Love and Consequences: It’s Not about the Lie, It’s about the Subject Matter
I screamed, “You know what, lady? Fuck you!” as I read the New York Times article about “Love and Consequences.” The “you” in my “fuck you,” of course, refers to Margaret B. Jones a.k.a Margaret Seltzer. Have you guys heard about this nonsense yet? Basically, some chick wrote a memoir (i.e. “true account”) about “her life as a half-white, half-Native American girl growing up in South-Central Los Angeles as a foster child among gang-bangers, running drugs for the Bloods.” Turns out the whole thing was a lie. The woman didn’t grow up in the “hood” and she’s not even half Native American. She’s a semi-rich white chick who grew up in the burbs and attended private school.
You know what pisses me off about this? Yeah, sure, it sucks that she lied. But, the thing that bugs me more is *WHAT* she lied about. As a black woman who grew up dirt fucking poor, knows what it feels like to feel ashamed when the kids with more money brag about what they got for Christmas, had a childhood friend killed by gang violence, and has a family tree filled with really proud, strong, dynamic black (and Native American) relatives, my blood literally BOILED as I read about Seltzer’s lies. People who meet me and see the life I live now often assume that I come from money. I don’t. Born in an (almost) exclusively black neighborhood on the south side of Chicago and raised by a mentally ill single mother, NO ONE fucking handed me any of the things that I have in life. My family fought hard to build our lives, and I’ve supported myself since I was 18 years-old. Before the recent revelations about her book, the supposed innercity insider Seltzer explained, “selling drugs is the only way you get out of the ghetto,” in a New York Times interview. Um, excuse me? My family made it out of the so-called “ghetto” — without the help of pharmaceutical sales, thank you very much.
So, yeah, basically, it seems as if Seltzer concocted the most stereotypical and, yeah, I’ll say it, racist depiction of African American family life that she could. In the book, her foster parent is “Big Mom” (taught her how to make black-eyed peas with neckbones) and her foster siblings include Terrell (spent time in “juvie” before he was killed by the Crips), NeeCee (killed herself) and Nishia (who braids hair for money). All lies. All part of some fucked up invented life that isn’t Margaret’s own. The obvious question is “why?” Of all the stories in the world that Seltzer could make up, why would she make of this one? “I thought I had an opportunity to make people understand the conditions that people live in and the reasons people make the choices from the choices they don’t have,” she’s quoted in the New York Times. Oh, okay, so, I get it. She thought she’d make quick buck by exploiting the (imagined?) lives of others. Really? Fuck off.
I wish no ill-will toward Seltzer, and I have no clue why she’d make up stories about living a tougher life than she did. Here’s my beef … If she *REALLY* wanted to give voice to those who can’t speak for themselves, she could have proposed a book like “Food For The Soul.” Edited by Elizabeth Maxwell and Susan Shapiro, the anthology showcases the writings of people (some of them homeless) who attend the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen Writers Workshop. But Seltzer didn’t write a book like that. And you know what else pisses me off? Felcia Pearson, an actor on HBO’s The Wire, recently wrote Grace After Midnight — a (presumably) true-to-life account of her hard-knock experiences growing up dealing crack in Baltimore. But, Pearson’s book didn’t receive the coverage that Seltzer’s did. And, that’s exactly what makes me feel so irritated. And angry.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Yes, I can tell you’re angry – my monitor melted. Had to plug in a new one.
Yeah, I can see how that sort of thing might annoy you. I’ve heard so many stories like hers that I generally assume right off that they’re at least partly if not entirely fiction. I know, that’s probably not the right reaction, since there are plenty of people (like Felcia Pearson) who really did have a tough life and wrote truthfully about it. But what can I say, I’ve been exposed to so much pure marketing BS I tend to think that most of what I see falls into that catagory. On the plus side, I get a pleasant surprise when I find out someone *isn’t* BSing me and really did manage to overcome difficult childhood circumstances. Warm fuzzies!
March 5th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
The interesting thing is just how committed Seltzer is to this lie.
The inherent thing about lies is a lack of the little details you would expect in a true experience.
