Stephanie Guerilus Online

“Made For Now” is Janet Jackson’s latest single featuring Daddy Yankee. The infectious tune could also serve as the soundtrack to the resurgence Miss Jackson is having.

Janet, first of her name, is everywhere these days getting her shine, praise and things. I’m not complaining since it wasn’t that long ago that too many took her legacy for granted; taking an etch a sketch to the icon’s body of work which includes Control, Rhythm Nation, Janet and The Velvet Rope.

You’ve got to be an incredible talent to not only stand among other greats but get out of the shadow of the GOATS, Michael Jackson.  Janet affirmed herself as more than just Michael’s little sister or cute Penny from Good Times but a force to be reckoned with in her own musical right. She’s a pioneer, especially for female entertainers. Janet may not be a powerhouse with the vocals but her artistry created a definitive blueprint; an assertive woman who highlights issues such as race, sexuality, feminism and domestic abuse.

Janet’s ministry was and is a tapestry of weaving grooves with social issues but the past decade saw her cast aside. Certain folks were acting like she didn’t have songs that slapped all because of Nipplegate. Janet’s career was derailed while Justin Timberlake’s took off to heights that rivaled her prime. It was long suspected that there were forces at play that hastened Janet’s downfall from her Iron Throne and a report by Yashar Ali of The Huffington Post confirmed those rumors.

Anyone with a working brain knew that she was blackballed. Janet knew. Still, it’s enraging that an entitled white man sabotaged the career of a living legend because she would not bow down before him. The level of racism, sexism and sheer arrogance it takes for a man to make it his decade long mission to ruin a woman who was already down is something else but not surprising. Neither was Timberlake’s decision to kneel before Moonves and leave Janet hanging.

Since the petty life chose me, Timberlake and Moonves are now both being paid a visit by karma. Timberlake had the lowest rated Super Bowl halftime performance and Man of the Woods crashed and burned on the charts. Moonves has been accused of sexual harassment. It does not escape my attention that his actions towards Jackson were probably leaked to further dirty his name. Still, the moment of reckoning both are having comes in contrast to Janet’s increased profile.

There’s a tendency to only wait until someone has gone up to yonder to give them their flowers. I’m happy to see that Janet is getting hers now. I’ve loved, admired and wanted to be just like her since I was a kid. My upcoming novel, Control, has its title lifted from her anthem. I’ve still never learned the If and Rhythm Nation moves because I want to have working hips. I’d break one trying to do what only Janet can but smiling through it all is a lesson we can take from her.

Janet Jackson has been through it and it did not change her for the worse. She’s still got that smile we love. After all these years, she shared to InStyle she’s learned to love it too.

I would look in the mirror and start crying. I didn’t like that I was not attractive. I didn’t like anything about me. But I wound up falling in love with the small of my back. And then from there I found more things. And then finally realizing my smile isn’t that bad after all. I thought I looked like the Joker because it was so big.

Keep smiling, Janet. Big and proud. It’s a mood made for you.

Where one or two gather, it’s church. Alas, in the world of daytime drama, it just means one too many Black and Brown faces. To the back burner or unemployment line you go!

The Young and the Restless is planting their flag when it comes to not putting respect on their minority cast, characters and legions of fans who support the show. Mishael Morgan’s Hilary was killed off in July. On Monday, Christel Khalil announced she was going on recurring. Rumor has it that Lily will apparently go to jail for taking Hilary to freedom.

Morgan’s agent has already gone on the record about his client being lowballed. Khalil said it was her choice to go off contract. That’s her story and she’s sticking to it. Alexa, play Jay Z’s Takeover and help us sing the line We don’t believe you, you need more people.

But I digress.

The loss of Morgan and Khalil, two female leads of color on not only Y&R but daytime as a whole, is a blow. There’s no way to cushion the impact. To be clear, I haven’t cared for the character of Lily in quite some time. She just doesn’t do it for me, a prerogative that has resulted in 99% of her fans blocking me because Dru’s daughter is just beautiful gowns. Nonetheless, Lily Amanda Winters is a legacy character that has earned her place on the canvas and deserves more than to have been a cudgel to split the Black audience. There can be more than one of us but in Genoa City, the highlander edict is in effect. On screen, Lily and Hilary were pitted as rivals to the point it just stopped making a lick of sense. The contempt Lily felt for Hilary reduced her to a caricature and ultimately Hilary’s killer and that of her unborn child.

