Proctor and Gamble Increases its Funding of the "Regime of B*tches, Bullets and Bling"

Proctor & Gamble is starting up a new record hip hop record lable called "Pampers & Pimps". Okay that name part is not true but it might as well be.

Proctor & Gamble the largest advertiser in this country and already a major corporate enabler of the "Regime of B*tches, Bullets and Bling"TM has decided to cut away all pretense that it is funding the War on Black Women, promoting modern day minstrelsy, the stripper culture, and the devaluation of the lives of young black women and men through the glorification of domestic urban terrorism.

Not content to purchase the commercials that keep Viacom's most vile multimedia crack piping into the the living rooms of America, Proctor & Gamble has decided to start producing weapons and munitions in the War on Black Women, Men and Children directly. They are starting a record label with Island Def Jam. A "hip hop" record label named TAG records:

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble is getting into the hip-hop business by launching a record label with Island Def Jam Music Group.

The joint venture with be called Tag Records, a nod to Procter & Gamble's's Tag body sprays. It will be run by Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri, who helped produce the latest sales disappointment by his girlfriend, Janet Jackson.

Tag Records will unveil its first signing in May, and is promising a marketing budget 10 times the going rate of $1 million or so for most artists. MSNBC.-- First seen at Sandra Rose

That means that all you people who buy Pampers, Tide and Always maxi pads are partnering with the record company who brought us "face down, @$ up, that's the way I like to cut." "Pampers & Pimps" TM what a combination!

The Misogyny Industrial Complex's oxygen is money. Of late the industry has been on life support, Proctor & Gamble just came in on a white charger to make sure that pro pimp, prop prison, pro drug, pro violence, anti education, anti woman, anti social behavior keeps getting pumped out to the exclusion of all others so that they can sell some male hygiene products.

I am going to let that marinate for a moment. Surely one person from the company that trotted out the My Black is Beautiful Campaign spoke up to say "Um this hip hop music label might be problematic from some of our customers." Or maybe not based on this analysis over at Racialicious. If this succeeds, I guarantee McDonalds and General Motors will be next.

Later in the week I will address this and a new study confirming what I already new. P&G is one of the biggest subsidizers of all those burning crosses on the lawns of Black women. Don't want for permission to be outraged.

Stop funding foolishness!

P.S. I GOT MY VOICE BACK!! After three months of a creative block I cranked out "Pampers & Pimps" and the "Regime of B*tches, Bullets & Bling" in one post. Thanks P&G!

PPS. I can't wait for the first album to see which music artist is willing to be known as P&G's corporate shill. TAG! You're it! You say what?


NOTEABLES

From Famous Beats:

"There are several reasons this partnership irritates me, but perhaps the most disturbing thing of all is that the reason this non-transparent advertising technique is being used is because basically speaking, Proctor and Gamble think that black people aren’t smart enough to realize that they’re being sold a bunch of sh*t through hip-hop, and they will associate “coolness” with deodorant. Which we all know is total racist bullsh*t."Read the rest.

Girl Get Off That Pole! Part I: Women's Work

Warning all outlinks to Jimi Izrael's site probably contain profanity and offensive language may be NSFW -look before you click.

Just when I thought I would be handing in my keyboard believing that I didn't have much else to say, inspiration struck in the form of long time WAOD critic and the man who coined me a crazy cat lady for having an opinion and being able to advocate effectively on my own behalf. Yes, only the unique form of ignorance insight of the Jimi Izrael variety could remind me that we have miles to go before we sleep. For those who are perplexed as to why I would give this man a moment of my time, I must relent because he did take time out of his day to send me a personal email with the link to his latest rant against this blog so I know its really important to him that I pay attention to him. Sending him page clicks is the least I can do for providing a valuable public service.

I know that many of you have begun to engage in your own form of activism in combating the War on Black Women. You will frequently encounter doubters who don't see any institutional forces aimed at dehumanizing Black women and reinforcing and enforcing stereotypes. Therefore, I thought it was a good time to focus on a frequent obfuscation and redirection technique used by those who long to protect the status quo the “Y'all can't do anything to combat the War on Black women until you get rid of Karrine Stepphans (he's an expert on Karrine (NSFW)) and Tyffany “I Love New York”Pollard- because every Black woman in American must be bound by the individual choices of these women and until they stop, y'all just all have to sit there and take it.” folks.

Jimi is but the latest “obfuscator” and “redirectionist”. He first attempted to silence me by calling me crazy- because after all,any black woman not going along to get along must be crazy or angry or bitter. We can't be human beings with genuine heart felt beliefs that a harm is occurring that we have a moral obligation to stop. Nope- we're crazy. Crazy like Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer,Septima Poinsette Clark, and Vivian Malone Jones ( read about them here). Realizing his CRAZY label didn't shut me up, he now has stooped to providing unsolicited advice. Thanks a bunch Jimi! We didn't know you cared!

