Thursday, April 12, 2007

Nappy Headed Hos v. Gay Darkies:  National v. Local Responses to Racist Language

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

The nation is having a debate over racialized language in the wake of Don Imus’ “Nappy Headed Hos” comment.  Whatever your position, the debacle has caused Imus to lose several corporate sponsorships—like P&G, Staples, GM, and more.  Meanwhile, local trash publisher Jim Schfrin (from The Whistleblower) has characterized Mayor Mark Mallory as a “gay darkie,” and no one has said anything.  (Particularly conspicuous in the absence of commentary is The Cincinnati Black Blog.) 

Further, in today’s issue of The Whistleblower, Schifrin said that State Rep. Tom Brinkman will be giving him an award at an upcoming campaign fundraiser:

Is Jim Schifrin, with his disgusting commentary, really the voice of the local Conservative agenda?  We asked Tom Brinkman about this alleged award.  “I took it as a suggestion and nothing more,” wrote Brinkman in an email.  Notice that Brinkman has never seen fit to distance himself from the racist doggerel of Jim Schifrin.  Instead, he takes suggestions from a man who has called the mayor of Cincinnati a “gay darkie.”

Again, no matter your perspective on the “nappy headed” comment by Imus, why is it that his line is the cause for so much outrage, while here in Cincinnati high ranking politicians frequently fraternize with the likes of someone with language like Schifrin?

In this blog entry at The Cincinnati Black Blog, Nate Livingston applauds the idea that Imus might get taken off the air due to his comment.  However, a few months ago when an anonymous commenter asked him to respond to Schifrin’s racist statements, Livingston declined:

For some reason, Don Imus’ idea of a joke is a national outrage, but here in Cincinnati the local politicians and pundits are silent on the issue of Jim Schifrin.  He hides behind absurd reasoning—“Sometimes The Whistleblower uses ethnic slurs to show that bigotry of any kind is not appropriate in our society. This should be clear to anybody who isn’t a total moron”—but can anyone really believe that kind of nonsense?  What sort of conversations would our country be having right now if Don Imus had tried to use that for his excuse?

Steve Fritsch, publisher of The Cincinnatus Standard, avoided the issue when asked about the “gay darkie” comment.  “The Whistleblower is read by many, many people every day, including some who even disagree or dislike its author,” said Fritsch.  “If there was not such a big audience of Whistleblower readers I doubt that anyone would pay much attention to its ‘controversial’ content. For those that do get bent out of shape by its content, once again, all I can say is, ‘Don’t read it if you don’t like it.’”

By not commenting specifically on Schifrin’s characterization of Mallory as a “gay darkie,” Fritsch avoids the whole point.  It is easy to say that one should not read something one finds objectionable, but that does not explain why he hosts objectionable content at his website.  Would Fritsch offer bandwidth for White Supremacists to spew their nonsense daily, telling anyone upset at such a decision not to read it?

Socializer!

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.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
12 Apr 2007  at  04:15 pm | #

Just after posting this story, I saw this item at the Enquirer blog:

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov/2007/04/cole-cooper-discuss-imus.asp

Laketa Cole is speaking out against Imus.  Will she take on Schifrin?

By the company he keeps.... says:
12 Apr 2007  at  04:37 pm | #

Steve Fritsch -  Publisher   
     
Steve Fritsch, 28, is a life-long Cincinnati-area resident and a graduate of Purcell Marian High School. He founded The Cincinnatus Standard in September 2006 after taking a much needed break from the world of politics. Starting in February 2003, he co-founded the original Queen City Forum web site and then founded BlueChipReview.com from July 2004 to June 2006. In addition to driving area liberals insane and exposing radical college professors, he has also served as campaign manager for state representative Tom Brinkman’s successful reelection in 2004, and was campaign manager for Cincinnati City Council candidate Paul McGhee (the leading independent vote getter in 2005). On top of running The Cincinnatus Standard daily, Steve is finishing his bachelor’s degree at Northern Kentucky University with a major in History and plans to someday write historical biographies. stevefritsch@thecincinnatusstandard.com

anon says:
12 Apr 2007  at  04:37 pm | #

A lot of people hide behind the free speech issue regarding Imus, Schifrin and other trash talkers. That’s irrelevant. Undeniably, they have the right to say any number of ugly, disgusting things.

