What About Our Daughters

These comments are sickening. Kelly got rich mans justice plan and simple. I will always believed he paid off that girls family to deny that it was her in the tape. I will never understand how people can cheer for a rapist and then blame the victim. One person went as far as to imply that asked for it...hello idiot there is a power differential between a grown male and a child. She cannot consent to her own abuse for that very reason.

I remember a while back being at the beauty shop. A discussion came out about the video. It was a new issue to me so I did not know the details. However one of the ladies spoke about how 'these young girls look old and will lie about their age'. I was stunned speechless. I could not believe what I was hearing. I have an appointment with her next week. I will not bring this up but if it comes up in conversation I will definitely engage her know that I know the details of this madness.

When I heard that this was going to trial I knew that he would be found not guilty. It took way too long to get to trial. I'm also not surprised at the dreadful responses by these sad, stupid women who have absolutely no sense at all. I'm glad I have no close friends like that. If I did they probably would run away when I got through with them.

Animals have more value than bw, especially the really young one. Pretty disposable if you ask me.

I'm not surprised by these crazy comments. Again black girls are told it is ok to be exploited. Again we are told as long as you can dance and sing, sex with a child is ok. It is truly sick the society we live in.

Self-hatred at its finest. Rape is legal in the black community.

His name comes up at the Barber Shop I used to frequent all the time. My Barber swears by Kelly's music. My response:

"You mean the pedophile?"

Barber: Why you gotta go there. I'm talking about his music.

"Yeah. But he's still a pedophile."

And so the convo would go. SMH. I pray none of these folk have daughters. Lord knows they won't get the protection they need.

Basically he got off because the victim was no where to be found. Then he had the audacity to thank Jesus when he heard the verdict. I know people were hi-tailing it out of that courtroom just to avoid the lightening strikes. Disgraceful...

Remember he recorded a song called I'm Saved (I think that is the name). Big loud sigh........

I realise that I have to break away from a friend of mine, she was playing, 50 cent and Snoop Dog and they were singing the f word and using the n word and we talked about R Kelly, I said I don't like the man and she said she liked his music. I still think of Aaliyah a young girl and she died so tragically in the plane crash. Involvment with these man leads to distruction and yet we BW must be grateful for scraps.

OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm barely able to formulate my thoughts at the moment.

I think it was Gina who asked a few weeks ago, why I despised being Black or why I had a revulsion for "Black Culture". Did you really not know the answer to the question?

The answer is right in your face at least once a week.

This was an example.... not just the thug R. Kelly, but the whole circus surrounding him.

I don't even want to get into the issue of the message that has been sent around the world.

The so-called "Black Community" (this media created monolith) is quickly turning me into a Shelby Steele...or something even more Conservative. That's where i'll be before i'm 40.

Never thought I would ever consider identifying as a Conservative.... but it is beginning to appeal to me, if not for anything else...just as a way to identify.

Yes... Gina, when you get your mind back together... I would love to read your take on this one. Preferably the no holds barred, gloves off, uncensored version.

And I was glad to see you mention Black women.... wasn't sure if you had it in you.

I'm going to go pop some aspirin and make myself go to sleep... Sometimes that's all you can do.

***(But can we discuss the possibility of petitioning the Federal Prosecutor...either in Chicago or Florida to ask that they try the rapist?... preferably Florida. The Chicago jury pool may be corrupted/tainted beyond imagination). And people wonder why prosecutors put together certain kinds of juries.... hmmmm.***

P.S.

Aaron McGruder is clairvoyant.

hello,
all that i can honestly say is that I didn't see the tape. that's it. i don't know if that's him or not since i have not witnessed it. so i can't condemn him.

on top of htat, i think that in order to have an honest conversation about statutory rape... we really have to have an honest conversation. some of these girls DO lie and some of these girls DO portray themselves as older than what they really are. Now if a man does not know about their real age, what are they suppose to do? now, i'm not talking about the man who does and is still pursuing.

anyways, i just think that this whole story is sad. i'll never know the truth, that i know.

