Posts Tagged ‘domestic violence’

I reach out and challenge those of us who can, to

Bishop T.D. Jakes

contribute financially to the defense of these young men. Perhaps you are unable to be there physically. Your schedule like mine may not always allow you to show up on a particular day or time…. However, I challenge those of us who can to give financially, not for publicity, not for fame, not for notoriety, but because it is the right thing to do.

There is an old saying, when you are searching for something, “It is better to light a candle and see, than to scream blindly into the darkness.” Financial support combined with raising the awareness of an injustice by protest, is a powerful resource that can yield incredible results. I implore you to, after we have so vividly pointed out the injustices that still haunt our country, to provide the financial backing to allow them to fight the good fight.”

T.D. Jakes: September 2007

If Mo’Kelly didn’t give you any backstory, one could wrongly assume that Jakes’ words above were in reference to the four men who’ve recently alleged

Jena 6 Protest

sexual coercion on the part of friend and fellow megachurch pastor, Bishop Eddie Long.

Emphasis on “friend” and “fellow megachurch pastor.”

The remarks above were made almost 3 years ago to the day, yet in reference to the Jena 6 controversy.  In 2010, in an attempt to contextualize and direct his congregation in which to best spiritually and morally proceed;  (paraphrasing) he instructed his congregation to “pray.”

Pray for him (Long), pray for them (the accusers)…etc.  Just pray for everybody.  Don’t do anything, just sit on the sidelines until Coach Jakes is ready to call you into the game.

Again, Mo’Kelly is paraphrasing…but that’s the general sentiment after you remove the fiery oratory garnish and bite down on the meat of the message.

Pray…be still…wait on the Lord.  Got it.

Let’s be clear, prayer has its place and prayer has power.  Yet if prayer alone were enough, there would never be any need for any of us to do what was right in the moment of crisis.  This is about doing what’s right, over and above just prayer.

Three years ago, Bishop T.D. Jakes was all about defending young Black men who presumably could not financially defend themselves when pitted against an adversary with larger means.

(Insert ubiquitous self-serving David V. Goliath story here)

Prayer was not enough way back in 2007 according to Jakes.  Not only that, the Jena 6 were already known to be “guilty” in a legal sense, the issue was whether the subsequent punishment fit the crime involved.  There wasn’t any legal battle in which to wait for its completion.  The Jena 6 were already guilty and far from angelic in nature.

Bishop Eddie Long

Conversely, in 2010 there has been no appeal to light another “candle” or to “shine light on injustices that still haunt our country” as it relates to Bishop Eddie Long and/or sexual abuse more broadly.  There has been no ecumenical pontification on how protest when “combined with financial support” could yield incredible results.  There was no interest in helping these particular young Black men “fight the good fight.”  When it came to helping the young Black men who were NOT guilty, not accused of any crime in this instance, merely fighting for some semblance of justice; Jakes’ spiritual conclusion was prayer and prayer only.

Prayer according to Jakes in this case is enough.  The fact that this case “coincidentally” involves a “friend” and “fellow megachurch pastor,” Jakes would have you believe is irrelevant in nature.

Emphasis on (ahem) “friend” and “fellow megachurch pastor.”

It seems that T.D. Jakes is only a part-time advocate for justice.  It depends on when you catch him (wink, wink).

Jakes went to great lengths to explain how and why in 2007 prayer alone was not enough for Jena 6.  What exactly has changed in three years, other than the proximity of Jakes to the accused in question?

I challenge those of us who can to give financially, not for publicity, not for fame, not for notoriety, but because it is the right thing to do.”

If we are really going to go down the road of what is or is not “the right thing to do” then let’s go all the way down the road until it ends.

The “right thing” for Bishop Eddie Long to do was to step aside, at least while the allegations were pending, for the sake of New Birth and the body of Christ.  The “right thing” for Bishop T.D. Jakes to do was to provide wise counsel privately and publicly to this effect.

