Filmmaker Spike Lee says young blacks ignore education

Modesto Bee ^ | 2/6/03 | AP

[hoosierskypilot]

FRESNO, Calif.(AP) - Filmmaker Spike Lee says American culture has young blacks believing they have only three routes to success: playing professional sports, making rap music or selling drugs. "It no longer seems to me that we are preoccupied with education and intelligence. It's not cool," Lee said. "Even sicker, we equate smart and intelligent with being white. Intelligence is white and uncool."

[Mark Turbo]

Just because you're African-American don't mean anything you do is all right because you're African-American," [Spike Lee] said.

"No kidding. Tell me something I don't know.", Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said.

[Kenny Bunk]

Ah fuh cryin' out loud!

Ain't you never seed that redneck bumper sticker,

"My Kid Beat Up an Honor Roll Kid at Grant School?"

Nobody likes little booky-book nerds. Ya want my theory?

To be a student is to admit inequality, that is, ignorance of something the teacher knows that you know you need to be taught. That's a big step for any human. If that student is receiving other messages of implied inequality and is not supported at home, that student is going to dump school and probably beat up the teacher. It ain't black. It's human.

Where the self-esteem crown went wrong is in not stressing the first part of the proposition. "You are ignorant. You need to admit that inequality in some mysterious way, to learn. If you don't, you ain't." To the leftist hacks who ruin public schools, all inequality is the same, so it is somehow OK to be ignorant and be proud to remain that way.

[subterfuge]

I heard that Lee gave a speech in Europe and he supposedly stated that any BET was a very harmful influence on American kids and that it was time for African-Americans to start being responsible for their own actions. Don't know if its true.

[hoosierskypilot]

Busted. It's hyperbole. I thought it would be obvious, but since this is purely the printed word, I should use the signal.

[hoosierskypilot]

<sarcasm .... was supposed to be in there. Sorry. I meant to say that the "sarcasm" symbol should be in there.

[lodwick]

er uh...doh

[hoosierskypilot]

it wasn't cool for black kids to get good grades

I went to school about 30 years ago, am white, and surrounded myself with a bunch of retards (hoods). It wasn't cool for me to get good grades, either. Took me six years to get out of high school.

Wasn't just a black thing. Anybody can do anything they want if they want it badly enough.

[hoosierskypilot]

BTW, your screen name comes from my favorite movie of all time. The first time I saw it was in St. Pete, Fla, and the scene with the choppers coming over the mountains hooked me for life.

[#3Fan]

It's not cool," Lee said. "Even sicker, we equate smart and intelligent with being white. Intelligence is white and uncool."

The main example that comes to mind was in Beverly Hills Cop" when Eddie Murphy's character made fun of that black cop that was speaking intelligently. Also Fresh Prince of Bel Air where the son (can't remember his name) is always made fun of.

[xm177e2]

Interesting. Lee is not blaming whitey, for once.

He probably does think it's our fault, but only blacks themselves can get themselves out of the mess they're in. He probably thinks whites can help (through programs like affirmative action), but if blacks themselves lack the drive to get smart and get ahead, it will all be for naught.

[hoosierskypilot]

Do you have a source for your figure of "hundreds of trillions of dollars

Actually, I checked my source, and the correct amount was "eleventy-bazillion" dollars.

[Mark Turbo]

Also Fresh Prince of Bel Air where the son (can't remember his name) is always made fun of.

Carlton.

[Vicki]

Wasn't just a black thing. Anybody can do anything they want if they want it badly enough.

It certainly was more prevalent among the black students. Two of the black students that were academic achievers are now doctors with very successful practices in my city. I wonder what their peers think now? Do they now wish they hadn't "been cool" in school?

[pke]

Hatred is keeping certain African Americans down. Role models who spew hatred only make this problems worse. Hatred is not the answer and all Americans need to learn this.

[Amelia]

"There is nothing wrong being in the ghetto," said Lee, a native of Atlanta who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. "But you have to try to get out of the ghetto. There is a mentality of these young cats, and it's genocide."

About time someone said it. Wonder what he's planning to do about it, besides talk.

[ContentiousObjector]

Everyone, go on your filesharing program of choice and search for "Chris Rock" and "Keeping It Real"

And for the safety of your keyboard move any carbonated drinks out of the room

[Jhensy]

I've got some Jamaican buddies. Decent guys, funny as hell, hard-working as the day is long, and don't EVER link them with African-Americans.

[GSWarrior]

How many black teens know who Thomas Sowell or Ward Connerly or JC Watts are?

[Polybius]

"My Kid Beat Up an Honor Roll Kid at Grant School?"

And the Honor Roll Kid says:

"That's alright.
That's O.K.
Your kid will be working for me some day." ;-)

"Hire that man, Smithers, and put him on shower cleaning detail with Gay Bruno. I have some old scores to settle with him from my Gant School days."

[SBprone]

Spike is a total loudmouth racist jerk as well as a film-making genius. That's just the way it is with artists. And for some of you who are too young to remember, Harry Belafonte was one of the GREAT performing artists of his time.

Yes Spike has hit middle age, but I think there's something else going on here. Black Americans are no longer the largest "minority" group if you count "Hispanics" as a minority group. As the proportion of Blacks in our society declines as a result of immigration and higher fertility among recent immigrants Blacks are facing growing apathy in the rest of the population about what Blacks want and what Blacks think.

Hispanic and other ethnic minorities in the US for the most part could give a rats rear about the grievances of Blacks. This is the emerging reality that folks like Spike Lee are beginning to notice. They may have already reached their high water mark in terms of other Americans caring about their concerns. When nobody gives a s**t anymore they could wind up with nobody to look after them except themselves. And that would be just what the doctor ordered.