An “Air Quality”
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
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Experiment for Jacksonville
by Michael T. Smith
Over the past few years, I have noticed a trend on Jacksonville radio stations regarding the content of the music that is broadcasted
and the artists that perform it. It seemed that there was a stark contrast between the content on some stations versus others. I
began to take time to listen to various stations to see if this contrast was real or imagined. When I could no longer be sure that I
was indeed “hearing what I thought I was hearing,” I decided to conduct an informal experiment to be certain.
The Experiment
Step #1
Step #2
Step #3
Step #4
Step #5
The Experiment began
by selecting a sample of
6 Jacksonville-area radio
stations that broadcast
different genres of music
that I liked. I selected the
“top” stations for Country,
Rock, Classic Hits, HipHop/R&B, Top 40/Pop,
and New/Alternative Rock
music.
A random day was chosen
to record all of the music
that played on each of the
stations within the same
24-hour period. Beginning at midnight on a random Tuesday, I was able
to document every song
that played and enter them
into a simple spreadsheet.
There were 849 unique
songs played across these
stations on that particular
day.
The next step was to compile the lyrics for each of
these songs. This was accomplished by a combination of internet research
and listening to the songs
themselves. In total, there
were more than 1,400 pages of lyrics.
Each line of each song was
then examined for occurrences of Profanity1, Sexuality2, Violence3, Criminal
Activity4, Drugs/Alcohol5,
or Misogyny6. Every occurrence was tallied and
each song was given an
occurrence total. The totals of all of these occurrences were then tallied
for all the songs that each
individual station aired for
that 24-hour period.
As an additional step, each
of the content categories
was sorted by Artist Race/
Ethnicity7. I wanted to see
if there were any emergent
trends between the Race/
Ethnicity of the artists and
the content of the music
that each station chose to
broadcast.
New/Alt Rock
89 Artists | 159 Songs | Total Plays8 313
CONTENT
Pop/Top 40
53 Artists | 76 Songs | Total Plays8 299
CONTENT
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
Profanity
424 (2ND)
Sexuality 3784 (1ST)
Violence
36 (2ND)
Drugs/Alcohol 540 (2ND)
Criminal Activity 29 (2ND)
Misogyny
712 (2ND)
Total 5,525 (2ND)
Rock
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
Profanity
159 (4TH)
Sexuality
182 (6TH)
Violence
11 (5TH)
Drugs/Alcohol 139 (4TH)
Criminal Activity 2 (6TH)
Misogyny
26 (4TH)
Total 519 (5TH)
The
Results
Profanity
46 (6TH)
Sexuality
326 (4TH)
Violence
32 (3RD)
Drugs/Alcohol 53 (6TH)
Criminal Activity 24 (3RD)
Misogyny
8 (5TH)
Total 489 (6TH)
Hip Hop/R&B
CONTENT
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
735
3,026
79
3,840
Country
64 Artists | 175 Songs | Total Plays8 314
CONTENT
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
Profanity
98 (5TH)
Sexuality
660 (3RD)
Violence
6 (6TH)
Drugs/Alcohol 379 (3RD)
Criminal Activity 2 (5TH)
Misogyny
1 (6TH)
Total 1,146 (3RD)
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
Profanity 2780 (1ST)
Sexuality 3762 (2ND)
Violence
243 (1ST)
Drugs/Alcohol 656 (1ST)
Criminal Activity 273 (1ST)
Misogyny 1947 (1ST)
Total 9,661 (1ST)
SEXUALITY
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
ARTISTS BY ETHNICITY
DRUGS/ALCOHOL
92
255
0
347
OCCURRENCES
& RANKING
CONTENT
PROFANITY
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
CONTENT
74 Artists | 117 Songs | Total Plays8 267
Profanity
257 (3RD)
Sexuality
287 (5TH)
Violence
19 (4TH)
Drugs/Alcohol 71 (5TH)
Criminal Activity 22 (4TH)
Misogyny
73 (3RD)
Total 729 (4TH)
VIOLENCE
89 Artists | 175 Songs | Total Plays8 222
87 Artists | 204 Songs | Total Plays 284
8
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
Classic Hits
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
760
1,045
33
1,838
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
TOTAL ARTISTS
296
88
6
390
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
59
293
0
352
3,513
4,728
743
8,984
MISOGYNY
WHITE
BLACK
OTHER
OCCURRENCES
192
2,316
287
2,795
Profanity – anything that a local news anchor could not say on air without citing/quoting a source
Sexuality – any first-person reference, direct or implied, to a sexual act or any reference to any person or situation in a sexual context
3
Violence – any first-person reference to participation in, threat of, or glorification of a violent act by the artist or an associate
4
Criminal Activity – any first-person reference to participation in, commission of, or glorification of a criminal act by the artist or an associate
5
Drugs/Alcohol – any reference to the possession/consumption/use of or glorification of the possession/consumption/use of alcohol or drugs
6
Misogyny – any reference, term, description, suggestion, approach, act, or objectification of females that a man of good sense would not want directed toward his mother, wife, and/or daughter by a stranger
7
Though Race/Ethnicity is a complex, layered, and subjective classification, I unfortunately found it necessary to rely on established definitions/criteria. For the purpose of this experiment, I used the distinctions as
defined by the US Census. While it is fitting for us to desire no other classification than “H” for Human, we do not [yet] live in a world that affords such idealism. If, for example, the police were searching a shopping
mall for a child that had gone missing, describing the child as “Human” or “Other” would not aid in their search. I personally deplore the ugliness of Race/Ethnicity as a descriptive construct, but addressing the
realities of our society has made it a necessity. Though the way we view and portray ourselves is what ultimately matters, how others view and portray us must also be considered.
8
Includes repeat plays
1
2
2 of 10
[
My City
Jacksonville, FL
The following data highlights some of the statistical disparity between blacks and whites in
my city. Jacksonville has a population of approximately 860,000 people. Census1 data indicates that approximately 60% of the population is White while roughly 30% is Black. This is
an important factor in getting a true picture of
what is happening in my city.
Total Homicides2 (2004 – 2012)
WHITE ACTUAL3
BLACK EQUAL REP.4
BLACK ACTUAL5
300 HOMICIDES
150 HOMICIDES
744 HOMICIDES
2004 Homicides
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
34 HOMICIDES
17 HOMICIDES
85 HOMICIDES
2012 Homicides
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
31 HOMICIDES
16 HOMICIDES
81 HOMICIDES
Total Homicides Children Age 22 and Under (2004 – 2012)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
60 HOMICIDES
31 HOMICIDES
254 HOMICIDES
Homicides by Race and Age (2004 – 2012)
WHITE
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
INFANT TO AGE 89
INFANT TO AGE 24
AGE 25 TO AGE 40
AGE 41 TO AGE 87
125 VICTIMS
300 VICTIMS
312 VICTIMS
307 VICTIMS
Homicide Calendar (2004 – 2012)
Beginning on January 1, 2004, it took nearly nine years for the
total number of white homicide victims to reach 300. It took
only 42 months for the number of black homicide victims to
reach that same threshold.
Persons living with HIV/AIDS (5 County Area)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
2,688 PERSONS
1,388 PERSONS
6,125 PERSONS
Median Household Income
In 2011, the Median Income for White households was approximately $53,000.00. The Median Income for Black households was approximately $33,000.00. Household Income has
followed this trend for the last decade.
Misdemeanor and Felony Arrests (2008 – 2010)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
60,844 ARRESTS
31,627 ARRESTS
71,325 ARRESTS
ONE
NATION
UNDER
GOD?
Homicide in our nation is something that should
concern us all. For the past 10 years, roughly
3,000 Americans have died in homicides every
quarter. That death toll is equivalent to experiencing a 9/11 attack every three months. Every four years, the number of Americans killed
by homicide is approximately 50,000. Unless something changes, by the time President
obama completes his second term, we will
have experienced an American death toll nearly
his presidency alone. The combined American
death toll from 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan is
nearly 10,000. The number of Americans killed
in homicides since 9/11 is over 140,000.
Beyond the general horror that has
been happening across our land,
there is an evil “twist” that has gone
largely unnoticed for a long time.
Simply put, the pictures of pain and carnage
that seem to dominate our national headlines
present only a fraction of what is going on in
our nation. In our country, black Americans are
being killed at alarmingly higher rates than any
other race/ethnicity. Black men die at greater
rates. Black women die at greater rates. Black
adults die at greater rates. Black children die
at greater rates. Black elementary school children, middle school children, and high school
children die at greater rates. Black Americans
lead in these categories year after year. Every
single year.
For some reason, the story of this American
“genocide” is not nearly as gripping or sensational as other tragedies that happen in our nation. The pain that these families feel, however,
is no less real and their losses are no less dreadful. Perhaps the excessive death rate among
blacks in our country is no longer “tragic” because it is no longer news. Maybe it has become
so “normal” that it is now accepted, possibly
even expected. There is, in fact, an entire niche
industry built around these homicides. The funeral homes provide the dignity, the preachers
ists create the T-shirts. This is a familiar drama
that plays out every day in our nation, and all
the players seem to know their parts. It may,
for all I know, be a good thing that the black
homicides in our nation don’t garner the same
Percentage of Duval Public School Students
Reading At/Above Grade Level (2010)
GRADE LEVEL
3RD GRADE
4TH GRADE
5TH GRADE
6TH GRADE
7TH GRADE
8TH GRADE
9TH GRADE
10TH GRADE
1
2
WHITE
81%
82%
79%
75%
78%
66%
60%
50%
BLACK
57%
53%
53%
46%
51%
38%
24%
17%
Our national census allows for a Hispanic or non-Hispanic designation among blacks and whites. In most national reports, however,
this designation is not factored in. Because of this, I have attempted
to follow the baseline designations provided in the US Census. I
have tried to accommodate for the inclusion of Hispanic/Non-Hispanic data wherever appropriate.
Homicide and Murder both refer to the taking of one human
life by another. All murders are homicides, but not all homicides
are murders. “Murders” are homicides of a criminal nature. “Homicides,” on the other hand, are not always of a criminal nature.
They can include justifiable homicides by Law Enforcement and/
or citizens.
3
“White Actual” - Total number of whites actually represented
in each category
4
“Black Equal Representation” - Total number of blacks IF the
occurrence rates among blacks were equal to those among whites.
5
“Black Actual” - Total number of blacks actually represented in
each category
6
“In Present-Day America” - The actual statistics in a given category
7
“In ‘Equal’ America” - What the statistics would have been if whites
and blacks were represented equally
day in which we didn’t sit in front of our televisions and weep.
The statistics on this page are not exaggerated
or sensationalized; they are real. There may be
a slight variation in one direction or another depending on which national data tables are used.
ages and numbers depending on how the racial/
ethnic lines are split (white alone, black alone,
white Hispanic, black Hispanic, etc.). Regardless of which reports you study, I believe you
will conclude that America has work to do.
As I have studied this subject for a number of
years, across a broad spectrum of data models
and research methods, I can tell you the situation
is bad. Academics and sociologists may “point
and counterpoint” each other in their successive
reports and summaries, but the big picture of
what is happening among certain groups in our
nation remains grim no matter how it is framed. I
am content to leave the detailed analysis to people more educated than me. I dare not tread into
matters beyond my learning. on the other hand,
the human dynamic of what is happening in our
nation is impossible for me to ignore.
I do not feel I can remain silent
as I stare at such statistical
(and no doubt experiential)
inequity in our land.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
[
My Nation
United States of America
The following data highlights some of the
statistical disparity between blacks and whites
in my nation. The US has a population of approximately 300 million people. Census1 data
indicates that approximately 78% of the population is White while roughly 14% is Black. This is
an important factor in getting a true picture of
what is happening in my nation.
