Instead, Jared Fogle made millions – he has an estimated net worth of $15 million -convincing America to get skinny by eating Subway sandwiches. By all accounts, Jared Fogle was pretty harmless. Yes, it’s not like he was ever famous for peddling pudding pops to children. He was what we would consider to be a rather safe, and very nice guy. I mean, all he did was walk and eat at Subway, when not running a foundation for children. Weird how that works, huh?

Well, according to a new report at Business Insider, that’s not all he ever did. According to the report, not only did Jared Fogle – a married man – have a sexual relationship with a female Subway franchisee. Jared Fogle, according to an affidavit obtained as evidence by the FBI, once had sex with a 16-year-old he met on Craigslist. And of course, being the nice guy that he is, Jared Fogle paid her $100 for her time. Jared Fogle? The Subway guy? A freak who has a thing for young girls?

Ya think you know a guy:

The FBI has subpoenaed an affidavit containing alleged texts between former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle and a former female Subway franchisee in which Fogle says he paid for sex with a 16-year-old girl, according to the former franchisee’s attorney.

 

The former franchisee, a woman, shared the texts and her concerns about Fogle with Subway management at the time, her lawyer says, but Subway did nothing. Subway says it has no record of the woman’s complaint.

 

The FBI has subpoenaed an affidavit containing alleged texts between former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle and a former female Subway franchisee in which Fogle says he paid for sex with a 16-year-old girl, according to the former franchisee’s attorney.

 

The former franchisee, a woman, shared the texts and her concerns about Fogle with Subway management at the time, her lawyer says, but Subway did nothing. Subway says it has no record of the woman’s complaint.

 

The woman was apparently in a sexual relationship with Fogle at the time. She became uncomfortable with the relationship as Fogle pushed her to post listings on Craigslist and detailed other trysts, according to her lawyer.

 

[…] According to the affidavit obtained by Business Insider, Fogle asked the former Subway franchisee in May 2008 to set up a meeting for him with her cousin. The cousin was underage at the time, according to the woman’s lawyer.

 

“When can we find a time for me to talk to your cousin?” Fogle asks in a message dated May 1, 2008.

 

“Any more news with your cousin?” he asks the following day. “Tell me what u think about when u think of the three of us all together???”

 

Earlier, in April, according to the affidavit, Fogle asked the woman, “How young would you like?… Would you want to have an adventure like that?”

 

On June 19, the lawyer says that Fogle again asked the woman to advertise herself on Craigslist. She responds: “Is this the same website you found that 16 year old girl you that you f*****? …I still can’t believe you only paid $100 for her.”

 

Fogle responds: “It was amazing!!!!” (Source: Business Insider)

It’s important to note that Jared Fogle has yet to be charged in connection to child pornography. Yes, his home was raided a few weeks ago b the FBI; and yes, he has since been kicked to the curb by Subway. And though the legal age of consent in Indiana where he lives is 16, there’s something disturbing about Jared Fogle – a grown ass man – trolling Craigslist, in hopes of “buying some pussy” from teenage girls. But of course, what Jared Fogle is alleged to have done is nothing like peeing on a 14-year-old girl while having sex. Oh no, Jared Fogle isn’t alleged to have done anything as morally corrupt as that. So, I guess I can understand why we’re not talking about it, even though it has been reported that Jared Fogle trolls public schools and happens to think: “Middle School girls are hot!” Yes, no word on whether he has prescriptions for quaaludes.

Jared Fogle has yet to appear in court on any charges on alleged wrongdoing.. However, you’d think that Jared Fogle and the allegations and concerns would be the source of chatter in the court of public opinion. But hey, when you’re white you’re right; and the force field that is White Privilege exists as a tool of convenience to many.

Had Jared Fogle been a black man – and yes, this is just a stretch because chances are he would’ve never been a pitchman for Subway because he has never played in the NFL – there’d be many salacious headlines, and discussions throughout social media about him being a child rapist, yes?

