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Vick is latest to take rap for the rap in our culture (a black perspective)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 07/20/2007 | Bryan Burwell

Posted on 07/23/2007 10:46:58 AM PDT by newgeezer

All the breathless debates about Michael Vick are missing the point. The bigger issue has nothing to do with whether or not he deserves the right of due process, or whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should suspend him, or whether Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank should enable him or give him tough love. It's not even about whether ... Nike should be launching another designer shoe with his name on it.

All of those are minor distractions from ...:

How did someone like Michael Vick ever come to exist?

Are we really ready to have that conversation? Do we dare explore how a young man of such unique athletic gifts and such obvious on-field marketing appeal was allowed to turn into just another unfortunate mug shot and potential ruined life? How did that remarkable athlete get a $100 million contract with the Falcons, become Nike's poster boy, rake in endorsements ..., then find himself on the verge of blowing it all because of an incredible tale that seems to come straight out of some hardcore gangsta rap video?

... The ultimate symbols of black athletes in our society used to be men of substance and positive image. Men with social conscience and resolve such as Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood, Jim Brown, ... They carried a burden and deep-rooted responsibility to portray themselves with a sense of dignity, pride and purpose. Even ... rebels such as Muhammad Ali ... stood for something more meaningful than a multimillion-dollar shoe deal.

But somewhere between Jackie Robinson and Michael Vick, ... "Street cred" became the anthem of the modern black athlete, this misguided notion that the only way to appeal to the young demographic of the sneaker-buying public was to adopt the negative attitudes of the thug life popularized by black hip-hop/gangster rappers. ...

(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: black; blackculture; character; dogfighting; hiphop; michaelvick; rap; rappers
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To: newgeezer

They didn’t always wear those baggy pants; one day at a department store in Cincinnati in the tire shop, a youth came through the back door, grabbed a new tire off the rack and sprinted toward the open garage door.

Within seconds, there were five of us in hot pursuit, all heels and elbows; after four blocks we were spread out like NASCAR racers on the 30th lap except for this one long-legged salesman from the accessories department still in sight down the street.

Tired, and disgusted, we trudged back up the street toward the stupidly abandoned shop and arrived just in time to see two of his companions drive off with a pickup bed full of tires.


61 posted on 07/23/2007 12:12:27 PM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: SgtSki
I haven't watched the NBA for about 20 years and have added the National Felon's League a few years back.

Me, too. Exactly the same story, and it sounds like for much the same reasons.

For quite a few years now, anytime anyone wants to talk about the NBA, I say something like, "Thanks but, I really couldn't care less about gangsta-ball."

"National Felons League"... I like it. Thanks; I've been wondering what to call the NFL.

62 posted on 07/23/2007 12:12:40 PM PDT by newgeezer (Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.)
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To: Old Professer

I have this image of Jimmy opening the car door for Paris and just stut stut stuttering away


63 posted on 07/23/2007 12:13:48 PM PDT by dblshot
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To: radiohead

No insult intended, but I’ll bet if my Lab could talk, he wouldn’t be apologizing for Pit Bulls.


64 posted on 07/23/2007 12:15:18 PM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: newgeezer

I note Mr. Burwell does not mention OJ as a black hero of old.


65 posted on 07/23/2007 12:20:31 PM PDT by edsheppa
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To: newgeezer

This battle is over, and the thugs won. How do I know? Because white kids are emulating them.


66 posted on 07/23/2007 12:24:26 PM PDT by DesScorp
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To: reagan_fanatic
The problem is the hijacking of African-American culture by the hip-hop generation that has helped glorify every rotten, foul and disgusting racial stereotype it took generations to eradicate.

BUMP for the truth.

Are they glorifying stereotypes or attributes?

67 posted on 07/23/2007 12:25:02 PM PDT by rogue yam
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To: DOGEY

I’m surprised he didn’t add Wilt Chamberlain. /s

There certainly have been plenty of examples that are better than Jim Brown. (Dr. J and Bill Russell come to mind, but I could probably name a hundred without too much effort.)


68 posted on 07/23/2007 12:25:31 PM PDT by Gil4 (Time Man of the Year 2006 - and I'm darned proud of it)
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To: danno3150
Who will be the first to jump to his defense.

I will - you're just blaming the victim. Yes, the degenerate ghetto lifestyle is the product of a dysfunctional culture. But it's the legacy of slavery & discrimination that destroyed black families long before the Great Society.

IOW, it's all whitey's fault & will always be whitey's fault. Even those that arrived back around 1900 & even when Hispanics make up the future majority. Now pay up - reparations are in order.

69 posted on 07/23/2007 12:29:09 PM PDT by Chuck Dent
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To: Chuck Dent
I stand corrected. If I might make a suggestion. Future rants should specify “the white man” in lieu of “whitey”. Everyone in the liberal cognoscenti knows women had nothing to do with slavery and repression. /s
70 posted on 07/23/2007 12:36:28 PM PDT by danno3150
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To: ClearCase_guy
"I think that problems were there prior to the advent of the hip-hop generation"

We must understand that hip-hop is simply a recent symptom of a long-sick culture. Fighting dogs is another.