OK. This is gonna sound bad, but I have to admit...I am definitely one of those women who was hoping that r. kelly was innocent of such horrendous charges. i've been a fan of his music (much, not all) since he first came onto the scene as a part of "public announcement" and have remained a fan of a lot of his music ever since. (it's not all raunchy, booty stuff, some of it is really good).

but when the charges of sexual misconduct first surfaced, i truly hoped that he - a man that i considered quite talented and down-to-earth - was innocent and was the unfortunate victim of a big-time slander campaign. so while i don't understand their blind loyalty,i do understand why some women (and men) rooted for r. kelly from day one. he's a great talent and entertainer and i am free and honest enough to admit that I, like so many else in the world, attach great value to entertainers because they us away from the daily grind of life and show us how to have fun, even if only for a few moments. I cannot sit here and pretend that i hated r. kelly or considered him a pedophile from the moment i saw his face. I cannot pretend that, even with charges looming, that I did not hope that he was not the one in the tape.

and i cannot pretend to be unhappy about the "not guilty" verdict because I have to give some credit to the jury - what did they see that we didn't? what information did they get that we didn't? But even though I am not unhappy about the verdict, I am not happy either. I am aware that a good lawyer can make the moon seem like the sun and up seem like down - and make the guilty seem innocent. So no, R. kelly is not "innocent" to me, but he is not "guilty" to me either because I honestly have no way of knowing and nothings been presented to convince me of his overwhelming guilt. As of now, I can only go by the jury's decision and the decision of a young girls family - to them, for whatever reason, he wasn't guilty either. If they aren't convinced, why should I be? I understand payoffs, etc., but there is no money in the world that would make me knowingly exploit and abuse ANY child, especially my own flesh-and-blood.

Locked with Patience (And Other Kels Supporters),

Girls make false rape accusations only 2% of the time. That's an FBI statistic. It's the same percentage as false accusations of other crime. And its inflated by the number of girls who are actually fudging certain parts of the accusation ("i didn't get in the car with him" when she did) to protect themselves from the media trollery that ensues when women confront their attackers and get called sluts....

The girl never came forward. The tape surfaced. The tape was clearly him. A video expert was brought in to give testimony that it was him. Why wouldn't she come forward you ask? She's his goddaughter--trouble enough when family gets involved. She's been paid--we know how the media/community treats rape victims who have even the SEMBLEANCE of supposedly "benefitting" from the rape. She was a CHILD--and child sexual assault victims rarely come forward because they are children, scared, freaked out, confused, and a host of other reasons on top of the usual reasons women don't come forward. This thing started as a media circus--we have grown women who don't admit rape in the most supportive of situations. And we expected her to immediately point a finger? To want her name dragged through the mud? With her godfather--oh, my bad, the King of R&B?

Girls do fudge their age (I was one of them). And maybe a 13 year old girl can fool an 18 year old. Maybe. But a 13 year old girl cannot fool a 30 year old man. A MAN knows the difference in the same way that a WOMAN of the same age knows the difference between a well developed 13 year old boy and one who is an adult. We are talking about grammar school here.

And while I think what you are saying is completely wrong and forgets that we are supposed to protect our little sisters, daughters, goddaughters and nieces from this--I know that the messed up part is that a number of folks in our neighborhoods and homes think the same.

So I'm not attacking--I'm just trying to clarify.

And I'm not surprised at the verdict for the same reason.

We need you and all those who think that way because you are our sisters, brothers, uncles, fathers, and children. We are a kind of family, after all. We need to lift as we climb.

And as pissed as I am (and as violated as I feel for myself, my sisters and my future daughter)--what are next steps? How do we make sure this conversation never has to happen again and these events--from Kelly to Bynum--never happen again?

WAOD is definitely in the vanguard of action...I appreciate that.

On the other hand......

what I consider to be the greater outrage in this whole case is the fact that there IS what appears to be an underaged girl in a video with SOMEBODY. Why was the video of an underaged girl naked & having sex with ANYONE played in OPEN, PUBLIC court to an entire audience of non-essential men and women?

They had absolutely nothing to do with the decision-making process in this case and was willingly spoon fed child pornography. Who is the judge that allowed such an outrage? That any grown men and women that could fit into the courtroom were allowed to legally watch an exploited child engaged in sex with an adult. In full, HD, video.

That is the greater outrage and concern over the treatment of Black girls, in my opinion. She was totally disrespected and further exploited. I truly don't think that an under-aged white girl involved in case as public and sensationalized would be further degraded as to be shown over and over to the public, naked and engaged in sex acts. That is sanctioning child porn.

That speaks to a problem in a court system (or at least to a judge) that obviously has no respect for Black girls and with all lawyers involved who did not work to have it barred from public display.

Too bad that in the Black community some parents do excuse the exploitation of their daughters if the girs are "getting paid." I've seen young girls who are involved with older drug dealing men. Since she brings home his dope money to the family it's OK. Half dresssed teenage girls are taken to video tryouts by their mothers. They want stardom for their daughter and any path will do.

I agree that girls are dressing and behaving more grown up than ever before. But, it's because of the PARENTS most of the time. Immature young men and women not ready to be parents can't wait to dress up their little ones as their miniature selves. That means little girls are dressing like grown women as soon as they leave diapers. The parents haven't set appropriate boundaries.

It's not only happening in the Black community though, but of course the effects of it are more profound for us. We need to stop worshipping money and regain morals and values. Many of us (not me though) spend a whole lot of time in Church, but don't have a clue how to live right.

Check out http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/940633,kellytimeline.article

This lists the many lawsuits that R. has settled out of court by girls who had sex with him while they were underaged. I'm just hoping that he won't be back up to his old tricks, since he's been acquitted.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/kelly/940633,
kellytimeline

Perhaps what's most disturbing about this story is that R. Kelly knowingly had sex with underaged girls and didn't spend a day in jail. Meanwhile, two other non-celebrity black men were arrested and convicted for being lured in by a http://andrelouis.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-i-gave-up-on-myspace.html" REL="nofollow">manipulative girl who lied about her age on MySpace.

Celebrity justice knows no limits.

I didn't see the tape. But, I'm glad that R. Kelley has not been convicted and imprisoned. I remember hearing the original accusations, and he clearly is not a celibate man or a married man who only has sex with his wife. It seems like maybe he does like to have sex with underaged girls.

So, how can I say that I'm glad he wasn't convicted and imprisoned?

Well first of all, I see that he has done community service that was not court-ordered, for example his "I believe I can fly" song that uplifted Black people and white people everywhere, and undoubtedly was sung at thousands of weddings across the United States. Community services does not erase the crime but it is a way for the offender to give something back of what he has taken. R. Kelley gives A LOT back!

There are over a million Black men in jail in the United States. Our nation has four times as many people in jail per capita as the nearest "competitor". As a perecentage of population, Black men are six times more likely to be in jail then white men.

We have some serious cultural and psychosexual behavior problems in the Black community that are mirrored in the white community. But demanding that more Black men be locked up cannot be the solution, because we already have locked up one million Black men.

If every Black man who disrespects a Black woman in a way that is unlawful is put in prison, then ALL Black men will be in prison. Is that what you want?

I congratulate you for your fight for the recognition of the harm that is done to Black women and Black families, but I ask you to look at this more as a sociologist and ask yourself how our men and our culture can be changed aside from putting more of us in prison.

When you simply demand that more Black men be put in prison, you risk accelerating a socio-political and economic force that is already denuding the Black community, and white people will be more than happy to agree with you that the only solution is for ALL Black men to be incarcerated.

Meanwhile, 10% of Black men in the United States cannot vote, because of laws that say that those who have committed crimes lose their voting privileges, sometimes forever.

To improve the condition of Black people (which obviously includes Black girls and women) in America, you have to be a revolutionary. But there's nothing revolutionary about demanding that more Black men be put in prison.

In a way, that's like demanding that more Black women be put in prison for failure to adequately feed their children and for failing to raise them in nurturing homes with Dr. Seuss books for them to read. American society is terribly screwed up, Black people are persecuted, we often behave badly (just like white people but much more vigorously punished for it) and putting more Black people in jail is no solution to these problems.

