Tierra's Blog

This is more of a rant than a Blog, I still hope I Get a Good Grade

Tierra — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I was reading one of my favorite news blogs this week (hellobeautiful.com) and I was so peeved by this article about Sean “Diddy” Combs that I had to make it the subject of this week’s blog.

So have you seen Diddy’s new spread in Vogue? Well, the rap mogul is posted up with a stick thin, skeleton of a blonde. This isn’t that big of a deal in itself but, when Diddy hosted a New Year’s Eve Party this year, during which he instructed his security not to let any black women into the VIP section, it definitely raised my eyebrow.

Rumor has it, this idiot requested for there to only be “blonde and fair-skinned women around him” in the VIP section. Really? Black people have a hard time being discriminated against and profiled by people of other races, but within his own race? Last time I checked Diddy wasn’t exactly “light-skinned” himself. As a black woman I believe that the color of someone’s skin doesn’t make then beautiful. Looks don’t even make a person really beautiful. Beauty comes from loving yourself enough to accept your flaws and the courage to empathize with people in spite of their flaws. That’s the problem with these black men in the limelight. They make money and suddenly they forget the beauty that comes from being who they are, forgetting what the black community has done for them.

I stood by Diddy when he got in trouble with the law (unlike J.Lo) and after the multiple stage name changes (which let’s face it has gone from corny to just plain sad.) But enough is enough. As a black woman, I am hurt appalled and utterly disgusted.

I refuse to support anything this guy does. (Ciroc, Sean Jean, Bad Boy Records, and his poorly produced, self-absorbed reality shows) If Diddy wasn’t such a good businessman he would’ve been a has-been a long time ago. The guy essentially is a one-hit wonder. Obviously, some black men make money, they forget where they come from, who they are, and their ROOTS. Black is, and will always be beautiful. To denounce who you are is just plain sad.

Convicted Sex Offenders Back On The Streets

Tierra — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:41:29 +0000

Although this blog has little to do with the actual field of communications, it stems from an article that I read on CNN.com on Tuesday. Thirty-seven years ago this month, then 13-year old Martin Andrews was abducted and held captive for eight days by a two-time convicted sex offender. Andrews describes his captor, Richard Ausley as a “sexually violent predator,” that kept him chained in a box during the abduction.

Tuesday, the Supreme Court was to revisit a method to keep convicted felons of violent sex crimes off the streets: civil commitment. It involves committing an ex-con into a psychiatric facility after their prison term. It is generally stated that sexual predators can never be cured of their urges to act violently, therefore incarceration does little to rehabilitate these criminals.

Personally, would I like to see my taxes go to housing criminals that have minimal chances of becoming rehabilitated, members of society? Better that, than the death penalty. But who or what is civil commitment really for? Extremely violent, repeat offenders? Sadists? Serial rapists? Committing violent criminals like Richard Ausley that sexually assaulted young boys repeatedly seems like a great way to keep him off the streets. But what about 19-year old sex offender convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 15-year old. Should civil commitment be practiced in this case? I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I knew this would be handled on a case by case basis rather than a blanket for all sex offenders.

Multicultural Advertising: Offensive Or A Successful Marketing Strategy?

Tierra — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:54:06 +0000

Fifty years ago, there were hardly any African-Americans actors or models in television advertisements. Actors and models used in ads were white rather than an accurate reflection of a multicultural nation. America’s advertising “Golden Age” (circa the 1920s-’50s) were adorned with clean-cut, apple pie eating, baseball watching Americans, showing little if any trace of the minority population of that time.

Coca-Cola Ad (Circa 1940)

Within the last twenty years however, there has been a major influx of minorities in television commercials, no doubt a direct effect of the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s and an increase in racial tolerance throughout the general American population. More and more corporations are using multicultural advertising strategies to appeal to minority consumers, exhibiting acceptance and an ability to relate to an array of demographics.

These companies often use generalizations (a.k.a. stereotypes) to capture the black audience. Generalizations have bad connotations, because they’re insensitive to the individuals of said generalized group but they’re also rooted in truth. For example, it is said that black people love chicken, Kool-Aid, and watermelon but, it is wrong to assume that ALL black people do.

A couple of years ago, I recall watching a television ad for Kool-Aid. The ad depicted a basketball game in an urban neighborhood between black people. Then the Kool-Aid pitcher appears, joins the game and all is well in the “hood.” After watching this commercial I didn’t know whether or not I should be offended because black people love basketball and Kool-Aid but is it okay for an advertising agency to say it?

At first, I was delighted to see that a company identified with the African-American community, but after some thought it troubled me that this was the strategy used by Kool-Aid’s advertisers to attract black consumers.