Jimi is a man of a certain age so we can't demand to much out of him like say, reading, fact checking or accuracy. That would be “hard” and “unfair”. In his recent post on the Washington Post's latest mis adventure (read "Wanted! Smart Negroes!"), Jimi demonstrates the highest depths of research, analysis, and writing abilities. First he says this blog has a "myopic" focus on changing media images of Black women. Because we all know that the use of mass media to systematically dehumanize an identifiable group of people is really no big deal.

He must have been distracted during those over 70 posts we did on Dunbar Village, Black women's right to vote for the candidate of their choice, NBC Nightly News' “Black Women it sucks to the you”, Ebony Dorsey, Daniyah Jackson, Nailah Franklin, and countless other discussions we've had on the blog. Yep, nothing but Hip hop all the time round here.

Then he goes on to say that we coddle strippers, prostitutes and video girls and don't hold Black women accountable.

McCauley casts the "models" as victims and the rappers, media companies and sponsors as predators, and that's not entirely fair. To buy that, you must suspend disbelief and imagine a world where women are empty vessels devoid of free will and personal responsibility. For me, that dog don't hunt: women are smarter than men in every way. TheRoot(less).com

Maybe he missed all those wagging finger of shame awards and all the laudable things we keep saying about I love New York and Karrine Stephans and Kim Porter. Uh yeah right.

Then he laments the dearth of wholesome images of African American mothers on the televisions of America.

What happened to Mom as the central role model? Young ladies learn how to manage the power of their bodies by watching their mother's cues. Moms have to spend less time at Big Butt Friday's at the local nightclub and more time parenting their kids. TheRoot(less).com

That almost made me shed a tear with Jimi invoking the memory of sweet potato pie and a warm hot pan of Jiffy cornbread. ( if you are familiar with Jimi's work you will know how ridiculous that image is) Yes, because Karrine Steffans and Tyfanny Pollard havethe power to drive all the wholesome images of Black mothers from the television screens of America. The corporate powers that be didn't have a thing to do with that at all.

Then he declares that we should abandon our strategy and take up Jimi's cause of combating “stripper feminism” ( his word-not mine)-

It's easy to get a webpage taken down. Take on the Karrine Steffans and Tiffany Pollards of the world who have turned low-level prostitution and anti-social behavior into a viable, laudable vocation...The way to stop 'stripper feminism' is to not coddle and apologize for the women, but get them off the poles. TheRottenRoot.com

Because after all, if all the strippers of the world would just get off the stripper pole, then the adult entertainment industry would collapse on its own. Because in the end, individual choice ALWAYS trump institutional and systemic subjugation, exploitation and discrimination. You remember how Jim Crow was dismantled when all the White hotel, restaurant, and store owners of the world individually decided to integrate public accommodations on their own. You know like all the school districts of the world decided to do away with separate but unequal without the Supreme Court or the national guard. You know the way workers have been able to imporve wages, safety, and working conditions individually. Yep, systemic change always begins with the lowest people on the totem pole working individually. Notice how he tells me the task is impossible and then says its easy.

Wimmen's Work

Oh yeah and I forgot one thing. Being the “black women are responsible for all that is wrong in the world” proponent that he is, Jimi throws out that HE can't champion the cause of getting Black women to bid adieu to the stripper pole, it has to be the wimmin' folks because after all.. Combating stripper feminism is wimmin's work.

I can't do it: it's a woman-to-woman conversation. UpRooted.com

Why Jimi, you ain't ever had any qualms about taking about stripper culture in the past. In other words, we wimmin' must be responsible for the attacking maligning and enforcing his wishes. Don't y'all like how he created all that work and then bailed out on account of his claimed gender inferiority. Black women have NEVER heard anything like that before.

Jimi, you mis-underestimate yourself

Being a man of a certain age, multi tasking with this new fangled internet thingamajig is a foreign concept, but yes it is possible to do more than one thing at the same time. You see we can challenge the corporate subsidizers of stripper culture while challenging each other regarding our individual culpability. The two are not mutually exclusive. You remember multi tasking back from the days when you were a male exotic dancer and had to strut, jiggle and shake to the beat of the music while making sure that nobody copped a $20 from your hot pants and dodging coins.

I guess, having been a talent, it�s hard for me to look at the client of a service like this objectively. I don�t mean any harm to anyone�s person. ..Yeah, I stripped. Hood bacherlorette parties and sh@#. That low-end macking was bad look, and I gratefully got smart and copped out of that game. Besides, when big fat women get drunk and run out of paper money, they start throwing coins at your privates for sport. And that hurts. Or, so I�m told.Jimi's Guide to Modern Pole Dancing

Jimi has broken down Skrippology for those of you wanted to know more than you ever did about Stripping. Or is that skrippin?Multi-tasking... its a beautiful thing.

