Entries from July 2007 ↓

This is my response to some of Jameela Donaldson’s recent comments on What About Our Daughters.

Yeah it is a little late to be trying to discuss why you created THAT WEBSITE. I read your comments (see post called “What About Our Daugthers Wins Battle!!!) and find it interesting that you are maintaining that you receive images of children and post them in the hopes that parents will see or someone will help the children. Sure Jam. The next time I see someone getting hurt or making a fool of themselves I’ll just post them on the internet and maybe someone will help them. Sure. I guess it wouldn’t be helpful at all to send those photos to an organization that helps children or something. I don’t know about the US but in Canada, if someone suspects that a child is being abused then they have a duty to report that to the proper authorities. We don’t post their photos on the internet.

So what if the photos are posted elsewhere on the net? It matters where it is posted and in what context. Putting them all together on a site called YOU KNOW WHAT makes a big difference. People don’t expect others to take their profile photos, or photos on social networking sites and re-post them somewhere else. They probably feel safe on those sites with people who want to make friends or date. If they wanted their photos on THAT WEBSITE they would have sent them in personally.

I have an idea for you. Why not start a site called “Ugly People Who Should Hide Their Faces”. Go around to dating sites and Myspace and find people who you consider unattractive. Then post their photos on the site. On the same site post people you consider attractive. Then those ugly people will learn that they shouldn’t take photos of themselves, and they should wear make-up, get surgery, or hide their faces so they are no longer ugly. If we use your reasoning Jam then that would be a public service.

Maybe Jam, people don’t notice the gallery with positive images because THEY VISIT YOUR SITE FOR THE NEGATIVE IMAGES! If they wanted nice photos of people they would not visit a site like yours. They want to see the train wreck and they are not going to be distracted by the pretty flowers you place around it. It doesn’t work. That goes the same for the articles. People go to your site to see Black people looking badly and I doubt they care very much about anything else posted there. You even said yourself that no one mentions the articles or positive images…pssst here’s a secret…they didn’t even notice them.

I would suggest scrapping the site and creating one about positive and historical people of African Descent all over the world. We need a site like that where people can go and see how to be leaders, successful, and happy in their lives. The media is already flooded with negative images of us. We don’t need to add to that. Hey Jam, I understand that you are trying to use the internet to inspire Black people to do better. Well many bloggers, newspapers, magazines, and websites are using theirs to inspire you to do better. Doesn’t seem to be working on you either.

Bronze Trinity

Hmm. Maybe corporate America is finally getting the point. Mickie D’s just dropped Twista from their concert series. Twista asked a legitimate question… Why the heck did they book him in the first place?

What do you do when your first foray as a television producer gets savaged by the critics and results in mediocre ratings despite the fact that your most vocal critics actually encourage people to watch your show? Well, you try to provoke your critics into providing more publicity for your show.

Folks the creator of THAT SHOW must really be needing some ratings for THAT SHOW. Gurl, I have done all I can. I can’t make people watch THAT SHOW if they don’t want to. Where you been? I invited you over WEEKS AGO!

All this over lil ole me. Jeez, I dont know where to begin. But I will first begin by addressing a few misconceptions about the site. Jameeela Donaldson, HOtGhettoMess.com in the comments section of What About Our Daughters. DELUSIONAL Right Up to the BITTER END!.

Welcome Jameela, I love Black men too. We have that in common. Smooches back at cha! You might want to read my post New Loyalty Oath for the Black Blogosphere. Seeing as how you are regurgitating foolishness that has already been addressed here. And NO, this wasn’t all about little old you, but usually the pawn is always the last to know.

Didn’t your show already premiere? So why are you finally trotting over here a week late? Did BET finally let you out of that bunker? Feel free to leave comments anytime, but we are not going to be publicizing your show anymore here. I know the ratings were disappointing, but this publicity stunt of yours is a little desperate. I ain’t throwing you anymore watch parties gurl. You are on your own.