US Black and White Murder2 Victims (2004 – 2011)
IN PRESENT-DAY AMERICA6
IN “EQUAL” AMERICA7
WHITE
53,240
OTHER
4,407
BLACK
54,631
TOTAL MURDERS 112,278
WHITE
53,240
OTHER
4,407
BLACK
9,555
TOTAL MURDERS 67,202
US Black and White Murder Victims (2004 only)
IN PRESENT-DAY AMERICA
IN “EQUAL” AMERICA
WHITE
6,929
OTHER
560
BLACK
6,632
TOTAL MURDERS 14,121
WHITE
6,929
OTHER
560
BLACK
1,244
TOTAL MURDERS 8,733
US Black and White Murder Victims (2011 only)
IN PRESENT-DAY AMERICA
IN “EQUAL” AMERICA
WHITE
5,825
OTHER
510
BLACK
6,329
TOTAL MURDERS 12,664
WHITE
5,825
OTHER
510
BLACK
1,046
TOTAL MURDERS 7,381
Total Murders
Children Age 22 & Under (2004 – 2011)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
11,694 VICTIMS
2,099 VICTIMS
14,778 VICTIMS
National Prison and Jail Population (2011)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
845,600
174,722
857,700
US New Diagnosis of HIV Adults/Adolescents (2010)
MEN
WHITE
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
2,273
WOMEN
TOTAL
1,733
13,844
359
2,632
15,444
6,268 21,712
12,111
US Adults/Adolescents Living with a Diagnosis
of HIV Infection (2009)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
273,480
56,508
333,842
US Population Living At/Below Poverty Level
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
32,166,000 (13% OF ALL WHITES)
5,533,076 (13% OF ALL BLACKS)
11,730,000 (27.5% OF ALL BLACKS)
US Children Living At/Below Poverty Level (Under 18)
WHITE ACTUAL
BLACK EQUAL REP.
BLACK ACTUAL
5,002,000 (12.4% OF ALL WHITE CHILDREN)
1,376,680 (12.4% OF ALL BLACK CHILDREN)
4,362,000 (39% OF ALL BLACK CHILDREN)
Percentage of US Public School Students
Reading At/Above Grade Level (2010)
GRADE LEVEL
4TH GRADE
8TH GRADE
WHITE
79%
85%
BLACK
49%
59%
Sources: justice.gov; census.gov; nces.ed.gov; jcci.org; city-data.gov;
cdc.gov; usa.com; dc.state.fl.us; doh.state.fl.us; dchd.net; fbi.gov;
project.org; americanprogress.org; diversitydata.sph.harvard.edu
The information I have presented here should be troubling to us as a nation, especially as a nation that aims for equality. If you consider these statistics
I am simply a human being that sees something in our national landscape that I feel we need to be honest about and address. Even if my charts and graphs
are slightly inaccurate, I am sure that every honest researcher will conclude that we cannot yet legitimately claim our nation is equal.
My goal in presenting these statistics is not to amplify the suffering of one race while minimizing the suffering of another. My heart breaks for all people
who are hurting in our land. I am not attempting to draw our attention away from the pain of anyone, but rather draw attention to the pain of a large and
growing segment of our population whose tears seem to fall to the ground largely unnoticed. Generally speaking, it seems that the only way a black homicide gains widespread national attention is when someone white is involved. I know this is not the message we intend to convey to many of the hurting
people in our country, but it is certainly the message that many of them are receiving.
Keep in mind that my writing here only highlights the statistical and existential disparity between blacks and whites in our nation. If I had the time and
space to introduce the Hispanic/Latino components into these statistics, the evidence of our national “unevenness” would become even more apparent.
It is my sincere hope that by addressing this disparity in a black/white context,
we will be more open to an objective evaluation of our nation as a whole.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
3 of 10
The Real Root
of the Problem
Beyond the question of “what” is happening in our
nation lies the issue of “why” it is happening. Why,
nearly 50 years after Civil Rights, do we see such
grievous and troubling racial disparity in our country?
Why, after all of our national progress, do we still
live in a land where blacks are over-represented in
so many negative societal measures? Why are black
Americans more likely to be involved in a homicide,
to live in poverty, to drop out of High School, to be
HIV positive, to be hungry, to be arrested, and to
spend time in prison than any other race/ethnicity
in our country? This question begs our national
attention and discussion.
IMPLAUSIBLE CAUSES
There are several possible (though not necessarily
plausible) explanations for the statistical and existential disparity we see happening in our land.
Many people have proposed various ideas on the
subject. I offer a simple summary of some of the
more popular theories below.
1. “Blacks are genetically disposed to destructive
patterns of behavior. It is in their DNA. They are
just hard-wired to engage in unhealthy lifestyles
and practices. There is just something ‘wild’ and
‘untamed’ about them. No matter how many positive opportunities are around them, they seem to be
‘driven’ toward negativity. How else can you explain
what is happening in black populations and nations
all over the world?”
This idea is one that only ill-informed and untraveled people espouse. First of all, despite the disparity shown in the statistics, the OVERWHELMING majority of black folks (just like white folks) live simple,
productive lives. They rear their families and build
their lives similarly to their white counterparts. The
idea that the statistical disparity we observe is somehow related to “genetic predisposition” stems from
a carefully crafted caricature (historic and modern)
of blacks in our nation and world. It relies on anecdotal “evidence” for “proof” of something that is
nothing more than a generationally imparted fable.
No logical person can embrace such a theory.
2. “Blacks are ‘less evolved’ than other races, and
therefore, wherever there are higher concentrations
of black people in a city or nation, you will see patterns of uncivilized behavior more commonly. Furthermore, unless natural selection has removed the
genetic inclination toward religion and superstition
from a particular society or people, they will never
fully escape these destructive patterns. Unlike their
Northern European counterparts, blacks the world
over are still highly infected with the virus of religion. This (in America and abroad) is what bites at
the heels of ‘black progress’ more than anything
else.”
This view, despite how many supposedly erudite
people advocate it, is insulting and grotesquely
ignorant. No logical person can embrace such a
theory.
3. “Black people are cursed by God. They are being
punished because of the sins of their forefathers.
All generations and nations of black people will be
cursed until the day the world ends. This is written in
the Bible. This is why things are so bad in Africa and
in any other place that predominately black communities exist. No matter how hard they try, black
people will never be able to escape this curse. It will
follow them everywhere.”
Such foolishness does not even deserve a response
other than to say no logical person can embrace
such a theory.
4. “The explanation for these statistics is simple:
THEY ARE NOT TRUE! These numbers are fabricated
by our society in an effort to make black people look
bad. They are all based on inaccurate research that
is tainted by the prejudice of the researchers. These
so-called ‘facts’ are twisted and turned in every
way possible to present a negative picture of black
people and black society. From the research departments at major universities to the editors at local
television stations and newspapers, there is a grand
conspiracy to fill our minds with lies about what is
really going on.”
I can actually identify with the heart and hurt behind the voice in this point. When people see the
statistics that I have presented here, they can easily
assume that I am attempting to make statements
about “black people.” Nothing could be further
from the truth. It is not possible for me (or any one)
to make a statement about a race of people. No one
has a broom large enough to sweep any race/ethnicity into one collective societal pile. My objective
in sharing these charts and graphs is to illuminate
the over-representation in certain negative societal
indicators by people that happen to be black. I have
never, will never, and can never say that any racial/
ethnic group is one thing or another. Neither can
anyone else.
Though the argument in Point 4 is not accurate in
application, it is actually not far off in premise. There
is, in fact, a “grand conspiracy” of sorts, and it does
hinge upon the words and images with which we
have flooded our society about black folks for many
generations. This conspiracy, however, is not being
propagated in the manner that one may immediately assume. Nevertheless, for a person to claim
that this statistical disparity is fabricated actually
does a great disservice to our progress as a nation.
INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS
So what then is the cause of these statistical gaps?
The answer is surprisingly simple. America is “uneven” as a nation. The ground of our land is sloped
and slanted in ways that cause things like homicide
and poverty to “pool” disproportionately in certain
places among certain people, primarily among
people that are black. Simply put, for some reason,
no matter how much we reduce the crime rate,
poverty rate, HIV infection rate, etc., we have yet
to find a way to alleviate the over-representation
of black people in these demographics. This does
not bode well on our aim to be a shining model
among the nations of the world. In my opinion,
it is high time that we start asking ourselves why
this disparity exists and what we can do about it.
There are many suggestions and solutions that are
worth considering.
A. “The issue is not race. The issue is poverty and
lack of education. Whenever you have low economic opportunity and poor educational resources,
destructive behaviors and societal problems will
be common. We should not introduce a racial
context into a problem that is not racial at all.”
While I agree with this argument in principle, I feel
that such logic is misguided at best and disingenuous at worst. Education and poverty are important
factors, but they do not address the heart of our
national problem. It is true that wherever poverty
is present and access to quality education is limited,
certain societal indicators often follow. To say that
I have unnecessarily inserted a racial context into
the conversation, however, ignores the fact that
there is already a racial divide in the areas of poverty
and education in our nation. If poverty and poor
education are the problem, then we need to ask
ourselves why blacks in our nation are consistently
over-represented in these two “base” indicators as
well as the things that they supposedly beget.
B. “It is society’s fault. There are so many blacks in
our nation that are poor, from broken homes, with
poor access to education, no role models, etc. that
it is not surprising to see such statistical disparity.
This is a societal problem.”
This disparity is indeed a societal problem, but
only in the sense that we need to take responsibility as a society to address it. We need to be cautious,
nevertheless, of misdiagnosing “society” as the
problem until we really understand everything
that diagnosis entails.
First, let’s be clear from the beginning that not all
black people come from the type of background
described in Point B. In fact, the overwhelming
majority of blacks do not. Furthermore, that a
person (black or otherwise) comes from poverty,
a broken home, etc., is no guarantee that he or she
will engage in destructive behavior. There are far
too many people (black and otherwise) that have
come from such backgrounds that never sold
drugs, robbed a store, stole a car, or committed a
felony. Finally, there are far too many people from
“fine and decent” backgrounds that have engaged
in these behaviors to prematurely conclude that
an individual’s “background” is the sole cause of
his or her life choices.
C. “All of this talk about ‘causes’ is stupid. We need
to focus on the answers. Black people just need to
STOP all of the foolishness and killing. We don’t
need a national reformation or any outside
intervention. We simply need to STOP! Period.
Oh, and we also need to hold the parents accountable.
Black people need to do a better job parenting
their children. If they did, these type of statistics
would change overnight!”
This is a very popular theory that deserves our
attention. We must begin by addressing the false
premise upon which it is built. In truth, “black
people” don’t need to stop/start doing anything.
To intimate such an idea is not only unfair, but also
untrue. As difficult as it may be in our generalizationbased modern world, we must resist the instinct
to lump an entire race/ethnicity into one behavioral
construct. It is impossible and inappropriate to do
so.
In addition, the suggestion that “black people”
need to do a better job as parents is too sweeping
of a generalization to hold merit. It does great insult
and injury to the many fine parents (black and
otherwise) who are bewildered by the behavior of
one or more of their children, especially when it
stands in stark contrast to the fruitful and productive
lives that their other children are living. Even if the
inefficacy of “black parenting” were the root of the
issue (and I don’t believe it is), we would still be
left to explain why this supposed disparity exists
between “white parenting” and “black parenting.”
In other words, if we accept that wayward black
children are the product of errant black parents,
we would need to ask why those parents are
supposedly so inadequate in comparison to their
white counterparts. We certainly don’t want to
reintroduce Points 1-3 into the conversation. We
must, therefore, dig deeper.
