalf of a forensic lab because hope of stopping murder and rape in the first place has been all but abandoned. Or so it would seem.

This much is true: Words about murder and rape hardly pass through the lips of clergy, who much prefer getting worked up to a fare-thee-well over the possibility of same-sex marriage.

So, too, the media, which dwell on the relative merits of speed humps in upscale neighborhoods, political jockeying between Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council, and teacher demands for respect from Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who’s not inclined to give them any.

Oh sure, there are children trying to learn while street gangs are shooting outside their schools. And there may be girls worried about reaching maturity without getting sexually molested. But who really cares?

The politicians, prodded by the unions, prefer to bemoan cuts in the teaching ranks. Students, however, are left to contend with more than the loss of a teacher, guidance counselor or janitor. For many, their safety is at risk.

Makes me wanna holla for sure.

Snitch Culture Claims Another Victim

I’m left speechless by this story reported out of Florida (CNN):

From what the suspects and witnesses have told police, the suspect yelled, “He’s a snitch, he’s a snitch” and “pour it on him.” Another juvenile threw what police believe was rubbing alcohol on Brewer from a plastic jug and used a lighter to set him on fire, he said.

Witness Provindencia Maldenero told CNN affiliate WPLG, “I saw a kid throwing something at the other kid, and next thing you know, the kid was on fire. He was up in fire.”

A resident used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames, and Brewer jumped into the complex’s swimming pool, WPLG reported.

Malissa Durkee, the teen’s sister, told WPLG on Monday night that her brother was in critical condition. Lamberti said Brewer is expected to be hospitalized for five months.

Even worse still, one of the suspects was laughing about the incident the next day. Pure evil.

Decay of the Black Family

After the outrage of the videotaped beating death of Derrion Albert reached a boiling point we are all looking for answers as to “why.” We’ve all heard the staid and stale excuses and solutions that we can recite in our sleep.

• We need more police.
  An increased presence with no clear direction can aggravate an already volatile situation.
  
• We need more afterschool programs.
  These killers wouldn’t have ever gone.
  
• We need more money invested in our schools.
  No amount of new books, tech gadgets, or shiny new auditoriums would have prevented Derrion’s death.
  
• It’s society’s fault.
  Okay, does “society” have a last name and an address so we can go arrest him?

If we are honest with ourselves we know that some of the reasons lie in the decay of the black family and the too early loss of innocence in our children.

My definition of a family isn’t married with 1.6 kids and a dog. My family was a single mother, grandparents, godparents, and a few neighbors. No matter the imagined mischievousness I wanted to get into as a child my family had put the fear of God (a subject for another post) in me. I feared them all.

Not only did I fear them, I also loved them and didn’t want to disappoint my family.  I was certainly no angel, but my mischievousness had its limits. And surely would not have been allowed to escalate to the point of physical violence without an intervention involving a belt, a switch, a home-made “scared straight” program, and other assorted punishments.

Piss poor parenting is the culprit. These predators were once young boys full of hope, life, and innocence. At some point the respect for self and respect for others was lost, or never was nurtured. The fear of disappointing a parent or elder disappeared. The shame of disappointing their parents became obsolete. Respect for their grandparents evaporated as they saw their parents disrespect their own parents.

The neighbors didn’t care. There was no sense of community, only fear and disaffection for men-children who once rode their tricycles as young boys.

To be clear, this does not excuse their heinous behavior. I refuse to give them victimhood status. At a certain point, regardless of how crappy your childhood, you take full responsibility of your actions. They should be given the harshest sentence allowable. Too bad they can’t arrest their parents for voluntary manslaughter.

Defining African American Studies

John McWhorter questions what African American Studies students should learn (The New Republic):

While this year has become best known as the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock, it was also forty years ago that the first African-American Studies department was established, at San Francisco State University.

Forty-one fall semesters later, there are hundreds of such departments. Has what they teach evolved with the march of time?

I explore that question here at the Minding the Campus site sponsored by my think tank. My point is that the typical African-American Studies department holds front and center a particular lesson: that racism is more influential in American life at present than one might initially think, and always has been.

Urban history? Blacks were penned into segregated districts and then factory jobs available to modestly educated men were moved to China. Politics? Radicalism has been most interesting, whether or not it was the source of most black success. Performance? Most resonant in how it Spoke Truth to Power.

Is that all we are? Is that all we have been? Is it irrelevant to cover how black people have triumphed against the obstacles? Especially since so many have trumphed that today there are more middle class black people than poor ones? Is the main relevance of the fact that we have a black President–ahem!!!!–that his election didn’t mean, as if anyone thought it did, that there did not remain some racist idiots here and there?

The Murder of Derrion Albert: Sick with Grief and Anger

We’ve lamented before on the senseless and stupefying rise in violence and deaths of Chicago children. At a certain point it becomes mind-numbing and it’s hard to feel anything.

But then another young brother with great potential and focus is slaughtered. Not by a hail of bullets, but viciously beaten and stomped to death as if he was less than human.

USA Today describes the beating:

Albert, 16, was walking home from school Thursday when he was beaten to death in a fight between two rival groups outside a community center. Four teens were charged Monday in the slaying. Police identified them with the help of the cellphone video taken by an unidentified witness. The video was provided to a TV station and given to police.
…..
The brawl was precipitated by a shooting outside the school on Thursday morning, prosecutors said. A 15-year-old boy was arrested after police alleged he opened fire from his bicycle on a 17-year-old boy, who was not hurt. That incident stemmed from tensions between students who live in Altgeld Gardens, a public housing project, and others who live in an area known as the “Ville.”