You are a day late and a dollar short and still apparently DELUSIONAL, but you’re good for business so come back anytime GURL! Anytime! I have to warn you though, you are about to be bumped from our front page, but I will let you stretch your 15 minutes about 30 more seconds. It is the least I can do:)

F.Y.I. , in the future, can you refrain from just reposting comments you have made on other people’s blogs? You could at least provide some original content for your nemesis the Black blogger who successfully got EVERY.SINGLE.ADVERTISER to drop your show. Surely I have provided you with something new to say. Just because your show is unoriginal does not mean that you have to be that way in real life.

UPDATE: SHE JUST KEEPS POSTING COMMENTS. IT. Won’t Stop! We’ve moved on. You. Should. Too. As far as unkind words I think you have flung your share at me. Are your comments your idea of intellectual discussion? Poor thing. Nope, I don’t think THIS site will be the one people forget in a month, but good looking out!

3 Comments – Show Original Post Collapse comments

jam said…

Once again, you are wrong. BET had nothing to do with my decision to “trot over” to WAOD. I just had enough of the falsehoods. Its one thing to dislike the site or the show but its another to tell outright untruths, so I figure I would address them below…
(btw the ratings were huge thanks to you, tee hee hee )

Um, that isn’t what Reuters said Gurl. They said your ratings were kind of soft(I mean even with all of my help, you couldn’t outdo Lil’ Kim). F.Y.I television executive producer, BET is not in the ratings business, they are in the AD SALES business and your show didn’t sell any ads. So UM…. Well…. That is not good. I have to question the judgment of anyone that would make you the executive producer of ANYTHING after some of your comments left on this blog. So thanks for directing traffic from your site to mine, I welcome the comments from your supporters, but I’m officially bored with you now. Okay!… Check out Bronze Trinity’s response to the foolishness and rationalizations.

…..SO like I was saying, DL Hughley is coming to my turf!
Details soon.

You know all I really want to do is chill out behind this keyboard and relax, but apparently the Universe has other plans, yet again. Thinking that I could take a few steps away from activism and return to logistics and strategy, I was horrified when I opened our local entertainment weekly and saw DL Hughley’s grinning mug promoting his appearances in Austin on August 17, 18, and 19th. Are you freaking kidding me? He’ll be at the Capital City Comedy Club 512-467-2333.

I’ve been after this fool on this blog since May 7, 2007. He is the reason we started Sharpton Watch. He is the reason I was on BET.com in the first place. When he was in Ft. Worth, one of my readers, Eddie, along with local grassroots organizations organized a successful protest, Hughley sold less than half of the available tickets. WHY LORD WHY?? WHY is the Universe mocking me? ( Gina picks self off the floor)

Folks hold on to your hats, we’re in for a wild and wacky ride. At least I will learn how to organize and throw a street protest. This should be enlightening. Those of you who live in the lone star state, take off Friday the 18th. Come on down and take part in the festivities. ( And the college kids will be back in town too. HAHAHAHA!) More details to follow.

(Gina heads back on her posting vacation. Yeah Right!)

“Keep in mind, too, that while Kobe Bryant is a situation we can sort of compare this to, this (dog fighting) really is much worse. Not only can you argue that the crimes are much worse in terms of, you know, killing dogs and that kind of thing.”

~ Larry Smith, CNN Comparing Michael Vick to Kobe Bryant

Hat Tip to Sandra Rose.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! SWEET JESUS! TAKE ME NOW LORD! TAKE.ME.NOW! ( Gina picks herself off the floor)

I called it. I told y’all that somebody was going to say or do something stupid and make me come off my posting vacation. DAMN YOU LARRY SMITH! Damn You!

Now I know plenty of folk who love Fido to pieces, but COME ON! Larry! baby! A dog is an animal, and although people are part of the animal kingdom, we typically confer some extra status to those animals frequently referred to as human beings. I know it is hard to believe, but girls and women are human beings too Larry!

The violent sexual assault of girls and women is a very serious allegation, worthy of some serious contemplation before using it as an example in the latest brouhaha over yet another grown man who plays a game for a living allegedly engaging in stupid, inhumane, FOOLISHNESS!

Now, if the allegations against Michael Vick are true, then he should be thrown under the jail, however, that is going to be left up to a judge or jury. I am reserving judgment.