There are some aspects to Point C that can withstand
some scrutiny. I do agree, for instance, that any individual (black or otherwise) engaged in destructive behavior needs to STOP. Those individuals must
change what they are doing and they must do it
post haste. We cannot place the blame for violent/
destructive actions anywhere other than where it
belongs: squarely on the shoulders of the people engaged in them. Any person using a gun to commit a
robbery, for example, needs to take full responsibility
and be held fully accountable for his or her own actions. We cannot blame parents, society, education,
poverty, etc. for an action that an individual decides
to undertake.
On the other hand, while I do believe that personal
responsibility is the ultimate conclusion to our national conversation, we may be oversimplifying
the issue if we begin with that idea. To suggest
that people should simply “stop doing what they
are doing” makes the flawed assumption that a
person’s actions are self-originating, or that what
a person does occurs independently of how a person thinks. This is simply not true. If we can agree
to begin our conversation with this fundamental
idea, we may be well on our way to addressing
some of our national “unevenness.”
People’s Actions (good or bad) are a direct result of their
Decisions. People’s Decisions (split-second, singular,
and/or cumulative) are an outflow of their Mindsets.
People’s Mindsets (healthy or otherwise) are formed
by the Thoughts and Feelings they most consistently
nurture and embrace. People’s Thoughts and Feelings (creative or destructive) are shaped by the Words,
Images, and Experiences upon which their souls fixate.
These Words, Images, and Experiences (positive or
negative) arise from somewhere in the dynamic gap
between “what our culture creates” and “what creates
our culture.” I am of the opinion that Culture (and the
mysterious winds that fill its sails), is the real culprit in
our national dilemma. In this context, Culture should
be our real focus, not necessarily “society.”
Culture is defined as the prevailing and celebrated
attitudes, traditions, values, and practices shared among
a group of people. There is no such thing as “black”
culture any more than there is “white” culture. There is
simply “Culture.” Any attempt to label specific attitudes,
traditions, values, and practices as either “black” or
“white” is a fruitless endeavor. It takes little more than
an objective eye and a listening ear to discover just
how much of what prevails and is celebrated amongst
us (all races/ethnicities) is interspersed and universal.
The marvelous thing about Culture (and even what we
call Sub-Culture) is that the adherents to various cultural
philosophies don’t have to know each other or look
like each other to be part of the same group. The only
requirement is a similarity in the arrangement and
prioritization of certain attitudes, traditions, values,
and practices. As the “branches” of Culture extend from
the “tree trunk” of what is universal to most humans
(identity, security, safety, connectivity, etc.), we begin
to see slight variations in the arrangement and prioritization of certain attitudes, values, etc. As we venture
even farther from the trunk, certain Sub-Cultures
emerge as “off-shoots.” On these smaller branches, we
often see a more exaggerated RE-arrangement and
DE-prioritization of certain values. Attitudes toward
things like violence, sexuality, social responsibility,
personal accountability, human life, economic focus,
etc. are vastly different in these parts of our cultural
tree from those we find closer to the trunk. The people
that occupy these cultural branches approach and
respond to the world in a manner very different from
the majority. These are neither “black branches” nor
“white branches.” They are simply branches comprised
of people with “alternate” ideals and norms.
Like the branches of a tree, the arrangement and prioritization of values within a Culture or Sub-Culture must
be nourished to be sustained. In short, if the attitudes,
traditions, values, and practices of a Culture are not
nurtured, they will die off. Other than the base human
priorities that drive us (identity, security, safety,
connectivity, etc.), every other value/practice we have
is subject to change, as a means of either cultural progress
or regress.
The way to sustain any Culture or Sub-Culture is to feed
it with Words, Images, and Experiences that reinforce
and bolster the attitudes, values, traditions and practices
within it. The way to weaken a Culture (prevailing and
celebrated attitudes and values) is to alter or weaken
the Words, Images, and Experiences that feed it. The
more widespread, available, and accepted the Words,
Images, and Experiences that reinforce a Culture, the
greater the chances that Culture has for survival. If these
Words, Images, and Experiences continue to flourish,
the resultant Thoughts and Feelings will no doubt find
a place to sprout. Mindsets, Decisions, and Actions are
sure to follow. This principle has served to shape (and
misshape) societies since time immemorial.
In our nation, it is evident that people from all races/
ethnicities are engaged in destructive/violent behaviors.
Recent headlines reveal that no race/ethnicity is
unrepresented in either perpetration or victimization.
The shocking truth, however, is that despite its general
absence from our national headlines, black adults and
children are affected by these actions at alarmingly
higher rates in our nation than any other race/
ethnicity. We have already concluded that “blackness”
(if such a thing exists) is not causing the disparity in
certain communities, nor is “whiteness” (if such a thing
exists) preventing it in others. What then is the cause?
Whenever we see trends that appear to follow a racial/
ethnic line, we need to look beyond commonality of
race/ethnicity to the commonality of mindset present among the people creating those trends. If you
consider these things long enough, you will eventually
conclude that commonality of mindset is a more reliable predictor of behavior than commonality of race/
ethnicity can ever be.
Since there is no such thing as thinking/acting “black”
(or “white”), we must ask ourselves why some mindsets
seem to suspiciously “pool” among certain races/ethnicities in our nation. Furthermore, what forces and sources
are causing, permitting, and fostering the traction that
certain Thoughts and Feelings seem to gain disproportionately among blacks versus whites? What stream of
Words, Images, and Experiences (or lack thereof) is feeding the mindsets behind the homicide, prison, education,
HIV/AIDS, and poverty statistics that are so desperately
askew in our nation? This must be our principal focus if
we hope to address our national disparity at the root.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
4 of 10
Fifty years ago
this August,
Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
delivered
his historic
“I Have A Dream”
speech in our
nation’s capital.
At the time of this address, the type of America Dr. King spoke about
was truly a dream. Dr.
King’s dream was way
ahead of where we were
as a nation. He spoke of
what was then a future
time. our country was
not ready for his dream.
Some doubted its necessity while others doubted its possibility.
In the decades that have
come and gone since
Dr. King’s speech,
through many struggles
and tears, our nation
has made great strides
toward that dream
are not there yet, but
we are certainly closer
than we have ever
of President obama to
a second term, we can
be confident that we
have indeed made
progress. Dr. King
doubted whether our
country would be ready
to elect a black President in his lifetime.
Had he not been assassinated, he would have
been 79 years old when
President obama was
it might have been for
him to live to see that
day alongside so many
of his Civil Rights colaborers!
Dr. King’s dream was
aimed toward moving
our nation out of its
“deep-seeded” prejudice
and discrimination. As
a nation, we have made
undeniable progress in
these areas.
President Obama’s
second election is
proof-positive
that we have
come a long way
since the America
of Dr. King.
Truly, the tides of discrimination and prejudice in our nation are
receding. As we learn
more and interact with
each other more, the
walls of ignorance and
misunderstanding are
being broken down.
The darkness has not
been totally dispelled,
nor do I suppose it
ever will be. The light,
however, is arising
higher and brighter.
Truly, the broad strokes
of the national portrait
that Dr. King attempted
to paint for us are starting to take shape. The
above facts notwithstanding, the last two
Presidential elections have
become an unwelcome
mirror for us as a nation.
ness of racial division
(re-)emerge in our nation. I do not believe for
one minute that President obama’s campaign
and election created any
racial tension in our nation, but rather revealed
what was already present.
It has always been here,
hiding in the corners of
our national psyche, left
undisturbed until his
election agitated mindsets and emotions that
some of us thought we
had covered, buried,
and/or grown past.
on one hand, people
have recently cited the
issue of race in matters
where it was not a factor at all. on the other
hand, people have recently claimed that race
had no bearing in matters where it was undeniably in play. Neither
of these occurrences
should discourage us,
these elections, we may
have never had some of
the “gut-level” conversations around kitchen
tables and water coolers
that we so desperately
needed to have. As for
the “extremes” of prejudice that we observed
during these elections,
my conclusion is that
we should not despair.
Those few people that
hold to such blindness
of mind and heart are the
true “minorities” in our our nation. This is not to
nation – in the most literal say that racial insensitivmeaning of the word.
ity or the heinous murder
of a man because of his
Despite our national race are not deserving of
progress in the last our attention. They cer50 years, we have tainly are! My point is
to say that if these things
yet to realize,
in our generation, remain the sole focus and
that prejudice and extent of our national conand progress
discrimination are versation
regarding race, we will
not our greatest continue to overlook and
enemies.
under-address our true
In my opinion, it is not national hemorrhaging.
healthy for these peripheral
concerns to dominate our Dr. King’s dream was
national attention and about getting beyond
dialog in the area of race prejudice and discrimilike they so commonly do. nation; mine is about
From endless conversa- moving beyond racism.
tions over the “n” word to There is a difference.
even very serious issues Prejudice and discriminaare decreasing daily.
like the death of James tion
As the stubborn mindsets
Anderson, we continu- of previous generations
ally find ourselves “dis- pass on and as more and
tracted” from the other more young people grow
racial issues that trouble
up in a world of interconnectivity and understanding, the walls that
divide us will continue
to crumble. Racism,
however, in its systemic and cyclical cruelty,
continues to mercilessly
plod along. The beauty
of prejudice and discrimination (if any) is
that they are often easy
to spot, even if they are
seldom admitted. Racism, however, is a devil
of a more subtle nature.
It chugs along (often
unnoticed) in the background, woven into our
societal fabric and often
unconsciously accepted
as our national norm.
Until we
understand the
problem we face as
a nation, we have
no hope of finding
the solution.
We NeeD to be HONeSt with OURSeLveS
We need to ask ourselves the really
tough questions as a nation.
years of forced servitude and mental, social, ancestral, and familial degradation? How long does it
take for such evil to completely decompose, for all
dangerous particles to be totally dispersed? How
long does it take for its effects to fully evaporate?
How long for our national soil to be declared “normal?” How long for our country’s moral water
ing? Do the ripples of such unthinkable crimes
against soul and psyche subside in one generation?
In two? In ten?
It’s been roughly 150 years since we waged Civil
man imports. It’s been nearly 50 years since our
national moral awakening in which we declared
that treating “all men equally” was not only morally right, but also legally binding. our great
moral “clean-up program” made stops in Selma,
aerated our legislative soil, and scrubbed our educational air. The Civil Rights era was a smashing
success, but can anyone say with legitimacy that
our land is completely clear? Are our waters yet
sowing dreams and growing families? Is there any
agency that can say with reasonable certainty that
the remnants of our national transgressions have
ures betray any claim that our land has been fully
healed, that we have completely set things aright.
If our societal soil and water were fully clear,
would not all murder, poverty, prison, HIV/
AIDS, and educational statistics trend more
in line with our national census than the pools and
pockets of over-representation that we currently
see? As of today, all signs indicate that the process of righting one of our most egregious national
sins is not complete. The stains of our national past
still show, despite our attempts to scrub and lighten
them. If the past were truly behind us, would not
the national population percentage of each racial/
ethnic group be the most accurate predictor of their
representation in each social indicator – healthy or
otherwise? If the land were actually healed, would
we not be collectively alarmed and outraged to see
any group ahead or behind in any important area?
edge why?
els currently found in many of our national mindshaping streams? Is “clear enough by now” really
all
be at peace if all of our children ingested the waters found farthest downstream in our country? The
educational waters? The judicial, community, economic, employment, and penal waters? Are we better off than we were years ago? No doubt! Are we
society, the air has been clearing for years. Many
black Americans are prospering and partaking of
the American Dream in unprecedented ways. At the
bottom of our society, where families of all races/
ethnicities struggle the most, there is yet work to be
are still disproportionately sloped in one direction.