What Jimi Wants

His Royal Hot Pant's real purpose isn't to uplift Black women. His real goal is to maintain the status quo. You see as many of you rush to declare that His Royal Hot Pant's is just some crazed sexist, misogynist, loon, let me assure you that he is a beloved and entrenched member of the Black Elite Establishment and they keep him around for such an occasion as this. No less than Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and his benefactor, the Washington Post have selected Jimi to be one of the “voices” that most represents ze common Black people. In addition to to extensive writing credits ( Salon, the LA Times and a bunch of others), he regularly hosts entire segments of Tell Me More on NPR. He is so beloved that his sexism, racism, homophobia and general boorishness is embraced and “keeping it real” and “raw” by you guessed it, the BEE. So he's not crazy and he's not edgy he is very mainstream. Mainstream like mom jeans. Hes a big proponent of freedom and liberty as long as you aren't actually using your first amendment right to speak out about something the BEE wants you to be quiet about.

After all, the BEE can't have we regla' people threatening their gravy train. Because we common Black folks were placed on the planet for the sole purpose of making them rich and in order for that natural order to to remain in place, they can't have us going off like rogues and directly petitioning to corporate America without their permission and what not. Didn't you know that we are obligated to continue to subsidize stereotypes of Black women as oversexed and undervalued? How dare we! So they tell us that even our victories aren't victories because everybody knows that a campaign against corporate subsidies of raunch is futile because “sex sells!”.

Jimi Izrael's World Tour Of Skrip Clubs- Commences Any Day Now

HOWEVER I must agree with one assessment by His Royal Hot Pant's. Somebody (else) needs to begin the movement to urge Black women and girls to get off the stripper pole forthwith. Because we all know that its the all powerful strippers that are completely and totally responsible for the strip club being there. Its not like the proprietor or the patrons buying the drinks or getting the lap dances have anything to do with it and it's not like mainstream media's obsession with making sure that stripper culture permeates every crevice of society to the extent that our own children are screaming at the top of their lungs about “making it rain on dem h@$!” has anything to do with the rise of “stripper feminism” Yes indeed, convincing Tyfanny Pollard, Karrine Steffans and the strippers to just STOP should be THE number one priority to the exclusion of all else. Well since everyone is running around coming up with stuff that everybody else needs to to, I nominate Jimi to take the lead the “Girl Get Off That Pole!” campaign.

I'm not as Crazy As You Think I am and You're Not As Dumb As You Sound-

You Can Do It JIMI!!!!

Good luck Jimi and keep us abreast of your progress on “Jimi's World Tour to Get Black Women to Get of Da' Skripper Pole” I know you feel your gender makes it impossible to accomplish such an arduous task, but I believe that you, with your self-professed background as a male exotic dancer and strip club aficionado can overcome your “gender inferiority issues” and succeed.
Considering your braggadocio about being a frequent patron of strip clubs, encouraging the acquisition of the services of prostitutes and your past stint as a male adult entertainer skripper, you would be a far more appropriate authority to wage the vital campaign to get the Black women of America to forsake the stripper pole FOREVER. You can do it Jimi!!

While His Royal Hot Pants (HRHP)begins his world tour, the rest of us can begin a discussion about individual and institutional responsibility. If we removed all the strippers from their poles, would the Misogyny Industrial Complex come crashing to the ground? Who is more culpable Tyfanny Pollard or the two Caucasian producers who made her a star and continue to print money based on their trilogy of tawdriness? Does it matter? Who is responsible for bearing the burden of dismantling stripper culture Black Men? Black Women? Both Neither? Why? Why not?

We will continue with additional posts tentatively titled “Girl Get Off That Pole Part Deux: Sex Sells and the Earth is Flat” followed by “Girls Get off That Pole Part Tres: power vs. POWER and choice vs. CHOICE” and Girl Get Off That Pole Ze' Quad: Raising the Risk on Raunch” Y'all can thank HRHP for the inspiration. We all have a role to play.

Verizon Wireless Pulling Ads From Website Featuring the Dr. Maya Angelou - "Ho Sit Down" post

As you know on earlier this week, we reported on a blog which placed a picture of Dr. Maya Angelou under the caption "Ho Sit Down". I also talked about this yesterday on National Public Radio.
Verizon and T Mobile were advertising on the site.