I’m a writer. Obviously. I know when a character is being portrayed out of form and into a corner. Y&R pushed Lily into one as much as they made Hilary a punching bag. It is by design.

While a lot of fans were fighting over the scraps writers threw at us, TPTB were killing two birds with one stone. Apparently, Lily and Hilary exiting the canvas is to make way for the Rosales family. It’ll be back to Winters Wednesdays because that’s the only time you’ll see them.

The belief that minority characters are interchangeable, simply swapped out for another, is so offensive. An intellectual would say that the Winters can co-exist with this new family coming to town. The Newman’s and Abbotts certainly have a full roster of characters and plots. There’s no having to choose between either so the other can fully exist with depth. Lily and Hilary could’ve also lived their best lives with the new girl Kerry Jones coming to town. Instead, we’re reduced to tokens.

There are going to be many to hop in the mentions and say race has nothing to do with what’s onscreen. I’d be inclined to give CBS Daytime the benefit of doubt if not for the status of so many diminished leads of color.

After Hilary’s unnecessary death, Devon quickly becoming a non factor in the fallout, Neil’s continued irrelevancy and Nate’s bungled return, I stopped entertaining Y&R. I wished them an ounce of luck which they need since the ratings keep falling. In all honesty, it should’ve been a wrap after Victoria Rowell spoke out against the inequalities in writing, development of characters, hair, backstage roles and Emmy consideration.

Rowell  got branded as crazy and difficult. Time has more than vindicated her.

Dru, Neil, Mamie, Olivia, Devon, Malcolm, Lily and Hilary were and are not flukes. The Winters/Barbers/Hamilton family unit is a part of the Genoa City fabric. Loosen their threads to the show and it will fall apart.

To be fair, the systemic discrimination and different rules for minority actors and their characters extends far beyond Y&R. Jordan and Curtis don’t grab me. Even if I did watch General Hospital more than once in a blue moon, they’re not heavily featured. The Bold and the Beautiful broke new ground with Maya’s transgender story and wove the Avants into the show only to shove them into the basement with the real Thorne. I don’t know who this impostor with the Australian accent is. Over at Days of Our Lives, the show is hot as grits but Lani and Eli are blink and you miss ’em while Abe has returned to a talk to. James Reynolds won that long overdue Emmy for a reason!

I hope those charged with cultivating the lives of our faves do better by the fans they still have left, of all color and creed. Diversity is not a stain you need to rub out.

Jack Tapper, Black people are allowed to have a damn good time. Since you need it explained to you, all folks are allowed the full spectrum of their humanity and at the risk of shaking the table, enjoying a Beyoncé concert as well.

There’s nothing that I love more than joy; the pure, unabashed kind that radiates from the crown to the soles of ones feet. But folks like Tapper are why we can’t have nice things. The CNN anchor has taken it upon himself to fault the Obamas for daring to be something other than mules for the Democratic party; as though their labor is owed until death.

Tapper felt the sweet wrath of the dreaded ratio. His tweet dripped with so much condescension, animus and the entitlement of a white man to presume to tell two Black people how they should be spending their time. He should’ve just sat there and ate his food.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not standard operating procedure that Black people be superheroes who always have their capes on. We hurt too and feel every bit of pain that society inflicts while being asked to be saviors. In fact, the marginalized feel it even the most but as they say in church, the blood still works. What’s there to save some of us is knowing when we need to just release. A primal scream, smile, yoga, reading a book, unplugging from social media and just being seen, heard and loved goes a long way when you’re emotionally taxed.

Now, I’ve never been president of the United States for 8 years but it seems pretty stressful. I don’t begrudge the Obamas for living their best lives without placing the weight of civilization on their shoulders. Singing Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh is not a betrayal or abdication of their character.

Just like the Obamas, I also run the gamut of emotions; to shift from having the fire in the belly over immigration, healthcare, advocating for healthcare and walking into a hair store a few hours later just to try on some wigs.

I settled on a black one in preparation for the upcoming National Association of Black Journalists conference in Detroit, Michigan. I’ll be strutting into Motown in my best Nicki Minaj inches, a few freakum dresses that would make Beyoncé blush and wearing Rihanna’s Stunna Lip Paint. I might even feel like cussing while I’m there and toss back a few drinks. Simultaneously, I’ll be discussing the current events of the day with my fellow journalists who also know how to walk and chew gum at the same time. It’s not a privilege that only exists for the Tapper’s of the world. None of us will be deaf, dumb and blind to the potential government shutdown Trump is threatening, the tariff war, sexual abuse taking place at detention centers and #MeToo allegations against Les Moonves. Just because you’ll see me posting selfies during the week doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten I’m a rejected handmaiden, got way too much student debt and remaining steadfast to journalism even though it is routinely under attack by this administration.

