Oxford Dictionaries agrees usage examples should not be political

After anthropologist Michael Oman-Reagan created a stir on Twitter about the Oxford English Dictionary's questionable common usage examples, he discovered that I had written a blog post almost two years earlier discussing the same example he had cited: "a rabid feminist." Consequently, he credited me on Twitter and his own blog and asked that reporters interview me and other women on the topic instead of him.

Due to Michael's fairness, a number of news media websites, such as the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Pajiba, Vox, and SheKnows, have quoted me to explain why Oxford's example for the word "rabid" is troubling.

What's more important, however, is acknowledgment from the head of content creation at OxfordDictionaries.com that our critique of that tome's usage example is valid. She asserts that although the dictionary shows accurately a common usage of "rabid," its example is a poor choice. In her blog post, "How are dictionary examples chosen?," she writes:

. . . the real-life sentence from which the example was taken involved someone denigrating a person described as being a feminist. However, it was a poorly chosen example in that the controversial and impolitic nature of the example distracted from the dictionary’s aim of describing and clarifying meaning.

Multiple female anthropologists and linguists came forward during the protest documenting that they also have written about sexist language in dictionaries in the past, but their objections to such entries went unnoticed, as did mine. Michael agreed that his complaint probably received more attention because he is male. Some will wish to argue whether that conclusion is the case, but in the meantime, I am pleased that the OED is revisiting its common usage choices.

Dear Friends Still Defending Bill Cosby At All Cost

Dear Friend:

I apologize for my long response about allegations against Bill Cosby. To help you decide whether you'll read my entire thought process, you should know that this letter is divided into three parts. The first part laments the disillusionment that comes with considering these allegations against him and shares the background of what I know about Bill Cosby having seen him on TV since the 1960s, read about him in print, and heard about him in the news over the last five decades. The second part (here) tells you what I think about the accusations and why I've drawn the conclusions I've drawn that do not favor him. The third part questions societal beliefs about women.

I've written so much on this topic because I would like to stop repeating myself to people who insist that the accusations against Cosby are ridiculous because he's never been charged with a crime, and it's unfair to think he may have done anything wrong. "There's been no trial and everyone's innocent until proven guilty," they say, "So, I wish you all would shut up about Dr. Cosby (he has a Ed.D.) until a jury hears the case and a judge makes a decision."

They continue along this vein even when others respond, "But the statute of limitations has run out for both civil and criminal charges. Bill Cosby will not face a jury or judge."

Before I go further, please let me express my sympathy for you and other Americans, including me. We are all rightfully disturbed and saddened to hear of these horrible accusations against a beloved entertainer. I know some of you have concerns about Cosby's legacy. Some of you may consider yourself to be not necessarily a fan of Cosby just a "warrior for justice" who will not "rush to judgment." You may even call yourself "neutral" but feel compelled to chime in nonetheless because you have a friend who was falsely accused of rape and all this Cosby talk reminds you of that painful period. So, I'm sympathize with any agony and discomfort you've experienced in discussing Cosby.

I see as well that many of you, some dear friends, too, feel personally wounded by this current string of accusations. His character Dr. Cliff Huxtable was America's ideal dad, after all. In many ways, so was Cosby himself between his hilarious comedy routines about fatherhood (I own some of his DVDs) and those warm commercials for Jell-O Pudding he did with adorable, giggling children. So, I understand that some of you sense yourselves becoming disillusioned thinking about the possibility of his guilt and perhaps virulently angry at "the media" and his accusers. You refuse to think the man you think you know may have done anything so horrible. It feels better, perhaps, to think that these stories are just another plot to bring down a "good Black man."

You find also that you fume especially at people like me who refuse to call the women liars. I get that. It seems to you that we are crucifying him and maligning him openly. I sort of feel that way, too, sometimes, especially when I see that Gloria Allred, the ambulance chaser, with all her theatrics has inserted herself into this scandal. 

But whatever you feel about Cosby today whatever you may think of his accusers, by now we all should know that from here on, no matter what is said or believed, proven or not proven about Bill Cosby, we're experiencing an American tragedy and journeying through the stages of grief. We are perplexed. We feel betrayed when we hear about Dr. Cosby and all these women. 

For most of my life I've been a fan of Bill Cosby, but I consider myself to be more objective about him than some fans. Cosby the man is separate from Cosby the entertainer in my mind. Cosby the man is a philanthropist and appears to want to do some good in this world, but as a man he is also an imperfect being exhibiting signs of duplicity.

So, I still admire Cosby's work as a comedian, actor, director, and producer. I still appreciate how he worked his way to a level of power in the entertainment industry that few black men ever achieve and how he's managed his money.

I also respect his hard work in earning a doctorate while also working as a comedian and actor and that he's taught in prisons, and I'm old enough to remember his accomplishments from pre-Cosby Show days. Not too shabby. However, I did not care much for his Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings album that was part of my family's record collection. By the time his pudding days rolled around, it seemed he could do no wrong. My grandmother and my mother, both dead now, would express how proud they were of Cosby because represented black peoplewell. Halcyon days became halcyon decades for Bill.

As we know, I and my family are not anomalies. Not only have many black people loved this man, but people of all ethnic groups. By 1981 advertising executives were saying Cosby was so marketable that he  "transcended" being black. And he donated so much money to good causes. What was there not to like?

When his son Ennis died, I was as mournful and angry as if Bill Cosby were a personal friend. I was even annoyed when news broke that Autumn Jackson had tried to blackmail him, saying he was her biological father. Married and more naive in my thirties than I am now, I did not want to believe Bill could be unfaithful to his beautiful, loving wife Camille. Still, I did not ignore the revelation that although Cosby denied being Jackson's father, he had admitted to having an affair with her mother and to "providing regular financial support" for both of them.

I was naive but not that naive.

Either Cosby was the nicest man in the world, kinder than some husbands are to ex-wives and the acknowledged mothers of their children, or he was Jackson's father. But if he were her father, then he also had a stern side, was a man with titanium will and the cool temperament to send his flesh and blood to jail.

Vine Videos from Women Performing for Women benefit

Tonight I attended Women Performing for Women, a benefit for Hagar's House, a sanctuary for women and children in New Orleans and a ministry of First Grace United Methodist Church. The event was held at Cafe Istanbul. The evening included performances by The Pussyfooters (a women's step group), Nichol Luebrun & Lizzy Shepherd, Charmaine Neville, (funk and jazz) and Amanda Shaw (Cajun fiddler).

I enjoyed it in spite of my having to record Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.

Here are some of the Vine videos I took.

First, the Pussyfooters and also a clip of the Cupid Shuffle.





This man certainly enjoyed his time on the dance floor.


Charmaine Neville



Pastor Shawn Anglim


Amanda Shaw

Ali, Hutchinson - Daniele Watts did not make you look dumb

Wait. Did I miss something? When did Daniele Watts call up Najee Ali of Project Islam Hope and Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Urban Policy Roundtable and ask either of them to defend her or protest on her behalf?

