Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Gabby, Lolo, and black folks coming together.

I am going to ask my white friends to ignore this post. If you happen to be white and you were going to check out what I am writing tonight, please come back tomorrow. ( I am going to delay the comments section because I really don't need to hear from the trolls tonight)

Anyway my brothers and sisters, I am moved to write this post because of some disturbing things coming out of London. (No, not Usain partying with blonds until early in the morning.)

First, some of you Negroes were on twitter ripping Gabby Douglas because of her hair style. Not her actual athletic prowess, but her hair. This is ignorant and wrong on so many levels, and it speaks to some greater issues with many of you: This constant need to focus on the superficial and not what really matters. It's why some of you would rather spend $40,000.00 on a brand new car instead of training towards a college degree or a vocational certificate. It's why some of you (who can't afford it) spend thousands of dollars on a hand bag instead of a nice stroller for your infant child. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

Gabby Douglas was over there making it happen because she put in the work in to compete on a world class level in a very difficult sport. The last thing she needed to be worrying about was if her weave is tight. It got so bad that you all got white folks in our business. This is not cool. The last thing that poor child needed was to be worried about her damn hair.


The next troubling development from London was this girl fight which broke out between Lolo Jones, and her hurdling teammates, Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells.

This one is a little more complicated, because it involves what is perceived beauty in this country and how that perception of beauty drives marketing.

On one hand we have Lolo Jones; a woman who America views as beautiful,(I actually think Kellie Wells is cuter) and who has athletic talent and a compelling story to match. She was dubbed the Anna Kournikova of track by the New York Times in an article that seemed to send Jones over the top.

"I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from a U.S. media,'' Jones told Savannah Guthrie before fighting back tears. "They should be supporting our U.S. Olympic athletes and instead they just ripped me to shreds. I just thought that that was crazy because I worked six days a week, every day, for four years for a 12-second race and the fact that they just tore me apart, which is heartbreaking.

"They didn't even do their research, calling me the Anna Kournikova of track. I have the American record. I am the American record holder indoors, I have two world indoor titles. Just because I don't boast about these things, I don't think I should be ripped apart by media. I laid it out there, fought hard for my country and it's just a shame that I have to deal with so much backlash when I'm already so brokenhearted as it is."  

No doubt that Jones works hard, but the truth is that she might not be talented enough to compete for gold on the world's highest stage. And is it really her fault that America has pumped her up because of her looks? You could also argue that the reason the 100 meter hurdles is getting so much shine is because of Jones. Her coming out that she is a virgin only made the press want more of her.

On the other hand we have the aforementioned Wells and Harper. They are probably more talented on the track than Jones, but in the eyes of America, they don't have "the look". And yet, we have been learning that Ms. Harper's story is just as compelling as Lolo the virgin.

"Beadle: You thought you weren't getting enough respect ... Why is that?
Harper: I feel I had a pretty good story -- knee surgery two months before Olympic trials in 2008, to make the team but 0.007, not have a contract ... working three jobs, living in a frat house, trying to make it work. Coming off running in someone else's shoes getting the gold medal. Uhhh, I'd say I was pretty interesting. I just felt as if I worked really hard to represent my country in the best way possible, and to come way with the gold medal, and to honestly seem as if, because their favorite [CLOSE UP ON LOLO JONES FROM TUESDAY NIGHT] didn't win all of sudden it's just like, 'Were going to push your story aside, and still gonna push this one.' That hurt. It did. It hurt my feelings. But I feel as if I showed I can deal with the pressure, I came back, and I think you kinda got to respect it a little bit now.

Beadle [to Harper and Kellie Wells]: You guys kinda hang out together ... Is there fighting amongst the team -- we're talking about Lolo Jones if you can't figure this out -- is there an awkward situation or now that it's over we've all just moved on?

Wells: Well, I think that, on the podium tonight, the three girls that earned their spot and they got their medals and they worked hard and did what they needed to do, prevailed. And that's all that really needs to be said.
Beadle: Wow.

Harper: BOOM! Just like that.

Beadle: You can cut the tension in here with a knife." [Story]

OK fam, so that's the back story, now I want to know why these ladies couldn't get along. Weren't they all over there busting their butts as teammates? What is it about us black folks sometimes that makes it so hard to come together?

Why are these two ladies on NBC trashing Jones instead of enjoying their medals?

