It doesn’t matter where you look, whether it’s on black television stations designed with the “black community in mind”, or almost any Black American film, addicts (specifically “crack heads”) are popping up everywhere.Yet instead of us having sympathy or shunning their behavior, addicts have become comic relief.
What is it about addicted personalities that we find so damn appealing?
Granted, ” mainstream” media has their share of potheads and alcoholics, many that abuse drugs outside become the center of public scrutiny. Think about it, Britney Spears? Pop princess turned no-good mom. Amy Winehouse? Sensational singer turned yuck-mouth cokehead. Lindsey Lohan? Lindsanity!
And frequently, they are seeking “help” or are photographed entering rehab centers.
But we might as well throw all of that self-elevating stuff right of the window in Black America!!!
We love a good crake head. The crazier, the better!!!
Examples of crazy fiends:
Frankie- This woman, who has reached ghetto hood fab status may or may not be addicted to crack/coke, but she definitely is on something. And what do we do? We embrace her obnoxious behavior with open arms.
Bobby Brown- He gets high, goes nuts, and gets a reality show? And wait, it even had a Christmas special!
Whitney Houston- Thank God she got (or is trying to) her life together, but the deed is done, and she’s been added to Crackhead Hall Of Fame. Oh wait, she didn’t use crack! “First of all, let’s get one thing straight: Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack.” Oh Whitney.
Rick James- R.I.P. Rick James, but you seriously were bad for business! Do any of you remember a few years ago when he was on the BET Awards acting a damn fool? Ended up being a major boost to BET’s ratings!
DMX- One of my favorite barking rappers, DMX had it all, and didn’t mind blowing it on blow. Maybe Dog Man should’ve stuck with “DM” and left the “X” alone.
Smokey from Friday- Smokey is by far the funniest characters of the Friday series.
Pushing these sorts of antics, and making it acceptable behavior undeniably says something about this communit as a whole. We need to keep in mind that no area of the media is secluded and solely for our view. These depictions don’t just represent that character or that person, but feeds stereotypes that have held African Americans down for generations. They perpetuate the notions that Blacks are not enlightened but addicts that are great entertainment.
Time to get over “man down”, and start to “man up.”
Meet Frankie’s New Man! He’s Only 21!
GALLERY: Frankie Forgot Her Wig!!!
