Rantings of a Black Polemicist

Jennifer Hudson gets the boot.

Saturday, April 24th, 2004 | Trivialities | 26 Comments

I watched on as vocal powerhouse, Jennifer Hudson got the boot from American Idol Wednesday. Unbelievable. In fact, the contestants in the bottom 3 were the strongest performers even by the judges? standards. They also happened to be the only 3 black girls in the competition.

Many have their theories about why John Stevens, who is clearly out of his league, remains in the competition while Amy Adams and now Hudson are out. I don’t think racism is a valid theory. Here’s my take on things:

• The audience is voting for the underdogs. Simon has said that the three “divas” are the best in the competition, while being especially brutal towards Stevens. Maybe people are assuming that the public will already vote for the talent and try to compensate by voting for Stevens because they like his personality. More compensatory votes were cast than those based on merit, leaving the talent in the cold, and in Hudson’s case - off the show.
• People with enough sense to recognize talent also have lives. With other things to do than sit by their phone casting 100 or 200 votes for their favorite performer, they watch the show and move on with their life. The teeny-boppers with virtually unlimited text-messaging cellphone plans do nothing but cast votes until their little fingers are numb.
• Maybe people just don’t care about talent as much as they want to see someone in a particular demographic win. Teenage white girls think John is cute and vote away. All of Hawaii votes for Jasmine. Other suburban homes are in love with Diana. Black folks want to see another black idol, but end up splitting their votes among the three “divas”, hurting their chances for success.

Whatever the reasons, I’m pissed. The competition is quickly becoming a joke, and America is to blame. The biggest flaw in the voting system is that one person can cast as many votes as they want. I’ve voted from my AT&T wireless phone, and you don’t have to wait for an open line to make your vote count. Just text-message away, and your votes rack up quickly. Land line voters are at a distinct disadvantage to wireless voters.

Slavery Reparations Tax Scam

Friday, April 16th, 2004 | Race | 1 Comment

Not only do a significant number of blacks think that we’re entitled to reparations for the slavery of our ancestors, but an even more ill-informed segment of this population believe that there is such thing as a “Reparations Tax Credit” and are claiming it on their tax returns. In 2001, close to 80,000 taxpayers filed claims with the IRS seeking nearly $3 billion in false slavery reparations.

Even more surprisingly, some of those claims got past the IRS, who in 2000 and 2001 paid out nearly $30 million to people filing for the bogus tax credits. One has to ask why some blacks think we’re entitled to reparations in the first place.

Justification #1: The “40 Acres and a Mule” myth

Many blacks believe that Congress laid out a bill in 1866 to ensure that freed slaves received compensation for being unjustly enslaved.

In reality, on January 1865, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15, setting aside a coastal strip of land from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, for the exclusive use of freed slaves. Each freed-slave family was to receive a 40-acre chunk of this holding, and Sherman later provided that the army could assist them with the loan of mules.

The problem here is that the good General didn’t have the authority to give away land that didn’t belong to him, and later that same year, the land was returned to its owners. End of story.

Justification #2: Compensation for segregation and Jim Crow

Others seem to be taking a 1993 Essence magazine commentary by Lena Sherrod 1993 as fact:

“The government also owes African-Americans a tax rebate for the 60 years of segregation and Jim Crow that followed slavery. Although we were consigned by law to second-class citizenship, we were still forced to pay first-class taxes . . . the delinquent tax rebate [is] now estimated . . . to be at $43,209 per household.”

Since de facto racial discrimination continues to function as a hidden Black tax, it ought to be deductible. So when income-tax time rolls around, on line 59 of form 1040 which asks you to list ‘other payments’ simply enter $43,209 in ‘Black taxes’ and compute accordingly.”

Crooked tax professionals looking to cash in on their customers’ ignorance started pushing the scam. Black southern churches jumped on the reparations bandwagon, giving the scam an appearance of legitimacy, and the tax returns started pouring in. One nut has already been convicted after successfully getting a $500,000 tax refund for his daughter, refusing to pay it back after the IRS finally figured out what happened.

Why slavery and segregation reparations are a bad idea

It’s easy to see why asking the government to pay slavery reparations to me for instance, is stupid. I wasn’t enslaved. So what if my great-great-grandfather was a slave more than 200 years ago? In what way does writing me a check for $43,209 make everything right?

More importantly, where does this money come from? The government, you say. Well, the government’s money comes from American taxpayers. Holding every other taxpayer responsible for the actions of a select few’s ancestors is not only ridiculous, it’s unfair. Furthermore, I haven’t heard anyone explain how this windfall is supposed to help blacks overcome the challenges we face in America.

As for seeking compensation for the years of segregation and Jim Crow, Lena Sherrod makes a valid point in her commentary about being “consigned by law to second-class citizenship, [but] still forced to pay first-class taxes”. However, I don’t know that there is a hidden boogeyman lurking, a “Black Tax” that is imposed on blacks living in this country, holding us back economically.

Black people need to suck it up and move on. The finger-pointing and demands for entitlements are getting us nowhere. Black Americans have undenyably been screwed throughout history. Racism of the open and hidden institutional types still exist, there’s no question in my mind. Well, what to do about it?

The answer is a complicated one, but it lies in looking within and making positive changes in ourselves and our culture. A check from America’s citizens won’t do anything for blacks who’ve absolved themselves of any responsibility for their own progress.

American Idol: Why the less talented remain

Thursday, April 15th, 2004 | Trivialities | 20 Comments

Finally, a reasonable theory has been offered to explain why untalented clowns can remain in the contest, but more talented contestants get booted off. It’s the hacks’ obsessed fans, their “People”, that keep them in the running. Unfortunately, this minority skews the voting results and hurts the integrity of the contest:

“Unlike the general public, which would probably be capable of trimming a list of candidates down to a serviceable pop singer by the end of a season, the People are systematically ruining it for everyone. The People must be stopped.”

If one more person votes for that red-headed Frank Sinatra wannabe John Stevens, I’m going to pull what’s left of my hair out by the roots. After watching The Hobbit, Jon Peter Lewis, pass off his maniacal shouting and dancing as a real performance, I’ve seen it all. Even Simon wondered aloud if the show had become “Comedy Idol”, questioning why the audience gave a standing ovation after the “performance”.

Jon and John won’t go away, and it’s their People’s fault.

Fantasia moved me last night with her version of “Summertime”. That’s it. I’m buying a special video capture device today to start backing up all of her performances to my PC. If she released an album today, I’d buy it without a second thought.

I just hope the rest of the country takes back control, and soon. This season is really about when everyone but Fantasia and Latoya will get booted, so we can have a showdown between the only two real competitors in the contest.

Update: It looks like there may be some justice afterall. Jon Peter Lewis just got booted tonight. Thank God.