We're the Ones That Are "Strung Out" On Cruelty: Why Maia Campbell is Not Entertainment

Yesterday after recovering from the shock that Tyler Perry is going to adapt "For Colored Girls ", I noticed that the name Maia Campbell was a trending topic on Twitter. That was odd because Black folks rarely make it onto trending topics for anything good.  Second, Maia Campbell really isn't a "celebrity" anymore.  For those who don't know Maia Campbell is the daughter of Bebe Moore Campbell

This is what some folks were saying on Twitter. You should be able to click on the links and go to their pages and leave them kind words.

jveasy23 Maia Campbell = Sad Story damn.... Crack is no joke

THEHOUSTON Poor Maia Campbell she's like a crackhead now I remember the show with ll cool j.

ANDYAPPLESEED1 MAIA CAMPBELL FROM (ALL IN THE HOUSE TV SHOW) SINGING BUTT AZZ NAKED FOR CRACK

amourmonet oh ! now i can watch this Maia Campbell video... lol

MissMera @WarchildSeven Maia Campbell is on crack. Just like Whitney use to be.

Bobbyxl13 What the f*ck did that crack h%$ maia campbell mean by calling that man an "anti horny ass nigga" ?.lmao. He couldn't get it up or what?lol

crissycrys This is why crack is wack... Damn Maia Campbell fell off. Sad. http://bit.ly/C2Djm

MsPrettyKrissy Maia Campbell... damn perfect example how u can go from sumthin to nuthin.. she was soo poppin n now this...

Urban_Elegance so I just saw the Maia Campbell thing... Im just sad actually. I mean she was talking about getting beat by her dude, that aint funny

Its not just the knuckleheads on Twitter, but Star Jones Reynolds joined in the fray.

StarJonesEsq DRUGS ARE THE DEATH OF US>RT @blckburn: have you heard about Maia Campbell & her mental illness issue& this video that's circulating

I couldn't watch the whole video. I fast forwarded to the end.  It was too painful, but it broke my heart at the end when the man got in the car and was shoving her and she said she was about to be beaten.


In the sea of insanity Robin Caldwell of Black Web 2.o did what she could to counter the mass display of cruelty in reveling about documenting this woman being sexually exploited and brutalized.

Today I looked in the trending topics on Twitter and saw a familiar name, Maia Campbell, the sweet faced, beautifully locked girl from L.L. Cool J’s TV sitcom, In the House. I read hundreds of tweets but only found one kind post asking that folks stop making fun of her and pray instead. I then saw a post containing the link to a video featuring Maia on Youtube.com. I watched as much as possible and decided to tweet what I knew. Maia is schizophrenic; a fact that brought her late mother Bebe Moore Campbell and her father and step-father much anguish. Maia is a schizophrenic who won’t take her meds. Maia is a schizophrenic and unfortunately, she also has the honor of being a Twitter trending topic and #1 on Google Trends.

The number one hit with Maia’s name is a gossip blog and about 30 comments in on a line chain of comments is the one that states she is a schizophrenic.

This is why I care. My aunt was schizophrenic. She suffered through a partial lobotomy in the 60s, countless visits in and out of mental hospitals, and there were suicide attempts. Last year, Aunt Alice died at the age of 83. She was like a child; her brain locked in an infantile state partially due to the cocktail of drugs she took for the schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Black Web 2.0

In addition, Robin dropped some stats that ought to make you all sit up and take notice like the fact that we are  200% higher risk for schizophrenia:

African Americans have 200% higher risk of schizophrenia than Caucasian Americans

Organized Wisdom: African Americans and Schizophrenia

PAARTNERS: Project among African Americans to Explore Risks for Schizophrenia

Why is the commentary about crack whores and not the men  (and women ) who prey on them. Why aren't people condemning the people who grabbed a camera and filmed this making various comments in regards to the sexual favors they wanted her to perform on them?

I won't be linking to the video, you can find it easy enough online. Its disturbing and You probably won't be able to watch it all. Everyone was focused on watching Maia, I actually was focused on the person filming it and the "man" getting into the car with her. May they both find their way on a one-way gondola ride to hell in gasoline pants.

Comments

[Monica]

Thank you for posting this commentary. I saw this of YBF and I was horrified. Not only did the comments bother me, but the fact that the website owner, Natasha, felt that it was an appropriate item to post. There's nothing funny a person with mental illness self medicating but they are not capable of seeking the help they need.

I really wanted to go to LA or wherever this was shot and beat the hell out of the young man who was holding the camera. He's the problem and I hope he becomes infected with a skin eating virus.

