nothing new. I would like to know who is attending his concerts and purchasing his material.

But it seems the docuseries and the whole issue with him didn't get the massive outcry that Weinstein, Epstein, Trump, Kavanaugh did. Or, maybe I missed since I never listened to him anyway.

I'll certainly encourage anyone playing his music or hosting his concerts NOT to do so. He's a freaking MONSTER.

I've heard the name "R Kelly" and knew he was a musician, but I didn't even know what he looks like until my daughter and I watched the documentary. She did, but she hadn't heard the details about the accusations.

I don't think it was entirely a question of ignoring the problem, but in this case it was at least partly a matter of simply not being a member of the demographic who would have ever known about him or the women involved.

Having said that, I have no doubt that if his victims were white sorority girls, we'd all have heard about him a lot sooner.

Calling us all out got why this man is not in jail.

Our entire culture has been told to look the other way when artists are sexual predators, from jerry lee lewis, to Ted nugent, to Roman Polanski. Feminists have been ridiculed as prudes and scolds. Meanwhile an entire generation of men has been raised on a daily consumption of bros before hos (guess I know where I stand) and we were just supposed to shut up about it because art and free speech and all. A lot of that has to do with artists being leftists and “on our side” for the most part (except for the sexualization and abuse of children, prevalent in the world of art).

Yes, there is a lot of guilt associated with criticizing black men who had achieved success ... we know that white women excelled as a consequence of the black civil rights movement while black men were being shoved into prisons. At the very least, we owed it to black men not to pile on. The OP thinks this hands-off tactic has hurt black children, and this is a serious matter to consider.

Black girls matter. They’ve always suffered from less attention from law enforcement, more suspensions in school and the view that they are “less innocent” than white girls of the same age. Time to do away with these inequalities. Time to punish the rapists and the enablers alike.

of grooming and having sex with underage Caucasian girls, the reaction would have been very different...

Lots of blame to go around. Too many in the black community, conditioned by decades of injustice against black men, irrationally defended and protected this black man who deserved no defense or protection. And the white community just didn't care about these black girls.

I don't buy the "I didn't say anything because I didn't want anyone to call me racist" excuse since white folks don't seem to have any problem calling out black men who exploit, abuse, or mistreat white women (Tiger Woods, O.J. Simpson, etc.).

One didn't have to be steeped in R&B to know about this. It was big news and covered extensively in the mainstream media. But it didn't have legs largely because the people who throw fits when white women are mistreated heard about a video showing a wealthy, famous man raping and degrading a black girl and then just shrugged and went on about their lives.

Girls and women are liars in the eyes of many. Once puberty hits, they are placed in the enemy camp.

I get the point, however. This is about disrespecting and mistreating black girls or looking the other way. At least white girls (usually) have LE on their side, if not the juries and judges. Black girls are out there unprotected.

But then, I don’t have access to the media you refer to. Another problem is that I have never heard of this “R. Kelly”.
So sorry.

I still don;t know why he isn't in prison for what he did to Aaliyah and the minor he RAPED ON VIDEO, let alone everything else he has done abusing and stalking young girls for DECADES. And, he has been allowed to still have a huge career. A ND HAVE LYRICS THAT TALK ABOUT ABUSING YOUNG WOMEN AND GIRLS.

Lots fo white people know about him and his crimes, but guess what? I have been called racist so many times for talking about him I have dropped it over the years. Today, and ex student of mine (she is 30) who is black was attacked on his FB for talking about this and harming a brother.

A better question is why was he allowed to continue to have a good career? Why was Chris Brown? Why have black male music producers allowed this? Why have white men in entertainment allowed Weinstein, etc?

Women and girls are treated horribly, and black and Native women and girls especially so.

Yea I should have known about him. I heard of him but guess I never paid much attention. Had NO idea.

I'm SICK that all these bastards get away with this shit. Rich, powerful men like him - I don't care whether black or white. ABUSE is ABUSE. Pedophilia and rape is just that no matter who does it. It is all about POWER. And MONEY. Music producers and record labels want to keep that gravy train coming so they don't care.