Holla at me.
    

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Field,

Wish I could answer your why question. Will we ever
love ourselves enough
to love and respect each
other? As a black woman
I have experienced this
painful hater behavior from "sisters and brother."
Zora Neal Hurston in her wisdom said, "All of my skin folk are not my kinfolk."

Anonymous said...

Field, you know we folks haven't been able to get along ever. Hell, even during the MLK and MalcolmX days we still didn't get along.

Look at the divisiveness among us over a two-time Gold Medal winner by the name of Gabby. Some of us are ashamed how our "hair" looks. Imagine that! We measure our hair by what we perceive are white standards. That in itself says a lot about "who" we think we are. It's sickening.

That is why I continue to say, "It's depressing to be Black in America." Yet, you have never ONCE acknowledged the truth I have spoken. Most Blacks know fully well it's depressingly true.

Until we acknowledge the truth about how we think about ourselves, there is no way to change our thinking to something more positive. Because you can't change anything unless you recognize it's existence.

depressed Negro

Anonymous said...

FN, "First, some of you Negroes were on twitter ripping Gabby Douglas because of her hair style. Not her actual athletic prowess, but her hair. This is ignorant and wrong on so many levels, and it speaks to some greater issues with many of you: This constant need to focus on the superficial and not what really matters."

Field, I have been saying this for many years that there is something profoundly wrong with us when we measure each other by superficial means. That means we don't really consider our being as worth much. We measure ourselves by "white" standards, and impossible standard, considering we are Black with different hair.

It is shameful for Blacks to be tweeting about Gabby's hair. They might as well be White complaining about "how" we look, which is ugly.

Let's face it, brother Fields, many of our folks don't like being Black. Your post proves it. But that is nothing new is it?

NSangoma said...

~

What kind of a virgin?

Hand

Mouth

Vagina

Anus

Many a christian virgin, has given up everything but the PSSUY hole.

`

Anonymous said...

First, Happy 50th anniversary to Jamaica, Mr. Field.

Now, as for the Lolo situation. Dawn Harper is nothing but a big baby. She's been whining about Lolo since the Olympic trials. What she doesn't seem to get is that a closed mouth does not get fed. If Dawn has a story to tell, then tell it. And if it's a compelling story the media will give her some attention.

The thing that Lolo knows that Dawn pretends not to know and the NY Times is too ignorant to know is that track athletes have a very short shelf life in the U.S.

Lolo has been promoting herself since 2008. She has a great story to tell. And I have no doubt that her ethnically ambiguous looks have a lot to do with the attention she gets as well. But Lolo is no joke on the track. While Dawn was working on becoming a world class sprinter, Lolo already was and was winning world championships.

So Dawn and now Kellie need to get to work and take advantage of this opportunity. Lolo sure won't miss a beat. Because Lolo knows that she has to make her money when she can and now is the time.

As for Gabby; that stuff about her hair was pure house negro nonsense.


Val

field negro said...

"All of my skin folk are not my kinfolk."

Damn!

field negro said...

Thanks Val.

Wesley R said...

Field,

You already know my feelings about the Gabby haters. But a little info for you. AI9's significant other beat Harper in the 100 Hurdles one year at their high school state meet.

Gaz said...

I can't wait til tomorrow FN, I read it tonight as I usually do.....:-)

The Zora Houston quote is all time!!

It's a female thing I believe more than any other component.

Great post as usual.

LACoincidental said...

Why are these two ladies on NBC trashing Jones instead of enjoying their medals?


Field, its less about the medals and more about the endorsements afterwards. Basically, Lolo Jones, like it or lump is just exotic enough to garner attention without scaring white people. Frankly, the mainstream media and the ad dollars that follow have little love for two dark skinned women like Harper and Wells. If I was Dawn Harper, I'd be ticked that all the hype went to a woman I beat in the race.

That said, I concur sir - those women need to stop hating and enjoy their moment. Instead of coming off as triumphant athletes, they come off as petty sniping hood rats hating on the light-skinned chick. You don't see Sally McLellan of Australia griping about Lolo Jones.

Anonymous said...

