Now that we have the reaction of calling people coons, sellouts, and Sambos out of the way, it’s time to pose a new question. Who really is the sellout or Sambo? Pro-Black average joes throw the coon and sellout word at so many Black celebrities that it’s hard to say who’s a coon and who isn’t. Now these once inflammatory labels are starting to lose their sting. I don’t intuitively believe every celeb who’s been labeled a sellout are actual sellouts. Some people are actual high level Sambos – meaning they go the extra distance to defend and downplay racism while critiquing Black people’s reaction to it. This is done with the motive to appease their crossover fan base or racists that want them to stay in their place. The hall-of-fame coons are the conservative political analysts.
Some celebrities sincerely mean well but may shoot from the hip when they say something that sounds Samboish. They make the statement from a place of being uninformed and not to appease their racist crossover fanbase that wants them to stay in their place. This makes them ignorant more so than coonish.
Are Celebrities Really Ignorant?
Michael Jordan has been labeled a sellout for being notoriously apolitical. A small percentage (the majority of Black people don’t kill each other), but still a large amount of Black men in inner cities, used to kill each other over Jordan’s high-priced sneakers. All the while, he didn’t speak out on it, as down-for-the-cause Black people loved to vilify him for. Also, he never used his global and transcendent fame to change the world for Black America. Plus, he’s worth a billion, just as Oprah, and Jay-Z and Beyonce’s combined net worth are worth billions. So with all their money, they should change the state of Black America. Meanwhile most of the self-righteous, average joes work their regular 9-to-5 jobs and then go home and play Xbox, drink, party, kick it with family, and then do nothing else more than complain about an athlete or entertainer not “leading” them. They also cheer on the celebs who do “lead” them by making public conscious or pro-Black, anti-racism statements.
Being apolitical is not as bad as buck dancing or cooning – or basically speaking out on issues, but for the wrong side, by criticizing Black people’s reaction to racism, dismissing racism, or falling for their diversionary tactics of “what about Black-on- Black crime” fake argument as well as other racist propaganda talking points. Being apolitical means you don’t say anything conscious or pro-Blackish to upset your sponsors and corporate bosses, but you don’t say anything Uncle Tomish either. You simply quietly donate money to certain Black causes while not making any public political statements.
I’m pretty sure a lot of Black celebrities discreetly give money to Black causes and universal causes – even the ones who counteract their financial altruism by using their famous platform to buck dance. What more can you ask for from the apolitical and buck dancing celebs if you aren’t doing a damn thing yourself?
Do Celebrities Support the Fight Against Racism?
And then there are the celebrities who actually speak out against racism. Over the last several years, Colin Kaepernick received a lot of praise for taking a knee during the national anthem before his NFL game in protest of police brutality. Any athlete, rapper, comedian, political analyst, or sports analyst who decides to weigh in on race issues and says something that is conscious, pro-Black, or an anti-racism rant, will and has received praise from Black people for their statements. They will receive fawning comments under a social media video saying “#facts,” “such-and-such for president,” “preach,” and “say it louder for the people in the back.”
Not a damn thing has changed from these statements and symbolic protests other than giving the more hard-nosed, self-righteous Black people an emotional boost. Even if Jordan went on a public tirade against racism while using words like “White supremacy” and “White privilege,” nothing would change. The self-righteous Blacks would praise him, saying “Mike is finally waking up!” MJ would lose some endorsements, slightly alienate his mainstream fanbase, and the same problems would persist. Do you honestly think Jordan and any other crossover star is more powerful than the corporate sponsors they work for? Absolutely not.
Admit this social media revolutionaries, this celeb spectating and judging is nothing more than American Idol for average joe pro-Blacks. The self-righteous element of pro-Blacks are Simon Cowell, J-Lo, and Randy Jackson. And each celeb that’s asked to weigh in on the latest socio political controversy are the singing contestants. The celebrities who speak against racism get to go to the next round, or at least until they say something you don’t like, then you turn on them as well. The celebrities who make coonish comments, get a no-go by the self-righteously opinionated Black people. As Simon Cowell would say, “Hubert Davis, you are by far the worst woke brother and best coon ever.” If you don’t know, Hubert Davis is the first Black UNC head coach. Hubert Davis said he is proud of this accomplishment. He also said he is proud that his wife is White, causing a justifiable backlash.
Pro-Black average joes also view these liberal pundit vs. conservative debates on TV and social media as mere Olympics for an intellectual gift-of-gab. Conscious folks will title YouTube videos, “Xyz-liberal pundit,” or “conscious person owns conservative,” or “Black coon pundit in debate.” Comments under the video will read “He (liberal or conscious pundit, or just conscious influencer) bodied or destroyed him (conservative or coon pundit or liberal Boule pundit).” This is edutainment for conscious average joes, with more emphasis on entertainment than education for this double word. The conscious celebs also give you an emotional high of joy and pride, and the apolitical and coon celebs give you an emotional low of anger. Either way, nothing changes. And you do nothing yourself but alternately cheer and complain about both sides. That would make you an apolitical coon by your own logic.
