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Cancel workplace harassment

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Introducing the next celebrity to be cancelled:

Refinery29

And rightfully so. Over the past few weeks, we have heard horrific stories of staffers at the Ellen Show who have suffered verbal and sexual harassment by producers. Ellen has also been accused of mistreating her staff by demanding that nobody looks at her and acting like a diva in general. She apparently did the same to a radio host and an interviewer in Australia. Ellen has also been criticized for preaching a “be kind” mantra on air, while behaving terribly behind the scenes. Basically, a celebrity said something disingenuous…shocker.

The real issue here is workplace harassment. People put up with a lot because they need a paycheck; they need to feed their families, pay their bills, their rent, etc… Those in power take advantage of that. It’s easy to sit on the outside and say “oh they could have resigned” or “they could have spoken out”. People who work regular jobs sometimes don’t have the courage to stand up for themselves, let alone if they worked for a high-powered celebrity like Ellen. A manager at a company can torpedo an employee’s chances for future employment through their connection. Imagine what Ellen has the power to do if someone were to piss her off.

Influential men in workplaces across America and other countries were brought down during the #MeToo movement. It’s time for people in power, both men and women, to be fired for verbal harassment and for creating a toxic work environment. If everyone else is replaceable, so are they. And so is Ellen.

You can make $90,000 by simply doing your job.

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Here’s some news right out of California: a Starbucks barista in San Diego has received $95,000 through a GoFundMe campaign for telling a woman to wear a mask in their store.

This might be one of the top craziest stories I’ve heard all year, and it’s been a crazy year so far. In fact, this is so crazy it makes me wonder if the whole story is fact or fiction. I’ll get to that in a bit though.

The backstory is that Amber Lynn Gilles (Aka “Karen”) went into Starbucks without a mask. When the barista, Lenin Gutierrez, asked her if she had a mask she allegedly flipped him off and started cursing loudly. She then proceeded to take a photo of him and later posted it on Facebook, as shown below.

NBCSanDiego.com

Keep in mind that it is mandatory to wear masks in California, so Karen was actually breaking a state law. Lenin in no way deserved to be verbally abused in person or harassed on social media. I worked in customer service for years so I completely sympathize with employees who are yelled at for just doing their job. Which leads to my first point:

The GoFundMe was started by Matt Cowan, who allegedly didn’t know Lenin at all. Why would someone do that for a complete stranger, who was probably in the same situation many customer service workers have faced? The appropriate route to take would have been for Lenin report the post on Facebook, thank everyone for their support and call it a day. If you’re thinking I sound suspicious of this story, you are completely right, which leads me to my second point:

This whole situation is slightly reminiscent of the story about the couple who raised money for the homeless guy for supposedly giving them the last of his change for gas. As you might remember, it turned out to be a hoax. I support GoFundMe campaigns when they are for major causes such as George Floyd’s or Breonna Taylor’s deaths. What I don’t support though, is giving donations for someone who was doing their job, and as a result was verbally attacked by some anti-mask wearing woman. That being said, if starting GoFundMe campaigns is the new way to help those being treated unfairly in public, where is the campaign for Christian Cooper, a black man who was accused of harassment by a white lady in Central Park? All he did was be a decent citizen and ask her to put her dog on a leash since they weren’t in an off-leash zone. There are also many incidents of harassment that don’t get recorded, so…

Where are the donations for customer service representatives who are yelled at everyday, for some reason or another?

Where are the donations for employees who are verbally and/or sexually harassed by their managers or colleagues?

We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and this seems to be very minor compared to what is going on. My guess is they all know each other and will be splitting the money. I know it sounds far fetched and if I’m wrong, I promise to write another post acknowledging so.

Operation I Take Responsibility: Failed.

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Celebrities. They love to use their platforms to rally for good causes, but sometimes they take it a little too far. The ”I Take Responsibility“ video is a perfect example of when the celebrity white savior mentality goes off the rails.

YouTube

This video is only slightly less cringe-y than the Imagine video, that featured a bunch of celebrities singing about how there’s no heaven…when people are dying from a deadly pandemic.

Let’s be clear: Black people don’t need to hear you guys say a bunch of stuff you read off a cue card previously approved by your publicists. What Black people do need is equal opportunity.

Equal opportunity as actors

Equal opportunity as writers

Equal opportunity as directors

Equal opportunity as producers

Equal opportunity as agents

Equal opportunity for any job that you were handed just for the color of your skin

So let’s call a spade a spade. Sarah Paulson, we know you’re not going to turn a blind eye to racism when a job is at stake. And Stanley Tucci, the day a powerful director makes a discriminatory comment, you’re not going to call them out and storm off set. To all the actors in this video and to those even thinking about making one: just stop.

I know you think you’re helping by filming these melodramatic videos (which have potential to become a pandemic of their own), but you’re not. Taking responsibility is nothing if not paired with taking action, so please put your insincerity on hold until this global crisis is over.