Today I read that these two “Civil Rights leaders,” as described by CBS Los Angeles, have called for Watts to apologize for making them "look dumb." They declare that last week, when Watts, an actress, characterized her encounter with the Los Angeles Police Department as a racial profiling incident, she "did a disservice to the community" and to activists who defended her.

Ali said at their press conference, "We took her word that she had been a victim, but now we know it's not true."

He means that they now believe the LAPD was right in Watts's case because the officers sound so calm an polite on the audio. And they now believe the anonymous witnesses who say they saw Watts and her boyfriend, celebrity chef Brian Lucas, having sex in a car. These witnesses, who also say they saw Watts with her shirt up, revealing her breasts, were in an office building floors above the car. Another says he/she went up to the car and asked the pair to stop having sex, but they just kept at it.

This level of detail, of course, has all come out since Lucas's and Watts's Facebook posts about being harassed riled up the Web and made media headlines. I wonder how much detail might a witness add after assuming they've seen two people having sex.

In any case, it sounds to me as though these "Civil Rights leaders" want this young woman to apologize because they are embarrassed about having defended her before getting more information. Now that the audio of her in distress and sounding undignified while being questioned by police has surfaced with distribution of a photo of a Black woman's leg hanging from a car, Ali and Hutchinson are convinced that the police officer was right to ask Watts for her identification and then handcuff and detain her when she did not comply. Later the officer released her because Lucas showed I.D.

Regarding the photos, most of us have seen more on American beaches every summer between consenting adults with far less clothing on. But I guess blurry sex pictures are like blurry UFO pictures: reality is in the mind of the beholder. Of course, maybe we'd see more in the pictures if there wasn't a big TMZ watermark on them.

So what we have are fuzzy photos and hearsay. In other words, people's dirty minds have run amok in the rumor mill, hence the L.A. Times prudently files its latest Watts reports under the "Ministry of Gossip."

And is it a crime to sound hysterical, undignified, and even obnoxious when you think you're being unfairly harassed by police officers? I've listened to the audio. What I've discerned is that Watts was angry and ashamed about being accused of possibly prostitution and of committing a "lewd act" in public. Maybe she was so upset that she did not hear whatever else the police officers were saying.

One officer on the audio accuses her of pulling the "race card" because she says she is being racially profiled, and he declares, "I didn't say anything about you being Black."

Now, if I wanted to make the great leaps I hear others make from the audio, I could extrapolate from his comment that the officer is blind. Anyone can see that Daniele Watts is Black, and racial profiling is usually based on sight, not hearing.

Also, Watts did sound a bit arrogant and a tad simple-minded when she threw out her "I'm an actress" card and said she knew her rights because she'd played a cop on TV, but whether she was being racially profiled is the issue, not whether she behaved perfectly while being handcuffed?

The LAPD spokesperson says that the officers were within their rights to handcuff and detain Watts when she refused to show identification. The ACLU, however, agrees with Watts that she did not have to show I.D., reports the L.A. Times.

Apparently when the police arrived, the so-called “witness” of the “lewd act” was not present at the scene to support the accusation, and the police officer on the scene did not witness the “lewd act” (the pair having sex in the car) in progress himself. The police officer, explains the L.A. Times, had a choice:

Since the alleged lewd act was no longer in progress, he could either let her go or continue to investigate it, which would involve asking the person who complained to come forward to make a complaint — technically, a citizen’s arrest. If the complainant declined (Neiman [LAPD spokesperson] told me [Times reporter] that, in his 28 years of policing, he has never seen anyone make a citizens arrest over consensual sex), he can’t detain her for simply refusing to produce her ID.

This makes sense to me. I’m not an attorney, but I seem to recall something in Civics class about citizens being “innocent until proven guilty” in the United States of America. But the officers involved, while sounding exceptionally polite, decided to escalate the incident rather than do the harder work of tracking down the witness and asking them to file a complaint.

The next issue for Watts was the accusation that she had walked away from detention. The ACLU thinks the law favors Watts here as well:

“Of course you can't walk away from a detention,” said the ACLU’s Bibring. “But the officer didn't actually tell Ms. Watts she was being detained. She was upset, and she told the officer she was walking away and did so. The officer didn't tell her to stop. Instead, he let her go, continued to talk with Mr. Lucas then called another unit who brought Ms Watts back handcuffed, and accused her of fleeing a detention. This isn't just a technicality.”

So, back to the big question: Is this a case of racial profiling or not? I think, in part, it is. Let me explain.

Just as police officers in Florida arriving at the scene of Trayvon Martin's murder believed George Zimmerman when he said a Black Trayvon Martin had assaulted him and so Zimmerman shot him in self-defense, and just as a non-Black witness called 911 in Ohio and said a Black man had a real gun in a Wal-Mart and was aiming it at customers and so police rushed in and shot that Black man to death, the Los Angeles police in Watts's case also believed an anonymous caller who said a Black woman was having sex with a man in broad daylight with the car door open. The police did not initiate the profiling in any of these cases, but they did buy into a story that they may not have otherwise readily believed if the accused had not be Black.

Keep in mind, while TMZ has some potentially incriminating pictures now, the officer that demanded Watts's identification did not. Still, he believed the caller.

I also observed that Ali and Hutchinson, in their statements, run the risk of defining racial profiling rather narrowly, and that's dangerous. Based on their comments, Hutchinson and Ali seem to confine racial profiling to its "compelling" cases. I guess they mean cases that they feel are cut and dry. Like, confronting racial profiling is hard, so please, no muddy cases. Yet, we know that the practice of racial profiling does not always kill, as the recent lawsuits against Barney's and Macy's will show. Neither is it always easily shown. How many black men have been stopped and when asked why, the police simply say they had a complaint about a "generic Black man" doing XYZ, making the stop sound somewhat legitimate?

Like its father, racism, racial profiling functions also to humiliate, ruin careers, and wastes our time, as Toni Morrison might say.

So, this tendency of police officers to assume that non-Black or anonymous people are always telling the truth when they accuse a Black person of committing a crime, and so the police in turn stop and treat the accused Black person accordingly, is more evidence that the police act with racial bias when it comes to Black people. Racial bias is the foundation of racial profiling and is worthy of address.

Are Black People Citizens?

When police officers behave this way and assume anonymous witnesses against Black people are telling the truth or have seen whatever it is they think they've seen, the police show us that Black people do not have the right of innocent until proven guilty in this country. Unfortunately for Black women, some Black men seem to feel the same way about Black women, too: the assumption of innocence does not apply to Black females. Is this a case where it's clear that Black men, who benefit from patriarchy, completely buy into that patriarchy at the expense of Black women? I throw that out as something for the reader to think about.

I am not saying that the specific police officers who dealt with Watts were guilty of racial bias. I'd have to know how they've dealt with similar cases in the past when two heterosexual White people were the accused. Nonetheless, Ali and Hutchinson also have no way of knowing whether these officers acted with racial bias, so who are they to demand an apology from Watts?