I think Larry Smith’s comments are very telling and instructive. Is this the way that the great thinkers within the Professional Sports Industrial Complex feel about violent crimes against women and girls? If this is way Larry, a seemingly reasonable human being, feels, what about the less enlightened( I am being kind today)? Sisters and Brethren, WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM!

So my question is this: IN light of the never ending FOOLISHNESS directed at women by the Professional Sports Industrial Complex, what would happen if the women of America stopped funding foolishness for just ONE day?

WHAT IF THE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX THREW A SUPERBOWL AND NO WOMEN SHOWED UP?

Don’t think women could affect a male dominated industry? What would happen on Superbowl Sunday if women patted the men in our lives on the head, pointed them in the direction of the closest sports bar, and shoved them out the door? What would happen if we didn’t slave away making sweetish meatballs, Killer Queso, 7-Layer Dip, and hot wings? What if the chips and dips aisle was full of product on that Sunday afternoon?

No fighting long lines at the grocery store. No watching idiotic commercials and ridiculously long pregame shows. No having 30 people traipse on our good carpet and sit on our good furniture. What if we sent the menfolk on their way and kicked back and watched one of those inane Lifetime Original movies on Superbowl Sunday?WHAT if we stopped funding foolishness for just ONE day? I bet they’d figure out REALLY fast that FIDO has no financial resources. Women do! It is about time we started pointing that out to the simpletons in the Professional Sports Industrial Complex.

I’m not saying we ought to do it…. I am just throwing it out there. That. Is. All. ( Gina heads back on her posting vacation)

(See Full Transcript of Smith’s Comments)

SPEAKING OF MICHAEL VICK… THE NAACP is weighing in. At least now we know why they didn’t bother holding a press conference regarding THAT SHOW. Maybe I should learn how to throw a ball.

We’ve seen it before with the CBC-Fox Debates, Shaquanda Cotton, and cases of African American women whose kidnappings and murders have been overlooked ( Stepha Henry) by “mainstream media,” Black bloggers are beginning to leverage their online power to obtain off line results.

THIS REALLY IS NOT ABOUT THAT SHOW
THAT SHOW on a certain network will be a mere footnote in history, the real story, overlooked by the “mainstream media” in all of this is that OUR generation is coming into its own as activists. We don’t do things the way that our parent’s and grandparents did . We shouldn’t have to. They sacrificed so that we could have access all of the tools you have seen during this brouhaha over THAT SHOW. You saw us getting our message out to the news media. You saw us go toe to toe with one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and we did it with a cellphone and a desktop computer. That is all.

BLOGGING WHILE BROWN
It is important that we continue to nurture this emerging activism so that our efforts related to THAT SHOW are not just a flash in the pan. That is why Blogging While Brown is so important. Next year is an election year and whatever party you support, bloggers are going to play, perhaps, a much larger role in the electoral process than ever before. Black bloggers MUST be a part of that. Also, this is an opportunity for those who want to start a blog or expand their skills to get access to the technical experience to help them get their point across.

So for the next few weeks I will be working with the team over at Blogging While Brown to get it off the ground. Plans are to have it in Atlanta, GA next summer and have it at the same time as one of the many festivals held in Atlanta every year. So I won’t be posting as feverishly as usual. However, posts will still be made because I would like to introduce you to our first Guest Contributor to What About Our Daughters?, Bronze Trinity. You guys have already met her in the comments section and in her inaugural post on Saturday.

WAOD’s FIRST GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
Bronze Trinity is a successful blogger in her own right. She is one of the members of the Afrosphere Bloggers Association. She was one of the first people to embrace this blog. In the past few months she has been working tirelessly to develop the online infrastructure to help further the efforts of African American bloggers. She is not a fire breather like moi can be on occasion ( when provoked). She’s basically a very nice person who loves Black folk. I will continue to moderate the comments. I occasionally will pop in if something pops up that I can’t be quiet about( I’ll probably make it 48 hours).