[iman]

I remember there was a video circulating of her years ago, naked and singing or something. I didn't realize there were other videos. I never understood why people make fun of those who are strung out on drugs in our community. It's not funny, it SAD. The people who prey on these individuals are pariahs. We need to pray for her and everyone else in her predicament. Hopefully someone who cares about her will see this video and try to intervene--if they haven't already. It's disgusting how cruel we can be sometimes. We've become a nation of people who find joy in other people's despair. How can you take pleasure in seeing a young woman strung out and being treated like that?

Also, mental illness is real. It's a disease like cancer or anything else. We need to start treating mental illness more seriously and have some compassion for people. She could be anyone daughter.

[blkchik]

is this what folks talk about on Twitter? I see I am not missing anything by not having an account

[edub]

The most heart-wrenching parts of this video is that she's keenly aware of what is happening to her but she is powerless to stop it, any of it--the exploitation, the true intents of the person filming, that she DOES have issues, that she will be beaten when she gets home, and that her only support is not there anymore. When she talks about her mother, that part rips my heart out. She is still grieving for her mother.

[Regina Neequaye]

We need to find out who these goons are and have them prosecuted. There is nothing funny about mental illness. It sickens me to think these ignorant bastards would go so far and record this ish. I am calling the LAPD right now. I will let you know what they say.

[Regina Neequaye]

http://da.co.la.ca.us/feedback.htm#phone

Here is a link to the LAPD. It is agains the law to exploit mentally ill people. I figure if everyone submit a complaint then maybe they can get her some help or at the very least find the evil bastards that are exploiting her.

[OpinionatedCami]

Thank you for saying something about this. I saw the story and videos on mediatakeout and commented on the idiots thinking that these videos were entertaining. I did not know that she was schizophrenic, but it makes sense, so shame on me for assuming that it must that she was under the influence of drugs (crack etc.) I did however make a similar plea for prayers for her because she is obviously in need of some help. And your disgust with the people who shot the videos is certainly mirrored by my disgust.

[Faith]

There was a lot of discussion from some of us about why we did not need to watch the video or make fun of her and other's attempt at tracking Maia down. It was bad but again if she won't take her meds with ALL the people who are willing to help her (i.e. famous ppl with money as well as her family) what can you do. She has children as well. Of course when something "black" trends on Twitter it means it's something highly dysfunctional (actually typical for the collective) that is happening. Like Chris Brown. And people were making jokes about his bowtie. Which trended - not about the ABUSE he heaped on another human being but the a piece of clothing!! Between Roxanne Shante being exposed as a liar, Perry's future hatchet job of a CLASSIC and this poor woman's plight being filmed for ENTERTAINMENT you'd think black people would be hanging their heads in shame at how utterly RIDICULOUS we look to the outside world for wallowing in this mess....but no it's just business as usual.

[LaJane Galt]

I saw this. I couldn't watch but 2 minutes of it.

Even one of my favorite gossip blogs got serious.

In all honesty, my hope is that those guys get shot. I know it is wrong to wish death, but this time I'm going to make an exception.

I feel so bad that the old school type of institutionalization would be better for her than this.

[LaJane Galt]

Thanks Regina, will do. I bet she's been taken across state lines, maybe we can make this federal?

[Monica]

I'm glad there is a means to inform the authorities of this type of exploitation. Reporting those guys would be more productive than putting a root on them.

[BLKSeaGoat]

This is sad, but not uncommon. Most people with serious mental illnesses like Bi-Polar DO, Shizoprenia, and SchizoAffective DO, don't take their meds regularly or consistently because cleaving to their mania is the preferred mental state.

Having said that, she should have been institutionalized a while ago. Howver, forcing people to get treatment isn't ethical because they have the right to refuse. The jackassess that filmed this, as well as her "boyfriend" should have their asses kicked.

[Monie]

I read Bebe Moore Campbell's book '72 Hour Hold' which is about Maia's struggle with mental illness as well as her family's struggle. It was a heartbreaking book.

So when I began to hear about this vid of Maia I knew it wasn't going to be good and that people were not going to know the context of her behavior. Hopefully people will use this as a chance to learn about mental illness.

[BlackButterfly]

I saw this information on a blog and I must say that I was disgusted that this video was posted, most especially on black sites, but I can't say that I am surprised that it was posted because this world is more and more depressingly voyeuristic everyday. To see that "person" filming her in that state and to read some of the comments made by people let's me know that their soul's left their bodies without them taking their last breath. It is cruel that people would use mental illness that exists at such a high rate in the black community as gossip rather than a call to action!

