Taking TV Up A Notch

Michael Moore goes apeshit on Wolf Blitzer. Perez Hilton, the poster child for gay concentration camps, calls Elizabeth Hasselbeck a bitch (and she is). And now, Hot Ghetto Mess.

That's right. Hot Ghetto Mess It's coming to B.E.T. on your T.V. Mm hmm. We white folks aren't supposed to comment on these sorts of things (read: Imus). Then again, we at After Therapy haven't ever put much stock in rules.

This photo is the June Mess of the Month. We imagine they're waiting for July to wrap up before they crown a new... Oh, sweet Jesus. Crosses! And nipples! And "DOG" on your arm! Oh my! Self-respect runs shallow in the hood, we see. (Apologies to the model if we assume incorrectly, but we've got $100 that says you're not an anesthesiologist from suburban Denver.)

The proprietor (and now producer) of Hot Ghetto Mess (http://www.hotghettomess.com/) has the right idea. She speaks of holding up a mirror to her own community in hopes that some light of self-awareness will dawn in the gawker's spirit. We have news for Ms. High Hopes 2007... These people have already spent hours in a mirror and this is the result. Mirrors are not achieving the desired effect. You can send this "Mess" to Extreme Makeover, What Not To Wear, and Oprah, but she's still going to go home with a flawed sense of fashion born out of flawed values. On her block, hot rims and grillz trump covering your tits, avoiding your 7th pregnancy by the age of 25, and paying your rent.

She was happy enough to pose for the photo - with a big smile. What makes you think you can shake the ghetto out of the girl? Every race and culture has lost causes. White people put theirs in trailer parks and ramshackle cabins in Arkansas. Hispanics have their barrios. African-Americans (and Black Americans who have no ties to Africa whatsoever), have the hood. Every race and culture has individuals who distinguish themselves daily - by achievement, pride, and acceptance of behavioral norms that don't quash individuality. Sometimes, we just need to leave the lesser behind in a Darwinian stab at a better world. You can plunk her in suburbia if you like. But she's gonna show her tits and her new gold teeth at your PTA meeting. Bleeding hearts will cry "Poverty!", "Racism!", "Poor Education!", etc.

We're only gonna say this once:

We were poor as church mice and our mother would have ended our miserable existence if we had even suggested leaving the house representing ourselves or our family in such a way. This is not about money or racism. This is about what you did with full benefit of a mirror. And what it says about how you view yourself. Period.

Dog.

Gay folks will have to apologize for and disclaim Perez Hilton when he hits VH-1's airwaves later this year. It can't last beyond a season or two, so we should weather the storm - assuming Michael Jackson doesn't officially come out of the closet.

We don't want to hear any complaints about how any of the above demean their respective communities. We birthed 'em, we gotta own 'em. Now... what to do with 'em?

Step One: Cover Your Tits