Not Far Enough, Tyrese

I am writing this blog in response to Tom Joyner's  blog about Tyreses response to his responsibility to inspire people to live healthier lifestyles. Read Tom's response here.  After reading Tom's response, I understand his attention to the harsh delivery of Tyreses comment and the damage that it could possibly do to the fan base which supports his endeavors.  Having said that, it is my belief that, Tom's opinion is what is crippling our society as a whole. And that crutch is, we often times want things sugar coated instead of giving it to us straight. Sometimes people have to hear the truth and put feelings aside. I understand that Tyrese  may have come off as a little insensitive but, in my opinion Tyrese is giving the facts to an individual in it's most raw form. He is simply saying, if you are fat and nasty and you aren't happy with your appearance don't expect any pity from him (or anybody else) because no one can do anything about your appearance but YOU. Okay, I see how he can seem a bit harsh with the "fat and nasty" part but, that is simply his way of shaking a person out of their delusional daze in which they are living their everyday lives. And if we are completely honest with ourselves, we all are guilty of avoiding reality at times. Whether that be sucking in your stomach to squeeze in those jeans that you know you have no business wearing or driving a 2013 BMW with an annual income of $30,000 a year. We do these things because we want to portray a certain image to people along with fooling ourselves. Instead of looking in the mirror and giving ourselves an honest and harsh evaluation we would rather cover things up or choose to ignore certain things about ourselves. I heard the rapper Drake say in a song titled  9 a.m. in Dallas, "Take a look at yourself, the mirrors revealing if you ain't got it you ain't got it the theory is brilliant". When dealing with the subject of obesity in our community, it is often times accepted as an "okay" thing. We even come up with names such as "thick" and "juicy" to describe voluptuous individuals. Let me be clear by saying that the writer of this blog is in no way exempt, because I love the thick and curvy individuals that I am describing. I am simply giving examples of how being overweight is accepted as a norm in our community. Now, I don't know Tyrese personally, I can only relate to him through his media outlets such as his books, music, and interviews and I can totally understand how he may have made these comments to cause controversy in order to keep people talking about him and keep his brand relevant with the media. However, I think that Tyrese isn't so far out of his lane with the comments made. Everyone remembers the movie Waist Deep starring Tyrese and Megan Good. Tyrese talks about how fat and out of shape he had become prior to shooting this movie, and if you have seen the movie it is quite evident that he was not exaggerating. Tyrese actually made mention of this fact in his book "How to get out of your own way". Having read this book I realized the context in which the comments were made. Tyrese was also smart enough to use the media to his advantage during this interview. He used this topic to deliver an informative message along with renewing himself and his brand in order to sell more of his products. Tom does make a great point when he states how important it is not to alienate oneself by the comments made about the individuals who support you. But, unlike most artists, Tyrese put aside his career for a brief moment to shake some people up and hopefully open their eyes which will set their lives on a better course. It's a bitter pill to swallow but we must see the truth for what it is sometimes.