I’m anti-mainstream media practices  but this is extreme!

James L. Lee, 43, expressed his rage against Discovery Channel’s programming by showing up armed and taking three hostages. I’m sure he got the attention the he was seeking, but not the results – he was shot by policemen on the scene. This was not his first action against the media company. According to Associated Press, Lee protested outside the company and charged with disorderly conduct in 2008.

Now, this is action! I’m not mad at Lee’s courage for standing up for what he believes in. I am a little disturbed by his method of handling the situation was a bit off. Everyone escaped safely, which is a blessing, but there are more civilized ways to get your point across.

What do you think of Lee’s actions? What could he had done differently?

When I watch TV, I rarely see black men fighting for their children.  Since my TV viewing is limited, I can only speak on the court shows, talk shows  and other shows I used to watch.

The portrayals I found were:

1. Court shows are full of mothers suing fathers  for nonpayment of child support.
2. The father either doesn’t work or is a street hustler and pays when he can or not at all.
3. Maury Povich…I have no words.

The bad thing is, black men as a group are judged as deadbeat dads based on the images of the few ignorant people shown on TV.  It’s not fair, but that’s life.

TVs and movies rarely show RESPONSIBLE black fathers as the primary caregivers of their children (Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith is an exception).  They also rarely show how mothers intentionally do things to keep their children away from fathers who are willing to provide and care for their babies.  They choose to highlight the negative.

Well, I would like to commend two of my friends who have spent countless hours in court and loads of money fighting for their children.  I have much love and respect for both because I personally know their struggles.  Allow me to introduce Demond Fagan and Leon Green (Charles) .

Demond has gone through his challenges with few complaints.  There were trying times, but through it all, he only complained about the situation.  He has missed work; left early and arrived late to get custody of his children.  Even when he thought it was over, he was back there again.  I’m pleased to report that he was victorious, and he has emotional bumps and bruises as well as a huge bill from his lawyer as proof, but he is a happy father with his babies.

Charles is still going through drama, but he refuses to back down.  He always says, “I want my kids,” and he’s doing what he can to get them.  He loves his boys, but their mother is scandalous. She’ll make plans for the boys when Charles have scheduled to pick them up.  She took away the oldest son’s phone so he couldn’t speak with his dad. It’s a trick.  But, Charles is being a responsible man by putting up with the mess.  He has even more fight because of his challenges with his daughter.

I just had to share Demond and Charles’ stories because I know they would probably never be seen on TV as they do not fit the deadbeat dad images shown on TV and in movies.  And, they are truly exceptional on so many levels.

Media sources thrive on stereotypes and inaccurate portrayals.  I feel that the media sends out negative images and messages to viewers about African Americans.  Thus, following are reasons why I think watching TV and movies is bad for Black people and the people who believe what they see.

1. They tell black people how to think, live and act
2. They tell black people what to buy
3. They teach black people how to hate themselves
4. They tell black people that they are not important
5. They show that black people are only good at entertainment, sports and comedy
6. They show black people more as sexual objects and not intelligent beings
7. The show that black is not beautiful
8. They do not show images of healthy black families
9. They show single mothers struggling and on welfare
10. The lack of black actresses in leading roles in large Hollywood films says that they are not worthy of the position
11. Black people are typically portrayed as gun-toting criminals
12. They show black people in lower paying jobs instead of executives and professionals
13. Black actresses are not good enough to star in movies with leading black male actors
14. They show many black youngsters in gangs
15. They rarely show successful black people with successful black mates
16. They rarely show leading black actors in films

That’s all I came up with.  What else can you think of?

While conducting research on Michael Vick’s latest act of judgment, or the lack thereof, I found topics of news stories contradictory in nature.

First, there were reports that the NFL is going to punish him for the results of his latest party.  Then, there were the stories of why he should be in Philadelphia.  All of the reports I read were written between July 1st and July 18th.

What are these contradictory reports saying to the young people keeping up with Vick’s stories?  In my opinion, it’s telling them that it’s OK for athletes to get into trouble because they are probably still going to have a job anyway.  Nice paying jobs.  And,they can pay their way out of trouble.

Hell, what is it saying to Vick?  This dude has already been in trouble, served his time, and is wrapped up in mess again.