I'm not surprised by any of this. Asking about the end to infighting is futile. Like it or not, America has vast quantities of willfully ignorant citizens, this includes black folks. Some are so stupid, they question their own humanity. Too many refuse to see racial mythology for what it is and the purpose it serves. Hence, the comments about a young athlete's hair after her routines. (My evil observation, some of these hair obsessed, gargantuan heifers never did 6 minutes of exercise, otherwise they would know that physical exertion and sweat can cause even the most lacquered hair to come undone.) After studying the family tree and taking advantage of technology to uncloak the African nations that make up my family's origin, I've come to the conclusion that we are not, nor ever be one united ethnic group. Contrary to the lies told on PBS, not all slaves came from West Africa. Black society is a classist society in which we are all controlled, at some point anyway, by organized religion. Through academic work and seeking knowledge, the only solution can be to simply be aware of your enemies (from all sides), ignore the detractors, accomplish all career and financial goals. To turn the tide takes many successful individuals. Yes, it can be done. Knowledge is power. Know the self-interested playbook that everyone else is using against us. It's time to put down the negative, controlling aspects the the social conditioning we receive through family, friends, school, and religious traditions and start playing to win. I don't mean be selfish as not not take care of one's children, but rather, being guilt ed into doormat behavior.

Mctlantecuhtli said...

OT: Marvin Wilson.

Dante McAuliffe said...

I haven't been following the Olympics too closely; however, I did tune in to watch Gabby do her amazing gymnastic routines. Needless to say, she manged to captivate me even when she stumbled and fell.

More importantly, however, to answer your question, "why can't black folk get along?"

As someone else already said, we have never been able to get along. Not in Africa, not in America, not in Jamaica or Colombia. But this is not limited to black folk: it is simply an unfortunate human condition.

But I can see why we think that this condition is so rampant among black people. It is indeed true that we seem not only to not support each other, but that we often go out of our way to make each other look bad. We diss our looks, our education (or lack thereof), our swag..,all of which seems to occur at an unprecedented level. Why? Because we hate ourselves. As a people, we hate ourselves because we believe in the lies that we have been told about ourselves by...well, you know who.

Why can't we get along? Because we are human. Why does it seem like black folk really can't get along? Because we don't want to get along. There is a comfortability and familiarity in the idea that "niggas ain't shit."

Plus, women usually don't seem to get along with each other that much anyway.

Peace.

NSangoma said...

~

Anonymous 2032, 2059, 2151

The desire of a 16-year old Negroe female to have long hair and a pony-tail like a whidte girl, demonstrates racial/ethnic pride?

Gabby Douglas' haid was a cacophony of her hurr: lyed, fried, processed, chemical permanent, hair clips, dixie peach, gel, and worse of all, the hair of some woman from India.

field, racial pride is wearing the hair of some racist Hindu female?

Aw gee NSangoma, she wanted a bouncy pony tail, just like the whidte girls; aw ain't that sweet.

field, what is wrong with Gabby Douglas' natural kinky hair?

field, is Gabby Douglas ashamed of her natural kinky hair?

You ashamed of kinky hair field; you be liking them damn near white women like Lolo Jones, with so-called good hair, field?

field, how much hair from India have the Koreans sold Mrs field? A lot of pins and tracks of Hindu hair going on there at home, field?

The Aryan invaders of India write in their Rig Veda, that they fought little Black men who had no noses.

Yes, when contrasted to the prominent hooked proboscis of the Hindu, the Negroe nose looks like no nose at all.

Yes field, the hooked nosed Aryan, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a vile anti-Negroe racist. He was racist against the Negritos of India and he considered it an insult to have to ride in the same sections of railway cars and buses as Black South Africans, when he lived in South Africa.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, went to court in South Africa to demand separate accommodations for Hindus living in South Africa; separate from the South African Negroe.

To Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Negroe/Negrito was an untouchable; inside India and Outside of India.

field, those are not snails on the heads of the statutes of the Buddha; that is kinky hair.

The Buddha, one of the indigenous Negritos (little Negroes) of India had kinky hair. Where his Aryan invader hair tracks at?

`

field negro said...

"Field, its less about the medals and more about the endorsements afterwards. Basically, Lolo Jones, like it or lump is just exotic enough to garner attention without scaring white people."

Great point! Lolo has been getting major endorsements since she left LSU. I am sure that there has been a little of that why not me from some of her fellow athletes. (Especially the ones who smoke her on the track.)But I worry about the bigger picture as well. Gabby's hair, for instance, WTF was that all about?


"Plus, women usually don't seem to get along with each other that much anyway."


