It has been announced that Red Table Talk (RTT), hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, is being canceled. For some reason, there are people who have garnered a lot of hatred from the Black community; unfortunately, Jada is one of them. As a result, many people were happy about the news. (Note: what they tend to gloss over is the fact that the show was canceled along with other projects under Meta’s Facebook Watch Originals Entertainment Group. RTT is now shopping around for another home).
Regarding the foregoing, there are at least two human groups we all experience: one is generally loved by the public; the second group is inexplicably and excessively targeted by haters, i.e., they can never do anything right no matter the magnificence of their accomplishments. (There is a third group: people who are basically ignored until something brings them into prominence. At that point, they are revealed as either being loved or hated).
As discussed earlier, there were a lot of posts on social media responding to the news about Red Table Talk, and a disproportionate number of posters were extremely gleeful! One of the individuals who was loudly happy about the RTT news was Nick Cannon, a television host, actor, rapper and comedian. Nick has his own baggage; he has fathered at least 12 babies by several “baby mamas.” Nick is getting some backlash, but ultimately, he seems to be in the group that is loved by the public.
Nick attributed his current attitude around the fall of RTT to the slap that was heard around the world during the 94th Academy Awards. Cannon said he changed after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock while on stage. Now Nick feels antagonism toward RTT. But Nick is off on this one; the Smiths were perpetually bashed long before “the slap.”
We must not forget there is a petition circulating that garnered at least 15,000 signatures calling for the shutdown of RTT. The anti-Smith public has maintained their disdain for the family because of the way they are raising their children, rumors around sexual orientation, and their alleged “open marriage.”
Jada and Will are the poster children for those who certain segments of the public love to hate. It matters not what good they do! And there’s a dash of misogyny thrown into the mix; almost all of the haters blame Jada for everything bad that is happening in the Smith family.
Other members of the “pariah’s” club are the Kardashians. Many people in the public love to hate them! No matter what they do, it is viewed negatively. People resent the plastic surgery that allegedly the female members of the family have employed to improve their looks. There are a lot of women in the public who have opted to alter their appearance, but it is rare that they receive the blowback the Kardashians receive. Some people believe the Kardashians are toxic to Black men, which may be one reason they are hated.
On the other hand, people such as Young Thug, Bill Cosby, R. Kelly, and others accused of questionable behavior, are loved, no matter how much mayhem they have caused.
And interestingly, the MAJORITY of people spewing hatred toward a public figure have never even met the people they hate so much. Many of the people who are happy about the seeming demise of RTT have never even seen an episode of the program!!! Unfortunately, the number of haters is growing, not only among Blacks but also among other groups. Question: why is it important for us to recognize our biases related to our fellow human beings that manifest as an irrational love for some and irrational hatred for others? The answer lies in the development of an ability to remove barriers to unification. If we can understand our biases, we can work around them.
It is not expected that we should all end up in lock-step blindly following the voice that is the loudest and most aggressive. Instead, once we realize that our responses to others are based on EMOTIONS and not necessarily upon something tangible, it should assist us in the understanding that working together for the sake of the common good is possible.
If we awake to the truth of this and work toward the establishment of a plan and framework in our communities, we will be able to overcome the blues in the collective mood that generates negative thinking and behavior. Essentially, we will never, EVER succeed without eschewing the irrational hatred against people we don’t even know. If we are able to understand this, we can help banish the blues from Black communities and generate more green ($$$)! A Luta Continua.
Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader
About Post Author
