Michelle Obama Attends Beyonce Concert
7 Weird Ways To Bug-Proof Your Picnic
It seems that Bishop Eddie Long has quite a few supporters. A few of his "spiritual sons" have gone public to speak up for the Bishop Eddie Long scandal and talk about all the wonderful things he's done for them over the years.
One of Long's spiritual son's, Marcus Culliver, had this to say:
"At Longfellow we all called him our pops. We all called him Dad because that's what he was to us. He took me to my first NFL game, he put me through my first NFL camp when I was in high school playing football. Anything we needed, if we were going through something and our parents couldn't help us or we couldn't get something, he was there for us to help us out. So to a certain extent, we were all his sons."
In addition to getting support from many of the young men he's advised, Long is getting massive support from his congregation. His words are greeted with standing ovations, and he's walked in to packed houses every Sunday since those nasty sex allegations were released to the public. It appears that in the eyes of some of his followers, Bishop Eddie Long is untouchable.
Let's be clear: Long's spiritual sons have as much credibility in my eyes as the accusers themselves. The fact that Eddie Long may or may not have engaged in private sexual activity with some of the men under his care doesn't mean that he attempted to sleep with all of them. That would be like saying that someone accused of robbing a bank has robbed every single person they've ever met. In fact, many bank robbers, killers or even rapists have done nice things for someone at some point in their lives. The two realities are not mutually exclusive.
One also can't ignore the possibility that if Long had these alleged relationships with young men in his life, we would not be ones to assume that all of these relationships were either coercive or involuntary. There are real sexual relationships occurring every day between young people and their mentors. In fact, based on statements by Bishop Long's accusers, it seems that some of these alleged relationships were voluntary on the part of both parties.
None of us knows for sure what did and didn't happen between Bishop Eddie Long and his accusers. But one thing that's true is that his congregation deserves to learn the truth. Also, the fact that there are quite a few young people willing to say good things about Eddie Long doesn't take away the possibility that he did bad things. Simultaneously, if it turns out that he did bad things, that doesn't mean that he's done nothing good. The thousands of people who show up in Bishop Long's church every Sunday to cheer him on and pray with him are a testament to the fact that, like any other major public figure, Long's legacy has been both powerful and complex. He is not a perfect man, but neither is he completely imperfect.
One thing that must be noted by those who are standing and cheering with Bishop Eddie Long without spending a second to question him is that they may be getting played like fools. There's the stereotype of the Southern Baptist church-goer who believes whatever words come out of the preacher's mouth and have been truly convinced that he can do no wrong. There are those in our community who never slowed their commitment to buying R. Kelly records, even when he was accused of harming young girls. If our love of a celebrity's presence overrides our commitment to protecting our children, that is when our community is lost, blind and ignorant.
This is not to say that people should not stand and support Eddie Long's right to a fair hearing. It's not to say that we can't appreciate the man for all the good he's done in the world. But it does say that if you are following someone without using the brain that God gave you, you are begging to be played for a fool.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (109)
Add a comment
By: bestausweh on 10/04/2010 11:01PM
Eddie Long has no "spiritual" sons. What he has are cult converts groomed from since the time they were even more vulnerable, at youth, and never had a chance to develop the boundaries or be socialized to the extent that he is a pervert.
Even if he hasn't done anything to them it would not absolve him of any wrong-doings for his other victims.
(Ted Bundy had female friends too. As a matter of fact one of them was/is a well known true crime fighter who has to idea he was committing crimes during their work relationship.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: magic on 10/05/2010 12:51AM
this is just a note on what you said, anne rule is a crime writter, not a fighter.and know she didn't know at the time, but was one of the first so she writes,to think there was something wrong with ol' ted. the book on there woking relationship/ frindship is tilted " the stranger beside me". and on long, GOD says what goes on in the dark will cometo the light. i trust in HIM not man. peace
Report This
By: ARNEADER on 10/05/2010 4:00AM
@magic GOD did NOT say "what goes on in the dark will come to the light". That is just an old cliche it is NOT scripture it's just a popular saying people use.
Report This
By: virtuouswon on 10/05/2010 5:23AM
@ Magic This is what God DID say...."So do not make any hasty or premature judgments before the time when the Lord comes [again], for He will both bring to light the secret things that are [now hidden] in darkness and disclose and expose the [secret] aims (motives and purposes) of hearts. Then every man will receive his [due] commendation from God." 1Corinthians 4:5 (amp)
Report This
By: The Truth on 10/05/2010 9:42AM
We all know not every kid becomes a victim...
JUST KEEP THEM TITHES A COMIN'
BUT REALIZE Tithes come in many forms.
My time, being more important to me than money, is offered up in my community. I visit rest homes, hospitals for children, and have helped complete community based projects and programs throughout my neighborhood. I used to go to church every single week without fail until I realized so much more good could be accomplished outside and from under it.
I use the term from under it because that's the guilt trip I experienced from the week after week of repetitions rant and want.
There is only so much you can learn from the spoken repetitiveness of man and realizing my tithes go so much further when I decide where they go has been liberating and much more rewarding.
If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck donate a portion of your income to WORLD VISION.
Starving children need our help a lot more than a greedy system that allows tithes to be squandered on Bling and Bentley's.
Sleep with whoever you want but DO NOT "throw away" others tithes on selfish want.
Get out from under the church and into your community.
Report This
By: Pantz on 10/05/2010 12:08PM
lmao @ cult members
^5 to that!
I said on my FB page that a lot of the members (from what i have seen on the Eddie Long Innocent page) have cult-like mentalities. Eddie can do no wrong in their eyes.
Have you watched that CNN video with some of his sheep and Lemmon?
After he showed the clip and asked them what they thought of what that lawyer said (she said in the clip that one of the accusers alleged that Long put his leg on him), and they were speechless for a few seconds. He asked them again, 'What do you think when you hear that?' One of his 'spiritual sons' aka 'cult member (lol)' said, 'I don't think those were his intentions (talking about the grooming that was mentioned in the video).
I was flabbergasted!
Report This
By: Karo on 10/05/2010 2:53PM
no Christian should be so blind as to follow the man of God. The Christian must follow God's Word not the man for he/she is just a man or woman and subject to temptation and faults.
Report This
By: Rh on 10/05/2010 9:01PM
Personally I smell guilt for various reasons.He hasn't defiantly come out against the charges. He is hiding behind the goodwil of the congregation to clean him up and make him look innocent. He has to much to lose family,freedom,lawsuits,money paid back to IRS for its personal use,position in the church.In his eyes, he might as well lie and sin all the way to his grave and ask god forgiveness later.
Report This
By: madmax on 10/07/2010 2:45PM
"Spiritual son?" Is that French for "butt buddy?"
Report This
By: BG on 10/04/2010 11:31PM
With the latest sex scandal involving Eddie Long, I came to this question: Why is this abhorrent sexual escapades especially involving boys, prevalent in Churches from the Church of America to the Church of England all the way to Rome?
As much as we loathe the Islamic religion, not once we ever heard an Imam is having sex, not only with boys of the mosque, but occuring at all within the Islamic circle from the Mosque of America, to the Mosque of England all the way to Saudi Arabia.
Is n't that something for the world of christianity to think about?
Reply to this Comment | Report This