Deanna Kimberly Burrell's Blog: The Red Cup Adventures, page 6
December 4, 2015
Spike Lee's Chi-Raq opens TODAY
This is it! Today’s the day! December 4th is the official release date of Spike Lee’s new joint, Chi-Raq. The title of the movie has been hotly contested and debated from Chicago’s city halls to every church, barbershop and dinner table. I love the title and am glad Spike Lee decided to use his talents, voice, and artistry to shine a light on the drug and gang violence plaguing the streets of my home town. I was also very vocal in my belief that Chicago’s mayor and alderpeople had no good business trying cancel the film's tax credits, deny permits, and keep interfering in order to force Spike Lee to change the film title to something…what…more palatable? And now in light of the fact that the mayor and alderpeople were sitting on Laquan McDonald execution dashcam video and who know how many other Chicago Police Department gross and racist misconducts, they really had no business wasting the taxpayer’s time and money debating the title of a movie that is just depicting what is actually happening here.
All that aside, I’m excited to see the movie tonight. I have some Facebook friends who have already seen it and the reviews Ive seen have not been kind. I hope people realize the movie is a satire so it’s not a straight forward story. Satire is defined by the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. Chi-Raq is based the ancient Greek play Lysistrata about one woman’s effort to end the Peloponnesian war by persuading all Greek women to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers until peace is restored. Chi-Raq's star studded cast includes Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Dave Chappelle, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Harry Lennix and a multitude of real-folk Chicagoans (including my WVON brother Terry Bishop).
As you have probably gleaned from my Red Cup Adventure blogs, I’m very opinioned. I like to see things for myself and make up my own mind. I also like to be on the cutting edge of the day’s hot topic. So I’m going to a fabulous and exclusive screening organized by Culture Connection 360 at the new Studio Movie Grill in Chatham on 87th Street because I want to see Chi-Raq for myself and come to my own opinion. I’m triple excited to finally see this movie that has been heavily debated and criticized for so long AND I get to check out the newly remodeled Chatham theatre AND I get to enjoy entertainment on the south side with my people. There will be a short discussion that follows the film screening. There weren’t many tickets left, but I want to make sure we sell out to support Culture Connection 360 so click here now to buy your tickets.
MOVIE TICKET GIVE AWAY: To thank everyone who supports the Red Cup Adventures (and increase my Facebook likes), I am giving away one pair of tickets at 5pm to tonight's event on the RCA Facebook page. Click here for your chance to win.
About Cultural Connection 360: Support this amazing Chicago-based, Black business to shop for a diverse range of unique items such as Unique Tees, Customized Gemstone, Copper & Crystal bracelets and necklaces (for men & women), Framed Artwork & cultural prints, Interesting DVDs, Natural Skin & Hair products, Cool Fragrances, Soulful Mix tapes, And now...ALKALINE WATER. Located on the corner of 71st & Stewart (4 blocks WEST of Dan Ryan expressway). OPEN Mon-Sat. 11am-7pm! #BuyBlack
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
All that aside, I’m excited to see the movie tonight. I have some Facebook friends who have already seen it and the reviews Ive seen have not been kind. I hope people realize the movie is a satire so it’s not a straight forward story. Satire is defined by the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. Chi-Raq is based the ancient Greek play Lysistrata about one woman’s effort to end the Peloponnesian war by persuading all Greek women to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers until peace is restored. Chi-Raq's star studded cast includes Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Dave Chappelle, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Harry Lennix and a multitude of real-folk Chicagoans (including my WVON brother Terry Bishop).
As you have probably gleaned from my Red Cup Adventure blogs, I’m very opinioned. I like to see things for myself and make up my own mind. I also like to be on the cutting edge of the day’s hot topic. So I’m going to a fabulous and exclusive screening organized by Culture Connection 360 at the new Studio Movie Grill in Chatham on 87th Street because I want to see Chi-Raq for myself and come to my own opinion. I’m triple excited to finally see this movie that has been heavily debated and criticized for so long AND I get to check out the newly remodeled Chatham theatre AND I get to enjoy entertainment on the south side with my people. There will be a short discussion that follows the film screening. There weren’t many tickets left, but I want to make sure we sell out to support Culture Connection 360 so click here now to buy your tickets.
MOVIE TICKET GIVE AWAY: To thank everyone who supports the Red Cup Adventures (and increase my Facebook likes), I am giving away one pair of tickets at 5pm to tonight's event on the RCA Facebook page. Click here for your chance to win.
About Cultural Connection 360: Support this amazing Chicago-based, Black business to shop for a diverse range of unique items such as Unique Tees, Customized Gemstone, Copper & Crystal bracelets and necklaces (for men & women), Framed Artwork & cultural prints, Interesting DVDs, Natural Skin & Hair products, Cool Fragrances, Soulful Mix tapes, And now...ALKALINE WATER. Located on the corner of 71st & Stewart (4 blocks WEST of Dan Ryan expressway). OPEN Mon-Sat. 11am-7pm! #BuyBlack
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
December 3, 2015
TONIGHT I’m Going to Watch “The Wiz” and Win
It’s hard being Black in America. The constant bombardment of racism and ignorance is depressing and exhausting. These last few months have been particularly trying, but tonight…tonight I have a wonderful reason to celebrate my Blackness. Back in the 80’s, the groundbreaking and hilarious Cosby Show almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and propelled NBC from the ratings bottom to network leader. Today, mentioning anything Cosby is taboo. Even though the man perpetrated heinous crimes against women, the show he created was a pivotal and revolutionary leap forward for Black America and for all Americans. But when the Cosby Show went off the air, NBC forgot about us. Flash forward many years and with the success of Fox’s juggernaut, Empire, the TV executives finally remembered that they can win by creating and producing quality Black shows with a real Black casts.
I work in advertising selling a Black media product. Nowadays in advertising and corporate America, Black is not a priority. Most multicultural departments and multicultural budgets are decided to reaching Hispanics because "their numbers are growing so fast and they have a language barrier". I’m often told that the client doesn’t have a Black initiative and I’m left scratching my head.
Companies win when they bet on Black. Years ago when McDonalds was hemorrhaging their coffee business to Starbucks, they rolled out the McCafe program which bombed at first. McDonalds made their franchisees purchase expensive coffee equipment to make super fancy coffees that nobody wanted. The franchisees were pissed and told corporate you better fix this. Finally, McDonalds decided to study the coffee habits of their Black customers. They learned that Black coffee drinkers (the race, not coffee description) want to taste the sugar first, then the cream, then the coffee. It was that simple. McDonalds retooled McCafe using Black consumer insights (8 pumps of sugar and 6 pumps of cream...sound familiar?) and they are again winning in the coffee business. McDonalds learned to lead with Black consumer insights. Right before Thanksgiving, Walmart sales exploded with a $2.3 million boost thanks to James Wright’s hilariously viral video about Patti pies. In one weekend, Patti Pies sold completely out of Walmart because there is economic power in the Black dollar.
The Black community generates over $1.2 trillion dollars in annual spending power. It’s high time corporate America makes us a priority so I’m super excited that NBC decided to tap into our Black power. Tonight I’m going to ease on down the road with a retooled and live production of the Black phenomenon, affectionately and simply known as “The Wiz”. This is the third live production for NBC. The first year was a huge success with the “Sound of Music”. The second year’s “Peter Pan” production flopped so NBC really needs this to be charmed. With the all-Black and all-amazing cast of Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, Stephanie Mills, the fresh face of Shanice Williams, and more, I predict they will have one hell of a great night. I can’t wait.
And though there’s truly no place like home, the only thing better than watching The Wiz on my couch tonight at 8/7c will be watching with great friends, throwback beats, and delicious cocktails at the place I call The Black Cheers. One of my favorite watering holes, Tantrum, is hosting “The Wiz Y2K15”. There’s no cover charge and drink specials so take your red cup and ease on down to Tantrum at 1023 S. State St.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
I work in advertising selling a Black media product. Nowadays in advertising and corporate America, Black is not a priority. Most multicultural departments and multicultural budgets are decided to reaching Hispanics because "their numbers are growing so fast and they have a language barrier". I’m often told that the client doesn’t have a Black initiative and I’m left scratching my head.
Companies win when they bet on Black. Years ago when McDonalds was hemorrhaging their coffee business to Starbucks, they rolled out the McCafe program which bombed at first. McDonalds made their franchisees purchase expensive coffee equipment to make super fancy coffees that nobody wanted. The franchisees were pissed and told corporate you better fix this. Finally, McDonalds decided to study the coffee habits of their Black customers. They learned that Black coffee drinkers (the race, not coffee description) want to taste the sugar first, then the cream, then the coffee. It was that simple. McDonalds retooled McCafe using Black consumer insights (8 pumps of sugar and 6 pumps of cream...sound familiar?) and they are again winning in the coffee business. McDonalds learned to lead with Black consumer insights. Right before Thanksgiving, Walmart sales exploded with a $2.3 million boost thanks to James Wright’s hilariously viral video about Patti pies. In one weekend, Patti Pies sold completely out of Walmart because there is economic power in the Black dollar.
The Black community generates over $1.2 trillion dollars in annual spending power. It’s high time corporate America makes us a priority so I’m super excited that NBC decided to tap into our Black power. Tonight I’m going to ease on down the road with a retooled and live production of the Black phenomenon, affectionately and simply known as “The Wiz”. This is the third live production for NBC. The first year was a huge success with the “Sound of Music”. The second year’s “Peter Pan” production flopped so NBC really needs this to be charmed. With the all-Black and all-amazing cast of Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, Stephanie Mills, the fresh face of Shanice Williams, and more, I predict they will have one hell of a great night. I can’t wait.
And though there’s truly no place like home, the only thing better than watching The Wiz on my couch tonight at 8/7c will be watching with great friends, throwback beats, and delicious cocktails at the place I call The Black Cheers. One of my favorite watering holes, Tantrum, is hosting “The Wiz Y2K15”. There’s no cover charge and drink specials so take your red cup and ease on down to Tantrum at 1023 S. State St.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
December 1, 2015
State's Attorney Anita Alvarez Works For the Police; Not the People
Anita Alvarez has spent her entire legal career in the State’s Attorney’s Office. Her career began as an Assistant State’s Attorney in 1986. She moved up the ranks and in 2008 was elected to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney making her the first Hispanic woman elected to this position. In 2012, she easily won reelection with 77% of the votes. She is currently seeking reelection in the March 15th, 2016 primary election and we cannot let this woman…this public menace…remain in office.
Criminal prosecutions are the chief duty of most State’s Attorney offices. The office and officers are supposed to represent the government as the “people’s lawyer” and decide if the state has gathered enough evidence against a suspect to pursue a case in court and if so, prosecute. According to Anita Alvarez’s reelection video, “the role of a prosecutor is not about racking up convictions. It’s about getting to the truth. It’s about justice. Justice is recognizing the mistakes of the past.” Anita Alvarez’s website also claims that her top issues are “stepped up efforts to tackle public corruption, creation of the state’s attorney first ever ‘Conviction Integrity Unit’, restoring trust between communities and law enforcement, and [tackling] violence against women.” While reading Alvarez’s website, I have never laughed so hard while simultaneously being so offended and disgusted by a crooked politician’s filthy lies. (Alvarez’s reelection video is on YouTube and it’s always very telling to me when the comment section of a video is disabled. Click here and prepare your side eye.)
Anita Alvarez is a menace to society and a boil on the face of democracy. She does not work for the people. She is not committed to cleaning up public corruption, restoring trust or even protecting women from violence. In fact, she often persecutes women, wrongfully convicts citizens, blames the victims, racially discriminates, and is a puppet for the Chicago Police Department and Fraternal Order of Police. Here’s a snapshot of some of her most egregious crimes against the public.
1) Anita Alvarez has made Illinois the wrongful conviction capital of the country. The Cook County State’s Attorney Office is the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation and after 7 years of Alvarez’s leadership, Illinois is also the wrongful conviction capital of the county. In 2012, the top 5 states in 2012 were Michigan (35), California (79), Texas (84), New York (88) and Illinois (101).