Black and Native women (it seems - I don't have stats or anything) were left out of a lot of the feminist movement -- even though white women (as someone else mentioned here) did gain more rights due to the civil rights movement. It's heartbreakingly unfair.

And their abuse is largely ignored, along with Latina women. The lower pay they get is bad enough. But the abuse is just hideous.

Anyway, I've resolved to spread this, tweet it, share it, whatever I can do, now that I'm aware.

Damn.

Aside from "I believe I can fly", which was a crossover hit.

His audience overall isn't white.

I'm speaking as a white man married to a black woman. I heard these stories about R. Kelly back in the Aliyah days. I am surprised it took this long.

That was huge.

like I've known he's a child abuser for a long time, and I have written him off years ago. His shit is resurfacing bc of the documentary, and I guess it's good if it leads to actual charges that will stick and end his career.

And I've seen a lot of people appalled or shocked who were unaware of the stories in the past.

Last edited Sun Jan 6, 2019, 11:49 PM - Edit history (1)

It was popular with parents who had kids in Special Ed.

Then, came the numerous parodies of it.

Then, R. Kelly got in trouble.

I haven't heard, "I Believe I Can Fly" since.

R. Kelly was found not guilty in 2008. (I just looked this up....Sorry I didn't mean to be insensitive) I just assumed he was in prison or something.

some don't.

.. on a conservative majority court?

You'll have to forgive me if I don't see the two on the same level.

But that's just me.

...and more. Even Roman Polanski. All got more attention/outrage than RKelly.

other than this one.

I'm as guilty as anyone. It's why I'm asking. Why don't we all notice this as much as the other sexual predators of late? ("we" includes me).

If you'd read through the thread before attacking me about it, you'd have seen that.

EDIT: It's the same question/point the author of the twitter thread I posted here in my OP is talking about. It's a valid question.

Weinstein, Kavanaugh, Trump, Epstein, etc. But none about RKelly.

Maybe there were threads about him here (and I said THIS TOO, up further in this thread, if you'd READ it before attacking me) but I missed them.

I tend to stick to GD and LBN though.

How many threads did you expect to see from 2009 on?

Such a bizarre argument to make.

The last accusations against Bill Clinton occurred more than 20 years ago, but that hasn't stopped people from talking about them here and elsewhere . . .

I remember that because I 'binge watched' the whole docu-series, Saturday night. As the survivor of a serial child molester, I'm still dealing with what I saw and heard.

I was sent a link, by the person who posted, for people triggered by the series.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211632378

To not publicly state opinions about black people, period, they just flat out avoid it and then they can't say anything wrong or be taken out of context down the road.

In May 2018 R Kelly made a statement that all allegations against him are "the attempted lynching of a black man who has made extraordinary contributions to our culture"

Not many are going to risk being branded racist even if it's a false accusation.

White people publicly state opinions about black people ALL the time. Fear of being accused of racism is no excuse for not saying anything.

And even if they might be called a racist by someone, SO EFFING WHAT?!

it is long past time for white folk to stop drawing the line of outrage and protection right before it gets to black women and girls - and it's definitely time to stop blaming their cowardice on "fear of being called racist."

If you're an ally, you're an ally even when it's not comfortable or convenient. That's the point...

milllenials, pretty much anyone.

I'm not "afraid" of being called racist, I'm just assuming that I'm going to be wrong, and should keep my fool mouth shut and listen instead. For the next 10 years or so.

None of these accusations are new - that Dave Chappelle skit was 15 years ago.

Is there objective evidence you can provide?

Or is this simply an unsupported allegation?

Link to tweet

"We are all responsible for R. Kelly. Buying his music, going to his concerts..."

Well, no. I've been aware of these allegations from the start, but I have never consciously heard an R. Kelly song. It's not my cup of tea. He's never got a penny from me or any of my children.

What I did in response to this assertion of collective guilt, as a white man in 2019 is... I didn't comment.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet