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My Rant on Loren Feldman

July 8, 2008
 in Culture, Me
. Tags: , , .

Loren Feldman Is Loren Feldman a racist? Well, I’m not ready to give out labels just yet — that’s not my motivation. Let’s get this straight: I’m not trying to brand him as anything. This rant is about those who think there shouldn’t have been any consequences for Loren and about those who think it’s stupid for me to get upset about what he said and did. I’ll be loosening up my writing style for this one.

Loren wasn’t making fun of black people.

Loren was making fun of bloggers.

Wrong. That’s just one video — what about "Black People Can’t Get It Together" and "Black People Are Lame"? Reverse racism? Don’t even get me started on that. Put the pieces of the puzzle together.

So yeah, he could have picked on anyone — but he didn’t — he picked on a race of people that have had a troublesome history with racism in North America. And everyone is aware of that history, at least to a superficial extent. Here is where the “political correctness” whining should fall apart. Chances are, you are not a minority and have no idea of what racism feels like. If you did; you realize there’s a difference between saying something mean, saying something controversial, and participating in bigotry. Not only is he mocking Black folks with a horrible stereotype — he uses a historically derogatory label — and please don’t counter back with the "Well Black people use the N-word all the time" argument. Please.

If he’s so creative, so intelligent, so awesome — why couldn’t he have found a less idiotic way to bring his point across? I’ll tell you why: there’s no talent in being offensive. There’s no talent in gaining fame at the expense of others. There’s no talent in pretending and saying that you’re all that and not backing it up. I’m sure he’s got a talent somewhere — but it isn’t in being awesome and it isn’t his breed of creativity — it’s just in being a fool. It’s easy to be an idiot and to get publicity by offending someone; he’s proven that more than once. Why are you standing up for him again?

Up until his gig got cancelled I’ll bet he loved all this attention — yeah I get why he did it. Easy fame — no such thing as bad publicity, right? Except karma came back to bite him.  Deep down, it upsets you Loren, probably as much as you upset me.

So why do some still defend this guy? I don’t know, I can’t say for sure. Yeah he has the right to say whatever he wants — but when you defend the actions of someone who’s being an idiot, what does that say about you?

Here are some quotes I’ve run into regarding the situation:

I hadn’t seen the Tech Nigga video until today, and I must say…it was pure genius. Truly I wish there were a series of them. It’s sad that everyone’s taking it so poorly

People should be JUMPING to defend Loren. They don’t agree with him today, they won’t agree with you tomorrow. Then what?

@1938media What’s every tech nigga got with you? They’re so cray about the hole thing.

These are the thanks you get when you try to bring edgy, new media content to companies like CNet and Verizon

I am so sick and tired of all the Political Correctness bs in this country. It makes me sick that Verizon would cave to a bunch of people with too much time on their hands and no jobs over a video from a year ago.

Oh and you gotta watch this: Can you appreciate the irony? (WARNING: Foul language)

My Rant on Loren Feldman Tags: racism, rant, video

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  • July 9, 2008 at 4:08 am Corvida
    Shey I was nodding my head the entire time I was reading this post. I completely agree!
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:11 am directeur
    Racism just like blacks shouldn't exist! (I swear it's a famous joke by a so generous french humorist) :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:15 am Shey (insert meme here)
    @directeur Well race -- it's just a social construct. At the end of the day, we're all human, flesh and blood. Race is just a factor of the power imbalance in the world -- created along ethnic lines.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:18 am directeur
    @Shey: I'm white but look at my avatar :) I have so much respect for every nice man/woman in this earth. The race things is because we "generally" have eyes. How do blind people "see" the race thing? See what I mean? :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:24 am Shey (insert meme here)
    @directeur yeah, exactly
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:26 am Alexander Williams
    Blind people see the race thing just like everyone else really does, as a cultural values thing. Even blind people know glorifying living in the ghetto and pimpin' hos is probably not a good idea from a social context.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:27 am Rah OF DOOM
    Awesome post, Shey. I'm glad people actually posted about this.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:32 am Shey (insert meme here)
    Thanks Rahsheen, glad you liked it
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:33 am Bwana ☠
    I had never seen the video at the end... doesn't surprise me though
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:34 am Gordon Swaby
    I have to ask though; isn't this a year old why all the heat now? I had no idea who this guy was until Corvida and You posted about it. Maybe as a black bloggger it would only seem right if i expressed my 2 cents on it too
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:36 am Jasmin Smith
    Alexander's comment is exactly the problem racism yields. There is no "Black Culture" that glorifies "pimping hoes" or living in the ghetto. What you see on TV, and what is reality are not the same. The idea that Blacks have "lower cultural values" is at the core of racist ideology.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:36 am Shey (insert meme here)
    Gordon, I never saw it recently either, literally a couple weeks ago. Blog away if you like :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:37 am Mark Forman
    Key race is the human race! The rest is just details.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:37 am Rah OF DOOM
    Somebody apparently dug it up. Probably when they found out about the Verizon deal. I read somewhere that he had pissed of some other people before this, so they could possibly have had something to do with it.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:40 am Mark Forman
    One of the things I like about FriendFeed is that it proves Loren's video assertion (comical or otherwise) is untrue. That there are black nerds and bloggers and are adding to the conversation. It is very refreshing to me to hear from black people and women on the internet. I like to get a better sampling of "people" not middle-aged white men. All I need for that one is the mirror or listening to my own thoughts.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:43 am Alexander Williams
    Funny you should say that, Jasmin, because that's the culture black cultural entrepreneurs are selling. Look at urban culture in general and look to who produces it. Largely middle-class blacks from urban homes. If we can't expect they know what best sells to their home communities, who can we?
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:46 am Jennifer Leggio
    The comment I made on the Mashable post was that in competitive improv, we were taught never to go for the "easy" humor because it's not respectable and its not sustainable. All Loren Feldman has going for him is an easy laugh obtained from a sea of classless appreciators. He deserved to get this ripped away from him.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:46 am Jasmin Smith
    OK Alexander. Let's look at the So-Called Black Music Industry (Specifically hip hop/R&B. Who creates and markets it... white men... who buys it.. white kids...
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:48 am Gordon Swaby
    Well said Mark. I need to ask how long ago did he get the "verizion deal"? Because i was watching one of his videos where he was commenting on it and he lauded himself for getting the deal; seemed a tad bit excited, must have been a shame to lose it.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:50 am Dave Martin
    @Shey, sadly racism is alive and well in America. Your post was spot-on. Bravos!
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:52 am Marco(aureliusmaximus)
    I defy someone to find me another place - online or in the real world - that facilitates conversations like this about topics as sensitive as this. You find me a place where people regularly express the thoughts and ideas that have been expressed above about a topic like this and I will frequent it every bit as often as I do Friend Feed (ok maybe not EVERY bit - there are only so many hours in a day...)
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:53 am Shey (insert meme here)
    Marco, absolutely - this is why I can`t stop blogging about FriendFeed :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:54 am Gordon Swaby
    It would be good if my question was answered, please and thank you.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:55 am Shey (insert meme here)
    Thanks Dave, unfortunately there are many who turn a blind eye or will even deny it.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:57 am Shey (insert meme here)
    @Gordon Apparently it only lasted a week: http://www.podcastingnews.com/2008/07/08/verizon-drops-loren-feldman-like-hes-hot/
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:57 am Jasmin Smith
    @Dave Martin Racism is alive and well here in Canada too. Don't even get me started.. especially when it comes to how Canada has treated and continues to treat our Aboriginal people. Sadly, unless you've experienced the negative effects of racism directly, it's difficult to understand the lived experiences of people who are discriminated against SOLELY because of the colour of their skin... not their "lack of moral character" as our friend Alexander has mistakenly suggested.
  • July 9, 2008 at 4:57 am Alexander Williams
    Jasmin, you must be living in an interesting parallel world. I think I can say with some comfortable surety at least in the context of Atlanta's hip hop media and entertainment industry that it's very, very predominantly a black enterprise. White kids may be buying it up in bulk, but that's because there are a lot of white kids and somewhat fewer black kids. Thus the term "minority."
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:01 am Gordon Swaby
    Thanks for the link @ shey
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:01 am Adam Helweh
    Wow.. I saw this friend feed post and it sent me on a wild tangent through the web to Corvida's site and to the TechCrunch article that I somehow missed. Glad to see things come back around regardless of who the target was.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:03 am Jennifer Leggio
    Unfortunately I think Feldman and his "shock jock" nature will try to capitalize on this negative publicity somehow. :-/
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:03 am Jasmin Smith
    Alex, I live in Canada, thanks.... but in your country, (America I presume) the Hip Hop industry is overwhelming supported by young white kids, and financially backed by their older white "parents and grandparents." While Black men and women stand as the figureheads in the industry, with the exception of a few big names, the money goes into the hands of the top execs.. who are predominately White.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:04 am Shey (insert meme here)
    @Jennifer I wouldn`t be surprised
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:07 am Rah OF DOOM
    @Alexander, I am an artist in Atlanta. I know many other artists in Atlanta. The problem is that these artists talk about what they live. The big record companies help to market and glorify these things. White kids support this industry. The record companies put the black artists in positions where it looks like they run the show, but they are just managers/supervisors...not CEO's.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:08 am Jasmin Smith
    and while we're on the issue of "minorities" -- it has nothing to do with numbers and EVERYTHING to do with which groups hold the POWER in society. Racism is then perpetuated through the maintenance of these power structures along "racial lines" -- promoting stereotypes to denigrate racial minorities, all the while elevate whiteness to "the norm" (intentionally and unintentionally) which further stratifies society...
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:09 am Mark Forman
    Jennifer-who's to say he isn't the one to instigate the Verizon protest issue. It's possible that Verizon deal not so great and he hoped to generate even more publicity through this brouhaha. Hard to say when you're dealing with performance artist that is comfortable using "shock." Anything is possible. Loren might be many things but certainly dumb isn't one of them.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:13 am Jennifer Leggio
    @Mark It's quite possible. But hopefully since his notoriety is in limited circles a respectable mainstream business would realize there is more detriment than value to dealing with him. Again, the operative word being "hope."
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:13 am Alexander Williams
    So, if the "black culture" Loren parodies (well or poorly) in his video is created by, marketed by, consumed by, and enjoyed by whites, is it racist then to mock? Because, Hell, it ain't black at all by that measure and any REAL black person'd know he couldn't POSSIBLY be talking about them, right? Or are we assuming that since blacks aren't competent, driven, or cunning enough to produce the cultural artefacts credited to them (by your assertion), they're clearly too weak to take some parody and need to be protected by our doting, paternal culture?
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:14 am Roland Hesz
    With the video at the end. Spot on. Sometimes you get off the hook, sometimes there are consequences. Now he met some.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:21 am Jasmin Smith
    Alex, your opinion truly illuminates what is wrong with race relations in (the) America(s). Because you, and people like you have ignorantly bought into the stereotypes about Blacks (and no doubt other minorities) you fail to understand the social significance that your type of ignorance causes. It's too much to get into here. I'll sum it up in a blog post later.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:21 am Tsega Dinka
    That was great to read Shey. I've felt the same way, all the stuff I've read being posted in his defense stinks of ignorance. How anyone can even stand to watch a single video by the guy is beyond me. His smug expression intolerable. His blatant bigotry is sickening.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:24 am Shey (insert meme here)
    Thanks Tsega -- I don`t get it either
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:24 am Rah OF DOOM
    It's really mind-boggling how impossible it is to actually explain race issues to people who have not lived them
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:27 am Dave Martin
    @Jennifer, We can only hope that Feldman does call further attention to this situation, that he does attempt to rally and in that process out those like thinkers who support his plainly racist notions of humor and entertainment. We can not let this stand. We have the collective power to turn his cavalier dismissal into an indictment. We have the responsibility to call to account any advertiser that supports what is now a history of racist stereotyping for profit. If not us, who? If not now, when?
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:28 am Trula
    OMG the irony of the video! LOL, yah he's a total loser.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:30 am Jennifer Leggio
    @Dave I not once implied that we shouldn't continue to raise the issue. Nor do I have any doubt that Feldman will continue to fan the flames himself. My comment was merely about how I hope he does not profit from the increased notoriety this situation has caused. Not sure where you got the other part.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:34 am MiniMage, phoenix
    @Alexander No matter how they originate, the stereotypes end up hurting racially. When someone who's just met me jokes about not bringing a crack pipe, or when an Ivy League school president is followed around a store to make sure she won't steal anything, if you can visualize someone being negatively impacted, do you visualize a white person? How about anyone of the same "race" as the one working off the stereotype?
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:36 am Dave Martin
    @Jennifer, by his own hand let him come to be known for what he defends and let his supporters and fellow travelers be named. I learned as a child it was a good thing the KKK sported the cover of sheets, it told us who they were.
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:42 am Jennifer Leggio
    @Dave OK, I am not nor never disagreed with you. Just think you missed my point. Regardless, we're on the same side, so we can stop wasting Shey's quality convo space. :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:48 am Dave Martin
    Closed circuit to Feldman: A quote by the great philosopher king Mike Tyson seems apropos here, think about it..."Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth."
  • July 9, 2008 at 5:58 am Roger Benningfield
    Alexander: "Black culture" isn't monolithic; what you're describing is a substrate of hip-hop culture. Is that substrate unusually visible? Well, yeah... white kids in search of rebellion-by-proxy lap it up, making the artists in question enormously successful, which in turn attracts those in the black community who are starved for signs of economic and societal success. It's a big, complicated puzzle... not a simple matter of glorification.
  • July 9, 2008 at 6:06 am Rah OF DOOM
    Roger, if only I could "Like" a comment :)
  • July 9, 2008 at 6:11 am swhitley
    @Shey Great post. Thanks for sharing your feelings on this issue. Unfortunately, these discussions just show how far we have left to go and how much we white people have to learn.
  • July 9, 2008 at 6:42 am Kenya
    Amazed by all the people still saying that it's not racist. As you know it's easy to say when you're not the target of the ridicule.It really doesn't matter because corporate America doesn't like controversy. It's as simple as that.
  • July 9, 2008 at 6:49 am Nathan Rein
    It seems to me that this is a classic proof that yes, words really do have consequences. Feldman likes to swagger, talk tough, and put on this macho act about how he's the only guy with big enough balls to say things other folks would rather not hear. But now that he's pissed people off enough that there are actual consequences, he says it was "satire" and complains that people are too easily offended. Well, wasn't it part of his goal to offend people? If you're going to play bad boy, play it all the way.
  • July 9, 2008 at 7:27 am CannonGod
    I have only recently come to learn of Loren Feldman - and now I wish I hadn't. I know he works to rub everyone up the wrong way, but his lack of understanding on matters is vapid to non-existent. I hadn't heard of his potentially racist path, but somehow it doesn't surprise me.
  • July 9, 2008 at 7:39 am Mark Forman
    nathan-bingo-like the wise man said,"You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"
  • July 9, 2008 at 8:29 am Alexander Williams
    I'm continuously amused by the number of people who decry Loren's comments as racist and essentially call for his lynching. If we add up the number of people suggesting that black people need protection from such hurtful words with the people suggesting such things should never be said and never be allowed to be said, it becomes rapidly clear that racism may be the issue on the table but freedom of speech, especially for those whose messages you virulently oppose, is the one under the table like a gun levelled at one's midsection. "White culture" is just as monolithic as "black culture" in these comments, for what it's worth, but one is an opressive manifestation of racism and the other is hand-wringing. Seems to me the problem isn't what Loren said, or how he said it, but a lot of excuses to pose before public opinion and try to look good. Pfeh.
  • July 9, 2008 at 10:45 am Barry de la Rosa
    @Alexander: Feldman has freedom of speech. So do the posters here. What's your point? He has the freedom to be an asshole, these guys have the freedom to call him an asshole...
  • July 9, 2008 at 11:39 am Shey (insert meme here)
    @Alexander Lynching? First off, you'd think another word would have been appropriate. Second, no one is trying to kill him or jail him or hurt him. I don't think any of this is at the level of what he's done to others.
  • July 9, 2008 at 1:58 pm Roger Benningfield
    Alexander: I know it's possible you're discussing this in several venues and thus addressing the aggregate feedback you're getting, but no one here is calling for Feldman's lynching, essentially or otherwise. I'm not even willing to call his performance "racist", since I prefer not to attribute something to malice when stupidity will suffice.
  • July 9, 2008 at 2:02 pm swhitley
    @Alexander So the white people who support Shey's post secretly think Loren's video was okay and are just trying to look good? The logic in that escapes me.
  • July 9, 2008 at 2:08 pm Roger Benningfield
    Alexander: I'll let you in on a little secret... if Feldman were some factory worker getting fired because a special interest group protested his off-hours activity, I'd be defending him. Not his actual speech, but his right to express himself without being deprived of his unrelated job. I don't support firing a nurse because she's a cam-girl on her own time, a teacher because he supports gay causes, or anything of the sort. The problem is that Feldman's speech and his job are one and the same.
  • July 10, 2008 at 5:14 am Cyndy
    Roger, at the point at which 1938 Media goes in as a pre-roll, that's not on his own time. That's business. The same business Verizon signed up.
  • July 10, 2008 at 7:33 pm Roger Benningfield
    Cyndy: Yup.

