Ellington

I ran across a column last week from Foxsports columnist Jason Whitlock. He had some interesting comments on the death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor.

Opinion piece notwithstanding, Whitlock's musings were irresponsible, not just because all the facts of the case had not been revealed, yet, but because it spoke to a mindset that is becoming prevalent in conservative circles, black and white. It is a view that many of the upper-crust white folks and the bourgeois black folks have come to hold as gospel.

Sean Taylor had it coming. That's right. His checkered past is filled with minor brushes with the law; his numerous discipline problems in the league; his poor choice of friends; his predilection to carry firearms; the incident where his car was shot up. Surely he brought this upon himself and his family.

Whitlock goes on to provide yet another way to steer the blame toward the music of this generation. Because, of course, this phenomenon of blacks killing blacks is all because of hip-hop music. He goes even further by calling Taylor's killers the "black KKK." Shocking? Yes. Responsible? No. Comparing his assailants to a domestic terror organization is a cheap shot. The Ku Klux Klan hated black folks, Mr. Whitlock. Taylor's killers hated themselves and what they feared their lives might become.

The reason why this is so disturbing to me as a rapper and a former journalist is that none of these so-called "experts" or "journalists" ever care to dig deeper than surface solutions.

It's embarrassingly easy to blame hip-hop or a "street" mentality for this urban holocaust. But was it hip-hop that got NBA players Eddy Curry and Antoine Walker tied up and robbed at gunpoint in their homes? Was it hip-hop that got Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams killed? You think these events are happening because black kids are listening to Soulja Boy? Hell no! It's simple: M-O-N-E-Y and the lack of it.

Money and poverty—the effort to fight it off—are the reasons entertainers and athletes are targets. It's the reason dope-boys are the new role models for a whole new generation of young black males. Operating and living during the George Bush administration has become increasingly harder to do without money. The bar has been raised. Not living from check to check requires a feat of Herculean proportions. Materialism is flaunted in the faces of young folks, and they feel worthless if they don't have money in their pocket. You can't live—period. Hence, kids today look for the easy track when conventional methods produce no results.

Mr. Whitlock, Sean Taylor was killed simply because he had money. His assailants didn't, and he was an easy target for a quick score. They wanted jewels, cars, clothes and girls. They wanted to be special. And we've told them the only way they could be is if they had money. Until we do something in this country to give every child an equal opportunity at the American dream—whether it's by our own hands or otherwise—you will continue to see this tragedy duplicated many times over. Many more athletes, rappers and actors may meet similar fates if we hold the almighty dollar above all else.

And that's the truth ... sho-nuff.

Previous Comments

ID

75716

Comment

Some would say the "love" of money is the root of all evil..But in a lot of cases we could categorize the "lack" of money as the root.

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T10:41:51-06:00

ID

75717

Comment

Some would say the "love" of money is the root of all evil..But in a lot of cases we could categorize the "lack" of money as the root. Same thing, really. There are probably plenty of super-rich people who think they still don't have enough money also, and some will step over their own kinfolk to get more. Kaze, great piece, btw. I'll have to wait until lunch to craft a more detailed comment.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-12-13T11:03:50-06:00

ID

75718

Comment

Exactly Jeff! I see the "love" as those that are either rich or comfortable. Meaning they are well above the poverty level but are greedy or overly "ambitious" where they'll do just as you say. ..Then there are those who are far below that line. they have nothing. And at times feel like they have NOTHING to lose. that's the LACK of it. and without the proper guidance that lack of money will lead you to breaking the law

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T11:26:11-06:00

ID

75719

Comment

This is great work, kaze. Whitlock is a no limit dipshit. As far as I'm concerned, he's racing to become the black William F. Buckley, ultra-racist and leader of movement consevatism (a dressed up phrase for something quite sinsiter) and giving capitalism and republican policies of today a free pass. While rappers haven't been any saints neither have capitalism and republicans. But I bet Whitlock think the rich and powerful get a pass without any responsibilty or accountability.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-13T11:27:32-06:00

ID

75720

Comment

"Some would say the "love" of money is the root of all evil..But in a lot of cases we could categorize the "lack" of money as the root." Since you are paraphrasing the Scriptures here, I will add my D.Div. training to the discussion. A better contemporary translation would be "Materialism is the root of evil." One can be without money and not do evil. It is the DESIRE for "things" as apart from wisdom or spiritual achievement that is the problem. In order to have peace of mind one must destroy the desire for worldly things. All worldly things are perishable: thus the desire to possess them is deeply irrational. I.E. Why would you desire most deeply those things can can never be kept? Only in the absence of desire for materiality can one be truly free. This, of course, is the exact opposite of what our culture teaches. People are indoctrinated since birth by advertising, corporate culture, etc. to believe that happiness can only come from accumulation. Therefore, everyone is continually kept in a cycle of desire and disappontment. The system of desire keeps them locked into despair. I do not have an answer for this cycle. A lot of people wiser than me; Socrates, Epicurus, Jesus, the Buddha, Gandhi; have made this same arguement and you can see what happened to them.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-12-13T11:34:19-06:00