The cynic in Mo’Kelly says that the reasons why Jakes did not take such a stand were in part connected to the absence of financial gain, publicity and notoriety.  Jakes is showing us presently and has consistently shown us historically that doing the “right thing” is not only uncomfortable for him, it’s unconscionable when his interests are directly impacted.  What’s that old saying…there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing?

Yeah, that’s it.

Maybe the “right thing” for Jakes to do was acknowledge the obvious revision in his spiritual discernment between 2007 and 2010.  If God is the same yesterday, today and forevermore (as we say in the Black Church)…how is it that the “anointed” Bishop T.D. Jakes managed to move from one end of the spectrum to the other in his interpretation of that same word of God in 3 years?

How is something that was “right” three years ago, COMPLETELY wrong

Thomas Weeks and Juanita Bynum

today if neither the word of God has changed nor good sense?  Whatever happened to holding on to His “unchanging hand?”

Oh, Mo’Kelly wishes he had a witness today…

Some years ago, another one of Jakes’ “Bishop friends” in the form of Thomas Weeks III found himself in the middle of a case of domestic abuse with then-estranged wife Juanita Bynum.  Jakes largely was silent, reticent to even condemn domestic abuse, having nothing to do with Weeks’ specific actions.  As a matter of fact, the Juanita Bynum/Bishop Weeks controversy ran virtually simultaneous to the Jena 6 controversy.  After much public goading from The Mo’Kelly Report and other media outlets, Jakes eventually had this to say about domestic violence, characterizing it as “unholy.”

"That Mo'Kelly is getting on my last damn nerve. Stop quoting me...I know what I said!"

As difficult and as painful as it is to realize, both the victim and the perpetrator are souls that God loves. We must realize that the church’s job is not a judicial one. The courts will do that. The church is the place where people can find redemption even when they have made bad choices or been victims of those who did.

We have to stop standing on the road and watching the accident, pointing and staring while the people who are injured in both cars hemorrhage without solution. Churches must be prepared to respond to the needs of all involved including the many children who are often left traumatized and endangered in this toxic environment.”

T.D. Jakes – September 4, 2007

How in the world these words don’t also apply to names like Jamal Parris, Spencer LeGrande, Anthony Flagg et al. and their allegations against Bishop Eddie Long, Mo’Kelly just doesn’t understand.  These are Jakes’ words, not twisted or edited in any manner.

Memo to T.D. Jakes…sexual abuse is “unholy” too…just FYI.

How has the church shown itself to be prepared to respond to the needs of all involved…including the many children who are often left traumatized?  Where is the statement on homosexuality (including when it pertains to bishops) being “unholy” (given Jakes’ well-documented homophobic stance)?  Are we to assume that homosexuality is only an “issue” or an “abomination” when it DOESN’T involve his own son or a “bishop-friend?”

Hypocrisy and inconsistency.

It’s this level of hypocrisy, wrapped in rich displays of “prayer and worship” which fundamentally serves as the root of why people are so turned off by church in general and look sideways at the prosperity gospel in specific.

The Black Church has made a financial killing by way of condemning the world which exists beyond the borders of the physical address of its brick and mortar location, but have had little if nothing to say about the same supposed ills which plague its own edifices.  Regardless of how you individually or your church generally stands on the issue of homosexuality, there must be some consistency in the finger-pointing and consistency in the appeals for prayer and restoration.  Irrespective of how you individually or your church generally stands on the issue of sexual abuse, there too must be some consistency in the finger pointing and the path to restoration.

If the Black church is truly about the business of comforting the afflicted, while also afflicting the comfortable, then it’s time to call a spade a spade…all racial baggage and puns intended.

There needs to be some genuine consistency and consideration in the Black Church, be it Baptist, AME, COGIC, whichever label we attach to ourselves in the attempt to claim a “denomination.”

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ whimsical, contradictory public statements on how best to highlight and fight injustice are telling in many ways.  It is emblematic of God’s truth that we all are cracked vessels…and is proof that Jakes is unaware the internet keeps a record of everything he says and has done, especially the actions reeking of great hypocrisy.

Mo’Kelly had no idea prior to now that defending the defenseless came with a bishop-friend caveat.  Now I do.

