11 Least Influential: How the sausage was made
November 13, 2007 at 4:47 pm by Andisheh Nouraee in NewsIn light of some of the comments I’ve read online about Atlanta’s 11 Least Influential People, I want to clarify a few things.
First, I want to make it clear to readers that, with the exception of Benny Herman Allen III and the whale sharks, the profilees were active participants.
They were not punk’d.
I told each of the profilees before they were interviewed that it was for a satirical piece spoofing all the rich and powerful lists published by magazines and newspapers.
I explained it’s about Atlantans in all walks of life and that it would be called Least Influential.
A couple of commenters at the liberal Blog For Democracy objected to the inclusion of Atlanta WAND executive director Bobbie Paul. One of them made the point that it’s not a tribute to be included on a least-influential list with “a crack head, a narcissist pig, a chunky drag queen who advertises for sex, a convicted felon, and some Muslim guy who’s too lazy to walk from the mosque parking garage to the door.”
If all you do is glance at the pages, I can see why you’d be confused about the story’s intent.
But if one reads the introduction and even just a few of the 11 profiles, the reason for grouping such a diverse bunch together is pretty clear — I’m trying to tell a big story about Atlanta using 11 small stories about its non-wealthy, non-bigwiggy residents. Of all people, I’d expect a contributor to a site called “Blog For Democracy” to grasp that.
The “crack head” is a mother in need of support — from her family, from her friends, from her city. Her inclusion is a poke at the city for trampling on the First Amendment by making it a crime for her to ask people for help.
The reason I included a “Muslim Guy” was to highlight a tiny annoyance that’s symptomatic of a bigger problem — government-sanctioned discrimination against non-Christians.
The piece about alleged Barbie Bandit co-conspirator Benny Herman Allen III is actually about the media’s habit of ignoring black people, but in a way that’s slightly less grim than the last time I did it. Incidentally, a black woman and a Hispanic woman robbed a bank on North Druid Hills Road two weekends ago. No one paid it much heed.
And Karma Delite, the drag queen. He’s a kind soul looking for love in a place he’s likely not going to find it. His precise circumstance is unique, but being attracted to people who are emotionally unavailable is quite common.
And Bobbie Paul?
I admire her and her work immensely. It’s evident in the feature. It’s evident from the piece I wrote in August on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Atlanta WAND protests. It’s evident if you’ve read even one of the columns I write each week about the never-ending clusterfuck that is American foreign policy.
She’s fighting a worthy fight. Unfortunately, she’s doing it in a state too Republican and too war-happy to pay sufficient notice.
If I could go back in time and change one thing about the story, I’d swap out ineffective rain dancer Chipa Wolf and replace him with Gov. Sonny Perdue, whose rain dance at the Capitol today turned a gray sky blue.
November 13th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Man, sausage is delicious!
November 14th, 2007 at 10:19 am
This just further proves that dying is easy, comedy is hard.
I thought the piece(s) were great and a well-executed send-up of those pretentious and omnipresent lists.
November 14th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BALL.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Great rebuttal. I was happy to not see any moer references to JFP. He’s got enough exposure for a narcissist.