Speaking of white privilege…Madeleine McCann

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The Guardian

In May 2007, a beautiful little girl was abducted from her family’s room at a resort in Praia de Luz, Portugal while her parents dined with their friends at the resort’s restaurant. Kate and Gerry McCann’s initial call to the local police quickly turned into a nationwide manhunt for Madeleine, and a worldwide media sensation. After an unsuccessful search, the case eventually quietened down and life went back to normal. That is, until last week when London’s Metropolitan Police finally found a suspect… 13 years later.

British law enforcement have continued looking for Madeleine for 13 years. Granted the parents are wealthy enough to have funded the search all these years. Clearly their wealth has kept them out of jail too, where they should be for negligence. I’ll add that Portugal has an extradition policy so the was no reason for Kate and Gerry McCann to be free all these years.

You might be wondering how any of this links to white privilege. Well I did some research on missing children in Britain, and the first article I found was from the Sun a few years ago. They claim that 140,000 children go missing in Britain every year, but these are the 10 currently missing. Notice any similarities?

The Sun.co.uk

When I saw this I thought “there must be at least one child of color who is missing.” So I did more research through the National Crime Agency and found that in 2014-2015, 20,298 Black children followed by 7981 Asian children. The article in the Sun was written in 2015.

Where are the photos of the children of color? Are they just less important than the white children?

This image is proof of the inherent racism that exists in the foundation of many Western countries. It’s subtle, but you can find it if you scratch the surface. Of 10 children featured in article, at least one Black and one Asian child should have been included. What makes Madeleine’s case stand out is that her family are both white and wealthy. The McCann’s negligence not only caused their daughter to get abducted, but also cost British taxpayers millions of pounds. Seriously, if you want to dine without your kids on vacation, leave your kids at home!

Amidst all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure: if Kate and Gerry McCann were people of color, and their daughter was abducted from their council flat, they would be in jail.

Quick catch up with 2 shows

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Since I last posted about TV and movies, I watched 2 shows that I think are worth sharing.

Little Fires Everywhere. 4/5

The Verge

*SPOILER ALERT* Based on a novel, Little Fires Everywhere stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. The story is set in a small town in Ohio in 1997/1998 and follows Elena Richardson (Witherspoon), a wealthy journalist and Mia Warren (Washington), a single mom and newcomer to the town. The women’s lives are intertwined as Mia’s mysterious past is unfolds.

The story was so gripping and does a good job of acknowledging racial issues, but I did have a problem with the whole situation with the baby at the end. It seemed so unrealistic for Bebe to break into the McCollough’s home and then get the child on an international flight without a passport.

Space Force. 2/5

BT.com

I am only giving Space Force one point for Steve Carell and another for Lisa Kudrow. I was so excited to watch this because I am such a huge fan of both actors, but unfortunately I was let down. The comedy (if you can call it that) sort of falls flat and the story has no real direction. It’s slow and overall disappointing.

The Awkward Thoughts turned out to be an awkward read

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Amazon.com

I generally don’t give up on books too easily, but I had no choice with this one. I could not get through even a quarter of it.

Don’t get me wrong, I think W. Kamau Bell is a super cool guy and I love United Shades of America, but he’s not an engaging writer. The tone was far too informal and the details were just rambling. I can see how the stories would be interesting if he was actually talking about them; I just didn’t think they translated well on paper.

I’ll give him an A for effort and for being an awesome guy.

I Can’t Breathe

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Hello everyone,

I am so happy to be back (during some very unhappy times) after what has felt like an eternity without a laptop. A lot is going on in the world right now so I want to start with saying:

R.I.P George Floyd and BLACK LIVES MATTER.

The riots going on all across America and around the world are scary, but are 100% necessary for our voices to be heard. George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis last week by a Derek Chauvin, a white police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes. Floyd was accused of trying to pay with a fake $20 at a convenience store and was subsequently arrested. Earlier today, Chauvin was charged with second degree murder (up from third degree) and the other 3 officers present are awaiting charges.

CNN.com

The first question that came to mind when I saw the video was “How is this still happening?” After all the protests and marches over the years, why is the American justice system still refusing to hold white police officers accountable for brutality against Black men and women? As relieved as I am that the officers involved were arrested and charged, I have my doubts about them being sentenced accordingly. There was so much evidence against George Zimmerman after he shot Travyon Martin in 2012, and he got off scott free. Only two of the four officers responsible for beating Rodney King in 1991 were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison during a re-trial following the L.A. riots. The other two officers were acquitted again.

So basically, I have zero faith in the U.S. justice system. I wouldn’t be surprised if Derek Chauvin gets a minimal sentence, and the others get acquitted. President Trump seems to be more concerned about photo-ops with the Bible than re-assuring his country that justice will be served. The American people are not being comforted by their leadership, they are being threatened. Think about that. Donald Trump would rather turn the military on his citizens than immediately arrest 3 police officers. I sincerely hope America will vote him out in November.

