Blow ill winds, blow away. Let me rest today. You’re blowing me no good. And that’s no good.

Op-ed by Shelby Powell

Atlanta,GA(RushPRnews)11/03/08-Most of you do not know this song, I’m sure. Somber and evocative, Ill Winds always sneaks between my ears in the wake of bad news. Sensitivity; whether seen by others as a character trait or flaw is something I have always had to contend with. However, I can’t say I see that in us all.

Wrapping your mind around the tragedy visited upon Jennifer Hudson and her family is impossible unless you have walked in those shoes and the outpouring from the mystified public has been immense in its love and sadness. Well, that is most of the public. Believe it or not, there are some who have taken this very moment to stand on their soapbox and bemoan this or that poor behavior, leaving me even more baffled. It seems the ill winds are blowing from more than one direction.

Some folks are calling for J-Hud’s sister to somehow accept a portion of culpability in this horrific heartbreak. Her deplorable choice of mate was the linchpin is what they are suggesting. When I saw this, my jaw dropped. I was shocked that someone’s fingers could be so cold as to type that on the day this woman was identifying her son as he lay stiff in the Coroner’s office with two slugs in his head.

Now, I will acquiesce enough to say sometimes that “I love bad boys” mentality leads us, as women, in the wrong direction. However, as that is presented as a serious issue in the black community; serious enough to eclipse the deaths of three generations of a family; I humbly present yet another issue for us to consider. There are some among us who’s self-righteous; hypocritical views of those they don’t know won’t allow them a mental connect to a stranger. I think this is kin to the disconnect that allows people to be capable of what was done to that innocent child. Comments like that lead me to believe that our village is crumbling and instead of a community, we are facing the birth of millions of groups of one. That is way more insidious than a poor choice of mate in my opinion.

Understand folks, hind sight is 20/20. It is very easy to Monday quarter back someone else’s life. It’s a lot easier than fielding your own and I’m sure everyone with this point of view has a busta in their past; some dude they knew was not going to turn out well but who had some redeeming quality that made the relationship plausible. I actually have more than one. Would I have expected this from the worst of the bunch?

Not in a million years.

And what’s more. We don’t even know if this dude has done anything. So not only are some dumping another ton of sh*t on the shoulders of a woman who has already been handed more despair than some of us will ever face even if our trials were tallied up from cradle to grave, you have tried a man in the court of public opinion without so much as a single clue, a single piece of evidence except his criminal history. Is that how we do each other now? Damn, y’all really make a chick want to secede.

You know, I know we are all entitled to our opinions, but there is a time and place. There is also tact and grace. What did Kanye say?

How could you be so heartless?

So to all the egotistical relationship experts who believe now is a good time to cast aspersions at a woman who is dealing with grief beyond their understanding; you should be ashamed of yourselves. Instead of offering a helping hand, you offer a slap on the wrist to which I am sure this family is quite numb. And to Jennifer Hudson’s family; know that while most of us can’t understand, we feel your loss. Maybe somehow we are absorbing a bit of the anguish because the wind is blowing in Atlanta today too.

Source:Yo! Raps magazine