The question is why local politicians and journalists, like Brinkman, Deters, Bill Sloat, and others continue to associate with Schifrin. I really doubt that ANY elected official would defend the decision to associate with someone who publicly refers to the mayor as a “gay darkie”. Time to call them out.

F is for.... says:
12 Apr 2007  at  05:46 pm | #

Contrary to the claim in his biography that he’s attending NKU, Steve Fritsch is not listed in the online student directory.

cincysue says:
12 Apr 2007  at  06:54 pm | #

And of course it’s totally hands off Fox network. Bill O’Reilly, who is supposed to be a newsman, far outshines Imus, who’s supposed to be a radio personality, or comedian,(like Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle) in the racist, sexist, homophobic department. Shaquille O’Neill not long ago was doing imitations of how he thinks Asian people speak—ching, chang, chong, I think it was.  And as Jesse Jackson mugs for the camera it’s hard to forget his Hymie Town remarks about Jews. Everybody profiles Middle Easterners, or ragheads as they’ve become known in the media, and immigrants are not only being discriminated against, they’re actually being tracked down and shot down on the border. Of course it’s open season on gays, using the word fag openly is practically a badge of honor. How come Ann Coulter still has a job? It goes on and on. Like volleyball, back and forth. Is discrimination only reprehensible if it’s against one group—African Americans—by one group—Anglo males. All other hurtful, hateful stereotyping slurs are acceptable in the media, including the filthy, rotten depictions of African American women by African American “rap” artists.

Birds of a Feather says:
12 Apr 2007  at  07:59 pm | #

Anon #3, the people you mentioned are not going to say anything because they agree with him.

Soul Allinsky says:
12 Apr 2007  at  11:23 pm | #

Anon #3, the people you mentioned are not going to say anything because they agree with him.

Exactly. The winning tactic is to isolate those who stand next to slimeballs.

Imus got a nod and wink from guys like Bill Maher because when they appeared on his program, it would kick their book sales into high gear. After the Rutgers insult, Maher and others Imus supporters got publicly called out by public figures and that information was quickly and widely circulated by bloggers.

Don’t bother with Steve Fristch. He’s a nothing with nothing to lose. But the Imus brouhaha is the perfect opportunity to tag Brinkman and Deters. Neither of them will act decently by nature, so they need to be trained. Both have a public face to maintain for their political ambitions. Brinkman’s the better target because he wants to run for Schmidt’s seat and he endlessly parades his Family Values credentials. Let everybody see that Brinkman takes political advise from someone who calls the Mayor Mallory a “gay darkie,” etc. Make sure Schmidt’s people get copied.

End of Brinkman problem. (Also, end of COAST’s only existing political hope.)

Show me the money says:
12 Apr 2007  at  11:49 pm | #

Sue you seem to not have a clue that the majority of people who purchase rap music are anglo males(85%). The music industry is dominated by….anglo males. Rappers have said that they would like to burn CD’s about socially conscious issues but they are not getting the time of day. Why? Because the mysogyny, gang-banging, drug-using lyrics and images are what the anglo male-dominated industry wants, not the Black community, not the rappers. Not to excuse the artists for putting out garbage, but in order to get paid, this is how the game is played. If this foreign to you I suggest you do some research, there’s plenty out there to support my assertions. Money talks in America and they are in it to get paid. Like in the Imus debacle, money dictates actions. If you really want to impact the music industry, you can, and I’ll tell you how. When was the last time you scolded some young anglo male for buying a mysogynistic, violent CD and blasting it in his ride? Education and redirection is needed at the consumer level. If anglo males didnt buy that garbage, it wouldnt be put out there.

steve fritsch says:
12 Apr 2007  at  11:51 pm | #

I am most definitely at NKU right now (and taking 16 credit hours this semester), thank you very much.

