EVERYTHING that you said makes sense. But what you said goes away from the common theme that we've had in this thread, and that it's the white mans fault for slavery 150+ years ago, and that it's the white man holding them down, this and that.
What you said makes black parents accountable for their actions. Moms drug use and irresponsibility, a father running off and not wanting to care for his children, has nothing to do with the white man, or the white man holding her down. Selling off her food stamps for drugs that takes food out of her children's stomachs, is a problem within the black community.
I completely understand where you're coming from with that, and I can understand why you would want to sell drugs or steal things if you're hungry. The one part where this all breaks down, is the violence. Being poor is not an excuse for violence. Other groups are poor, and they aren't nearly as violent. I think this is where papajohn is coming from. Blacks in general tend to be more apt for violence in many situations. Look at the Hip Hop Awards. These are people with money, lots and lots of money, yet you have a 100 person brawl spread out over 2 floors of a banquet hall.
I truly think that gangster rap has had a negative influence on the community as well. The message it promotes is drugs, violence, sex, selling of drugs, do anything for money etc, all coming from someone with millions and millions in the bank that they want to be like. That is encouraging these kids you're talking about to take the wrong course of action. People like 50 Cent singing about how he was a millionaire from selling drugs before he ever got famous. Is that really the message that you should be promoting to the community? Why isn't the community hearing about how Alicia Keys used her brain and went to Columbia University before she became famous? You have rappers calling one another out and talking trash, this way and that, and then one or more ends up in a shooting. When's the last time you heard Tim McGraw threaten Kenny Chesney?
I never addressed the issue of "the white man keeping us down" because personally I dont subscribe to that belief...but what u must keep in mind, and something that is proven to me even in my own family, is that we as black people are only 30-40 yrs (tops) removed from the white man "literally keeping us down" in the 60's and 70's. Parents that lived through that will tell their children dont do something or they cant do something because the white man wont let them...whether its true or not. So in turn, that child will pass that mentality on to their children and the cycle continues.
In addition, If you dont live in an area where race relations are put to the test then it's kind of hard to understand where this sentiment comes from, especially when u see shit on TV that suggests blacks are making such tremendous progress. The 80's and 90's in NYC were rife with racial conflicts and it is still prevalent today.
The white police officers from Long Island come to the hood and act like they hunting niggas on a daily basis. I dont know if any of you dudes actually live this...but I do on the regular. Its like a Spike Lee movie from back in the days where the white cops hop out on young black dudes and throw them to the ground and search them for some make believe drugs they thought they saw.
Civil rights are violated under the guise of some shit called "Zero Tolerance Zones" like Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, East NY, and Brownsville...Now guess which areas of Brooklyn have the highest concentration of Black folks?
When poor blacks see other black people on TV doing good...they be like...thats good for them but my reality is totally different...I gotta shoot, stab, and fight to keep my lil apartment and Honda Accord cuz there are wolves that will take it the first chance they get.
The propensity for violence in blacks is a culmination of factors and can make this post extremely long. If you really want to know the scientific, historical and cultural reasons...just let me know and I will break it down for you, but suffice it to say, when black people came to this country, they were a peaceful, humble and trusting group (which is why they got tricked/forced/sold into slavery in the first place). Any violence and depravity was learned while we were here from our slave masters. How did the slave masters keep a physically bigger and stronger group of people in line?...They struck the fear of god in them with unfathomable acts of violence.
Now fast forward to now, when a black man doesnt want to be fucked with, whether its out of fear or a delusional perspective on life, what does he do?...He follows in the foot steps of the slave master and strike with extreme force and violence.
Another thing to take into account: Black people didnt have guns when we came here, we dont make guns, we dont have labs to make drugs, and we dont have airplanes to fly shit in from drug producing countries. :2twocents:
