Why the **** was Shamey yellowed?

I don't think I have a problem with the music itself. I have a problem with how the lyrics, by some people, are interpreted. I think it has an actual influence over some people.

It's not a coincidence that the only groups of people I somewhat am wary of are thugged out dudes and skinheads (and I really don't run into many skinheads anymore). I try to avoid them. I don't avoid people coming out of a Jazz bar. If you have a hat dipped low and a hoodie on walking towards me, my guard goes way up. Like I said, if that's racist, so be it. I'm still crossing the street.

wil, I watched those few minutes you suggested (20:15 to 24:20) and it didn't open my eyes or change my view about anything whatsoever, so gjge I guess, another failed attempt at explaining away your racism as "but the rest of you just DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S REALLY LIKE"

I don't know. A big first step would be to reform our justice system, or at least the laws that are used to disproportionately imprison minorities. The war on drugs needs to end, drug use decriminalized, treat addiction as a health problem. Felony prohibitions probably need to be examined, at least for drug offenses, and reformed. We need to start increasing access to nutritious foods for low-income children and find ways to instill good eating habits. Like 1 in 5 kids in our country is food insecure. I don't know what the demographic breakdown is, but it's probably a safe bet that minorities are disproportionately affected. If you aren't getting proper nutrition as a child, you won't be able to pay attention and perform as well in school, so that will limit future life possibilities. Also, we need to reform juvenile punishment in schools. The school to prison pipeline, as it's called, is harming minority children in big ways, unjustly, imo.

:thumbsup:

The point is there is a vast difference between the groups of people we are arguing about. People giving examples of "I've been listening to hip-hop all my life!" and the young men in the above video isn't even comparable.

There's a huge difference between living in West Baltimore and watching The Wire.

What makes you think everyone talking here hasn't been to rough areas? FWIW I've had much worse experiences with biker gangs than skinheads or "rap music listeners". We know you are equating all hip hop listeners to crips and bloods right now too btw.

I think the Coats essay The Case for Reparations makes a good point in that before we as a society can every really get past our awful legacy of white supremacy, we have to have an honest appraisal of the extent to which we have oppressed minorities. Right now we have a large portion of our society either ignorant to, or in denial of how ugly our history is with respect to oppressing minorities. That doesn't help anything. It's good to keep in mind, too, that hundreds of years of systemic oppression is not going to be remedied over night or even within a generation. It's going to take time, I think to right the wrongs our society has done.

I just thought of another policy that could greatly benefit minorities, strong sex education programs and access to family planning services and contraceptives.

I just don't. If you don't think there is a difference between driving through something and living in it, then lol.

Everyone's a crip or blood! (points and laughs)

wil immediately assumes that everyone who isn't as ****ty as he is is some latte-sipping naive liberals who've never listen to that horrible hippity-hop when he's incoherently raging about how much he loathes poor people/black people/etc.(this happens around twice a month, not sure how he picks which threads to do it in)

Venus is amirite?!

Actually, it's worse than simply denial. There has been a very effective campaign to shift the source of racial oppression from systemic white supremacist policies to moral failings. The symptoms of poverty, i.e. crime, drug use, etc., rather than being a natural consequence of being economically and socially repressed and living in extreme poverty with few opportunities for social mobility, has been made out to be the result of laziness or some kind of inherent flaw. This is just a racist lie, at least insomuch as they are more prone to that activity than anyone else.

There are many groups of people which have been exposed to exactly this type of program and have rejected it. Especially so in the Hispanic community, where teenage pregnancy rates are very high. There are cultural and religious influences that have a very strong influence on this type of behavior.

I don't think it's as easy as you think.

This is so LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL until I remembered you have a kid, then it's just sad. That poor girl.

I apologize for saying it was a defense. Apparently it's not that, incredibly, being willing to say that you're a racist coward is actually a MARK OF COURAGE because of the "backlash".

Takes real balls to walk across the street because you saw two black pedestrians, wil. Where's your parade?

Wil, I can't say that "it's not the rap music, it's the black youth who listen to it!" makes you sound less racist.

"Mommy, is it true Daddy was willing to say ignorant **** about minorities in America on the internet? Even at the risk of getting called racist?"

"Yes, dear, he's quite brave. He's probably the bravest man I've ever met. That's why I married him! *tears well as she thinks of her husband heroically writing about how those beaners just keep popping out kids*"

Your recent posts ITT are top notch and informative. Thank you.

That's about right on the timetable. Yeah, I do assume that the vast majority of people don't know what they are talking about when it comes to this subject. I've been proven right quite a few times. Naive is a good word to describe it.

I have no problem with poor people, I have no problem with black people, I have no problem with inner city people. I have a problem with thugs and street mentality. There is a difference between the two, and it's easily identified.

I disagree. I avoid any group of thugged out dudes, no matter what race.

Describe a thugged out person please.

Well, that's what I believe. Because of the behavior in threads like these, most people won't even say their true feelings. I'm fine with being honest, it might change my perspective. You think I'm a racist, that's ok with me. You're one of the few people in the world who has ever said that to me. I'm open to changing my perspectives.

I'm still crossing that street though.

As a better exercise, why don't you? I'm very well versed in it.

Lol. "I have no problem with black people, only the ones who do not adopt the dress code I think they should abide by!"

I have literally never looked at someone and thought "this guy is a thug/ is thugged out".

I never understood the walking across the street stuff. If someone was targeting you for robbery, would they view the street as some sort of impenetrable barrier? Or do you think the person you are avoiding was just out for a stroll and maybe a robbery if someone just happened to walk right next to them, but not a street away? If you cross the street and the other person crosses as well, are you just breaking into a dead sprint?