I didn't write that. :)

Anonymous said...

I must be the only hooked-nosed African in America, because HOOKED it is.

Anonymous said...

They're ragging on Lolo because they feel like they got ragged on by the media. The two best 100m hurdlers got no mention until they won while Lolo Jones who barely qualified and came in fourth got all the shine. That's why they're throwing shade at their teammate who while soaking up the press made no mention of her team.

I don't think the shade throwing is right but I understand it. They all worked hard but the one that didn't medal gets all the shine. Where they do that at.

as for Gabby Douglas and the ignorant fools talking about her hair... please for the love of all that is Holy Field dismiss them as the ignoramuses that they are.

I'm sorry homegirl can't be worried about her edges while she's doing tricks on a four inch wide bar. There are just other things way more important in life and a Birken bag and a 22 inch flowing weave is not it.

pot calling kettle black said...

Wouldn't it be a refreshing change if blacks actually faced their demons?

A Human Rights Toast for an African Tyrant

Equatorial Guinea brutalizes its people like North Korea and Syria. So why is a prominent U.S. foundation cozying up to its dictator?

By THOR HALVORSSEN AND GEORGE AYITTEY

In the campaign for human rights and justice in apartheid South Africa, black American civil rights leaders were instrumental. One was Leon H. Sullivan, who enunciated the "Sullivan Principles" guiding multinational firms toward treating blacks fairly while doing business in South Africa.

Why, then, is the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation today celebrating the exploits of a brutal African tyrant?

On Aug. 20, a plane-load of lobbyists, civil rights leaders, entertainers and former government officials will land in the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea for the Sullivan Summit IX.

The summit's stated objective is to "create an atmosphere of open dialogue about the state of human rights and the interconnected issues of modern Africa." Seldom has so much dishonesty fit into one sentence.

Equatorial Guinea is home to Africa's longest-ruling dictator, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who seized power in a military coup by executing his uncle 33 years ago.

Freedom House ranks the country among the "worst of the worst" human-rights abusers, along with North Korea, Syria and Somalia.

Yet the Sullivan Foundation is celebrating its Obiang-hosted summit as a milestone for human rights, part of its "unwavering commitment to democratic ideals."

According to the agenda posted online, summit attendees will lounge at a five-star resort for a week discussing human rights and economic development, all between black-tie dinners and champagne.

They may toast to the petroleum-rich country's staggering per capita income of $36,515 (according to the World Bank), but outside the resort the people of Equatorial Guinea will continue to toil in poverty.

Sixty percent live on less than $1 a day, the majority don't have access to clean water or electricity, and nearly one in eight children die before their fifth birthday.

Since his 1979 coup, Mr. Obiang has rigged every election to give himself more than 95% of the vote.

He has criminalized dissent, tortured or disappeared his opponents, and killed tens of thousands (as documented by historian Randall Fegley, among many others).

Under his iron first, Mr. Obiang siphons billions of dollars in oil revenues into his family coffers. Still the Sullivan Foundation's marketing materials praise him for a "tremendous emphasis on social development and good governance."

Anonymous said...

No man has every asked me for any hair. duh. I have lived long enough and seen enough to know that this is not coming from the Black community. Were there pictures of the people making comments on Twitter. I suspect not. Even if one AA made a negative statement about Gabby, do you think that she/he can push it in the media like its being pushed.
Can't say I'm surprised because it seems whenever Blacks are successful, there are some who can not accept those achievements. When I make that statement, I think of Michael Jackson, Venus and Serena Williams, etc. It appears the media starts in on them right away.

Anonymous said...

How do we know the comments made on Twitter were Black people? Were there pictures of these people? I suspect the comments are coming from elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

NSangoma,
"Yes field, the hooked nosed Aryan, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a vile anti-Negroe racist. He was racist against the Negritos of India and he considered it an insult to have to ride in the same sections of railway cars and buses as Black South Africans, when he lived in South Africa."

Come on. Gandhi fought against the caste system in his country. In fact, he was assassinated because of it. But maybe before he became enlightened he WAS racist. That's the point of divine spiritual intervention in a human being's life. It's transformational.

It's too damn bad 'authentic' spiritual intervention hasn't happened on a mass scale in our community- because we really need it. IMO, on a collective basis, we think and behave sicker than any other groups short of tribes in the forests and jungles. Then we wonder why no one wants to be or wants us around?