Now is the time to dedicate ourselves as a nation
to address not only the areas most affected by the
“fallout,” but also the contaminated headsprings at
the source of our societal water supply.
on the eve of President
obama’s first election,
a noted cable commentator remarked that the
election of a “black”
President was confirmation that racism
was a thing of the past
in America. Nothing
could be further from
the truth. Most people
don’t even know the
present-day definition/
application of the word
“racism,” let alone how
much it affects our national landscape. Prejudice requires a human
heart. Discrimination
requires a human action. Racism requires
neither. Racism is like
the yellow haze of nicotine and tar that stains
the wallpaper long after
the cigarette-smoking
tenants have vacated an
apartment. Even if all
prejudice and discrimination were removed
from our country today,
the generational dominoes of racial inequality would continue to
tumble, seemingly unimpeded. Unless, that
is, we as a nation decide to do something to
stop them.
Racism moves like
a large millstone
in our nation,
carving divisive
grooves into our
national landscape
generation after
generation. It is
these grooves that
have caused the
“pooling”
we see in the
statistical data.
Sadly, we not only continue to generate this
disparity in our nation,
but we have become
numb to it in many
ways. The disparity has
become our national
expectation, our established norm. As long as
we do nothing about it,
this systemic millstone
will continue to grind
on. It will not simply
go away, at least not at
a pace we can comfortably accept. The only solution for racism in our
nation is an immediate
jolt of consciousness
and a decision to take
action. To acknowledge the existence of
the millstone of racism
will require great national honesty. To stand
in front of it in an effort
to slow it down will
require tremendous national courage. To get
it to stop will require
concerted national effort. To start it moving
in the opposite direction will require bold
national action. To give
it sufficient momentum
will require immense
national endurance. It
has been nearly a generation since Dr. King
dreamed that we could
one day turn the tide of
prejudice and discrimination. How long will
it take us to slow down
the trends of systemic
racism? How long to
completely stop them?
How long to start the
trends going in a different direction? How
long to build up the
necessary momentum
for future generations?
Can we do this in
one generation?
Can we dream
that big?
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
5 of 10
“I (Also) Have A Dream”
Though we have yet to fully realize Dr. King’s dream, is it too early for us to have a dream of our own?
What type of America should we be dreaming of for our generation and beyond? How will we know when we have arrived there? What signposts should we be looking
for along the way? Our country wasn’t ready for Dr. King’s dream, but that didn’t stop him and others from dreaming it. Many in our country may not be ready for a
new dream, but that shouldn’t stop us from dreaming either. What portrait of America should we endeavor to paint for our children and grandchildren?
I (also) have a dream for our country. I am not a man of Dr. King’s courage or caliber. I am not a man of Dr. King’s passion or prose. I am, however, a man with a dream.
I dream of a nation more just and equal than the one in which we currently live. Our nation is most likely not ready for my dream. I pray that it may be one day.
1. I have a dream…
that each of us will awaken to the possibility that we
hold racial and ethnic prejudices in our hearts and
minds, and that they are unhealthy no matter how small
or seemingly benign they may appear.
Most people in our nation are not overtly prejudiced
against other races, but all of us are susceptible to
subtle forms of prejudice that can “hide” in the corners of our souls. We are seldom “taught” this form of
prejudice. It is usually environmentally absorbed, attaching itself to us without our knowledge. I dream
of a new honesty and self-realization in this area, a
day in which we can face the painful truth about the
thoughts and feelings that can sometimes linger so
quietly in our minds and hearts.
The truth is that most of us exist in such an isolated
world that we never have an opportunity to challenge or investigate our prejudices. Most of the time,
the vocabulary, figures of speech, colloquialisms, and
humor that would be considered racially degrading
are expressed to an audience as numb to them as we
are. The proverbial tree is falling in our daily patterns
of speech and conversation, but there is usually no
one present with a discerning ear to hear it. I would
never have considered myself to be a prejudiced person,
but I was shocked after a critical examination of my
own speech and heart. I was saddened when I began
to examine the dialog in many of my social circles and
the monologue in my own soul. I was not intentionally, mindfully prejudiced. I was blind. I don’t recall anyone “teaching” me the phrases, jokes, and worldview
that I embraced. I simply absorbed them throughout
my life’s journey. It was not until I paused to consider the awful racial implications of my thoughts and
words that I became embarrassed and ashamed. I
dream of a day when all of us can at least be open to
the possibility that such darkness could exist within
us, and that we would have the courage to wage war
against it.
2. I have a dream…
that there will be a reduction and redistribution of the
societal ills and pains that plague our nation.
My dream is that crime rates and poverty rates will
continue to drop in our country as they have for the
last few decades. I pray that we will continue to make
progress in the areas of education, HIV/AIDS prevention,
and infant mortality. Yet, beyond my dream of continued
reduction, I also dream of a redistribution of representation
in these things as well. I have no desire that any race
increase it’s representation in these areas, but rather
that no race will be over-represented in them. If the
“black” population of our nation is 14%, then black
representation in prison, homicide, poverty, struggling
students, etc. should match that percentage.
3. I have a dream…
that we would one day understand that race/ethnicity
does not determine behavior.
People don’t do what they do, like what they like, act
how they act, or think the way they think because
of their race/ethnicity. “Worldview” is what shapes
a person’s approach and response to life, not race/
ethnicity. Our worldview is an amalgam of the ideas
and norms we embrace. These ideas and norms are
ultimately anchored in the words and images that we
believe about ourselves and others. They eventually
become our mindset, which is ever evolving as it accepts
new ideas and rejects old ones. “Who” or “What” a
person is/becomes is more weighted in these things
than their particular race/ethnicity. I have a dream
that this knowledge will one day be our lead instinct
as we interpret the things that happen in our nation
and world.
4. I have a dream…
that we will one day realize that racial/ethnic groups are
not “rebuke-able.”
No one can say what “blacks ought to be doing” or
what “whites need to stop doing,” because no one
possesses a broom large enough to sweep an entire
race/ethnicity into one behavioral pile. We ought to
never entertain thoughts like, “you know how ‘they’
are” or “you know how ‘our people’ can act.” Foolishness!
Black people don’t act a certain way. White people
don’t act a certain way. No “people” act a certain way!
If we wish to rebuke slacking fathers, then let us rebuke
slacking fathers. If we wish to rebuke arrogant people,
then let us rebuke arrogant people. Let us never, however,
accept statements like “black men need to take better
care of their children” or “white people need to stop
acting like they are better than other people.” Such
statements reveal our ignorance and do great disservice
to the people in those groups for whom a rebuke is
not necessary.
5. I have a dream…
that we will no longer prostitute people of varying races
to justify our positions or prejudices.
Just because a person from a particular race/ethnicity
has issued commentary about his or her own race does
not guarantee that it is informed or accurate. Being a
particular race does not give a person an enhanced
perspective in diagnosing a situation regarding that
race. Likewise, not being a part of a race does not prevent informed insight. The statement, “black people
know more about tennis shoes than bank accounts” is
inaccurate and prejudiced no matter the race/ethnicity of its author or how many people (of any race) may
agree with it. I dream of a day when we can see through
this subtle (yet effective) tool that perpetuates division
in our country.
I dream of a day in which we will recognize that there
is no “official” voice for the “black community” in our
nation. There is no monolith of ideals and reactions
among races/ethnicities. We have no national black
(or white) voice because, despite what is often portrayed in the media, there is no national black (or
white) viewpoint. Most of the people identified as
“black leaders” in our nation don’t speak for even a
small portion of the people they are presumed to represent. Though many good people have done much
good work to advance equality in our nation, we must
recognize the sheer absurdity in thinking that any one
person embodies the views and positions of “Black
America.”
I dream of a day in which we will no longer invoke the
ghosts of Civil Rights leaders that have passed away in
an attempt to influence our national dialog on matters of race. All we know about these great men and
women is what they said while they were alive, which
was based on what they saw and understood at that
time. We have no way of knowing if they would still
feel the same way today or if the way they would feel
today would even be relevant. I am not opposed to
knowing or studying history, but I am an opponent
of using the mythic aura of revered or vilified figures
to sway our present day conversation. Attaching a
famous (or infamous) name to our arguments and
positions should neither enhance nor diminish their
validity. In the end, it matters little what any previous
generations have said if we cannot find “our” voice to
address the troubles of our generation.
6. I have a dream…
that we will one day move beyond the compulsion to
insert racial/ethnic modifiers into our national and
personal conversations.
I dream that we can one day move beyond discussions
about “black on black” crime to the real issue of crime
by anyone against anyone. I dream of a day that we
can grow beyond the sub-category evaluations of
black quarterbacks, black coaches, black politicians,
black-owned businesses, black universities, etc. We
may not be ready for this dream yet, but I see a day
in which people and institutions will be measured
based on their character and quality, not based on
the sub-category of their race/ethnicity. I dream of
a day in which using “black” as a modifier for a position,
office, or institution will seem as inappropriate as if
“white” were the modifier of choice.
I also dream of a day in which we can express our
admiration, affection, and frustration in a way that
avoids the insertion of a racial/ethnic modifier. I dream
of a day in which someone can see “the cutest little
baby” at the mall instead of the “cutest little black/
white baby.” I long for a day in which someone will
say, “some lady cut me off” on the highway instead of
“some black/white lady cut me off.” I yearn for a day
in which we can ask our children, “who is the kid with
the blue gloves on your team?” rather than “who is the
black/white kid on your team?” We may not be ready
for my dream yet, but with conscious effort, we can
take small steps toward it today.
7. I have a dream…
that one day we will see the frailty of race/ethnicity for
what it really is.
The human designations of race are not only individually
subjective, but also scientifically elusive. What’s more,
no matter how generationally entrenched “black
blood” or “white blood” seems to be, it is very easily
changed by the simple choice of a mate. There are no
strengths or weaknesses inherent to any race, passed
on through black genes or white genes. Black people
are not better or worse at one thing or another. Neither
are white people. Black people are not better at sports
while whites are better at business. Black men are not
bred to “spread their seed,” and white people are not
bred to “be the ruling race.” There is no such thing as
“pure white blood.” There is no such thing as “the itis.”
All such thinking is fantasy and fallacy.
8. I have a dream…
that we will one day understand that “blackness” is as
impossible to define as “whiteness.”
It is impossible to label behaviors, mannerisms, styles,
attitudes, and speech as black or white. There are no
unique and universal black values or white values.
There is no such thing as talking black, acting black,
dressing black, or even black music anymore than
there exists a white counterpart to these things.
I also dream of a day in which we graduate from
labeling the weakest examples of speech, conduct,
and appearance in our society as “talking, acting,
and dressing black” while we label the strongest
versions of these things as “talking, acting, and
dressing white.” I dream of a day in which an album
cover featuring black teens in a housing project
standing in front of a Ferrari with their underwear
showing, grabbing their crotches, and flashing
their gold teeth seems as odd to us as it would if it
were white teens in the photo. Both groups of kids
should look out of place in such a picture, not one
group more than the other.
9. I have a dream…
that we can one day come to grips with the depth of pain
that exists on all sides of the racial divide in our nation, and
that we would dignify that pain with a fitting acknowledgement and repentance.
There is little doubt that people who were white
drew the first blood in our nation. There is also
little doubt that, in our national history (and even
on an individual level), there have been greaterscale atrocities committed by people who were
white upon people who were black than the reverse. These truths notwithstanding, we must consider that in our present day, on the individual level,
there has been pain inflicted upon both sides by
people of both races. There are black people that
are hurt and angry because of what people who
are white have done to them individually. There are
also white people that are hurt and angry because
of what people who are black have done to them
individually. We need to address this common pain
with humility and grace.