For example, the United States has more guns and gun deaths than any other country in the world, by far. Certainly many Black men are the perpetrators and victims of these killings. But who manufactures these guns, who makes them so readily available, and whose idea was it to guarantee every American's right to have and sell as many guns as he can carry in a semi-trailer?

When a man applies to participate in the state blog pool of the Democratic National Convention, only to discover that the pool is all-white and he can't get in, that leaves him very angry. Unfortunately, these kinds of insults to Black men's sense of efficacy happen every day in America, and in many cases they turn us into angry people whose sparks fly in every direction. ANd then, with police far more attentive to our misbehavior than to that of whites, we are put in prison.

We need to be at least as attentive to demanding opportunities for Black men and defending their right to participate in society as we are to demanding that they be incarcerated. Why? Because some Black women want to marry Black men, and demanding that more Black men be incarcerated (instead of other more revolutionary approaches to the problem of intra-community abuse) hurts Black women as much as it hurts Black men.

When we join together in insisting on our humanity, as Black women and as Black men, and fighting side by side as equals for our place in American society, then we create a positive alternative to the intra-community destruction that we currently see.

We are joined in this battle by necessity and by love for each Black person's potential in the Diaspora. Every solution we demand is based on a revolutionary understanding of how we must change, how our community must change and how our society must change in order to nurture instead of smother and strangle the potential that is in all of us.

"
We need to be at least as attentive to demanding opportunities for Black men and defending their right to participate in society as we are to demanding that they be incarcerated. Why? Because some Black women want to marry Black men......"

ummmm...francis....i truly think u're way off mark here. sure some black women want to marry some black men, but i doubt that any black woman will take a criminal just because he's black man. that's crazy.

hate to tell you, bro, but we aren't that desperate. black men are like any other men - some wonderful and great, some not-so-great, but don't flatter yourself. most black women don't want just anybody, especially not low-life trash like rapists and murderers, just because he's black. being with him doesn't help "the race" in any way, shape or form.

""If every Black man who disrespects a Black woman in a way that is unlawful is put in prison, then ALL Black men will be in prison. Is that what you want?""

YES, if it can be proven that they did a horrendous crime, then they need to do the time. why should i defend a victimizer and not the victim? And BTW, ALL black men won't be in prison, because ALL black men aren't criminals - are you saying that you're a criminal just because you're a black man?

Do i believe that a black man should be locked up without proof of a crime? NO, which is why in my previous comments,i can't say whether r. kelly is guilty or innocent. it's too hard to decide based on the evidence that was presented.

but if all involved, including the girl in question, had the courage to come forward and testify against kelly, then YES he should be locked up for a crime. unfortunately, that didn't happen in this case. as long as victims remain afraid to come forward, the perpetrators will remain free.

i know because i had a who was the victim of an awful crime and she refused to hide and remain silent. she showed up in court and testified against this demon - and yes, he was a black man. and yes, he deserved to be thrown UNDER the jail for his crime. did it happen? no, but at least she proved that she was not afraid of him and not afraid to seek justice.

because the girl in the r. kelly case didn't feel the same way, the world will never know the truth.

I was disgusted when I found out he was acquitted.

DISGUSTED.

You know, perhaps if RKelly had started to date a white woman before the case came up, the verdict might have gone differently.

It seems this would be the only way black women are able to spot out and demonize an 'anti black female' black male. We can't seem to spot the other black male predators who dwell amongst us, do more harm, and hate us the same.

About Francis Holland:

Black men are not so precious that the bar for their behavior should be lowered to that of a feral animal in order for them to be preserved.

If 100% of black men decide to become predators, then YES, they should be allowed to go extinct.

I am actually glad that you were clueless enough in your worship of black men to spout your insanity, because it drives more black women who might have any sense away from the false task of "saving" predators.

I will agree with you: I do not believe that R Kelly should have gotten jail for corrupting a minor by sexually abusing her. He should have gotten death or castration.