Likewise, I don't know what Watts and Lucas were doing in the car, but neither do Ali and Hutchinson.

These men demanding an apology is merely another case of Black men who wield a little power choosing to believe that a Black woman is in the wrong based on the flimsiest of evidence: hearsay from anonymous witnesses and fuzzy cell phone photos. It's also two black men shaking in their boots over a whiff of White criticism. I gather concern about White criticism is at issue here since Hutchinson is perturbed that he and Ali may "look dumb."

Yes, looking dumb or as though you may lack integrity in front of White people is a concern for some of us. I guess that's why the male leadership of the NAACP so quickly denounced Shirley Sherrod. They didn't want to look dumb or as though they lack integrity, so when they heard a story by a White bogus "journalist" saying Sherrod used her power to get revenge against White people, they believed it straightaway and condemned her. We know how that turned out.

Here is the real problem, though: As is typical of the male ego enthroned, these Black male leaders have made Watts's story about them and their wounded egos.

Is it Watt's fault that they love the media spotlight so much that they immediately made themselves visible after the first kernels of a racialized story fell? And if they are the responsible activists they claim to be, why did they jump into the fray so quickly here? After all, didn't Watts's unvetted story first appear on her Facebook page, not a major news network?

The other troubling matter I see in their demands is evidence that some Black males expect Black women to rally behind every Black male victim of police overreach, regardless of what his past may be, but they will turn and readily apply the same "perfect victim" standard to a Black woman that they reject when it's applied to Black men. Do I hear the echo of respectability politics when it comes to women here?

And then there is the problematic specter of probable "slut shaming." These men want Watts to stamp an "A" for apology on her breasts and repent. She must be shamed for even appearing to have sex in a car in broad daylight--with a White man no less!--and then for daring to think her blackness may factor into why the police asked for her identification. Is that it?

Bottom line: Ali and Hutchinson jumped the gun on-air regarding Watts. Maybe they should have been having a press conference to apologize for speaking without knowing enough information, not to demand an actress apologize for being, perhaps, overly-dramatic. Watts can perceive what happened to her however she chooses to perceive it. They haven't walked in her shoes. They can't see what she sees.

No, no, Mr. Ali and Hutchinson, Daniele Watts did not make you look dumb. You've done that all by yourselves. Everything else is between Watts and her God or therapist.

We say 'rabid,' you say 'feminist.' Rabid. Feminist. Rabid feminist, brought to you by Oxford Dictionaries

I love the Merriam-Webster site, m-w.com, but sometimes, when I'm in a hurry, I use the dictionary that Google pops up, and sometimes Google draws the definitions it displays from the well-respected dictionary company, Oxford Dictionaries at OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford Dictionaries are quite proper, so an example of a typical way to use the defined word appears immediately after the definition.

According to Oxford's first definition, the word rabid means "having or proceeding from an extreme or fanatical support of or belief in something," and a typical use of the word would be as a modifier for the word feminist: "a rabid feminist." That dictionary doesn't come out and say that this usage is common, but it does present "a rabid feminist" as its only example of usage under the first definition.

"A rabid feminist." Just that one example. Perhaps in England it's common to say "rabid" before feminist. I doubt it, but maybe.

Some feminists are extremely radical out there, but are they so common that "rabid feminist" should be an example in the dictionary? Of all the other possible examples Oxford Dictionaries could have chosen--such as rabid fan which is one of Dictionary.com's examples, or rabid supporter, which is M-W.com's example--what's up with Oxford's choice?

What the Oxford Dictionary has done with its example is a form of naming or labeling. As theorists quoted in the Sourcebook on Rhetoric explain, "the process of naming or labeling is never benign or without consequence."

I think that when an adjective is attached to a noun repeatedly in media or permanently in prominent records, especially when the more powerful in society have already promoted an image of that noun which the adjective reinforces, then eventually that usage cements to the noun the label that the adjective confers. I mean, Christmas is supposed to merry and supermodels must be thin, right? Both those notions are the result of an adjective being cemented to a noun. Increasingly then (especially since the Oxford's example for rabid gets displayed first and prominently by the number one search engine), the attributes of rabid may increasingly be transferred to the word feminist in human consciousness.

Is this a transference feminism can afford or that it should not bother to combat? Rabid, after all, implies violent and angry, and it's not as though the patriarchy hasn't already been successful at moving the public, even many of today's young women, to view feminist as a dirty word. See "feminazi," see "bra-burning bitch," see "man-hater."

What if under dumb the dictionary's usage example were "a dumb blonde"? Or if under anti-Semitic, "an anti-Semitic German"? Would we say then that the dictionary was showing an unkind bias?

True, some people and institutions strive to be unbiased, especially in use of language, and dictionary publishers are one of those institutions we expect to be neutral. But generally the best any person, group, or company can do is nurture their desire to be unbiased, try to be so, and keep up a facade of neutrality.

Whenever we craft information for consumption, we inject our subjectivity. We inject it through our edits--what we choose to leave in, what we choose to take out, what examples we choose or do not choose to use, and our choices can shape readers' perceptions and opinions of issues, situations, ideologies, and what we mean to each other. Consider that for years people justified calling black people the n-word because in Webster's dictionary, one definition for the n-word was "a Negro." How often have you settled an argument about the correct meaning of a word by whipping out your dictionary?

The editors of dictionaries indeed influence human perception of the world and attitudes toward certain objects or phrases. Through examples, it can even shape the meaning of the word feminist when feminist is not the word the reader looks up.

The image of the "rabid feminist" is one conjured and promoted most often by people who don't like feminists. In the case of the word feminist, the potential for damage through this labeling or subtle propaganda is exacerbated by Google's use of the Oxford Dictionary.

I speak here as a Black woman who knows about the power of the same adjectives used repeatedly to re-shape the image of people, places, and activities. For instance, how did the image of Black people being ape-like or bestial take hold? It happened through the process of labeling. And it was only by objecting and protesting the use of adjectives such as ape-like, savage, and bestial to define Black people that Black people have moved closer to self-determination.

Words create symbols and build hierarchies, establish moral codes and taboos, who may be desirable and undesirable. So, let's think about this: our sons and daughters may google the word rabid. When they do so, the first example for that word will be a frothing-at-the-mouth feminist. Is that what we want for our future? Should we demand that Oxford change its usage example or that Google stop using Oxford Dictionaries or both?

The Gospel of Jesus's Wife -- Does It Matter Whether Jesus Was Married?

In this case, I'm just passing along an intriguing article that's been trending on Facebook for a few days:  "No Forgery Evidence Seen in 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' Papyrus."  The article says that scientific evidence has verified that the ink used and the papyrus date back to the 8th century A.D.; however:

". . . the results do not conclusively prove the papyrus isn't a very clever forgery, caution the scientists. Instead, they remove previously raised objections to the text, finding no evidence of it being a fake."