In addition, we must never confuse what happened
in our nation from times of slavery until now as the
actions and attitudes of “white people.” Surely, the
people that were primarily in charge of and behind those actions were white, but it is not “white
people” that are to blame. Likewise, we must never
confuse the pain that has been caused individually
by people who are black or white as the actions of
“black people” or “white people.” Truly, there are
awful people among every race/ethnicity, just as
there are hurting people among every race/ethnicity. We must, must, must acknowledge this if we
have any hope of moving forward.
10. I have a dream…
that one day we will be able to see through the “deceptivelytrue” nature of racial/ethnic stereotypes.
Whether we recognize it or not, we all carry internal estimations of the expected behavior of different racial/
ethnic groups. As we go through life, we continually
amass “data” that “confirms” that our internal estimations
are accurate. Sadly, whenever we encounter a person
or situation that contradicts our estimations, it is often
difficult for us to consider the possibility that our estimations may be wrong. We place such people/situations
into a new category, one of “racial anomaly.” Instead of
questioning our definition of what it means for a person/
people to “act black” or “act white,” we declare that the
person/people did not “act like their race.” I dream that
we can be delivered from such abiding ignorance.
It will require conscious effort to unshackle ourselves
from the “group-mindedness” that subtly, craftily, slyly,
and generationally invades our thinking. We must not
only begin to question our pre-suppositions about other
races/groups, but about our own group as well. There is
no specific program for black or white behavior, no lifescript that is more befitting for one race/ethnicity than
another. We must no longer give life to these misguided characterizations about racial groups (including our
own) without thoroughly investigating the source and
validity of the descriptions we embrace.
We know that it is unhealthy for “group-mindedness” to
exist in a patrol car, on a judge’s bench, at a parole hearing, within an HR Department, on an Admissions board,
or in a jury. I dream that we will conclude that it is equally
unhealthy for it to exist in our own minds as we dine at
a restaurant, estimate a house of worship, or even raise
our own children.
11. I have a dream…
that we can one day understand that there is no universal
black experience in our country any more than there is a
universal white experience.
This is not meant to imply that being white in America
is the same as being black, but rather that one person’s
experience as a black man or woman in America is
not the same as another’s. Even if two black people
grew up poor, in the South, in a single-parent home,
and went to the same school, they still cannot claim
a universal “black” experience. Neither of them can
legitimately claim to know what it is like “to be black,”
because the aggravating and mitigating factors of their
individual lives are too varied to stake such a claim. The
values within individual households, the roles and skill
set of family members, and the emphasis on certain
values are far greater factors in shaping a person’s life
experience than anything else. Until we understand
these things, we will never push beyond the tunnel vision through which we evaluate our life experiences or
by which we attempt to build our futures.
12. I have a dream…
that one day we will escape the false pride that can
spring from a clouded view of our national, racial, or
ethnic heritage.
There is certainly nothing wrong with tracing our ancestry and knowing our family history. There is also
nothing wrong with feeling a sense of belonging because of our “roots,” be they European, African, South
American, Asian, etc. There is, however, something
wrong with latching on to these things as a source
of pride or division against another group of people.
The trouble with taking pride in our ancestry is that
we seldom ask ourselves why we choose to stop at
a particular place/time in our family tree. Why do we
stop in Ireland, Slovenia, Congo, or China? Why not go
back farther? Where were our ancestors before they
were in the place from which we draw our identity?
Where were they before that? And before that? If we
keep tracing the line back far enough, we may come
to either a swamp or a garden (depending on our
worldview). When we get to that place, we will find
that all of us came from the same source. Whether
our “Adam” is scriptural or scientific, we share the
same ultimate origin with every other person. If, for
example, Africa is indeed the “cradle of all life,” then all
of us are ultimately and equally African, with no ancestral justification for division.
13. I have a dream…
that the posters of “African American Heroes” that hang
on the walls of many “black” schools in our nation would
one day cease to be needed.
The stark absence of “white heroes” on the walls of
“black” schools is one of the most glaring indications
that we have not yet arrived at a place of equality in our
nation. I have a dream that one day little boys and girls
could look upon the walls of their schools and see inspiring images of human accomplishment without having to rely on these posters to deliver a message that
white children never need to hear: “See, people that look
like you can do great things too.”
I dream of the day that posters of Bill Gates, Elie Wiesel,
Neil Armstrong, and Princess Diana can hang on the
walls of “black” schools and be as inspiring to the children as posters of Benjamin Banneker, Thurgood Marshall, Mary Bethune, and President Obama. I want the
posters of “white heroes” to hang there until the children
can see themselves in the lives of those people and be
inspired to achieve their own individual greatness.
I dream of a day in which I can take the posters of “African American Heroes” and hang them on the walls
of “white” schools in our nation. I want them to hang
there until the children can see themselves in the lives
of those heroes and be inspired to achieve their own
individual greatness. I also dream of a day in which we
will rest assured, knowing that both groups of children
will eventually find this inspiration.
Finally, I dream of a day in which the very notion of a
“black school” or “white school” will be a thing of the
past, along with a “black/white” congregation, business, neighborhood, etc.
Ultimately, I yearn for a day in which neither whites nor
blacks in our nation will see my dream as a “threat” to
their racial/ethnic identity and heritage. America may
not yet be ready for my dream, but I am not afraid to
dream it still.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
6 of 10
The following is a conversation I imagined with one of the premier recording artists of our time.
MTS: First, let me say how much of a pleasure it
is to meet you and be able to talk to you. I have
been an admirer of your artistry for a long time.
PUP: Thanks.
PUP: Again, yes and no. Yes, I was arrested for having
a certain kind of weapon, but that does not mean that I
have used it or would use it.
MTS: Okay. So you rap about drinking [narcotic-
MTS:
You have been involved in Hip-Hop for a
long time, right? Nearly 20 years I think. You
started when you were really young.
PUP:
What do you mean? I’m still really young!
(laughs) I don’t want to say how many years it’s been,
but it has been a long time.
MTS: Fair enough. I wanted to talk to you today
about some of the content in modern music. I
think I am seeing some trends that seem to be
disturbing. I wanted to get your thoughts on
the subject. I am sure that you have been asked
about it before.
PUP: Yeah. It’s the same old stuff. “Rap music is
violent.” “Rap music is nasty.” “Rap music degrades
women.” I have heard it all before.
MTS: And?
based drink] in a lot of your songs. You recently
confessed to being addicted to it. So that part
is real. You rap about going to strip clubs and
throwing money at strippers in a lot of your
songs. You continually appear in videos on the
internet actually doing it. So that part is real.
You rap a lot about buying cars, owning huge
houses, and taking exotic vacations in your
songs. You are often photographed all over the
world doing it. So that part is real. You even rap
a lot about your associates being “goons” and
prone to violence. Several members of your inner circle have been arrested and served time
for violent offences. So, that part is real. How
are we supposed to assume that the drugs and
violence you reference in first-person are not also
real, especially when you have been arrested
for possessing the very drugs and weapons you
rapped about having?
PUP: And what? Those are the opinions of outsiders
that just want to single out rap music for some reason.
I personally don’t believe that it has anything to do
with the music as much as it does other things. You
know, people say they are bothered by “rap music,”
but I think their real motives are something else.
PUP:
MTS: I understand. What makes you think that
Entertain.
Hip-Hop is singled out?
PUP: Because that is all anyone ever talks about.
It
seems like the media is always talking about how bad
rap music is, but they don’t ever want to talk about
how violent movies, video games, and even television
is. It is like rap has the biggest target on it. I mean,
when people come to me talking about how rappers
need to change, I’m wondering why they are not talking
about other things that are way worse than anything
in most rap music.
MTS:
I think a lot of people would agree with
you on that. I think a lot of people know that
we need to take a good look at entertainment
in general, but as for some of the music, do you
think it is right to excuse bad musical content by
pointing at other bad content?
PUP: What do you mean?
MTS: Well, you seem to think that there is a lot
It is just the way the rap game works. It is part
of the [interviewee rap name] persona.
MTS: So, you are mostly him and he is mostly
you, but not 100% one or the other?
PUP: Correct. I am an entertainer.
That’s what I do.
MTS: Is that what you told the judge in your last
weapons trial? I mean he has to see the same
thing we see. You sing about things that you seem
to live. When you get caught in something, how
does the judge know that you are just “acting?”
PUP:
She, not he, just had to take my word for it.
MTS: You know that this is the same argument
[deceased rapper] made before his trial in the
1990’s. He made this impassioned speech about
how he was just an entertainer and that he was
just an artist, etc. I think they sentenced him to
a few years anyway. The sad part was, as soon
as he got out of prison, he was back in videos on
the internet talking about how violent he was
and what he was going to do to this person and
that one. Kind of confusing for us as fans, don’t
you think?
PUP: You have to think of it like watching wrestling
on TV. There is a lot of talking and threats, but it is just
a show. The claims about violence are just part of it.
of content in movies, video games, etc. that has
gone too far. And I agree. Yet, you seem frustrated
that other forms of media aren’t being talked
about. Is that fair? If I was talking to someone in
Hollywood about the content of movies, would
it be fair if they said, “Don’t look at us. You need
to be talking to the rappers?” It seems like a
stalemate of some sorts. People realize there is
a problem, but they always want someone else
to make the first move to change it.
MTS: Well, apparently not for [deceased rapper]. I
don’t think he was pretending. The last video we
saw of him was when he was stomping someone
into the ground in a casino. It seems, at least in
the last glimpse we got of him, that his “shtick”
wasn’t entirely an act. He was killed a short time
later. It’s sad. Was he a “thug” or not? He was
one of your idols, right?
PUP:
PUP:
Possibly, but I still don’t think that anything
that I am singing about is any more dangerous than
what anyone else is doing. Yes, rappers sing about
violent things like guns and [expletive]. But when you
look at a movie where a terrorist blows up a building
or with huge gun battles in a bank robbery, I don’t
know why people aren’t upset about that. When I
sing about violence, I get called into question about
my “lyrical content,” but when they make a movie
about it, they call it a “blockbuster.”
MTS: I agree with you to a point, but surely you
can see the difference between the movies you
describe and the content of some of the music.
I mean, everyone knows that in a movie, the
participants are all actors. They know that the
violence is just special effects. In almost every
major movie, there is also a clear line between
the good guys and the bad guys. Even if the bad
guy seems to be winning in his “badness,” there
is always a clear line for the audience. I don’t
know if I see the same thing in music.
PUP: How do you figure?
Are rappers not good guys?
MTS: They may in fact be, but the violence that
most people are concerned about in music is spoken
in a “first-person” manner. That is, that the listeners
don’t get the impression that there is a separation
between what the artist is saying and the artist
himself. I mean, I think that people know that [actor
name] is not the character he plays in movies. He is
an evil villain in one movie and then a football coach
in the next. I think it is understood that [actor name]
isn’t really a villain or a football coach. I am not sure
that rappers and musicians in general are viewed in
the same way.
PUP: Well, that is their misunderstanding. [Interviewee
rap name] is not me. It is a persona, an image. He is a character that I play in my music, not who I am all the time.
Yes. And this is part of what makes rappers
so complex. It is like I told you about me. A lot of us
come from rough backgrounds and the things we sing
about are true from where we come from. It may not
be real in the sense that we are participating in criminal
or violent acts, but it is certainly real that we come
from that mindset. I think that is what you saw with
[deceased rapper]. He was not a violent person, but
that streak was still in him from where he came from.