[LD]

Saw the video. Those guys should be locked in cages and castrated. ...the dude filming kept talking about suck his d**k!!! Thug goons are some real closet cowards!!!!

[gem2001]

@faith I canot control whether Maia takes her meds. We can however control those who seek to exploit her while she is not. One has NOTHING to do with the other.

There are no easy answers, but one thing I know is that the answer to exploitation of the most vulnerable among us is often the jack booted foot of guvment.

I called the governor's office but apparently today was FURLOUGH Friday.

Keep me posted for those who made contact with the LAPD.

if you are particularly incensed, please submit an editorial to the LA Times in my stead as I am furuously working on another writing deadline.

[cinco]

No excuses! I've worked in mental health for years. I've also done work with victims of DV. We all may be 'normal' today and 'crazy' tomorrow . The line seperating the two is not that long. Perhaps we can't help. Her but if any readers/commentators know the 2 male losers, do the right thing with your priviledged info...

[Keli]

It's about more than drugs...she has a mental illness. I have an uncle that is schizophrenic, and he goes off on rants just like that. Yes people can be cruel, but many people were pouring out heartfelt sentiments praying that she gets better... just seems know one wants to focus on that.

And how many of us laugh at Frankie?

[Ebony Intutiion]

I really hope she is able to get some help very soon before things get any worse, and people should be ashamed of themselves for laughing at her and exploiting her on camera.

[Jazz Devotee]

I read Bebe Moore Cambell's book 72 Hour Hold also and I agree with Monie that it was a heart breaking story. The fact that you are so helpless to help your own child who is living in a world that does not exist.

I am very angry. The fact that these "black men" felt it was OK to exploit this black woman is beyond horrible. I am tired of the excuses the church, NAACP, black politicians, black entertainers, and of course the black talking heads on television make for the sub human behavior of so many black men.

These men will confront a police officer who has a gun, a badge that says he has a right to kill you with the gun, and a radio to call more people with guns and badges. Yet they will not protect a black woman from herself. At some point wrong is just wrong. I for one wish they suffer far worse than has fallen on this young lady.

I hope she gets the mental help she needs. That will be hard in LA because the mind set of the people there is so backwards and uninformed.

Seeing that video makes Ms. Cambells book all the more real. Imagine fighting cancer and trying to save your daughter. Image the terrible fear not of death it self but knowing that you are dying and will not be there to protect your child, your baby girl.

I am sorry for the rambling. I am just so hurt by the video. I need to use this to motivate myself to do more for those I can help.

[Shante05]

SMH

http://www.skinnydipp.com/?p=231

[E]

"Between Roxanne Shante being exposed as a liar, Perry’s future hatchet job of a CLASSIC and this poor woman’s plight being filmed for ENTERTAINMENT you’d think black people would be hanging their heads in shame at how utterly RIDICULOUS we look to the outside world for wallowing in this mess….but no it’s just business as usual."

Yup, I afraid a very high % of black folks have simply lost their damn minds. What the hell happened to us? We used to be a strong people, but this stuff now is just an unhealthy mess. I am not surprised at the contempt folks are showing for Maia Campbell. Just par for the course for treatment of black women in the collective. Black women are not allowed to show human weakness and get sympathy or help (Whitney, Lauryn). That is reserved for black men, who get support even when they are wrong (OJ, R Kelly, Steve McNair, the idiot college football player who punched an opponent, Chris Brown, Mike Tyson). Al and Jesse never rush to support a black woman unless she has been wronged by a white man (Duke lacrosse case) and they can milk the issue in some way. I am not sure many black folks care how we appear to the outside because they never leave all-black constructs mentally or physically to take a look at how we are viewed by outsiders.

[wannatwinkie]

Thanks for posting this. I'll pray for her and others like her. as for those exploiting the situation and doing nothing the burning in hell w/ gasoline pants works for me.

I'll also explore the link for AA's and mental illness...

[Ewanda4299]

I watched some of the video and felt really sad for this young lady. As a medical case manager I have worked with many people with schizophrenia so I know the the pain that disease can cause for the person who has the condition and their loved ones. Yes Maia has to want help but there is something that all of us can do. We can encourage those who have the disease to get help, to support the family and work to end the stigma the people of color have regarding mentill illness.

[Ana]

Thanks for posting this information.
I sent a complaint to the LAPD.