People connect this new information to the craze of the DaVinci Code novel as though the book was somehow possibly rooted in history or was prescient. However, I've written previously that there was nothing that unique about that book to me. I'd heard that religious conspiracy theory before. However, this controversial papyrus says nothing about Jesus possibly having children, and that was the truly big reveal in the novel.

All that aside, the real discussion this papyrus seems to stoke concerns the role of women in the church because part of the snippet says, per the National Geographic article, "The words 'Jesus said to them, My wife . . . she is able to be my disciple . . .' are written on the center of the fragment."

For me, this is an issue that would be of concern most to the Roman Catholic Church because it not only bars women from being priests but also demands priests be single and celibate, but there are other Christian denominations that bar women from ministry as well.

As for Catholicism, in February the pope ordained a married man as an official priest for the first time in more than a century. In the early Catholic church, "celibacy was optional."

As for protestants (some protestants), clinging to the belief that Jesus never married or had sex feeds into the puritanical notion that sex is bad, that the sin in the Garden of Eden was sex represented by eating the apple. For the rest of us who profess faith in Jesus, does it matter whether he was married or not?

Happy Birthday, Alice Walker!

I didn't realize when I watched Beauty in Truth, the American Masters documentary on Alice Walker that aired February 7, had aired then because Ms. Walker's birthday was coming up. Today, February 9, is her birthday. Born in 1944, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author turned 70 today.

The PBS documentary is a loving portrait of the writer, educator, and activist. If you missed it, I recommend you find out when it will air again. I was unaware of all that she'd sacrificed to speak during the Civil Rights Movement, and there are other details of her personal life the documentary reveals that illuminate my understanding of her fiction.

As a result of the film, Ms. Walker's life and literary career have been examined in a number media outlets in the last week. While reading about her, I came across some of Ishmael Reed's criticism of her and her work again. Also, a clip of Mr. Reed railing against Walker and The Color Purple is included in the documentary. In that clip he notl only shows disapproval of Walker's prize-winning novel, but also of lesbians. One his objections to The Color Purple was its inclusion of a lesbian relationship between Celie and Shug. I don't know whether he's changed his mind about lesbians since then, but his attitude toward Ms. Walker remains the same

I remember all the backlash against the book during the 1980s, and the people who objected reminded me of those who command, "Don't air our dirty laundry in public." Today such objections get listed under "respectability politics." There's a long-standing belief among some black Americans that we'd be treated better and make more gains in society if we appear to be saintly in all behavior. Others argue that good behavior doesn't matter in terms of changing the minds of some people about black people: if racists believe people of African descent are inferior, then living above reproach probably won't change their minds. For me, there's a grain of truth in both positions.

I understand that as a people we, African-Americans, see more than our share of negative imagery of our kind in film, online, and on television, so one of the better arguments against books like The Color Purple or Sapphire's Push, to name another, is that they only add to the burden of negative imagery. I also understand why some black men are highly sensitive to negative portrayals of black men (a very specific complaint ).

Many white people don't know any black people well and those they do know represent a narrow segment of the black community. Consequently, whites often project the negative behaviors and attitudes of typical black fictional characters onto all black people, except that one smart black fellow they know. They see the one smart, honest black person they know as the exception to the obvious rule supported by negative tropes and pictures.

The great number of negative images and their repetitions should not be dismissed as "just pictures" because images have power. Pervasive and persistent scary or demeaning images and stereotypes have a rippling harmful effects. For instance, if hiring managers believe all black men are drug dealers and rapists, then they're less likely to hire black men.

However, one of the responsibilities of good literature is to tell the truth, to represent real experiences in the real world.  Ms. Walker writes powerful stories that do that and that also give voice to women, especially marginalized women of color who have too often been silenced. She says she's done it because it's too easy to simply blame white people for every ailment. Some ailments, some bad behavior is the result of being born human and misguided, and we can work to change what we have the power to change. I'm of the same mind as Ms. Walker. It's true we face injustice and racism, but we still need to examine our own dysfunction if we want to recover and heal.

Furthermore, writers write what they know, and Walker said in Beauty in Truth that for The Color Purple she drew on stories about some of the men in her family and their friends (her grandfathers' and great-grandfathers' generation).  So, there's a Mister and a Harpo somewhere. Can we fault writers for sharing their own experiences through their own authentic voices?

Opening this post, I said that when Beauty in Truth aired, I didn't know today was Ms. Walker's birthday. While I didn't know that, I did know about Mr. Reed's and others' hostility toward Ms. Walker and other female writers who are feminists. I have not commented on his issue much because Mr. Reed is also a literary light and award winner. He's entitled to believe what he wants to believe; he can only relate to the world through his own experiences and knowledge. Nonetheless, I won't give him a pass to misrepresent what other luminaries have said in order to lure people to his way of thinking.

I was disappointed to find that he'd misrepresented the words of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison in one of his columns regarding Ms. Walker. Therefore, a few days ago I took the time to set the record straight on that. You can read more about my finding at this link: "Now, hold up, brother: Toni Morrison did not blast Alice Walker."

All that said . . . Happy Birthday, Alice Walker!

Beyonce's Drunk In Love Lyrics Explained

A lot of people were really upset about Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "Drunk in Love" performance at the Grammys. I knew it was all about sex. I mean, you'd have to be deaf, blind, and dumb not to see that just watching Beyoncé move and seeing how she was dressed. Other than that, I knew nothing.

For instance, I did not catch the references to Mike Tyson and Ike Turner in the song. But when someone brought those references to my attention, I watched the official music video and looked up the lyrics myself. Was it really that bad? Was there anyway to justify the mention of these two men?  I asked a friend to explain.

You may read her explanation of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's "Drunk in Love" lyrics at this link. If you'd like to share your opinion on the meaning of the lyrics or whether you think the "Eat the cake, Anna-Mae" line and reference to Ike Turner and Mike Tyson are appropriate or not, then please do. You can also tell me on Twitter. Seriously, I'm just curious.

WARNING: The explanation at the link (click here) has some adult language such the actual meaning of slang words about sex.

Terrilynn Monette's Case and Echoes of Mitrice Richardson

Latest Update, August 16: Negligible alcohol and no drugs found in Terrilynn Monette's system, says coroner's toxicology report. Read at WWLTV site.

Monette's car with her body was found
in Bayou St. John. Mourners have left
flowers in her memory. NOLA.com

Terrilynn Monette's death may have been ruled a drowning with no foul play, but what I remember most about this story is that a man, a supposed acquaintance, claims to have left her in her black Honda that night around 4:00 a.m. He claims he left her "to sleep off" her alcohol, but the bartender who served her at Parlay's Bar on Harrison Avenue in New Orleans said she didn't appear drunk.

For me, this man who left her supposedly drunk in her car lacked moral conscience in that moment. It's not as though New Orleans is the world's safest city. This account of the evening causes me to recall the story of Mitrice Richardson in California, the callous way in which she was handled by strangers.