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. For more Mo’Kelly, http://mrmokelly.com. Mr. Mo’Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

http://www.clickorlando.com/sports/22824170/detail.html?hpt=T2

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol has released a report detailing the events during the early morning hours of Nov. 27 after Tiger Woods crashed in front of his Isleworth mansion.

A neighbor told FHP that Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, went in the ambulance with her husband, but two Windermere police officers reported the opposite.According to reports released Friday by FHP, the officers were told by a paramedic that Nordegren tried to ride in the ambulance with her husband following the crash, but she was not allowed because the incident involved domestic violence.

According to Cpl. Thomas Dewitt of FHP, Windermere police officers Jason Sipos and Brandon McDonnell responded to the crash and told him what the scene looked like when they arrived.”As the paramedics loaded (Woods) into a Health Central ambulance one of the crew stated that (Woods’) wife could not get in the ambulance because this was a domestic,” the FHP report said.McDonnell said he did not know where they (the paramedics) got that information because he had never heard that from anyone at the scene of the crash.

Sipos said he saw Woods lying on the ground with a blanket covering him and a blanket under his head, with Nordegren hovering over him. He said Woods was unconscious and unresponsive.Sipos said there was no smell of alcohol on Woods, but when paramedics asked Nordegren about medications, she retrieved two bottles of Vicodin.Witnesses and officers described the injuries to Woods’ lip as minor.

Woods has publicly denied that his wife injured him.The report released Friday includes FHP interviews with several witnesses, police officers, lawyers and hospital employees.Since the crash, a slew of women have come forward alleging affairs with the pro golfer. He has since admitted to infidelity and undergone treatment for sex addiction.

RELATED:

Woods Did the Right Thing…with Unintended Consequences

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http://www.clickorlando.com/sports/22824170/detail.html?hpt=T2

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol has released a report detailing the events during the early morning hours of Nov. 27 after Tiger Woods crashed in front of his Isleworth mansion.

A neighbor told FHP that Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, went in the ambulance with her husband, but two Windermere police officers reported the opposite.According to reports released Friday by FHP, the officers were told by a paramedic that Nordegren tried to ride in the ambulance with her husband following the crash, but she was not allowed because the incident involved domestic violence.

According to Cpl. Thomas Dewitt of FHP, Windermere police officers Jason Sipos and Brandon McDonnell responded to the crash and told him what the scene looked like when they arrived.”As the paramedics loaded (Woods) into a Health Central ambulance one of the crew stated that (Woods’) wife could not get in the ambulance because this was a domestic,” the FHP report said.McDonnell said he did not know where they (the paramedics) got that information because he had never heard that from anyone at the scene of the crash.

Sipos said he saw Woods lying on the ground with a blanket covering him and a blanket under his head, with Nordegren hovering over him. He said Woods was unconscious and unresponsive.Sipos said there was no smell of alcohol on Woods, but when paramedics asked Nordegren about medications, she retrieved two bottles of Vicodin.Witnesses and officers described the injuries to Woods’ lip as minor.

Woods has publicly denied that his wife injured him.The report released Friday includes FHP interviews with several witnesses, police officers, lawyers and hospital employees.Since the crash, a slew of women have come forward alleging affairs with the pro golfer. He has since admitted to infidelity and undergone treatment for sex addiction.

RELATED:

Woods Did the Right Thing…with Unintended Consequences

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From Golf.com

Tiger Woods will speak to “friends, colleagues and close associates” at a tightly scripted press conference at PGA Tour headquarters at 11 a.m. Friday, according to his agent Mark Steinberg.

The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer has been silent except for statements on his Web site throughout the course of the sex scandal that dominated the headlines in December and January.

“Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he plans to apologize for his behavior,” Steinberg told Bloomberg News.

Woods will field no questions at the press conference in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and only wire-service and a select few non-wire reporters will be allowed to sit in during the statement.

Tiger Woods Needs to Come Clean

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Gary Coleman Mug Shot

Gary Coleman, who turned 42 February 8, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge related to a domestic violence incident last April in Utah.

According to the Associated Press, Coleman made a plea deal with prosecutors.  In return, the original charge of domestic violence assault was dropped.

Judge Sharla Williams sentenced Coleman to 31 1/2 days in jail.  The 1/2 day was relative to his half-adult size.  Had he been a full-size adult, the judge presumably would have sentenced him to 32 full days.

(And might Mo’Kelly add, that mugshot scares the CRAP out of Mo’Kelly.  Mo’Kelly wouldn’t want him anywhere near him, that evil action figure might stab Mo’Kelly in his ankles.  Gary Coleman, keepin’ it GANGSTA!)

In the end, the Diff’rent Strokes star will serve the time only if he fails to complete a court-mandated domestic violence course and pay a $595 fine.

Better use CASH CALL!

Coleman was arrested Jan. 24 at his Santaquin home on a warrant for failing to appear in court. He spent a night in jail before a fan paid his $1,725 bail.

GARY COLEMAN…P.I.M.P. (Warning: Graphic Language)

_______

RELATED: Gary Coleman Goes Ike Turner (WTF, He’s Married?!)

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El DeBarge

(Not to Mo’Kelly of course…not a snowball’s chance in hell of THAT happening.  But he did speak to EURWEB.com which birthed The Mo’Kelly Report)

From EURWEB.com

*The last we heard from El DeBarge, he was in jail for possession of a controlled substance in Oct. 2008. And that charge came just weeks after he was jailed on two warrants stemming from several other offenses from the previous year, including vandalism, drugs and domestic violence.

But those days are in the past, the singer told EURweb’s Lee Bailey.

“Things are fine right now. My challenges were basically a drug addiction that sat me down for a minute and made me stop writing, and made me not participate in my own self.

(Mo’Kelly – Actually the Sheriffs Department was more responsible for sitting you down…for factual accuracy sake.)

I got tired of that (read: jail), I got tired of being stuck on stupid. I went through something (read: jail), I learned from it (read: jail) and I got a great story to tell. It’s a testimony, it’s not misery anymore.”

These days, El DeBarge is in the studio working on a new album, and he’s featured in the current “soundtrack week” (Feb. 8-12) of TV One’s “Way Black When” programming for Black History Month.

“It’s basically paying respect and homage to as many of the Black films, Black producers and Black recording artists as we possibly can of the 80s.  I realized a lot of success in the 80s, so naturally I had some things I want to say about it.”

Under host Chris “Kid” Reid (“House Party”), TV One’s soundtrack week honors the movie albums that had an impact on African American pop culture. DeBarge is joined by musical artists Brian McKnight and Kurtis Blow, along with producer/director Warrington Hudlin, actor Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and actor Glynn Turman.

“We just talked about ‘Cooley High’ being one of the films.  We talked about ‘Boys N the Hood,’ [my song] ‘Rhythm of the Night’ being in ‘The Last Dragon,’ this song I did in the movie ‘Short Circuit’ called ‘Who’s Johnny,’ you know, that’s pretty much it.”

As for his other 80s pastime of drug abuse, El says he got a lot of prodding from his family and fans in recent years to finally get his act together.

“People were reaching out to me. And really, actually it was God. It was a spiritual intervention that took place in me.

(Mo’Kelly – Uh, methinks Mo’Kelly was a variable in that equation somewhere.  Give Mo’Kelly his credit!)

I just didn’t want to do it anymore and I had to just lay back, go somewhere, take a vacation (read: jail) and just chill and just get my thoughts together – get my willpower together because that’s what was missing and that’s where I’m at right now.”

RELATED:

El DeBarge Threatens Mo’Kelly

El DeBarge Released from Prison

El’s Testimony Through Song

El Arrested – Ooh and I Like It

El Arrested Again – Mo’Kelly Responds…Again

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Tiger Woods is in uncharted waters, which should go without saying. Woods heretofore has been above reproach, regardless of the measuring stick you place alongside his life and career.

Woods’ mastery on the golf course has only been matched by his mastery of his public image. He is a man of few words and even those are carefully chosen. Woods has been incredibly disciplined (and successful) in staying out of the tabloids generally and trouble specifically. He has been the “perfect” endorsement machine, unrivaled on the links and unblemished in a scandal-sense off of them.

Until now…

Woods is presently enduring a negative publicity firestorm surrounding his one-car accident outside his home early Friday morning. The “official” story changes almost daily. One moment his story had wife Elin “extricating” him from the wrecked Cadillac Escalade thanks to a 7 iron, and in the next version she did no such thing. One moment Woods planned to talk to the police to clear the air and the next he reneges. In lieu of clearing the air altogether, he released a public statement to (among other things) “admit fault” about “something.”

“I’m human and I’m not perfect.”

• Tiger Woods

Really Tiger? Who knew? Thank goodness for crisis publicists and lawyers, otherwise both descriptors would’ve remained a mystery.

To which, some members of the press such as Rick Reilly of ESPN have

Rick Reilly

demanded “answers” as to what did or did not take place. Reilly argues that silence is neither golden nor exemplary behavior from one who influences so many.

Agreed.

Instead of shedding light on the situation and quelling the controversy, he created more questions and shadows surrounding it. If Tiger is truly “human” and imperfect, then he should act accordingly and not offer carefully crafted, ambiguous statements written by a lawyer.

Chris Brown

Woods’ statement reeked of something very Chris Brown-esque, accepting responsibility in non-specific terms for an undisclosed indiscretion, while also being very specific in the pleas for privacy and understanding.

Understanding?

If Woods wants “understanding” then he must be clear with the public. What the world’s greatest golfer does in his own house behind closed doors is his business. The moment it spills over into the street, requiring officers and an ambulance, all bets are off.

Woods posted a 5-paragragh response (see below) regarding the incident and managed to say absolutely nothing. To the half-way intelligent individual, it was almost insulting.

Almost.

Woods would have done better to say nothing, since coming clean seemingly was not his intention. Straddling the fence only prolongs the PR agony. When superstars seem more concerned with protecting endorsements, under the guise of “privacy” the subsequent backlash is inevitable and unmistakable.

Woods must be completely forthright with the public. Using the thin veil of “privacy” is exactly that; thin, flimsy and rather transparent when held up to the light. It’s weak and a cop-out. Nobody said the public needed the gory details, but surely we deserve some semblance of the truth.

Here is the statement in its entirety as posted on tigerwoods.com

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I’m pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.

Yes Tiger, we can readily assume the situation is embarrassing and you wish to keep away from public scrutiny. At the same time, this statement reaffirms “something” beyond just an “accident” occurred. If it were ONLY a wife helping to get her husband out of the car, ambiguity would not have dominated your subsequent statement.

Although Woods is bothered by the “many false, unfounded and malicious rumors” he makes no effort to dispel them. Until he makes the truth plain, it is well within our rights to publicly speculate about an “incident” involving a man, woman, golf club, wrecked car and a 4+ minute 9-1-1 call. If he wanted to keep “it” private, he should’ve kept “it” indoors and without police and paramedic intervention. The inability to do so is more than worthy of public discussion.

This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Make sure WHAT doesn’t happen again Tiger? WHAT is “obviously embarrassing?”

If Tiger has been wrongly accused of infidelity by the National Enquirer a definitive denial would have been in short order, if not a lawsuit. To date, Tiger has offered neither.

“This situation is my fault.”

WHAT situation?

Tiger Woods is a fantastic golfer, subject to all the frailties of the imperfect human condition. That much we know and have always known. But until he can offer a reasonable explanation for this incident as opposed to testing the limits of our stupidity; the media will rightfully apply pressure until the truth emerges.

Good for him.  Expensive and painful mistake.  He’s pleaded guilty and apologized.  Let’s move on from here…

RELATED: The Chris Brown Lesson for Black Men

The Mo’Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published weekly at www.eurweb.com. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse…as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Blogburst. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.MrMoKelly.com.  Mo’Kelly can be reached at Mo@MrMoKelly.com and he welcomes all commentary.

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