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  • I'm happy for this to come to light (a year later!) because I'm discovering more black voices on the net. And if you think that's 'racist' of me, you don't understand the role power has in any culture.

    The other day on Plurk Scoble wondered why there seemed to be more women on Plurk than Twitter. What ensued were endless sexist jokes that offended and disgusted me. Maybe you white guys out there can imagine what that feels like, being reduced to someone who makes tech decisions based on colors or something inane like that.

    There are things that I say to my friends of all races and they say to me that would make any stranger's skin crawl, but not one of us would say them 'out loud.' Perhaps Loren thought he was pushing the envelope, I don't know. Joking with friends at home is fine, but there are some struggles that just aren't over, and no public jokes about them are acceptable.
  • The whole thing was embarrassing (and sickening) to watch. If he truly has that perception of the black community, then I feel sorry for his ignorance. He must live a miserable life being so detached from reality.

    I'm also glad he was exposed for who he really is and Corvida took the stand she did, opening eyes and ears. The biggest shock to me through all this has been the fact that only recently was there a big ruckus about this guy and puppets. Puppets. THIS was out there, but people focused on puppets. Crazy.
  • Vince, oh I know.

    I only found out about these videos a few weeks ago. It's shocking that the recognition has come this late but it's better late than never.
  • Personally, I couldn't watch the video all the way through. In my lifetime I have found that anyone that needs to drop that many "F" bombs to get their thoughts across....doesn't have a thought worth projecting.

    “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”

    Stay true to yourself!
  • Great quote. Thanks for commenting
  • any talk about race from anyone is racism
  • Kawasaki has told me the story of how he learned how to sell in the diamond business in L.A. and he says it with the greatest of respect. He also sprinkles Yiddish through his conversation, and he gets it right. He's does a pretty good impersonation of a Jew, for a goy.
  • It didn't sound like Kawasaki was trying to mock or slander Jews, to me. Thanks for verifying this Dave.
  • I don't think Kawasaki's intent was to slander, but i thought his comment was stupid. Sure if he's at a dinner party telling a story that's one thing, but context is everything and when one is a public figure, rightly or wrongly, you have to be more cautious about what and how you say something.
  • It's definitely a fine line. While I believe most folks have good intentions, sometimes they fail to consider how things come across to other people -- they end up setting themselves up.
  • "I’ll tell you why: there’s no talent in being offensive."

    Two words: George Carlin.
    Two more: Howard Stern.
    Two more: Chris Rock.
    Two more: Bill Maher.

    You start applying social pressure to punish folks simply for being offensive, and you'll end up with a bland and sparse culture.
  • The difference is, those guys are actually funny.

    Everyone keeps complaining about how this moron is being censored. He's not being censored. He can go peddle his crap anywhere he wants. Verizon just wanted no parts of the guy. You can't blame them. It's strictly business.

    This is one company, with one service, who decides they don't want to carry the guy being called racist by a lot of folks.
  • The logic here seems to be -- keep Feldman off V-CAST, and you're preemptively censoring the next Carlin? Seems like a bit of a stretch to me.
  • It's not, if you actually read up on the facts of the case. That's why it's looking like a stretch to you, most likely.

    Everyone is responding off emotion with this one. I've hashed out the facts a million places as this conversation has migrated across the blogosphere, so I won't do it again here.

    Bottom line is that, yeah, you're paraphrasing what I said a bit, but is essentially right.
  • Yeah, without a link, I can't really evaluate the "facts," other than this: Feldman had a deal with Verizon; some stuff surfaced and caused a ruckus; Verizon pulled out. You seem to be saying that allowing this to happen means that we'll never have edgy comedy again. I don't buy it.
  • swhitley
    Mark, I don't see how there can be any "facts" beyond the video itself. It's clearly in poor taste. The idea that it was meant to highlight an issue with the lack of black tech bloggers is ludicrous. Don't defend it. Loren does some funny stuff. This crossed the line. There's no excuse and no defense for it. I think the biggest mistake here is that he never sincerely apologized. If you don't own your mistake then no one can forgive you.
  • I don't buy that. I know a lot of people who are gut-wrenchingly funny and not the least bit offensive or racist.

    I'd think it would be respectable to aspire to make a career out of something positive.
  • Everything you just said here in that comment is true. It doesn't prove anything I just said wrong.

    Just because you don't get the larger point doesn't make Loren a racist. It means he didn't do a good job making his point. It also doesn't mean he's talentless, either. Many people find him funny for things other than just this one video (in fact, most people find him funny for things other than that one video).
  • I stated clearly that:

    a) I wasn't calling him a racist
    b) I never said he had NO talent (just that his crappy work didn't involve using talent)
  • You also clearly contradicted those statements elsewhere in the post. I apologize for my confusion.
  • Sorry if that`s how it came across -- wasn`t my intention.
  • lol the video clip at the end was a slick move. I don't understand how any can come to his defense and that freedom of speech move seems like pure bs to me.
  • SEO
    Real nice video move. Well, freedom of speech has its limit to certain extent too. Picking on a race of people isn't freedom of speech, that is troublemaking.
  • Thanks Corvida. Agreed.
  • oh shey, i love the video clip at the end, its a beautiful, genius piece of humor that i thought loren incapable of producing, too bad that was so obviously not his intention when he shot that rambling little monologue.
  • He's lucky I wasn't on video and as upset as he was. It wouldn't have been pretty :P
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