I’m more than happy to stand corrected but I don’t see Tapper using his platform to demand George Bush save the GOP from the throes of Trump. It’s as if he and his ilk know no other way but to put the Obamas under the microscope even if means conflating legitimate criticisms of 44 with cheap taunts.

Jake Tapper, take the Obamas off the cross. They weren’t put on this earth to die for the sins of the Democratic party or the republic at large.

The time may have finally come for me to apply for an AARP card. 2000 babies are 18 and headed off to college. If that weren’t a neon sign that my youth is coming to an end, interrupting my soaps and #Cin viewing pleasure is another because I get as cranky as an old lady.  Let me enjoy Ciara Alice Brady and a serial killer falling in love without the endless “we have to interrupt the regularly scheduled program to bring you this….”

Usually, these interruptions have to do with President Donald Trump and the Russia investigation. Every breathless detail, even just to give an update on the last one, have cut into Days of Our Lives just as Ben and Ciara’s bond is forming. Contrary to popular belief, liking my “stories” as the old folks would say doesn’t mean that I’m not an informed constituent. C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, push notifications and the streaming era serve me quite well. Therefore, there’s no need for the networks to cut into the soap operas to tell me what I’ve heard about 100 different times before Days of Our Lives airs. Unless of course there is collusion…..

At this point, I’m almost convinced the networks are working with head writers and EP’s of the soaps to get the remaining shows cancelled; what the OJ Simpson and his trial of the century failed to do, bad storytelling is going to usher out the final four serial dramas that are left standing. The ridiculous plots and declining viewership as a result will most likely dull the outrage once all the soaps are cancelled.

How else does one reconcile these arcs? Victoria’s domestic abuse, badly told to begin with, has become a parody on Y&R and ripping off Passions. At the very least, our dearly departed James Rilley creation never pretended to take itself seriously. I hold Bill Bell’s show to a higher standard (and yes I know that he dabbled in camp as well). Sister serial Bold is no better. Aside from ring around the rosy on Liam’s disco stick, there’s a random British girl who is talking to a cat. Brooke, Thorne and Macy were giving me heart palpitations when I used to churn butter back in the day and now a cat is supposedly must see TV. As for GH, so much could be said. Too much but dropping the ball on Steve Burton’s return as Jason is a low down dirty shame.

The only ray of light in the midst of all this embarrassment has been Days. The writer may not get all 10’s for his vision (Stefan has to go. Rafe must go and take Brady & Eve with him), but Ron Carlivati’s stewardship over the show has kept me entertained for the most part. Gabi is taking a wrecking ball to Abigail’s life, Brady’s about to get exposed by a returning Nicole but the cherry on top is #Cin. The soap press may not understand the ground shifting beneath them but the people have spoken.

Suddenly, I’m 17 again; bored at home and getting caught up in a taboo romance. Bo and Hope’s daughter should not be drawn to a savage. His kink was choking the good people of Salem with neck ties. It’s refreshing that DAYS has resisted the urge to whitewash him through a brain tumor, twin, clone or pretend that none of it happened. He could’ve also blamed the devil but that’s only reserved for Queen Marlena.

Ciara isn’t being written as a doe eyed lamb being led to slaughter. She knows he’s a killer  and his violent past isn’t really ideal for a young woman who is a victim of rape. Ideally, she should be with someone like Tripp. It makes sense on paper. But on-screen, it’s like watching paint dry.  The energy is with Ben and Ciara. Judge me accordingly for preferring a serial killer to other alternatives.

Robert Scott Wilson and Victoria Konefal just ooze chemistry. A simple look and touch are more intimate than the actual love scenes of other couples.

Maybe investigations need to be held about what kind of shit we’re into once the channel is turned. My Google search will turn up too much Mariah Carey, tips on natural hair and lyrics to gospel hymns. I’m too saved to ever want to hurt a fly but beyond that, I don’t mind watching a gifted actor give a psycho empathy which is what Robert Scott Wilson does with Ben Weston. He takes so much care in showing the push and pull of his character’s psychosis and wanting to do better. To be better for a woman who makes him feel. His Cee R Uh. I just love how he says her name.

