Tavis Smiley has quit the Tom Joyner Morning Show, in what is believed to be anger/hurt over people's reaction to Smiley's anti-Obama sentiment. And now in an open letter, Tom Joyner has asked viewers to write in and let Tavis know that he is valued. Tom writes:
- "We all know that isn’t the real reason he’s leaving the show. The real reason is that he can’t take the hate he’s been getting regarding the Barack issue — hate from the black people that he loves so much. He needed to feel the love. We all do, whether it’s from our radio audience or from people we know personally. He wasn’t feeling any love, so he quit....We need good, controversial, compelling radio, and Tavis brought that"
- "But because Tavis has not come out and said, 'I am for Barack Obama,' everybody has started hating on him and threatening him and clowning him, and he can’t take it. Those of us who know him well know that. If you read his autobiography, 'What I Know for Sure,' you know that no matter how deep his love is, if he feels that he’s right or that you’re wrong, he doesn’t back down."
- "When his mom made him step down from being class president because his grades were slipping, he didn’t speak to her for two years. His own mama, a single parent of eight! He lived in her house, ate her food while he sat at her table and didn’t say a word to her for two years. All because he didn’t feel the love that his mom was trying to give him."
- "Tavis said the things he said about Barack because he wants the black people that he loves so much to think -- but to most of you, it sounded like hate, and it sounded like that to me too. Love or hate, real or perceived, none of it matters now. What matters is that Tavis wants to quit the TJMS -- and that’s real."
- "I want you to call him, e-mail him, text him, hug him, kiss him, get him in a corner and wrestle him and tell him how much you love him and appreciate his love for black people. Everyone needs that sometimes. And Tavis needs it right now."
I'm sorry folks--Tavis is a cry baby. Because people are strongly opposed to his views on Barack Obama, he throws in the towel? So much for intellectual discourse. Instead of a hug, he needs a swift kick in the rear. He is definitely getting a Joker of the Week nod.
P.S. - Tom could have kept the story about Tavis not speaking to his mother for two years after she made him give up the class presidency to himself. Umm, that's not an attractive story--it just shows someone spoiled, self-absorbed and stubborn.
Posts