Saludos,
Ana

Saludos,
Ana

[PeaceNLove]

I am glad that there is outrage over the idiots who filmed Maia. As I watched the few minutes of the video that I could actually get through, I felt sorrow for Maia as I could see that she is in a struggle for her mental and physical health. But many of us are. More than sorrow for Maia, I was OUTRAGED by the cruel and inhumane behavior of the thugs who provoked, laughed, and recorded Maia with (it seems) the intention of posting the video for the amusement of others. The fact that Maia was last seen in a car with a man who she knows will beat her just sickens me. I pray for her recovery, her safety, and I can only hope that the barbarians recording the incident will one day find the shoe on the other foot.

[Delphine Blue]

PeaceNLove said: The fact that Maia was last seen in a car with a man who she knows will beat her just sickens me.

It's so chilling that the only time she seemed aware of what's going on is her stating she will be abused later. That savage getting in her face, all offended because of the comment about his mother-He probably would never approach another man like that, but intimidating a helpless, mentally ill woman probably made his dyck hard. Please excuse my vulgarity but the chronic abuse of women in our communities by these clowns makes me livid.

[sky]

This has made me sick to my stomach. I had no idea that Maia Campbell was on drugs until now. I thought all this time she had gotten married, had kids, and just stayed low from the shining lights of hollywood. I had no clue it was this bad. Like everyone else I was more outraged of the people of video tapped her and tried to make her out to look stupid and walking trash. I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I just got angier and angier. I just hope that someone out there who knows and cares well enough for her will go out of their to way to help her. Please believe they would NEVER let someone like Linsay Lohan/Tara Reid stoop this low, they would have intervened a long time ago, no matter how many times they walk into a rehab. This is just disgusting!

[BLKSeaGoat]

Um... sky,

Lindsay Lohan ran her Mercedes into a tree, nearly killed herself and others, and was forced by a court to go to rehab. Tara Reid has a few sex tapes , didn't notice she exposed herself during a red carpet moment, and has be branded a slut by MSM. It's happened...

oNE MORE THING... Maia IS NOT on drugs... she is severely mentally ill.

[Bee]

Thank you for the information on blacks and Schizoprenia. I had no idea. I do know however that we as a group are often reluctant to seek mental health assistance when needed. There is nothing wrong with going down in prayer for someone's issues but why don't we also believe that prayer might be leading one to seek conseling or treatment? We don't hesitate to seek medical help for physical ailments. Don't hesitate to take care of your mental health as well.

[amarillo]

Pitiful. Just pitiful that those so-called men would use that poor girl like that, and laugh about it. Just pitiful.

[Spinster]

Yep, saw Ms. Caldwell's response on Black Snob. What a shame that she (and WAOD) was the only one who came out sane in the sea of insanity.

And can someone find the scumbag who thought it was cool to videotape her (mental) demise and send him to prison? :-| What a fucking dirtbag.

[BritishBlackMan]

I'm not even American and didn't know who Maia was till I visited this blog. You were right - I couldn't watch it. What I saw distressed me and I consider myself a man who's seen it all. In the clips I saw, these so-called men were visibly and audibly amused at Maia's predicament. It's terrifying to imagine what's happening to her right now. Why hasn't the state taken her into custody?

There's a failure somewhere down the line to produce enough men who have decency and morals because not one of the people present said: "this is wrong" and stepped in to pull her away from those scumbags and save her from that calamity. Not only did they film a mentally ill woman singing naked, they also went to the lengths of uploading it for the whole world to see. None of them stopped and thought: we're exploiting someone from our own race who is vulnerable, not within her faculties and needs help. They're laughing and grinning on camera - I hope the footage is clear enough for arrests to be made.

You have to question what kinds of men are being created and brought up in our race who have no qualms about pimping and brutalising a troubled woman. Those guys are son's of mothers, somewhere and what did they teach their boys about treating females? It raises serious issues about the values of their parents (or the lack of) and what they instilled in these "men" to even do that in the first place. Do they not have mothers, sisters, nieces, aunts etc? Would they want this treatment meted out to them?

This is exactly what Malcolm lamented about, the dereliction of responsibility by Black men. Where are all the men she's known or dated in her life to come in and put an end to this? Does she have no brothers, uncles or male cousins? Crucially, where is what should be the prime man in her life, her father? She needs him desperately to protect her as a dad should. In no way is this a tirade against US Black males because I witness similar behaviour over here in the UK and that's frightening.

Sorry for the long comment, but this just made me so angry and sickened. Whoever knows those people in the clips, do the right thing...