2) Anita Alvarez refuses to right the wrongs of her office. Have you heard about all the convictions that have been overturned by her Convictions Integrity Unit (CIU)? Me neither. It was created in 2012 with much fanfare and many press release announcements, but what significant work has it done? It’s estimated that Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions is responsible for a third of Illinois exonerations. So what does Anita Alvarez do to assist in overturning wrongful convictions? Does she offer resources from the CIU and assess to case files? Does she graciously receive the messages of new evidence shining a light on police and prosecutorial misconduct? No, she doesn’t. Instead, she attacks the messengers at Northwestern’s Innocence Project. She claimed that the students were not acting as students, but as “investigators”. Anita Alvarez sought a subpoena for a broad range of materials and records from Northwestern including students’ grade transcripts. Instead of admitting her mistakes and fixing them by letting innocent men and women out of jail, she decided to waste taxpayer time and money by questioning the Innocence Project students who were doing the job she should have done.
3. Anita Alvarez is a puppet helping the police cover up their maleficence. She deliberately filed the wrong charge against Officer Dante Servin in the murder of Rekia Boyd which lead to his acquittal. She wouldn’t have filed charges against Officer Jason Van Dyke for murdering Laquan McDonald if the dash cam footage wasn’t released to much public outcry. And don’t forget that it was only last year when former Mayor Daley’s nephew R.J. Vanecko was finally charged in the brutal murder of David Koschman after almost a decade of police shenanigans and cover-ups including the Vanecko case file disappearing. It was finally found at Lt. Denis Walsh’s Northwest side bungalow who was tied to four instances of missing records in this case.
4. Anita Alvarez attacks the victims. In 2010, Tiawanda Moore was involved in a domestic dispute and the police were called to her residence. She and her boyfriend were questioned in different rooms. When the police had Moore alone, she claimed the officer came on to her, groped her breast, and slipped her his home phone number. When she and her boyfriend attempted to file a complaint with the Chicago police investigators, they discouraged her from filing a report so Moore secretly recorded the rest of the conversation on her cell phone. Do you know what Anita Alvarez did with the information that the police sexually assaulted and intimidated a victim? She charged Tiawanda Moore with violating the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, a Class 1 felony which could have led to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. When the case went to trial, the jury quickly dismissed the charges and stated that the case was a waste of time and Ms. Moore should never have been charged. Did you also know that Anita Alvarez led the national effort to arrest citizens who film the police in public? She took her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to strip citizens of our First Amendment right and take away our most effective tool in fighting police abuse. Alvarez doesn’t charge the police for their wrong-doings, but she tries to zealously prosecute citizens who are simply exercising freedoms granted by the Constitution and protecting themselves from rampant police misconduct.
5. Anita Alvarez hates Black people. I’ve never met Alvarez or seen her in person, but when I saw her speak out against Officer Howard Morgan's release this year and her 60 minutes interview in 2012, I knew. Officer Howard Morgan is a Black police officer who was shot 28 times by four white police officers. Alvarez charged Officer Morgan with four counts of attempted murder and she zealously prosecuted him. The only time she goes after the police is when they are Black. She even skirted the double jeopardy law and mounted two trials against Officer Morgan when the jury was hung after the first one. If you haven’t seen her 60 minutes interview, click here because you have to see it to believe how crazy this woman is (skip to the 7 minute mark). She was asked about two young men who were wrongly imprisoned for rape and murder. After they spent years in prison, the DNA evidence was finally tested and they were released. The conclusion was none of the two men’s DNA was found at the scene. But the DNA evidence from a serial rapist who died after the crime was committed was found. Instead of admitting her office was wrong, Anita Alvarez said on national TV that the serial rapist could have found the body and had sex with the dead body after the two boys raped and murdered her. WHAT? Anita Alvarez would rather believe that a serial rapist switched his modus operandi to necrophilia, then admit she was wrong. What I learned from her testimony is that Anita Alvarez truly thinks most Black men are depraved rapists and murders who are so sick that they also regularly have sex with dead people. Only a twisted and racist mind could come up with that narrative and she has no business being the moral compass of Cook County.
Every move, decision, and statement Alvarez makes is in favor of the racism and corruption that has embedded itself in the Chicago Police Department and Fraternal Order of Police. She is an embarrassment to common sense and decency. How much longer will she terrorize the good people of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and the United States of America? I don’t want to wait until March. I want her gone NOW! Mark my words after she’s ousted from office, she’ll land a lucrative and top position at the FOP. But Karma is a bitch. One day Alvarez will reap from all the evil she has sewn into so many lives. But for now…Bruce Rauner and Toni Preckwinkle, we need your help! #byeAnitaNecrophiliaAlvarez #DNADoesMatter #BlackLivesMatter
Stay in touch. Subscribe to this blog by typing your email address in the box, clicking the "create subscription" button, and signing-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
Criminal prosecutions are the chief duty of most State’s Attorney offices. The office and officers are supposed to represent the government as the “people’s lawyer” and decide if the state has gathered enough evidence against a suspect to pursue a case in court and if so, prosecute. According to Anita Alvarez’s reelection video, “the role of a prosecutor is not about racking up convictions. It’s about getting to the truth. It’s about justice. Justice is recognizing the mistakes of the past.” Anita Alvarez’s website also claims that her top issues are “stepped up efforts to tackle public corruption, creation of the state’s attorney first ever ‘Conviction Integrity Unit’, restoring trust between communities and law enforcement, and [tackling] violence against women.” While reading Alvarez’s website, I have never laughed so hard while simultaneously being so offended and disgusted by a crooked politician’s filthy lies. (Alvarez’s reelection video is on YouTube and it’s always very telling to me when the comment section of a video is disabled. Click here and prepare your side eye.)
Anita Alvarez is a menace to society and a boil on the face of democracy. She does not work for the people. She is not committed to cleaning up public corruption, restoring trust or even protecting women from violence. In fact, she often persecutes women, wrongfully convicts citizens, blames the victims, racially discriminates, and is a puppet for the Chicago Police Department and Fraternal Order of Police. Here’s a snapshot of some of her most egregious crimes against the public.
1) Anita Alvarez has made Illinois the wrongful conviction capital of the country. The Cook County State’s Attorney Office is the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation and after 7 years of Alvarez’s leadership, Illinois is also the wrongful conviction capital of the county. In 2012, the top 5 states in 2012 were Michigan (35), California (79), Texas (84), New York (88) and Illinois (101).
2) Anita Alvarez refuses to right the wrongs of her office. Have you heard about all the convictions that have been overturned by her Convictions Integrity Unit (CIU)? Me neither. It was created in 2012 with much fanfare and many press release announcements, but what significant work has it done? It’s estimated that Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions is responsible for a third of Illinois exonerations. So what does Anita Alvarez do to assist in overturning wrongful convictions? Does she offer resources from the CIU and assess to case files? Does she graciously receive the messages of new evidence shining a light on police and prosecutorial misconduct? No, she doesn’t. Instead, she attacks the messengers at Northwestern’s Innocence Project. She claimed that the students were not acting as students, but as “investigators”. Anita Alvarez sought a subpoena for a broad range of materials and records from Northwestern including students’ grade transcripts. Instead of admitting her mistakes and fixing them by letting innocent men and women out of jail, she decided to waste taxpayer time and money by questioning the Innocence Project students who were doing the job she should have done.
3. Anita Alvarez is a puppet helping the police cover up their maleficence. She deliberately filed the wrong charge against Officer Dante Servin in the murder of Rekia Boyd which lead to his acquittal. She wouldn’t have filed charges against Officer Jason Van Dyke for murdering Laquan McDonald if the dash cam footage wasn’t released to much public outcry. And don’t forget that it was only last year when former Mayor Daley’s nephew R.J. Vanecko was finally charged in the brutal murder of David Koschman after almost a decade of police shenanigans and cover-ups including the Vanecko case file disappearing. It was finally found at Lt. Denis Walsh’s Northwest side bungalow who was tied to four instances of missing records in this case.
4. Anita Alvarez attacks the victims. In 2010, Tiawanda Moore was involved in a domestic dispute and the police were called to her residence. She and her boyfriend were questioned in different rooms. When the police had Moore alone, she claimed the officer came on to her, groped her breast, and slipped her his home phone number. When she and her boyfriend attempted to file a complaint with the Chicago police investigators, they discouraged her from filing a report so Moore secretly recorded the rest of the conversation on her cell phone. Do you know what Anita Alvarez did with the information that the police sexually assaulted and intimidated a victim? She charged Tiawanda Moore with violating the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, a Class 1 felony which could have led to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. When the case went to trial, the jury quickly dismissed the charges and stated that the case was a waste of time and Ms. Moore should never have been charged. Did you also know that Anita Alvarez led the national effort to arrest citizens who film the police in public? She took her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to strip citizens of our First Amendment right and take away our most effective tool in fighting police abuse. Alvarez doesn’t charge the police for their wrong-doings, but she tries to zealously prosecute citizens who are simply exercising freedoms granted by the Constitution and protecting themselves from rampant police misconduct.
5. Anita Alvarez hates Black people. I’ve never met Alvarez or seen her in person, but when I saw her speak out against Officer Howard Morgan's release this year and her 60 minutes interview in 2012, I knew. Officer Howard Morgan is a Black police officer who was shot 28 times by four white police officers. Alvarez charged Officer Morgan with four counts of attempted murder and she zealously prosecuted him. The only time she goes after the police is when they are Black. She even skirted the double jeopardy law and mounted two trials against Officer Morgan when the jury was hung after the first one. If you haven’t seen her 60 minutes interview, click here because you have to see it to believe how crazy this woman is (skip to the 7 minute mark). She was asked about two young men who were wrongly imprisoned for rape and murder. After they spent years in prison, the DNA evidence was finally tested and they were released. The conclusion was none of the two men’s DNA was found at the scene. But the DNA evidence from a serial rapist who died after the crime was committed was found. Instead of admitting her office was wrong, Anita Alvarez said on national TV that the serial rapist could have found the body and had sex with the dead body after the two boys raped and murdered her. WHAT? Anita Alvarez would rather believe that a serial rapist switched his modus operandi to necrophilia, then admit she was wrong. What I learned from her testimony is that Anita Alvarez truly thinks most Black men are depraved rapists and murders who are so sick that they also regularly have sex with dead people. Only a twisted and racist mind could come up with that narrative and she has no business being the moral compass of Cook County.
Every move, decision, and statement Alvarez makes is in favor of the racism and corruption that has embedded itself in the Chicago Police Department and Fraternal Order of Police. She is an embarrassment to common sense and decency. How much longer will she terrorize the good people of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and the United States of America? I don’t want to wait until March. I want her gone NOW! Mark my words after she’s ousted from office, she’ll land a lucrative and top position at the FOP. But Karma is a bitch. One day Alvarez will reap from all the evil she has sewn into so many lives. But for now…Bruce Rauner and Toni Preckwinkle, we need your help! #byeAnitaNecrophiliaAlvarez #DNADoesMatter #BlackLivesMatter
Stay in touch. Subscribe to this blog by typing your email address in the box, clicking the "create subscription" button, and signing-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
November 28, 2015
CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy Hates Black People
Hate is a strong word…the strongest…which is why I don’t use it capriciously or even in jest. I’ve never heard Garry McCarthy state that he hates Black people, but since actions speak louder than words, I have come to this conclusion. I’ve observed Garry McCarthy’s leadership since his appointment in 2011. Though I didn't always agree with his methods, in the beginning I thought he was a good man working for all of the people. But in this last year, he has shown his heart and on the morning of July 8th, 2015, I saw him up close and personal and then I knew this truth that Chicago Police Department Superintendent Garry McCarthy hates Black people. But before I tell you what happened on that day, I need to tell you the background story of former Chicago Police Department officer Howard Morgan.
