(ThyBlackMan.com) There has been a lot of speculation about Whitney Houston’s alleged drug problems and while no official cause of death has been issued for the popular singer, that is not stopping people from attributing her death to illicit drug use. It will not be surprising when and if Drug War proponents attempt to use her sudden death to promote drug prohibition and it is no surprise that the mainstream media blames a Black man, Bobby Brown for Whitney Houston’s troubles. Lets assume for a minute that rumors of out of control drug use by both are true, did anyone stop to ask who got Bobby Brown hooked on drugs?
Both Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston spent a considerable amount of time in two cities, Boston and Newark where the street drug market thrives due largely in part to the so-called War on Drugs and the lack of “legal” economic opportunities in many urban communities. Because drugs are in so many different communities, including affluent gated ones, it would be difficult to say when and where the two may have gotten their first exposure to drugs. Both would break into the entertainment industry at young ages and it is no secret that drugs are part of the entertainment culture in America. Whitney Houston also had a brief modeling career which is another profession that has a culture of drugs and hard partying. It is curious as to why the corporate media is quick to speculate that Bobby Brown got Houston hooked on drugs but not questioning why two professions known for its drug culture, if Clive Davis exposed her to drugs.
Record producers and managers have historically been accused of using drugs and other party favors as a way to exploit their artists. Several record companies, including the now defunct Death Row Records have been accused of being involved in drug trafficking. An Internet archive of a 1972 issue of the Anchorage Daily News charged back then that the powerful forces of the recording industry were using money and drugs to bribe disc jockeys to get airplay for their songs. While law enforcement agencies across the country target Black communities with stop and frisk programs, when is the last time you have heard ofHollywood celebrities being stopped and frisked as they walk down red carpets to attend alcohol and drug fueled parties?
It has been revealed that Whitney Houston was using drugs before she met Bobby Brown. Singer Jennifer Holiday in a CNN interview with Pierce Morgan said that there are those people out there that know about Whitney Houston’s early drug use but she would leave it up to them to come forward. Do not hold your breath waiting for someone to cop to the deed. With such a revelation clearing Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston did that herself in a televised interview; no one has ever asked who got Bobby Brown hooked on drugs. Actually, we already have the answer. Unless someone started feeding drugs to Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown as children, as we do with Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs, then the responsibility for their alleged drug use has to remain with each individual. Everyone has the ability to say no to drugs. The attacks on Bobby Brown for all his alleged problems, in a broader sense are attacks on Black men and what some claim is an attempt to get Black women to view them as unworthy partners for successful Black women.
Staff Writer; Scotty Reid
To join this brother Black Talk Radio Movement feel free to visit; BT Radio Network.
Also connect via Facebook; Black Talk Fan Page.
Scrum:
You make some valid points just as the author of this article.
However, the bottomline is “CHOICE OF FREE WILL”. . . ..
Everyone can continue to bash Bobby & Whitney yet, some fail to see the dynamics of choices: Thoughts = feelings = reaction/action/inaction = results/no results. . .. . From experience, I’ve been Clean & Sober for over 14 years and I took myself through the self-inflicted drama of blaming the “white man, society, the military (2-time Combat Veteran), my family, ect. etc. etc. however, once I looked pass my reflection in the mirror; the true self was ugly. By the Grace of GOD I’m still alive and a majority of people I used to hang & cop with are dead.
I only blame Bobby for not following God’s word in Ephesians.
Now, I’m dealing with my mate getting herself in order because, we’ve both used drugs 2 gether in the past, arguing, fighting,going to jail, etc. etc. However, by the Grace of GOD; she’s Clean & Sober now and just signed up for Brown Mackey College. I’m so proud of her and like you Scrum; I was told to leave her, she’s a ‘ho, and so many other drama-laced tyraids from people who were on the outside looking in; I still stood by and will continue to stand by my “sweetheart” even, after being 2gether off and on for about 10 years now, we’ve already applied for a marriage license.
Yes Scrum, I’ve read both books and I also disagree with whether society, the black man or black woman makes someone the scapegoat because, EXPERIENCE is the best teacher and I’m not tooting my own horn for getting off drugs & alcohol July 23, 1998; ALL PRAISE & GLORY TO THE HEAVENLY FATHER!!!!!!
For all the haters out there; WALK A MILE IN ANOTHER PERSON’S SHOES AND SEE HOW MUCH YOUR FEET HURT WHEN YOU STOP WALKING AND START RUNNING!!!!!!
The end results are not money, fame, clothes, material stuff, and society, but; INNER PEACE AND ACCEPTANCE OF MYSELF (past, present, and future). . .
Those are the blessings that mean more to me than any job, amount of money, education, etc. etc. etc.
The ultimate blessing is serving the Veterans that made it possible for me to enlist and now work at the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center-Miami. Although, I’ve talked to some returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, they will have more benefits, job opportunities, and other aspects of getting back into society than I had when I got out right after the Gulf/Kuwait in 1991; some of these same Veterans also abused drugs & alcohol, suffer from varying degrees of PTSD just like me; they are still human beings.
Although my mom & dad divorced when I was 3; being raised by my Grandmother, Aunts, and Sisters; learning about & from black women about the black woman; I was still blessed to learn from my uncles, cousins, and other older black men who were living examples of what Ephesians really means and why this specific Bible Chapter is so vital to the black community, more so than any other ethnic groups in this country.
Thanks to all who posted on this article.
James.
@Blkwoman says: I think you missed all my points. It wasn’t about me loving my husband enough. It’s about him loving me enough and caring about me enough to even spend the time fighting me on the issue. I stopped because I realized that. He made me love me enough to stop doing something that wasn’t good for me. Has nothing to do with how much money you have. All you really need is a brain. I did ten years in the trenches with my husband. I stood by him and watched him be treated like he was a dog. I waited for him (even when everyone criticized and judged “girl are you crazy…leave that man and live your life!!)all while raising my two children alone for that period of time (and for that reason alone I should have gone back to smoking)! And I still made sure that he had a voice when it came to having a say about how I should discipline the children because I didn’t want him to feel that I had gotten to a place where he was no longer needed in our lives. I always made sure to included him and value his opinion even from afar. He cared for me…. now it was my turn to care for him. That’s what marriage is supposed to be about. It’s not about sitting back and watching your partner kill themselves be it drugs, alcohol, pills, cigarettes or whatever. It’s not about watching them go through it and assisting them on making it worse. It’s not about watching your partner destroy themselves and you do nothing! Boo hoo…Bobby was deemed “Mr. Whitney Houston!” Well then I guess my husband was deemed “Mr. Scrum”. So you see blkwoman says… there’s absolutely nothing NO ONE can tell me about why black men act the way they do. My man was in the trenches and he read and he read and he prayed and he fasted and he prayed some more. Not sitting around making excuses and blaming the slavemaster. We all know that the effects of slavery still play a role in our behaviors today… so what you gonna do about it??! Get high? Do drugs with your partner to the point of no return?? Watch her kill herself? Sweetie Bobby was nobody special when he married this ICON… did he not know he’d have to play the background even a little? Just a weak, poor excuse for a black man. She deserved much much much better!! She not only deserved, she obviously NEEDED a real, strong black man. I say that because 20 years later, I live with one. The same one I watched pull himself up and out of the trenches, a lot stronger… a lot wiser! Never once did he blame the slavemaster! (yes we’ve read the making of a slave and the Miseducation of the Negro, and the Message of the Blackman and the Fall of America (both by Elijah Mohammed) and countless other books. It’s obvious when someone has never been through something or brought themselves out of anything, so they give in to slave mentality! Yes we know about the making of a slave and the trauma from the black man being separated from his family. I lived it! But we live on ! walkamileinmyshoes!!
I agreed with the whole article until the last few lines: “The attacks on Bobby Brown for all his alleged problems, in a broader sense are attacks on Black men and what some claim is an attempt to get Black women to view them as unworthy partners for successful Black women.” I definitely agree that there are attacks on our black men, but I also believe that black men are using this oppression for excuses as well. While their are public attacks on “the black man”, what is the black man actually doing in his life to make his life better. A black woman doesn’t view black men a certain way because they have been told to do so, they have a distain for black men because I black man is who left them when they were 2 years old. A black man is the one who told them he was coming to get them for the weekend and didn’t, a black man is who fathered their child but does not take care of the child. Those are just some of the reasons why black women feel that way about black men. @Mack your statement”…I expect white folks to say grimy stuff, but the sisters been going in hard against Bobby; which is really just misplaced anger at their own poor choices in the men they dated.” I think that is unfair for you to make such a broad comment about women. That’s like me saying all men are lairs most women would agree with me but I would not make such a statement. I think no one really knows what happened in their marriage. Its such a sad thing when someone succumbs to their addiction. But to try to point fingers in really irresponsible.
@Scrum, you may have loved your husband so much, you stopped smoking. Whitney was the female counterpart to MJ. As a multimillionaire, she could do drugs with or without Bobby’s intervention. Bobby when interviewed stated when he married Whitney, America deemed him Mr. Whitney Houston.
You obviously don’t understand this Black Male Castrating Country that we live in. Check out the Making of a Slave. Its still is relevant today. Whitney fits the definition of the daughter of the woman who saw her man destroyed. Read it, then post. Its obvious when people have not read it.
Greetings it is so sad about the drugs and we are being watched by the world at the moment as black people it is a shame that money could have been put to good use in this society she was a stunning performer I think about the interview she had with Oprah and felt there were so many things said about her marriage may she rest in peace and hope her daugther and x husband go forward and do somethng positive with their lives. Carol
This has to be men making these donkey comments about she was using before him! Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Eph. 5:23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. Read it carefully fella’s. Excuse me, but Bobby is the MAN, so his role was to be just that!! He was to be the protector of his wife and child. He did no such thin!! I was a cigarette smoker BEFORE I met my husband…my MAN of 16 years. I got lectured, he smashed them up, flushed them, crumpled them, threw them out of windows… whatever. He was like this is a NO GO (and we were just dating)!!! And he was relentless, and at the end of the day… (and I consider myself to be a strong woman, but…) I had to realize he had my best interest at heart. I am his Queen!!! Question: Because I was smoking BEFORE I met him. Should that be reason enough for him to have left me alone about it? Like some said Whitney was doing it BEFORE him, so he gets a pass for sitting back and watching it go down… and then joining in even??? Are you people insane??!! A man is to play his position as a MAN, that is why God puts him as the ruler…the head! Will the REAL STRONG men please stand up!!! And If you can’t stand up, you have no business bringing wife and child into the equation!
Its known that Dionne Warick, possibly the mother are all music industry veterans, and cocaine and marijuana users. Newark is the place where drug use is common. Having heard about Whitney’s escapades over the decades, the girlfriend theory is on point. (I have suspicions about Clive Davis, Baby face, both producers for Houston. Alisha Keys seemed out of it, off key, loud. She’s a Clive Davis performer.
As far as the young lady is concern, Bobby her father is clean. You can look at him and see it. I would be concerned about her hanging out with the family that uses drugs. The family was in Los Angeles partying, when Whitney should have been no where near Los Angeles until the Grammies or he Clive Davis party was beginning.
They are treating Bobby badly. I agree its because he is a black man. America never got over Princess Whitney marrying Bobby. She stated herself that her drug use escalated while taping Bodyguard which had number one status in the movie and music category for three years.
As far as who enabled who, I used for a short minute and it was I who forced two, three guys into making my purchases because I had the money. I left the city where I was introduced, never to have used agIn.
@CDub [Without absolute proof that Clive Davis, record producers, artist managers, concert promoters, or other industry figures introduced and got Whitney hooked on drugs, it seems utterly irresponsible journalistically to just throw it out there like that.]