Albert was “a bystander” to a fight later Thursday between the groups and didn’t belong to either, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jodi Peterson said in court. Carson and another person from the Ville approached him, she said. Carson hit Albert in the head with a railroad tie. The other person punched him in the face, prosecutors say. Albert fell, unconscious, prosecutors said, and when he regained consciousness, he moved away and tried to stand. He was surrounded by five Altgeld Gardens residents. Riley hit him with a railroad tie and Shannon stomped on his head, Peterson said.

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! Who needs the Ku Klux Klan or “the man” when we’re doing the work for them!!

Where is the natural respect of human life? How does someone beat another to death? Why has the situation been allowed to escalate to such a level that this type of behavior doesn’t make you physically ill?

From Girls to Young Women

I often joke that my development of social graces was by accident. As I recount my childhood, my mother was too busy working two jobs and squarely focused on me doing well in school (because she was damn sure – before I was – that I was going to college)!

This is not to suggest my mother didn’t teach me basic manners and the golden rule. But which fork to use for your salad was less important than say, putting food on the table. We weren’t the Jack and Jill type family.

Proof that God smiles on babies and fools, I haphazardly began to figure it out (can you say mimmick?). My Godmother and pledging a sorority also helped.

But even still, etiquette, social graces, when to send a note, and proper rules of “gift-giving” aren’t easy. At best, no one notices. At worst, its a gaffe.

So it was refreshing to hear about Sunday Girl International. The Clarion Ledger reports:

It was a routine established by her mother, who spent Sundays teaching her daughters that they were intelligent, powerful, divine beings with a special purpose in life.

“My mother wanted to instill in her daughters a sense of strong faith and belief in themselves that they had the power to do whatever they wanted in this world,” said Boykin, 51.

Today, Boykin is sharing those lessons as founder of Sunday Girls International, an organization that aims to give African-American girls the foundation they need to achieve academically and personally.

Boykin said she grew up in “the good, the bad and the ugly of Mississippi” when racial tensions were high, but Sunday was always a happy day when you could put aside challenges and be with people who loved and adored you.

“The people of our community taught us that when you go out into the world, you are not just representing yourself alone; you are representing them. You learned love for yourself, your family and your country, and that’s what we want to share through the Sunday Girls International.”

Sign me up!

What Exactly Does ACORN Do Anyway?

Beginning with last year’s election and erupting in the last couple of days, ACORN has been a frequent topic in the news. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been for its good deeds.

This lead to the question, “what exactly does ACORN do anyway?”

According to Wikipedia,

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocate for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues. ACORN has over 400,000 members and more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the U.S., as well as in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and Peru. ACORN was founded in 1970 by Wade Rathke and Gary Delgado.

…….

ACORN’s priorities have included: better housing and wages for the poor, more community development investment from banks and governments, better public schools, and other social justice issues. ACORN pursues these goals through demonstration, negotiation, lobbying for legislation, and voter participation.

Known for unabashedly supporting liberal causes and Democrats, ACORN has been accused of registering false voters and dead people, only registering voters likely to vote for Democrats, and recently, counseling a “pimp” and “prostitute” on how to game the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Familiar now to most on YouTube, the “pimp and prostitute” were anti-ACORN activists who secretly recorded these “counseling” sessions.

MSNBC reports on recent revelations:

Activist group ACORN started in 1970 to help the poor in Arkansas and quickly went national, growing into a multimillion-dollar conglomerate with a mission so far-flung that schools now bear its name, two radio stations are affiliates and a man it backed is the president. Oh yeah, it’s also the unwilling star of a hot Internet video featuring a couple dressed as a hooker and her pimp.

And that last bit is just one of its problems.

The organization praised for its Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and treated by federal, state and local governments as a valuable public resource has had nearly $1 million embezzled by its founder’s brother. The openly Democratic-leaning group has seen its employees accused of voter registration fraud, and taking it down has become a cause celebre for Republican lawmakers, activists and pundits.

As if volunteers allegedly signing up cartoon character Mickey Mouse to vote didn’t give ACORN enough bad publicity, the public is enthralled with new videos appearing on the Internet and TV news shows showing ACORN employees in Brooklyn, N.Y., advising a couple posing as a prostitute and pimp to lie to get housing aid, and employees in other cities counseling the pair on tax, banking and immigration issues.

Formerly the favorite son of Democratic politicians, these revelations overwhelm any positive work ACORN has done over the last 30 years and find the organization increasingly friendless in the halls of Congress.

Many Democrats used to advertise their ACORN connections. Now, however, the Democratic-led Senate has voted to cut off its grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Democrat-dominated House doesn’t want it to get any federal money, period.

The article goes on to provide a detailed narrative of ACORN, its activities, and critics.

Civil Rights Movement Marches on in Mexico

Time Magazine posted an article outlining the plight of Afro-Mexicans. Time writes:

Mirroring Mexico’s history itself, most of Yanga’s Afro-Mexican population has been pushed to neighboring rural villages that are notable primarily for their deep poverty and the strikingly dark skin of their inhabitants. Mexico’s independence from Spain and new focus on building a national identity on the idea of mestizaje, or mixed race, drove African Mexicans into invisibility as leaders chose not to count them or assess their needs. Now many blacks want to fight back by improving the shoddy education and social services available to them and are petitioning for the constitution to recognize Afro-Mexicans as a separate ethnic group worthy of special consideration.

Excellent timing as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

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