Also, a quick message to all the Conservatives complaining about the looting: Target can get their TVs back, but George Floyd’s friends and family can’t get him back. So please, focus on solving the real problem that is police brutality and racial injustice.

The New York Times

Meet Alison Roman, the next victim of cancel culture

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Over the years, speaking out against racial and cultural issues has slowly evolved into outrage and cancel culture. It’s not just Hollywood celebrities and politicians who are victims; even New York Times food columnists can’t be spared.

Alison Roman, Food columnist and cookbook author was suspended from the NYT after she criticized Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen for branding their kitchenware lines. Essentially, she said she would never want to use her name to sell products, but somehow this came off as racist towards Asians.

Could Alison have made her point in a more sensitive way? Sure, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a point. About Chrissy. Yes, I’m going to single her out and I’ll explain why. I

Insider

Marie made a career out of helping people organize their homes so it makes sense that she would sell stuff for your home. Chrissy, on the other hand, was a model but only became famous after marrying John Legend. She continued to garner attention by roasting people on Twitter (or “hilarious Tweets” as Buzzfeed would say).She then wrote Cravings, followed by Cravings 2, and they were both an instant hit. The reviews were so good that even I considered buying one the supposedly unique Asian fusion recipes, After all, I love all Asian food so why not break my personal rule of not supporting celebrity cookbooks? Then I remembered that Chrissy’s cookbooks and her Target kitchenware line are vanity projects.

There have been countless celebrity wives who have done the same. Think Victoria Beckham, Ayesha Curry and Kristin Cavallari, to name a few. They all created these brands after marrying rich men so they can pretend to have a career. If they were really passionate about fashion or cooking they would have started companies before getting married. So in other words, without their husbands’ money.

Let me be clear. As a woman I am all for female empowerment and supporting other women’s success. But just because you support someone doesn’t mean you can’t call a spade a spade, and I think that’s exactly what Alison Roman did. To be fair, if she was going to call out celebrities turned lifestyle gurus she really should have included Gwenyth Paltrow.

Bottom line: Alison wanted to express her own career aspirations but misspoke. Maybe her apology isn’t considered good enough but she certainly doesn’t deserve to be suspended (which translates to fired) over a poorly worded opinion.

Never Have I Ever

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I finished watching Never Have I Ever a few days ago, and I highly recommend it! The show is produced by Mindy Kaling and is about an Indian teenage girl, Devi, growing up in Sherman Oaks, CA. Devi is determined to lose her virginity to Paxton, a popular jock on the swim team. He is absolutely perfect with his chiseled abs and all that, and Devi is completely obsessed with him. Together with her two best friends, Eleanor and Fabiola, the girls explore the ups and downs of high school.

Mashable India

It might sound like a typical teenage drama such as the O.C. or One Tree Hill, but Never Have I Ever does a great job of representing minorities. The writers also highlighted the cultural differences between Devi and her other classmates while also eliminating Indian stereotypes. Mindy Kaling gave Indians a promotion from being the side-kick to starring in the lead role. I hope we see more of that.

Georgia’s false promises

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I want you to take a look at the photo below before reading.

This is Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging in Brunswick, GA when he was chased and fatally shot by two white men. A video of the crime, recorded by an accomplice, was released earlier this week by a defence attorney involved in the case. The perpetrators, Travis and Greogory McMichael, were arrested yesterday on May 7. Unfortunately, this isn’t as positive an outcome as it may seem. The Glynn County Police and the Georgia investigators never wanted to charge Travis and Gregory, because even though the video surfaced three days ago, the shooting happened on February 23.

Yes, you heard that right. The police had that video in February.

Their excuse was that they allegedly saw Ahmaud robbing a construction site, and because there had been some burglaries in the area, the McMichaels assumed he was the burglar. As it turns out, CCTV showed no robberies on the site, and only the McMichaels had one of their guns stolen from their pickup truck on New Years Day. No other residents were victims of robberies.

This is a clear case of racial profiling. You must have some real white privilege to accuse a person of colour of a burglary as an excuse to murder them. And get away with it. This incident slightly echoes the Botham Jean case; he was shot in Dallas by Amber Guyger, a white police officer when she thought he “broke in” to her apartment. Turns out she had the wrong apartment, and after a lengthy trial, she got sentenced to 10 years. I suspect the Ahmaud Arbery case will have a similar outcome, especially considering Georgia doesn’t have any anti hate crime laws.

The reality of the matter is that if Georgia investigators wanted to press charges, they would have when they first saw the tape in February. The promises made by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are completely empty, and their “thorough” investigation is all for show. And let’s call a spade a spade: if the roles were reversed, Ahmaud would have gotten life in prison. This is another case of pure racism, and what’s disturbing is that there must be so many more people of colour who have been senselessly murdered and have not received justice. As Marc Lamont Hill said:

The only way this injustice will end is if law makers start holding white people accountable for crimes they actually commit, the same way they do for innocent black people.