I have three thoughts or questions about Mr. Vick:

1. Why would he throw a public admission party? I’m questioning his ability to think rationally.
2. What type of people does he has in his life that would allow him to throw such a party knowing that his name is already tarnished?  These are not real friends.
3. Why is Vick not willing to let his past go?  This is the root of all his evil.
4. When will this guy learn?

These are just my thoughts on Michael Vick.  I’m not hating on this man by any means.  However, I do have a problem with the contradictory messages that are being sent to young people as a result of his bad judgment and his continuing career.

I don’t want him fired because he has to eat, but he also needs to know that insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results.  As long as Vick continues to hang around the same people he did prior to the NFL, and think the same way he did in his early years, his name is going to continue to be associated with mess.

When is he going to learn?

Double Standard in Speech

Why are black people who speak on obvious racial differences considered militant? Yet white people who speak their ignorance of racial differences (on so many levels) are practicing freedom of speech.

Double Standard in Speech & Race

It is my opinion that no matter how educated, how cultured or how well spoken a black person is, he or she will always be considered a nigger or Negro to the white people who control America as evidenced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. According to Mr. Reid, President Obama had a good chance for his current  position because he is a “light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”  (And Negro is so 1960s, by the way.)

Would the statement about President Obama’s “dialect” had been made if Obama was not African American?

Did anybody say anything about former Prez. George Dub-ya’s inability to construct, let alone speak, an intelligent sentence in any dialect?

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Before any of the federal agencies come after me for this blog post, please note that I am not into politics; I can just spot bulls**t when I see or hear it.  And  if you are employed by the government, I am certain that you feel it more than I do.

America is chock full of double standards.

We’re the land of the free, yet slavery existed for over 400 years.  In Arizona, Latinos have to present proof that they are legal residents of the United States.

Being a country lead by men, women still cannot do what the opposite sex can do based on their lower status in society.

Non-white people can pretty much forget about justice in this country.

Unless you have lots of money, your best bet is to stay out of the legal system regardless of your color.

Why am I on this topic?  Because the playing field in American society will NEVER be even no matter how much people accomplish and progress.  The media play a major role in making sure that white people maintain their “superior” status in society by portraying all other races, nationalities, and colors “less than.”  This is done through misrepresentation, under-representation, or no representation.

Don’t believe me?  Read The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America by Robert M. Entman and Andrew Rojecki.

The authors reported on page 53 that “the continued power of prototypical thinking that considers whites the normal, and prototypical, human.”  They gave the example of how Time and Newsweek magazines used anonymous white images for their cover topics.  There were a total of 30 such covers over a three year period. The only black people that made the covers during this period were famous – Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey.

Television is horrible.  Just look at all of the reports about crimes in black communities on network news.  All black people are not bad.  However, anybody watching network news would get that impression.  The tragedy of the situation is that the negative images are all viewers have to go on because there are very few positive images about black people – period.  There are even fewer stories about bad things happening in non-black communities.

And “urban” radio is the devil’s playground with all of the songs about sexual acts, violence and disrespect to women.  They don’t have all of that on other stations.  I don’t listen to those stations, but I know women are not disrespected on that level, if at all.

To close, I just wanted to share my thoughts about the double standards in America.  Unfortunately, media portrayals do not help at all.  They create divisions instead of understanding.  While these topics may not be discussed on mainstream media, you can voice your thoughts about double standards in America here on As NOT Seen on TV.

There was an article in Yahoo about YouTube and Facebook being blocked in Pakistan because of “online content deemed offensive to Islam.”  Both internet and mobile access were denied in that country.

Two quotes in the article really got me to thinking…  The first was from a young lady who said, “We are ready to die protecting the honor of our beloved Prophet Muhammad!”  The second quote was made by Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.  He said that “Such malicious and insulting attacks hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world and cannot be accepted under the garb of freedom of expression.”

I was totally in awe of these people because they were so passionate about their religious leader that they were willing to disconnect from the rest of the world to ensure that the utmost respect for him was maintained.  After I read this article, I started to wonder why black women were not outraged about the images, words, and other offensive treatment committed toward them by mainstream media.

The article stated that websites were banned for “content deemed offensive.”  All electronic forms of communications were cut off.  The Pakistanis were not allowing disrespect by anyone in any form.  Black women, on the other hand, are disrespected daily by media outlets, from traditional media to explicit lyrics in hip hop songs to the booty shaking in music videos.  We have been reduced to sex objects, yet no one is saying anything.  Am I the only person who finds a problem with this?  Yes, it can be argued that these words and images are not directed at me personally.  But, we are all affected by these portrayals.  I won’t go into how; that’s another blog post.