My heart is heavy. The comments about the girl "wanting it" and the way these girls are today etc. That just hurts my heart. Think about it folks... at that age why is this young girl so into sexual acts. What has happened in her life to put her in this situation. Ignorance, potentially poverty, a blatant disregard for feminine energy across the board. This "grown ass man" should know better. He has two daughters himself. What is he teaching them? We need more empowerment for these young women to help build their self worth and self esteem once they grow up if they are interested in older men who like to give golden showers then so be it. Can we first give them a forum in which to arrange their thoughts about the world before they are peed on?

Not guilty does not mean that R. Kelly is innocent. The question for the jury was basically "was that R. Kelly in the videos?". Just because they did not believe that was him in the video does not mean that this man has not molested and videotaped other young girls. Maybe I worked in the schools and with young people too long, but I can tell the differnce between someone of high school age and someone over 18. It's in the way they act, their level of sophistication. I may be able to believe someone mistaking a 16 year old for an 18 year old but a 13 year old?

I read the timeline in the Sun-Times. R. Kelly has paid off several women. Florida officials had pictures of him with young girls, but the courts ruled there was not enough probable cause to warrant the search of his vacation home so the evidence was thrown out. How many times do you pay someone off, if you are not guilty? Where there is smoke there's fire.

I know people who have seen the tape and they all say it is R. Kelly in the video. I am not surprised by the verdict black and white America can not believe that their "stars" can do any harm.

Actually, the accounts in Chicago say the jurors did believe the man in the tape was R. Kelly. But they couldn't be sure that the underaged girl in the tape was the alleged victim. That was enough doubt to let him off. So what you have is a faulty verdict, where the jurors knew they were letting a guilty man go but could do nothing about it.

As I wrote in my post on this subject, I believe it was Kelly in the tape and i also believe that there was an underaged girl in the tape. I saw the video and it damn sure looked like him to me. Everyone has known for a very long time about Kelly and his illegal actions with young girls - that has never been a secret. But since I didn't follow the trial nor was I on the jury, I was very sure that he would be found guilty.

Having said that - and having recently served as a juror in a rape case - I can tell you that it is the Prosecution's job to prove the defendent guilty and not the other way around. And as a juror - if you take your responsibility seriously - you come up with a verdict based solely and only on the evidence. PERIOD!!!

My disgust, disbelief, surprise, etc. is not with the jury's verdict - but with the Prosecuters of this case who obviously did not provide the evidence necessary to convict beyond a shadow of a doubt. They had 6 years to prepare for this case! 6 YEARS! In this case, the Chicago DA's office should and must be held accountable - not the jurors - and definetly not Kelly's victim or victims. Believe me the DA's pockets run as deep as those high priced lawyers - particularly in cases involving so called celebrities.

As for Kelly? Well he'll get his. I just hope the NAACP doesn't decide to give him another Image Award before he does.

SjP

OMG! OMG! Did the girl (victim) testify that it was NOT her in the video? I am just curious, because you don't need her testimony to apply a guilty verdict. THIS IS CRAZY!! To all the supporters: however much you have tried to explain yourself, I still don't understand you. I also can’t respond to you without being lengthy (and I got something else to address). But, I will say, you MUST reassess your values. The bottom line is there ARE TOO MANY supporters of R.Kelly, and then people wonder why things are the way they are in the “bc”. Unlike, the angry independent, I will never claim that I don’t want to be black (contrary to what other people think), but I do feel for bp and how misguided they have become.

Although, black people are not the only ones selling their children into child sex slavery, I have to point out that this phenomenon mostly happens in third world countries, with little to no law on the matter. The people are starving and desperate. They can't afford the children they have, much less to provide for themselves.

Although black people are on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in the US, for the most part, we are nowhere near the type of desperation and situation that these 3rd world societies are in. We have laws here, even if they don’t seem to protect us (we have to show that we want that protection). 3rd world mentalities seem to plague bp, even in today’s society. BP have got to pull themselves into a stance of better values, because we have everything we need to live better lives, available to us right here.