You know our philosophy, you can put out whatever vile offensive stuff you want, I just don't want to pay for it. As both a Verizon and T Mobile customer, I don't want my monthly fees going to give money to produce something calling any Black woman a ho. Verizon is pulling their ads from THAT SITE.If you find that entertaining, fine, then you pay a subscriber fee and you pay to be entertained.

Blkseagoat just forwarded this letter from Verizon Wireless.

Hi Shane,

I got your voicemail and here is the response:
It is never our intention to offend anyone with our advertising and we have strict guidelines in place to prevent our ads from appearing on sites that are offensive. We are in the process of removing the site from our list of advertising outlets and are working to remove the ads. We are also reviewing our process to determine what happened and to ensure that mistakes like this don't happen again.

Brenda B Raney
Verizon Wireless

What about T-Mobile?
KEEP CALLING T-MOBILE
T Mobile Corporate:
800-318-9270 (PDT)
STOP FUNDING FOOLISHNESS!

Read the original post:OH HEYEEEEEL NO! Bossip Calls Maya Angelou a "Ho"- T-Mobile and Verizon PAY FOR IT!

BET is Still Delusional - Chicago Sun Times Article About the BET B-Girl-McDonalds is a PIMP!

The Chicago Sun Times article about our successful campaign to have advertisers divest from BET's B Girl page is up.

OH God bless Black Entertainment Television's delusional little hearts. They are trying to now claim that they had ALWAYS planned to remove the B-girl site.

The move was one that had been in the works and was unrelated to the blogger protests, a BET spokeswoman said. SOURCE

Uh huh. Right. Right.Well we are glad we were able to assist them in expediting the process. Too bad it wasn't before they tarnished their advertisers' good name by putting family-oriented advertising next to g-string clad women in sexually suggestive positions. Let me tell you how weak this company is. The fact that they can't even admit to making a move in response to complaints tells you how weak THEY think THEY are. Because if you are operating from a position of strength, you would have done what KRAFT did; admit that you had made an error in judgment.

Kraft Foods spokesman Basil Maglaris said Kraft last advertised on the page in October as part of a broad ad buy on the site to promote a black family-focused micro-site. But he said Kraft, which is chaired by CEO Irene Rosenfeld, should never have appeared on the pinup girl page. "We regret the unfortunate juxtaposition. The content is definitely inconsistent with what our site is about," he said.

Thank you KRAFT for having a corporate conscience. Something McDonald's does not have. Let me remind you that McDonald's loves them some misogyny. They wanted to pay hip hop artists money for each time their product was mentioned in a hip hop song AND they got into trouble last year for hiring Twista to headline a parking lot tour they organized. McDonald's is unrepentant and would be advertising on the B-girl page if it still existed:

McDonald's, though, stands by its placement with the suggestively posed beauties to grab an intended audience, said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud.

"Different demographics and different audiences want to be communicated to in different ways, and we believe the content reaches the young adult audience that it is intended to reach," she said.

In other words, Black consumers can only be reached if you make Black women and girls props and prostitutes. Please stop by McDonald's corporate responsibility blog to let them know how you feel about them pimping Black women and girls to sell unHappy Meals. You will find their post about MLK ironic in light of their position that in trying to reach young adults, they have to pimp out Black women and girls.

At the end of the article, BET boasts that they still carry smutty pictures on their site. They should be soo proud.

Folks, I have always maintained that Black Entertainment Television is what it is because it was first. That's all they are is first. They aren't smart. They aren't creative. They aren't even edgy, they just got to the party first. My response to the "we're the biggest and the baddest" fascade is WOOLWORTH'S. Except BET's mindtrust isn't bright enough to transition into a niche market the way that Woolworth's did with Foot Locker. Just because they are big today does not mean they will be big forever. Especially if they keep trashing the name and reputation of advertisers like Kraft, General Mills, State Farm and Home Depot.

Until next time. There will be a next time because THAT COMPANY is and will forever be STUCK. ON. STUPID

Any advertiser that does not keep BET on a tight rain is negligent as well and we are going to stop accepting the "we didn't know BET was a misogynist smut peddling company" excuse.

Do take time to make your displeasure with Mickey D's known.

STOP FUNDING FOOLISHNESS!

Oops! Did we do it Again? Did BET's B-Girl Get the Boot?

I believe that 1 million Black folks could prostrate themselves at Debra Lee's feet (or circle her home)and BET will ignore them, but let ONE advertising executive from a BET sponsor put in a phone call and then !PRESTO! things change.

Hmm. Have you been keeping up with our first campaign of 2008? The one where we pointed our that "family friendly" companies were being big ole corporate hypocrites by touting family values in ads running next to g-string clad Black women contorting their bodies in various sexually suggestive positions. The one where we asked "Why are McDonalds, Nissan, the Army, and the Navy Whoring Out Our Daughters?- BET is still a MESS!"?