Mitrice Richardson [was a] 24-year-old black woman from South Los Angeles who was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Sept. 16 for not paying a $89.21 restaurant bill in upscale Malibu. After her arrest, she was released at 1:25 in the morning without her cell phone or her purse and no transportation because the police had impounded her 1990 Honda Civic in which they say she had less than an ounce of marijuana. Her purse and cell phone were in the car with her identification, according to her family, but the police say she had identification. After that, she vanished. With the exception of a few sightings here and there, the 5 ft 5 young woman just disappeared.

It turned out that Mitrice was experiencing some sort of mental illness episode when this happened. Her body was later found in a Malibu, Ca., ravine. No, Terrilyn Monette was not arrested, but she was left to wander off alone in a less than sober state by people who felt no responsibility to ensure her safety.

Formerly missing Terrilynn Monette

WWL-TV reports that the New Orleans coroner has confirmed through dental records that the body found in St. John Bayou this weekend is that the beloved elementary school teacher. From California, she gladly relocated to New Orleans, and did so well at her job she was nominated for Teacher of the Year.

Although this tragic story unfolded over the last few months in my city, New Orleans, I have not blogged about this case before not because I didn't think it was worth writing about or because it didn't disturb me but because it disturbed me so much. I empathized with her mother, Toni Enclade, and offer my condolences to her and the family now.

I also applaud State Rep. Austin Badon (not always a politician I support) for putting his clout behind the search, sticking it out, and making the search for this young woman a priority. I salute Slidell police officer Mark Michaud as well for deciding Saturday morning to help again. He used his sonar equipment and diving expertise to find the body and did so in about three hours. Since she went missing in March, numerous people of all backgrounds, including a search group from Texas, have been involved in looking for clues to Terrilynn's disappearance and her car or body.

I have an adult daughter who likes to go out with friends, sometimes friends she's only recently met, and learning that the last time a human saw Terrilynn Monette alive was when an acquaintance left her outside a bar on Harrison Avenue at 4:00 in the morning really rattled me. It rattled me enough that I lectured my grown daughter about the importance of knowing the people better with whom she parties. In this era of social media, people quickly claim as friends people they barely know who may care little for others' well-being.

This story has troubled me to the point that I have even found myself driving at times down Marconi Avenue between Harrison and Robert E. Lee Boulevard, a route the teacher was assumed to have taken early in the search. Traveling beside one of City Park's lagoons, I have wondered whether she may have swerved into the water that night and somehow her car remained hidden. I have also wondered whether she was one more abducted woman in this port city.

I live not too far from the part of Harrison Avenue in Lakeview where the teacher was last seen alive, a predominantly white section. The racial make-up of the area is not an indictment of any kind, just a fact, and I have never had a bad experience there. Since I was a baby, my family's home has been minutes away in what historically been called Gentilly, in its predominantly "black section" two blocks from Harrison where it meets Paris Avenue. My mother, now deceased, used to teach at Hynes Elementary School in the Lakeview section. Down Harrison, through City Park, over the bayou--that was the way home.

Today I live in that house with my daughter and son, and we often pick up fish at the Lakeview grocery store. In fact, my son, when he had only recently learned to drive, totaled my daughter's car at the corner of Marconi and Harrison while on his way to that store.

The nearest Starbucks is on Harrison in Lakeview, too. I hit it more than I should, and I stop at Chase bank, pass by Parlay's Bar, and drive down the avenue. For the last few months when I've driven down Harrison, I've seen the flyers with her face, at least one outside Parlay's, and I've continued onward, over the canal and Marconi, through City Park, and across the bridge over Bayou St. John where Terrilynn's car and body were found.

I write these details about the area and how I and my family have experienced the community because it's all so familiar, so close to home. Unlike the criminal justice experts I've heard talk about this case, I would not have turned left on Marconi to get to Robert E. Lee as they have repeatedly assumed Terrilynn did. The NOPD said that a traffic camera caught the teacher in her car turning left on Marconi, but I don't think the public has seen a moving picture of the turn. We've seen a still shot of her car at that intersection.

For a number of reasons, I've been wondering if the police saw the photo of her car and wrongly assumed she turned left. If I had seen the photo, unless it showed the car actually turning, I would have assumed she continued straight in a straight line because that's the way I go. I continue down Harrison all the way to Paris Avenue, driving by habit through the black section of Harrison Avenue. Most likely Terrilyn would not have gone out of her way either to dodge the black section of Harrison Avenue anymore than I would, any more than my mother and father did, any more than I and my daughter would.

The teacher's apartment building is at the corner of Robert E. Lee and Paris. On my way to the classes at UNO, I've seen the yellow ribbons awaiting her return. She lived nearer the lake than I do, so she would have turned left when she came to Paris not right as I would, but the night of her death, if the coroner's cause of death is correct, she never made it that far.

Perhaps noticing that the police may have jumped to conclusions about her route home means nothing, but the NOPD has been accused of mismanaging the case. Regardless of the NOPD's issues. Rep. Badon drew in the state's Wildlife and Fisheries agency and had people searching everywhere, including Bayou St. John. The mystery remains how did professionals miss her car when they searched the bayou before. A scientist may have to answer that question. (If you want to read more details on the Terrilynn Monette case, the best article I've seen so far is by Times Picayune reporter Ramon Antonio Vargas.)

Saturday, June 8, after attending a cousin's funeral, I almost drove down Wisner to Harrison. If I had, I would have seen divers searching for her car, but I decided on a different route. The next day, coming through the park from Starbucks, I crossed the bayou and saw the flowers left on the bridge in Terrilynn's memory.

Her case is another one of those saddening, frightening stories that makes me look askance at my daughter when she's off to meet a group of people she barely knows to go to places that seem foreign to me despite being right here in our city. I remember then how many times my parents watched me head into the night with friends, how they urged me to be careful.

We have to watch our adult children go as we once did, out into the world fearlessly, and we must let them go as Terrilynn's mother had to let her go across the country to New Orleans. Once they are adults, all we can do is beg them, "Be careful, please." And later some of us pray or do what we must do to ward off worry. I have learned to look forward to sighing in relief every time one of my children comes home safely.

I hope that Toni Enclade knows that she did all that she could for her baby. My heart goes out to this mother of a fearless daughter, knowing life for her has not been the same since she learned Terrilynn was missing, and it will never be the same again. But I hope that her heart will heal as best a mother's can after losing her precious child.

Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane aligns her life with poetry (video)

State Laureate of Louisiana, Julie Kane

April is gone and with it National Poetry Month. For some, that thirty days of appreciation of the ancient art may be the only time they think about poets and verse or consider how much poetry adds to our lives. Sadly, too, for others, the only time they will hear a poem outside of school may be when someone dies or moves on in some other way.

Louisiana's State Poet Laureate, Julie Kane, said in an interview with me earlier this year that people reach for poetry when they seek . . . Continue reading at BlogHer.com.

