Man charged with vandalism of Tupac Shakur statue (Can't be a hate crime 'cuz perp is black)

AJC ^ | Nov 2, 2007 | DAVID SIMPSON

[Tax-chick]

Ah, that was funnier than I realized at first!

[13Sisters76]

I heard this on the news and all I could think was....”WHO CARES?”

Yup- they named an “arts center” after this worthless, no-talent gangbanger-wannabe, but given the state of the “arts” these days, no one should really be surprised. Besides, we have a long history of canonizing the strangest people here.

How this jerk lived is how he died. You can take the boy out of the slum, but you can’t take the slum out of the boy...

[Cyman]

TwoPack is to art what Arafat was to peace.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Wow! What a contrast!

Political correctness is a joke.

That should definitely go in the next Ann Coulter or Laura Ingraham book.

[ReignOfError]

All this is a felony? They have really bizarre folks there in the DeKalb prosecutor's office, but more importantly, really bizarre folks in the IL legislature that provided such a law.

Wrong DeKalb. This is DeKalb County, Georgia.

I'm guessing that, unless there's some permanent damage not mentioned in the article, they overcharged the case to jack up the bail and/or intimidate the defendant, and it'll never go to trial as a felony.

[ReignOfError]

I can’t believe they named a performing arts center after that clown, hahaha.

http://www.tasf.org/about.asp

Founded by Tupac's mother, an out-there lefty, to be sure -- Tupac Amaru Shakur was named for the Marxist rebel group in Peru. You might remember them as the ones who seized the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima several years ago, and were killed, to a man, in a command raid.

But that aside, the "arts center" is funded by a fundation founded by Tupac's mother. I've only driven by it, but it sounds like a pleasant place, and Tupac's name attracts kids who wouldn't be into the Ray Charles, let alone Ray Stevens, arts center. If it gives them something to do and keeps them off the streets, I've got no problem with it.

[L98Fiero]

“If they found the “noose” and had not caught the perp in the act, then it would have been determined to have been a horrible hate crime by evil white guys who should be burned at the stake. Riots to follow.”

That pretty much what the center alluded to in their press release. Notice they described a piece of string with a cross tied to it a “noose”. Then the cops caught a black guy in the act. No word from the center.

[ReignOfError]

Unfortunately he did, but he had a different side. He was to rap what Kurt Cobain was to rock. I'd expand on the subject more but I won't waste the thread's time.

I can't call myself a huge fan, but I agree with you that there was a lot going on in his music, and I'm glad not to be the only one around here who rejects hip-hop, or even "gangsta rap," out of hand.

My favorite music is jazz, but as I've lived and learned, I've come to the conclusion that most music of just about any genre is crap. But the flip-side of that is in every genre, there are smart and creative people with interesting ideas; and even if the music isn't among my favorites, I can appreciate it.

I used to reject most hip-hop and electronica out of hand, because my background is in playing "real" (brass) instruments, and I had disdain for anyone who "makes music" by remixing the performances of other people couldn't be worth the time of day. It was Moby who first turned me around on that -- he was the first guy who was doing clever enough things that he turned mixing into a form of composing.

From there, I started finding gems in music I'd never deigned to listen to before. As I said, even if it doesn't set my toes a-tapping, listening with an analytical ear, I can appreciate it.

[bigjackattack]

the novel way that he is carrying his pistol may have some serious conseuences if there were a accidental discharge

[Tax-chick]

If more people like that shot off Mr. Wiggles, it would be a real benefit for society.

[pollwatcher]

Thanks for the Wiki link. His life, background and misdeeds were so eye-openingly disfunctional that it’s no surprise what happened to him.

I don’t think I could ever try to listen to his stuff objectively, even if I tried.

But let’s put more statues up of him and tear down ones of such racists as George Washington, etc.

[Enchante]

Well I did think this bit epitomized the lunacy of many academics on the cultural left who have no intellectual standards and simply rant about whatever b.s. suits their predilections:

"Many of the speakers discussed Shakur’s status and public persona, including State University of New York English professor Mark Anthony Neal who gave the talk “Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian” in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the “organic intellectual” expressing the concerns of a larger group"

[Constantine XIII]

“Not everyone here watches NASCAR and listens to Trace Adkins, OK?”

:D

[chesty_puller]

The only rapper I could ever listen to was George Burns, and he was awful.

[VirginiaConstitutionalist]

I think it the police report was faked, and the real Tupac statue is in hiding.