billege

I don't know if this particular trick has been tried before, but I'm going to resurrect two of my old threads, and splice bits of them into this one.
There are some things I want to make absolutely clear before you get started in on this one.

• The two threads I've tied to this are BIG. Reading them may take an bit of time, maybe an hour. I've re-read both of them. You may want to also, this all ties together. You don't have for this thread to make sense, but the background is interesting.
• Racial discussions are often tense. I INSIST that each and every person remember where you are. One person's view may seem abhorrent to you. If it is, you need to cool off before you post. We're trying to learn something from each other. Especially in threads like this, we have to be patient, and explain ourselves well.
• Rather than debate someone point-by-point, please try and gather the whole of what someone was trying to say. You're welcome to rebut them, and ask questions, of course. However, point-by-point deconstructions are boring, staid, and usually miss the overall idea of a post by focusing to much on inane details. Try and restrain the impulse.
• This isn't a short, cheesy, or lighthearted post. It may require lots of reading, deep thinking, and work to contribute.
  Halx often talks about raising the bar of our collective discourse.
  I hope to add to that effort with this one. I'm not making a short post; I'm actually expecting you to read the whole other two threads to see what's gone into this discussion; and I'm not sorry if it's too long for most people to take time on.

First off the links to the old posts:
"Hip Hop Holds Blacks Back"
"What is holding Black America back, if not Hip Hop?"
The threads were originally started August 6th and 12th 2003. I know I've learned a bit since then.

Some of my words from those threads (more or less in the order I posted them):


(Thanks for staying with me to this far!)

My beautiful wife and I were having a discussion about kids at her work that was very thought provoking. Specifically, on the subject of Rap and the impact it has on black youth. Melissa, my wife, manages one cottage of a children's home in Columbus, OH. They care for late early-teen to late-teenage children. Usually, 10 to 18 years old. Each cottage is a small multi-room home with its own staff of caregivers, and up to 13 kids. Normally, they have 4-10 at one time. These kids are predominantly young black, (all boys in her cottage, though they have girls cottages too) boys.

These little guys come from more or less the same book of stories. They are kids that have broken laws, though usually not in a major way, have broken homes, and have broken hearts. (A totally separate post to make is the sickening truth that America has no "village" to care for the millions of kids from poor families, broken families, and these kids are just LOST. I hate it, it's sick to have a society that lets this happen.) These guys need someone to care for them, and teach them what is permissible, what is right and wrong, what is just, and what they can make of themselves.

A major roadblock in their development is the overwhelming social pressure of rap on their young minds.

These kids do not have the sense that you and I do to appreciate a struggle, or harsh truth, told in a rap. I appreciate rap for the art form it is; some of its lessons are simply breathtaking. But, I am a mature adult, for the most part. I can listen to rap with a grain of salt. I can dismiss the fluff and appreciate the truth.

Kids can not do that. If you have ever dealt with kids, you should know how literal they are. You tell a child that their pet went "to sleep" and they'll be scared shitless to take a nap. Young teenagers are still like this, but they are self-aware enough to THINK they are mature. In fact, many adults do these tweens and teens the utter disfavor of treating them just like adults. They need a bit more guidance yet.

Melissa and I are fairly typical rap listeners, from slightly different backgrounds. I came from middle class white suburbia, she came from a mixed race set of parents, in middle class suburbia. Her perspective would naturally be different than mine. Similarly, we both listened to Tu Pac, Will Smith, the Beastie Boyz, Eminem, Too Short (me!) etc. All the rap that was around when this music burst onto the scene. We mixed our rap, and still do, with other types of music. Our parents questioned our choices in songs, and made us think about what we were listening to, and what the messages in it were. Our parents doing this was certainly not all fun, and there were some arguments for sure.

These boys are a completely different example. All they listen to is rap. Rap all day long, every chance they get. The only radio stations they put up with are the rap ones. One boy had the misfortune to admit he liked country. He was teased to the point of tears by his young black peers. “Sellout, honkey, shitkicker, hick, redneck,” the kid heard every insult you can aim specifially at a black person who’s stepped over the line, drawn by his peers, defining what is permissable for a “real” black.

These boys don't have the mental development yet to take from rap what is useful, and discard what is not.
They listen all day to the "money-money bling-bling bitches-bitches" message in popular rap. Even the rap "love" songs are about taking off a woman’s clothes and using her body. These songs are fun(?), etc. for adults, but for kids? Kids take a totally different thing from rap; and, yes I mean the popular rap on the radio.

These boys are totally and obviously influenced by rap. They all refer to each other, constantly, as "bitch" and "nigga." The staff has all but given up at teaching them to not swear, and address each other with respect.
Little 12 year-olds, and they get corrected for pointing out "hoes" when they are in public.

Ask them what they're going to do with their lives. They tell you about getting chromed out everything, the total rap picture. Sure, I understand it's normal for kids to dream of big nice toys/things. Normal for any race of kids, sure. There is a difference though. Ask enough of them about their plans for their adult lives, and you come to realize they all have the same dreams, and they are all confined into the dream they see portrayed on a rap video.

These kids don't listen to anything else, they don't think of any other possibilities, and they will reject the very idea of listening to any other form of music, or lifestyle.

Rap is utterly confusing to me in it's dominance in black culture, especially black youth. I know there are black people out there that listen to more modes of music than rap. I know that the whole of Black America is not tuned into rap on an exclusive basis. What I can't figure out is why black artists don't do anything about the image that they project. It's a giant, tired, overplayed, contest to see who can smack the most asses, drive the biggest truck, drink and smoke the most, and completely ignore consequences.

It's an extremely negative influence, and it's worshiped by these kids. Why does it have such power, and who is thinking about the effect it has on a generation of kids?

__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."