Posted on 04/19/2007 12:00:19 PM PDT by Dan Evans
Rap star Cam'ron says there's no situation -- including a serial killer living next door -- that would cause him to help police in any way, because to do so would hurt his music sales and violate his "code of ethics." Cam'ron, whose real name is Cameron Giles, talks to Anderson Cooper for a report on how the hip-hop culture's message to shun the police has undermined efforts to solve murders across the country. Cooper's report will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, April 22 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
"If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me?" Giles responds to a hypothetical question posed by Cooper. "I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him -- but I'd probably move," says Giles. "But I'm not going to call and be like, ÔThe serial killer's in 4E.' "
Giles' "code of ethics" also extends to crimes committed against him. After being shot and wounded by gunmen, Giles refused to cooperate with police. Why? "Because...it would definitely hurt my business, and the way I was raised, I just don't do that," says Giles. Pressed by Cooper, who says had he been the victim, he would want his attacker to be caught, Giles explains further: "But then again, you're not going to be on the stage tonight in the middle of, say, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, with people with gold and platinum teeth and dreadlocks jumping up and down singing your songs, either," says Giles. "We're in two different lines of business."
"So for you, it's really about business?" Cooper asks.
"It's about business," Giles says, "but it's still also a code of ethics."
Rappers appear to be concerned about damaging what's known as their "street credibility," says Geoffrey Canada, an anti-violence advocate and educator from New York City's Harlem neighborhood. "It's one of those things that sells music and no one really quite understands why," says Canada. Their fans look up to artists if they come from the "meanest streets of the urban ghetto," he tells Cooper. For that reason, Canada says, they do not cooperate with the police.
Canada says in the poor New York City neighborhood he grew up in, only the criminals didn't talk to the police, but within today's hip-hop culture, that's changed. "It is now a cultural norm that is being preached in poor communities....It's like you can't be a black person if you have a set of values that say 'I will not watch a crime happen in my community without getting involved to stop it,'" Canada tells Cooper.
Young people from some of New York's toughest neighborhoods echo Canada's assessment, calling the message not to help police "the rules" and helping the police "a crime" in their neighborhoods. These "rules" are contributing to a much lower percentage of arrests in homicide cases -- a statistic known as the "clearance rate" -- in largely poor, minority neighborhoods throughout the country, according to Prof. David Kennedy of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "I work in communities where the clearance rate for homicides has gone into the single digits," says Kennedy. The national rate for homicide clearance is 60 percent. "In these neighborhoods, we are on the verge of -- or maybe we have already lost -- the rule of law," he tells Cooper.
Says Canada, "It's like we're saying to the criminals, "You can have our community....Do anything you want and we will either deal with it ourselves or we'll simply ignore it.' "
Cretins don’t all live in Crete..
It's even worse than that. In Baltimore, birthplace of the Snop Snitching garbage, 52% of black men under 30 were either imprisoned or out on probation after spending time imprisoned in 2005.
You said — “It is the natural outgrowth of a culture where a sizable minority of male fathers and uncles have spent time in prisons.
The resulting prison mentality has been integrated into black culture at large.”
It certainly can be the outgrowth of post-modernism in what you said. And in addition to that, it also forms the philosophical underpinnings for that same thing.
Regards,
Star Traveler
That's called East LA.
You said — “Moral relativism, cultural Marxism”
... and post-modernism...
Regards,
Star Traveler
Exactly. It's not difficult to understand how an entrenched 'prison' culture could form in such an environment.
It's kind of a perverse twist on the ninth commandment (eighth if you're Catholic), "You shall not bear false witness". In Rapper ethic it's "You shall not bear true witness" because they value lies to protect a criminal.
The term “Post-modernism” has been so broadly appropriated that it can be applied to just about anything.
Oh stop bashing PoMo. Its connection to this is tenuous and it has its good side as well (Some great Art has come out of it).
You said — ““Tradition” in the black neighborhoods is “the police are bad” while “we are good” , regardless of circumstances. “Do not trust the cops, they will kill you.” is the order of things. If a child grows up with this kind of “tradition”, it is no wonder that the C-RAPPERS are adored. Money, power, women, drugs, big cars and mansions. Those are the things to aspire to, not honesty, charity and education. No, those are to be shunned at all costs............”
As I was saying, addressing it from the standpoint of “tradition” is not the answer — because for one group to say “your tradition is bad” and “my tradition is good” — therefore get rid of your traditions and accept mine — is not — what “post-modernism” accepts. It’s not what our culture accepts. You see, that’s “multi-culturalism” at work. “I’m okay, you’re okay.” Or — “Your traidtions are fine; my traditions are fine”.
Nope, the answer is not from addressing it in the form of “bad traditions” — “good traditions” because in the post-modernist worldview, all traditions are just as valid as the other. It won’t work that way.
All you get, when you say that — “shun those traditions” is the accusation of being bigoted and narrow-minded — and you have *no basis* for deflecting that, other than saying “I’m right and that’s the way we’ve always done it...!!”