We pointed out that these same companies would not DREAM of running the same ads on pages featuring similarly clad White women. So last week we challenged McDonalds, Nissan, the Army, Navy, General Mills, and Kraft on their use of Black women as props and prostitutes.

We don't know which one or ones stepped up to the plate, but all of a sudden, BET's B-girl page is MIA. Go look for yourself. You can still find remnants if you look for them, but they have moved the B-girls from the drop down menu. If you are savvy enough to know how to comb the BET site, you will find hilarity with a picture of gospel great Shirley Caesar's head shot being run next to the buttocks of a Black woman scantily clad in hot pink undies with 3/4's of her behind hanging out next to pastor Ceasar's face.

To all of you who called and emailed, thank you. Your efforts were not in vain. This is just one small glimpse of what Black woman and the men who care about them can do if we open up our mouths to the right people.

The truth is that the advertisers are responsible for the content they use to market their products. Repeatedly they claim to be unaware of what is being done with their corporate name and logo. Eventually, we will stop accepting that excuse. How many times is BET going to plaster you name and logo next to foolishness before you realize that they don't give a rip about you or your corporate name? I mean blackface cartoons and booty shots? Is that really what you want your cereal, kids meals, macaroni, mini vans, and military service associated with?

The lesson of Don Imus is that advertisers have the power to control what we see. Black women control over 60% of Black wealth in this country. We are more that 60 percent of African Americans who are registered to vote. We have entirely too much money and political clout to be treated as props, prostitutes, and pack mules for everybody else.

STOP FUNDING FOOLISHNESS!

Join Us Tonight for the Podcast

We'll be talking about this tonight on the WAOD Podcast, the Black Womens' Roundtable. Tonight at 8:00PM CST. Our topic this week will be BET's B -girl. Bob Beelzebub Johnson's foolishness. Oprah starting her own channel and the latest shenanigans in the election. Listen live, chat, or call in 646-478-4750.

Why are McDonalds, Nissan, the Army, and the Navy Whoring Out Our Daughters?- BET is still a MESS!

[Photo removed to make post safe for workers. click link to see the foolishness]

BET continues its business plan of booty and Black women are paying for it.

In the World Wide Web, BET.com dehumanizes the online identity of women by reducing centerfolds to free widgets – portable chunks of code that allow content to be displayed on any web page or social networking site. Backyard Beacon

For the past six months we have had to listen to Debra Lee talk about BALANCE. Balance this and Balance that. Well clearly when she was droning on about balance, she must have been referring to Black women maintaining their balance while tittering on heels in a three point stance with their legs cocked open while wearing "lingerie" and thongs.

Pay no attention to the business of booty, but may I point out who is paying for this display?

Corporations are funding the foolishness

Corporate websites such as bet.com are ALL about advertising. The advertisers are the ones that make this "content" possible.Last week it was General Mills, the maker of Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Cheerios. Back in October when I started monitoring the site, it was Kraft foods, but the consistent advertisers on the site have been YOU, the US taxpayer. Oh yes you are because the Army and the Navy have been advertising on BET.com's B-Girl page for MONTHS!

BET Wants to Spread These Images All Over the Internet including your children's webpages

Oh it gets worse. They aren't merely displaying these pictures, but they have developed a widget that makes it easy to display these images on myspace, facebook pageflakes, livejournal, blackplanet, blogger, typepad, multiply, eons, vox, webwag, freewebs, xanga, friendstar, tagged, netvibes, and ...my yearbook. They want these g-string wearing Black women on display EVERYWHERE online... that is their prerogative, I. DON'T. WANT. TO. PAY. FOR. IT!
A.M. Reynolds from the Backyard Beacon breaks it all down:

In the World Wide Web, BET.com dehumanizes the online identity of women by reducing centerfolds to free widgets – portable chunks of code that allow content to be displayed on any web page or social networking site.

Her profile?

“Its” bust-waist-hips measurements offer you a window into her soul.

Given the criteria of a “B-Girl,” what does it actually mean to be honored by Black Entertainment Television (BET)?

“The cable network already hosts the BET Awards in L.A. and the Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, which focus on musicians; CEO Debra Lee wanted to create a tribute show in D.C. to honor African Americans in other fields. ‘People are clamoring all the time for positive images,’ she told The Washington Post. Backyard Beacon

Yes, in the same way that I can embed a YouTube clip in this blog, BET has developed a widget to make it possible to embed a widget on almost any webpage that will scroll these images one after the other.And it is all being brought to you by the folks that sell us Cheerios, biscuits and happy meals.


BET Bastardized the Phrase "B-girl"

Doubly insulting is that they have chosen to call these g-string clad women contorting their bodies in carious positions, "B- Girls." They are misleading an entire generation of children into believing that the phrase "B girl" refers to this foolishness. BET is hell bent on rewriting history to exclude Black women from any role in commercial hip hop other than as animate objects.
THIS is a real B-Girl. This is a real B-Girl. In fact they have an ENTIRE CONFERENCE for B-Girls. But you will not see any of the BET B-Girls there. They have a manifesto. They even have a movie. What they are not however is this foolishness BET is trying to sell to you children

If they want to make a widget to disseminate images of B-girls, then why not make the B Girl section about actual B Girls and highlight their talent instead of their tatas

BET Can Continue Its Bottom Feeding...I just Don't Want to Pay for It!

BET can continue to crank out what ever foolishness it wants to... I. DON'T. WANT. TO. PAY. FOR. IT!!! When a consumer goods company like General Mills purchases space on BET.com page that depicts g-string wearing Black women in various contorted positions, they are taking the money of their consumers, that would be US, and using it to fund foolishness! if you eat Cheerios, Chex, Trix, Lucky Charms and other cereals, you paid for BET's booty brigade.

I would LOVE it if BET would abandon the slave auction prong of its business plan, but alas, THAT company I still populated by executives who are fascinated with Black women's behinds and they have no compunction about displaying their advertiser's logo and brand name along side some foolishness.

If they insist on engaging in online slave auctions and sell of black women's body parts breast by breast and butt cheek by butt cheek, then we have a moral obligation to tear down the auction block. Sponsor by sponsor until they abandon the Business of Booty! Black women give entirely too much money to McDonalds, Kraft, General Mills, and the Guv'ment for our money to be spent to display this.

So all of you women and men who vowed that you were going to step up in 2008, here is your chance. Are we just going to complain about how wretched BET is or are we going to stop funding their foolishness?

Please take time today to contact these sponsors and ask them to stop funding foolishness. If they value Black women and girls as their consumers, why on earth would they advertise on this site. They would never advertise on maxim.com. Ask them to pull their ads off of BET.com and consider severing their relationship with BET altogether because BET execs don't have enough common sense to stop putting their advertisers names and logos next to foolishness on their website :

McDonalds
James Skinner Vice Chairman & CEO> McDonald's Corp. McDonalds Plaza 2111 McDonald's Drive Oak Brook, IL 60523 (630) 623-3000
Online Contact Form
Corporate Telephone:630-623-3000 (ask operator for Social Responsibility department)
Customer Service Toll-free 1-800-244-6227.

Nissan Motor Co.
Carlos Ghosin
President
18501 S. Figueroa St.
P.O. Box 191
Gardena, CA 90248-0191
310-771-5631
310-771-3343
www.nissanusa.com

Nissan Consumer Affairs

P.O. Box 685003
Franklin TN 37068-5003
(800) NISSAN-1 (or 800-647-7261)
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.,
Eastern / Central Time / Pacific Time
Monday through Friday

United States Army and Navy

Get the Army and the Navy with ONE fell swoop:

The Department of Defense
Office of Public Communication
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-1400
Voice Mail: 703.428.0711


The following advertisers do not appear to be currently running ads, however they may in the future. I have screen captures of their ads running next to the foolishness.

January 2008
General Mills
Stephen W. Sanger
Chairman and CEO
1 General Mills Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55426
763-764-7384
www.generalmills.com

October-November 2007
Kraft Foods
Betsy D. Holden
President and CEO
3 Lakes Dr.
Northfield, IL 60093
847-646-2000

P.S. if you go to maxim.com you will see that their advertisers are not consumer goods companies. So why are they advertising on bet.com? Because we aren't raising hell about it!

Welcome to Our World Members of the Sports Industrial Complex: Raising the Cost of Admission Into the Mainstream

For an instant I was engaged in a momentary case of schadenfreude when I read this story on ABC News.com Sunday morning:

No matter where professional athletes are -- at home, out with friends, in their cars -- they know they are targets, and they perhaps have never been more uneasy about their personal safety than they are right now. abcnews.com

The AP is running a similar story as well. The whole sports industrial complex is in a tizzy:

If Fred Taylor sounds a bit jumpy, somewhat paranoid, even a little desperate ... well, he is.

He's not alone.

Athletes feel as though they're under attack, their luxurious worlds invaded by thugs and hustlers and criminals who want to take them down — or take what they've worked so hard to earn through their skills on the courts and playing fields. SOURCE

There are some poor Black women down in West Palm Beach Florida who can relate to not feeling safe in your own home.

"People are not coming at your average Joe anymore," said Fisher, who called for the NFL to implement stricter security measures to protect players. "They are coming after athletes. People feel like athletes are an easy win. Why not (rob) an athlete?