Huffington Post Fails with Teaser for Oprah Breast Cancer Scare on Its Media Page or Ain't Oprah a Woman, Too?

Usually when I link to Huffington Post, I do so because one of its writers has written something worthy of thought or uncovered a political issue that the mainstream media has overlooked. Unfortunately, that's not why I'm linking to that website today. HuffPo is possibly large enough and powerful enough now to be called a mainstream media outlet itself, and due its reach and power, the website's big failure today regarding Oprah's breast cancer scare news is doubly troubling.

I'm speaking of the teaser HuffPo ran about Oprah at the top of its media section's main page. If you missed it, the screenshot is below this paragraph. The only thing I've added is the cloud burst identifying the teaser's wording as a fail. In big orange and black letters the teaser reads, "O Dear: Who Would Have Thought OWN Was the Least of Her Worries."

Dear Huffington Post: It's not okay to minimize a breast cancer scare. Yes, Oprah Winfrey is powerful, and yes, she is struggling to save her OWN venture and her magazine, and it's true that due to her power and influence, she often has been the punchline of jokes, but under no circumstances should anyone make light of her or anyone else's experience with a breast cancer scare. "O Dear: Who Would Have Thought OWN Was the Least of Her Worries" is too flip a teaser for such a potentially fatal healthcare outcome, scare or no scare. (I don't have the time to discuss the sexist implications with the use of "O Dear" here when applied to such a serious matter.)

If you saw and clicked the link on the media page, then you know that it linked to an article by the website's media editor, Jack Mirkinson, in which the lead is "Oprah had a recent breast cancer scare and may shut down her magazine if it starts losing money, the New York Times revealed on Monday."  (The lead is problematic as well with its implication that the breast cancer scare is somehow connected to the failing magazine, but any analysis of the article would mean another blog post.)

Later in the article, Mirkinson references the New York Times story again in which its author recounts Oprah's announcement about her breast cancer scare at a conference. Mirkinson characterizes the announcement as "startling," so one has to wonder how he, as an editor of the media section, let such a callous teaser slip through. (I recall that the website had a similarly tacky headline during the Aurora, Colorado, massacre: "Horror in Aurora" was on the first page, a much too glib headline for such a tragedy due to the headline's similarity to the "Thrilla in Manila" rhyme that promoted one of Muhammad Ali's famous fights.)

The wording was also problematic for other reasons. Oprah Winfrey is not just a billionaire media mogul; she's also an African American woman and African American women are at a greater risk for breast cancer in its most deadly forms. Cancer does not discriminate, so Oprah's wealth doesn't shield her from being genuinely afraid of bad test results. (See my 2009 post on the higher incidence of fatal breast cancer among black women.).

Additionally telling for the Huffington Post, it published its poorly worded teaser just as a black woman's website posted an article about black women and breast cancer. At Madame Noire, writer Charing Balla asks "Is Racism The Reason Black Women Are More Likely To Die From Breast Cancer? Looking at the disparity between black women and white women in early detection for breast cancer and morbidity rates, the post discusses that "black women have a 41 percent higher death rate from breast cancer than their white counterparts."

When I first saw the provocative headline, I thought it was over the top, but a few minutes later I saw the Huffington Post teaser and I began to think perhaps I was too hard on the Madame Noire headline.

Knowing the facts about low diagnosis and survival rates for breast cancer among African-American women and that these low rates may be attributed, in part, to the medical community not listening to or showing racial bias toward black women, I'm even more disappointed with the Huffington Post's failure on its coverage of Oprah's breast cancer scare. With HuffPo's treatment of Oprah here, it falls into two pits: The dehumanization of celebrities and the dehumanization of the African-American female into the strong black woman stereotype to whom, some think, no consideration or concern is due.

Now I consider that Arianna Huffington needs to take a look at what her media empire is really contributing to multicultural news coverage. Her mega website appears to be losing its way despite its so-called progressive leanings toward inclusion. Over the last few years, through a syndication and aggregation model, Huff Po has turned its news coverage into a profit center promoting the commodification of humans by ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, and I see a problem.

The Huffington Post has its Black Voices, Latino Voices, women's section, and Gay Voices, but it's missing its sensitivity voice. In its rush to capitalize on identity politics and information segregation, the website has neglected to cultivate among its staff the kind of knowledge it takes to push news through such segmented channels with genuine multicultural intelligence.

The HuffPo teaser failed not only Oprah, black women, and women in general, it failed humanity  as well. The website missed the chance to educate readers about a serious health crisis among black women and to show compassion. Oprah Winfrey, after all, is human first and she should be treated during her breast cancer scare with the same compassion as any other human would be treated following a cancer scare. She is a big personality, but in human frailty, we are all small.

Lagniappe: In the video below Alice Walker reads Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman." I see it as an appropriate ending for a post about a mainstream media outlet's failure to show compassion toward Oprah  because as a black woman often called "powerful" and "a queen," her image carries the essence of the "strong black woman" stereotype.



Sojourner Truth's famous speech is often used to discuss Western culture's tendency to minimize the pain of black women, dehumanizing them as beasts of burden who can handle anything. This matter of the mythological black super woman who requires no protection sometimes presents a conundrum for modern black feminists/womanists seeking balance between being strong while also needing protection sometimes. It seems that in humanity's march toward greater inclusion, there remains a danger of segmenting the other into the same, overly-simplified, flat and essentialized images of older racist and sexist thinking.

Candy Crowley named as presidential debate moderator

The Commission on Presidential Debates has named CNN's Candy Crowley as one of its moderators for the 2012 Presidential Debates. Crowley will be the first woman in that position since 1992, and with her appointment, three New Jersey teen girls score a victory.

In June, this blog reported on the petition circulated by Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel, and Elena Tsemberis of Montclair High School that called for a woman to be named as one of the 2012 moderators. At that time, I heard from some people on Twitter (even a major network producer) who told me the girls and my report were incorrect because Gwen Ifill had moderated the presidential debates for years. I explained then as I do now that Ifill does not moderate presidential debates. She moderates vice presidential debates. The word vice makes all the difference.

Congratulations to the teens and congratulations to Candy Crowley. Crowley regularly hosts CNN's State of the Union on Sunday mornings..

The Double-Mitt Twins: Ticket Rhetoric (poem)

Ticket Rhetoric  
By Nordette N. Adams

Romney/Ryan.
   Mitt's mechanistic;
   Paul's penile-Palin,
   but smarter . . . maybe.
The Double-Mitt Twins
conceived to re-position
the winds of forefathers:

Mayonnaise-y,
   retro-phase-y —
A paste-hasty
   empire strike!

Resetting grand narrative
to unrainbowed heritage:
   America unwomened
   then America unblack —
The great take-back.

Hegemonically suitable.
Red, white, and blues doable
America: the rerun.

