But on its surface it seems like an excuse for Abbie Boudreau, who's described as one of the "hottest reporters" on CNN to be around young attractive white guys.
Oh, and to talk about escaping the production of a sex tape with her in it.
Abbie Boudreau And The Sex Tape Caper
That's the big news we get out of this? This CNN Documentary called Right On The Edge? That Abbie Boudreau 'escaped" the obtuse Anti-ACORN James O'Keefe's "sex den" boat called "Cinco" where he planned to seduce her on camera and make a sex tape from it? Oh boy. Fire up the Feminist bloggers!
So what? So we need this episode to be reminded of how creepy this group is? That's not news! And what's more idiotic is how the blogs just pick up the story without questioning how they're being manipulated into paying attention to this crap without a critical eye.
Even Cord Jefferson at the black-oriented news website The Root fell for this, accusing O'Keefe of exhibiting white privilege, but failing to note that Abbie, who's white, was trusting enough of O'Keefe to drive to the boat by herself to board it, rather than refuse his invitation altogether. In other words, she trusted an attractive young conservative white guy enough to consider meeting him on his boat alone.
If it were not for O'Keefe's assistant in the sex tape prank coming forward to warn Abbie beforehand, there would have been another sex tape for Harvey Levin at TMZ to get a hold of.
As Abbie stated herself, Izzy Santa essentially saved Abbie from the trip to the boat. Had she not done so, Abbie was prepared to go along with James. The point here is that it should not have taken Izzy Santa's intervention. The assertion is that Abbie was too trusting of James because he fits all of the cues that for Abbie would cause her to trust him: young, attractive, and white.
And the reason for her story in the first place.
Just Wants To Be With The White Guys
Moreover, in the documentary, CNN's Abbie Boudreau prances around in skin tights and generally arousing dress, while the guys she talks to are all clean-cut, white, young, athletic types. Get the image?
I'd have far more respect for Abbie Boudreau's work, and would be a fan of her work, if she, as a white reporter, produced a documentary on black political activists in Washington DC.
This blogger doesn't buy the idea that a black person should do that story because that idea is segregationist. Doing it would show that Boudreau has a real curiousity that extends beyond her skin, and bring a new, untold story to America's view.
Yes, Abbie Boudreau has done good, award-winning, journalistic work - but not great. Much of it cements stereotypes about myopic and ineffective government and questionable military policies hampering soldiers.
What Right On The Edge does is just serve as an echo chamber to show us white young conservatives that people who pay attention to politics have already known about. And what this blogger is tired of is how these people are being turned into household names by CNN, and by reporters like Abbie.
It's socially irresponsible to use media communication to reenforce, rather than change, social patterns. Abbie's work only serves to make young conservatives look cool and sexy. That James O'Keefe may have some sexual fetishism is not likely to diminish how attractive his overall approach may be to a conservative sympathizer in the television audience.
Who may have their own fetishisms.
Toward Good, Revealing News
Meanwhile, the story of reporting what happens to Democrats in Congress and why it can't get out its message to the public, suffers. Problems of how the Democratic message to African American and to the public isn't getting out there. A problem that Rep. James Clyburn talked about at length in a meeting with black bloggers, and ignored by CNN and undoubtedly not known to Abbie Boudreau.
If she were curious, she would have known about it.
In fact, Abbie should have been the only white person in the Clyburn meeting, if only to see another side of America that this blogger bets she routinely ignores.
She originally planned to meet him in an office, but after going to Maryland, found there was no office -- only a boat. Which she refused to go on.
ReplyDeleteIf read the CNN story in its entirety, this was clearly stated.
When she told the story in the video, she drove to a house for the interview, not a boat. The assistant fessed up at that point and said what was going down on the boat. Nobody boarded a boat. Relax your emotions before you start writing. It may help keep your story factual.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, relax your emotions before you start writing inaccurate comments. You failed to read my post before doing so. I stated that Abby was prepared to go to the boat until the intervention of James assistant. But that's a side point. The overall issue is why DO this story and give more coverage to a group of people who are already, in some cases, household names? Why can't Abbie look at black political activists? Why does a person at CNN have to be black to talk about and report on a black person? That's modern segregation.
ReplyDeleteJohn. You really must watch the telecast. Again, she states that had she not been informed, "who knows what would have happened." Moreover, you also miss the overall point of my post. Why them? Why this kind of segregationist reporting? Why no have the white Abbie do a story on black political activists rather than white ones?
ReplyDeleteWhat... huh? Your point is that a reporter doing a story considered boarding a boat with the subject of her story, but it had nothing to do with the black so therefore... it's segregationist reporting?
ReplyDeleteSo if the guy was black it wouldn't be segregationist? Would she still be allowed to consider boarding a boat if the story was somehow about the black community?
And if she *didn't* actually consider boarding this boat, would you change your opinion and say that it wasn't segregationist? That seems to be the non-sequitorial gist of your contribution.
Since James O'Keefe is considered a hero by young conservatives and whose lies took down acorn, I think this documentary is very relevant. Pornographic magazines, fuzzy handcuffs and secret tapings from a hero conservative? Um, that's relevant.
ReplyDeleteThat's what.
I may have messed up earlier attempt to post. Why don't alot of Americans RELAX the constant criticisms on race race race not to mention the Millions of Latino, new immigrants European, Asian, African who may be different colours imagine! First Nations whose land we all occupy because we killed to get. CNN does a great job on race for lots of reasons (I imagine they get pressured too). Those people above also pay taxes, die for your military so YOU have the freedom to "Blog". BTW media firms are private companies and really should be allowed to do as they wish , you can change the channel you know. Your story appears to be biased toward your opinion to which you are entitled but I can't believes it comes up on my yahoo search- WE can assume yahoo has no bias toward you. You were a bit misleading making assumptions in your story. Take a look at it like this...What can you for your country not what CNN can do for you.
ReplyDeleteYours truly The Average Canadian. (race-human)
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ReplyDeleteThe nature of blogging is to establish the opinion of the blogger, not to be unbiased. That you found this in a search is no accident. Welcome to New Media. I also believe CNN must be held to a perfect standard, as I hold with all aspects of media and society.
ReplyDeleteAlso, some focus on the James issue. As I stated in the post, he was being creepy. My overall point is why DO the story?
ReplyDeleteThe video which is shared over here which can be viewed at you tube seems to be very interesting. As I will watch this video with full concentration.
ReplyDeleteHe allegedly planned to film a sex tape without her knowledge; if true, this presents him as a complete tool and her as a potential victim who dodged a highly-personal attack. So why is the victim's clothing relevant? Would you have made the same note if she was less attractive or genders were reversed?
ReplyDelete