In 2005, Howard Morgan was an African-American, 53-year old husband, father, and grandfather living in the North Lawndale neighborhood. He was a retired Chicago Police Department officer and he was working as a detective assigned to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. He had no criminal history and was a respected community and church leader. On February 21, 2005 around 1245am, he was driving home from work and was pulled over by two white police officers John Wrigley and Timothy Finley. These two white officers were soon joined by two additional white officers Nicolas Olsen and Eric White. Mr. Morgan said he identified himself as a police officer and that he was carrying a gun. A witness said she saw the officers snatch Mr. Morgan from his van and force him onto one knee. She heard an officer say "Oh shit, he has a gun” and then the four officers opened fire on Mr. Morgan while he lay on the ground. Does that description of the police shooting sound familiar?
The four white officers shot Howard Morgan 28 times…22 of those bullets were fired into Mr. Morgan’s back. None of the four white police officers were seriously injured and none of them spent a night in the hospital. Miraculously, Howard Morgan lived. He was in the hospital for seven months. He was also arrested and charged with four counts of attempted murder. In his first trial, Howard Morgan was found not guilty of firing his weapon, but the jury was hung on the murder convictions. In his second trial (which should have never happened in light of the double jeopardy law), Howard Morgan was wrongly convicted and given 40 years in prison even though he never fired his weapon and was shot 28 times.
In October 2014, I learned of Mr. Morgan’s plight and began helping the family petition Governor Pat Quinn to pardon Howard Morgan. On his last day in office in January 2015, Pat Quinn commuted Howard Morgan’s sentence freeing him from prison. Quinn did not pardon him, which would have erased Mr. Morgan’s guilty conviction. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and the Fraternal Order of Police were extremely vocal in their outrage at Howard Morgan’s release. But I noted that neither Superintendent McCarthy nor Mayor Emanuel weighed in on the issue and I was okay with that. On one side you have one Black police officer’s word against four white police officers' words. So I was okay with the superintendent of CPD staying neutral on a shooting that happened in 2005 which was 6 years before McCarthy came to Chicago. But the morning of July 8th that all changed.
On July 8th, 2015, Howard Morgan had a hearing with the Illinois Prison Review Board to petition for a full pardon to clear the guilty verdict from his record. With a full pardon, Mr. Morgan would be able to receive his two police pensions (he was a Chicago Police Officer for 8.5 years with 13 CPD commendations and a Burlington Northern Officer for 13 years) and have the option to sue the city for wrongful conviction. Since Jon Burge is receiving a CPD pension after torturing confessions from more than 200 Black men, then certainty Mr. Morgan who was shot 28 times…22 times in the back…should be receiving his police pensions. I knew that the Fraternal Order of Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office would be there in full force with guns blazing, but what I didn’t expect was Superintendent Garry McCarthy. When I saw him shaking the hands of the four white officers who tried to assassinate a fellow Black police officer my heart stopped, time stood still, and I knew. Not only did Garry McCarthy attend, he testified in support of the four white officers. He testified that he approves of white officers shooting a Black man 28 times…22 of those bullets in Howard Morgan’s back. I knew then that Garry McCarthy supports shooting Black people because he must hate us and as a Black person I would never feel safe in my city as long as racist Superintendent Garry McCarthy is the leader of the CPD.
I didn’t know on that day that Superintendent Garry McCarthy was actively suppressing a videotape of one of his officers shooting 17-year old Laquan McDonald 16 times…4 times in the back. So in hindsight, Garry McCarthy knew he had a white police officer under his watch who hatefully murdered a young Black boy. Racism, excessive force, and unlawful executions are not new tactics in the Chicago Police Department. Garry McCarthy had seen Officer Jason Van Dyke execute Laquan McDonald, but he chose to break his silence to take the stand at Howard Morgan’s hearing and pledge his unwavering support for Officers John Wrigley, Eric White, Timothy Finley, and Nicolas Olsen. And I’m sure he had Mayor Emanuel's permission to do so.
On November 10, 2015, the Invisible Institute launched an online database of 56,000 allegations of misconduct complaint records for more than 8,500 Chicago Police officers. Though the Citizen's Police Data Project only covers allegations from March 2011 to September 2015, it is still the most expansive public dataset of its kind. The database finally launched after a decade of ligation waged by the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police. You can click here to go to the CPDP website, type in a CPD officer’s name, and see how many complaints have been filed against that officer in the past four years. Repeat officers, those with 10 or more complaints, make up about 10% of the force but receive 30% of all complaints. These repeat officers average 3.7x as many complaints per officer as the rest of the force. Here’s what I found on the six officers I’ve mention in this article:
Officer Jason Van Dyke - 20 complaints including conduct unbecoming while off duty
Officer John Wrigley - 15 complaints including conduct unbecoming while off duty
Officer Eric White - 4 complaints
Officer Timothy Finley - 1 complaint
Officer Nicolas Olsen - 0 complaints
Officer Garry Mc Carthy - 2 complaints including bribery / official corruption
Garry McCarthy is the highest paid city employee with an annual salary of $260,004. That’s a lot of money. That’s over a quarter million dollars and I bet he’ll get a pension, just like Jon Burge. How long will the city of Chicago keep paying salaries and pensions to racist cops, torturers and murders? How many million dollar settlements will Mayor Emanuel offer to victims before we say enough? 32% of Chicago’s population are Black and another 28% are Brown. If you are a racist, then you should not be allowed to hold a position of leadership. Garry McCarthy's latest sound bite is that Mayor Emanuel has assured him that he has his back. Garry McCarthy hates Black people and birds of feather, flock together.
Deanna Burrell is still working with Howard Morgan and his family to secure a full pardon. Mr. Morgan was shot 28 times in 2005 which caused irreparable damage to his body. He needs the assistance of a cane to walk and has been denied his police pensions and medical insurance. He and his family have suffered tremendous physical, emotional, and financial stress, but they remain prayerful. In light of the terrible atrocities that the Morgans has endured, please make a donation to the Howard Morgan fund this holiday season. Click here to donate.
Stay in touch. Subscribe to this blog by typing your email address in the box, clicking the "create subscription" button, and signing-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
In 2005, Howard Morgan was an African-American, 53-year old husband, father, and grandfather living in the North Lawndale neighborhood. He was a retired Chicago Police Department officer and he was working as a detective assigned to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. He had no criminal history and was a respected community and church leader. On February 21, 2005 around 1245am, he was driving home from work and was pulled over by two white police officers John Wrigley and Timothy Finley. These two white officers were soon joined by two additional white officers Nicolas Olsen and Eric White. Mr. Morgan said he identified himself as a police officer and that he was carrying a gun. A witness said she saw the officers snatch Mr. Morgan from his van and force him onto one knee. She heard an officer say "Oh shit, he has a gun” and then the four officers opened fire on Mr. Morgan while he lay on the ground. Does that description of the police shooting sound familiar?
The four white officers shot Howard Morgan 28 times…22 of those bullets were fired into Mr. Morgan’s back. None of the four white police officers were seriously injured and none of them spent a night in the hospital. Miraculously, Howard Morgan lived. He was in the hospital for seven months. He was also arrested and charged with four counts of attempted murder. In his first trial, Howard Morgan was found not guilty of firing his weapon, but the jury was hung on the murder convictions. In his second trial (which should have never happened in light of the double jeopardy law), Howard Morgan was wrongly convicted and given 40 years in prison even though he never fired his weapon and was shot 28 times.
In October 2014, I learned of Mr. Morgan’s plight and began helping the family petition Governor Pat Quinn to pardon Howard Morgan. On his last day in office in January 2015, Pat Quinn commuted Howard Morgan’s sentence freeing him from prison. Quinn did not pardon him, which would have erased Mr. Morgan’s guilty conviction. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and the Fraternal Order of Police were extremely vocal in their outrage at Howard Morgan’s release. But I noted that neither Superintendent McCarthy nor Mayor Emanuel weighed in on the issue and I was okay with that. On one side you have one Black police officer’s word against four white police officers' words. So I was okay with the superintendent of CPD staying neutral on a shooting that happened in 2005 which was 6 years before McCarthy came to Chicago. But the morning of July 8th that all changed.
On July 8th, 2015, Howard Morgan had a hearing with the Illinois Prison Review Board to petition for a full pardon to clear the guilty verdict from his record. With a full pardon, Mr. Morgan would be able to receive his two police pensions (he was a Chicago Police Officer for 8.5 years with 13 CPD commendations and a Burlington Northern Officer for 13 years) and have the option to sue the city for wrongful conviction. Since Jon Burge is receiving a CPD pension after torturing confessions from more than 200 Black men, then certainty Mr. Morgan who was shot 28 times…22 times in the back…should be receiving his police pensions. I knew that the Fraternal Order of Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office would be there in full force with guns blazing, but what I didn’t expect was Superintendent Garry McCarthy. When I saw him shaking the hands of the four white officers who tried to assassinate a fellow Black police officer my heart stopped, time stood still, and I knew. Not only did Garry McCarthy attend, he testified in support of the four white officers. He testified that he approves of white officers shooting a Black man 28 times…22 of those bullets in Howard Morgan’s back. I knew then that Garry McCarthy supports shooting Black people because he must hate us and as a Black person I would never feel safe in my city as long as racist Superintendent Garry McCarthy is the leader of the CPD.
I didn’t know on that day that Superintendent Garry McCarthy was actively suppressing a videotape of one of his officers shooting 17-year old Laquan McDonald 16 times…4 times in the back. So in hindsight, Garry McCarthy knew he had a white police officer under his watch who hatefully murdered a young Black boy. Racism, excessive force, and unlawful executions are not new tactics in the Chicago Police Department. Garry McCarthy had seen Officer Jason Van Dyke execute Laquan McDonald, but he chose to break his silence to take the stand at Howard Morgan’s hearing and pledge his unwavering support for Officers John Wrigley, Eric White, Timothy Finley, and Nicolas Olsen. And I’m sure he had Mayor Emanuel's permission to do so.
On November 10, 2015, the Invisible Institute launched an online database of 56,000 allegations of misconduct complaint records for more than 8,500 Chicago Police officers. Though the Citizen's Police Data Project only covers allegations from March 2011 to September 2015, it is still the most expansive public dataset of its kind. The database finally launched after a decade of ligation waged by the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police. You can click here to go to the CPDP website, type in a CPD officer’s name, and see how many complaints have been filed against that officer in the past four years. Repeat officers, those with 10 or more complaints, make up about 10% of the force but receive 30% of all complaints. These repeat officers average 3.7x as many complaints per officer as the rest of the force. Here’s what I found on the six officers I’ve mention in this article:
Officer Jason Van Dyke - 20 complaints including conduct unbecoming while off duty
Officer John Wrigley - 15 complaints including conduct unbecoming while off duty
Officer Eric White - 4 complaints
Officer Timothy Finley - 1 complaint
Officer Nicolas Olsen - 0 complaints
Officer Garry Mc Carthy - 2 complaints including bribery / official corruption
Garry McCarthy is the highest paid city employee with an annual salary of $260,004. That’s a lot of money. That’s over a quarter million dollars and I bet he’ll get a pension, just like Jon Burge. How long will the city of Chicago keep paying salaries and pensions to racist cops, torturers and murders? How many million dollar settlements will Mayor Emanuel offer to victims before we say enough? 32% of Chicago’s population are Black and another 28% are Brown. If you are a racist, then you should not be allowed to hold a position of leadership. Garry McCarthy's latest sound bite is that Mayor Emanuel has assured him that he has his back. Garry McCarthy hates Black people and birds of feather, flock together.
Deanna Burrell is still working with Howard Morgan and his family to secure a full pardon. Mr. Morgan was shot 28 times in 2005 which caused irreparable damage to his body. He needs the assistance of a cane to walk and has been denied his police pensions and medical insurance. He and his family have suffered tremendous physical, emotional, and financial stress, but they remain prayerful. In light of the terrible atrocities that the Morgans has endured, please make a donation to the Howard Morgan fund this holiday season. Click here to donate.
