Note: This draft from November 2022 is a living storyboard, meaning that we will be adding or modifying it over time. It is released to the public domain. Feel free to share a link, copy, excerpt, or modify any or all of it as you wish, and we hope that you do. Please, however, do not attribute any part that's excerpted or edited to this website.
You may already know the basic sequence of events regarding the movie-link controversy tweeted out by NBA Super Star Kyrie Irving. If not, no worries. We'll provide some background and context in just a minute. But our interest in the story goes beyond the mainstream media narrative, as stated below.
If you prefer, you can read on or jump immediately to a video playlist where commentators in the African American community address this controversy Kyrie Irving, Big Sports, and the MSM.
Preface
This is a modern-day story about the controlling, invasive, exclusionary, and often racist nature of American media. The same can be said about many employers in the general corporate oligarchy, and in particular Big Sports. It is less about the referenced third-party content in the recent Kyrie Irving controversy. Instead, we focus this write up on some of the questions and struggles that some persons obviously have with the Mainstream Media (MSM) and their employers. We focus on the Kyrie Irving story because it perfectly illuminates many principles of these points.
Overall, the Kyrie Irving firestorm is sad or even infuriating for just about everyone involved. Therefore, one may need to calm down a bit before addressing the topic in greater detail in order to think rationally and logically about what it all means for oneself, one's community, as well as for society at large. And it raises some interesting questions about the rights of individual persons and whether corporations and businesses (non-state actors) should be allowed to dictate (without redress) what any person can see, read, view, discuss, or even just share, away from the job, and on their own time, without being sanctioned, bullied, or punished.
If you're an authoritarian, you might not like where this is headed from the outset. But stay tuned, there may be something of interest in this for everyone.
Just the Facts
Around November 1, 2022, Mr. Irving tweeted a link to what some regard as a 'controversial' three-hour documentary film that appears to be an elaborate deep dive about using various bibles, gospels, and other ancient manuscripts to uncover and trace the languages and multiple ancestries of African peoples. It is further elaborated with research from various fields of science, such as anthropology, geography, genetics, migrations, etc.
In some ways the film is overwhelming because it rapidly presents an enormous number of data points, often through text meant to be read on screen very fast as well as many, many image/text and video montages. Controversies and accuracy aside, it's an extraordinary work that someone no doubt spent years compiling. We didn't find it particularly captivating or fully verifiable, but it's certainly not worth igniting a firestorm over. A firestorm that could potentially be increasingly divisive and last a generation.
If your task is to study and completely understand the film at a scholarly level, you'd have to see it multiple times while taking copious notes. You'd also need to give yourself some reflection time so as not to react hastily and over-emotionally. If the topics and content interest you, we guarantee you that you'll process it differently at least a few different times yourself each time you view it.
The movie theorizes that the many ancient Israelite tribes, later dispersed into the diaspora throughout the world, were largely and originally dark-skinned and not just uniquely white. Others may read a lot more into what it says than we did when we saw it. But frankly, we didn't pour over every detail with a fine toothed comb because we weren't searching for points of dispute nor agreement. We were just trying to process the story that the filmmakers were trying to tell.
Apparently, we missed a lot of details. That's because we are now learning that a limited number of statements in the 3.5-hour film has provoked some persons, including many who admit to not having even seen it, to basically freak out. Honestly, three hours requires an incredible attention span and personal interest to focus intensely on an non-interactive fast-paced didactic presentation. Nonetheless, those who were offended by some aspects of the film should be pressuring the filmmakers themselves to remove those lines that they find offensive, instead of just attacking a viewer who — on his own time and initiative — simply shared a link with his affinity group.
We believe that the movie's thesis is not a contest between ethnicities, unless one feels threatened by it and chooses to see it that way. There is a lot more stereotyping and demeaning insinuations in a South Park television episode than anything this film has to offer.
We still haven't heard specifically how someone else's beliefs are a threat. How about just getting together with those who believe differently and seeing if you can work things out and amicably learn to find some points of agreement and coexistence. If solidarity isn't a goal, figure out why even just meeting with good intentions could be beneficial to all. Is that not worth the time to try? If it suits you, you can have your respective body guards meet somewhere to work out the the "principles of engagement" or the conference agenda, for Pete's sake.
Kyrie Irving has repeatedly acknowledged that there are inaccuracies and falsehoods in the film and that he does not condone those parts. BUT, the MSM, Big Sports, and their servile dependents apparently want to both cover their asses and feel empowered by beating down and embarrassing Mr. Irving. It's reminiscent of what we've all seen so often that happens to the "Negro slaves" in American mainstream movies. The fact that Mr. Irving pushes back only seems to make them double down on a losing bet.
