Skip to main content

An Open Letter to Tavis Smiley

Dear Tavis,

I heard about your imminent departure from The Tom Joyner Morning Show. You apparently couldn't take the heat generated by your comments about Barack Obama. While I don't have the pleasure of listening to you on a daily basis, I know you're commentary will be missed by some -- especially your soon-to-be former boss, Mr. Joyner.

I'd like to say that I'm shocked by your decision, but I'm not. Most people who've deemed themselves to be all-knowing have a hard time dealing with dissension. You've always portrayed yourself as a man who speaks for the people. My question is and has always been, which ones? You've never really spoken for me or any of my friends.

Your State of the Black Union address usually brings up some very good points. However, it's never marketed to the people who actually need the information. If you're so concerned about "the people," why would you broadcast it on CSPAN, the one station most folks don't watch? In addition, you invite a cast of characters that speak eloquently on the issues, but we never see them afterwards.

Here's what I think -- you got mad at Barack for not recognizing you as the Black Leader you've positioned yourself to be. When you made your feelings known and people shot you down, you acted like a spoiled kid on the playground. Since you couldn't have your way, you just took your ball and went home.

Are you kidding me? If you're calling yourself a commentator, you have to realize that people aren't going to agree with you all the time. There will be times when you'll stand alone. It's par for the course. Jesus came to save the world, and they crucified Him. Not that I'm comparing you to my savior in any way, shape, or form, but you get the picture.

The real problem here is that you started to believe your own press. You thought that you were wonderful, above reproach, some sort of modern-day civil rights activist. In the immortal words of my step-father, you over-sported yourself. Now you're stomping off the air to lick your wounds and pout.

I, for one, am glad to see you go. Your pompous arrogance has polluted America's airwaves long enough. In addition, your blatant abuse of English diction has bugged me for a long time. The word isn't "par-tic-u-LAR-ly," it's "par-TIC-u-lar-ly." Please get it together.

MD

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A New Possibility?

If you've been reading EFTDOAD for any length of time, you've probably noticed that I haven't really talked about a man. By that, I mean a man of my own. What's really sad is that there hasn't been a man in my life for the entire time I've been writing this blog. I hate that. However, things may be looking up for me. One of my good friends hosts a forum in Los Angeles called " Battle of the Sexes ." This monthly event consists of guys and girls submitting questions anonymously to the moderators, with the answers being discussed in an open forum. It can get quite rowdy, and the discussions are always enlightening. For most of us, it's the first time we've really heard what members of the opposite sex think. I've been attending these Battles for a few months now. Even though I'm not a fan of mindless rhetoric, it's cool to be around some single people who can think and put together coherent sentences. The last couple of times I'v...

Life Matters: My Take on All This Madness

I am vexed beyond words about the situation with the two police officers being shot in Brooklyn. What bothers me is the blatant disregard for life -- on both sides. The man who felt like it was okay to take the lives of two police officers CLEARLY had no disregard for life because he took theirs and his own. And then there are the situations with Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Both situations show a disregard for life. For humanity, really. And it's painful to me that all of these families will have holes in them because someone felt like it was okay to take a life. There was a time in the not-so-distant past when people could fight and disagree -- and everyone went home to fight another day. When did it become okay to kill a person for whatever reason? As quiet as it's kept, by NOT indicting the police officers for killing those guys, it shows that life doesn't really matter. And it's easy to say Black life (and believe me, I do believe that it's open season ...

The Baby...

I heard from The Baby today. The Baby is a young man I met at work. Nice enough guy...he's 29...new to the radio game...and tall and lanky like I like 'em. He showed up at our studios because he was caught in the throes of his format's contract negotiations. When I saw him, I was kinda speechless. Not because he was cute -- he was -- but because I NEVER see other chocolate faces at my job. The conversation we had was one part interesting, one part amusing, but completely charming. Even though my interest in him was purely professional, we exchanged numbers. See, in addition to working as a radio engineer, he also has the inside track to this weekly show I like. For me, that was it. We exchanged a few texts, but nothing major. Then, one day he said that we should hang out. Since I'm always down for an adventure, I accepted. We ended up spending the day at the beach. We had a good time, but there were some definite red flags for me... For one, he didn't tip ...