71 posted on 07/23/2007 12:36:53 PM PDT by YHAOS
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To: CJ Wolf

....Or the new Vic Mobile phone with selective call screening, for when you’re being hounded by the press.


72 posted on 07/23/2007 12:37:52 PM PDT by -=SoylentSquirrel=- (I ate Kangaroo once: I found it very tough and rubbery.)
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To: newgeezer

It’s going to be interesting to check the money/timeline when this all got started.

The indictment starts out “Early 2001”, “May 2001”, “June 2001”. So this looks like it could have all began while Vick was in the spring semester at VT before he left school.

Those dates are before he was drafted by Atlanta. But I’m sure he had signed many lucrative endorsement contracts. And/or had a couple “personal” loans from other folks.

And another thing... it’s not hard for me to understand how someone can do these things to a dog....when he’s already admitted to knowingly giving herpes to at least one woman.

(Can anyone get ahold of a cache from VicksK9Kennels.com )


73 posted on 07/23/2007 12:38:45 PM PDT by Canali
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To: Raymann

Did you miss the part about them killing one of the dogs by throwing water on it and then electocuting it, or throwing one down on the ground to kill it. They don’t just enjoy the fights, but the cruelty of them, apparently.

Is that an appropriate part of culture?

Violence of this nature dehumanizes people, IMHO. No, they’re not going to become serial murderers any time soon, although cruelty to animals often precedes violence to people according to some studies.

Then, you have those wannabe’s that either train their pitbulls to fight, or don’t train against aggression, and they end up killing the neighbor’s kid (what a surprise).

I am no PETA animal rights dingdong, but what they and others have done with these dogs is shameful.


74 posted on 07/23/2007 12:39:17 PM PDT by Wicket (God bless and protect our troops and God bless America)
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To: newgeezer
Sometimes you just can't take the 'hood out of the boy.

Marcus Vick has had his share of "unfortunate" incidents, as well.

75 posted on 07/23/2007 12:42:55 PM PDT by GSWarrior
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To: RexBeach

Yes, he was. He became one when he determined that Republicans encourage self reliance while Democrats encourage government reliance.


76 posted on 07/23/2007 12:43:30 PM PDT by DennisR (Look around - God has given countless clues that He does, indeed, exist.)
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To: danno3150; All
Good comments...I have two related questions possibly you ca answer.

I read somewheres int he last few days that for some years, rap stars like Snoop Dog have glorified dog fighting in their songs/videos. Is this true? If so, why hasn't SD lost his commercial endorsements. He did an ad for Chrysler last year, IIRC.

Your comments about the degration of culture, society are 100% correct. However, I thnk Vick is a different case entirely, far worse. He's what, 28???.yet he's been involved in the dog fighting culture for 6 or more years. That's about 21-22.. Psychological studies of serial killers show they just don't start out killig women..they build up to it over some years..they start out torturing animals, maybe arson. So Vick had to be doing lots of bad stuff for years as a teenager..he didn't just oen day "jump" into the blood-sport pit of dogfighting...

77 posted on 07/23/2007 12:43:37 PM PDT by ken5050
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To: Raymann

“Animals don’t have rights to violate, people do...”

All God’s creatures have right to be treated humanely, even those that we raise for food. If you truly see nothing evil about dog fighting or think it’s no different than watching an action flick (the action is just pretend...didn’t you know?) then your brain is too screwed up for me to even try to figure out. I hope that you don’t have pets. No need to respond, I really don’t want to hear from you.


78 posted on 07/23/2007 12:46:35 PM PDT by beelzepug ("One should never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.")
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To: DesScorp
This battle is over, and the thugs won. How do I know? Because white kids are emulating them.

I'd agree, except it seems to me the 'older' generation has been saying that for a long, long time.

What you refer to as "white kids emulating" is nothing new. It goes at least as far back as Chuck Berry, and probably as far back as the jazz/swing era (if not further).

79 posted on 07/23/2007 12:47:13 PM PDT by newgeezer (Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.)
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To: ishabibble
"Next week, he and Lee Iaccoca are wearing matching Perry Como sweaters and shilling for Chrysler."

It takes a lot to inspire me to write an old fashioned letter and find an address to send it to. That commercial did though.

I just couldn't believe they did that. Any last shred of respect I had for Chrysler was gone the first time I saw that commercial.

There's funny and then there's legitimizing one of the worst of the worst scumbag POS street thugs. What Chrysler did was the latter.

How they couldn't see it before they made the commercial was lost on me.

80 posted on 07/23/2007 12:50:30 PM PDT by libs_kma (www.imwithfred.com)
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