Someone mentioned that we need another method, than just throwing bm in jail. I think that is a ludicrous assertion. Not that we should throw all bm in jail, but we should NEVER excuse the crime of a bm, simple because he is black. As someone said above, if 100% of bm commit a jailable crime, then 100% should got to jail. We shouldn’t excuse crime for ANY reason. That mentality is part of the downfall of the “bc”. If you want to help these men, then hold them accountable for their actions, raise your children better (not by saying these young girls are too fast nowadays, but by actually loving and caring for them), show the youth healthy families and lifestyles. Men, stop encouraging other men, to be “playas”. Stop holding on to values of disregard for bw, and then TEACHING THOSE VALUES TO YOUNG BOYS. It is 2008, and we is free. BM don’t have to be breeding “bucks” anymore, and can actually start being good men and providers, and have more to offer than sexual prowess. BW start assessing men based on how they will provide for you and a family, and stop thinking that any man will do or that you only deserve scraps. BW stop believing you can save the grown bm, because he MUST save himself, and that is a burden you can not bear.

Stop expecting governments, school systems or celebrities to raise your children, and accept that it is 150% your responsibility. Stop measuring yourself against white people, and start asking yourself, what kind of life YOU want. WP don’t know everything (I KNOW I AM NOT INFERIOR), they just fumbled onto something good, not perfect, which is slowly eroding away. With everything we know and have available to us, we need to CREATE something good. We have no excuse.

People want to be “fair” and continuously chastise bw for their role in the family breakdown, but I think that is a mistake. BW can’t MAKE bm love or respect them (which is probably something some bw fail to realize). BM have to decide that for themselves. Some bw are doing the only thing they can to survive in a society with clear rules, where the men have discarded us. We have put on the armor that bm have shed, and to ask us to shed it BEFORE bm have decided we are worth something, is asking a lamb to go willingly to slaughter. And as we have seen, our women get slaughtered everyday. It is ultimately the men who must lead, and the women will follow. Without the men, the women are on their own, and must begin to focus on their own survival. The women must carry the burden, of protecting themselves. I say this, b/c men are our protectorates, and women are their support (and everything really), at least in regards to family. When men love and honor their women (AND CHILDREN), everything else falls into place. When they don’t, the relationships become parasitic. Women (BW) become resentful and angered, and filled with a rage and burden that is VERY unhealthy for women. Making it impossible for them to nurture anyone, and more than capable of destroying spirits, since women are the key to healthy souls. Men (BM) lose their sense of purpose and direction, and regress to primitive displays of male aggression. Ironically, that doesn’t prevent men or women from becoming successful in capitalism or education (although it can make the process seem meaningless), so it is not just the “thug” who can harbor these characteristics.

Ask yourselves, why it is that when countries become destabilized one of the first things to happen is violence against women. Our girls are delicate flowers to be protected. Our boys are naive, vibrant souls, hungry for guidance. We have forsaken our women to protect our men, and have bred a society of childish men and grown girls. Stop lamenting over the symptoms, and start healing the ailments. Remember phrases like the ones below, b/c bp are sorely lacking these fundamentals.

“The best gift you can give to your child is to love their mother.”
“The measure of a great society is how they treat their women.”

Just because some Black people are apologists, deniers and excusers does not mean they speak for the majority. I hope that all them get to personally experience a similar circumstance from the perspective of the victim. He was 27 when he illegally married the 15 year old Aaliyah so I doubt his behavior started with her and it certainly hasn't stopped. There is a nice warm spot in hell waiting for him. It didn't help the prosecution when the young woman in question denied it was her and refused to testify. It was also hard to charge him with a host of other violations because when the police didn't execute a proper search warrant. Just because there are some men in prison who might otherwise have been diverted does not justify denying appropriate punishment to those that commit crimes. This blog is about protecting Black women and children not excusing, denying or minimizing those that do harm to them.

Kells will get the karma in return.
TRUST!

Sisters we simply cannot afford to wait for the world to validate and protect us. We've got to arm ourselves with spiritual clairvoyance, truth, and love...and we've got to pass this on to whomever is open to it.

Well I can't take either side in this argument - I haven't seen, nor do I have interest in seeing, the tape in question. But I wonder how many people here defending R. Kelly are ready to defend Michael Jackson's exploits as well? Perhaps the difference is that those boys aren't thought of as "fast" or "asking for it." Perhaps it's black homophobia. I don't know, but I have a feeling that if a tape came out that showed someone who looked a lot like Michael Jackson performing the same acts with one of those 13-year-old boys he's so fond of, black folks would be setting copies of Thriller on fire across the country.

