A grim reminder for us all

"There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.
The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.

Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

About as well as the attempt to shift attention away from this uniquely African-American crisis by focusing on an "injustice" the white media allegedly perpetrated against Sean Taylor.

Within hours of his death, there was a story circulating that members of the black press were complaining that news outlets were disrespecting Taylor's victimhood by reporting on his troubled past

No disrespect to Taylor, but he controlled the way he would be remembered by the way he lived. His immature, undisciplined behavior with his employer, his run-ins with law enforcement, which included allegedly threatening a man with a loaded gun, and the fact a vehicle he owned was once sprayed with bullets are all pertinent details when you've been murdered.

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL player, made the radio circuit Wednesday, singing the tune that athletes are targets. That was his explanation for the murders of Taylor and Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and the armed robberies of NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry.

Really?

Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

Our self-hatred has been set to music and reinforced by a pervasive culture that promotes a crab-in-barrel mentality.

You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.

Of course there are other catalysts, but until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it's not OK to "super man dat ho" and end any and every dispute by "cocking on your bitch," nothing will change.

Does a Soulja Boy want an education?

HBO did a fascinating documentary on Little Rock Central High School, the Arkansas school that required the National Guard so that nine black kids could attend in the 1950s. Fifty years later, the school is one of the nation's best in terms of funding and educational opportunities. It's 60 percent black and located in a poor black community.

Watch the documentary and ask yourself why nine poor kids in the '50s risked their lives to get a good education and a thousand poor black kids today ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter.

Blame drugs, blame Ronald Reagan, blame George Bush, blame it on the rain or whatever. There's only one group of people who can change the rotten, anti-education, pro-violence culture our kids have adopted. We have to do it.


According to reports, Sean Taylor had difficulty breaking free from the unsavory characters he associated with during his youth.

The "keepin' it real" mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There's always someone ready to tell you you're selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you're selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.

The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next."

Written by Jason Whitlock, Award-winning Kansas City Star columnist. Here's the link to the original article:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442

 

David Aldridge's "Time to stop all the dying."
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnist..._the_dying.html

"I'm angry that young brothers who like school and want to learn are accused of "acting white," and have to make the awful choice of sticking with their education or sticking with their boys. It happened to me when I was 5. I've never gotten over it. How does one mend a heart broken by those who look most like him?"

"In an otherwise demagogic campaign advertisement in 1964, Lyndon Johnson said, "These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God's children can live or to go into the dark. We must either love each other or we must die."

What's it gonna be?"

 

Its completely irresponsible, for any journalist, especially an African-American, to draw any analogy between the ignorant behavior of desperate and gluttonous behavior of disparate thieves and criminals who COULD be black and the institutionalized, deliberate actions of a subversive organization like the KKK. Comparisons like this are disingenuous and derogatory and should not be taken seriously.

No reasonable parallels can be drawn between the unrelated actions of criminals and the intentional, dissident crimes committed against African Americans connected by hundreds of years by an group dedicated to the oppression and subjugation of innocent people. To imply that is illogical and irrational.

The ideals and actions of the KKK represent the anxieties and intentions of ignorant people (that is not to say 'uneducated') whose fear of change and progress control their lives and their intellect so much so that they feel compelled to inflict pain and suffering on others. By spreading their phobias and neurosis, members and those sympathetic to their position, attempt to control their own hysterical, delirious emotions and affect the transformation of their of lives and communities.

The African American criminal has been handicapped by several closely related social and cultural forces that to include, but are not limited to the KKK, slavery, and the capitalist consumer culture that encourages greed and self-indulgent behavior. The selfishness of any thief or crook should not be excused or go unpunished, but it is important to acknowledge the sociology of crime and the influences involved.