By the way, Rick Hines at the very liberal, anti-Republican CincyNation.com published The Whistleblower for over four months in 2006 while I took a break from it.

The Cincinnati Beacon has a link to the CincyNation. Why didn’t the Dean ever criticize Hines when he did it?

By the way, Hines published The Blower because he knew he would get a serious amount of web traffic for it.

funnelcake says:
13 Apr 2007  at  01:48 am | #

OK - Let’s get a similar response.  All advertisers should now withdraw their support & he should be fired.

...
...
...

Um… OK.  He has not advertisers & no one hired him….

Bottom line is you can’t put any economic or censorship pressure on him.

The only thing you could possible do is to convince people not to read his writing.  But in doing so, you will only draw more attention to it.

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
13 Apr 2007  at  01:52 am | #

The difference is…who’s going to listen.

The main reason Imus got busted was not because he hadn’t said stuff like this before, but previously he had attacked people who could be called public figures and people who were full fledged adults. These Rutgers girls are college students technically under guidance from their school, their coach and their parents. They deserve to be defended by their “guardians” because they have earned and maintained that privilege.

And even at that it took Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson both to get some attention to the Imus issue.

Mayor Mallory has the grudging support of black people. He hasn’t done much to keep it but he hasn’t done much to lose it either. Hell I don’t even like Mallory’s governing that much but I’d gladly picket or kick Jim Schifrin’s ass over these remarks if Mayor Mallory asked me to.

But he doesn’t have to. Mayor Mallory is perfectly capable of addressing this himself without my meager help.

Let some more white folks get outraged about this. Black folks shouldn’t have to keep beating their heads against a brick wall alone. Why should Nate stick his neck out only to be told that “it’s not that big a deal” or “it’s not that offensive anyway” or “black people talk to each like that all the time so why can’t I say it” or “black people need to address their own problems before they say anything about whites and racism” or worst of all “playing the race card won’t get you anywhere”. As if calling somebody a “gay darky” isn’t playing the race card. Most white folks are just to clueless for the protest.

Problem is it’s going to be a long time before words like this aren’t acceptable in Cincinnati. Most white folks don’t care and the ones who do aren’t brave enough to break their silence.

Too bad silence is approval to a bigot.

I’m getting more militant in more old age and I just have less tolerance for white folks bullshit.

suburban jane d'oh says:
13 Apr 2007  at  09:08 am | #

cincysue says:
12 Apr 2007 at 04:54 pm | Shaquille O’Neill not long ago was doing imitations of how he thinks Asian people speak—ching, chang, chong, I think it was.

vaguely remember that, but I don’t doubt SOMEBODY checked him; of course, this is the same idiot that had a problem w/ the use of the word ni99er in the movie, “The Departed”. go figure….

cincysue says:  And as Jesse Jackson mugs for the camera it’s hard to forget his Hymie Town remarks about Jews.

actually, ITS NOT HARD TO FORGET, because each and every time he comes to the rotten apple, the jewish community makes a point, as well as the news media, of bringing that up in his face….

cincysue says: How come Ann Coulter still has a job?

because she’s Mann Coulter, and according to HER, she’s just ‘being funny’.

cincysue says: Is discrimination only reprehensible if it’s against one group—African Americans—by one group—Anglo males.

nope, but as long as it plays well in the media, and gets peoples boxers and briefs in a bunch, it makes for HIGH RATINGS!!

cincysue says: All other hurtful, hateful stereotyping slurs are acceptable in the media, including the filthy, rotten depictions of African American women by African American “rap” artists.

yeah, and before you try the whole when are black people going to get on these rappers argument, its been done, and its a wack-azz, if not weak azz argument… and those making said ‘argument’ need to preface it by asking when are SOME african americans…. but, hey, the whole paint african americans as a monolithic group works well for some people’s arguments….

and can we please stop falling for the Jesse and Al are black leaders okey doke also? the only reason a mic is put in their faces as so called ‘leaders of the black community’ is because it, too, makes for HIGH RATINGS!! the news media know how pissed off whyt folx get when they see these two charlatans spewing forth whateve rhetoric is available for them to spew, as it were. Trust me when I say not all african americans view them as our ‘fearless leaders’ as it were; I don’t doubt there are many of you that would get pissed at me if I said same about, say, David Duke.