It’s like that for a lot of us. There are some pretenders,
but a lot of guys came from some real [expletive].
MTS: That is very well put and it actually speaks
more to the thing that troubles me. I think that
young guys in the street recognize the “streak”
you refer to and I think that they know what is
real and what is not. The issue though is that
they don’t draw the line in the way you claim
to. You say that you are mostly [interviewee rap
name], but not all the way. How do you think
your music affects those guys that are “all the
way?”
PUP: I don’t think that it affects them at all.
The guys
that are out in the streets don’t need music to motivate
them. They are already doing the stuff without the
music. In fact, it is these guys coming from the streets
that are making the music. The music is not making
the guys in the streets.
MTS: Like yourself? You used to deal drugs
pretty big time, didn’t you?
PUP: Yeah, when I was coming up.
I did a lot of stuff
back then just to survive. It is how you made it in my
neighborhood. I did what I needed to do to take care
of my family and to protect myself. It’s only because I
was good at this [music] that I am not still back there.
Or maybe even dead. I got out of the drug game and
am now doing something positive.
MTS: Well, let’s be honest. You are not out of the
MTS: How can that be possible? Does that mean drug
game. You just switched departments. You
that you do not in fact live the life that you talk
about in your music? You don’t associate with
[gang name], and you don’t have people in your
entourage with weapons, and you don’t spend
money at strip clubs, and so on? Isn’t the concept
of “authenticity” part and parcel to the success
of your career? You didn’t fabricate your lifestyle
and background, did you?
PUP:
Yes and no. Yes, I do come from a rough place
with a bad background. And yes, I know and run with
a lot of rough type people. The lifestyle that I sing
about is real. But, I am not a violent person regardless
of whatever violent things I sing about.
MTS: But how do you reconcile that with your
real-life experience? You sing about personally
carrying a “chopper” [machine gun] in your car
on several of your songs. I hear you saying to me
here that those words don’t mean anything, but
weren’t you arrested twice for possession of such
a weapon?
went from “Sales” to “Marketing,” right? I mean
you still promote that lifestyle in your music.
PUP: How so?
MTS: Well, you commonly reference it in your
music, and not from a “past-tense” perspective.
You even have a song out now that basically says
that if people want to buy drugs, they should
simply ask one of your entourage. I even heard
you rap a lot about you and your friends packaging
drugs for sale and counting drug money in a
“present-day” context. From your music, it’s not
clear whether drug dealing is a side business for
you or if your rap career is a front for it. I think I
have even heard you say that if rapping ceased
to fund your lifestyle adequately, you wouldn’t
hesitate to go back to selling. Am I right?
PUP:
Yeah, those songs are out there, but again,
that is not me. That is just the image of [interviewee
rap name].
MTS: Still, you are not out of the “drug game.”
Even if you are not selling drugs, you are providing
the soundtrack for people that do.
white? And that if I was black that I wouldn’t see anything wrong with it? Surely that can’t be the case.
PUP:
I am saying that you wouldn’t understand the
hell that I came from if you wanted to and that is why
PUP: I guess that is one way of looking at it.
you don’t understand the music that comes out of that
I rap from a place of reality based on that hell.
MTS: Based on that, I want to get your thoughts hell.
What difference is it to you anyway? How does what I
on what correlation, if any, you see between the sing about affect your life?
content that so many young black rap artists put
out and the statistics we see about blacks being MTS: It doesn’t affect my life, per se. It does, however,
killed, involved in drugs, etc. in our country. Do say something about who we are as a society
you see any connection?
though. Let me ask you a question. In America, do
you think that black people are murdered at the
PUP: Not at all. Rap music isn’t the cause of the problems
same rate as white people or at a higher rate?
in our country. I don’t think rap music, or any other
music, causes people to do anything.
PUP: Much higher rate, but that has nothing to do
MTS: I am not interested, primarily, in what the with the music.
music is “causing.” I am more interested in what MTS: I understand, but just hear me out. So, we
is causing the content of the music. What is driving agree that black people are murdered at much
it? And what is driving the market for it? Do you higher rates in our country than white people.
see any correlation between the bad content in Here is my second question. In a typical day on
the music and the stuff happening in real life?
American radio, do you think they play more music
by black artists that talk about violence toward
PUP: I like the way you said that. This is something
blacks or by white artists that talk about violence
that most people don’t understand. The people that toward blacks?
have a problem with rappers, particularly black
rappers, need to understand that rap is not the cause PUP: Probably black artists that talk about violence
of what is happening in our country; it is the response toward blacks.
to it. The music isn’t shaping our society. Society is
MTS: I would agree with you. Why do you think
shaping the music.
there is a larger market to hear black artists glorying in
MTS: I can agree with that to a point, but do you killing each other, dealing drugs, throwing money
think that the artist bears some responsibility in at naked women, etc., than there is to hear white
how he or she sings about what is going on?
artists sing about it? We certainly know that there
are white people that do those things, but where
PUP: All I know is that the fires of violence, drugs, muris the music that talks about it? We know it’s out
der, and all that other [expletive] were burning long be- there, but why isn’t it all over our radios and televisions?
fore the first rapper started to rap about them. We didn’t Whites comprise the majority of our population.
start those fires. They were lit before we were born.
Why are they not making the majority of the music
MTS: Agreed, but do you think that the music with that content?
serves to put those fires out or to keep them PUP: There are white artists out there that talk about
going? Are you, as an artist, throwing water on those things.
them or gasoline?
MTS: I know there are, but they are not spotlighted
PUP: Neither. I am just talking about what is real, from
in the same way black artists are, right?
the perspective of where I came from. I may not be actively involved in doing some of the things I rap about, PUP: I guess that that’s just the way it is right now.
but that doesn’t mean I don’t know they are going on.
MTS: Not just right now. I think that is just the way it
MTS: I hear you. Let me give you a real example is. For some reason, in this country, there is no largefrom one of your songs.
scale market to hear white folks sing about these
things. Yet there seems to be a huge market to see
PUP: (laughs) Okay. Go ahead.
and hear blacks sing about them. What is it about
MTS: This is from your song, B---- Snitches. Tell violence, guns, drugs, murder, and throwing money
me whether you think this is glorying in violence at strippers that seems so “fitting” when sung by a
black artist, but so out of place when sung by a white
or lamenting it?
artist? That type of content is so branded to black
“The N---- was talking loud on the
artists that when a white person sings and does the
streets until I put two in his head.
same things, people say they look silly. They often get
You better call them black and whites,
made fun of or labeled as a fraud. Or worse, people
‘cause this N----’s black and red.
say that the white artists are trying to “act black.”
Will they make it here in time?
Since when did those behaviors become synonymous
Naw, that F-----’s dead.
in our culture with “acting black? “
Now his mom’s a baby short, ‘cause
PUP: I don’t really think about it like that. Race isn’t like
of what her B---- Snitch said.”
that for me. My fans come in all races. White people buy
PUP: From my perspective, this is just singing about
my albums and come to my shows. In fact, statistics say
what is real to me. In the world I came from, people that white people buy more rap music than black people.
that talk to the police about a situation can lose their
lives. I am not saying it is right. I know that most MTS: Well, there’s a lot to consider behind those
people may not be able to relate to it, but for me, that statistics. First, whites are nearly 70% of the musicbuying population and blacks are only about 14%.
is what I understand. It is the life I know.
Secondly, you’d also have to look at other genres
MTS: But you are talking about it first-person. of music. What percentage of rock, country, opera,
You are not saying that there was a person killed classical, etc. do blacks purchase versus whites?
because of talking to the police. You are saying That is another discussion entirely. The bigger
“I” killed a person because of it. This goes back to point here is when you tell me that white people
what I said earlier. You sing about stuff like this enjoy hearing black artists sing about violence,
and a year later, we saw that you were arrested sex, drugs, etc., I don’t feel that should be viewed
for assault. How is a listener, especially a young as a great endorsement, especially when you told
person, supposed to know if you are really doing me earlier that white people can’t fully relate to
these violent acts or if it is just an act?
the content of your music.
PUP: I don’t know if that it is up to me to answer
PUP: Well, you are focusing on the race element of this
that. I just put out the music that I want to put out thing and I am seeing beyond that. I am not even thinking
and then let the people decide for themselves.
about race in my music anymore. I have graduated. I
moving beyond “white music” or “black music,” even
MTS: Think about it though. What about all am
beyond American music. I actually reject those labels. I
of the mothers who have had a son murdered am on to making music for the whole world. People love
because he was willing to cooperate with the me all over the world. You seem to be more focused on
police? Do you think that your reference to race than I am.
putting two bullets in a “snitch” sits well with
those moms? I have a friend whose son was MTS: Actually, I am focused on something much
killed like that by a kid in our city. Do you think deeper than you think. I’m focused on why I can’t
about how your lyrics might affect her?
find many mainstream broadcasters and retailers
willing to offer music by white artists that talk
PUP: Again, I don’t know how else to say it. If that
about killing whites, blacks, Jews, or anyone else.
line would bother her, she doesn’t need to listen. I rap Yet, these same broadcasters and retailers prominently
about what is really going on.
offer music by black artists that talk about killing
MTS: Do you not feel, however, that there is a blacks, but not other races of people. Does that
better way to talk about it? Like, back in 1997 not strike you as strange, especially since you don’t
when [artist name] came out with [rap song]. think about race in your music?
The song was undeniably about the violence he
had seen. The song talked about murder, guns, PUP: Are you implying that white artists don’t talk
drugs, etc. – all of the same vocabulary we about killing people, in “first-person,” as you say?
find in some of your music. The words were the MTS: There are absolutely white artists that talk
same, but his point was that we need to stop the about that stuff. There are even white artists that
murder, put down the guns, and quit selling the talk about killing blacks in ways that will give you
drugs.
chills. The issue is that I don’t find those people featured on mainstream media outlets. You have to go
PUP: I know the song, but I don’t see how it is any
different from what I have said. Both songs have way off the main broadcast and retail thoroughfares
violent imagery. They both use the same vocabulary. to find that music. You won’t hear those artists on [raBoth of them paint a picture of homicide by gunshot. dio conglomerate] stations or see them on [television
conglomerate] networks. No soft drink or clothing
It is violence in music. Period.
company wants to touch those guys with a 10-foot
MTS: That is like saying there is no difference pole. But when it comes to you and B---- Snitches,
between a cow’s milk and a cow’s urine because people clamor for it. The idea of the “violent black
they are both “liquid secretions from a cow.” You artist” seems to be very appealing to the masses.
do understand that one is fit for consumption
PUP: Maybe it is because people know we are singing
and the other is not, right?
about the real problems of the world. Maybe they can
PUP: Whether you think someone should consume
relate to it because they know it is real life. I talk about
my music or not, it all comes down to me being true what really goes on.
to what I know as an artist. I know a lot of America
doesn’t understand what I talk about, especially a lot MTS: Molesting, kidnapping, and murdering little
children really goes on. That is a part of “real life.” Do
of whites in America.
you think if you started rapping about grabbing little
MTS: So you are saying that the reason that I see children and killing them in abandoned buildings,
something wrong with B---- Snitches is that I am you would be loved as much around the world?
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
PUP:
Not likely.
MTS: No half-time shows? No clothing endorsements?
PUP: (laughs) Probably not.
MTS: But singing about executing someone’s
child because they cooperated with police
doesn’t bother anyone.
7 of 10
trial a few years back on the gun charges.
You had a prior felony. You were caught with
a gun in the car that wasn’t yours, correct?
PUP:
That’s right. So?
that I rap about the issues.