"..it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome." -President Lyndon B Johnson

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my intellectual response and emotional responses are intimately entwined but ultimately cannot be expressed at the same time.. if i saw jason whitlock on the street after reading what he wrote id have a hard time NOT punching him in the face.. i can understand what he is trying to say and still want to kick him square in the balls..

for a black man to imply that a black crook furthers the goals of the KKK is just plain stupid.. and the fact that noone has been charged or even implicated in the crimes that prompted his article makes me want to puke.. free speech and all that: what he said is stupid and i have a hard time reading it and believing that a black man walks around with that kind of bullisht floating around in his head..

yes, in some cases hip hop and certain rap artists perpetuate the myths and prejudices ascribed to black people for years.. but hip hop is a reaction, the artistic response not unlike blues, jazz, rock and many other musical genres.. yes,the uneducated, ignorant artist is no less responsible for their lyrics than the criminal of his crimes or the klansman for his bigotry.. but the artist doesnt burn crosses on people's lawns.. the artist doesnt burn churches..

the artist doesnt deliberately subvert other people's valiant attempts to change the atmosphere of prejudice and discrimination.. at the same time (and i am not unaware of the comparisons im drawing but the leg work has apparently been done for me) the criminal is driven by greed and selfishness, not by an overwhelming urge to keep people like them "uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep."

im sure sean taylor's family, friends, and associate appreciate the focus on the positive things he did with his life.. it would be irresponsible of them to ignore the mistakes he made but, they were his mistakes.. they were his problems, and now that hes gone its not really our place to judge him..


Jason Whitlocks article is a grim reminder that some people will use any unfortunate situation to say ignorant and reckless things.. its appropriate this article appears on fox news' website, an organization that whose views i do not subscribe to and channels i do not watch..

as much as it pains me to peruse their website, i feel compelled to post some response there.. it nauseates me enough that i want to do a more thorough critique and get this filthy taste out of my mouth..

in summary

the death of any black man, any American, any human being is a tragedy.. period.

edit--

how tragic is it that an educated black man immediately blames another black man for his own death, and subsequently blames other black men (without any proof) for his death..

that is tragic..

 

So I don't agree with everything in that article but a lot of it is very true. I've had to deal with a lot of things he talks about in that article about talking proper and dressing like a grown up man yet still being called "acting white" by my fellow blacks. It is infuriating and I've always blamed the hip hop culture for perpetuating the things he states in his article. Those things are all true regarding the hip hop culture being a self destructive mechanism that is destroying us. It prevents many kids from the ghetto from getting a good education because the stigma is if you are smart or want to be you're no longer keeping it real and are an outsider. There are political, racial, and sociological reasons also but they are not as strong a barrier as the "gangster" culture.

More articles like this need to be written. RedSonRising, if the article made you made I think that was the writer's intention. We need these articles to make people mad so that they will be driven to do something about it. These are problems I have to deal with on a daily basis, some days more than others, and it's a hard problem to solve.

 

the article doesnt make me think.. it makes me sick.. he makes a few valid points that shouldnt be ignored but the fulcrum of the article hinges on his 'Black KKK' concept; an idea i am wholly opposed to.. white supremacists actions are deliberately subversive and intended to oppress and dishearten African Americans (and people of color in general).. the average criminal, of any ethnic background, is likely unaware of the social and cultural impact of their crimes and more interested in the financial impact their offenses have on their pockets..

i think its rather shallow to blame hiphop for the problems that plague the African American community.. hiphop is an art form and a musical genre: its not food, clothing or shelter. its just the latest cultural pariah in the tradition of rock and roll and jazz music.. hiphop is a symptom, its not the problem; the problem is bigger than any single

the most important factor in a child's life are parents. the tv never babysat for them and i wasnt allowed to bring home bad grades.. my parents were the largest combined influence in my life; they were my primary role models because they made sure i understood why celebrities, sports stars, and musicians were not role models. the people on tv are entertainers and this is real life.