Regarding Mr. Jim Schifrin’s comments in The Whistleblower, sorry Dean, I don’t read the WB, nor do I read the local catbox liner that is the Nigg-quirer, so this is the first that I’ve heard of it. Has the mayor heard about what was said, and if so, has he commented on it?

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
13 Apr 2007  at  09:13 am | #

ThatDeborahGirl says:
12 Apr 2007 at 11:52 pm |
The main reason Imus got busted was not because he hadn’t said stuff like this before…

actually, Mr. I’mAzz had said stuff like this before, as well as his producer, aka his ni99er joke man, as it were. the following link from fair.org documents a few of his ‘jokes’.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3082

Monica says:
13 Apr 2007  at  09:44 am | #

TDG,

Let the whole church say AMEN!!!

suburban jane d'oh says:
13 Apr 2007  at  10:04 am | #

note to Show me the Monet: your post was ON POINT, but it will be igged because it blasts IED holes in the I’mAzz supporters, ALL BLAQ FOLX LISTEN TO RAP argument…

Shame says:
13 Apr 2007  at  01:33 pm | #

funnelcake, Shifrin should be called out and shunned. It says a lot about your character if you hang out with or host such a bigot. They should all be shamed and all politicians should be put on notice. Shifrin is a sexist and racist pig!

White Privilege says:
13 Apr 2007  at  02:04 pm | #

Fritsch is a white supremacist. Remember his celebration of “Speak english for service”? He wants bomb everybody that doesn’t live in a white country.

cincysue says:
13 Apr 2007  at  06:58 pm | #

It’s another urban myth that it’s all white kids listening to rap. So what are black kids listening to? Country? Sure the numbers are big because whites are the majority of the population. And poor rappers. They can’t make a living if they don’t call women ho’s. The most romantic, innovative music, with worldwide impact and influence, has come from black American artists. There’s no argument there. Was music created by all the great soul groups, Doo wop, Motown, jazz, blues, all the way back to the big bands and swing, and every other genre pioneered by African Americans only made just to please white people? Did they all compromise and sell out too? If not, why not? Historically there were far fewer blacks in power positions in industry then, than now.  What’s the difference with this generation. There’s been a petition going around against Eminem for precisely the same reason. Isn’t he the invention of a black producer? That all said, rap’s not the issue. How free is free speech, is the issue.  I think rappers should be allowed to make whatever kind of “music” they want to make and people should listen or not.

It’s a slippery slope. Imus should apologize. He did. I couldn’t care less if he’s fired. But that action might just be the precursor to a major media crackdown under the guise of taking a moral stand. Let’s see who/what’s next. This is just the first act.

anon says:
13 Apr 2007  at  09:19 pm | #

Fritsch changes the subject with the “he did it and you didn’t go after him” dodge, meanwhile refusing to take responsibility for his own decision to host Schifrin’s garbage.

Show me the money says:
14 Apr 2007  at  12:48 am | #

Sue,
You failed to make a sensible point in all your rambling. Do some research, get some facts about the music industry, and then maybe you can make a logical post. Did the truth hit a little too close to home for you? I bet you have sons or nephews who listen to bullcRap and love it, dont you?

Grey Ghost says:
14 Apr 2007  at  02:20 am | #

I’m getting more militant in more old age and I just have less tolerance for white folks bullshit.

Deborah, perhaps you’re right about the old age business. I have zero tolerance for black folks baloney, showoff loudmouth crap & the backed-up toilet mouths. I’m completely put off by the smelly, filthy baggy rags on the boyz,& their sissy braids.