Hell, we don't want to be associated with each other. Let's face it. We don't feel we are that trustworthy.

Field, thank you for this post. As you know I have always felt that this discussion needed to brought out in the open and aired. You have managed to 'tease' out the truth which 'every' brother and sister knows and carries in their heart....those demons of 'non-acceptance', and 'less than' our white counterpart which has contaminated our hearts:

It has left an anxious, restless, angry and self-loathing imprint on the heart from past generations and for generations to come. Bottom line: we are souls trapped in black bodies on earth and not only do we NOT like it, we are pissed....and depressed.

depressed Negro

NSangoma said...

~

Will the Indian wholesalers of Indian women's hair and the Korean retailers of Indian women's hair, put Gabby Douglas' face on their product?

Gabby is already endorsing their SIHT by default.

I pity the Negroe family that buys a box of corn flakes with Gabby Douglas' haid and hurr on it, for their little girl(s).

Mommy, I want (a hot mess) whidte girl hair just like Gabby Douglas be having.

field, Mrs field got whidte gurl hurr, too. A whole lot of good hair tracks pinned up in that processed Negroe bad hair, to give it more body and a fuller lion mane type look.

Hmmm, no wonder Al Sharpton defended Gabby Douglas' hurr; he probably has some Indian woman's hair pinned up in his SIHT, er uh, permanent, too.

Gabby's hair, for instance, WTF was that all about?


You sure that you are a race man, field negro?

`

Anonymous said...

"OK fam, so that's the back story, now I want to know why these ladies couldn't get along. Weren't they all over there busting their butts as teammates? What is it about us black folks sometimes that makes it so hard to come together?"

When it comes to color of skin, and hair there is an unspoken dividing line between women with light skin and straight or wavy hair and the ones with dark skin and kinky hair.

It is no secret but treated like a secret: there more a black woman looks white, the more beautiful she is in the eyes of others in America. In the case of Harper and Wells, it is obvious to me that they are jealous and mean-spirited toward Lolo.

However, my guess is those two have been angry at light-skinned black women all of their lives. The MSM's attention to LOLO only brought out that resentment.

Well, they got the media's attention. Unfortunately, it showed how nasty black women can be, esp the dark ones. Harper and Wells shamelessly displayed the anger of American dark skinned women PERFECTLY to the world. "It's damn if you do and damn if you don't."

We have a lot of emotional baggage of HURT. And hurt people hurt people.

I am no longer hoping that we will become collectively a better people. In fact, I don't think we are willing to work on 'letting go' of that self-hating crap that continually diminishes us more and more. How I wish we as a peep would wake one day and decide to become persons of depth instead of shallow ones!

NSangoma said...

~

Wasn't Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi assassinated by Ultra Orthox Brahmins?

Wasn't his agreeing to the partitioning of India into West Pakistan, India, and East Pakistan the reason Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, may have wanted the higher castes eliminated, but the lowest varna, the untouchables, the Negrito/Negroe caste was to last forever.

The untouchables are to clean up Hindu SIHT with their bare hands, and then carry it away, forever.

Just as in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Negroe, the children of HAM are to be enslaved forever.

`

NSangoma said...

~
...
it showed how nasty black women can be, esp the dark ones

...

My mother was a very dark skinned Black woman, blue-black in colour; and she was not a nasty person. A better human being has yet to live.

MotherFcuk you Anonymous 1217 hours.

field, you from that high-yellah Jamaican caste? You been fooling us with that field negro rap, huh field?

`

Anonymous said...

Well with all the talk about our hair, obviously we don't like our hair, which makes it a daily problem for the rest of our lives.

What else do we not like about ourselves? hmmmm, let's see: How about skin color? That's always been a 'hair-raising' trigger.

How about jealousy? that seems to be a good size elephant in the living room which nobody seems to talk about. I know, I know. It's hard to see by the one who has it. "I just don't like them" is usually the reason. Jealousy IS one of the deadly sins which many of our peeps display like neon lights....like Harper and Wells did. ON NATIONAL TV! That's a pretty bad case of it.

What about obesity 'outside' of the Olympics? I bet a lot of the black women tweeters about Gabby's hair were in the 300lb weight class. I mean we have a lot of beef on the hoof walking around in the community talking about hair. And are still stuffing themselves at the table as if it was the last supper.

Now that is an obvious form of self-hatred, i.e., doing things that are very harmful to us. But maybe that's the point: "if the bullets don't get us, the food surely will."

Gabby represents the epitome of health, greatness and nimbleness rarely seen in a human being and all our folks notice is her nappy hair. That is nothing but a projection of black self-hate. It is quite sad and pathetic. We can't even unite around a black Olympian who performed feats of perfection without tearing her down.

This post by Field highlights the underlying disdain we have for ourselves. That is pretty sick.

Anonymous said...

NSangoma, you are overreacting just like a Negro maniac with an inferiority complex. You need to calm down and stop being a rage-aholic.

What A Surprise said...

Well now. Let's see whou your buddy Usain Bolt is partying with at the Olympics:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/06/article-2184308-1467EA7B000005DC-686_634x629.jpg

Funny. I don't see the sistas Wells or Harper anywhere up in that hotel room. (Oh, maybe they were taking the pictures)

I'll bet Usain would get him some of that Lolo, though.

tera said...

Lolo Jones doesn't have the talent to compete for a gold medal?

She ran 12.58, and was the world's fourth fastest women in the 100 meter hurdles yesterday. Every one of the women in that race had enough talent to compete for a gold medal. Did Harper and Wells not have enough talent because they got beat by that white Australian girl? They all "competed".

Anonymous said...

NSangoma said...
~
...
it showed how nasty black women can be, esp the dark ones
...

My mother was a very dark skinned Black woman, blue-black in colour; and she was not a nasty person. A better human being has yet to live.

MotherFcuk you Anonymous 1217 hours.

field, you from that high-yellah Jamaican caste? You been fooling us with that field negro rap, huh field?


Take it easy son your moms was a giving woman she gave easily to everyone.

What a lovely specimen you are.

Byron said...

Like most Halfrican Americans, Lolo Jones has a white mother and a ne'er do well black father. He was in and out of the pokey during her childhood. At one point, she had to move with her mom and her siblings into a locker room in the basement of a Salvation Army. It was at least convenient, in that if she needed any new clothes she could just go upstairs and have her pick.

Father Jones did time for a litany of offenses, of which we only know a few. The lesbian tennis player lady from Real Sports read off a few when she interviewed him, but she suspiciously left a few out. She was like, "It says here you've been locked up for spousal abuse, burglary, assault and... uh, a few other things." What could he have done that was so bad that they didn't want to mention it on Real Sports, the same show where they had Al Sharpton on video setting up coke deals up in Harlem, back when he was still a PCP carrier for James Brown?

My theory: Father Jones had Mother Jones working a track up there in Iowa - and not the kind of track you show up to in a pair of Nikes. Not if you're trying to make any money.

There's a few dead giveaways: (1) Father Jones gets a certain gleam in his eye when the lesbian tennis player lady mentions the many, many times he put a shoe on Mother Jones; (2) the fact that he put a shoe on Mother Jones (not to be confused with the magazine) on many an occasion; and (3) the way he described teaching a young Lolo how to shoplift. The latter called to mind some of what I've read about pimps - which is what I do sometimes during the evening, learn about pimping. Some pimps use hoo-ers to steal more so than to sell pussy, especially black hoo-ers, who aren't in as high a demand as white hoo-ers, known as snowflakes.

A similar dynamic exists on the girls US track team, and it just goes to show the many similarities between marketing and the world's oldest profession. The best runner on the team is a dark butt from East Saint whom no one ever heard of. The only endorsement deal she was qualified for was some sort of hair relaxer, and you can trust that Gabby Douglas got that 'pon lock. She can hardly afford a pair of shoes. She had to borrow another girl's pair in '08, when she came in first. No one gave a shit whether or not she was getting it in.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... Had never given "depressing to be Black" a serious thought. I know James Baldwin once wrote, "To be a Negro in a-merry-kkka is to be in a constant state of RAGE". Depression is new to me; will give it (worthy?)consideration. Thanks.
Helps to explain the dearth of Afram support of Afram business/entrepreneurs. Bless us all, a-merry-kkka.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... James Baldwin once wrote: "To be a Negro in America is to be in a constant state of rage...". If "black depression" is the flip side of rage, we, as a people, are in a terrible "trick bag"... Most of us willingly and delightfully CHOOSE to keep our noses buried in the bible; get pimped and pandered to by church pimps. Bless us all...