No..., the only anti-dote to the *false foundation* of “traditions” is to acknowledge and *recognize* our Creator God, in our culture. That’s the only answer and the only solution to this problem...
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said — “The term “Post-modernism” has been so broadly appropriated that it can be applied to just about anything.”
It could be because post-modernism’s effects are widely in use in our culture. In other words, it *is* pervasive...
Regards,
Star Traveler
You said — “Oh stop bashing PoMo. Its connection to this is tenuous and it has its good side as well (Some great Art has come out of it).”
No good has come out of it, in terms of the effects that it has had on our culture.
The idea from it, that you create your own truth, that there is no such thing as abolute truth that exists outside of yourself, that your truth is yours, while your neighbor’s truth (which is different) is his and both can exist as the same time, because it *only* belongs to you (and not to your neighbor), that there, that there are no absolute morals that exist outside of yourself, so that your neighbor can engage in *immoral* acts (such as this rapper) but, that pertains to him and thus, it’s okay, it’s his truth and his morals — this has all come from post-modernism.
And this post-modernism has all come from rejecting and/or refusing to acknowledge our Creator God in our culture (while many individuals do, I know). By not acknowledging our Creator God (who is that absolute truth and who forms those absolute morals) — we have become “gods unto ourselves” — which is exactly what post-modernism advocates.
So, this is very relevant, in that we (as a culture) have kicked out Creator God out of the public discourse and out of the public consciousness, and have become those “gods unto ourselves”. This rapper is simply a god unto himself, in the perfect mold of post-modernism....
Regards,
Star Traveler
Now your posts make much more sense.
Raised to hate “the Man.” Meanwhile, being a drug dealer or serial murderer is OK in his twisted world.
Bill Cosby was right.
I agree that God is the ultimate answer and no solution devised by man will work 100% of the time. But until He comes again, we must get along together or we’ll all perish, guaranteed.
Education seems to be the most logical way of getting to these urban kids of all colors, but the “tradition” of “you tryin’ to act white?” if you do well in school is a brick wall that is all but impenetrable. Peer pressure is stronger than parental pressure. A culture of ignorance is what it breeds.
“If I can’t succeed, then you can’t succeed either” mentality is what has kept the kids in poverty for 4 decades and will for 40 more if we don’t find a way to brak down that wall!............
This moron is probably a relative of Robert Mugabe.
You said — “I agree that God is the ultimate answer and no solution devised by man will work 100% of the time. But until He comes again, we must get along together or we’ll all perish, guaranteed.”
Well, there are two aspects to “God is the ultimate answer.” One is personally speaking. I, as an individual, accept and acknowledge God as our Creator God and all proceeds from Him and I accept Him, Jesus Christ, as my personal Savior.
The other aspect is culturally speaking — or “society-wide”. That’s where we find large groups of people either accepting our Creator God or rejecting Him and becoming “gods unto themselves” in the post-modern fashion.
Now, I’m talking (at least in this thread) to the culture aspect of it. And that’s where we need to acknowledge God as our Creator God. That’s where the battle needs to take place — and not in some future timeframe, when He comes again.
Or else, we will have the *growing effects* of post-modernism, everyone being a god unto themselves, tradition of the past (which, for the most part stemmed from the acknowledgment of our Creator God) being thrown off as archaic and not fitting to our “englightenment” of today. That’s exactly what we’re getting.
.
You said — “Education seems to be the most logical way of getting to these urban kids of all colors, but the “tradition” of “you tryin’ to act white?” if you do well in school is a brick wall that is all but impenetrable. Peer pressure is stronger than parental pressure. A culture of ignorance is what it breeds.”
And the educational system, which is also steeped in post-modernism, has no ability to combat this, because of what its philosophy is. There are *totally powerless* to do anything about it.
.
Finally you said — “If I can’t succeed, then you can’t succeed either” mentality is what has kept the kids in poverty for 4 decades and will for 40 more if we don’t find a way to brak down that wall!............
There’s really only one way to break down that wall and that’s by the acknowledgement of our Creator God in our culture and in our schools. Until that happens — it will continue and get worse. There is *no hope* outside of that. Expect it to get worse and expect to find no answers from “man’s side” which expresses, “we are gods unto ourselves...
Regards,
Star Traveler
Oh, I DO expect it to get worse, MUCH more worse than it is. Acknowledgement of God will never happen as long as the SCOTUS and the Liberals control the local schools. Our founding fathers acknowledged God in all their endeavors and were rewarded for it. That is what we have to get back to. But sadly, I know that it is most likely a fruitless tree that I am growing. Until we have total collapse of this decadent self-centered system we have, things will not get better. I see parallels with Rome, but my most frightening vision is the parallels with ancient Judah and Israel...............
Yeah Dan, after reading your comment this recent story came to mind. Police in Tulsa were attempting to arrest a murder suspect. Consequently, a huge crowd gathered. The mob fired shots at officers, threw rocks, and attacked a local female TV reporter. The police literally did need an armored car.
Unruly Crowd Gathers at Standoff
Gangsta Rap and its “street cred” is followed in white suburbs as well.
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