MTS: Well, I saw a picture of you in court and
it looked like you had an army of powerful
lawyers with you. How much did it cost you to
defend yourself in that case?
MTS:
PUP: A lot.
PUP: Apparently not. I think people actually respect
No they don’t. That’s not it at all. You
aren’t singing songs to create awareness of the
troubles in our nation. You are making money
off of glorying in violence and pain. And that’s
okay, because you say you don’t know any better.
The thing that bothers me is that you are paid
to perpetuate an image that much of America
believes about black males anyway. I mean,
a lot of people already believe that black men
are innately wild, lustful, materialistic, corrupt,
and violent. Did you ever wonder if you are just
a handsomely paid “promoter” for those stereotypes?
PUP:
Maybe, but that doesn’t bother me though.
That is part of the reason a lot of us in this industry
act the way we act and say the things we say. We do
it because that is what people already expect from
us. We are playing into people’s misconceptions and
actually getting rich off of it. It is like we turned the
tables on the situation and made it work for us instead
of against us. So yeah, we buy cars and jewelry, we
drink and party, we talk about violence and drugs,
because that is all that is expected of us anyway.
MTS: Half-a-million dollars? One million
dollars?
PUP:
MTS:
Well, a few years ago, I worked
with a young man in almost the exact
same situation. He was 18 years old. The
only difference was that his lawyer only
cost $5,000.00. His parents went into
debt to hire his attorney. That kid
got 10 years in prison. You only got six
months, right?
PUP:
So what is your point? That has nothing to
do with me.
MTS: My point is that I don’t want you to think
MTS: Oh, I know the story. I heard it from
[deceased rapper]. “I do this or that because
that’s what ‘we’ do.”
that all the people you “inspire” are doing well.
This kid dressed like you, talked like you, and
listened incessantly to your music. He was even
arrested just like you, for the same charge. He
didn’t end up like you though. He ended up like
most black kids in that same situation. Your case
is an exception. His case is more in line with “the
rule.”
PUP:
PUP:
Exactly. That’s just the way it is. It’s the way
America wants it.
MTS: Fascinating. I can see that you know your
lines in this American drama very well, but have
you ever paused to ask yourself who wrote the
script for you? The fact that you know your
“place” in American culture and that people
will pay you to make your “contribution” to society is admirable. I am sure many people find it
beneficial that you go along with it so willingly.
My question is whether or not you ever stop to
think about the lines you are saying or who has
a vested interest in your eagerness to say them.
PUP: Not really.
MTS: The whole thing reminds me of a German
children’s book from the 1930’s called “Der Giftpilz.” The premise of the story is how important it
is to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous ones. In the context of the book, the Jews
were considered the “poisonous mushrooms” that
should be avoided. The book goes on to describe
Jews as dangerous to German society, money
hungry, sexually deviant, etc. The Nazis used this
children’s book to sow seeds about Jewish “corruptness” into the minds of German youth for many
years.
PUP: That’s messed up.
MTS: I know, right? The issue is that I think that
America has outdone the Nazis when it comes to
modern-day propaganda about blacks. No white
man could get on mainstream radio and television
or go into schools and colleges and call black
people “poisonous mushrooms.” No mainstream
media outlet could ever say that black men and
women are sex-crazed, materialistic, prone to
violence, etc. They would be crucified. But, they
don’t have to. You know why? Because someone
has convinced the “mushrooms” to say it about
themselves. The coup about the whole thing is
that whenever you challenge artists about the
seeds they are sowing, they vigorously defend
their right to paint themselves as “poisonous.”
It’s really sad.
PUP: No one makes me sing anything about anything.
I don’t have to defend myself at all. I rap about what
I know. My real life. My real history. The way I live.
MTS: I see.
So rap music has helped a lot of
black people advance economically?
PUP:
Yeah, but I don’t see [Olympic athlete] going
out to shoot people.
MTS: No, you don’t. Keep in mind, though, that
to him you are just a performer. Nothing you
talk about is “real” to him because he doesn’t
come from where you come from. Isn’t that what
you told me earlier? That’s what’s interesting.
This white athlete is spending money to hear
you talk about violence toward other blacks and
about denigrating black women because it puts
him in the mood to compete better. Do you realize
how twisted that is?
PUP: The bottom line is that I speak from the heart.
Nothing is fake about what I say and no one gave me
the lines to say. I have made my own way in America
and I did it the only way a guy like me can do it. I make
no apologies for what I did to get where I am. Where I
came from is what made me who I am today.
MTS: You reference where you came from a lot.
How much of a factor do you really think that
is? I’m sure there are lots of people from your
neighborhood that didn’t sell drugs, use drugs,
rob people, etc.
PUP: I can’t speak for other people. I can only speak
about the hell I personally experienced.
PUP: No.
My life is far from hell. It took a lot of hard
work to make it that way.
MTS:
So when it comes to your kids, do you
teach them more about the life you used to live
or more about the life you live now?
PUP: My kids have no clue about the life I used to
live. They’ve got it good.
MTS: So if your son sang the same lyrics that you
MTS: There are nearly forty million black people
PUP:
MTS: There has to be a number. One thousand?
One hundred thousand? Whatever the number,
I bet that far more folks go into debt pretending
they live like you than ever actually make any
real money from rap or any other kind of music.
PUP:
I am not just talking about people making
money in the music industry, but people that are inspired
by our success.
MTS: I hear you, but I think you may have been
gone from your old neighborhood too long to
know what is really happening. You may have
lost touch.
Not at all.
MTS: This is something that also fascinates me.
I know from watching your show that you have a
teenage daughter. Do you let her listen to your
music?
PUP: I am sure she has heard it.
everything nowadays.
Kids can find almost
MTS: How do you think she feels about the way
women are talked about in a lot of rap music?
One of your label mates, [artist name], has a lyric
that comes to mind.
“It’s [artist name] in the
mother-[expletive] house
With my big fat [expletive] for your
mother-[expletive] mouth.”
PUP: How so? I can go into almost any neighborhood
When he wrote that lyric, do you think he had
your daughter in mind or someone else’s?
MTS: No, no. That’s not what I mean. I mean that
PUP: (laughs) Well, my daughter is only 13 so I hope he
wasn’t thinking about her. I don’t think he had anyone’s
daughter in mind. It is just something to sing about.
in this country and be loved.
you may have a false sense of how your music
has inspired people. Let’s take, for example, your
PUP: I don’t know.
:My
be in that situwon’t need to
wouldn’t have
Hopefully never.
MTS: Interesting. I hope so too. I hope
that for all of our daughters. My hope
is that no man ever speaks to or about
any of our daughters the way you do in
your music.
MTS:
P U P
I don’t think you are being honest there.
Of course words, sounds, and pictures influence
people. Why do you think companies spend
millions of dollars for a 30-second ad during the
Super Bowl? They count on those words, sounds,
and images to influence people. Why do you
think that every psychologist tells parents to be
careful about the way they speak to their children? Are you telling me that none of your fans
have written you and said your music inspired
them? Music has always inspired people’s moods
and actions. It can stir romance, sorrow, anger,
and passion. Why do you think that [Olympic
athlete] says he listens to your music before he
competes? He says those words “hype him up.”
sing, it would be an act? It wouldn’t be “real.”
PUP: I have no idea. Lots.
I wouldn’t say
that. There are always
a lot of women around.
A lot of stuff goes on.
MTS:
PUP: That’s right.
in America. Can you tell me how many of them
have gotten rich from rap music?
PUP:
Again, that has nothing to do with me or
my music. Besides, music is just words and sounds.
My videos are just pictures that move. They have no
power. They don’t influence anyone to do anything.
Words, sounds, and pictures have never hurt anyone.
and using guns? That part isn’t real, right?
And I have gotten rich from the music.
The one who benefits from me saying what I say is
me. And my family. It’s the same with a lot of other
rappers too. I think that is why rap is so commonly
attacked. It is a vehicle for black prosperity. A lot of
black people are making more money than ever. I
guess that upsets some people.
MTS:
Interesting.
So this is another one of the
things that rappers talk about
that doesn’t really
happen.
One of your
songs talks about
taking a woman
in your Bentley. In
you decide to kick
car because she
certain sex act for
used the phrase
patrol.” Do you
to live by those
understand that
like her father
: Do you still consider yourself to be living
MTS: Except for the parts about dealing drugs MTS
in “hell?”
PUP: Correct.
MTS :
I am not sure that
age matters. When your
daughter turns 18, will she cease
to be your daughter? Will you stop
caring for her as a father? Do you think
that she should she go ahead and get
her mouth ready for rappers like
[artist name]? If not at 18, then what
age? I just think it will be helpful for fans
to know the age at which your daughter
should begin to equivocate sex with male
acceptance in her life.
In that ballpark.
for a ride
the song,
her out of the
didn’t perform a
you. I believe you
“put her on foot
train your daughter
same rules? Does she
acceptance from men
is predicated on sex?
daughter would never
ation to begin with. She
ride in anyone’s car so she
that problem.
MTS: So again,
it may be something that
another man’s
daughter has to deal
with,but
not yours. When you refer
to women
as b----- and h---- in your
music,is
it safe to assume that you
are always
thinking about other people’s
sisters, daughters, and mothers instead of your own?
PUP: I certainly don’t have any of my people in mind
when I write it. Sometimes, those particular words
are actually terms of endearment though. Other
times, they are not. Also, I want to clarify here that not
all women are deserving of those titles. Some women
are. There are some women that act like b------ and
h----. Women will even refer to themselves that way
sometimes.
PUP: Uh-huh.
MTS: I have one final idea that I want
to throw out at you before we wrap up.
A very famous human rights advocate
made a statement some years ago that I
found interesting. He commented on
some black youths he observed
engaging in some destructive
behavior. I am not sure of the specifics of the
incident that prompted his comments, but I know
he often expressed frustration about things like
violence, drug use, mistreatment of black women,
etc. His response to what he observed was
fascinating. In short, he stated that the only way
he refrained from getting upset at the young men
was to channel his anger toward what he called
the “puppeteers” instead of the “puppets.” Are you
familiar with that concept?
PUP:
No. And I don’t understand how it applies to this
discussion.
MTS: It’s simple really. Based on the way you
describe your past, I will stipulate that you were
born in America’s sewer and nourished by its societal
feces. I will even go so far as to say that because
of this, you may not have the ability to see what
is wrong with some of the content in your music.
I strongly suspect, however, that the people who
the companies that retail, broadcast, and
MTS: I don’t think that citing a few soul-poisoned run
endorse your music didn’t come from your same
women that accept those labels in the context you background. At the highest levels, I am sure most
use them absolves you. The fact that some women of them don’t know anyone who has shot someone
don’t understand how demeaning your content or was shot by someone because they talked to the
can be is not a valid excuse.
police.
PUP: I agree when you speak about women in general,
but some women deserve those labels. There are some PUP: What is your point?
women that just don’t respect themselves and will do
anything for money or to be with a certain person. A lot MTS: My point is that you have admitted to me
of those women are in the inner circles of our industry. that you have a damaged sense about why certain
There are even some women I refer to as “second content isn’t appropriate for sober-minded people
generation” b------ and h----. Their mothers raised to consider “art.” You have repeatedly linked this
damage to your background. I think I can accept
them up to be that way.
that and give you a pass based on the possibility that
MTS: As a man, particularly a father, doesn’t you really don’t understand what is wrong with
something inside you say that, above all, those some of your lyrics. The issue I have is that I think
women need to be pitied instead of taken advan- the CEO’s of the companies that deliver your music
tage of and mocked? Just because a girl has been to the masses do understand how damaging some
taught to offer sex in exchange for acceptance/ of your content is, but they just don’t care.
affection doesn’t mean a man should accept it.