Dramas have rehabilitated killers, rapists and abusers of all stripes; revamped them into leading men and ladies who are now as soft as Build A Bear toys. The trick is not to insult the audience. It’s a fine line between redemption and shoving a character that just doesn’t work down our throats. I get why some feel that Ben doesn’t deserve that same consideration but he and Ciara are must see TV for me; a bit of escapism from the news cycle and crazy headlines.

Let me #Cin in peace.

For the sake of my sanity, please leave Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out of your mouths when it comes to the gaslighting of being civil.  Just stop it.

It’s bad enough that his most pious quotes are bastardized once a year by those who hated him during his time and still hold his legacy in contempt every other day outside of a Monday in January but honestly, we all have Google. We have the images of MLK being gunned down in broad daylight, four black girls bombed in church, Jim Crow, segregation, riots, hoses and dogs being unleashed on bodies and the death of so many who fought for their rights. This era in American history was anything but “civil” and a sing a long that ended because they all sat around singing Kumbayah with those who oppressed them and upheld white supremacy.

King and so many were not celebrated during the throes of this struggle. They were called agitators, thrown in jail and under constant police surveillance. King was even told to kill himself by the F.B.I. and was hated at the time of his death. King was the original “Black Lives Matter” protester and the contempt of minoirites fighting for justice has not changed much by some who want us underfoot.  Oh my how we’ve come in revisionist history  to make it seem as though he was always on a Hallmark card as “I Have A Dream” is fetishized.

I’ll let our fallen icon speak for himself.

MLK also spoke of the white moderate who places order above justice.

I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice […]

Across the dial, there has been a renewed effort to push the sanitized version of Dr. King; as though he were a teddy bear who politely asked for equality.

There is such a hypocrisy in the moralizing of pundits who long for 1950’s America and that’s without even touching that the U.S. has the greatest military force in the world to wage war. The issue that now presents itself is that not all of us are privileged to enjoy America’s comfort and advantages. Blacks and those Brown skinned, Muslims, other minorities, LGBTQ, women and the poor are struggling to have their dreams realized. 8-year-old Black girls are having the cops called on them for having their entrepreneurial spirit to sell lemonade.

I don’t quite recall the moralizing for decency en masse when Barack Obama was president. He was often greeted with racial epitaphs and his likeness hung in effigy.  Joe Wilson shouted “You lie” during a presidential address but civility was not the Bingo word choice. Maybe some lip service was dispensed. The Obama era feels about a 100 years ago at this point.

In the here and now, it is such an act of bad faith to demand obedience and a smile while the world burns around all of us. You have to be protected from those flames to insist bigotry, children being kept in cages and to have policies enforced that impact the quality of living are mere differences of opinions. We’re not breaking bread if you want me dead. I’m calling you out.

I can deal with folks who are real even if they disagree with me. To be quite honest, I’m suspicious of anyone who agrees with me 100% of the time when even my own mother doesn’t. I’m humbled to have a spectrum of friends who don’t share my ideological views or love of Beyoncé. The Facebook arguments that we have are lively, full of gifs and maybe a few hours of going back and forth. At the end of the day, there’s no whistling past the graveyard and wishing they’re dead to me. It helps that neither of the folks I engage with find my mere existence to be a threat to theirs.

Fish rots from the head down. President Donald Trump, supporters and allies in the GOP routinely express hostility. From chants of “Lock Her Up”, the rejection of their own value system to endorsing edicts that penalize the innocent. They want the rule of law to deny services to gays, sanction preventive care not being provided to women based on religious doctrine and stop Muslims from entering the country. It is demoralizing having your humanity debased constantly, even moreso when you’re just minding your own business.

When your cheek isn’t bruised, it’s very easy to tell those who feel the unrelenting wrath to turn theirs.

Be Nice for what?

After the election, the pundit class insisted that “Fuck Your Feelings” and telling it like it is were the reasons why Trump won. Bad hombre, Mexicans being called racists,  countries of African descent referred to as shitholes and pussy grabbing were a repudiation of the PC culture. I’m not advocating for violence but shaming works. Protest works. Inconveniencing and making others uncomfortable in restaurants were part of the blueprint of Dr. King’s civil disobedience and the standard of his moral witness. Yet, too many politicians were more upset with Rep. Maxine Waters for her calls to shame Trump officials. Trust and believe, Auntie knows what it’s like to be denied service.

