Rob = moral police?!

As you may recall, I recently discussed someone named Dominique Vantell Lonehunt and his desire to create a We Are the World for Natives. Turns out Lonehunt really wanted to create a whole album of obscure hip hop music under his direction. Oops.

After listening to one of Lonehunt's tunes, I had the following discussion with the person who brought Lonehunt to my attention:

Wow, you seriously think Lonehunt's Killah Dubb is the kind of music that will get airplay and raise awareness of Native issues? Next time you want my help with a We Are the World type of project, please make sure it actually is one. You know, a plan to get top musicians to write a popular song to attract attention. I don't have time to help minor musicians boost their careers with unrealistic ideas that have no chance of working.No. I dont think his type of music will get airplayed all over the world. Look at all the hard work to make it in the music biz. But when the final project will be ready, I think it will be amazing. And time will show if it will be a sucsess or not. With help from various Native news sites, Radios (I have already talked with a friend of mine from Blogtalkradio) and so on...we will see. But without trying, he will not know. So I really think you should support his idea, instead of the opesite.

Sometimes I see you as a moral police, instead of a person that should support Native causes and the Native culture in general. Of course we need people like you, but it looks like you will ALWAYS get in fights becouse of your opinions. Remember that Native people trough the years have experience alot from the so called white population in the world.If Dominique wants to make more "killah dubbs," great. I have no problem with that. I rarely if ever comment on Native music projects.

But he and you positioned his idea as a We Are the World type of project. And you solicited my help on that basis. Asking people to contribute to Dominique's next dubb album is a far cry from asking them to help struggling Native nations with a pop song. It's almost false advertising, and you're 100% right that I'm going to "police" such misleading claims.

I help Native causes and cultures by supporting the good efforts and criticizing the bad ones. My criticism is almost always constructive. For instance, I told Dominique he'd have to cede control if he wanted to attract top musicians. He may not want to hear that, but I consider it a valid statement that I can support with evidence.

If he followed this advice, he might stand a chance of producing a We Are the World-style hit. Which would mean my advice helped a Native cause, as intended. As it stands, that doesn't seem to be Dominique's goal, so never mind.

If you ask my opinion, as you did, expect to get an honest answer. Constructive criticism helps anyone who's willing to listen to it. If you don't want my advice, you don't have to ask, right?

You can find a thousand NativeCelebs fans to cheer every idea and say it's wonderful. No one needs me to be the 1,001st cheerleader. I provide a unique perspective that serves a special purpose: how to make things better. If people don't like that, they can ignore it and leave me alone.

To sum it up: As a cultural critic, I do "police" false or misleading claims, but I don't police people's lives or morality. So the "moral police" claim is as false or misleading as Lonehunt's alleged plans. End of story.

For more on the subject, see Why Does Rob Keep Criticizing?