Stay in touch. Subscribe to this blog by typing your email address in the box, clicking the "create subscription" button, and signing-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
August 23, 2015
It's True...Black People Don’t Tip
Yesterday on Reddit (a website where people post things and other people comment on the posts), there was a thread called “No Tipping – I wish every restaurant was like this” about a San Francisco restaurant where tipping isn’t allowed. The topic was wildly popular and it received thousands of comments debating the ridiculous American practice of tipping (you can already see what side of the debate I’m on). I noticed a reoccurring theme in some of the comments, which is one I’ve heard and seen many times over, that BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP.
I’m a middle class Black woman who has always tipped well. After college, I worked a second job as bartender for two years to pay off my college loans so yes, I’ve worked in the service industry. I eat in restaurants more than the average person because I’m a foodie who enjoys a great meal. I know and enjoy great food, great service, and a great restaurant. I always tip 15-20% (pre tax) but the truth is I fundamentally HATE the practice of tipping. In my opinion, the government should outlaw tipping because restaurant owners use tipping to cheat and exploit their workers, customers, and the government. Tipping is a corrupt and asinine system, but since it’s the custom of the land and I know waiters/bartenders are making less than minimum wage, I used to tip 15% until a couple of years ago when the service workers needed a raise but their management wouldn’t give it them so the standard was raised to 20% and then I increased my tip percentage to that. (Speaking of management not giving their workers a raise, do you remember when the multi-billion dollar hotel chain the Marriott and Maria Shriver encouraged us to tip their hotel maids? SMH) But after last night, I’ve decided to change my tipping amount again.
After reading the Black people don’t tip comments on Reddit, I googled the phase WHY BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP. Even though I always tip 15-20% and all my Black friends and most of family do too, I wasn’t (yes…Was Not) surprised by the plethora of hateful and racist web pages and comments I found espousing this stereotype. I also wasn’t surprised that often times the rude comments from waiters about how they hate serving Black people were also left by many Black waiters. (FYI - Black people talking crap about other Black people is not racism, it’s self-hatred.) I kept reading and reading and then I had an epiphany that even though most Black people I know, myself included, always tip 15-20%, it doesn’t matter. The stereotype that BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP is alive and strong and the fact that I always tip 15-20% won’t change a thing so I’ve decided to fully accept the stereotype by no longer tipping. I AM GOING TO BECOME A BLACK PERSON WHO DOESN’T TIP and here are my four reasons why:
1) My expectation is if I tip well, I should receive great service. Based on what I keep hearing and reading, the majority of servers (my use of the term servers encompasses waiters, bartenders, etc) believe and tell everyone they know that BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP. In doing that, the restaurant industry as a whole talks badly about Black people. TALKING CRAP ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IS NOT GOOD SERVICE. I won’t even say talking crap about Black people is racist since so many black service people are also doing it. It’s clear this is not just a race issue, but it’s a bad service issue. For me, good service is not just what happens at the table. It’s the entire experience. It’s how you talk about me after I leave your restaurant. Today I realized that since my experience is that the restaurant industry systematically and repeatedly talks bad about Black people, I’m not receiving good service and I will no longer reward this disgusting behavior. And the problem isn’t just the servers who talk crap about Black people. The problem is also the servers, managers, and owners who allow that type of filth to be spoken in their presence. If you don’t speak out against it, then you are also part of the problem.
2) The system of tipping actually creates and encourages prejudice against Black people. It’s the chicken or the egg question. Which came first…the bad service or the Black people who don’t tip? Have service people who hate serving Black people ever considered that Black people don’t tip because many Black people receive bad service? It was just in the 1960s that Black people had to sit in at lunch counters to demand their civil right to even be served in a restaurant. Literally, five decades ago, Black people were spit on and arrested for sitting at a lunch counter in Woolworths. Now when a Black person sits at your table, you HATE that you have to serve them and I know this because I just read numerous blogs and comments about it. Do you think that servers who HATE TO SERVE BLACK PEOPLE walk over with a smile and give great service to the BLACK PEOPLE THEY HATE TO SERVE? They say they give equal service to all, but I’m pretty sure they don’t. I’m going to list some of the comments I read on BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP blogs. Feel free to search it yourself or just click here to see my google results.
Die Nigs Die - Holyshit some time’s just want to walk up behind them while they are slurping up there chicken Alfredo and slices open there throats. Fuck them! BTW not all black people are biggest just the ones that don’t tip.
I just don't know. But I have noticed it here too in the south. Anyone who says this question is racist, go work as a server for a month then come back and give your opinion. You know nothing about it until you have been a server. Its sad to say that a lot of black people don't tip well at all, and have a bad attitude. Even the black servers at my restaurant don't like to wait on black people. There are the normal, nice black people who a friendly, and show no uppity attitude. They tip well and treat you like their equal. Not in general though. And I give everyone the same great service...
Black people don't tip. It is just a fact of life and needs to be addressed through the media. I don't think that they understand what they are doing to those who serve them; a.k.a tip share etc. The general public needs to be educated. I have served for ten years and I have had one black person tip me appropiately, one. They cost me money to wait on and it stinks. However, there is nothing that I can do about it. The servers who work with me and are black feel the same way. A table of black people are sat in their section and they say, f*ck. It is just reality and it isn't right. They need to be taught better. Maybe put it in a rap song by J-Z.
Im a server and totally agree with this argument. I can't stand black tables. Don't they know their tip is my only income?
NoMoreMs.NiceGal • I worked my @ss off last night. The black people in my section were treated just as everyone else was, with politeness and respect. NO MORE!!! The couple at the end, who ran me so much, and then left $2.00 on a $98 tab just gave black people a "no-pass" from here on out. It actually cost me money to wait on them, (I still have to tip out a bartender, busser and food-runner....more than 4% total. So, it cost me over $4.00 to wait on them....). DONE!!! NO MORE POLITENESS....DON'T CARE!
3) Tipping is an unfair labor practice and it should be abolished like slavery. Waiters say they like tipping because they make considerably more money than hourly wages. Guess what? You could make the same amount of money if your restaurant owner paid you the appropriate scale. The restaurants know how much you make in tips. They see the credit card receipts so they know on average their patrons are willing to pay x percentage for service. The owners already know the figures. They could easily figure out what the new food prices would have to be to keep all the waiters at their current pay. It wouldn’t make a difference to the customers because at the end of the day, they're paying the same amount but they don’t have the “fake” extra step of adding in a service charge. But the owners don’t want to abolish tipping and pay the appropriate wages because that it will increase their income and then they’d have to pay more taxes on that additional income. Plus paying the servers a real wage would make them eligible for benefits and the restaurants don’t want to incur that additional cost either. The restaurant industry might actually be worse than the big box industry when it comes to how they are cheating their workers and the government. The servers are misled to believe that they are better off making tips because they don’t pay taxes on the majority of that money. But if tipping was abolished and a fair wage was established based on what the servers are already making, the servers would be paid more consistently. No loss of income because it rained on Tuesday or because you had too many Black customers. (Abolishing tipping could actually help some people be less racist because some Black people actually don't know that tipping is your only source of income.) Servers would also have accurate income statements, which come in handy when you want to buy a home, start a business, or get a loan and need to prove your actual income. It’s really f-ed up that an industry has convinced a whole group of people (and country) that their exploitation is actually good for the people being exploited. It’s also very ironic when servers question the character and values of people who they feel don’t tip enough, but servers routinely under report their tips to avoid paying taxes. When you avoid paying taxes, you’re cheating your fellow Americans which is dishonest, a show of poor character, and illegal.
4) Tipping has corrupted common sense and I’m no longer going to participate in this dysfunction. Tips are a luxury, not a requirement and I’m going to start treating them as such. Every server should give great service as a rule of thumb and it’s management’s job to ensure ALL service is great. I hate that I’m expected to critique, reward, and/or punish your staff with my tipping...that's not my job...that the manager's job. I hate that I'm made to feel like your quality of life depends on how generous I feel when I get to the tip line. I hate that when I leave a tip on my credit card slip, I'm not even exactly sure how much the server is getting if any at all. I hate that tip jars and hands out are the new norm. I hate the side of guilt that is now infused in every restaurant and far too many service transactions (ie. my massage, car valet, doorman, flower delivery, etc). I asked a friend why I’m expected to tip the barista at Starbucks when I’m already paying $4 and up for a cup of coffee. He said because they make your drink to your exact specifications. Isn’t that the baristas job? If the barista didn’t make it to my exact specifications, how else I am going to get and feel good about my overpriced coffee? Why am I expected to tip people to do their job? If you want a raise, ask Starbucks for one. I work in an office and get a salary for the work I do. If I don’t think the salary is enough, I should ask my employer for a raise or look for a new job. I don’t put a tip jar on my desk and think the people around me should make up the difference between what I’m getting paid by the company and what I’d like to get paid. All employers should pay a fare wage with appropriate benefits to their employees and all employees should demand it. Stop calling your customers jackasses because you're too afraid to demand a raise from your boss. Restaurants should abolish tipping and raise the prices of the menu so they can handle all the wages in the house. I only want to see my “food costs” and tax. I don’t want to calculate tip and servers shouldn't want me to. Discussions about staff income should be directly between the owners/managers and the workers. I want everyone to make a fair wage, but I will no longer be so directly involved in your negotiation.
It’s not fair that restaurant servers make tips, but the busboy, dishwashers, hosts, and chefs often don’t. If anybody should be getting tipped at a restaurant, it should be the chefs first and foremost and bartenders second! Preparing the food and creating cocktails is where the artistry comes in…not how the plate got from the kitchen to my table. I know sometimes the servers have to split the tips, but as a customer, I don’t want to be so involved in or concerned by how your employees get paid. Great service should be invisible. I go to a restaurant for the food and cocktails. I don’t want my water glass filled every five seconds. That’s annoying, disruptive, and wasteful. I want to place my order, eat, pay and leave. I hate the extra math and time that tipping involves. When I pay with a credit card, the card gets ran twice because they have to come back to let me add the tip which is more opportunities for me to forget my card or for it to be compromised by servers who feel they aren't making enough in tips. If I pay with cash, I have to hope the server brings my change in the right denominations so I can leave an appropriate tip…if he brings my change at all because now a days they just confiscate your change as their tip.
From this day forward, I am a BLACK PERSON WHO DOESN’T TIP. No, I’m an AMERICAN WHO DOESN’T TIP. I’m still going to go to restaurants. But now when I sit down I’ll tell the server upfront that I don’t tip so please don’t give me any extra or special attention. Just take my order and drop off my food. I don’t want any water refills or extra dressing. I’m not going to work you. I’m just going to place my order, eat my food, and leave. The server will know in advance not to waste time any time on me. I’m also going to tell the server that she can take my bill with no tip to the manager and ask her employer to make up the difference. I learned in the Reddit comments that if the tips an employee receives don’t make up to minimum wage, the employer is responsible for paying the difference. I encourage the servers to stop the passive-aggressive customer complaining and take up the issue of fair wages with the real oppressors and jackasses…the restaurant owners. And if you think by telling the server upfront that I don’t tip will encourage him to spit in my food, then I say the type of people who do something as lowdown and disguising as defiling a customer's food because she didn't leave them $4 are also the real jackasses.
I want to know your thoughts. Leave a comment and let me know your experiences with tipping.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
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I’m a middle class Black woman who has always tipped well. After college, I worked a second job as bartender for two years to pay off my college loans so yes, I’ve worked in the service industry. I eat in restaurants more than the average person because I’m a foodie who enjoys a great meal. I know and enjoy great food, great service, and a great restaurant. I always tip 15-20% (pre tax) but the truth is I fundamentally HATE the practice of tipping. In my opinion, the government should outlaw tipping because restaurant owners use tipping to cheat and exploit their workers, customers, and the government. Tipping is a corrupt and asinine system, but since it’s the custom of the land and I know waiters/bartenders are making less than minimum wage, I used to tip 15% until a couple of years ago when the service workers needed a raise but their management wouldn’t give it them so the standard was raised to 20% and then I increased my tip percentage to that. (Speaking of management not giving their workers a raise, do you remember when the multi-billion dollar hotel chain the Marriott and Maria Shriver encouraged us to tip their hotel maids? SMH) But after last night, I’ve decided to change my tipping amount again.