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NEW YORK — Bill Cosby’s legal team is not going to take it anymore. Last week, a new public face appeared in Monique Pressley, defending the once-beloved comic performer now beleaguered by allegations of sexual assault from dozens of women. The Washington, D.C-based attorney, whose specialties include civil litigation, became the main legal spokesperson after a…

The post Bill Cosby team’s PR move may be too late in court of public opinion appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I’m writing this letter in order to get some things off my chest. I know this will likely never reach you, but this is just my way of venting.

First off, I wanted to say that I admired your work. I watched Fat Albert, the Cosby Show, A Different World and your stand-up shows. But then, in 2004, you delivered what would be known as the “Pound Cake” speech at the NAACP Awards Ceremony. You were critical of poor black folks, especially single mothers, baby daddies and young black males with no father figures. You did not blame this histories, past and contemporary, discrimination, segregation, the racial achievement gap, or any institutional and systematic socioeconomic or political factors. No. You blamed this on poor black people themselves which is the usual conservative end-all, be-all for why poor black folks are in prison or dead. But some black folks agreed with you. They agreed with your concept of respectability politics that suggests that things would be better for us if we just did better.

I must admit that, at first, I saw where you were coming from. I even agreed with some of your points while disagreeing with others. Since then, I disagreed more and more with your stance concerning the struggling black underclass, but I still admired you nonetheless. I still thought you were a great human being despite your opinions on the black poor.

But then, we hear about your sexual escapades involving drugging women and raping them, and all my respect crumbled. A comedian, a black male himself by the name of Hannibal Burress, brought up how you “raped women”, and since then it was all down hill from there. Your reputation, your image as well as the respect and adulation you’ve gained over the years started to dwindle into nothing as more and more women bravely came out and told the world how you treated them. These women have been harmed by you. Their lives have been altered because of you. And whether you want to face it or not, you are responsible.

I must also admit that in the beginning, I didn’t believe these women. As more and more victims came out, I started to think it was some kind of “plot” against you, a powerful black man loved around the world. I thought these women were nothing more than opportunists scheming to get at your money and their 15 minutes of fame. I thought what so many of your fans thought. But somewhere along the way, I started to realize that these women were not wrong at all, that you really did something against them. I started to consider that the man who made me laugh when I was little was a monster who harmed so many women, women who looked up to you and wanted your guidance. My only regret was that I didn’t see it sooner.

It was painful on a few levels to learn that you, Bill Cosby, a man who has done so much good for others and brought laughter to so many people, was a serial rapist. And dozen of women can not be wrong. But you know what’s especially uncomfortable about this whole mess is? It’s the fact that you are a black man, and I don’t know if you realize it, but we don’t have the best image when it comes to sexual relations.

I know there are those who will object to what I’m about to say, and tell me how this is a gender issue and not a race issue. But here me out nonetheless as we live in a racist society. You see, black men have a reputation among racist white folks as being natural-born rapists, brutes with an inability to control our sexual urges, especially when it comes to white women. White women to racist white people are seen as precious, pure and cosmically beautiful. Mr. Cosby, some of your victims are white women. And because of that, you helped to solidify a stereotype black men have been working so hard to destroy.

And it’s not just you. Sadly, there are some other black men who didn’t get the memo, because they were never taught their history or how the world sees them. You helped made things harder for black men everywhere.

Even more upsetting is that some of your victims are black women. How can we, as black men, stand up for freedom, while we harm our women? Consider how this must be devastating for not only your victims, but also your wife Camille and your daughters.

When it comes to rape, black men are interconnected with that word and its definition since slavery. It’s part of the white supremacist doctrine forced upon us through brutality. It’s no different than being associated with crime or fatherlessness. Black men have so many negative stereotypes attached to them that it becomes hard, practically harmful or even fatal, to just live in this nation that paints us all with a broad brush. Unlike white males, we don’t have the privilege of being seen as individuals when a member of our group commits a horrible crime. One black male rapist becomes a representative of the black male existence. We are guilty until proven innocent, and sometimes even then, it’s too late. One way or another, we are painted as the most evil, and you helped prove that notion.

What’s even more disappointing is that you also look like a colossal hypocrite. You sought fit to lecture black people on doing better when you were, as Burress pointed out, raped so many women throughout your career. (What makes you better than the people you scold?) God only knows how many women you actually harmed by your antics. But thank goodness some came out and told their stories.

