A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

There are certain people you look at and recognize how slavery could have worked for them, and Missy Shepherd is one of those folks.  Back then she didn't have to do things like think, good ole massa did that for her.

I thought it was bad when she didn't know if the earth was flat or round, embarrassing when she mispronounced words, (See last week's show with Bill O'Reilly when she mispronounced "effete"), but today when she announced,"I'm still undecided, I'm weighing the issues."  I could be catty and point out she needs to weigh her food choices with the same amount of deliberation, but I wont, suffice it to say, she has once again proven that she is the most uninformed, least read, babbling brook of nonsense, and the best evidence that a staple of race movies, " the happy darky," still exist.

It's no wonder Bill O'Reilly dubbed her as "one of my favorites."  I'm sure she is.  She threatens no one.  Brings nothing to the table and reinforce stereotypes.

I put off writing about her for the longest time but after she stated she hadn't made up her mind about who to vote for in 5 days, and when pressed, brought up the "military and health care," then made no cogent point to buttress her indecision, I threw my hands up.

I now understand how Harriet Tubman felt when she led recalcitrant slaves to freedom and they complained about the cold and being hungry.  "At least at massa's we gets to sleep in the barn, and cook bring us corn pun.  I sho could go for some potliker rights 'bout now."  Poor Harriet had to remind herself freedom was more than a word it was a state of mind, and some had it and then there were those who were slowing her down, who didn't.

I know I face criticism for pointing out the obvious but someone has to say something.  It's apparent, as my aunt use to say, she doesn't have a friend in the world, or to be more exact a friend with some sense, because they would have pulled her coat tails by now and whispered in her ear, "it's better to remain silent and be thought of as dumb, than to speak and remove all doubt."

It angers me when I see products of a failed school system.  It also angers me that she had enough initiative to win roles of the dumb sassy Black girl, but not enough to get a library card.  Every time she opens her mouth I can hear the collective sucking in of breath from Black folks across the nation, "Oh lawd, what she gonna say now?"

She's not without her supporters, people who are just like her; they're Bible bred and little read.  They bask at the altar of mediocrity.  They feed off of celebrity gossip and reality shows: Cheaters, Cops and of course Judge Judy and Mathis.  I may be accused of being supercilious but I'm just fleshing out a profile.

It's not my goal to beat up on Ms. Shepherd but I would hope that she could serve as motivation to re-tool our broken education system.  An education system that matriculates adults with elementary reading skills and robs them of intellectual curiosity.  Ms. Shepherd is a perfect example of what becomes of someone when doesn't heed what my mother use to impress upon me, "Press your mind not your clothes."  Of course her defenders will say she's rich and successful.  Bobo the Clown was rich and successful too, Step N Fetchi It was one of the highest paid entertainers of his time but to what cost?

The other day I was querying why there were so few Black women pundits on T.V., and then I realized that Ms. Shepherd and Goldberg, without the benefit of book learnin' about political science or anything else for that matter, are serving those roles; and I find the casting of Ms. Shepherd, in particular, very troubling.

We're on the precipice of a seismic sea-change in our country's young history but every morning those who are not ready for this change can be comforted by an insipid bon mot from Ms. Shepherd, which serves to reassure them that their "View" of America is not completely slipping away.