After reading the Black people don’t tip comments on Reddit, I googled the phase WHY BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP. Even though I always tip 15-20% and all my Black friends and most of family do too, I wasn’t (yes…Was Not) surprised by the plethora of hateful and racist web pages and comments I found espousing this stereotype. I also wasn’t surprised that often times the rude comments from waiters about how they hate serving Black people were also left by many Black waiters. (FYI - Black people talking crap about other Black people is not racism, it’s self-hatred.) I kept reading and reading and then I had an epiphany that even though most Black people I know, myself included, always tip 15-20%, it doesn’t matter. The stereotype that BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP is alive and strong and the fact that I always tip 15-20% won’t change a thing so I’ve decided to fully accept the stereotype by no longer tipping. I AM GOING TO BECOME A BLACK PERSON WHO DOESN’T TIP and here are my four reasons why:
1) My expectation is if I tip well, I should receive great service. Based on what I keep hearing and reading, the majority of servers (my use of the term servers encompasses waiters, bartenders, etc) believe and tell everyone they know that BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP. In doing that, the restaurant industry as a whole talks badly about Black people. TALKING CRAP ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IS NOT GOOD SERVICE. I won’t even say talking crap about Black people is racist since so many black service people are also doing it. It’s clear this is not just a race issue, but it’s a bad service issue. For me, good service is not just what happens at the table. It’s the entire experience. It’s how you talk about me after I leave your restaurant. Today I realized that since my experience is that the restaurant industry systematically and repeatedly talks bad about Black people, I’m not receiving good service and I will no longer reward this disgusting behavior. And the problem isn’t just the servers who talk crap about Black people. The problem is also the servers, managers, and owners who allow that type of filth to be spoken in their presence. If you don’t speak out against it, then you are also part of the problem.
2) The system of tipping actually creates and encourages prejudice against Black people. It’s the chicken or the egg question. Which came first…the bad service or the Black people who don’t tip? Have service people who hate serving Black people ever considered that Black people don’t tip because many Black people receive bad service? It was just in the 1960s that Black people had to sit in at lunch counters to demand their civil right to even be served in a restaurant. Literally, five decades ago, Black people were spit on and arrested for sitting at a lunch counter in Woolworths. Now when a Black person sits at your table, you HATE that you have to serve them and I know this because I just read numerous blogs and comments about it. Do you think that servers who HATE TO SERVE BLACK PEOPLE walk over with a smile and give great service to the BLACK PEOPLE THEY HATE TO SERVE? They say they give equal service to all, but I’m pretty sure they don’t. I’m going to list some of the comments I read on BLACK PEOPLE DON’T TIP blogs. Feel free to search it yourself or just click here to see my google results.
Die Nigs Die - Holyshit some time’s just want to walk up behind them while they are slurping up there chicken Alfredo and slices open there throats. Fuck them! BTW not all black people are biggest just the ones that don’t tip.
I just don't know. But I have noticed it here too in the south. Anyone who says this question is racist, go work as a server for a month then come back and give your opinion. You know nothing about it until you have been a server. Its sad to say that a lot of black people don't tip well at all, and have a bad attitude. Even the black servers at my restaurant don't like to wait on black people. There are the normal, nice black people who a friendly, and show no uppity attitude. They tip well and treat you like their equal. Not in general though. And I give everyone the same great service...
Black people don't tip. It is just a fact of life and needs to be addressed through the media. I don't think that they understand what they are doing to those who serve them; a.k.a tip share etc. The general public needs to be educated. I have served for ten years and I have had one black person tip me appropiately, one. They cost me money to wait on and it stinks. However, there is nothing that I can do about it. The servers who work with me and are black feel the same way. A table of black people are sat in their section and they say, f*ck. It is just reality and it isn't right. They need to be taught better. Maybe put it in a rap song by J-Z.
Im a server and totally agree with this argument. I can't stand black tables. Don't they know their tip is my only income?
NoMoreMs.NiceGal • I worked my @ss off last night. The black people in my section were treated just as everyone else was, with politeness and respect. NO MORE!!! The couple at the end, who ran me so much, and then left $2.00 on a $98 tab just gave black people a "no-pass" from here on out. It actually cost me money to wait on them, (I still have to tip out a bartender, busser and food-runner....more than 4% total. So, it cost me over $4.00 to wait on them....). DONE!!! NO MORE POLITENESS....DON'T CARE!
3) Tipping is an unfair labor practice and it should be abolished like slavery. Waiters say they like tipping because they make considerably more money than hourly wages. Guess what? You could make the same amount of money if your restaurant owner paid you the appropriate scale. The restaurants know how much you make in tips. They see the credit card receipts so they know on average their patrons are willing to pay x percentage for service. The owners already know the figures. They could easily figure out what the new food prices would have to be to keep all the waiters at their current pay. It wouldn’t make a difference to the customers because at the end of the day, they're paying the same amount but they don’t have the “fake” extra step of adding in a service charge. But the owners don’t want to abolish tipping and pay the appropriate wages because that it will increase their income and then they’d have to pay more taxes on that additional income. Plus paying the servers a real wage would make them eligible for benefits and the restaurants don’t want to incur that additional cost either. The restaurant industry might actually be worse than the big box industry when it comes to how they are cheating their workers and the government. The servers are misled to believe that they are better off making tips because they don’t pay taxes on the majority of that money. But if tipping was abolished and a fair wage was established based on what the servers are already making, the servers would be paid more consistently. No loss of income because it rained on Tuesday or because you had too many Black customers. (Abolishing tipping could actually help some people be less racist because some Black people actually don't know that tipping is your only source of income.) Servers would also have accurate income statements, which come in handy when you want to buy a home, start a business, or get a loan and need to prove your actual income. It’s really f-ed up that an industry has convinced a whole group of people (and country) that their exploitation is actually good for the people being exploited. It’s also very ironic when servers question the character and values of people who they feel don’t tip enough, but servers routinely under report their tips to avoid paying taxes. When you avoid paying taxes, you’re cheating your fellow Americans which is dishonest, a show of poor character, and illegal.
4) Tipping has corrupted common sense and I’m no longer going to participate in this dysfunction. Tips are a luxury, not a requirement and I’m going to start treating them as such. Every server should give great service as a rule of thumb and it’s management’s job to ensure ALL service is great. I hate that I’m expected to critique, reward, and/or punish your staff with my tipping...that's not my job...that the manager's job. I hate that I'm made to feel like your quality of life depends on how generous I feel when I get to the tip line. I hate that when I leave a tip on my credit card slip, I'm not even exactly sure how much the server is getting if any at all. I hate that tip jars and hands out are the new norm. I hate the side of guilt that is now infused in every restaurant and far too many service transactions (ie. my massage, car valet, doorman, flower delivery, etc). I asked a friend why I’m expected to tip the barista at Starbucks when I’m already paying $4 and up for a cup of coffee. He said because they make your drink to your exact specifications. Isn’t that the baristas job? If the barista didn’t make it to my exact specifications, how else I am going to get and feel good about my overpriced coffee? Why am I expected to tip people to do their job? If you want a raise, ask Starbucks for one. I work in an office and get a salary for the work I do. If I don’t think the salary is enough, I should ask my employer for a raise or look for a new job. I don’t put a tip jar on my desk and think the people around me should make up the difference between what I’m getting paid by the company and what I’d like to get paid. All employers should pay a fare wage with appropriate benefits to their employees and all employees should demand it. Stop calling your customers jackasses because you're too afraid to demand a raise from your boss. Restaurants should abolish tipping and raise the prices of the menu so they can handle all the wages in the house. I only want to see my “food costs” and tax. I don’t want to calculate tip and servers shouldn't want me to. Discussions about staff income should be directly between the owners/managers and the workers. I want everyone to make a fair wage, but I will no longer be so directly involved in your negotiation.
It’s not fair that restaurant servers make tips, but the busboy, dishwashers, hosts, and chefs often don’t. If anybody should be getting tipped at a restaurant, it should be the chefs first and foremost and bartenders second! Preparing the food and creating cocktails is where the artistry comes in…not how the plate got from the kitchen to my table. I know sometimes the servers have to split the tips, but as a customer, I don’t want to be so involved in or concerned by how your employees get paid. Great service should be invisible. I go to a restaurant for the food and cocktails. I don’t want my water glass filled every five seconds. That’s annoying, disruptive, and wasteful. I want to place my order, eat, pay and leave. I hate the extra math and time that tipping involves. When I pay with a credit card, the card gets ran twice because they have to come back to let me add the tip which is more opportunities for me to forget my card or for it to be compromised by servers who feel they aren't making enough in tips. If I pay with cash, I have to hope the server brings my change in the right denominations so I can leave an appropriate tip…if he brings my change at all because now a days they just confiscate your change as their tip.
From this day forward, I am a BLACK PERSON WHO DOESN’T TIP. No, I’m an AMERICAN WHO DOESN’T TIP. I’m still going to go to restaurants. But now when I sit down I’ll tell the server upfront that I don’t tip so please don’t give me any extra or special attention. Just take my order and drop off my food. I don’t want any water refills or extra dressing. I’m not going to work you. I’m just going to place my order, eat my food, and leave. The server will know in advance not to waste time any time on me. I’m also going to tell the server that she can take my bill with no tip to the manager and ask her employer to make up the difference. I learned in the Reddit comments that if the tips an employee receives don’t make up to minimum wage, the employer is responsible for paying the difference. I encourage the servers to stop the passive-aggressive customer complaining and take up the issue of fair wages with the real oppressors and jackasses…the restaurant owners. And if you think by telling the server upfront that I don’t tip will encourage him to spit in my food, then I say the type of people who do something as lowdown and disguising as defiling a customer's food because she didn't leave them $4 are also the real jackasses.
I want to know your thoughts. Leave a comment and let me know your experiences with tipping.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
August 6, 2015
Is this Chicago Sun-Times cover racist?
I'm sick and tired of racist news coverage which paints Black and brown people as criminals and white people as misguided. When a Black person murders an innocent person, the murderer is instantly labeled a gang member even if the murderer haven't yet been identified by the police. When a white person murders an innocent people, the white murder is labeled as misguided. Dylann Roof is described as young man accused of the terrible crime. [He] was a bug-eyed boy with a bowl haircut who came from a broken home and attended at least seven schools in nine years. Dylann Roof is a sick terrorist who killed Black people because he's a racist. But instead of the white news calling him a racist and terrorist, they discuss his broken home and how he must have a mental illness.
Since I'm sick of racist news coverage, I've started filtering the news I receive. I no longer watch the network TV news and I no longer buy newspapers because both TV and newspapers for so long have operated business with the "If it bleeds, it leads motto" and that way of business always unfairly spotlights crimes committed by the Black and brown. In filtering my news coverage, I listen to the morning show on WVON1690AM which is a Black news talk radio station in Chicago, read the free Red-Eye on my morning commute (if I'm going to get news from white media, I'm definitely not paying for it), and then I peruse social media and various blogs. If something is important, I usually know about it. But leaving the office yesterday, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a young Black man's mugshot on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times with the word GUILTY as the heading. I literally stopped walking when I saw the newspaper vending machine. I was so disgusted. I took out my phone, snapped a picture, and posted it on my Facebook page to see if I was the only one offended by this cover story. I soon learned that it wasn't just me.