Mr. Cosby, you have traumatized to a lot of people who looked up to you, and denying it will only make things worse for yourself and others. If by a microscopic chance this letter does somehow reach you, here’s what I implore you to do:

1. Confess and apologize to the women you harmed and the fans and family you saddened.

2. Get some help for your sick illness.

3. Find ways to repair the damage you’ve done to so many people and help fight against rape.

The problem of rape does not begin and end with you. It’s a social problem we must all confront and fix before there are any more victims. I only hope there will be more men out there that will join the cause and stop this problem for the sake of humanity. Why not take ownership for your sexual assaults and fix the damage you’ve left behind? Only then would you take the first step in redeeming yourself and help fight rape culture. What will you do, Mr. Cosby?

Signed,

Brotha Wolf

The post An Open Letter To Bill Cosby appeared first on Madness & Reality.

I thought I had said or written all that I had to say or write about Bill Cosby and his foolishness, but just when I thought I was out of the conversation, they pull me back in.

A portion of Bill Cosby’s deposition in a 2005 civil suit brought by a woman who claimed the comedian gave her Quaaludes in order to sexually assault her suddenly surfaced a week or so ago, reopening and reigniting arguments as to his guilt or innocence. I didn’t even bother to read it or any of the heated commentary surrounding it because I had already made up my mind about Cosby during the first round of this argument.

Many considered this Cosby deposition to be the proverbial smoking gun, the most damning piece of evidence to be presented thus far and conclusive proof of his guilt. However, expectedly, #randomhotepnegroes, conspiracy theorists, and Bill Cosby defenders, not entirely mutually exclusive groups, took an exact opposite stance.  And enough of them guilted me into going back and reading the document myself using that whole, “If you are really interested in the truth…” thing.

These #randomhotepnegroes, conspiracy theorists, and Bill Cosby defenders apprised me of the fact that in this deposition Cosby did not admit to drugging women and then having sex with them against their will; rather, he only copped to procuring Quaaludes for the purpose of seducing them. Evidently, Quaaludes were a big part of his seduction game.

And much to my chagrin, after reading through the portion of the deposition released online, I could but only admit that they were indeed correct. This deposition alone can in no way be read as an admission of guilt.

Actor Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network’s 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York April 6, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT) – RTR2KWH7

In fact, as it was pointed out to me, if we were to use this confession by Cosby as a measure of his guilt, we would then have to go back and arrest most of the male population because who has not shown up at some woman’s house with a fifth of cognac and a dream?

To be completely honest, most decisions men make between the ages of about fourteen to twenty-six, depending on an individual’s rate of maturity, are predicated almost entirely on the possibility of the decision resulting in sex. So if this is the smoking gun people claim it to be, practically all men are guilty to some degree.

But that in no way changes my opinion of Cosby.

A good friend who is a lawyer brought to my attention the fact that in most criminal cases in which the defendant is found guilty that go to trial, no such smoking gun even exists. In fact, most of these cases are decided simply on the basis of the evidence presented. And based on the evidence presented thus far, the accusations of a now almost innumerable number of women—they just seem to keep coming out of the woodwork—Cosby, in my reasoned but humble opinion, is dead guilty. Admittedly, some of these women may have ulterior motives; however, every one of them cannot be telling the same lie.

Not only that, and most importantly, just how high is our threshold of the acceptable burden of proof? What would these #randomhotepnegroes, conspiracy theorists, and Bill Cosby defenders actually accept as the proverbial smoking gun because as evinced by history, no amount of evidence, whatever the quality or form, is ever enough.

Remember the case of one R & B artist, R. Kelly? Remember that even amid repeated allegations and reports of him preying on young, black girls, a videotape surfaced of him peeing on somebody’s child. In other words, there was video evidence of his malfeasance, his pedophilia. His foolishness was caught on tape and in living color; nevertheless, for many even this videotape, this visual evidence, still was not enough of a smoking gun.