But I thought the members of the Sports Industrial Complex were all about KEEPING IT REAL- making sure everyone knew y'all were still down with the people in Da' Hood. Well the people in the hood are living in fear too.

I guess as long as it was we "little people" whose blood was running in the streets and living in terror and fear, the glorification of foolishness was just fine and dandy. Anybody remember Carmello Anthony's "Stop Snitching" video? The "Average Joes" would like to say. WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Sucks doesn't it!

Seems professional athletes are growing tired of the “keeping it real” culture they have been clinging to for the past decade or so. Despite the fact that they are multimillionaires, many have gone out of their ways to emulate the THUG LIFE-style. They were just KEEPING IT REAL!

I didn't start this blog for nothing. The world is changing and not in a good way. We are seeing the results of two decades of absolute insanity begin to show up.

What Did You Expect When We Started Mainstreaming Foolishness?

What did you think was going to happen when you raised a generation of young Black folks to believe that being “upwardly mobile” meant rolling on over to somebody's house and “mobilizing” their property on “up” outta there?

What did you think was going to happen after plunking your kids in front of video games where their objective is to shoot, maim, rape and kill as many human beings as possible?

What did you think when the iconic “entrepreneurs” of these generations of late proudly proclaim themselves to be "hustlers", don't and wear suits and ties, but are 40 and 50 years-old running around in track suits calling themselves CEOs? Then we wonder why a COLLEGE or UNIVERSITY has to initiate a DRESS CODE because its students don't know how to dress for a freaking job interview.

What did you think was going to happen when ridiculous numbers of African American teenagers commit economic suicide and drop out of high school?

What did you think was going to happen when all of these athletes were inviting MTV into their homes so we could see their tacky over the top CRIBS with a plasma screen tv over the commode and gold fish in the floor?

What did you think was going to happen with a couple of generations of under educated, under employed, oversexed people who have been systematically desensitized to violence and have no frame of reference for socially acceptable behavior other than what they can surmise from mainstream popular culture.

What did you think was going to happen when CORPORATE AMERICA decided to mainstream a pro prison, pro pimp, pro drugs, pro crime, pro violence, anti education, anti woman, anti impulse control, anti social culture?

The Cost of Admission into the Mainstream

There used to be a time when we exacted a heavy price in order to be “Mainstream.” Remember Michael Jordan catching hell because he wasn't running around trying to be the next MLK. Although we know he had to be doing all kinds of dirt, he didn't brag about it on the front page of the paper as if he was proud. Why? Because he wanted mainstream money and back then, the mainstream exacted a price. Either fit within our narrow boundaries of socially acceptable behavior, or you will not get our mainstream money. Shut up and play and you will get paid!

Now the same sports media talking heads that love to call the San Antonio Spurs SOFT because Tim Duncan and crew aren't running around throwing up gang signs between scoring points and winning championships are lamenting the plague of violence besetting these multimillionaire ball players who have been obsessed with making sure that the world knew that they were GANGTA' and continuing to embrace the streets that they claim to have come from.

All of a sudden all the conspicuous consumption they wholeheartedly engaged in is coming back to haunt them because folks have been watching MTV Cribs and they want to consume too and they don't mind consuming you and you family to get what they want. There was a time when you didn't let folks know what was up in your house. Everybody couldn't come over and visit. You didn't pull your curtains back during the holidays so the neighborhood could see how nice you Christmas tree was and you made sure that when you got a new TV, VCR, or other electronic device that you cut up the box so folks wouldn't know you got anything new. Or maybe that was just we folks in Da Hood that knew you NEVER flashed money around unless you wanted to have someone take it from you.

Will there always be entertainment that promotes hatred and indifference for the lives of your fellow man? Of course, but it does not have to reside in the mainstream. We can drop kick it into the fringes where it belongs. I hope that with this new cloud hanging over them and their families that all of these poster boys of keeping it real join me and stop funding foolishness.

Stop funding foolishness does not just mean not buying CDs and DVDs and Video Games. It means imposing economic sanctions on large US Corporations that are pumping billions of dollars into an industry that is cannibalizing the African American community.

Excuses. Excuses

Gina, it isn't popular culture, its poverty! - You are wrong. We've always been poor. When you blame poverty for people running around shooting other human beings indiscriminately, you slander the poor. There is no correlation between morality and net worth. If that was the case, some of these multimillionaires would not be running around acting like a bunch of fools.

Gina, its racism! - Wrong again. It is something else. We've always had to deal with racism and we managed to have some kind of moral compass within the community. Our moral authority was one of the greatest weapons of the Civil Rights Movement.

