Yet there was so much I didn’t know about this man who played music on Saturday mornings. For instance, I thought he was African American. He wasn’t. According to The Guardian, he was born to Greek immigrants in Vallejo. But he felt a connection to the African American culture, to the people. Learning the drums in middle school, he started to play in big bands. But he got his big break when he played drums on ig Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog”  which he also produced. Of course the song became famous when Elvis sang it, but Johnny Otis had a knack of knowing good music when he heard it.

Johnny Otis! Johnny Otis! | Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons | Blog Post | Red Room.

Happy Birthday To You, Dr. King | Jennifer Kathleen Gibbons | Blog Post | Red Room.

I don’t know if you’ll read this, I hope you do. I just watched the video you did promoting
a boycott of Girl Scout cookies. Why? Because some troops are letting in transgender
girls. And you’re not happy about it.

First off, a little about me: I was a Brownie. I looked around for pictures of me in my dress, couldn’t find any. But I had the brown dress, matching socks, the whole deal.We had cookouts, made gingerbread cottages, the whole deal. When I was older we went roller skating, which meant I clung to the wall (bad roller skater). I tried selling cookies, but failed at it. Looking at the video of you speaking, I see you have badges on your sash. Good for you! You did better than me there!

And yet, you are encouraging people not to buy Girl Scout cookies. You say in the
video “in camp outs, men must have separate restrooms/sleeping quarters. Where’s
an eighteen year old boy supposed to sleep if he’s a girl scout?” Maybe things have
changed, but I know this: an eighteen year old (regardless of age) boy or girl would not
want to be at a girl scout campout, unless it’s a scout leader. It is so uncool. Besides,
I don’t know anyone who are/were Girl Scouts at eighteen. By then girls are busy with
applying to colleges, registering to vote, finding out who they are. Again, they might be
Girl Scout leaders. Actual Girl Scouts? Nope.

Your second argument is that “girls prosper in an all girls environment” and adding
transgendered children could harm that environment. That is true. I went to an all
women’s school and loved it. However, many of the women there were discriminated
against at their high schools because of their sexual orientation. At Mills they felt safe to
explore who they were. Many realized they were transgender, then started the transition
process while at school. Once at a memorial service for a Mills friend, a man came up
to the podium. “So I knew Timanna when I was an undergrad here, hard to believe…”
There was laughter in the audience, nodding and understanding (I had to explain to my
friend Lilly-Marie, who’s blind, why it was funny) We learned from each other.

In fact, when I think of the Girl Scouts, I think that’s what it’s there for, to learn. One time
at Mills I was buying Girl Scout cookies for my writing workshop when I saw a girl with
a beautiful badge.The badge was of a woman with Gibson Girl styled hair shaped like a
cameo. “That’s a gorgeous badge,” I told the girl. “Who is the woman?”
“Julietta Low. She formed the Girl Scouts.” She also told me about Low and her
accomplishments. I had no idea. You could learn from these transgender girls, Taylor.
You can learn what it’s like to feel different, to feel like you don’t fit in anywhere. Can
you imagine feeling like that? It’s awful. I know what it’s like. I wouldn’t wish it on
anyone.

What struck me about the video was how poised you are, very articulate. Trust me, at
fourteen I was the “um” giggling queen when it came to speeches. But I also wonder:
are these your opinions or your parents’ opinions? If it’s yours, okay. If it’s not, then we
have a problem. You need to think for yourself. I had parents that raised me Catholic,
but also told me it was okay to not agree with the Church. “Look at both sides of the
situation,” they both told me. “It isn’t always black or white. Life is gray sometimes.”
They haven’t always been crazy about my choices, but they knew it was my choices.
And they didn’t make do something I didn’t want to do. Unless it was going to bed early
or eating vegetables. Otherwise, they were very free to be you and me. However, I
known many parents who’ve pushed their kids into doing something they didn’t want
to do. If any adults in your life are telling you “Taylor, you have to make this video. We
must boycott Girl Scout cookies” when you don’t want to, you tell that adult no. They
can spread their own boycott news.