It would be a nice change of pace if many in the media and some of my fellow Americans didn’t feign pearl clutching when going high is no longer the energy.  When have any of these vulgarities been apologized for? I need Paul Ryan and others to demand the courtesy of others in his party for using the inflammatory language he now needs fainting salt for.

All of this is ugly.  Children suffering is ugly.  Grown adults being reduced to helplessness also falls under that category.  There is a visceral fear that is being felt in the bones and knots in our stomach. We’re not all going to keep cool heads and declaring that we have to be punching bags in the name of MLK is not the wave I’m on. If you’re not angry by all that is taking place, I have to question why.

It is not radical to be against discrimination of any kind and to seek change. Some of us would still be in chains without the courage to act upon conviction. We will not mind our manners to appease those who hurt and have never felt oppressed a day in their lives. That is a blessing you take for granted and then open your mouths to curse those that have. Despite the humanization that has taken place to make marginalized people “the other”, we are in fact human. We’re not robots who do not feel what is taking place or psychopaths who get off the destruction.

Immigrants seeking asylum are being held in detention centers and Trump is threatening their due process. Voting rights are under attack. Athletes are being blackballed and referred to as “son of a bitches” for daring to speak truth to power. Those who argue in favor of gun reform are now subject to death threats  while Flint, Michigan still is without clean water and Puerto Rico remains in crisis. The arc of history does not simply bend because you ask it to.

Only romanticizing  revolution, protests and MLK’s journey is grandstanding when you will never be the collateral damage.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

Those are the words emblazoned on the New Colossus, the bronze plaque at the Statue of Liberty. It is an ode to immigrants seeking a better life from which they’re coming from. However, the pursuit of the American Dream is becoming a nightmare as the Trump administration has a zero tolerance policy of separating families at the border and according to  Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, there will not be any apologies.

The 53% right there.

There used to be a time when “compassionate conservatism” used to be the motto. Salute to former First Lady Laura Bush for keeping the embers of that message alive with her recent op-ed.

All living first ladies have come out strongly against this inhumane practice but the “base” apparently supports children being kept in cages, mattresses on the floor and kids being ripped from the arms of their mothers. According to CNN, 58% of Republican voters support the trauma being inflicted because it can be a deterrent and rules are rules. Compassion be damned and this is how comprehensive immigration reform will be done; screaming children being used as pawns if it can send a message.

Unlike some, I don’t believe this is America’s first betrayal. Black families were separated during slavery. There were the Japanese internment camps. This is just the latest hurt and playing on loop.

One of the symptoms of the news cycle is that it’s everything all at once. Everyday, there is a flashing “Breaking News” interruption. It’s routine and almost a chore to get upset but I question the heart of those who don’t even give the bare lip service. They’ve got absolutely nothing to say as this crisis unfolds.

For many years, there has been the drumbeat of Sharia Law coming to the United States. Muslims have been scapegoats; deemed to be using dangerous ideology to impose its will on the majority and innocent. However, it has been the likes of Attorney Jeff Sessions invoking the Bible to explain the enforcement of the Trump policy.  Sarah Huckabee Sanders also co-signed this.

Never mind the separation of state and church but this particular passage was also used to legitimize slavery. Those that went to church, took to their knees in prayer and damned everyone else for not being as righteous as them supported Blacks being kept in bondage, raped, lynch and killed. That same malicious thinking is now being furthered to diminish those who are seeking asylum which is not a crime but too many are comfortable sitting silent in the pews.

Homosexuality, abortion and tithing are preached from the pulpit. Yet, there is no similar fire, brimstone and eternal damnation about how the least of thee are being treated. It is indefensible to care more about the unborn and then declare that your moral obligation is done once he or she draws its first breath. You can’t wag your finger because two people choose to love and just turn your eyes away at the abuses taking place.

It’s scary that so many of us have to shock the conscience of those who don’t want to be bothered; a labor to draw the simple concession that just maybe those seeking a better life shouldn’t be held in such contempt. Since election night, “this is why Trump won” has been a taunt but the effort that is taking to make others care proves that there is a malignancy in this country. The afflicted just pretend to be righteous but won’t act on what’s right. They’ll just thump their Bibles, deciding which verse in the Old or New Testament on which to cast judgment on everyone else.

Leave it to Trump and his policy to expose the hypocrisy. God really does work in mysterious ways.