Irving acquiesces over and over again and those who say they are offended still can't let it go. Kyrie Irving does a commendable job in fending off the mainstream media's constant badgering. He clearly reiterates his solidarity with and respect for all peoples. And yet, he's repeatedly been told that his apologies are an insufficient step and that there are a series of additional processes he'll have to go through so that he can learn and develop himself. Please read that again and then consider what other peoples or tribes this may have happened to throughout world history.
But, we begin to realize that there is something else going on here when we start digging deeper into this story. Apparently, there is something that the dominant system does not want the African diaspora to consider, or even perhaps anyone else for that matter.
There's also this innate response that some might potentially get when they feel threatened or insecure about their place in society. That might explain why there appears to be this drive within some persons to control the other, and to make someone repent to no end under threat of punishment. That's pretty scary if you think about it.
What this story shows, for those who can readily process the bigger picture, is that the American media is a controlling monopoly that speaks with one voice and is vicious against alternative narratives, regardless of the content or even whether the alternative is right or wrong. Consider, for example, how America stages extremely violent conflicts through the world. Independent journalists and whistleblowers who speak of peace and justice regarding these actions and provocations are often dismissed denigrated by the MSM. These campaigns of silencing often result in jailing, beatings, and even assassinations. Any human rights organizations worth of their salt can give you a list. The big difference in this case is that the monolithic system has set its sites on one person who just about everybody agrees did nothing illegal or worth a public character lynching.
Additionally, many African descendants are now feeling like their supposed representatives in TV sports are capitulating to the wishes of the team "owners" and the media bosses and are therefore jumping on the bandwagon now. Some of them were previously considered allies for minor controversies, but not any more. It's embarrassing for all concerned.
And now, the rest of the story. Let's dig deeper.
There's been a lot of talk about semitism, which is an afroasiatic language family, not a race or even an ethnicity. It is influential to many languages in many parts of Africa and West Asia, including Hebrew, Arabic, Phoenician, and Aramaic. For example, Palestinians and many tribes in Ethiopia are semitic; most people don't know that. Mr. Irving claims that he is a descendant of semitic peoples. That's not a stretch, many peoples of different colors and shades are, and no scholar of related historical and anthropological doubts that we ALL emerged from migrations streaming out of Africa. That is, however, rarely fully understood and talked about. We don't know why that is, nor do we fully understand why some might see any of the above as controversial.
One should see the movie in question, try to understand, then judge. Again, some assertions or assumptions presented in the movie, that Kyrie had nothing to do with, may be deemed offensive to some. That's agreeable; we can all have individual opinions. At least we hope so. Dark skinned people see American movies, narratives, and portrayals they find wrong and deeply offensive about their heritage all the time. Just ask them.
Should we track down, harass, and disrespect those grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts who invited their friends and family to view a littany of movies such as Gone with the Wind, Birth of Nation, or Soul Man? Funny thing is, we can't recall anyone who shared these movies having been chastised and denigrated in the public square.
Is a bullying campaign deserved and required for everyone who views or shares a link to an elaborate documentary that contains theories that some of us may not agree with? Is that what we've become?
Kyrie Irving sees himself included in some of the many lineages and heritages addressed in this movie, and he's probably right. Those are the parts that we believe that he was focused on. The movie is about tracing the MANY languages and ancestries of African people, knowledge that is usually institutionally withheld in the USA from students with his complexion.
Can we disagree with some statements in a documentary made for displaced and oppressed descendants of Africa without screaming anti-semitism? Wouldn't it be easier just to write up a review that challenges the facts or data that you disagree with?
Is it okay for dark-skinned people to believe that they too are descended from diverse cultures in ancient or modern Israel, Palestine, Ethiopia and throughout the Levant? If we know anything about DNA, migrations, slave-trading, and intermixing, any concept of a pure race existing in this millenium is simply impossible and downright farcical.
We're not sure what are the intentions of the scholars and filmmakers who produced the film. Perhaps they just didn't think some parts fully through because they were overworked and exhausted in putting this magnum opus together. But we're pretty sure that very few of the wimpy, cowardly TV pundits who are brow-beating, denigrating, and demonizing Mr. Irving while crying anti-semitism ever even viewed it. If one doesn't appreciate the movie, just say so. No one will come after you; unlike perhaps the reverse of what seems to be happening.
MSM sports pundits, like those from ESPN and TNT, need to learn to NOT just pile on to another anti-player campaign, as was done for years with Colin Kaepernick and Allen Iverson, just because their fears and bosses tell them to. Give us a break! Enough is enough!
Movie Subject: Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America
Video Playlist
Please watch some of the videos in the playlist presented below. It's a repository of alternative voices, especially from many of those whose perspectives on the Kyrie Irving movie issue we'll never hear on commercial television.
That's our America. It's been like this for a long time.