© 2012 Nordette N. Adams

Judy Smith: The Real Olivia Pope Inspiring ABC's Scandal

By Nordette N. Adams

Drama lovers love Scandal, Shonda Rhimes's hot, new drama on ABC, but many have no idea that the show's heroine, Olivia Pope, is based on a real black woman, Judy Smith. Smith is a Washington, D.C., fixer also known as a crisis manager.

In the video below, Smith says, "To be a crisis manager you have to be very calm." When clients come to her, they are already in the middle of a crisis and nervous. It would not help for her to be nervous and jumpy as well.

She also says that she and her staff sometimes work on cases a long time before they become public, and keeping the story from becoming public is often the best outcome. However, in some cases it's inevitable that a story will go public. For instance, her firm worked on the Michael Vick case for months before the story broke and nobody knew for a while that her company was working with the troubled athlete.

Smith is the show's co-creator and says that in preparing for the show, she and Kerry Washington "were pretty much joined at the hip." Washington is the star who plays Olivia Pope.

From Smith's WJLA interview:

The story isn't fictional — the real-life inspiration for the show still lives in the District, and despite working with household names for two decades, she typically stays out of the public eye. [...]  "It's hard to be invisible now, but I'm still gonna try, but it's hard!" Smiths said.

Read the full interview with Smith at WJLA. They also have video, but it's not working at the moment.

According to Black Enterprise, Smith is "the former deputy press secretary for President George H. W. Bush." Viewers may struggle not to read anything into Smith's tenure at the White House because the show's main storyline is that Pope and the fictional Republican president on the show are having an affair.  In her NPR interview, however, Smith says the television show is more exciting and dramatic than her real life.

Black Enterprise also lists five crises Smith managed and their resolutions: the Bill Clinton Monica Lewinski scandal, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s solicitation scandal, the Shandra Levy murder, the Michael Vick case, and the Marion Barry crack scandal. So much goes on while Americans are sleeping, feeding children, and working to keep a roof over their heads.

Smith is the author of Good Self, Bad Self: Transforming Your Worst Qualities into Your Best Assets. Amazon's description of the book reads:

They found out. It’s not working . They won’t listen. It’s all over. Now what ? Whether the problem is debt, infidelity, indiscretion, or merely an embarrassing email sent to the wrong reader, we have all found ourselves in bad situations of our own making. And whether that puts you in a delicate position or a full-blown crisis, it can sometimes feel as if there is no way out. Enter Judy Smith. America’s number one crisis management expert, Judy Smith is on speed dial for some of the highest-profile celebrities, politicians, and corporations in the world. But though her business is helping her clients recover from widely publicized personal and professional setbacks, her expertise is applicable to us all. In Good Self, Bad Self, Smith shares her methods, gleaned from years of professional experience, for smoothing over a bad situation while providing the tools to prevent similar incidents from ever happening again.

The way to get through a personal or professional rough spot is by understanding the traits that can lead to our wildest successes and most painful failures. Smith has learned to identify high-risk situations that often lead to marital, financial, professional, or personal imprudence; her ability to anticipate potential personal disasters has allowed her to coach people prior to, as well as in the wake of, crisis. ... She has identified seven traits that are often found at the root of a crisis. These traits can be positive and extremely useful but can cause problems when they fall out of balance. ... (Read more at Amazon)

You may also enjoy NPR's profile of Smith. Here's an excerpt:

HURTADO (NPR): Actor Kerry Washington, Judy, plays Olivia Pope, the character you inspired. She's also the lead. You've mentioned that many African-American actresses auditioned for one role, and yet, as I watched, I thought, Olivia Pope is a strong, smart, tough-as-nails, successful businesswoman who happens to be African-American. Is there a reflection on barriers the series is breaking down?

SMITH: Here, it is exciting in the sense that you have Kerry Washington - who's African-American - myself and Shonda Rhimes. So it's one of those unique situations that I think hasn't happened since the '60s.

Smith says in her NPR interview that today's 24 hour news cycle, which includes bloggers and people tweeting information that may not be true but goes public instantly, makes crisis management more challenging.

If you haven't yet caught the show, you can watch full episodes of Scandal at ABC's website and also on Hulu.com.

B*tches in Bookshops à la Jay Z, Kanye West's "N*ggas in Paris"

Found a day off work and shot this. All plaid everything.

Performed by La Shea Delaney & Annabelle Quezada
Director/Producer/Songwriter - Annabelle Quezada
Director of Photography/Editor/Special FX - Eliav Mintz
Song Recorded and Mixed by - Stephen Galgano

Copyright "Belle (Little Town)" from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast (just for fun and in support of the OG lady in a bookshop and in Paris), 1991.

Lyrics:

Read so hard librarians tryin' ta FINE me­,
They can't identify me,
Checked in with a pseudonym, so I guess you can say I'm Mark Twaining.
Read so hard, I'm not lazy.
Go on Goodreads, so much rated.
Fountainhead, on my just read, gave it four stars, and then changed it.
Read so hard, I'm literary.
Goosebumps series, TOO SCARY!

Animal Farm, Jane Eyre
Barnes & Nobles, Foursquare it
No TV, I read instead
Got lotsa Bills, but not bread
BURROUGHS , GOLDING, SHAKESPEARE -- all dead

Read so hard, got paper cuts
On trains while you're playin' connect the dots
All these blisters from turning pages
Read so hard, I'm seeing spots

Your Sudoku just can't compare
Nor Angry Birds cos lookit here
My Little Birds is getting stares
(pause)
This print's rare.

Read so hard, I memorize, The Illiad... I know lines.
Watch me spit, classic lit, epic poems that don't rhyme.
War and Peace, piece of cake, read Tolstoy in 3 days.
Straight through, no delays.
Didn't miss a word. Not one phrase.

Read so hard librarians tryin' ta fineee me - That shit cray x 3
Read so hard librarians tryin' ta fineee me -- That shit cray x 3

He said Shea can we get married at the Strand
His Friday Reads are bad so he can't have my hand
You ball so hard, OK you're bowling
But I read so hard, I'm JK Rowling

That shit cray
Ain't it, A? What you readin'?
AQ: DeMontaigne.
You use a Kindle? I carry spines.
Supporting bookshops like a bra, Calvin Klein.

Nerdy boy, he's so slow
Tuesday we started Foucault
He's still stuck on the intro? He's a no go.
It's sad I had to kick him out my house though --
He Mispronounced an author - MARCEL PROUST

Don't read in the dark
I highlight with markers
While laying in the park
And wearing Warby Parkers
Marriage Plot broke my heart
And it made me read Barthes
I special ordered a
A softcover not hard- HUAH?AHEHA?!

Read so hard libraries tryin' ta fine me x 2

I am now marking my place
Don't wanna crease on my page
Don't let me forget this page
Don't let me forget this page
I may forget where I left off so I'll use this little post it...
I hope it doesn't fall out, I hope that it stays stickie...

I am now marking my place
Don't wanna crease on my page
Don't let me forget this page
I got bookmarks at home
But I forgot one for the road
AQ: I got a bookmark I can loan
La Shea: Know how many bookmarks I own?