I am not at all surprised at this verdict (just as I wasn't surprised about OJ), money in the right hands can do wonders just as money in the wrong hands can do monstrous things! I am disgusted with him, her and her family, the "justice system" and all the people who are blaming the girl and are all too ready to pat him on his back!
I truly believe that Chester Molester is guilty and there isn't much anyone can say to change my opinion. He is know for this sort of behavior and has settled tons of these same sort of cases out of court, doesn't that mean anything? If it is not her there is surly some under age girl on that tape with some old behind fool making it rain on her!
I blame the molester and I also blame society who is telling these girls that it is OK to be a video hoe, or that is ok to shake you behind for money, or that this is what you have to do to get anywhere in life. I blame BET, MTV, reality TV, etc. I blame the lack of good, strong, moral, parents, I blame the lack of good, strong, upstanding role models...
i am saddened...but not surprised.

Why surprised? Get use to it, or do you not pay attention to what is going on in Kenya? That is our future here...

http://www.ushahidi.com/
update coverage on the situation in Kenya,

where Odinga [OO] has signed an Agreement to HAVE SHARIA [STRICT] IN EVERY SINGLE PLACE IN KENYA–only 10% Muslim but it has been signed, FOR EVERY SINGLE WOMAN,GIRL, no matter what their faith, [Odinga once supported by Soviets now in bed with woman haters bigtime]

see the signed document for your self:

https://secure.wikileaks.org/leak/MOU_between_Ralia_Odinga_and_Muslims.pdf

Odinga, and who supports him [in a MAJOR WAY....]

none other than Obama himself—

rapes on the rise in Nairobi and another place, there is a site–with Daily updates on the violence there–the future Congo, the future Rwanda,

but, more like the present and future SUDAN.

and This, is what, we are paving the way for here….

so, What about your Daughters?

WAMI
Women Against Misogynist Imperialism

Yes, I think he's guilty as sin and a pedophile and has been for years. But the fact is that it was not a good case. When the alleged victim says she wasn't in the video and the alleged criminal says he wasn't in the video and other witnesses give different stories every time they're interviewed, a rich guy with good lawyers are going to walk.

And those who want to use R. Kelly as representative of black men, or as rationale for hating black culture, you get no co-signing from me. Black culture encompasses too much good, and too many good black people, including black men, for me to go along with that. Blessings.

Kismet,

I am not a kelly "supporter". THe only thing that I said was that because I have not been presented with the evidence, so i can examine it individually, I am going to refrain from calling him a rapist.

If you want to know the truth, that is what is wrong with the black commmunity. Us not wanting to examine the situation! Instead we take people's word for it and run.

Also I didn't mean to say that women lie about being rape (though there are cases). I meant to say that there are girls who lie about their age and portray themselves as older than what they really are.

Also concernign statutory rape, I too find it hard for a 30 year old to beleive that a 13 year old was a grown woman. BUT those aren't teh only cases of statutory rape. What do we do about 16 and 17 year old girls who lies to 20 year olds? Are we really calling a 20 year old a pedophile for sleeping with a 17 year old? Do you believe that nothing should happen to the 16 and 17 year old for their lies? We're not suppose to punish "victims".

Condemn me all you want and tell me something is wrong with me. I'm not some dumb black chick who is going to allow anyone to bully me into believing what they believe, all because I ask for evidence and until then hold out from giving my own verdict in such sensitive cases.

Angry Independent,

The "Black Community" turned me into a Shelby Steele before I even knew of Shelby Steele. I can't stand most black people and the comments Gina posted on the front page as well as the general attitude of the "black community" are the reasons why. I'm not even 40 years old yet either.

"I can't stand most black people and the comments Gina posted on the front page as well as the general attitude of the "black community" are the reasons why."