It seems irresponsible for you to misrepresent what was written. Asking how come no one is asking the question about Clive Davis, just like they (CNN, DailyMail and a whole slew of other corp media)are not asking, but stating that Bobby Brown got Whitney hooked on drugs. Are you going to them and asking them for their proof Bobby Brown ruined her life? Thank you.
Great comments all of u. Yo the last guy said it all word up. Leave Bobby alone word God yo
Whole lotta speculation and insinuation in this article. Seem to just throw a buncha random opinions against a wall in an attempt to make something stick. As a black man, I don’t see this as an attack on black men, generally. I do believe many are looking for a scapegoat rather than looking at Whitney herself and that is simply just wrong. Without absolute proof that Clive Davis, record producers, artist managers, concert promoters, or other industry figures introduced and got Whitney hooked on drugs, it seems utterly irresponsible journalistically to just throw it out there like that.
Great points here. Like someone already mentioned: After the divorce, Bobby seemed to get his life together. Got remarried, has a new kid, and even looks healthier than he’s looked in a while. Sad to say, but the same can’t be spoken about Whitney. Sister girl was looking good some days, terrible on others.
So to try and make it seem like Bobby was the cause of her drug problems is silly. You gotta peep game: this is just another way to vilify urban black men. And sisters often play the strongest role in campaigning against us.Not all but most. Have you been reading some of the comments about Bobby and the funeral? I expect white folks to say grimy stuff, but the sisters been going in hard against Bobby; which is really just misplaced anger at their own poor choices in the men they dated.
They’ve even been saying that Bobbi Kristina should stay with Cissy Houston instead of going to live with her father. The reason: because they don’t think her father is the best environment for her right now. Funny though, they didn’t feel the same way when she was rolling with Whitney and her entourage, partying nightly with drugs and alcohol. Interesting that now even she’s going into rehab. Seeing that she’s been living with her mom all this time, are we gonna blame Bobby for Bobbi Kristina’s drug and drinking problems too? It’s only when it comes to the black man that NOW caution about parenting should be exercised.
Black women have to get over their hatred and disrespect of black men. We are taught to love and respect black mothers, even ascribing saintly qualities to them when they’re not; but black fathers are reviled and given a footnote in the life of their children. I didn’t even know Whitney’s father was around until this week! (he died a few years ago)All I ever heard about was her mom, aunt and female cousin (Dionne Warwick).
I’m surprised anyone brough this up. Who started whom to smoking? Those that know aren’t talking.
I’m surprised anyone brough this up. Who stared whom to smoking? Those that know aren’t talking.
After spending 13 years as a crackhead and being clean now for 19 years you get to see certain patterns that befall drug usage. One is girlfriends get their girlfriends started using drugs, cause that’s fresh money. A woman doesn’t trust a man enough to try a drug because he says so, but they trust their girlfriend. Now, most men are introduced to drugs by a woman, because he has some money and that’s what she needs. Now with Whitney she didn’t need Bobby’s money but she did need his permission, so she more than likely con’ed him into smoking. Men don’t get women to smoke because they know the consequences of what smoking brings, tricking and such and no man wants his woman into that, so a man is very reluctant to get his woman to smoke crack. Whitney was the driving force in that relationship, so it may stand that she got him to smoke, more than he got her.
Y’all beat me to this one…I agree hole heartedly with this piece. They got Bobby lookin’ like some sort of pusher, when in reality, after they broke up, he got remarried, got a steady job (been giggin’ like crazy with New Edition) and based on his agreement with the group, seems to be off drugs (they said in interviews they only roll with him when he’s clean, and they been tournin’ nonstop). What’d whitney do? I ain’t even gonna talk bad about the dead, but she had her opportunity like him to get clean. I pray for her soul, but yo, we all got individual responsibilities.
It’s sick that all they can do is bash this man like his ex-wife ain’t just been put into the ground. That’s some crazy shyt when yo uthink about it.
A woman that was the lvoe ov his life is dead and all they can do is shyt on the man. Come on now…
Ayo, I’m about to cop this joint and pop it on Steez, I’m a give y’all credit tho’