I just want to point out that I got to this essay by reading your essay about Black womens and anger, and now I’m looking for the Vince Staples show 😭😭
Oh man you have to read it! The random cameos, the nods to hip hop culture, the overall humor and subtleties on Black American culture. It was very good and I’m not super into Vince Staples but he hopefully gets to stay in this pocket.
The show was good only 5 episodes! I saw him tweet that Netflix is waiting to buy more episodes based on views. It’s see worth checking out if you have 20min here or there. Let me know what you think of the Cut article. It was a ride
Firstly, I love this piece! After watching episode 1, I thought it was gonna be more linear storytelling, like I thought the plotline with the dude in jail that wanted him gone cuz of Vince's friend that snitched on him, was gonna be the main dilemma, even though Vince got bailed out. But once I caught the genre I loved it. The family reunion episode or the Carnival episode were probably my favs. Prolly cuz of how strange they were.
Carnival episode was def strange but I liked that it explored how different their experiences in the same environment were because of skin tone and gender. I thought about writing about it but decided on this one instead. I def enjoyed that one as well! And the family reunion one! It felt like one of my family reunions 🤣
When the girlfriend sucker punches one of the “cousins”?!?! I cackled. Not cuz of the violence but cuz of the constant tension within Vincent due to navigating fame amongst the fam and Deja’s wrestle to be accepted by and accept his mom. I know the feeling of not liking someone to then defending the mess out of them cuz they felt supported by me and saw I was trying to care for them 😭😂 def the power of seeing and understanding someone better, even if they are wylin a bit. iono if anything I just write was a fair interpretation of the story or the point of the episodes but the chaos of the movements?! Chef’s kiss.
I absolutely agree. I also liked seeing Deja call mom out on her BS and standing up for herself. That being kind of what helped mom kinda respect her a little was also perfect.
5 or 6 years ago I got a call from someone stating they were from the IRS, and that I made a mistake on my taxes and there was a warrant out for my arrest. They said I owed $5000 and if I paid it now the warrant would be cancelled. They also said I was prohibited from talking to my husband. I was scrambling to come up with the money but only had $1300 in our account. Eventually the call dropped or they hung up on me because I was too poor to bother with. I was so distraught about the warrant I tried to call them back. Then I called my husband, crying, and he said it was a scam. I wasn’t convinced until I called the IRS and verified. After the trauma of the event left my body, I looked back and it was so obviously a scam, it’s hard to believe I fell for it. I’ve thought about it a lot.
I think for me the conversation triggered a very deep seated shame narrative. Executive functioning has always been a huge struggle for me (I could never keep track of finances, banking and bills the way my mom taught me to), but I didn’t have language for that then. I just thought I was lazy, which dropped down into a deeper shame narrative that I’m bad and deserving of punishment. Because of the bullying tactics of the caller my nervous system was locked into a disorganised threat response that activated these shame narratives, and I’m learning now (through polyvagal theory) that even the thoughts we have access to change depending on how our nervous system is activated. Because of their bullying tactics I didn’t have access to critical thinking; all I had access to was “you’re lazy, you’re bad, you’re deserving of punishment.”
It is interesting to examine the narratives that shape our gullability and where they come from. And scammers have really gotten good at targeting a variety of trigger points—I thought scams only came through a “too good to be true” narrative, but people, including dishonest ones, are smarter than that.
I read the cut article in disbelief because I wouldn’t have let the first phone call even go so long. CLICK. I’m not entertaining fraud unless I see it in my account or ask my bank directly. The whole scam is painfully obvious. I wonder how her spouse truly feels. I’m enjoying the Vince Staples show! So funny & well done with the subtle nods.
Yeah every step of the cut article had me shook! Although I do get how emotions can get hijacked but she ignored so many red flags the very first being getting a phone call from Amazon! 🤦🏾♀️ what was your fav episode of the Vince staples show?
The first because I’m super picky about tv shows and I was laughing the whole time and it made me watch the rest. Every time Robb started singing had me weak
I just want to point out that I got to this essay by reading your essay about Black womens and anger, and now I’m looking for the Vince Staples show 😭😭
Oh man you have to read it! The random cameos, the nods to hip hop culture, the overall humor and subtleties on Black American culture. It was very good and I’m not super into Vince Staples but he hopefully gets to stay in this pocket.
