Reasons Why "The Houstons" Is a Disastrous Mess

Even in the title card, Whitney's presence is looming....

Celebrity deaths are always attention-grabbing and intrigue-provoking, and sometimes a response from the deceased's family is necessary to help bring some kind of closure and understanding to the ensuing chaos.

Unfortunately, in the reality television age we live in, these families are increasingly finding public refuge on the tube, sharing with the public their grieving process. 

That said, I don't think there has been a more exploitative, awkward, inappropriate, and plain old messy situation than the one the Houstons are currently in with their show.

Seven months after the passing of pop icon Whitney Houston, her surviving family members, including her daughter Bobbi Kristina, have opened their grieving process to the world with "The Houstons: On Our Own" on Lifetime. Although it was pretty obvious from the jump that this would be a little difficult to deal with, actually watching the show is a completely different ball game.

I don't understand why Pat Houston thinks anyone cares about the life of her family. I don't think anyone is morbid or creepy enough to want to follow a family as they grieve for their loved one, but the fact of the matter is we don't know the Houston family, period. We have no vested interest in them, so watching Pat and Gary play basketball and Pat and her daughter shopping for the BET Awards means nothing to us as viewers. It just seems contrived, no matter how many scenes we get of Pat dabbing her eyes as she reflects on Whitney. We don't want to see them grieve for Whitney so openly, and we don't care to see them not grieve, so where's the premise.

And then there's Bobbi Kristina. Whitney's only child should be nowhere near this program. It is obvious that she is still grieving, and she needs to be allowed that time in peace, not in front of cameras. She is the most authentic part of the show (probably because she doesn't care about how the world sees her, like the rest of the family), but her life has already been under a microscope as Whitney's daughter growing up. Can't she have some time to find herself. I mean, its not like the public has been hounding her for information. Quite the opposite, it's as if the family is hounding the public, begging for us to care.

Bobbi Kristina's relationship with Nick Gordon, her "adopted' brother who she was raised with, is another aspect I found so inappropriate. Seeing Nick refer to Pat as "Auntie" and even Whitney as "Mom" is so weird and awkward, especially since Nick is clearly in a relationship with "Krissy". For a couple trying to insist they aren't related, they are not helping their cause with how close he is to the family, as if they were family. 

Maybe I have no right to judge that relationship, but it is up there for public consumption. That is the problem. It shouldn't be. Yes, people will speculate about Bobbi Kristina, but there is absolutely zero reason why the world needs to know how the Houston family is coping with Whitney's death. It is morbid, awkward, and, at its worst, exploitative of the diva's memory.

Proposition 8: Why It Is Wrong

It is truly astounding how afraid of change we are in this country.

On the same night that a black man was elected to the highest office in the land, Californians allowed an amendment that would ban gay marriage to pass. What's even more ironic is that it was California's electoral votes that help clinch the election for Obama.

I'm not going to lie and say that gay marriage is something I find as normal. Truthfully, considering how I was raised, it is a bit odd when the marriage ceremonies roll across my TV screen. That being said, who am I to say that its wrong? What gives me the right to declare a person's right to love whomever they choose as indecent or immoral?

What gave the right to those who voted for such a hateful act?

I'm sure people will claim religion as their influence.

Think about it like this. God, as I have been taught, loves every person unconditionally. This means that he is not someone who condones hatred and bigotry.

Proposition 8 is bigotry, plain and simple.

When a person claims that God says gay marriage is wrong, they are essentially saying God is a supporter of bigotry.

Since God is not a bigot, that person is lying about God. That person is committing slander against the Creator. They are defaming the entity they claim to adore so much.

So, by using God as a reason/excuse/cop-out for supporting Proposition 8, you are slandering God's name and defaming his character.

Also, the "golden rule" of doing unto others as you would do to yourself was derived from the Bible, the word of the Lord. By voting for Proposition 8, you are disobeying that rule, a rule that maps out basic human decency.

So, by voting for Prop 8, you are slandering and defaming God, and deliberately disobeying his word.

So, for every devout Christian who supported this amendment, please don't be surprised when your judgment day arrives and God doesn't receive you into his kingdom. I'm sure He doesn't appreciate people misinterpreting and outright lying about him.

Finally, to the overwhelming number of African-Americans who supported this proposition, I'm very surprised at you. How easily do we forget the racism that we still face? As an African-American myself, I cannot imagine perpetuating the same kind of bigotry that my family was forced to deal with. It's outrageous that we can look back at American's checkered racial past, see the casualties of our fight for equality, and yet deny it from others. What does that say about us as a race? Have we learned nothing from the last 200 years?

Proposition 8 is more than just an amendment to the California Constitution. It is a precedent that threatens to unleash a new wave of intolerance after we defeated an old one in the same day. Regardless of your views of homosexuality, you would have to be blind to see what Prop 8 means.

It means everything God has taught us to fight. It means everything the civil rights leaders taught us to fight. It means everything the Founding Fathers fought when this country declared its independence from the suppressive Britain.

It means hatred, it means bigotry, and it means inequality.

Reasons Why....I Love The Kardashians Show

I'm not a real big fan of C-list celeb reality shows, but after watching a marathon this morning on E!, I am a huge fan of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Here are reasons why:

Kendall (the second-youngest) paid off a dog-walker to do her chores for her so she wouldn't have to, and still get paid.

Kris (the mom) decided to turn her backyard into a chicken farm to provide her family with fresh eggs. After all that trouble, they hated the eggs.

The sisters bought their brother Rob a ticket to India to visit his girlfriend, Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon.

They all seem educated.

Khloe doesn't take anyone's s**t.

Kim is actually a nice girl.

Despite being rich and famous, they seem like a real, honest-to-goodness family.

For those who haven't seen it, the season finale is at 10 pm EST!