#randomhotepnegroes, conspiracy theorists, and Bill Cosby defenders insisted that we had no way of knowing if that was actually R. Kelly on that video or not, and furthermore that video and the allegations and investigations dogging R. Kelly were just more attempts to bring a good brother down, and now that renegade negro R. Kelly is still running around wearing a mask, dressed like somebody’s uncle who just touched down after going to jail during the 1980’s, talking about he is the pied piper of R & B.

And I have no way of proving it, so it is more or less completely conjecture on my part, but more than likely, part 2 of his pedophilic rampage jumped off as soon as he was acquitted of the charges and progresses even at this very moment. If you are so sure of R. Kelly’s innocence, why not send your underage daughters or nieces to spend a week or so with him at his estate?

And who could forget the O.J. Simpson case, The Trial of the Century? Remember that one? Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of his guilt, some folks still claim that he did not stab up those white folk, curiously despite the fact that at the time he stabbed up those white folk, he had all but cut his ties to and disavowed the black community many years previous to that incident. Yet, many black folk defended him, and continue to do so, nonetheless.

It is amazing what a bit of police incompetence, a stack of money, and the power that stack of money accords can do. It can get you off even in the face of the most overwhelming evidence, and in some cases, it may even frighten and intimidate the victims of crimes, no matter how heinous, from even coming forward.

Meanwhile, between there and here, many of the pre-hotep #randomhotepnegroes stepped to some random white women’s house with a fifth of cognac and a dream, and when the liquor ran out but their dream was deferred and they left without having accomplished anything, in their embarrassment they read almost the whole first chapter and/or the back cover blurb of a hand full of books, at least enough to consider themselves experts, and immediately went on Twitter and got to hotep-ing.

Please forgive those last few lines. They were non-sequitur and completely inappropriate. But sometimes I say or write stuff just to amuse myself. I will endeavor to delete them from the final draft. Again, forgive me.

Nevertheless, we must get past this whole false black good-white bad dichotomy. Evil is not exclusively the trait of any one race or group but is sprinkled indiscriminately throughout the whole of humanity. If you array yourself in the armor of truth and claim the complete eradication of even the slightest hint of unequal treatment as your cause, if you claim truth to be the means and justice to be the end, you must necessarily be truthful and insist on justice no matter who it is for or against, lest you become merely a chocolate version of the vanilla you find so distasteful.

Truth and justice cannot be the purview of just us, for as Martin Luther the King so eloquently reminded us in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the very existence of injustice anywhere threatens the presence of justice everywhere; justice must necessarily be for all or for none.

Hotep.

The post Bill Cosby: Just-Us and the Burden of Proof appeared first on Madness & Reality.

The first thing I must say, is that it is tragic that it took this much for people to truly believe the allegations. Apparently, the word of about 40 women was not enough. Imagine how that must feel, to have your accounts thoroughly dismissed as part of a “conspiracy” to “tear a Black man down” The silencing that comes along with the tacit support of rape culture finds many ways to marginalize its victims. A false notion of racial solidarity in this case, is one of them.

Given that Cosby has made a second career of publicly bashing the Black working class with his pound cake harangues, he set himself up as the face of respectability politics. He even went so far as to co-author a book with psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint to drive the point home. While his credibility is shot, one of the unfortunate things is that these sort of notions will find new spokespeople. It must, since respectability politics is a key ideological component that justifies Black oppression in this country. It will probably prefer a cacophony of voices, rather than a sole figure, given this will lend the notion more legitimacy. Others will pick up the mantle, despite this flawed ideology. But, facile arguments in service of power should have no lasting suasion over critically thinking people.

I turn my attention to those who went at me for going after Cosby strictly on his politics. Those who have deemed me a “statist”, and a person blind to individual responsibility. It’s deep when you get hate emails from white conservatives for taking a Black man to task for his respectability politics. What do you have to say now? There are people that tie themselves into knots and make all sorts of justifications defending the wealthy and well off. I just wish many of us would ride as hard for those of us who are the most vulnerable. It is unwise to defend people who would not defend you. We spend way too much energy genuflecting to celebrities.

This post may give the impression that I am rubbing it in, or being petty. At the risk of seeming so, I still opt to put this up. In addressing Bill Cosby, I was accused of having a “personal vendetta” against him. This is yet another way of silencing people. Try again.

