Rap is the culprit in killing of black men

The Baltimore Sun ^ | January 6, 2007 | Gregory Kane

[neverdem]

The 800-pound gorilla is back, and as usual folks are pretending the critter ain't in the room.

We'll call this particular 800-pound gorilla Joey, in tribute to that 1940s film about the giant ape called Mighty Joe Young. I think it's time Joey got his props. I think it's time we acknowledge Joey.

Joey, meet the guys.

Guys, shake hands with Joey.

"The guys" in this case are those Baltimoreans who, for the past week, have expressed angst and dismay about the appalling way some young black men in this city, addicted to the thug life, dispatch each other with such chilling ease. Of Baltimore's nearly 300 homicide victims each year, the overwhelming majority of victims and killers are young black men.

Everybody and everything has been mentioned as enablers to Bodymore, Murderland's culture of death: lack of jobs, lack of recreational facilities, lack of music and art programs in schools, lack of mentors. Everybody's been mentioned, that is, except Joey, who's standing in the middle of the room with a Bloods bandana on his head, a Crips scarf tied around his neck, "grillz" on his teeth and holding a Glock in his hand.

Oh, and Joey's holding a copy of The Source magazine in the other hand with a picture of rapper The Game on the cover. Get where I'm going here?

Joey represents the entertainment industry and, to a lesser extent, my profession, which some folks call "the media." If I may be permitted to use a Bill Cosbyism, the entertainment industry and the media aren't holding up our end of the bargain when it comes to reducing violence. We just don't get the link between rap music and the carnage that's going on not only on Baltimore's streets, but America's streets.

Now before I hear from hard-core...

[neverdem]

greg.kane@baltsun.com

[MovementConservative]

This is a cultural problem they will have to solve themselves. They will not listen to anyone who they don't identify with. If they choose to live this way, then death, jail, and out-of-wedlock births will be the future. Not much of a hopeful legacy being passed down.

[dfwgator]

Rap is the culprit in killing music.

[Jaysun]

Rap isn't the culprit in my view. Sure, rap isn't helping, but the rappers are recounting what they did in the past - long before rap music.

[endthematrix]

It's a lack of desire.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Our problem is that individual liberty, in general, is suffering, due to the dysfunctional behavior of this minority. Even worse, people who should know better actually boast, of "making the streets safer", by restricting the constitutional liberties of us all.

[ansel12]

" the overwhelming majority of victims and killers are young black men."






They kill a lot of everybody, and as someone that is not black I feel very uncomfortable about all the focus being about black on black crime, it implies support of the very racism that leads blacks to commit so much rape and murder against the other races.

Of course most of their victims are black, because that is who they mostly live among, but they include incredible numbers of non blacks in their violence.

[CANBFORGIVEN]

It is sin! Out of wedlock births, sexual dysfunctions, laziness (unwillingness to work), idols other than God, worship other than God, discontentment, absent fathers, promiscous women, lack of family values.......shall I continue? Until this community of lost souls wakes up and seeks repentance real change will not happen.

The good news is that Jesus loves to save people just like all of them.

[CarrotAndStick]

This is spreading to the Muzzies too:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1720092/posts


Pakistani Muslims bash Bollywood


FRANKFURT: Bollywood may wear its multi-religious pluralism as a badge of honour, but for the angry young British Muslims of Pakistani denomination, it’s all a sham and therefore a matter of extreme discomfort.

As India's oversized filmdom stampedes across the world winning accolades, a group of British Muslim youth is trashing the Bollywood genre, warning that the "cheesy second-rate imitation of Hollywood...is overrunning Pakistan and brainwashing musalmaans".

In a rap-video posted on youtube.com that is being widely circulated in Pakistani circles, the group reserves much of its venom for Bollywood’s reigning stars, many of who happen to be Muslims.

"What do you want to give your kids?/Is it Salman Khan or Islam?/Is it Shah Rukh Khan or Allah’s book?/ Is it Bobby Deol or save their souls?/ Is it Amir Khan or imaan?" intones a singer, preferring a hip-hop style to convey the message.

Hip-hop is an African-American influenced musical and cultural movement that has itself attracted criticism for its language. YouTube is a social networking website that allows users to upload, view and share videoclips and it too has attracted criticism for encouraging violence and copyright infringement.

But for the extremist Brit-Pak brigade, Bollywood bashing comes first. "Everywhere you look/It’s that kufr Bollywood/Video stores selling whores/Semi-gay actors with Muslim sounding names/With Hindu propaganda designed to create chains," goes one rant.

The unnamed group, which has produced the video from a collage of Hindi film clips and posters, says Bollywood movies are officially banned in Pakistan but it is freely available on video and DVD by piracy, which it says is "a conspiracy to allow Hindu culture thorough the backdoor."

Reports from Pakistan speak of the movie Fanaa being a big hit in the country’s underground circuit. Songs from Fanaa and other new Bollywood blockbusters are played openly in taxis and private transport.

The Pakistani elite and the ruling class lead the ranks of Bollywood aficionados, a fact that seems to rankle the British Pakistani youth who are in the limelight for their extremist views and fondness for madrassas.

"They kill Kashmiris but you still watch Mission Kashmir,’’ they admonish Pakistanis in one passage.

Another rap passage wonders: "Bollywood Bollywood what’s the future hold/ As film by film you get ever so bold/ Stories of lesbianism enter the fold/ Now you have to heat it up as it starts going cold/ Topless movies or is it incest next/ All the time it is sex sex sex."


Muslim rappers worry Western intelligence

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1737187/posts

[Tarantulas]

I clicked on the link and received this message:

"Please register or log in The feature you requested is available only to registered members."

So we can't read the entire article. But I'm surprised that this guy doesn't blame video games as well as music for the violent behavior of young adults, i.e., he's coming to the wrong conclusion. Maybe it would be good to step back and look at parental responsibility and see how much ethical training these kids were given before being set loose on the streets.

Any time a kid does something horrific, I always ask "Where were the parents?" And generally they were nowhere to be found. Get the parents to turn out good kids and there won't be so many killings. It's just common sense.

[new cruelty]

Everybody and everything has been mentioned as enablers to Bodymore, Murderland's culture of death: lack of jobs, lack of recreational facilities, lack of music and art programs in schools, lack of mentors. Everybody's been mentioned, that is, except Joey,...

And Joey's parents.

[neverdem]

So we can't read the entire article.

You can register for free or use http://www.bugmenot.com/.

[endthematrix]

Kids? The culture of gangs (orgininzed crime) necessitate a lifetime service requirement. The parents are the previous generations foot soldiers that survived the streets. Of course this is a more recent occurrence. But some grandparents are in their forties now, and are in gangs too. They may no push rock on the corner, but have a stake in a convenient store or car dealership, but still pay tribute and offer support to the crime syndicate.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Of Baltimore's nearly 300 homicide victims each year, the overwhelming majority of victims and killers are young black men.

However, the overwhelming majority of listeners of rap music are not. Blaming social ills on a form of music is ridiculous.

[Smokin' Joe]

There are fourty years of media desensitization to violence, physical and sexual, along the road behind rap. From Sam Peckinpaugh's Billy the Kid onward, splatter flicks, and increasingly realistic and deadly film fare to Jimi Hendrix singing "Hey Joe...", the body count has been rising, and the blood runs deeper.

The liberals took a few decades to villify weapons, rather than the wielders, black culture took a pass from the sociologists and embraced the excuse of 'victimhood', womyn got their 'rights', but a castrated culture sought empowerment in the only thing it felt was left.

The culture will have to set new priorities and heal itself.

The media can help, but will it? Doubtful, as the focus has been in lockstep with the communist's goals all along.

[L.N. Smithee]

Of Baltimore's nearly 300 homicide victims each year, the overwhelming majority of victims and killers are young black men.

Holy crap...three hundred?! Is that an accurate number?

[thefactor]

rap does encourage, but the fact of the matter is you have lots and lots of young black men trying to get rich in businesses that can only support a few. music, drugs, pro sports, it's all the same. it's all a hustle. the weak fall by the wayside. sad but true.

[stumpy]

35 years ago, I was a cop working the western portion of WATTS in L.A... It isn't just rap thats killing them. 35 years ago, I stopped a little 8year old kid on his way to 2nd grade.

The reason I stopped him was because of the serrated steak knife I noticed sticking our of his back pocket. He told me his momma gave it to him and told him to carry it in case any body messes with him.

Now their "mommas" and aunties buy them the gangsta clothing without a clue where the style came from. Hey it came from the California prison system where one size fits all.

I agree "rap" continues the gangster personna, but they are raised to be violent. Thats where it comes from.

[PGalt]

Criminal behavoir is caused by criminal thinking...Samenow - "Inside the Criminal Mind"

[thefactor]

little has canged from the beat you covered 35 years ago to the beat i cover now.