These Islamic believers were ready to give their lives to protect the honor of their leader.  This is a person outside of themselves, yet their reaction to the actions of others was taken personally.  In my opinion, the lack of action and reaction by black women to the disrespect shown by American media can be construed as acceptance.  The fact that black women are not protesting against media portrayals says that we are OK to being reduced to sex objects and other stereotypes.  Newsflash.  This is NOT OK.  Speaking amongst ourselves does not produce results.  It just stimulates more conversation and no action.  Black women are just as precious as Prophet Muhammad. Unfortunately, everyone understands their value as human beings except us.

Do you know what would happen if black women got upset about the media’s disrespect and disregard?  I don’t know, either.  But I do know that we would begin to have a higher level of respect and appreciation for ourselves and others.

Notice to all black women:  Get outraged with media companies like the Pakistanis did with YouTube and Facebook.  You have more power than you know; use it!  You are just as precious and valuable as anyone else.  You just have to know it.

I received an e-mail from Awesomely Luvvie’s blog regarding a company seeking an ebonics speaking professional. Of course, I had to check it out for myself.

Chenega Corporation is seeking a Linguist II-Ebonics(ATL)*Contingent*

Am I surprised by this?  Not at all. Like Mignon said on Luvvie’s blog: This job ad lives inside the same society, the same government that feels like its okay to include ‘Negro’ as a choice on the Census form. I personally think that the only thing missing from the ad is: Niggers Only.

I shared this post because contrary to what is being stated, racism is hotter than ever these days, but honest discussions will never be seen on TV.

I received an e-mail about Texas rewriting history to emphasize white supremacy. More specifically, it stated: “Among the many proposed changes are attempts to paint the Confederacy in a positive light, rewrite the civil rights era, downplay the contributions of nonwhite characters in Texas history, and ignore the atrocities committed on our own soil by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.”

While I understand the concerns, I really can’t be mad about the changes. I mean, most text books already exclude black history and give correct information anyway.  At least Texas is being honest and open about their actions and white supremacist views.

And, Texas has always been known as an overly-racist state.  They were the last state to free slaves, thus the June-teenth Celebration.  They have hellified penalties for criminals which are mostly black. And, when I went to conduct research on the Klu Klux Klan, an article from the Handbook of Texas Online was one of the first articles that appeared. Oh, it’s also home of former President George W. Bush.

So, are we really surprised about any of this?

In my previous post Lack of Black in Chicago 1893… or Chicago 2016, I shared that black people were not allowed or welcomed at the 1893 World’s Fair.  That wasn’t totally true.  Generally speaking, that was consensus.  There were a couple exceptions.

Some African Americans were invited because they represented stereotypes, not progress, in the black race.  Nancy Green was one such person.  This 57-year-old former slave was hired to become a live advertisement for Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.  You’re probably thinking, “What’s wrong with that?  At least she’s working.”  On the surface, that may seem like a positive thing.  However, her image was that of a stereotypical plantation mammy with her large jovial size and bandanna.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, she entertained audiences by telling stories of plantation life while flipping pancakes.

The authors of The Reason Why the Colored American is not in The World’s Columbian Exposition noted that Ms. Green’s performance was a hit.  This is not surprising.  Historically speaking, black people have been sources of entertainment and mockery for white people.  Nothing much has changed.  Today, many of the shows starring black people are comedies or the characters are in low-wage or stereotypical roles.  The positive, progression ones are totally exceptions.  However, I will give credit to the media for trying to do a little better.  Just a little bit.

Anyway, I did a little research after reading about Nancy Green, and learned that Aunt Jemima was brought alive once again at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. “They hired Anna Robinson, described as a large, gregarious woman with the face of an angel. She traveled the country promoting Aunt Jemima until her death in 1951.” Still, the mammy image lived on.

The company did not change the mammy image until 1989 which was over 100 years after bringing Aunt Jemima to life.  The bandana was replaced with pearl earrings and a more respectable appearance.  I contacted the company to find out why it took over 100 years to change the image; they have yet to get back to me.

There were Black people at the fair. Unfortunately, those hired for entertainment purposes and not progress were the norm rather than the exception.