Tricky, i understand your pain.. even in college i was 'accused' of sounding white by my teammates and associates but it was no surprise, its something ive dealt with all my life. but i chose to read books, go to class and get good grades so i could go to college.. my bachelors degree isnt a fashion statement, its a personal statement.. i use big words in long sentences and i can read big fat books with fancy titles with no pictures..

im 25 years old and im comfortable saying ive never been cool a day in my life.. id make a terrible rapper and im proud of it.. my parents found their own way to teach me how to be a success; its called parenting. more people should try it before they point the finger at someone else for their own problems.

 

I'd just say that the artist in hiphop is also driven by greed, selfishness and money. Tell me different? It's from their own goddamn mouths.

Hiphop is a problem. People go around spouting hiphop rhetoric
like it's their own bible. Hiphop gangsters I know before they
get ready to light someone up put on their favorite sermon (hiphop single.) Women in hiphop are looked treated as nothing but pieces of meat, tell me that young girls don't dress and act accordingly?
It's not always a symptom of where they are from. I see this emulation from suburban kids.

Music influences period, rock had generations watching their idols sport the big hair, preaching rebellion and getting cracked out. I'm gonna be like JERRY baby. Hiphop is just telling black youth it's okay to be shitty.

After all if you spend your time trying to be a rapper, drug dealer or fucking slut noone else needs to worry about you competeing in the world market.

I want to shoot the next fuck I see with a "Don't Snitch" t-shirt. It just tells me that if I plan to snitch that motherfuckers house is the first one I have to burn down.
In my opinion black people just aren't hard enough on their own.
Fuck all if the bad doesn't outweigh the tolerable. (Note I didn't say good)

 

Honestly the thing about black people trying to dis eachother for talking white or acting/dressing white is true. I see black people do that to eachother all the time. I do think that hip hop is a symptom but it doesn't mean it doesn't fuel the vicious circle.

 

I gave up on ignorant black folks a while back. You can't help peeople who don't want to be helped. When I gave constructive criticism in hopes of enlightening my people, I was labeled a "hater", and was "on some other shit". Society can't blame hip-hop for all the problems, but it is a major influence. We could discuss this issue for days, but nothing will change. We need a new MLK jr, today's rappers aren't cutting it.

 

RedSonRising the point is, whether it's on purpose or not, it is furthering the goals of the real KKK. Plain and simple his message isn't about trying to get people to actually believe there is a black KKK. That's just the metaphor used to get people's attention. You in a sense prove his point, by not being as outraged as if it was crime perpetrated by the real KKK, since it essentially does the same or worse to the black community as a whole. I can only imagine the devils in the pointed white hats smiling when they think about how a culture they try so hard to beat down, is now doing the job themselves. For a black man to imply that a black crook is furthering the goals of the KKK isn't stupid, it's the truth. The crooks intentions aside, that's exactly what his actions are doing. It may seem more blatant to us when the KKK commits a despicable crime (which harms the white community as well believe it or not), but the results are the same. The black community suffers either way. I do fully agree with your outrage at the article, but direction your outrage is pointed is ludicrous. The writers point was obviously to be controversial, but also to stir people into thought and action. I think the saddest thing is that the black community is in a state so stagnant that such an article even needed to be written at all.

On a side note, I also just want to say that I cannot stand any community that embraces ignorance and poverty by glamorizing it as "street" and "keeping it real." The black community isn't the only one doing this, just the most prolific one. It's one thing to remember and acknowledge your roots, but it's another thing entirely when someone who is trying to improve their situation or station in life is automatically a sell-out. It's also disgusting to think of those who have achieved success believe they still need to glorify the ignorance and poverty just to keep their "street cred".

 

all of these are very good points. i had to deal with all this bs during school. the south is most likely the worse place to be different. hehe my school life and my home life were damn near the same. being beat on, teased at how i wanted to better myself by working to become a artist for a game company. lol i was called everything you can think of...even uncle tom. so rather having a nigga moment >.> lulz i stayed away and went on with my life. and you know what. that dream of becoming a character designer is one step closer.

here are bits of my art.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/465435/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/471775/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/454232/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/848994/

 

If black man is killed most likely he was killed by a black man. That's the sad truth. Hip-Hop and Rap have negatively affected black culture. I can't help but agreeing with this article. Just last week I was called an "Oreo" for eating too neatly. That implies blacks are supposed to be sloppy,ghetto, and street.