Racism is like pornography in that I can't always describe the many forms in which it rears it's ugly head, but I definitely know it when I see it. In my opinion, this Chicago Sun-Times cover is racist. Once I got home, I pulled up an article about Bryant Brewer, the young man on the cover. (I pulled the article from the Chicago Tribune because me and the Sun-Times have broken up.) First, I didn't know this was a major story so that my first question as to why this young Black man's mugshot is on the cover. Secondly, the article I found describes a "Bizarre scene unfolds at cop killing trial as defendant takes stand...Judge Timothy Joyce, who will decide Brewer's fate, halted the trial at one point and ordered him removed from the courtroom after he repeatedly ignored orders to sit down on the witness stand. When testimony resumed, Brewer whispered his answers to the judge...Brewer was irate and lucid under cross-examination by a prosecutor after appearing confused, easily distracted and soft-spoken during questioning by his attorney...Brewer also gave contradictory and sometimes bizarre answers — testifying that he was a drug dealer before denying it moments later, even alleging he had previously "smoked weed" with a prosecution witness....'You've seen his behavior during the trial, chair dancing, laughing, he's in his own world,' his attorney, William Wolf, told reporters after the fourth day of trial. 'You now know he has mental problems, something he's probably had for most of his life.'" After white Dylann Roof executed 9 Black people, the white media quickly labeled him as having mental problems. Black Bryant Brewer is clearly having psychotic episodes in court, but the white media doesn't come to the conclusion that Mr. Brewer has a mental illness...he's just GUILTY.
From reading the article, it's clear to me that Bryant Brewer is probably a paranoid schizophrenic who shot police officer Thor Soderberg at the height of a mental delusion. My sincere condolences go out the family of the officer who was killed by Bryant Brewer, but sending someone with a serious mental illness to prison is not the answer. The Chicago Sun-Times should be ashamed of themselves for victimizing someone with mental illness and for contributing to the Demonization of Black Males. Sun-Times, yesterday's cover made you just as bad as Fox News...Congratulations if that's the type of smut journalism you were going for.
In the future, when media is a covering a trial, don't use a mugshot to sum everything up pictorially. Use a picture from the courtroom or honor the victim by using this picture. If you really feel Bryant Brewer was in his right mind when he shot Thor Soderberg, then use Mr. Soderberg's picture with the word JUSTICE. But JUSTICE was not served in this case as it is all to often not served when Black men come up against the Chicago Police Department. It's amazing how often evidence goes missing when it's a Black man vs. the CPD...evidence that would shed light on both sides of what happened that night...evidence that would support a Black man's self-defense narrative...it's just amazing how often that evidence goes missing.
The Chicago Tribune article also had a link to another article about the Chicago Police Department "Expert unable to explain why police cameras missed fatal cop shooting. Chicago police computer expert could not explain Wednesday why police security cameras failed to capture the fatal 2010 shooting of an officer outside an Englewood police deployment center. Attorneys for Bryant Brewer, who is on trial for the slaying of Officer Thor Soderberg, have emphasized the missing footage from two security cameras as they argue that Brewer acted in self-defense. The defense is also expected to argue that Brewer was insane at the time. He mumbled to himself for the third straight day at trial."
I volunteer as the Director of Marketing for the Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. Howard Morgan was a retired police officer working as a federal railroad officer in 2005 when he was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Mr. Morgan, a Black man, was shot 28 times by 4 white Chicago Police Officers. Of the 28 shots received, 22 of those bullets were fired into his back. Mr. Morgan survived and was arrested for attempted murder. In the first trial, he was found innocent of firing his weapon. During Mr. Morgan's trial, numerous pieces of evidence were never found or were destroyed by the Chicago Police Department. For example, the van Mr. Morgan was driving that night which would have shown the ungodly amount of bullets fired at him by the CPD was destroyed while it was impounded in police custody. After the first trial, there was a hung jury on the attempted murder charge. You would think there wouldn't be a second trial because that violates the Double Jeopardy amendment, but there was a second trial. Mr. Morgan was shot 28 times and never fired his gun, but was given 40 years in prison for "attempted murder". I can just image Mr. Morgan's mugshot being splashed across the Chicago Sun-Times after his guilty verdict was read.
In case you don't know, the Chicago Police Department is out of control trying to assassinate the Black and brown men in Chicago. And the Chicago Sun-Times is GUILTY in demonizing Black men which then justifies the CPD's racism and assault. THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES AND CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT, I FIND YOU BOTH GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE OF CHICAGO. MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? DO BLACK LIVES MATTER IN CHICAGO?
Deanna Burrell is the Director of Marketing for Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. You can help bring Justice to Howard Morgan by SIGNING THE PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG and FLOODING GOVERNOR BRUCE RAUNER'S OFFICE WITH CALLS letting him know that the people support the Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. Call 312.814.2121 everyday, call multiple times a day and spread the word. We want everyone to know what the City of Chicago did to Howard Morgan. #JusticeForHowardMorgan #SayHisName #BlackLivesMatterChicago
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
Since I'm sick of racist news coverage, I've started filtering the news I receive. I no longer watch the network TV news and I no longer buy newspapers because both TV and newspapers for so long have operated business with the "If it bleeds, it leads motto" and that way of business always unfairly spotlights crimes committed by the Black and brown. In filtering my news coverage, I listen to the morning show on WVON1690AM which is a Black news talk radio station in Chicago, read the free Red-Eye on my morning commute (if I'm going to get news from white media, I'm definitely not paying for it), and then I peruse social media and various blogs. If something is important, I usually know about it. But leaving the office yesterday, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a young Black man's mugshot on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times with the word GUILTY as the heading. I literally stopped walking when I saw the newspaper vending machine. I was so disgusted. I took out my phone, snapped a picture, and posted it on my Facebook page to see if I was the only one offended by this cover story. I soon learned that it wasn't just me.
Racism is like pornography in that I can't always describe the many forms in which it rears it's ugly head, but I definitely know it when I see it. In my opinion, this Chicago Sun-Times cover is racist. Once I got home, I pulled up an article about Bryant Brewer, the young man on the cover. (I pulled the article from the Chicago Tribune because me and the Sun-Times have broken up.) First, I didn't know this was a major story so that my first question as to why this young Black man's mugshot is on the cover. Secondly, the article I found describes a "Bizarre scene unfolds at cop killing trial as defendant takes stand...Judge Timothy Joyce, who will decide Brewer's fate, halted the trial at one point and ordered him removed from the courtroom after he repeatedly ignored orders to sit down on the witness stand. When testimony resumed, Brewer whispered his answers to the judge...Brewer was irate and lucid under cross-examination by a prosecutor after appearing confused, easily distracted and soft-spoken during questioning by his attorney...Brewer also gave contradictory and sometimes bizarre answers — testifying that he was a drug dealer before denying it moments later, even alleging he had previously "smoked weed" with a prosecution witness....'You've seen his behavior during the trial, chair dancing, laughing, he's in his own world,' his attorney, William Wolf, told reporters after the fourth day of trial. 'You now know he has mental problems, something he's probably had for most of his life.'" After white Dylann Roof executed 9 Black people, the white media quickly labeled him as having mental problems. Black Bryant Brewer is clearly having psychotic episodes in court, but the white media doesn't come to the conclusion that Mr. Brewer has a mental illness...he's just GUILTY.
From reading the article, it's clear to me that Bryant Brewer is probably a paranoid schizophrenic who shot police officer Thor Soderberg at the height of a mental delusion. My sincere condolences go out the family of the officer who was killed by Bryant Brewer, but sending someone with a serious mental illness to prison is not the answer. The Chicago Sun-Times should be ashamed of themselves for victimizing someone with mental illness and for contributing to the Demonization of Black Males. Sun-Times, yesterday's cover made you just as bad as Fox News...Congratulations if that's the type of smut journalism you were going for.
In the future, when media is a covering a trial, don't use a mugshot to sum everything up pictorially. Use a picture from the courtroom or honor the victim by using this picture. If you really feel Bryant Brewer was in his right mind when he shot Thor Soderberg, then use Mr. Soderberg's picture with the word JUSTICE. But JUSTICE was not served in this case as it is all to often not served when Black men come up against the Chicago Police Department. It's amazing how often evidence goes missing when it's a Black man vs. the CPD...evidence that would shed light on both sides of what happened that night...evidence that would support a Black man's self-defense narrative...it's just amazing how often that evidence goes missing.
The Chicago Tribune article also had a link to another article about the Chicago Police Department "Expert unable to explain why police cameras missed fatal cop shooting. Chicago police computer expert could not explain Wednesday why police security cameras failed to capture the fatal 2010 shooting of an officer outside an Englewood police deployment center. Attorneys for Bryant Brewer, who is on trial for the slaying of Officer Thor Soderberg, have emphasized the missing footage from two security cameras as they argue that Brewer acted in self-defense. The defense is also expected to argue that Brewer was insane at the time. He mumbled to himself for the third straight day at trial."
I volunteer as the Director of Marketing for the Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. Howard Morgan was a retired police officer working as a federal railroad officer in 2005 when he was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Mr. Morgan, a Black man, was shot 28 times by 4 white Chicago Police Officers. Of the 28 shots received, 22 of those bullets were fired into his back. Mr. Morgan survived and was arrested for attempted murder. In the first trial, he was found innocent of firing his weapon. During Mr. Morgan's trial, numerous pieces of evidence were never found or were destroyed by the Chicago Police Department. For example, the van Mr. Morgan was driving that night which would have shown the ungodly amount of bullets fired at him by the CPD was destroyed while it was impounded in police custody. After the first trial, there was a hung jury on the attempted murder charge. You would think there wouldn't be a second trial because that violates the Double Jeopardy amendment, but there was a second trial. Mr. Morgan was shot 28 times and never fired his gun, but was given 40 years in prison for "attempted murder". I can just image Mr. Morgan's mugshot being splashed across the Chicago Sun-Times after his guilty verdict was read.
In case you don't know, the Chicago Police Department is out of control trying to assassinate the Black and brown men in Chicago. And the Chicago Sun-Times is GUILTY in demonizing Black men which then justifies the CPD's racism and assault. THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES AND CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT, I FIND YOU BOTH GUILTY OF CRIMES AGAINST THE BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE OF CHICAGO. MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? DO BLACK LIVES MATTER IN CHICAGO?
Deanna Burrell is the Director of Marketing for Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. You can help bring Justice to Howard Morgan by SIGNING THE PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG and FLOODING GOVERNOR BRUCE RAUNER'S OFFICE WITH CALLS letting him know that the people support the Pardon Howard Morgan campaign. Call 312.814.2121 everyday, call multiple times a day and spread the word. We want everyone to know what the City of Chicago did to Howard Morgan. #JusticeForHowardMorgan #SayHisName #BlackLivesMatterChicago
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
July 30, 2015
If You Hate Your Job, Read This Now
I write this next statement in all sincerity. IF you HATE your job, THEN QUIT! Yes, I’m serious. If you hate the place were you spend at least 40 hours a week, which is almost 24% of your week, then you need to quit. Don’t quit today. Don’t walk away from this screen and tell your boss I told you to quit so he can take this crap fest and shove it. Don’t do that. But start making plans to find something you’re good at AND also love. Find that cross section and then figure out how you can make money living in that happy place. You deserve to be happy and wasting away at a place you hate is like slowing committing suicide so call this your intervention. And after traveling through Midway airport, I feel obligated to tell everyone this especially the people who work at Transportation Security Administration. You know the folks. Blue shirts, slow gaits, sour pusses, grunt responses, massive water wasters (you do know there's a drought in California and a critical need for clean water in Africa...Just saying). Yeah, those people…America's beloved TSA.
Traveling through the airport is a highly stressful undertaking. Prepping, packing, coordinating, traffic, long lines, confusing abysses, tow trucks, violation tickets, computerized “help”, angry mobs, panicked sheep, naïve travelers, exorbitant prices…and you haven’t even stepped inside the doors. You’re also ebbing, flowing, and stewing in predictions of whatever future emotion awaits at your final destination. There’s a lot going on and then you get the APEX of your airport experience…THE TSA!