Anonymous said...

Was it in bad taste for the 2nd and 3rd place medalists to throw shade on Lolo? Yes. Were they necessarily hating just because she's light-skinned? NO. Perhaps they were simply fed up with the media's unfair coverage since Lolo barely qualified and failed to medal. But of course that can't be the reason. It MUST be because ALL dark skinned women are angry and jealous of light skinned women. Smh.

Dawn said...

Black people living in the richest country in the world, having all these opportunities that no other black people have, are some of the most messed up people you can ever find or imagined.
Condemning Gabby because of her hair showing what only other black American men and women have noticed , and ignoring that she has won gold medals , really shows a high degree of self hatred.
As for Lolo Jones, no one can stop the white media from putting her on a pedestal and not the others.Life is not fair.
For the other women to give a press conference and talk about it shows unclassy behavior.
They have no control over who the white media promotes as a darling of the Olympics.
What dark skinned black American women have control over is their image, what kind of lives they lead, the kind of men they marry and have children with, their education,career, eating right,being healthy, exercising,taking full contol of their lives,the place where they live, how they raise their children, etc.
And regarding Lolo Jones,real virgins don't go around telling anyone they are virgins.
What is the matter with her? Did anyone ask her if she was a virgin? I don't think so.

Anonymous said...

anon4:01pm, "Was it in bad taste for the 2nd and 3rd place medalists to throw shade on Lolo? Yes. Were they necessarily hating just because she's light-skinned? NO. Perhaps they were simply fed up with the media's unfair coverage since Lolo barely qualified and failed to medal."

That right. Go ahead and blame their sick actions on the media. This is part of our problem...blaming someone else for our shitty behavior. We are always "justifying" "justifying" and "rationalizing" for acting an ass on national tv.

Those two women might have been 'reacting' (instead of acting) to the fact the MSM just didn't find them to be as attractive or as great as story as LOLO. Then again, they might have been just plain JEALOUS and could not contain their inappropriate behavior.

I am so sick and tired of some of our peeps making "excuses" as if we have no control over how we act That in itself is degrading. It says we don't have a mind of our own nor do we have a sense of moral responsibility or obligation as black Americans to do the right thing...What they did to LOLO was TNB--shamelessly WRONG and they seemed to "enjoy" dumping on their sister, LOLO.

Harper and Wells DIMINISHED themselves in character and showed Blacks will sell each other down the drain on WORLD-WIDE TV... Such merciless inconsiderate behavior toward another black Olympian!

I applaud Wells and Harper for the medals they won for America but they sucked in character and pissed on a fellow Black. We Blacks as peep sorely need to overcome this crap in a barrel mentality that comes from one thing, and one thing only: JEALOUSY

LOLO did not deserve that kind of treatment from her fellow Olympians. Even worse, they were Black. It's damn sickening, shameful, and down right depressing.

Those two clowns got their moment with the media and what did they do? They used that opportunity to trash another Olympian. That was REAL smart. I am sure they'll be hearing from the media REAL soon.

depressed Negro

Anonymous said...

"And regarding Lolo Jones,real virgins don't go around telling anyone they are virgins.
What is the matter with her? Did anyone ask her if she was a virgin? I don't think so."

Really? do you know that for a fact? and WHY wouldn't they? Is there something wrong with being a virgin?

I find LOLO's virginity quite refreshing, considering our black women seem to be churning out babies faster than M&M can make candy. However, I can understand why you would think LOLO a liar. It's hard to find virgins over 12 years old in our race isn't it? And if found, there has to be something wrong with them, right?

Please read what Dawn@8:55pm said. Pay particular attention to the first sentence...You make it especially poignant.

Anonymous said...

Field my friend, I hope its ok to post now cause I'm white, but wtf. Of course the people on Twitter were black. And female. I didn't notice Gabbys hair. Or care. What a wonderful athlete,cute as a.button , giving glory to God. A great American. I got nothin but love. You go Gabby , to Hell with the haters. " The Skeavyoldstoner"

Anonymous said...