 

damn. same here saddly all for what? me hanging out with someone or a group of people from other races? damn i hate how closed minded most black people are.

 

Just accept it and move on. If you're lucky if you want black friends you'll find some who think the same way you do. When I was in school I was part of a upward bound primarily black group of friends everyone affectionately entitled:

"The House Niggas" We just embraced that shit and went on
to get our money, respect, and bitches. Fuck it I don't live
in the street, I live in a house. Why? Cause I can do that.

Down south got some field niggas though don't know what
that shit is about haha.

 

The winds of change are blowing. What was regarded as "Black" in the past is now being regarded as "ignorant" and "self-defeating". I dont think that we as Black people (whether you're African-American or African-whatever) should embrace an "I'm Black, I'm a n***a, this is what we do." type of mentality.
I do agree with "Black is strong, Black is beautiful" but that's not me putting down any other race, I'm simply uplifting my own heritage. Racists need to put down other ethnic groups in order to feel superior and better about their own existence. Being proud of your heritage should not be considered racist, no matter what race you are.

I dont belive that the N-bomb is "Black" either.
It was a word created by racist Whites as a deragatory, racial slur. Just bc a large group of Blacks have adopted it as an "endearing" word doesn't make it "Black".
The word doesn't bother me when it isn't used as a racial slur but it is sad to hear another Black person telling me that I sound "White" whenever I decide to use proper English.
Martin Luther King used proper English too.

I have not allowed the media or anything else to tell me how to feel about what "Black" is.
Things like:
black cat crosses your path = bad luck
somebody dies = you have to wear black
black magic = is wicked and bad
black market = is illegal
blackmail = is wrong and illegal (notice how it sounds just like Black male)

I personally feel it is all a form of brainwashing and I do not wear black when somebody I know dies and I REFUSE to act a certain way because of my race/religion/background/etc.
I dont have to fit anybody's stereotypes and if I do fullfill some sterotypes it is bc of choice and not bc I'm genetically predisposed to do so.

Winds of change are blowing, and we will have all types of Blacks in the future and not just the types that can be put in a box.

 

GE

 

TBH, I have not been to either America or England. But these are the places where I hear there is a significant racial divide and a "us-them" mentality, right?

I spent my younger years in Trinidad. Trinidad is equal in proportion to people of African and Indian descent, with a sizable Mixed population. People don't assign behavioral characteristics to a particular ethnicity there.

So, I believe it actually all comes down to society itself on whether racial divides and stereotyping is present.

Today I live in Australia. The 3 main groups that are stereotyped in Australia are Muslims, Aborigines, and the Sudanese. Society constructs the stereotypes, and once constructed one believes that he fulfills himself if he conforms to this social construct.

 

Enlightening stuff in this thread, thanks for the insights.

GodEater (aside):
Love the quote. I'm a firm supporter of the school of thought that the human mind inherently stereotypes and boxes everyone into broad groups to make sense of things. This makes us all racists, or at least has us discriminate everyone on the most basic of level because that is the only way our minds can make sense of the world.

tonyfamilia (an aside to file under weird facts):
Did you know it was derogatory to call someone 'black' in the forties? The black populace preffered to be called niggers back then... But yeah, the word was (re)created in its current incarnation of meaning by a sad and despicable confluence of sentiments.

 

Uhm no we never wanted to be called niggers we had no Say in the 40's in wtf they called us. Check ur facts before you say stuff like that. Sry if I come off as an ass but shit like that pisses me off.

 

I think black people are just being oversensitive in general when it comes to what people call them.
Also, time of slaves is long gone etc.

 

It actually isn't. At all. and I mean here. Canada and the states. Eat at the two biggest fast food chains? You're contributing to it.

I'll provide link later.

GE