The too tight threads on the girlz, where the flesh pooches out is disgusting. You know what I mean. Size 3 petite clothes on a Size 3X body. It’s no wonder they aren’t treated with respect and dignity as genteel ladies. The black music is filled with contempt for the girlz because the girlz don’t respect themselves. The hairpieces are a real laugh. The fake hair I see is generally straight, as in European. The plastic fingernails are fabulously funny. A false front, a facade.

Such a pity, Deborah. It truly is.

Bertie Wooster says:
14 Apr 2007  at  10:15 am | #

Yea Steve, you’re a student at nku, yet you don’t appear in the student listings. Everyone I know who is a student at nku, my nephews and their freinds, is listed, but your not? Your a liar Stevie. You are such a consumate liar that you could work for the Bush monarchy, er, administration.

You are also a total freaking loser.

cincysue says:
14 Apr 2007  at  12:44 pm | #

Show me the money -What do you contest that I say? What should I research? I question the notion that rappers are artistically strongarmed by whites to call women ho’s, and that they wouldn’t have a career if they didn’t. You don’t have any facts or research to refute that. Like I say, it’s an urban myth. Are you saying that African Americans AREN’t responsible for those genres I mentioned? What’s your point? But my point is already made. Today, the news announced a press conference of a coalition of “ministers” across faith (although a black reverend was speaking for them), that have the mission of attacking rap music and basically, eliminating it, using the same tactics that were used on Imus—advertisers. A precedent was set. Didn’t I say this would be the backlash? My “rambling post” was in fact, IN FAVOR, of rappers being able to say whatever they want to say. Listen to it or not, that’s a choice. The only reason Imus was thrown to the dogs was so that the media could get support to go after their real target—black rappers. Now what research can you cite that refutes that? Think a little deeper, wider, Money. The answer is outside the box.

Whopper Copper says:
14 Apr 2007  at  01:43 pm | #

Fritsch: I am most definitely at NKU right now (and taking 16 credit hours this semester)

Bertie Wooster: Your (sic) a liar Stevie.

Steve, you’ve been called out, but it’s easy to defend yourself. Just name one NKU professor or administrator who will verify your claim.

Anon says:
14 Apr 2007  at  04:13 pm | #

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMOkDOXAovQ

And no one stepped up to speak out when this racist went on his rant. It’s a rather long vid, but what I found hilarious, is this idiot not only talks out of both sides of his mouth, he also talks out of his a$$hole. What a sicko.

Bertie Wooster says:
14 Apr 2007  at  04:18 pm | #

Not to pull a Mel Gibson here, but the music industry isn’t controlled by “white Anglos”, it’s controlled by jewish males, like the rest of the entertainment industry. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, I’m just saying.

diversity says:
14 Apr 2007  at  05:17 pm | #

“Not to pull a Mel Gibson here, but the music industry isn’t controlled by “white Anglos”, it’s controlled by jewish males, like the rest of the entertainment industry. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, I’m just saying.”

Bertie Wooster, there is something wrong with jewish males controlling the entertainment industry. Besides Jon stuart their jewish males aren’t all that entertaining, sow why should they control the industry. We need more diversity of onwership in order to get real diversity in our entertainment. As long as rich white guys are defining what the stories of black, latino and other minorities we’ll get a warped view of who they are.

And says:
14 Apr 2007  at  05:31 pm | #

anon, what’s your point? So some idiot racist said something really racist and? He wasn’t a talk show host that interviews politicians and has support from the networks and corporate sponsors. He was an idiot on a cspan panel that had about 4 people in the audience.

cincysue says:
14 Apr 2007  at  09:42 pm | #

Bertie, Diversity and the Rest of the urban myth promoters - Neither Hollywood nor the music industry is “run by jews.” Though just like Christians, Jews have the right to and do work in any industry they’re qualified to work in.