One last point. For those of you who are raising the “distraction” thing, come on son. The reason we found out about this now, is because Cosby’s lawyers lost the battle against the Associated Press to keep this information sealed. Long money protects people. It is possible to think and write about this situation, and the rejection of austerity in Greece, and the rebuilding of Black churches with the help of those of Islamic faith. Don’t assume that everyone has limited faculties.

[Originally posted at Polite On Society]

The post Bill Cosby: Again Under Scrutiny for Reprehensible Acts appeared first on Madness & Reality.

And under that makeup is an ugliness that would make Stevie Wonder cringe.

Actor Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network’s 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York April 6, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT) – RTR2KWH7

Rape Culture: The Obvious

All along, people have been screaming about the guilt that Bill Cosby has harbored. Now that the Jello pudding has hit the fan, all those that thought he was guilty can relish in satisfaction:

Bill Cosby has admitted to getting prescription Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with, newly released documents show.

The documents, dating back to 2005, stem from a civil lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand — one of the dozens of women who have publicly accused the comedian of sexual assault. The records were made public Monday after The Associated Press went to court to compel their release. [1]

And then there is this part:

In a sworn deposition, Cosby answered questions from Constand’s attorney, Dolores Troiani.

“When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?” Troiani asked.

“Yes,” Cosby replied.

“Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?” Troiani asked.

Cosby’s attorney objected and told him not to answer the question. [2]

As heartbreaking as this all looks, Cosby has a problem. Whether it be his voracity for multiple women or his use of drugs to “give” to them, the rape culture virus is rampant within his physiology. One only hopes that others not named Darren Sharper can learn from this.

Rape Culture And The Surprising

It is one thing to see the already accused be put through the ringer. It is another to see someone that you would least expect go through a police investigation. And this is what happened to Jared Fogle, Mr. Subway himself:

Amid a child pornography scandal that in May ensnared the executive director of Fogle’s Jared Foundation, which combats childhood obesity, state and federal authorities converged on the Subway spokesman’s Zionsville, Indiana, home early Tuesday.

Officers and agents led by Indiana’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force raided Fogle’s home where he lives with his wife and two young children. They confiscated computers, media storage devices, DVDs and documents. One law enforcement officer entered the home with a dog capable of sniffing out micro SD cards, typically used to store photos and videos, CNN affiliate WTHR reported. [3]

Now, I don’t know what they found on him or on his computers. I do know this: one of his foundation workers actually was caught up in child pornography and Subway has suspended their working relationship. Thus, Jared Fogle is looking crazy even if he isn’t guilty.

Rape Culture and the Scarily Unknown

Now, those two previous cases dealt with known figures in the lexicon of pop culture. However, it is the cases that deal with regular, everyday people that seem to be the scariest of all:

A man from California sits in jail in Detroit awaiting trial on charges of luring a 16-year-old Detroit girl into interstate prostitution.

The case started right in the middle of a popular outdoor event in the city, The Detroit Jazz Festival – which took place on last Labor Day weekend in Hart Plaza.

Evidence shows Kevin Keys, known online as Stac A Dollar, lured the 16-year-old girl into the sex trade by telling her she would make a lot of money.

Sex for money with the girl took place inside a tent right next to the festival. [4]

And that’s not all, my fellow readers. Yes, it gets even worse:

She did not go home. Detroit police put out an urgent call for help.

According to the investigation, Stac A Dollar, saw the missing person report and bought the teenager a wig so she would not be identified.

He allegedly took all the money raised from his sex tent to buy bus tickets and took the teen to Minnesota.

The man marketed her, shot several sexually explicit photos and sent them online to potential customers. [5]

This actually shook me to the core. The audacity of a man taking a teen and pimping them out is practically sickening. After he found out, he kept doing the foolishness instead of letting her go? For me, it isn’t the public figures getting caught up; it is the common citizens that are up to no good that is the most petrifying of all.

Rape Culture Epilogue

Rape culture is a problem that appears in a myriad of forms. It appears in the form of the highly susceptible finally being caught up. It also exists in the form of the unexpected clean cut person being accused. Even worse, rape culture appears as the creep that would do the worst to someone’s underage daughter. In all of its forms, rape culture has to be approached and eventually eradicated.

And it can only happen when we start in the mind.

The post Bill Cosby: Rape Culture in July of 2015 appeared first on Madness & Reality.

STACY DASH & SARAH PALIN have treated us this past week to exercises in “How to Excel in Inanity and Ignorance While Making a Profit.”

These traits, which they both have become known for having exceeded their 15 minutes of fame long ago.

Stacy Dash may win this round however with her recent comments over on the Outnumbered show which airs on Fox where she was asked about the University of Virginia news asking female students to refrain from attending frat parties in order to circumvent potential rape scenarios. Aside from referring to grown women as “girls” which she corrected herself on – she goes on to say that she thinks it’s a good policy and that “good girls” should stay home where it is safe. She continued on to say that its bad girls that go out to be naughty and get drunk and over drinks?

You can watch the clip with her comments here:

This tour de force was preceded by another master chef word salad by the nation’s favorite snow billy/grifter/political-wanna-be Sarah Palin’s speech in Iowa that at best can be described as gibberish  as only she can deliver it.  Watch Below:

One has to wonder about these two – if they were not in a real broad sense “attractive” females would they even be granted a platform to spew such drivel short of a stint on an SNL skit?

That they profit off of such behavior says more about society’s affinity for listening to this stuff than each as individuals. Although still to this day beauty remains only skin deep and you still can’t fix stupid.

The post STACY DASH & SARAH PALIN: BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP appeared first on Madness & Reality.

In the current popular discourse on so many topics one has stood out profoundly for me. I have repeatedly refrained from speaking much on the topic of Bill Cosby and the current allegations against him involving allegations of rape going back over twenty years. The topic itself has been the source of many heated debates about rape, rape culture, character assassination defamation and even racism as directed at this seeming icon of black culture. Many voices have been raised in indignation at the women coming forward now to tell their stories and instinctive mistrust has risen to the fore front of many exchanges and arguments as to the validity of the claims and the culpability of Mr. Cosby himself.

In my limited personal experience I felt from the outset that my perspective would only hold value to other women who have themselves been victims of rape and or assault. I felt that my experiences precluded me from speaking without bias to the realness of the situation. An inability if you will of providing an unbiased take on the situation led me to say very little. However I continued to listen and on levels I was not readily aware of, to contemplate the scenarios as they were brought forward and to aggregate the information presented into how and what I felt about it.

I wanted to for the most part to stay out of the dialogue. I realized why today. See I was raped at the age of 13 by a neighbor who was 25 at the time. It was a family member of a neighbor who was staying with them at the time and who I had my first crush on.  The family was well known in the community the father being a local business owner and the mother being a stalwart fixture in the church. My connection came through their youngest daughter who was a cousin to this person and so my coming over to “visit” was not something anyone paid any particular mind to.

My crush was actually a running joke and something that was discussed and laughed about on many occasions. My understanding at the time of relationships and sex was absolutely nil. Up until that very moment I did not even know exactly what actual intercourse consisted of.  It would be the first of several encounters with this person which in my innocence and ignorance perceived at the time was part of being “boyfriend and girlfriend”.  There was always however a feeling of disquiet and something not being “right”.  So now we come to the $64,000 question – why didn’t I tell? So many reasons not to and not enough belief in myself to come forward. I was a latchkey kid, raised as an only child with a tenuous connection to the kids on the block I grew up on as they all were or had siblings I was the only one who did not which wound up with me being subjected to constant ridicule fights. Etc. I was ostracized and “othered” even at that young age and as a result didn’t have a BFF or friend to tell. My relationship with my mother at that time was very strained as we all were dealing with my father’s cancer diagnosis. So who was I going to tell? Who was going to believe me? What exactly was I going TO tell? I instead would go home after these “encounters” sore, and climb into my bed with my radio and cry myself to sleep. At one point during this time, I recall an instance where myself and this individual went to the hospital to see my father after having had an extensive surgery. No one knew about anything going on between myself and this person we were not “openly” involved but when we showed up at the hospital and I saw my father he looked at me and him and I could see in his face that he knew and at the same time felt defeated because of his condition-there really wasn’t anything he could do. That look he gave me never left me.

Years later when I was able to fully understand what happened, it was still not enough for me to tell anyone. My father had passed away and I was somewhat estranged from my mother. Who was I going to tell and what would be the point? So instead I buried all the memories all the things that I could that were associated with it. I never spoke his name again. I eventually stopped communicating with the neighbor who he was related to. Buried and silenced and put away not to think of or process again ostensibly. Even as I would encounter the neighbors there was always the dark, foreboding belief that no one would ever believe such a thing from that family and those people.  No one would believe me and those words were the hammer that allowed me to pound that nail away into forgetfulness. Until today where I remember all of it. My shame, my guilt, my fear he became angry with me on one occasion because instead of lying still like I normally did during the “encounters”, I had the audacity to move and he interpreted that as evidence I was messing around with someone else. He raised his hand to hit me and shook me till my head hurt. My terror and disconnect when my period came late and the days spent crying and not knowing what to do (I miscarried).

Yet there was really nothing to tell in my mind everything I knew and was experienced with said that telling now years later would do no good at all and would just subject me to abuse and ridicule.

I would see and hear stories about rape cases and the memory would flicker for a moment – for all the time it took for me to bury it again. I have until today never spoken about this to another living soul.

Then the questions started coming – why wouldn’t a woman tell, call the police, report it. Why would a woman, any woman wait so long to tell. What could she possibly gain since no charges can be filed..

I know the answer now. One word,

Freedom.

The post BILL COSBY DID NOT RAPE ME: PLEASE BELIEVE ME appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Now, I am wondering where it all went wrong. In recent history, Cee Lo pleaded no contest to charges of slipping ecstasy to a woman [1]. All the while, he maintains his innocence. However, he did plead “no contest” which usually means that he did something wrong. Still, he received his mandatory probation and hour allotment for community service [2].

When I first saw this situation, I thought “maybe this could have been a misunderstanding”. As a person that actually watched Cee Lo Green grow into an international artist, I hoped for the good. I actually wanted this to be something of a “situation gone horribly wrong”. I knew that Cee Lo Green knew better than to get himself into such a compromising situation. This was the maker of “Beautiful Skin” and “Soul Food”, so I thought he was above this type of foolishness.

Sadly, those songs were made in the mid to late 90’s. Also, this wasn’t Goodie Mobb Cee Lo. This was “Hollywood Cee Lo”. And “Hollywood Cee Lo” be on some new stuff.

Cee Lo Green Should Have Never Said Anything

This is a public relations nightmare waiting to happen. Cee Lo Green, being “too smart for his own good”, shouldn’t have even engaged anyone on Twitter about his case being resolved. Instead, he wanted to “educate” people on how the court system works. He wanted to get to “proving his innocence” by making analogies that made him look less of an world renown artist and more of an intrusive anal bead. In short, this conversation made him look bad.

Cee Lo Green and the Affirmation of America’s Rape Culture

Cee Lo Green only brought affirmation to America’s rape culture situation. His analogies dealing with “if I tried but did not succeed, but she said I did” only points out that he attempted to do something he had no business doing. People may think this line of thinking is okay. You know: it is okay to “attempt to do the wrong thing but fail so I am innocent” type of logic. I don’t know if that is what he EXACTLY meant. However, I do know that this is the message many of us are going to get from it.

And that message is dangerous for men and women alike.

The problem with our society is that too many men (and women) think that this behavior is acceptable. They think that these type of actions are something to actually “look forward to”. Need I remind you of the survey on the acceptability of rape? Need I remind you about how plenty of men think rape is acceptable and okay? This is a problem from coast to coast.

Hollywood Cee Lo’s indiscretions is just a creature from a demon creating womb.

Cee Lo Green the Rehabilitation Machine

I would hope that Cee Lo Green gets all the help he can during his drug counseling. I also hope that his time served with his community service does him some good. However, there are plenty of people that want him imprisoned (and rightfully so). Now that he “got off easy” (depending on your opinion), he should now understand the error of his ways. At this moment and beyond, Cee Lo should speak out against the madness that our present rape culture allows.

I mean, this was the man that said these classic lines:

At one time, my mind, just, couldn’t conceive

A woman had to dress a certain way to believe

But, in the same breath, a-llow me to say

That, if you believed young lady, you wouldn’t dress that way

And I, was attracted to your class, I couldn’t see all yo’ ass

And, I was very content, and you deserved every complement

How else should I view him?

‘Nuff Said and ‘Nuff Respect!!!

The post Cee Lo Green: The Rape Machine appeared first on Madness & Reality.

If there is one thing that shakes me to the core is the prevalent rape culture that permeates in America. Let me make it frank: there is a rape culture in our nation. Rape culture is a concept that links rape and sexual violence to the culture of a society, and in which prevalent attitudes and practices normalize, excuse, tolerate, and even condone rape [1]. Looking at that definition, there really is no argument. In short, rape culture is prevalent in America and it is a problem.

Oh, and for the non-believers, I have some examples for you.

Rape Culture As It Exists

There have been plenty of instances in which rape culture has been promoted ad naseum within the “land of the free”. Shannon Ridgway wrote this extensive, and informative, list of rape culture examples that included the following:

• Journalists who substitute the word “sex” for “rape” – as if they’re the same thing.

• Politicians distinguishing “legitimate rape” and stating that rape is “something that God intended to happen,” among other horrendous claims.

• Mothers who blame girls for posting sexy selfies and leading their sons into sin, instead of talking with their sons about their responsibility for their own sexual expression. [2]

There were many other examples (about 22 more), but I will leave that up to the reader to examine. Yet, we should note that 31 states have it where convicted rapists can sue for custody [3]. Therefore, if a person does not believe rape culture exists then they have been living under a rock.

And I am not talking about a pebble. I’m talking about an Easter Island statue sized rock.

Rape Culture in Black America

With all of these statistics ever present in America, it is no wonder that rape culture firmly exists within the throngs of Black America. Is it all of Black America? I hope not. However, there are some keen examples of hit existing in hip hop music. Ironically, the music I love has artists that promote a culture that I readily loathe.

This, in all shapes and forms, is pure bullshit.

When it comes to rape culture, there are some artists that actually promote said foolishness. It is bad enough that Rick Ross made the “molly statement of the year” in 2013 off of Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O”. Meanwhile, Lil Reese was caught on tape beating up a woman a year or so ago. Added with the madness of the visuals shown in plenty of videos that are, but should not be, watched by young men AND women, and you have issues at hand. America is synonymous with baseball, apple pie, and the objectification of female sexuality; hip hop music can sometimes exacerbate this fact.

The problem with this is that much of this music is listened to/financially supported by women. This has help harness something author Kirsten West Savali has noted:

Violent words — hit, bang, beat, cut, smash – have been re-appropriated to refer to pleasurable, consensual sexual activity. It is not surprising, then, that sixty percent of Black girls have experienced sexual abuse before the age of eighteen. The Beat Bang Theory (double entendre intended) dictates that masculinity be defined by the authority — indeed, the right — to objectify, dehumanize, violate and destroy women, all while rocking a microphone. [4]

Do all rap artists do this? Naw. However, plenty of them do. And the ones that do this seems to be, at times, the most popular artists out right now. And these popular artists fill the clubs,Beats by Dre headphones, and car stereos of not only men but women as well.

Then, there are the thoughts of King Noble, a Youtube troll that advocates the raping of black women as some sort of “revolutionary act against capitalism” (I can’t make this stuff up).

Rape Culture Needs to Be Eradicated

The rap culture that exists in America has made it logical and “acceptable” for the Elliot Rodger of the world to make manifestos of sexual entitlement filled with a lack of maturity and conscience. Even worse, it has infiltrated Black America and made the objectification ofBlack women a common place cultural aspect. If this continues, then there won’t be any turning back. Rape culture has evolved into something too sinister, and illogical, to allow continuance. It has been past time to protect our mothers, sisters, nieces, daughters, and significant others from this societal succubus.

‘Nuff Said and ‘Nuff Respect!!!

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