Why I Boycott the COON Awards (otherwise known as the BET Awards)

Hey,

So I've been a little outlandish in my attempt to get people to boycott the COON Awards this year. (If you don't know what I mean, I'm talking about the BET Awards). I call them the COON Awards because that's what they are. I could get into how offensive I find them, how I feel that all the executives at BET should just be shot...(The Toya and Tiny Reality Show is just one of MANY examples) but all in all, the network does nothing to uphold the ideals it was founded under.

Long story short, Bob Johnson and a bunch of other people made BET an outlet for African-Americans who had positive uplifting programming for the black community that could not get airplay anywhere else. They also created the network to help fill the gap in the number of blacks not just in front of the camera, but also behind it. The plan was to create a venue for blacks to not only get work, but avoid the stereotypical roles that were open to them at the time. BET wanted to give blacks opportunities to work, not just as actors, but also as directors, writers, producers, etc.

So now, we fast forward past decades of "progress" where many said BET was no longer needed because racial issues were no longer something that was in our faces. People (and I mean not black people) felt that the mass media outlet did not need to have such open segregation. And as R&B music rose in popularity, the artists themselves became more diverse. Commercially successful groups like New Kids on the Block and Color Me Badd, as well as individual artists like Jon B., Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake caused a sort of melting pot of a "typically black" avenue of music. That, along with a great deal of syndicated programming allowed BET to set itself up to be bought by bigger television companies. So, when Bob Johnson decided to sell the network, why was anyone surprised when Viacom (home of MTV- a similar type of network as BET but more or less designed to please the "white, mainstream" audience) stood up and purchased it. With the sale, Johnson allowed his network to become the COON Channel and was able to not take any responsibility for it.

When I say COON, I do not say it to be disrespectful of blacks. I do not say it to get under anyone's skin, but I say it because that is what it is. COONing, as I mean it, is simply chucking and jiving for an audience, no matter what the race. Putting on a face other than your true one and doing whatever some conglomerate tells you to do in order to get ratings, and make sure YOU get a paycheck. Can we say "Sellout"?

So, why am I NOT watching it? Well, as we all know, Michael Jackson died. There are no words about that, and I could go on and on about what Michael has done for me and people I love, and I'm not talking about just making a record. But, in short, his death hit me HARD. Hard, not just because it was sudden and unfair and I wanted to see him perform in London, but because it's the loss of a musical icon. It's also hard to watch people who two years ago were distancing themselves from Michael because of his personal issues all of a sudden come out of the woodwork talking about how much they loved him. HA! And guess who is at the top of that list? BET Network.

So all the major networks covered his death and the still (as of this blog post) undetermined cause. And because Michael has legions of fans, people who never watch the news are suddenly glued to their televisions, which results in higher ratings. CNN reported a 965% increase in ratings the day Michael died alone. ABC was around 600%, NBC was about 500% and CBS was around 450%, last I checked. So now, BET, with their failing ratings, sees not only an opportunity to tap into that large network of fans, but also an way to bring some major audience to a program that, quite frankly, sucks. Sounds like some phony BS and I ain't a part of it. I still hope all the BET execs are shot.

If you are watching or watched the show, in my mind you're part of the problem, not the solution. I wonder if Michael hadn't passed how much mentioned he'd have gotten. And that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Later, (sure there will be plenty of thoughts)

Ashley

RIP to Michael Joe Jackson. A blog about him is upcoming.