The studios aren’t “mom and pop” shops. They’re multi-national corporations just like any other major industry and they are beholden to stockholders.
I would venture that the stockholders are majority Christians and in recent decades, heavily Muslim due to the Saudi influence and investment in these industries. Here’s who owns the major studios. I can post exactly who has owned each for the last 50 years if you want to know and it has also been corporations such as Coca-Cola, Seagrams, Six Flags, etc. The eastern Europeans that started the film industry in the U.S. (some Jews and some not) haven’t had influence since the 50s, though individual Jews, like individual Christians work in the industry. It would be more accurate to say the entertainment industry in America is controlled, or overrun, by Christians, if you have to have a religious label.

20th Century Fox - owned by News Corpoation (Rupert Murdoch)
Columbia Pictures - owned by Sony since 1982
Warner Brothers - Owned by Time Warner/AOL
Paramount - owned by Viacom
Universal - owned by General Electric
MGM - Owned by Providence Equity Partners/Sony Comcast
United Artists merged with MGM also owned by Providence Equity Partners/Sony Comcast
RKO Pictures defunct last owned by Wesray Capital.

I’ve never been able to discern which religion a corporation is, maybe you can. Are Exxon and Walmart Christian? Sony Buddhist?

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
14 Apr 2007  at  09:50 pm | #

I think corporations belong to the Church of the Sub-Genius.

Show me the money says:
14 Apr 2007  at  11:06 pm | #

Sue,
You said all that to say what? How about answering this simple question….Do you have sons or other close male relatives who PURCHASE the ignorant rap CD’s?


I thought so. And by the way, I prefer the original rap artists over the bullcRappers of today. Tell me who is going to come out strong like Chuck D and say stuff like this(Lyrics from Fight the Power)...
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant sh!t to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother fu_k him and John Wayne
Cause I’m Black and I’m proud
I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped
Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check…

I think you get the picture. Now tell me again about the white/jewish/whatever males who would rather market this kind of positive message over the bitches and ho’s stuff?

diversity says:
14 Apr 2007  at  11:46 pm | #

“Neither Hollywood nor the music industry is “run by jews.” Though just like Christians, Jews have the right to and do work in any industry they’re qualified to work in”.

Cincy Sue, we never said they were “mom and pop” shops or that jews shouldn’t be able to work in the industry. I said there should be more diversity in ownership and control.

Minorites own less than 10% of the media and yes the majority of the big shots in Hollywood are Jewish. We aren’t talking about who works in the industry, we’re talking about the small number of people who control things.

Go buy some stock in Coca Cola and come back and tell us how much control you get. Zip. The owners/stock holders should control things but they don’t. Most important decisions are made by CEOs and managers.

Corporations are satanic. They pray for and are only interested in the profits.

cincysue says:
15 Apr 2007  at  10:26 am | #

Show me the money - I imagine that my nieces and nephews all buy hard core rap. Don’t yours? It’s hardly counter culture like Punk—it’s mainstream music. And I also preferred Public Enemy, NWA, De La Soul. I never said anything about banning rap. I said they call women ho’s. They choose to do it, they’re not under the white man’s thumb, (although you can probably name a half dozen black men’s thumbs they’re under, who have become household names like Diddy) and they should be totally allowed to make whatever art they choose. Generations of African Americans before them and still today have been successful without degrading their women, promoting drugs and violence. But that’s their hook. It’s differenct, it’s shocking and it sells.

It’s what THEY choose choose and so be it. No laws. No restrictions. That would be a huge mistake. What’s YOUR point?  Son, even old school rap was mainstream. Even then whites knew every word to 9-11 is a Joke. Everybody listened to it. When you want to talk about artists that didn’t compromise and stayed true to their art bring in artists like the Last Poets or a (Little) Jimmy Scott who influenced every falsetto singer since the 1950s. Bet you don’t even know his name. He never compromised. Nobody ran him. Don’t try to make an argument that millionaire bling-blingers living in mansions, attending Hollwood bashes, are being strongarmed and were it not for the white man, they’d be doing love songs.