From her article it is apparent she took the conscious time and effort to research and fill in the gaps to make it all the more believable.
I can only assume that she underestimated the actual dynamics of who reads the Times.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
‘Nuff said! And you know they made her sign a “truth in writing agreement” before publishing the book. Since she’s obviously gone against that, I hope they sue the sh!t out of her.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
hate stereotypes. if you’re black you must be part of a gang or playing basketball……
i imagine how angry you must feel right now, but try to focus on your acomplishments and forget about stupid and uninformed people!
kiss
March 5th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
You would think that the publishers would do a little fact-checking to avoid such litigious circumstances.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I myself have always been amused by what people will call “the ghetto” these days. By today’s standards, if your block isn’t lined with trees, you live in the ghetto. My family’s from Kingston, Jamaica.
Now there’s a ghetto.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Of course it had to be a fake, real white Episcopalian (?) life is too boring for a book.
@whatever… Typically liars provide MORE little details than those who speak the truth…
@fbc… good to see you angry, the whip, the whip ;-) I love the Wire, but after hearing one or two interviews with Felcia I was convinced there would be very little in her book to entertain me (sounded utterly hooked-on-phonics with a two-OE/40-a-day habit). The interviewer had to dumb-down the questions because she had no clue what was asked.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
# Baba Doodlius: Sorry for melting your monitor! :)
# Whatever-you-want-it-to-be: “I can only assume that she underestimated the actual dynamics of who reads the Times.” Very well-said.
# The Original B.R.O.: On one hand, I feel like she’s been publicly embarrassed / punished enough. We all make mistakes, right? On the other hand, who knows what’s going to happen to her from this point, you know?
# Carolina Pereira: Thanks, sweetie!! :)
# Christopher: Yeah, I’m not 100% sure how the fact checking stuff works in publishing. Newspapers and magazines tend to have fact-checking staff, but I don’t think many publishers do. Read a fascinating piece about that recently. If I can find the link, I’ll post it.
# Desiree: I believe you! :)
March 5th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Errorboy … Baby, we’re on the same wavelength! We were writing our comments at the same time!!! :) Haven’t seen the interview with Felicia that you’ve referenced. Send the link! I doubt the woman’s any more or less with in than anyone else in Hollywood. ;) … Apologies to my Cali readers for that bit of East Coast chauvinism.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Hey! Me in Callyforniah an me verry smart!
March 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
wow…. did’nt know that kind of flow still floated…. guess
no one did a background check….. but .. when money talks … people will listen…. and she heard every word….
now will the funds be returned…. or is that bridge burned
just read this after I sent you a little something at Nerve
didnt know just how close I wrote…. but this I do from
the heart …. and the soul…
you do have a great right to be angry, for things of this
nature have been allowed to roll for a very long time
am not saying turn the other cheek….. but life will catch
up with that lady ( yes … am that much of a gentleman
to say that she is a lady…. she may be very twisted….
but she did something to get paid but there will be a cost … too ) in this business called life…. you do right…
you’ll be alright…. but .. if you do wrong…. it’s gonna
be a lonely song….. cause the piper must be paid
when you do the Dance of Life…
lamesabassman…… always tries to be …. on point.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
@ Baba Doodlius: I love me some California. :) I lived in LA many many moons ago. BEAUTIFUL weather!!!
@ David B Phillips: Thanks.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
I lived 9 years on the south side of Chicago, and 1 in Harlem.
What to do re Seltzer? FBC, get your shit together and write YOUR memoirs. Become the Richard Wright of our time. Truth is stronger than fiction.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I remember reading this article, and I totally believed her!! I knew something was wrong with her when she said that crap about selling drugs being the only way to get out of the ghetto! What a fucking idiot! Why don’t these agents and publishers do a little more background checking on these crazy people?
When did “Fiction” become such a naughty word? Why call it a memoir if it ain’t true? There needs to be a new category of writing — Lying Memoirs or Fictional Non-Fiction.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:21 am
@ consa: My shit’s already together! :) Already working on a memoir. I’ll add you to my quarterly e-update list to give you the scoop. Or, on second thought, if enough folks here on the FBC are interested, I’ll post the updates here on the blog, too.