DMV and Postal employees used to have the worst reputations because they earned it. Those two places were bureaucratic nightmares. I applaud both the Illinois DMV under Jesse White and some of the Chicago postmasters. My last few visits to the DMW were so efficient, pleasant and painless, I want them to open up a Starbucks inside so I can go hang out there. Some post offices are okay. USPS still has a lot to improve upon but some are better. I don’t want to drink Starbucks there, but I don’t hate every interaction (it’s a 50/50 split...maybe 60/40). But as bad as I thought they were, the TSA is the worst of the DMV added to USPS multiplied by both Daley City Halls and raised to the highest power of Jon Burge's and Garry McCarthy’s CPD. Yeah, it's bad. Really bad. But maybe not completely Jon Burge and Chicago Police Department "Independent?" Review Board bad because TSA doesn’t assault your genitals or suffocate you. Oh wait, they do assault your genitals. They don't suffocate you though but I think that’s only because TSA would have to have exert some energy and they aint never breaking sweat on your behalf.
I work in sales and I have a best practice I call “matching the pace.” When I get on a phone or in the room with a potential or existing client, I match the clients pace. If he/she is in a hurry, I ask how much time do I have, talk faster and wrap up one minute under the time the client stated. If a potential or existing client is chilling and wants to talk about what they did this weekend, then I chill. The client sets the tone and I match his/her pace. Not the TSA. The clients are the airport travelers. They have set departure times. Some have allotted enough time to chill, but many have not and are rushing. TSA are the sales agent and they don’t give a crap about….ANYTHING. They bitch and moan to each other. One TSA even said, “The enthusiasm around here is terrible.” They can see you checking your watch, tapping your foot, hurriedly pulling off your jacket, frantically asking if anyone will let you move in front of them in line, and they don’t try to help AT ALL. While I watched their lethargy, I wondered if they could possibly move any slower. A nanosecond slower and they would be statues. I know what you’re saying. They have important jobs that can’t be rush! Yes, I fully understand they are providing security and that requires commitment, attention to detail, and fully executed procedures, but that languor is not thoroughness. It’s truly painful to watch and even more painful to navigate.
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! ANY AND EVERYONE who hates your job, STOP torturing yourself and all those you come into contact with. LIFE IS TOO SHORT! I speak from experience. I had a high paying job at an exciting company that I hated. I exceeded my sales goals, but every morning driving to work I’d shake with fear in my car wondering if I was going to get fired today over an insignificant infraction. One day, I realized I didn’t want to live in fear of retaliation anymore. I’m an adult. Not a wayward child being punished by MommyDearest. I took some time, figure out my next move, and fired that employer. I don’t say “quit” because I didn’t give up. I decided that employer was not worthy of me and I initiated our break up. Now I have a job I absolutely love working with people who appreciate the quirky gal I am and can be.
Fortunately, after being completed depressed by the TSA, I went into the Viva’s Hallmark story right outside concourse B to purchase stamps. Kelly and Roseanne work there and they love their jobs. They have both been there 8 years. They personally own at least one of every item in the store including every t-shirt because using the items helps them better explain them to the customers. They take time with the customers to help them select shoes because their right strap broke, a rainbow cushion cross to take to a grandmother on her deadbed, and amazingly beautiful Wings by Alexa’s Angels bracelets which are supporting women across the globe. I stayed with them awhile chatting and browsing the Hallmark store and happily discovered my new favorite red cup! Cheers Chicago! They girls made me want to stay and spend all my money on the wonderful selection of cards, gifts, and mementos. They treated me like a friend and I have already purchased Roseanne’s book “Windows of My Soul” because I love supporting fellow authors. That Hallmark store was a welcomed oasis. If you are traveling through Midway Airport, stop in, say hi, and see what happiness looks like.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
Traveling through the airport is a highly stressful undertaking. Prepping, packing, coordinating, traffic, long lines, confusing abysses, tow trucks, violation tickets, computerized “help”, angry mobs, panicked sheep, naïve travelers, exorbitant prices…and you haven’t even stepped inside the doors. You’re also ebbing, flowing, and stewing in predictions of whatever future emotion awaits at your final destination. There’s a lot going on and then you get the APEX of your airport experience…THE TSA!
DMV and Postal employees used to have the worst reputations because they earned it. Those two places were bureaucratic nightmares. I applaud both the Illinois DMV under Jesse White and some of the Chicago postmasters. My last few visits to the DMW were so efficient, pleasant and painless, I want them to open up a Starbucks inside so I can go hang out there. Some post offices are okay. USPS still has a lot to improve upon but some are better. I don’t want to drink Starbucks there, but I don’t hate every interaction (it’s a 50/50 split...maybe 60/40). But as bad as I thought they were, the TSA is the worst of the DMV added to USPS multiplied by both Daley City Halls and raised to the highest power of Jon Burge's and Garry McCarthy’s CPD. Yeah, it's bad. Really bad. But maybe not completely Jon Burge and Chicago Police Department "Independent?" Review Board bad because TSA doesn’t assault your genitals or suffocate you. Oh wait, they do assault your genitals. They don't suffocate you though but I think that’s only because TSA would have to have exert some energy and they aint never breaking sweat on your behalf.
I work in sales and I have a best practice I call “matching the pace.” When I get on a phone or in the room with a potential or existing client, I match the clients pace. If he/she is in a hurry, I ask how much time do I have, talk faster and wrap up one minute under the time the client stated. If a potential or existing client is chilling and wants to talk about what they did this weekend, then I chill. The client sets the tone and I match his/her pace. Not the TSA. The clients are the airport travelers. They have set departure times. Some have allotted enough time to chill, but many have not and are rushing. TSA are the sales agent and they don’t give a crap about….ANYTHING. They bitch and moan to each other. One TSA even said, “The enthusiasm around here is terrible.” They can see you checking your watch, tapping your foot, hurriedly pulling off your jacket, frantically asking if anyone will let you move in front of them in line, and they don’t try to help AT ALL. While I watched their lethargy, I wondered if they could possibly move any slower. A nanosecond slower and they would be statues. I know what you’re saying. They have important jobs that can’t be rush! Yes, I fully understand they are providing security and that requires commitment, attention to detail, and fully executed procedures, but that languor is not thoroughness. It’s truly painful to watch and even more painful to navigate.
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! ANY AND EVERYONE who hates your job, STOP torturing yourself and all those you come into contact with. LIFE IS TOO SHORT! I speak from experience. I had a high paying job at an exciting company that I hated. I exceeded my sales goals, but every morning driving to work I’d shake with fear in my car wondering if I was going to get fired today over an insignificant infraction. One day, I realized I didn’t want to live in fear of retaliation anymore. I’m an adult. Not a wayward child being punished by MommyDearest. I took some time, figure out my next move, and fired that employer. I don’t say “quit” because I didn’t give up. I decided that employer was not worthy of me and I initiated our break up. Now I have a job I absolutely love working with people who appreciate the quirky gal I am and can be.
Fortunately, after being completed depressed by the TSA, I went into the Viva’s Hallmark story right outside concourse B to purchase stamps. Kelly and Roseanne work there and they love their jobs. They have both been there 8 years. They personally own at least one of every item in the store including every t-shirt because using the items helps them better explain them to the customers. They take time with the customers to help them select shoes because their right strap broke, a rainbow cushion cross to take to a grandmother on her deadbed, and amazingly beautiful Wings by Alexa’s Angels bracelets which are supporting women across the globe. I stayed with them awhile chatting and browsing the Hallmark store and happily discovered my new favorite red cup! Cheers Chicago! They girls made me want to stay and spend all my money on the wonderful selection of cards, gifts, and mementos. They treated me like a friend and I have already purchased Roseanne’s book “Windows of My Soul” because I love supporting fellow authors. That Hallmark store was a welcomed oasis. If you are traveling through Midway Airport, stop in, say hi, and see what happiness looks like.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
July 7, 2015
Pardon Howard Morgan Support Gathering on Wednesday, 7/8
In December 2014, I first wrote about the retired police officer who was working as a railroad police officer when he was shot 28 times by four white police officers. Today the fight for Howard Morgan's justice continues. Here is a time-line of why people should support Howard Morgan and his family:
Feb 2005 - Railroad police officer Howard Morgan was "Driving With Black" and shot 28 times (21 times in the back and 7 times in the front of his body) by four white Chicago police officers.
Apr 2007 - Howard Morgan was acquitted in the first trial of firing his weapon.
May 2012 - Howard Morgan was wrongly convicted in the second trial for attempted murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Jan 2015 - Howard Morgan's sentence was communed by former Governor Pat Quinn but the guilty charge remains. Howard Morgan never fired his weapon and he is INNOCENT.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 has sent out a message to their membership and posted a message on their website encouraging police officers to come out and support the four white police officers that shot Howard Morgan 28 times.
The post on the FOP website reads "In 2005, Howard Morgan was convicted of Attempted Murder of four Chicago Police Officers, Finley, Wrigley, Olson and White. He now comes before the Governor of the State of Illinois asking for a second chance; hoping that the State will show mercy and grant him Executive Clemency. The Public Hearing is scheduled before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 0830 hours at the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph, Chicago, Illinois. Please make every attempt to attend the Hearing to show support for our Officers. Hopefully, the Governor will show Morgan the same mercy that was shown to Chicago Police Officers Finley, Wrigley, Olson and White."
First of all, the FOP doesn't mention that Howard Morgan is a retired police officer and was a senior railroad patrolman at the time of his vicious assault. Secondly, let's discuss the four white police officers. Howard Morgan was shot 28 times (21 times in the back), spent seven months in the hospital recovering, and in the first trial was found innocent of firing a weapon. Do you now how many nights in the hospital the four white officers spent after they claimed Howard Morgan fired on them? NONE! Combined the four white officers spent ZERO nights in the hospital. Yet, they want us to believe they are the victims. Incredibly in 2006, the Chicago Police Department awarded the four white police officers medal of honor for their "valiant" behavior. When is shooting a fellow officer 28 times (the majority of those bullets were in Howard Morgan's back) an act of bravery? Only when the person attacked is Black and the assassins/attackers are white...that's when.
I encourage everyone to find out all the details of this egregious miscarriage of justice by reading the Howard Morgan Case page on Wikipedia. Here's a sample of what you'll discover:
"Morgan says he was pulled from his vehicle by the four officers, who restrained him as he sought to produce police identification. He says one of the officers found his gun (a Glock 9mm), shouted "gun!," and removed the gun from Morgan's waistband. Next came a wave of shooting.[3] Charice Rush, the only testifying third party witness at the scene, said she saw the officers 'snatch' Morgan from his van and force him onto one knee. She overheard an officer say "Oh shit, he has a gun."[6] Rush said she saw the four officers open fire on Morgan while he lay on the ground.[7]
The Fraternal Order of Police rank and file will try to intimidate Mr. Morgan and his family on Wednesday at the Prison Review Board Hearing. We need as many people as possible to stand with the Morgans. We the people must protect our own and show our strengthen in numbers. #BlackLivesMatters #Pardon HowardMorgan
Wednesday July 8, 2015 at 8am show your support for a Full Pardon with Expungement at a peaceful gathering at the Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph). Wear yellow to declare Howard Morgan's innocence.
Call the Governor's Office at 312-814-2121 and let him know you support the #PardonHowardMorgan Campaign.
For more information, visit www.FreeHowardMorgan.com
An injustice to one is an injustice to all!
Feb 2005 - Railroad police officer Howard Morgan was "Driving With Black" and shot 28 times (21 times in the back and 7 times in the front of his body) by four white Chicago police officers.
Apr 2007 - Howard Morgan was acquitted in the first trial of firing his weapon.
May 2012 - Howard Morgan was wrongly convicted in the second trial for attempted murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Jan 2015 - Howard Morgan's sentence was communed by former Governor Pat Quinn but the guilty charge remains. Howard Morgan never fired his weapon and he is INNOCENT.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #7 has sent out a message to their membership and posted a message on their website encouraging police officers to come out and support the four white police officers that shot Howard Morgan 28 times.
