Promote your business or product on 700level.com. For
more information about advertising with us CLICK HERE!

Good post Jules.

I tend to agree that HH does not have a direct causal effect on the violence that we see in the AA community, but the glorification of it through certain rap artists, tends to create a dynamic that enforces those types of behaviors.

That being said, It is tragic that Taylor was murdered. I'm sorry, but no one can justify the killing of another human being by telling me "He hung out with the wrong crowd". Should he have moved his family out of a bad situation? Yes. But the problem is not a simple case of who he hung out with. We have all hung out with "that guy" in the past who was a bit of a scum bag, but you knew him since he was a kid, blah blah blah. Most of us grow up, become responsible adults and just sort of cut those unsavory people out of our lives. The real difference between us and Taylor is that Taylor hung out with the same types of people, they just happen to have guns and a general disregard for human life. I never became a target because I forgot where I came from, it is a shame that Taylor did.

There is an undeniable socio-economic element at play here, and I agree that people living in the ghettos are at a disadvantage to the kid living in lower merion. However, there are 2 ways to go when you are in that type of situation: 1)utilize all of the tools at your disposal to get out of the ghetto or 2) throw your hands up in the air, blame someone for your situation and develop the ghetto attitude that thinks education is worthless, the world owes you for your situation and resolving your issues with a handgun.

I personally don't find HH to be nearly as violent as it was even 5 years ago, but I do agree that glorifying the drug trade, supa-5ing that ho and all of these other messages tend to enforce a ghetto attitude that must change.

Did anyone see the movie Idiocracy?

It wasn't very good, but I did laugh hard a few times.

The basis of the movie was dumb people procreate at a much higher rate than smart, productive members of society and in the year 2500, the entire country is virtually retarded. An average guy from the year 2006 gets frozen by the army and because of some hijinx, he ends up thawing in the year 2500, where he is the smartest man alive.

The premise was good, but on top of what it was trying to say about society in a goofy way, it reminds me of what I was trying to say about the ghetto cycle.

If it's hard to get out financially, cool to speak broken english/slang, faggy to do well in school /obey laws, etc. how are the problems supposed to be corrected?

What is doing more to continue enforcing those stereotypes and maintain the importance of "keepin it real" than rap?

If I was from the ghetto, I'd be proud to get out of there and leave those idiots trying to hold me back in the dust. Then again, it's not cool to be ignorant, poor, and whiny/needy where I'm from.

Somehow, Snow's "Informer" was going on in the back of my head while reading FD's post.

1)utilize all of the tools at your disposal to get out of the ghetto

Again, I'm not saying it can't be done- what I'm saying is that it's easier said than done. Especially if you've never experienced what it's like living there, what you go thru on a daily basis just to survive the day. It's an alien, incomprehensible world to most.

or 2) throw your hands up in the air, blame someone for your situation and develop the ghetto attitude that thinks education is worthless, the world owes you for your situation and resolving your issues with a handgun.

I've never advocated this- I just point out that burying your head in the sand and pretending that it's "not my problem" then pulling your head out long enough to point your fingers and blame when the crime starts to spillover affect the rest of society (your backyard) is disingenuous.
It's not like we're talking about illegal immigrants, we're talking about Americans here. And we're not even talking about reparations, just long overdue corrections.

Again, I'm not saying it can't be done- what I'm saying is that it's easier said than done. Especially if you've never experienced what it's like living there, what you go thru on a daily basis just to survive the day. It's an alien, incomprehensible world to most.

Did you grow up in the ghetto, FB?

Did you grow up in the ghetto, FB?

I was too young to be fully affected, my parents moved us out before I hit grade school. Lived in Norf Philly on Broad for a bit, then on Chelten. I was lucky.

There are worse places in Philly than Germantown and Chelten.

Not many, though.

But I still have family ALL over. I haven't forgotten where I come from.

But I still have family ALL over. I haven't forgotten where I come from.

Mistake #1.

How did your family get you out of the ghetto AND why has it become so much worse over the past 30 years while the rest of the country has been thriving?

How did your family get you out of the ghetto

My father joined the Army, then got a job with Bell after he got back- My mother subsequently got a job with Bell. Like I said, I was lucky. Lucky means everybody isn't as lucky as you. Everytime I go visit the family "in the hood", I realize that.

As far as it being Mistake #1, I think the mistake would be to forget where I came from. It gives you a sense of reality and appreciation.

My father joined the Army, then got a job with Bell after he got back- My mother subsequently got a job with Bell. Like I said, I was lucky. Lucky means everybody isn't as lucky as you. Everytime I go visit the family "in the hood", I realize that.

Is that luck? Sounds like actions (fairly simple ones at that) by your parents directly begat a positive result.

As far as it being Mistake #1, I think the mistake would be to forget where I came from. It gives you a sense of reality and appreciation.

Leave those losers in the rear view!

Sounds like actions (fairly simple ones at that)

I think my abbreviated version makes it sound that way

Army, jobs, move.

I don't want to minimize military service, but what is special about that path other than the fact that it wasn't the easiest one?

I'm lucky my father was around to join the Army, instead of dead in the gutter or locked up in and out of the system.

Besides, getting a job as a black man or woman (particularly in the 70's) isn't as simple as "I'm qualified". But here I go again, broken record, right?

The army accepts everyone now, so there you go...free ride for anyone in the ghetto willing to get off their ass and work for a future.

They'll have to remember that the army issued sidearms and rifles are for the enemy, not "wetting the t-shirt" of a drill sergeant who disrespects them.

Well, judging by their offspring they probably weren't very bright.

The army accepts everyone now, so there you go...free ride for anyone in the ghetto willing to get off their ass and work for a future.

I'd hardly call joining the Armed Forces "a free ride".

Maybe the Coast Guard

I'd hardly call joining the Armed Forces "a free ride".

Well, they're hiring, offer free technical or mechanical training, and have incentives that include free education after military service.

Not a free ride by any means, but a pretty good opportunity if your other option is getting shot because of the street you live on for free.

"There are worse places in Philly than Germantown and Chelten.

Not many, though"

Try being the smart-mouth white kid who grew up 5 blocks from G & C. All I really learned as a kid in G-Town was an appreciation for Soul (food & music) and how to take a punch.

NTF

You're preaching to the choir, F-d

So we're in agreement: Nas killed Sean Taylor.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  13 14 15 16