Chronicles of the Dead: Season 2, Episode 1 "Betrayal"

Why is Harriet Tubman A Trending Topic in 2013?

"This is our only chance for freedoms."

I don't usually jump on the bandwagon when it comes to Twitter fights, but as a black woman and a YouTuber, I feel the need to voice the opinions swirling in my head.

The drama began when Russell Simmons uploaded a video titled "Harriet Tubman Sextape" to his Def Comedy Jam channel. The video, starring Shanna Malcolm (as Tubman) and DeStorm Power (as a fellow slave), swept over the black community like a tidal wave. 

When asked to remove the video and apologize, he did. But many people feel his apology wasn't sincere. The fact that Simmons also removed the video hasn't stopped it from popping up on other YouTube channels.

Is the black community being too sensitive or was the reaction just as it should have been? Does anyone remember this video uploaded by TheSecondCityNetwork in 2010? "Harriet Tubman: The Sexiest Abolitionist."

 It certainly didn't receive the backlash that Russell Simmons got. And this is my point. Lots of people on YouTube joke about sensitive subjects. They're jokes. I have joked about slavery myself in this video and I wear whiteface in this one. Is it okay because we're not popular? If I had a million subscribers, would I be forced to apologize and take videos down if people didn't share my humor?

There's a deeper part of me that also feels like people use "just kidding" as a blanket. You can do or say whatever you want to another person as long as you tag 'just kidding' at the end. It's wrong, but we all do it, don't we? Can we really point fingers at each other and say who is wrong? Is there a right and wrong way to make a parody? I'll be the first to admit the video wasn't funny, but I can respond by not watching again and not subscribing. Who am I to tell someone who doesn't know me to apologize? Why should I even be offended in the first place? I would be a hypocrite to do so.

I think maybe we need to just pipe the fuck down and stop being so sensitive. Forcing someone, even a celebrity, to make adjustments for you (when you probably don't give two fucks about them anyway) is just stupid.

 

When You Don't Have A "Plan B"

A leap of faith

I did it. After all this time. All the waiting and hoping and praying. All the times I failed math and re-took it. All the times I cried and envied other people. I finally moved out of my parent's house to pursue my bachelor's degree in theatre. Finally.

But why do I feel so weird? It's not culture shock because LA has the same shit that Banning and Beaumont had...but there's some other nagging feeling. I walked to the 99 cent store with John looking for hot chocolate when I realized what's been bothering me the last 14 days:

I don't have a "Plan B."

But that's okay, right? Having a backup plan is for pussies, right? If you're going to do something, do it! Like Dr. Frank-N-Furter says, "Don't dream it. Be it."

But those things are easier said than done. I'm a 100 miles away from home, tens of thousands of dollars in debt and I'm hanging by a thread. Or at least, that's how it feels. 

I'm here to learn and create. I'm here to start a REAL career as a writer and actress. I want to do internships and meet as many people as I can so we can help each other achieve our goals. 

I know I'll make it if I just keep believing and working hard like I've been doing. That's how I got to where I am now. I kept working and I didn't give up no matter how bleak everything seemed.

I think another reason I feel weird about it is because it didn't come at a time where I was desperate for it. It came when the time was right. I was watching How to Lose Friends and Alienate People with John last night and a conversation Simon Pegg's character has with Megan Fox's struck me:

Sydney Young: What's it like to be famous?

Sophie Maes: Weird. It's happening so fast. It's like it has nothing to do with me. It's like I'm not even here.

It just struck me. As if...I was always going to transfer and move away from home whether I wanted to or not. Because I wanted it to happen, it did. 

I don't know, that's probably just my weirdo brain being weirdo. Whatever.

The point is, I'm here now. And in the famous words of RuPaul, "Don't fuck it up!"