But if this is your opinion, it makes me sad. Sad because you are not being open
enough to see you are hurting children with your actions. You say it’s against the Girl
Scout Foundation, but doing this is already adding salt to open wounds. I hate to sound
condescending, but boycotting cookies is not the answer. Trying to see the other point
of view is the answer. And who knows? You might get a badge for it.

No matter what, I wish you well. But try to remember to find the gray. It’s there.

Yours truly,

Jennifer

So I am stepping my toe in a murky debate. Call it a slow news day, but twitter was abuzz about The Young and the Restless by a throwaway line by the new character Harmony (Debbie Morgan) While chatting with another new character, she talked about her boss: “Miss Phyllis. Phyllis Newman.” Let’s get something clear: Morgan is African-American. The actress who plays Phyllis Michelle Stafford is white.

Mom was watching the show when I was in the room. I wasn’t really paying attention; I was busy coughing like mad (shakes fist to sky. Damn you, allergies!) I wasn’t paying attention to the show. However I did look up at the “Miss Phyllis” line. What an odd thing to say. However, I assumed that Morgan was being sarcastic.

But many people on twitter didn’t think so. They accused the head writer Maria Arena Bell of racism, then complained about Morgan’s character in general: a recovering crack addict. Why racism? Because of the subservient roles African Americans–especially women–have had to play, both in reality and real life. The first African American actress to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel in Gone With The Wind. The role? Mammy, the slave of the O’Hara family. Most of the time Mammy is yelling at Scarlett: “Miss Scarlett!” McDaniel went on to play another maid on a TV show named Beulah. It was a stereotype done brilliantly by the late Danitra Vance on Saturday Night Live when she sang a stinging parody titled “I Play The Maids.”

Yet Morgan is not playing a maid; she’s the receptionist. Yet people were still upset about it. At first I thought, did I miss something? It was so obvious she was being sarcastic. Yet since my learning disability hampers me getting non verbal cues, I decided to watch it again on Youtube. Morgan said the role straight, no sarcasm.

So you have many ticked off people about this “Miss Phyllis” line. They’re also fed up with Morgan’s character in general. Debbie Morgan is, in soap terms, a ground breaker. In the early eighties she and Darnell Williams were Angie and Jesse, the first African American soap opera super couple on All My Children. People cried when Angie gave up her and Jesse’s baby for adoption, cheered when they got the baby back. They cried again when Jesse “died.” (He didn’t) In 2008 fans were happy again when the two were reunited and married again on the show. However, AMC was canceled earlier last year, but Williams is heading to Genoa City. But with “Miss Phyllis” hanging over people’s heads, many are worried Williams’ future character will be another stereotype.

Morgan is a great actress; I always wish she had better luck with movies or prime time. But she went to Young and Restless with Kristoff St. John (a former co-star on the soap Generations) and Peter Bergman (former costar and love interest on AMC) If I had been writing the show, I would’ve made her like Suzanne dePasse,a TV producer who helped nurture acts like the Jackson Five. She’s out to discover new talent in Genoa City, but also has a secret. Then throw in an underused character as her secret kid, bang! We got a soap story! However, she’s playing a recovering crack addict. Nothing wrong with it, and Morgan is doing the best she can with the role. However many people are upset for they feel like it’s carrying another stereotype: An African American “crackhead.”

I don’t watch Y&R enough to get a feel for Morgan’s character, so I cannot tell you if her character is simply a walking stereotype or what. Also I hesitated about writing about this at all. I am a Caucasian woman living in an affluent suburb. Who am I to write about race? That’s a nagging thought in my head. But as someone who’s lived with a disability, I know way too well the stigma of stereotypes. One time when I was with my friend Lilly-Marie (who has the best fashion sense ever,she’s also blind) a man stopped her and said “You have the prettiest clothes. Does someone help you get dressed in the morning?” (For the record, she’s been dressing herself since 1989) Stereotypes are colorblind; they hurt everyone.

It’s easy to dismiss the “Miss Phyllis” line as nothing. However I think it’s good to talk about it. Some people don’t get the anger. Some people get it way too well. I would love for Debbie Morgan to talk about it (and shouldn’t she join Red Room? She could blog! Get started on her memoirs!) However, we should keep discussing why that line, even in 2012, still pushes so many buttons. And why even though we have an African American in the White House, just even hearing the line feels like a fresh wound.

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