ID

75721

Comment

Amen, Willie. When I was poor I wouldn't steal or take. I accepted the fact that I really didn't need those things. When I could afford them I bought them in moderation realizing at alll times they were just things that shouldn't define or fuel me. Most of all, all possessions can easily be lost or taken. The development of self is more important than the possession of things. The former is more secure, benefiting and lasting. I thank God that I have sense enough to know this.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-13T11:48:50-06:00

ID

75722

Comment

..."This, of course, is the exact opposite of what our culture teaches. People are indoctrinated since birth by advertising, corporate culture, etc. to believe that happiness can only come from accumulation. Therefore, everyone is continually kept in a cycle of desire and disappontment. The system of desire keeps them locked into despair...." ..Well said Will, well said. The bar is raised everyday for our young folks. Its like chasing a dollar bill in the wind. Everytime you think you're there it only eludes you at the last moment. When you're shown that you have to pay 5 dollars for different flavored coffee, or drive and SUV or Benz, or live in the burbs(not that there's anything inherently wrong with that), or send your kid to Prep etc. and that those who DON'T do those things arent of your STATUS you create a wanton lust for for that level of achievement. However, You create it leaving out the element of getting a good education which can level the playing field. Its simply...you must have these things..by any means necessary

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T11:55:14-06:00

ID

75723

Comment

..And Im glad some folks realize that generalizations dont solve the problem. We have our detractors Lord knows. But there was no rap record that told those guys to go over and rob Sean Taylor. Hell, a lot of these artists come from abject poverty. Growing up with nothing and then parlay a talent into a lot of money..fast! With no training or coaching as to what to do with it. so what do you expect a guy who'snever had anything to do when he's able to afford a $30,000 chain..you guessed it..flaunt it. We've got to change the mindset.

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T12:01:51-06:00

ID

75724

Comment

The problem goes a lot deeper than what type of music the kids are listening to or what clothes they wear. These things are symptoms of a much deeper problem that has not just been affecting "black" America, but all America. And the problems with violent crime and gangsta culture go back much further than rap and wider than just the black community; Al Capone, Dutch Schultz or Lucky Luciano were not part of the Def Jam label or were rocking Fitty before they shot up a joint, for example. While I don’t give rappers a pass for not being more socially conscious and aware of how their appearance, actions and words feed into the negative stereotype, it's silly to try and blame rap for problems that have roots in decades long struggles for equality. If we tried to lay the blame for materialism and misogyny and violent crime and atrocious fashion at the feet of a music form that's roughly thirty years old, we'd be fools. Especially if we ignored the over 300 years of racial discrimination that have led to a large economic and social disparity for black Americans that fuels the self-hatred and jealously that is at the heart of these black-on-black crimes.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-12-13T12:34:22-06:00

ID

75725

Comment

OMG Jeff. Where..have..you..been..on past threads LOL.

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T12:45:30-06:00

ID

75726

Comment

Great comment, Ejeff. The fact of the matter, in my view, rappers aren't the scratching heads, eternally bowing, and shuffling kind of negroes the power structure were used to seeing and thought the system would always force to exist in black folks. Rappers gave poor black kids pride, swagger and courage that were unusual and that some would say is unjustified. Poor kids started talking about living ghetto-fabulous and proclaiming it was all good in the hood. Of course, they knew this was really a lie and soon started seeking materialistic items at almost any cost so they could look like their idols who soon went crazy too. Also the dope boys, the new heores for impoverished black and poor kids, since the black professional turned their backs to them, made hustling less infamous and shameful. Any means necessary became the calling card as Kamikaze suggested. Not all was good by rappers though. Like with most capitalists, greed and self-interest became the order of the day, and before long the good examples rappers started to set soon relegated and morphed into chaos, dereliction, irresponsiblity and hoodlumism. I'm hopeful a change with more responsibility and accountability is on the horizon with the continued brillance of pointing out the ugliness of the system and offering some real solutions, for a change.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-13T12:51:52-06:00