I don’t watch this show but it sounds interesting and I’m heading to read The Cut article now 🤸🏾♀️
The show was good only 5 episodes! I saw him tweet that Netflix is waiting to buy more episodes based on views. It’s see worth checking out if you have 20min here or there. Let me know what you think of the Cut article. It was a ride
Firstly, I love this piece! After watching episode 1, I thought it was gonna be more linear storytelling, like I thought the plotline with the dude in jail that wanted him gone cuz of Vince's friend that snitched on him, was gonna be the main dilemma, even though Vince got bailed out. But once I caught the genre I loved it. The family reunion episode or the Carnival episode were probably my favs. Prolly cuz of how strange they were.
Carnival episode was def strange but I liked that it explored how different their experiences in the same environment were because of skin tone and gender. I thought about writing about it but decided on this one instead. I def enjoyed that one as well! And the family reunion one! It felt like one of my family reunions 🤣
When the girlfriend sucker punches one of the “cousins”?!?! I cackled. Not cuz of the violence but cuz of the constant tension within Vincent due to navigating fame amongst the fam and Deja’s wrestle to be accepted by and accept his mom. I know the feeling of not liking someone to then defending the mess out of them cuz they felt supported by me and saw I was trying to care for them 😭😂 def the power of seeing and understanding someone better, even if they are wylin a bit. iono if anything I just write was a fair interpretation of the story or the point of the episodes but the chaos of the movements?! Chef’s kiss.
I absolutely agree. I also liked seeing Deja call mom out on her BS and standing up for herself. That being kind of what helped mom kinda respect her a little was also perfect.
Yes! Deja calling her out without apologizing was a crucial move. Fam. Glad to find your Substack! Looking forward to reading more 🙏🏾
Thanks so much for reading and likewise! 💃🏾
5 or 6 years ago I got a call from someone stating they were from the IRS, and that I made a mistake on my taxes and there was a warrant out for my arrest. They said I owed $5000 and if I paid it now the warrant would be cancelled. They also said I was prohibited from talking to my husband. I was scrambling to come up with the money but only had $1300 in our account. Eventually the call dropped or they hung up on me because I was too poor to bother with. I was so distraught about the warrant I tried to call them back. Then I called my husband, crying, and he said it was a scam. I wasn’t convinced until I called the IRS and verified. After the trauma of the event left my body, I looked back and it was so obviously a scam, it’s hard to believe I fell for it. I’ve thought about it a lot.
I think for me the conversation triggered a very deep seated shame narrative. Executive functioning has always been a huge struggle for me (I could never keep track of finances, banking and bills the way my mom taught me to), but I didn’t have language for that then. I just thought I was lazy, which dropped down into a deeper shame narrative that I’m bad and deserving of punishment. Because of the bullying tactics of the caller my nervous system was locked into a disorganised threat response that activated these shame narratives, and I’m learning now (through polyvagal theory) that even the thoughts we have access to change depending on how our nervous system is activated. Because of their bullying tactics I didn’t have access to critical thinking; all I had access to was “you’re lazy, you’re bad, you’re deserving of punishment.”
It is interesting to examine the narratives that shape our gullability and where they come from. And scammers have really gotten good at targeting a variety of trigger points—I thought scams only came through a “too good to be true” narrative, but people, including dishonest ones, are smarter than that.
So sorry to hear! Scammers are good at putting ppl into panic mode unfortunately. :/
I read the cut article in disbelief because I wouldn’t have let the first phone call even go so long. CLICK. I’m not entertaining fraud unless I see it in my account or ask my bank directly. The whole scam is painfully obvious. I wonder how her spouse truly feels. I’m enjoying the Vince Staples show! So funny & well done with the subtle nods.
Yeah every step of the cut article had me shook! Although I do get how emotions can get hijacked but she ignored so many red flags the very first being getting a phone call from Amazon! 🤦🏾♀️ what was your fav episode of the Vince staples show?
The first because I’m super picky about tv shows and I was laughing the whole time and it made me watch the rest. Every time Robb started singing had me weak
Good choice! I def went in with low expectations so the first was a good start. I also like the family reunion one