Diversity - You that hold to this Jews run Hollywood myth have no sense at all of how many Christians are in power positions in the entertainment industry because you have selective listening/hearing. I could contend—on a feeling just like yours—the the music industry is run and dominated by African Americans. Prove me wrong. African Americans are at the forefront of every genre.

And lastly, John Singleton talked passionately about his pimp and ho glorifying dispicable piece of trash, Hustle and Flow. He said that for a couple of years he took it to all the major studios—and he had a name and a reputation and could get other projects off the ground—but was turned away because of the (degrading, my words) subject matter. But it was his dream. He wasn’t going to compromise (?) so he managed to produce it himself. His dream. His baby. His project. You would certainly think that somebody that despised black people had come up with this degrading film. I would have gone for that argument. A white man behind it. But alas, a black man produced the product and still today remains damned proud of it.

cincysue says:
15 Apr 2007  at  03:46 pm | #

A last word to Diversity and apologies to the Dean because this has strayed far off topic. Following is a quick list of Hollywood powerbrokers. Maybe you’re able to discern religion from the names, I’m not, although the heavy representation of Italian surnames may or may not imply that they are catholics. There have been many articles recently that Scientology has for the past couple of decades become a powerful force in Hollywood. Of course Scientologists are always “practicing” though Jews and Christians may or may not be.

A-LIST HOLLYWOOD DIRECTORS
Top 10 Directors
Steven Spielberg
Martin Scorsese
Frances Coppola
Michael Mann
Peter Jackson
Ron Howard
Clint Eastwood
Barry Levinson
Sydney Pollack

A-LIST MOVIE PRODUCERS
Ten Best Producers
Jerry Bruckheimer
Joe Roth
George Lucas
Brian Grazer
Norman Lear
Saul Zaentz
Dino de Laurentiis
Howard Kazanjian
Albert Broccoli

FAMOUS INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS
Top 10 Filmmakers
John Cassavetes (deceased)
Quentin Tarantino
Spike Lee
Kevin Smith
John Sayles
Atom Egoyan
Woody Allen
Spike Jonze
Joel & Ethan Coen
Neil Labute

anon says:
16 Apr 2007  at  01:00 am | #

diversity: Minorites (sic) own less than 10% of the media and yes the majority of the big shots in Hollywood are Jewish.

Last time I looked jews were a minority. According to “diversity,” apparently   the worst kind: a success story.

steve fritsch says:
16 Apr 2007  at  01:28 pm | #

“Bertie Wooster” and “Whopper Copper”, you anonymous cowards are morons. I opted to have my personal information removed from the student directory last year.

Show me the money says:
16 Apr 2007  at  01:57 pm | #

Sue, you really need to get a grip because you are rambling on again about nothing. Why not research the music industry stats like I suggested in the first post? Your white relatives are part of the problem with your original rant because they buy that crap. THAT IS WHAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING. You on the other hand, seem to be oblivious to how money, power, marketing, consumerism and poverty play into this whole big picture. When young whites (who are the largest consumers of bullcRap stop buying that shit then will we begin to see a decline in the garbage that is put out. It is easier to point fingers at others like those you mentioned rather than look inside our own homes and neighborhoods, isnt it?

And to answer your very short-sighted assumption, HELL NO no one in my immediate BLACK family supports anything that helps destroy us, including “hard core” rap. To us, bullcRap is like cigarettes, they may be legal but they are doing nothing good for us so we leave it alone. Now you can feel free to offer a rebuttal since you seem to be the type of white woman who insists on having the last word, so have at it. I’m so done with you and this convo. Ciao Baby.

Whopper Copper says:
16 Apr 2007  at  07:05 pm | #

Steve Fritsch:  I opted to have my personal information removed from the student directory last year.