The post on the FOP website reads "In 2005, Howard Morgan was convicted of Attempted Murder of four Chicago Police Officers, Finley, Wrigley, Olson and White. He now comes before the Governor of the State of Illinois asking for a second chance; hoping that the State will show mercy and grant him Executive Clemency. The Public Hearing is scheduled before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 0830 hours at the Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph, Chicago, Illinois. Please make every attempt to attend the Hearing to show support for our Officers. Hopefully, the Governor will show Morgan the same mercy that was shown to Chicago Police Officers Finley, Wrigley, Olson and White."
First of all, the FOP doesn't mention that Howard Morgan is a retired police officer and was a senior railroad patrolman at the time of his vicious assault. Secondly, let's discuss the four white police officers. Howard Morgan was shot 28 times (21 times in the back), spent seven months in the hospital recovering, and in the first trial was found innocent of firing a weapon. Do you now how many nights in the hospital the four white officers spent after they claimed Howard Morgan fired on them? NONE! Combined the four white officers spent ZERO nights in the hospital. Yet, they want us to believe they are the victims. Incredibly in 2006, the Chicago Police Department awarded the four white police officers medal of honor for their "valiant" behavior. When is shooting a fellow officer 28 times (the majority of those bullets were in Howard Morgan's back) an act of bravery? Only when the person attacked is Black and the assassins/attackers are white...that's when.
I encourage everyone to find out all the details of this egregious miscarriage of justice by reading the Howard Morgan Case page on Wikipedia. Here's a sample of what you'll discover:
"Morgan says he was pulled from his vehicle by the four officers, who restrained him as he sought to produce police identification. He says one of the officers found his gun (a Glock 9mm), shouted "gun!," and removed the gun from Morgan's waistband. Next came a wave of shooting.[3] Charice Rush, the only testifying third party witness at the scene, said she saw the officers 'snatch' Morgan from his van and force him onto one knee. She overheard an officer say "Oh shit, he has a gun."[6] Rush said she saw the four officers open fire on Morgan while he lay on the ground.[7]
The Fraternal Order of Police rank and file will try to intimidate Mr. Morgan and his family on Wednesday at the Prison Review Board Hearing. We need as many people as possible to stand with the Morgans. We the people must protect our own and show our strengthen in numbers. #BlackLivesMatters #Pardon HowardMorgan
Wednesday July 8, 2015 at 8am show your support for a Full Pardon with Expungement at a peaceful gathering at the Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph). Wear yellow to declare Howard Morgan's innocence.
Call the Governor's Office at 312-814-2121 and let him know you support the #PardonHowardMorgan Campaign.
For more information, visit www.FreeHowardMorgan.com
An injustice to one is an injustice to all!
June 28, 2015
Bree Newsome's Inspiring Lesson in Civil Disobedience
Wikipedia defines
Civil Disobedience
as the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is sometimes, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. Bree Newsome is giving the world an inspiring lesson on the power of Civil Disobedience. Click the links below to find out more about the people and actions that have utilized Civil Disobedience to exact change. Then go out and Be the Change You Want To See In The World.
Cleansing of the Temple
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Boston Tea Party
Henry David Thoreau
Mahatma Gandhi
Sojourner Truth
John Brown
Harriet Tubman
Marcus Garvey, Jr.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Susan B. Anthony
Chicago Eight
Muhammad Ali
John Carlos
Yo No Coopero Con La Dictadura
Occupied Palestine
Occupy Wallstreet
Tiananmen Square Protests
Sam Sharpe
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks
Malcolm X
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Nelson Mandela
Fela Kuti
American Civil Rights Movement
American Indian Movement
Greenpeace
Father Michael Pfleger
President Barack Obama
Black Lives Matter
James Ian Tyson
Brittany Bree Newsome
#TakeItDown #FreeBree
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
Cleansing of the Temple
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Boston Tea Party
Henry David Thoreau
Mahatma Gandhi
Sojourner Truth
John Brown
Harriet Tubman
Marcus Garvey, Jr.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Susan B. Anthony
Chicago Eight
Muhammad Ali
John Carlos
Yo No Coopero Con La Dictadura
Occupied Palestine
Occupy Wallstreet
Tiananmen Square Protests
Sam Sharpe
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Rosa Parks
Malcolm X
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Nelson Mandela
Fela Kuti
American Civil Rights Movement
American Indian Movement
Greenpeace
Father Michael Pfleger
President Barack Obama
Black Lives Matter
James Ian Tyson
Brittany Bree Newsome
#TakeItDown #FreeBree
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
No Shade on Kendall Jenner But WTF Estee Lauder
Yesterday, I was flipping though my Facebook feed on my cell phone and I saw an Estee Lauder ad that truly offended and disgusted me as a woman.
The ad read, "When Kendall Jenner comes up with her own shade of lipstick, you know you have to have it! Restless, the perfect orangey-red matte"
"YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT." Really? I immediately yelled HELL NO! in my head.
This ad is so insulting to women. Kendall Jenner is a beautiful and vivacious 20-year old born in 1995. As a 30-something year old woman, I was in college in 1995 so a 20-year old child is not and should not be a fashion/style icon for me. For Estee Lauder to tell me that I should STOP and purchase anything and everything this 20-year old child endorses is ridiculous and offensive.
If you have ever purchased advertising on Facebook as I have several times, then you know you set your target audience down to the finest of details. The fact that I, a late 30-something woman, was served this mobile ad, means that Estee Lauder purposely targeted older women for this campaign. (Yes, it hurts to refer to myself as an "older" woman, but to 20-year olds I am). Estee Lauder thinks I should take fashion advice from someone is just starting to wear makeup. Granted she's a beautiful model and under the tutorage of Konture Kween Kim Kardashian (of which I'm a huge fan), but Kendall is still a child. Kendall Jenner is and should be a trendsetter for other 20-year olds; not for mature women and Estee Lauder should market her endorsement that way. WTF Estee Lauder. Please don't come for me for I AM NOT HERE FOR YOU.
In my well-informed 30-something and marketing maven opinion, THIS IS AN EPIC FAIL. Hopefully Estee Lauder will learn the lesson of how to stay in your lane and not offend your customer base. Hopefully Kendall and her management team will learn the lesson of how to be more careful with the way the KJ brand is packaged and marketed.
Kendall, I hope you know that some of the displeasure women are voicing about this ad are not attacks on you, but an attack on the nerve of Estee Lauder to tell a grown woman that she MUST take beauty advice from a child. Either way girl, GET YOUR MONEY. If I were you, I would have Kris call them up pissed (regardless of if you/she are or not) and tell them they better make this up to you. I best you can get some MORE MONEY just for being "appalled" at the backlash THEY created. Better yet, have Kanye call them! I would pay money to hear that conversation. Just tell him not to mention Beyonce when negotiating on your behalf. LBVS. Now Imma Let You Finish and truly if I were you, I'd use this misstep to sing "Throw some mo’, throw some mo’" all the way to the bank. (I'm also a very savvy negotiator.)
After I yelled HELL NO in my head, I hoped I wasn't the only one offended by this ad so I scrolled down to the comments. I was happily greeted with a chorus of other women echoing WTF Estee Lauder. Read the comments, peep the screenshots for verification, and let me know what you think.
I'M SO NOT HERE FOR ESTEE LAUDER. I'M HERE FOR THESE COMMENTS!
“Comes up with her own shade”…You mean…red??? Right because that shade of red has never been a lipstick before…
Uh no I don’t And FUCK OFF! Stop making stupid people money!
I have a color just like that one lol how lame
Wtf. Just wtf?
What? Red?? Because no female has a red fucking lipstick??? Oh wait Kendall Jenner has it therefore we all have to have?? And because it’s under Her brand it cost five times as much? No thanks.
Hell NO!
I prefer my dusty Rose, thank you.
I call bullshit and Kendall is no reason to buy any fucking thing.
How sad that so many people are stupid enough to buy this because of who she is. Drugstore orange/red lipstick is good enough for me.
But there is LEAD in Estee..lipsticks
Love these comments.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
The ad read, "When Kendall Jenner comes up with her own shade of lipstick, you know you have to have it! Restless, the perfect orangey-red matte"
"YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT." Really? I immediately yelled HELL NO! in my head.
This ad is so insulting to women. Kendall Jenner is a beautiful and vivacious 20-year old born in 1995. As a 30-something year old woman, I was in college in 1995 so a 20-year old child is not and should not be a fashion/style icon for me. For Estee Lauder to tell me that I should STOP and purchase anything and everything this 20-year old child endorses is ridiculous and offensive.
If you have ever purchased advertising on Facebook as I have several times, then you know you set your target audience down to the finest of details. The fact that I, a late 30-something woman, was served this mobile ad, means that Estee Lauder purposely targeted older women for this campaign. (Yes, it hurts to refer to myself as an "older" woman, but to 20-year olds I am). Estee Lauder thinks I should take fashion advice from someone is just starting to wear makeup. Granted she's a beautiful model and under the tutorage of Konture Kween Kim Kardashian (of which I'm a huge fan), but Kendall is still a child. Kendall Jenner is and should be a trendsetter for other 20-year olds; not for mature women and Estee Lauder should market her endorsement that way. WTF Estee Lauder. Please don't come for me for I AM NOT HERE FOR YOU.
In my well-informed 30-something and marketing maven opinion, THIS IS AN EPIC FAIL. Hopefully Estee Lauder will learn the lesson of how to stay in your lane and not offend your customer base. Hopefully Kendall and her management team will learn the lesson of how to be more careful with the way the KJ brand is packaged and marketed.
Kendall, I hope you know that some of the displeasure women are voicing about this ad are not attacks on you, but an attack on the nerve of Estee Lauder to tell a grown woman that she MUST take beauty advice from a child. Either way girl, GET YOUR MONEY. If I were you, I would have Kris call them up pissed (regardless of if you/she are or not) and tell them they better make this up to you. I best you can get some MORE MONEY just for being "appalled" at the backlash THEY created. Better yet, have Kanye call them! I would pay money to hear that conversation. Just tell him not to mention Beyonce when negotiating on your behalf. LBVS. Now Imma Let You Finish and truly if I were you, I'd use this misstep to sing "Throw some mo’, throw some mo’" all the way to the bank. (I'm also a very savvy negotiator.)
After I yelled HELL NO in my head, I hoped I wasn't the only one offended by this ad so I scrolled down to the comments. I was happily greeted with a chorus of other women echoing WTF Estee Lauder. Read the comments, peep the screenshots for verification, and let me know what you think.
I'M SO NOT HERE FOR ESTEE LAUDER. I'M HERE FOR THESE COMMENTS!
“Comes up with her own shade”…You mean…red??? Right because that shade of red has never been a lipstick before…
Uh no I don’t And FUCK OFF! Stop making stupid people money!
I have a color just like that one lol how lame
Wtf. Just wtf?
What? Red?? Because no female has a red fucking lipstick??? Oh wait Kendall Jenner has it therefore we all have to have?? And because it’s under Her brand it cost five times as much? No thanks.
Hell NO!
I prefer my dusty Rose, thank you.
I call bullshit and Kendall is no reason to buy any fucking thing.
How sad that so many people are stupid enough to buy this because of who she is. Drugstore orange/red lipstick is good enough for me.
But there is LEAD in Estee..lipsticks
Love these comments.
Deanna Burrell is the author of the best-selling novel, Single Girl Summer. Described as "Waiting to Exhale" meets "Sex and the City", your summer won't be complete without it. Click here to download Single Girl Summer now!
If you enjoyed this blog, type your email address in the box, click the "create subscription" button, and sign-up for my blog alerts. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time. Thanks!
The Red Cup Adventures
Welcome to the Red Cup Adventures. You're probably wondering "Why the Red Cup Adventures"? Because they are the universal symbols of fun. They’re ambassadors of good times and the perfect decorative h
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- Deanna Kimberly Burrell's profile
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