A @REALStaceyDash of Controversy

I was 16 years old the first time that I saw Stacey Dash and I developed a silver screen crush on her.  The name of the movie was "Moving."  It starred Richard Pryor and Randy Quaid.  I've been a fan of her looks ever since and now I must come to her defense for her mind.

My man, TrueSpeech, kind of stole my thunder, but I wanted to comment on this "controversy" as well. 

Actress, Stacey Dash, is in the center of a whirlwind full of hate for a tweet mentioning her support for Mitt Romney for President.  First of all, as fine as Stacey Dash is, she can vote for "Honey Boo Boo" and I wouldn't care.

But, seriously, let's just analyze what has happened over the past week: this photo went viral along with her mentioning that she supports Romney.  Since that time, fans, fellow actors, etc. have expressed publicly that she's wrong for doing so.  Wrong for picking a candidate she likes?  Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people hating on her are even registered to vote.

She's even received death threats behind her choice of candidate.

(shaking my head)

Let's get real here: the reason black people are upset over Dash supporting Romney is because so many of them think that all people of color should default to Obama.  "Minorities aren't allowed to vote Republican."  I'm sure that's written in the "Guide to Being A Minority" handbook.  Because Dash chose to go the other direction, they think that she's a sellout.  Yet, you don't see people of color get upset when white people support Obama.  Why aren't white people sellouts when they don't support their own in Romney?

If Dash were white, then I seriously doubt many people would have raised an eyebrow to this.  I'm a black guy who has voted in every election (not just Presidential) for as long as I can remember.  Do I support "Mittens?"  Heck, no.  I can't get with someone who contradicts himself constantly.  Ask any black man that has ever had a nightmare about "The Man" and I bet they would describe him as looking like Mitt Romney.

Would I publicly blast someone for supporting him?  Absolutely not.  Why should I come down on a Romney supporter just because their opinion is different than mine?  Sure, I'll disagree with them, but to insult them or threaten their life because they think differently?  Is that why a Jacksonville Jaguars fan killed a Chicago Bears fan last weekend?

The logic behind that is stupid!  Social networks have given idiots a false sense of power and anonymity they've long craved.  This venue allows them to come off as socially conscious or to appear as some sort of an expert critic.  It allows them to be able to actually affect the lives of the public figures that were once only accessible on the television screen.

Look, I'm not saying that a person can't publicly disagree with someone's viewpoints.  I do so all of the time on this blog.  That's what America is all about.  But, isn't taking one person's vote and turning it into national stories and death threats a bit much?  Does everything have to be an outrage?  If Ms. Dash isn't allowed to express herself and vote as she chooses, then what's the point of even having an election?  And how would you feel if someone did the same thing to you?

Here's what I'll leave for you all to think about: social networks spark emotions.  Emotions spark bad decisions.  The days of hearing or reading something that upsets you and waiting to have someone to talk to about it are over.  At any time of the day or night, you can go online and find an audience.  A lot of people do just that and the time that we once had to rationally think things out has been replaced with an instant emotion dictated in 140 characters or less.

The end-result is a person bullying a celebrity for having the exact same right as they have.  "How dare you promote Mitt Romney!  #OBAMA2012"

Really?

Have social networks created a "lynch mob" mentality (for lack of a better phrase) when it comes to opinions?