LOOKING FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN WHO BLOG
I am also looking for other African American women with established blogs. What does that mean? That means you have a body of work already out there preferably several months worth. If you are not there yet, keep blogging and contact me when you are ready. As you all know, blogging over a long period of time takes a unique personal passion. Anybody can start a blog in a fit of fury ( I did.) But it takes an effort to keep plugging away at this month after month, pushing through burnout ( very common), and the boo birds that invariably pop in on occasion.

THIS BLOG is about negative portrayals of African American women in popular culture. I am passionate about a lot of things and even comment on other folks blogs, but THIS blog has a very narrow focus so guest contributions will have to be on topic.

I want to thank everyone who played a role in all of this. I didn’t ask to be thrust into all of this, but now that I have been, I think it is important to do what I can to make sure that other people can use this example to SPEAK, ACT and ENGAGE for themselves.

Stop Funding Foolishness!

Hi everyone,

My name is Bronze Trinity. I am a graduate student and a member of the Afrosphere Bloggers Association. I will be guest blogging here for a while to keep fighting againist negative representations of Black women. My first post my impression of what has happened this week.

What About Our Daughters has won the BET battle!

What was once a disgrace and offense to the Black community is no longer offensive! Based on the activism and drive of one fantastic blogger, Gina McCauley of What About Our Daughters blog (WAOD) the offensive title was changed and all offensive material was removed from the show. THAT MEANS WAOD WON! No the show was not canceled but the show that aired was no longer offensive. The whole point of the protest was to stop an offensive show from being aired that would insult and spread stereotypes about Black people. In actuality, that offensive show NEVER AIRED! Its was CANCELED! What they aired instead was a version with the offensive title and content removed. I think that the fact that the show’s content had to be edited actually proves that there was a lot of offensive material in the original show. If the show was a poignant social commentary to begin with then there would have been nothing to edit in the first place. What was left was just disjointed video segments. It didn’t lift anyone up or inspire anyone to do better. It was a piece of crap!

At first I was worried that people were bringing too much attention to the show and actually giving it publicity. What if it had actually been a good show? Fortunately it was garbage, many people, the media, and critics saw the garbage and are now in the process of writing negative reviews. This negative publicity would not have been generated if WAOD did not bring attention to the show. It is taking attention away from BET’s other shows! I hope that this finally motivates them to change the type of programming they carry. I also hope that channels like TVONE, that provide better programming, can capitalize of this by getting new subscribers! Understand this, one blogger with vast activism skills stood up against a television corporation and stopped an offensive show from airing. THIS IS A VICTORY!!! Please congratulate Gina because this is a victory against negative depictions of Black people in the media.

The war is not over and Black bloggers are going to find creative ways to use internet activism to improve the lives of members of the African Diaspora. We are taking back our lives, confronting and dealing with our own problems, and stepping up to change things. We will fight crime, drugs, AIDS, poor education, low self-esteem, poverty, and all the problems that affect us. This was a great example of how it can be done. We will use this example to help us fight all of our problems!

See what BET could have been. TVOne Broadband. Select the “lifestyle” channel.

Billionaire Bob Johnson still hasn’t purchased a soul or any common sense. Go over to Eurweb to read his full comments. Apparently “Who’s Your Caddy” is his first jaunt into movie making under his new studio.

“We’ll let Jerry Springer get away with that or we’ll let Morton Downey get away with that or we’ll let the people at VH1’s ‘Flavor of Love’ get away with that. But when it’s black folks making the decision to do that, all of a sudden people start saying you can’t do that because you have a greater obligation. And then they go to advertisers and many white advertisers will head for the hills the moment they see themselves in the middle of a black controversial issue. They will stop, [partly] because they don’t really want to be on it; don’t value it; or they don’t know how to handle it.“

Is that so? Thanks for the heads up that advertisers are easy to scare off of a show. That is very useful information. He’s good for something folks!

Where in the world was the Black “establishment” during the HGM controversy? Why were ordinary folks left to fend for ourselves? Let’s have a roll call. Who were the folks that should have spoken out that didn’t?

Today was a VICTORY for ordinary Black folks EVERYWHERE! When our “leaders” were MIA, we held our own! If you can’t come out against something called “Hot Ghetto Mess” what is the use of having them at all?