Dean, looks like he’s tagged. Pls follow up.

cincysue says:
16 Apr 2007  at  07:06 pm | #

You seem to be surprisingly well versed about a genre you don’t listen to, nobody in your family listens to, nobody you’ve ever known listens to…I don’t believe it.  But, I posed some questions that you call rambling and continue to dodge. Like, was all the decades of positive, beautiful, relevant, romantic, revolutionary, innovative, music made by African Americans, only as a result of white influence and pressure? If it’s so today, it must have been so then. So, if I’m going to get the collective blame for Get Rich or Die Trying then I want the credit for Sketches of Spain and What’s Goin On.  Capice? Your contention that any black performer that’s successful is just a puppet doesn’t give much credit where credit’s due.

And you make the same argument about rap that the dope sellers make about dope. Well, if white people weren’t buying it, we wouldn’t be selling it. Ass-backwards logic.

So if I get your argument, it’s that black people created an entire industry of dispicable, self-loathing music only because white people wanted them to. Right? So, let’s make a deal. How about you worry about trying to get your people to stop making music that exploits and demeans their own sisters and mothers for money, glamorizes and promotes crime and dope to their children and community and I’ll try to get my people to stop buying the trash that your people are producing. Did I get it right? Isn’t that what you’re asking? Deal.

Clear Channel says:
16 Apr 2007  at  09:15 pm | #

The point you are both missing is that the industry is really driven by payola. It’s pay to play. There was a time when a local DJ could throw on a local record and if it got a good response it would get picked up in other cities and get played.

Now only a handful of program directors decide what gets played accross the countries. DJs don’t have any say and local artists have to find major labels that will cough up big dough to Clear Channel. Kids will buy just about whatever is hot. Young black rappers and the white kids that buy their records don’t have much say in what MTV and radio plays.

cincysue says:
16 Apr 2007  at  10:04 pm | #

Channel - I didn’t miss that or disagree with your point. I contend that the artists believe in what they’re doing, write the lyrics, and are proud of their product. That’s what THEY say. They’re rich and powerful enough to have significant influence on the message and how they’re perceived. They’re rap royalty, shrewd businessmen and women, not pawns of the “man.” But, I think they have every right to create their art and people can buy it or not.

But at the beginning of this long rant, my point was that the firing of Imus—an ugly, repulsive, boring, no talent racist hag, who should have been busted years ago—would have other implications. What’s Imus, 70+? He’s at the end of what he calls a career anyway. This Swan Song will probably buy him another decade on satellite—especially since no one can see his hideous puss—that he wouldn’t have had otherwise. Call me paranoid, but I think this sets the stage for the religious right forces. impotent and seething in the shadows, to regroup and go after their next target but now with teeth and it’s a lifetime of Little House on the Prairie and reruns of the Ten Commandments. Hope I’m wrong. I’ll be delighted if in 6 months, someone throws this in my face with a “See, it was just about Imus and the Rutgers women.”

whitecincinnati says:
18 Apr 2007  at  06:19 am | #

Steve Fritsch is entitled to his own opinion. If people don’t like the content of his site, don’t go there.

WhiteCincinnati.com

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
18 Apr 2007  at  11:50 am | #

Why not research the music industry stats like I suggested in the first post?

excellent suggestion… start w/ http://www.industryears.org

suburban jane d'oh says:
18 Apr 2007  at  12:29 pm | #

cincysue said:

It’s another urban myth that it’s all white kids listening to rap. So what are black kids listening to?

actually its not a myth, urban or otherwise… majority of buyers of rap music are white males, 18-34; no one said it was ALL WHITE KIDS, because we all know not ALL WHITE KIDS are listening to the garbahge that’s perping as hip-hop music today…. obviously, NOT ALL BLACK KIDS are listening to it either, but it wouldn’t surprise me that the second group that buys the music would be black males…

I think I read somewhere that on a whole, sales have been down over 20%, so, could folx actually be getting tired of this type of music? here’s hoping the artists that don’t promote this cRAP, and subsequently, get little to NO AIRPLAY (READ: payola as someone posted prior) will see their sales of their CD’s going up…

allCincinnati says:
18 Apr 2007  at  05:45 pm | #

whitecincinnati, Steve Fritsch can and does write and host whatever kind of racism he wants, but we can point out that that makes him an idiot.

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