It is really sad to see so many people being brainwashed by what the media is pushing. It appears that someone wants us to think, self hate. Chances are if there are disagreements between other people of other races, it will never be reported. One thing I have advocated is, "Think for yourself". How do we know these comments are coming from the Black community. Anyone can get on a blog and claim to be anything they want to be. The ease at which many are accepting all of this is frightening. The question I pose is, why does anyone want Gabby to have negative press?

mister chi said...

damn...did i stumble in on the sequel to "school daze"? we're still talking about "light" vs "dark" complexion and "good" hair vs "nappy" in 2012...all the while we have people in our neighborhoods (the light and dark ones) killing each other at a record pace and people actively trying to take civil rights back to 1962. who needs the klan...we're burning crosses in our own yards.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Gabby, of course the hair police were black, probably black WOMEN. White people are NOT interested in black people's hair.

Regarding Lolo, she's not the best athlete in her chosen events but she is pretty. She using what her mama (and daddy) gave her to her advantage. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that a regular ol' dark skinned black woman has to be pitch perfect to get any positive attention. Of course the darkies are jealous. It's only human.

Btw, if Lolo is a virgin good for her. I'm sure she wants to separate herself from the masses of black women by more than just skin color. Most black women in the United States are perceived to be "bitches and hoes" (whether they are or not) and by saying she's a virgin (if it's actually true) she can escape the worse of those two designations (being a hoe). Nothing wrong with her wanting to escape the fate of most black women in the United States.

Most black women in the US (under the age of 45) are baby mamas. To me, that's the same as being a hoe.

Of course, most black men (in the same general age range of 45 and under) are baby daddies and thugs but that's another story.

Anonymous said...

Field,
Lets just tell the truth. If Lolo is a dark skinned woman with the same story, it gets no traction. But since she is light-skinned and we know thats how whitey likes it, now she is the face of the hurdle team. Knowing good and well her times were not that good. That is what those other hurdlers were complaining about. Plus, why is her being a virgin important?? I thought we were talking about athletics, not sexuality.
SO if you are on tv, trying to pump yourself up to the media, then do not cry when you get called out!!

Instead of going to the media, practice a little more!! Also, the media would not even listen to the story of those other hurdlers.

B1bomber

Tommy Kat said...

You hit it on the nail.
You know, I'm like shocked too. I thought they all were getting along.

It's funny how black folks will turn on each other when the white man says,
"JUMP!!!!!"
They all jump....with a big assed smile on their face answering back, "oh yesa massa"
LIKE CRABS IN A BARREL!!!!

Some blacks don't get along because they hate themselves. That's sad.

They hate their culture, their hair, and their skin.

Most blacks are the most evil toward one another. Really who needs the white man spewing out racial epitaphs when blacks do it to themselves (leaving myself out of this because I am actually comfortable where I come from.)

To me, I feel like if Wells and Harper answered him with a simple.

"We all worked hard here." without the trashing, they too would be getting sponsors too.

When you are seen as a person who will quickly turn on your own team-mate-tell me really-who is gonna respect you?

I don't respect Wells or Harper's answers. I think they should have risen higher then that.
Simply put, they got "bamboozled" into answering those questions.

But guess who's laughing to the bank? LOLO
-Hollah

Tommy Kat said...

All I can do is a quote from my grand-dad

"We ain't ready yet, we ain't ready!"
And unfortunately we never will be.
A slave mentality leads you to hating yourselves and over-ruled by the mental powers of your "perceived" oppressor. Yeah, I said perceived.

Because the only oppressor is "Ourselves".
Not who we perceive........the white man.

All I can say is LOLO is doin her thing, gettin paid, and gettin attention.
I hope the best for her.

sc said...

I looked and read the actual quotes several times now. the level of venom directed and harper and wells is completely out of proportion to anything they said. harper admitted that it hurt being sweeped aside, if anything she wells said ", the three girls that earned their spot and they got their medals and they worked hard and did what they needed to do, prevailed." is trashing lolo jones??? on what planet would you call that an attack? the fact is this society is in a psychological war with black women, especially if they are dark skinned. if they had said nothing, they would have been ignored. if they make the slightest objection they are subject to vicious attacks, called nasty, sick, twisted. if i was either one of those runners, i would seriously look at running for a another country. they cannot win, no matter how many medals they get. i would have had enough of this sick society.

Anonymous said...


Kellie Wells stripper(photos) equals no endorsements.

http://www.hiphopnewsdaily.com/did-you-see-the-girl-in-the-olympics-with-the-blue-hair-its-kellie-wells-hot-body/