ID

75727

Comment

I’ve been here awhile, Kaze. I really don’t get into the racial threads around here much but Whitlock’s column reminded me so much of a heated debate I had with my mom and my sister from years ago that I had to chime in. There was a controversial TV ad around the mid 90s about the epidemic level of black-on-black crime that featured a hooded Klansman with a noose. In the ad there where statistics comparing the number of Klan lynchings to black murders. I think it was trying to argue that inner-city blacks were killing each other in numbers that exceeded recorded lynchings. At the end of the commercial the Klansman took off his hood to reveal himself as a black gang member, to drive home the idea that “we” were becoming like the Klan by our actions. At first I thought I got the message and was cool with it but my Mom and sister were deeply offended by it, and we discussed it for about an hour before they got me to see how wrong that imagery was, despite the *good* message behind it or the intent of its creators. I think Whitlock was wrong to use the term Black KKK even for dramatic effect. We can talk honestly about how the economic and social disparities in our community lead too many of us to value the *bling-bling* above human life without using such absurd imagery. My thing is we need to realize that when we glamorize a materialistic rapper or baller over a doctor, engineer or teacher and allow our kids to put down those of us who have such professional aspirations we contribute to the overall plight of our people. White people set the stage, but to some degree "we" keep ourselves down now as much as some of *them* try to keep us down. But to draw equivalence with the Klan, that’s just wrong.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-12-13T13:29:05-06:00

ID

75728

Comment

I am tempted to say that Jason Whitlock is the Stepin Fetchit of journalism. He says whatever will justify prejudiced mindsets and gets paid for it. Not cool. Anyway, like the rest of you, I blame the death of Sean Taylor on greed and desperation rather than hip-hop. Many music genres are probably flawed in one way or another, but no specific genre should be made a scapegoat every time a tragedy like this happens.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-12-13T13:34:34-06:00

ID

75729

Comment

That doesn't mean that I condone everything that is associated with rap music either, like the over-the-top cursing, materialism or misogyny. I just prefer the criticisms to have proper context and not be used to bash black culture in general.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-12-13T13:34:59-06:00

ID

75730

Comment

I remember Plato arguing in the Republic that the music the young people were listening to was causing them to become decadent. Just shows, history is never really past.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-12-13T17:11:20-06:00

ID

75731

Comment

Again I say, what music is to blame for Britney Spears' lack of materal instincts and her over the top behavior; or, Paris Hilton's jail stint; or Lindsey Lohans addiction to heroine and cocaine; or, the National Baseball Leagues addiction to steroids; or, the WWE entertainers addiction to steroids...... It amazes me that this subject is never broached, however, it is comman practice in young black folks' lives to find some fault with hip hop every time some tragedy occurs. It's outrageous and barely even worthy of disscussion anymore.

Author

Queen601

Date

2007-12-17T14:13:35-06:00

ID

75732

Comment

Hey Kaz, Can I join or get involved with one of the organizations you are active with that interacts positively with the lost youth of the "rap" generation. I currently coach a 12-14 year old baseball team, supervise my church's youth service, and volunteer with my church's youth program (picnics, sleep overs, cultural trips, vcommunity volunteer projects, etc), and am active in my HS PTSA organization. These are all good organizations but I have the baby-boomer Black middle class perspective, personality and personna. You are of a younger generation and I suspect from the content of your writting that you are more in tune with this current generation of youth. I would like to observe the type of communication skills you use to reach these kids with a positive message and hopefully generating a reciprocating positive response from them. I don't have a clue how to do this. I raised my kids to have the Christian values and work ethics that were instilled into me and my wife from our impoverished parents. My wife and I progressed and our kids are poised to progress even higher than we did. I've found that it's a lot harder to reach kids you only come into contact with on a less than daily basis. I'd like to become better at reaching, influencing and positively motivating the "endangered" black generation, but I don't have a clue. Any suggestions?

Author

FrankMickens

Date

2007-12-17T15:00:37-06:00

ID

75733

Comment

I think the answer is Rock and Roll and Heavy Metal; in addition to being air-heads and general loose as a goose chicks. Those three should make any impoverished kid look at them and say "I might be poor but I'm blessed not to be as screwed up as they are." Britney once had some southern respect about herself but she seemingly lost it all once befriended by Hilton. Even her legs aren't as pretty as they used to be.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-17T15:07:37-06:00

ID

75734

Comment

This was a joke and no one laughed. I'm hurt!

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-17T16:02:16-06:00

ID

75735

Comment

Observer..I do. You could probably have some of the MAP members come in and talk to the youth group at your church. And through this young progressives movement we are about to start (Thursdy 7:30pm Sal and Mookies btw) we are gonna lock into another skill set of folks who can help give these kids some of the life and social skills they need to make it. click on the link and email me some info and ill get ya my contacts and Ill see what we can do

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-17T17:37:48-06:00

ID

75736

Comment

Ray, I think it was your bad timing—being that you doubled posted with Casual Observer's great query of Kaze. Bad timing can kill the best of comics, you know. ;-) The Sal & Mookies gathering sounds wonderful, by the way. Way to go, Kaze (and Matt Allen). It's alliance like this that will transform this city. Cheers.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-12-17T18:44:01-06:00

ID

75737

Comment

Kaze, Is any invited to the meeting?

Author

msgrits

Date

2007-12-17T19:38:59-06:00