@ brown eyes: Hmmm, I think “Lying Memoirs” has a more catchy ring to it than “Fictional Non-Fiction.”
March 11th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
This thing pisses me off on a few levels.
1. It reads like a bad afterschool special,complete with outdated slang….foshizzle
2.While it may be easy to dismiss as some rogue “author”. The scary part is that someone is reading this and formulating an opinion on “south central”. This person is influencing people in a negative manner. If someone walks up to you in jeans and a t-shirt and says “hi ” i’m from LA south central, people will, even on a subconcious level, become aprehensive.
I was at a party once and we were talking about where we’ were from. One chick says north manhattan. I was like, ” what?….you mean Harlem?!” It was just sad to me that she was trying to distance herself from where she came from. but to have someone who has no clue about harlem formulate a negative opinion of it , probably without ever stepping foot in Harlem, was sad. Even sadder was the fact that she probably experienced that reaction soo much that it clouds peoples vision of who she was as a person. really sweet girl btw.
3. The idea that this liar gets a book deal, when there are people out there writing about their own experiences that can’t get into the door, because they are black. The only thing , in my opinion, that allowed this book to go forward was the fact that this huckster could pass for white….why is that?….because she is white. So some white editor somewhere, was able to feel comfortable talking to this chick about stuff that they wouldn’t dare talk to a dark skinned black person about…let alone let into thier office.
then to top it all off…..
They do zero checks to make sure the story is authentic, because they are drooling over the possibility of putting out this stereotypical crap, that justifies their own preconcieved notion of the ” barbarians” that live in the “hood”
BTW
black and latino’s do not say “hood” anymore
March 12th, 2008 at 1:19 am
I recently read an excellent book that delves deeply into the reality behind this farce. It’s titled “Picture Me Livin’” by Black Artemis, and it should be required reading for Seltzer.
Oh and dk, us white-boys say “hood” allll the time. =)
March 12th, 2008 at 10:37 am
hey Paul,
that’s cool. just so long as you don’t write a sitcom for black and latino people.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Fuck this shit. I’m not one to police “truth” in memoirs, either, but … semi-rich white chicks appropriating the stories of minorities as if they were theirs? Personally, I’ve had enough of white people speaking for everyone else in America. (And yes, I’m mostly white.)
March 12th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
@ dkzone: Heavy comment. By the way, random sidenote … Whatever happened to after school specials?
@ AkA “Paul” / dkzone interaction: Boys, boys. :) You’re funny!
@ Marcelle Manhattan: Not sure why, but I thought you were a man when I read your comment. Just checked out your blog. Man, was I wrong. Nice legs. ;)
March 13th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
too many channels on cable TV, Myspace, and video games.
the only real reason anybody watched after school specials was because there was nothing else on the other 7 available channels.
how can some well meaning kids caught up in the hype of smoking….compete with TRL?
March 14th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Good point. But damn it I didn’t love the afterschool specials!
March 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
What do you think of people who have a little African ancestry but look totally white but then claim to “understand” the experience of being black. I saw a girl recently on a talk show who looked whiter than white, had blonde hair and blue eyes but discovered she had a great great grandad who was black, she sat up there acting like she was the biggest victim of racism there ever was. Can you really understand what it is to be a minority if you don’t look like one? I have non-white ancestry but look white and would feel like a pretentious ass if I claimed I wasn’t white. I don’t understand those people that do. If I was dark skinned I think I would feel a little insulted when I see that attitude. I guess there’s the 1% rule thing, which was a racist creation designed to disenfranchise people, but now (mostly white) people wave it around like a flag to legitimize themselves as victims. The whole thing seems kind of ridiculous to me.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:52 am
FBC, Thanks! I run a lot. :) And you probably just don’t remember me, or didn’t get my name … I’m the brunette gal you met at Vivane’s, who asked you how you made it in New York and how you juggle your day job with freelancing. Love your blog!