I am now bookmarking my page x3
Don't let me forget this PAGE....

SNL's The Real Housewives of Disney (Video): ROFL!

No, I am not a cat lady. I have one cat, a dog, and some other people in my house, but I must give credit to my cat Kelly for stepping on the remote last night and changing the television station from CNN to NBC (WDSU New Orleans) because if she hadn't done so, I would have forgotten that it was Saturday night, so I would have missed last night's Saturday Night Live episode that featured the above comedy skit, "The Real Housewives of Disney." OMG! It made me laugh as much as Kevin Hart's "The Real Husbands of Hollywood" skit from last year. And I don't watch any of the real "Real Housewives" shows on Bravo, but I've seen enough clips of the franchise shows to lmao at the spoofs.

Someone who has time should write a post on how this SNL spoof makes a statement about the fantasies of happily ever after as sold to women. The last time I approached a similar subject was in my post, "Letter to a Young Black Woman: Don't Whine Over White Princesses."

Lindsay Lohan, last night's host, participated in the skit, and she did a good job, not only with this skit, but in others as well.

Beyonce's Baby Bump Performance: Look at the Joy! (Video)

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to keep up with what's been happening around me and afar, except for the marsh fire in New Orleans, but I did hear all the Twitterverse and blogosphere buzz over Beyonce's baby bump at the VMA awards Sunday night. When I got a moment to breathe, I tracked down video of her performing "Love On Top."

Yes, in the video, the bump is obvious even under the shiny jacket, but her performance is so strong that I was not focused on the little bulge. However, I can see why her many fans probably watched every inch of her move given that the pregnancy was announced pre-show. She opened her performance with a reference to the baby, saying that love had been born inside her, and then, striding through the glare of bright lights obscuring her image at times, she launched into the song.

I won't spoil your watching the video by saying much more, but I will add that what happened at the end of the song with the other celebrities jumping around on the sidelines, including her husband Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lady Gaga, was the highlight of the segment. According to the Washington Post, the announcement was the most memorable part of the evening.

Flashback to 2008: See Beyonce on Ellen denying baby rumors. Her fans have been waiting a long time for this Bey baby.

Becker Pulls a Bobbitt: Cuts Off Husband's Penis (Video)

I was married and in my early 30s when Lorena Bobbitt, age 24, cut off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt's penis in Virginia. What level of rage does it take to do that to a man? Today I learned another woman has done it again, Catherine Kieu Becker, 48, of Southern, California.

CBS News reports that she "drugged her estranged husband, tied him to a bed, cut off his penis and put it through a garbage disposal." I guess she didn't want it collected and reattached, which is what happened in the Bobbitt case. (Lorena threw the organ from a car window on a road. Surgeons successfully reattached John's penis during a 9-hour surgery.)

He (Becker) was conscious when his penis was removed," said Garden Grove police Lt. Jeff Nightengale.

Nightengale says Becker put the penis in the garbage disposal and turned it on.

According to CBS station KCBS, Becker called 911 and told responding officers that her husband, whose name has not been released, "deserved it."

That's hate beyond hate, and it's also possible she is mentally ill.

Despite going through one of the world's most bitter divorces, I never contemplated mutilating my ex. No man is worth bringing yourself so low or the jail time. But maybe for Becker, the pain she felt he caused her was too much too bear.

Bobbitt now Becker, is it a letter "B" thing? Apparently not. Kim Tran, 35, committed the same crime in 2005 against her boyfriend, 44, in Anchorage, Alaska. She flushed it down the toilet.

Naturally, the husband in the Becker case, who is recovering in the hospital, is in shock. She invited him to dinner and cooked for him. I guess he thought that meant all was forgiven. (See, my mother told me to never eat anything an estranged spouse cooks.) Becker faces charges of "aggressive mayhem."

Lorena Bobbitt was charged with "malicious wounding," and later a jury found her not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.

But oh, updating for poetry. Hat tip to a friend who points us to Lucille Clifton's poem "Lorena." I add it not to condone carving up men, but to give a nod to poetics and the politics of being female. Lorena Bobbitt said John, who was a notorious womanizer and unfaithful, sexually assaulted her and that's why she cut off his penis. He was not convicted of spousal abuse charges against him, however.

Psychology Today Ousts Satoshi Kanazawa: Color of Change

It pleases me to announce that ColorofChange.org launched a campaign aimed at Psychology Today against Satashi Kanazawa and the magazine has dropped the evolutionary psychologist as a contributor. Psychology Today is "taking the necessary steps to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again," says the advocacy group.

According to an e-mail sent to ColorOfChange.org – the nation’s largest African-American online political organization who asked its members to flood the editorial offices of Psychology Today with phone calls, e-mails and Facebook and Twitter comments and demand clarification – Psychology Today is no longer allowing Kanazawa to contribute to the publication. “We are currently implementing measures to ensure more rigorous oversight of blogs prior to publication, including nights and weekends, when this was posted. The blogger in question is no longer contributing to the site,” said Kaja Perina, editor-in-chief of Psychology Today.

I didn't write about Satashi Kanazawa's insulting and scientifically unsound article that ran in Psychology Today back in mid-May because I felt the story was getting enough discussion. I also was in a place where I could not absorb the negativity of spending too much time with Kanazawa's argument, which was essentially his assertion that black women are the ugliest human creatures on the planet because they have more testosterone. And if that were not insulting enough, he also managed to squeeze in that black men (who he claims are the most attractive human specimens) and black women are less intelligent than other humans.

While I didn't want to analyze his article, I'll gladly give attention to Kanazawa's dismissal as a PT contributor, but I guess I'm only hearing about it a week later because nasty news always gets more attention than pleasant news. Nevertheless, I would feel even better if the London School of Economics fired Kanazawa. Jezebel, reporting on the fall-out following the article, quoted an article in The Guardian about LSE students protesting Kanazawa's being on staff at the school. The University of London Senate (a student organization) voted unanimously for his dismissal, condemning his research.

Sherelle Davids, anti-racism officer-elect of the LSE students' union, said: "Kanazawa deliberately manipulates findings that justify racist ideology. As a black woman I feel his conclusions are a direct attack on black women everywhere who are not included in social ideas of beauty."

Amena Amer, incoming LSE students' union education officer, added: "We support free speech and academic freedom, but Kanazawa's research fuels hate against ethnic and religious minorities promoted by neo-Nazi groups. Not only does he use the LSE's credentials to legitimise his 'research' but this jeopardises the academic credibility of the LSE."

Who respects this man's so-called "science"? When I look him up online, I find other scientists who scorn him, including people in his field, but if British academia operates the same way American academia operates, then getting a professor fired for expressing racist, dehumanizing ideas is nearly impossible. I think for years the University of New Orleans had a professor who openly taught that black people were inferior to white people, but he had tenure, and so, the school endured him until he retired. So, we may have to endure Kanazawa's bigotry until he fades away.