Is Bishop Eddie's Glass Of BS Half Empty? Or Just Half Full Of It?

Whatever The Answer, 

It'll Be Long In Coming (Sorry)

What we've got in the "Bishop" Eddie Long story is a saga that will be long in analysis, but short in substance: his sermon was so guarded and vague that the buzz words stood out like large, pungent onions in a patch of lavender. 

Anthea Butler of Religion Dispatches reported:

“I am not a perfect man, but I am not the man being portrayed on the television—that’s not me,” leaving room for speculation about what was not perfect about him. The New Birth congregants didn’t seem to mind, shouting support, waving New Birth flags, and even holding up signs that read: “We support you Bishop.” The call and response was especially pointed: “You don’t have to say anything Bishop/We Love you bishop.”

The sermon turned out to be a non-explanation to Long's congregants and it's becoming clear that the case proceedings will be as controlled and as secretive as possible. Long's "David and Goliath" meme is something we'll be sure to hear again and again in the coming months.  In the last sentence to her article, Butler strikes a powerful chord:

Stay tuned. This “bible story” might become hotter than the O.J. trial.

Long's credibility is just now comiing into focus: MediaCurves' animated graph during Eddie Long's speech/sermon is actually quite revealing. Certainly more revealing than the statement of HCD Research which conducted the poll:

Americans Perceive Bishop Eddie Long as More Sincere After Viewing Speech

Flemington, NJ, September 28, 2010 -- A new national study among 532 Americans revealed that the majority perceived Bishop Long as being more sincere after viewing a video clip in which he addresses members during a church service.

The glitch: Long's credibility was not good to begin with. I can't post the actual video since HCD hasn't made it available to YouTube, but click HERE. On a scale of -50 to +50, the graph is deceptive. To the average viewer, the line keeps going DOWN, but what it really means is that the number of people who don't believe him have DECREASED. Turn the graph upside down and you get what HCD is trying to relay. Now look at the numbers below. 

Please rate Eddie Long on the following attribute, where 1 represents “Not at all strong in this attribute” and 7 represents “Extremely strong in this attribute” -- Sincerity

Total		Black/African American		White/Caucasian		Hispanic/Latino		American Indian/Alaskan Native
Pre	Post	Pre	Post	Pre	Post	Pre	Post	Pre	Post
3.16	3.47	3.24	3.45	3.09	3.50	4.08	3.13	3.33	4.20

Long's credibility went up from "kinda weak" to the middle. In other words, most people don't have a good or bad opinion about Long's credibility. It's a kind of "so what?" reaction. He went from an average of 3.38 to 3.55. 

Big deal.

What this video actually shows is that with a few buzz words, Eddie Long can have his congregation on its feet, ready to applaud and believe everything, ANYTHING he says. Anthea Butler literally felt the blind adoration. 

So, with credibility in the neutral zone and Long's supporters in ecstacy over any actions he might take, what does the "no credibility at all" segment of the population think?

O.K., I'm going way out on a limb with this. It may be unacceptable or inappropriate for me to present this next one, but it so perfectly fits the other side of the coin. It's crass and crude, but it's also gotten a lot of attention on the web:

While trying to see if the video was on YouTube, I caught sight of the video below made by one Cadillac Kimberly. Her talk is, to put it mildly, straight ghetto gutter, but she lays it out on the line for everyone who wants to listen: she believes the reports by CNN 100% and she thinks Eddie Long's congregants are just making fools of themselves. And if you don't like what she's sayin' you can kiss her motherf*ckin' ass!* 

The below video contains coarse language, so please be advised.

*BTW: this video went viral - 414,000 views within only two days!