To badblackitty:

If you hate "black culture" or the "black community" just because you're in disagreement with the political opinions of some, then you show how ignorant and pathetic you are and the black race is better off without you anyway. we don't need you and noone is begging you to stick around.

You can either look at the issues and give an intelligent opinion, or shutup and get out with your racist hate. thx!

Hey Lena...

LMAO!!!! I'm not excusing bad behavior, as I'm sure you have your entire life. I don't have any racist hate and the mess you are talking about is not black culture. R. Kelly is a bottom feeder and his ilk has taken over black culture. If you want to call disgusting rappers, R. Kelly and other crass, uneducated behavior black culture, be my guest but, I don't have to go along with it. I will not be silenced by the likes of you. I do not hate black culture, I HATE what passes as black culture and I hate when blacks like you come down on me for speaking MY truth. I detest most black people because they have the same attitude you have. If you don't want to hear it, ignore my post. Be gone! Go listen to DMX, Kelly and Jay-z and keep your trap shut where I'm concerned.

"I don't have any racist hate and the mess you are talking about is not black culture. R. Kelly is a bottom feeder and his ilk has taken
over black culture."

Obviously, you didn't say this in your first post. You said that "you can’t stand most black people". You are a racist idiot and it’s obvious from what you have posted thus far.

"you want to call disgusting rappers, R. Kelly and other crass, uneducated behavior black culture, be my guest"

I didn't say this and have never said this. Learn to read, dimwit.

Obviously, since you hate uneducated black culture, you should detest yourself because your attitude is horrible and the epitome of "uneducated behavior".
It is foul-mouthed, low-life scum such as yourself that help to promote stereotypes about black people and black women in general.
You're a black racist self-hater through and through, and it's obvious.
Calm down psycho. Take your meds. I know you have the IQ of a peanut. There’s no need to advertise it.

SETTLE DOWN! SETTLE DOWN! Folks review comment rules number 1 and number 2. We got too many battles to fight to cannibalize each other up in the comments thread.

You don't any of the people up in this thread. They don't pay any of your bills. You won't melt into a puddle if people throw cyber hateraid on you.

So take a deep breath and direct your ire where it belongs.

And y'all were dong so well this weekend all on your own. We almost made it to Monday!

its the responses of our folks that shocked me. I knew he would walk since it took 6 years to come to trial. but i am shocked at people's responses.

The people that are glad of Kelly's acquittal are the intellectual and philosophical kinfolk of the dummies who still believe tha OJ Simpson didn't commit a double murder those many years ago.

What kills me is that in the same week R. Kelly got acquitted, a white male pornographer named Max Hardcore got busted for similar sexual acts which were also videotaped. The only legal difference is that Max Hardcore's actresses were paid, adult, and consenting. For whatever you may feel about those particular sexual acts (I personally find them degrading, but it's not my kink to diss), it is still generally recognized that a minor cannot legally consent to a sexual act with an adult.

The message that comes off of this, weirdly enough, is that black men aren't held to the same standards, and perhaps are expected to treat women and girls like crap.

It makes me sick to my heart because, yeah, there are a LOT of black men in jail, and for stupid stuff that white people get away with all the time. But this was not something that should be counted among those examples of black men being jailed/tried unjustly.

Here's the link to the news account I spoke about earlier:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=8347956

I agree with fictional eyes. This is a sad day for bw.

Brother OMi, I'm not surprised at the responses at all. That is a sad fact but I expected them.

@fictional eyes - I said the same thing to one of my girlfriends not to long ago (before the verdict), about differing standards. I told her that when we condone these types of behaviors in bm, we are basically agreeing that bm are subhuman and incapable of controlling themselves.

Notice, Vick messed with PETA and they had to shut him down. Snipes messed with the gub't's money and they said, HELL NO! But kels messed with a little black girl...numerous black girls...he has a damn reputation!!! We have laws that indicate this as a crime, yet this fella did no time, is still being celebrated by numerous knuckleheads, paid no price...ok, maybe he paid a few dollars here and there, obviously. I just wonder how much young black...ok, I will refrain, but that's really what it comes down to.

This is why starting something new is much better than infiltrating the old establishments. All of the old heads of every community have a clear relationship with each other.