Now I do believe that racism is responsible for polluting the mainstream with these destructive messages. There is no way that if other groups were targeted the way Black women are in popular culture that the likes of Starbucks, Ford, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, Apple Computers, Old Spice and Mountain Dew would be handing out checks. Explain to me how Verizon made Akon its spokesperson despite his conviction on robbery and drug charges? Explain to me how Macy's Department Stores and others are handing over millions of dollars by carrying the clothing, shoes, accessories, and perfumes of men who routinely engage in hate speech and acts directed towards Black women? If ANY OTHER group was being called names and degraded like Black women, they wouldn't get within 100 feet of a Macy's. Remember THAT the next time you go buy a new suit!

Gina, this has been going on forever!- Wrong! There have always been immoral murderous people, but again, they didn't dominate the mainstream. Think about this insanity: The Black multimillionaire that has a baby mama in every city; gets into a knock down drag out fight with his employer's customers in front of the world; got 8 cars with 3 garages; is tatted up and braided down and BLINGED OUT -Well he's from the streets and is KEEPING IT REAL!

But the Black man that has De' Evil 9-5; Who dresses appropriately to carry out his job duties;has a 401 K and is dollar cost averaging instead of trying to get rich quick; has a 5 year plan instead of a 5 minute plan; marries the mother of his children PRIOR TO CONCEPTION; takes whatever honest work he can get today knowing that it might lead to something else tomorrow instead of slanging rocks or hustlin' This Black man is called a CHUMP or a SELLOUT by the mainstream popular culture.

Yes, there have always been murderous thieves, but THEY used to be the ones scorned, not held up as some ideal to achieve (Frank Lucas my arse!- Even Frank knew to keep a low profile and not be running about Bling Blinging). Even then thieves used to have a code of conduct of sorts. Now it is anything goes. Whatever feels good. Do it! There used to be a time when people were embarrassed to be known as a criminal. Now it is a badge of honor. It shows that you are Keeping it REAL!

Gina, you and your solutions are over simplistic. They won't work! - WRONG!!! It ain't that hard. The next time you hear about some huge corporation offering another hooligan or misogynist a multi-million-dollar contract, howl at the moon and watch how quickly they back track. Case in point Twista and McDonalds - Akon and Verizon. Once these idiots realize that if they want the big money they are going to have to meet certain expectations, watch the attitude adjustment. They will still get rich,but not as easily as they are now. Not without access to mainstream money.

Why will it be that easy? Because most of them aren't artists in the first place, they're hustlers (haven't you been listening)who figured out the Entertainment Industrial Complex was a pretty good way to develop a brand name which they could then exploit to make exponentially more than they could ever make selling albums or touring. They make peanuts off of album sales. They don't care about the music. They care about their brand. The music videos and songs are just commercials for their brands. Why do you think certain rappers can't seem to retire? It ain't about the music, it is all about keeping up sales of their tacky clothing lines and they can't do that without a hit album out reminding people that they are still relevant.

Gina, I am sick of you and your gloom and doom blog! AND YOUR POSTS ARE TOO LONG! - Begone PEST!!!Don't you think I am tired of it too. If I thought the situation was hopeless, I would have bounced already, moved to a mountain in the Canadian rockies and thrown up the deuce. I am very hopeful. I sense a shift in mood in the Black community. Can you feel it? Now, even the Keeping It Real athletes appear to be all thugged out. As for the length of the posts, there are plenty of blogs where you can go to look at pretty pictures. I visit them myself on a daily basis. THIS ain't one of those blogs.

Raising the Price of Admission into the Mainstream

We can drop kick the foolishness to the fringes. We can raise the price of admission to belong in the mainstream. We can banish the bacchanal buffet of booty shaking into an abyss where it belongs! We don't have to take this crap. We are more powerful that you know and all we have to do is open up our mouths and speak.

What would happen if Black women or for that matter all people who are sick and tired of the foolishness sent a message to department stores that as long as you sell the clothing lines of these purveyors of porn and cultural pestilence we won't be shopping at your store? I bet they'd pull those clothing lines faster than you can say raccoon fur coat! ( It is a shame that a dog in China has advocates willing to take on corporate America and Black women don't. PETA and the Humane Society ain't playin'. Why the heck are we?)

I'm not saying we should do that. I'm just putting it out there.

So to the multimillionaire athletes, welcome to our world. We've been waiting for you. To those of you who, like Fannie Lou Hamer, are sick and tire of being sick and tired, what are you going to do? Are you going to continue to sit on the sidelines lamenting the decline of the Black community, or are you going to fight back? It ain't that hard. I believe our last free market capitalism campaign took about 4 hours to drive some foolishness into the depths of Hell where it belonged. All we have to do is ask. Why aren't you asking for an increase in the price of admission into the mainstream?

Stop Funding Foolishness!