Isn’t self-control part of what distinguishes a PUP: So.
“man” from a “male?” What if one of those womMTS: I think those people know that some of the
en was your daughter?
things you say are highly inappropriate. I think
that they wouldn’t want their sons saying those
PUP: I have told you that it won’t be. I know this
things. I think they wouldn’t want their daughters
because I have raised her better than that.
in your videos or in the VIP section of whatever
MTS: So you are telling me that despite where you nightclub you are visiting next. You don’t even
came from and how much where you came from want your own daughter there, right? I believe
shapes the content of your music, you have learned they know how blind you are and how much
enough along the way to give your children better toxicity there is in some of your music. To me
though, the fact that they are willing to make
ideals and morals than you had?
money off of your blindness makes them guiltier
than you. In my mind, the fact that they give you
PUP: Definitely.
large sums of money for vocalizing your blindness
MTS: But somehow your growth over the years makes you their “puppet” so to speak.
has affected the way you relate to your family, but
not the content of your art? You are far enough PUP: I can assure you right here and now that I am no
away from your past to know what to teach your one’s puppet. I make the music I want and nobody tells
kids, but not far enough from it to change what me what to say. If I want to call women b-----, h----, or
you rap about? Do I have it right? I am not sure any other [expletive], I will do it. If I want to talk about
why your kids don’t have to feed on the poison, shooting black people, white people or anybody else, I
but other kids do? How much longer until your will do it. I don’t care how it reflects on me or anyone
else. My life is very simple. I will provide for me and
fans get to benefit from your growth?
mine by any means necessary.
PUP: I don’t think anything about other people’s
kids. That is not my responsibility. Parents need to MTS: I sense you are getting upset and I don’t
raise their own children. I don’t think that any rapper mean to offend you. Nevertheless, if what you
or entertainer should have to be a good influence in just said doesn’t fully embody the mindset of a
puppet, I don’t know what does. That’s not a bad
kids’ lives. That is the parents’ job.
thing, though. I don’t want you to feel insulted.
MTS: You are correct, but I think you have it It’s better for America to think of you as a puppet
backwards. I don’t think parents are asking you in this industry rather than the one really pulling
to be a good influence in their children’s’ lives. the strings.
I think that they are asking you to stop being a
bad influence.
PUP: Why is that?
PUP: I don’t know why we are discussing “kids” anyway. My music is not made for kids. I see parents bringing little kids to my shows and I am like “[Expletive], what
is wrong with you?” You should have to be an adult to
be able to listen to my music. The stuff me and a lot of
other artists sing about is definitely not for children.
MTS: Because if we thought you knew how inap-
propriate and destructive some of your content is,
then we may have to hold you accountable for it. I
don’t think anyone in America wants to do that.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
8 of 10
THE FOLLOWING IS AN INTERVIEW I IMAGINED WITH ONE OF
THE WORLD’S LARGEST MUSIC RETAILERS.
MTS: I appreciate you taking the
time to speak with me today. Before
we start, can you tell me what exactly
your job is at [online retailer]?
VAM: My technical title is “Executive
Vice President of Global Marketing and
Distribution.” That is just a fancy way
of saying that I am in charge of how we
present and deliver our music and video
content to the world.
MTS: Excellent. And how long have
you been at [online retailer]?
VAM: I am pleased to say that I have
been there since the very beginning, so
that would make it almost 10 years.
MTS: And before that?
VAM: Before that, my title was “Vice
President of Marketing, North America”
for [brick and mortar retailer]. I was
there off and on for 12 years before
coming on board with [online retailer].
MTS: So you’ve been involved with
music and entertainment sales for a
long time?
VAM: (laughs) Oh yeah. I’ve been
doing it for a while now, but it’s been
good. I wouldn’t want to do anything
else.
MTS: (nodding) One of the primary
reasons I wanted to talk with you is
that I am intrigued by your company’s
position regarding certain content that
you are not willing to sell, namely in
the area of pornography. Can you tell
me a little about that?
VAM: Sure. When [founder name] first
discussed his vision for the future of making music globally available online, the
industry was right on the cusp of making
downloadable video content available as
well. It was during those first few conversations that he made it clear that if we
ever did venture into online video sales
and rentals, pornography would not be
included in our catalog.
MTS: Wow! That is quite a departure from what most retailers do.
Did you make the decision not to sell
porn based on shareholder interests?
Profitability?
VAM: No. It wasn’t any of those
things. It was based solely on the Core
Values of our company and founder. I am
not sure we considered any aspect of the
issue other than building the company
based on what we felt was right for us.
Money was not our motivation.
MTS: As one of the world’s largest
online retailers, how do you respond
to critics who say that your decision
not to sell pornography is an indirect form of censorship, that you are,
in effect, preventing certain content
from reaching the broadest market
possible? Do they have a fair gripe?
VAM: Not at all. We are committed
to not selling pornography as a matter
of corporate philosophy. We have never
said that we were against pornography
or didn’t want it sold elsewhere. We
have simply made a decision that we
would not sell it. People should feel
free to create the art that they want and
sell it however they can. We, as an online retailer, reserve the right to decide
what products we want to sell based on
how those products fit within our identity as a company.
MTS: So you are not making a moral
judgment about pornography or people who sell it. You’re just exercising
your right to define your own brand
by selling or not selling what best represents your philosophy as a company, correct?
VAM: Precisely. We sell the content
that represents us. Other retailers should
do the same. We offer a wide variety of
music and movies. We don’t offer pornography. That does not mean that we
expect anyone else to make those same
choices.
MTS: Well, here is an interesting
question then, and it involves some
music that I purchased from your
site earlier today. It is a song from
[artist name]. He is listed among the
top-100 artists downloaded within
the last month. The song is called
B---- Snitches. I want to read some
of the lyrics to you. Let me know if
you recognize them.
“The N---- was talking
loud on the streets until
I put two in his head.
You better call them black
and whites, ‘cause this
N----’s black and red.
Will they make it here in time?
Naw, that F-----’s dead.
Now his mom’s a baby
short, ‘cause of what her
B---- Snitch said.”
VAM: I can’t say that I have heard
that before.
MTS: But I bought it from your site.
VAM: Well, we sell tens of millions
of songs and videos. I am not aware of
them all.
MTS: Are you surprised by the lyrics?
MTS: If they had made it to your
desk, would you have pulled the song,
especially now that you have heard
the lyrics?
other black people than the white
artists that talk about it.
VAM: Probably not. To be very honest,
music like what we are discussing here is
not my style at all. As I said, the graphic and vile nature is unsettling to me. I
don’t understand the appeal of a lot of
the music today, but this may be more of
a generation gap than anything else.
MTS: I’ll do you one better than
that. I imagine that you carry far
more black artists that talk in first
person about violence toward other
black folks than you do black artists
that talk in first person about violence
toward white folks. In fact, I have
gone through much of your site, and I
believe you sell more black artists that
talk about first-person violence than
any other race.
MTS: Generation gap?
VAM: Yes. When I was a kid, my parents
thought the music I listened to on television and radio was awful. To me, it was
the soundtrack of my youth. That may
be what’s going on today. At my age, I
don’t understand why anyone would find
the lyrics you read to be appealing, but
maybe I am not supposed to.
MTS: Your parents didn’t relate well
to the music you used to listen to about
shooting people in the head?
VAM: (laughs) I am not sure we had
too much music about shooting people
in the head back in those days. I just
know that my parents didn’t appreciate
the things I listened to.
VAM: If you say so.
VAM: Are you implying that there aren’t
any white people involved in violence?
MTS: Of course not. A five-minute
look at the national news will tell you
that. I’m simply saying that when I
examine the music you sell, I don’t
see white artists presented equally to
black artists when it comes to firstperson references to violence. Surely,
you know that there are white groups
singing that type of music. Are you
selling all of it that you can find, or is
it just not as readily available?
VAM: I am sure you can find some of
that style of music on our site somewhere.
MTS: So you’re saying that young
MTS: I am sure I can too, but not in
the same quantity that you sell it sung
by black artists.
MTS: Not your musical taste?
VAM: Exactly.
VAM: Personally, no.
MTS: But didn’t you assure me
earlier that the only way you would
sell this type of content is if it were
restricted to adults? You said it was
labeled “Explicit” to keep it out of
the hands of young people. Are you
now saying that despite those labels,
you understand the target audience
of this content to be young people?
VAM: Well, perhaps there is a greater
availability of that content by black artists than by white artists. Maybe even
a greater interest. Have you considered
that?
VAM: Surprised? No. Turned off?
Probably.
MTS: But it is in harmony with your
corporate philosophy and culture?
VAM: I wouldn’t say that.
MTS: What would you say?
VAM: I would say that we sell a wide
variety of music that appeals to a wide
variety of people and that not all of it is
my musical preference.
MTS: Granted, it may not be your
personal musical preference, but it is
apparently not in conflict with your
corporate philosophy or the culture
that [founder name] wished to create.
Someone personally decided to sell it,
right? I mean “companies” don’t really do anything; the people that run
them do. Would you say that the culture of [online retailer] is in harmony
with these lyrics? Do you endorse the
execution of witnesses?
people today must see some value in
this type of music that grown ups like
you and I just don’t see.
VAM: I cannot speak with certainty
about the target audience for any particular artist, but I can say that regardless of
what audience the music appeals to, we
will not sell it to anyone under 18.
MTS: Because for anyone over 18,
this content would be considered viable
entertainment?
VAM: Exactly.
MTS: Fair enough. Let me ask you
another question. You said you have
never heard this song, but have you
heard of [artist name]?
VAM: I don’t know about that. What
I can tell you is that any song with that
sort of content would have been labeled
“Explicit” on our site.
VAM: The name is familiar to me,
but I wouldn’t say I know anything else
about him.
MTS: Why is that? To keep minors
MTS: Well, based on the content of
the lyrics I read to you, do you have a
guess about his race?
VAM: Yes. Striving to keep adult content
out of the hands of children is definitely in
line with what we represent as a company.
VAM: I would have no idea.
from purchasing it?
MTS: Wouldn’t pornography fall
MTS: Let me read them to you again.
(Reads lyrics). Can you guess now?
into this same category? Isn’t porn
considered “adult content?”
VAM: No. I can’t say for sure what race
he is based on those few lines.
VAM: Perhaps for some retailers it
would, but again, pornography, even if it
is age-restricted, is just not in harmony
with what we believe as a company.
MTS: But you do have a pretty good
hunch that he is not white, right?
MTS: But, “Naw, that F-----’s dead”
MTS: Simple process of elimination. We know, of course, that there
are white people that talk about and
sing about killing black people. There
is even an entire subgenre of “White
Power” music that talks about it in
graphic detail, but I am taking a guess
that you don’t have a lot of that music
in your top-100, do you?
does fit — with who you are as a
company?
VAM: Well, since you say that you
bought the song from our site, then I
guess it would have to.
MTS: Have you received complaints
about [artist name] or B---- Snitches
from any of your customers?
VAM: How do you figure?
VAM: No.
MTS: So you’re saying that you may
have received complaints, but not
enough to warrant pulling the song
from your site?
MTS: As you think in your mind
about the music you sell, would you
guess you sell more music by white
artists that talk about killing black
people or by black artists that talk
about killing black people?
VAM: I don’t know if we’ve received
VAM: I don’t like to guess.
VAM: I am not sure. We may have.
any complaints, but if we have, they were
not substantive enough to have made it
to my desk.
MTS: You don’t like to guess? Well,
I have a guess. I am guessing that
there are far more black artists on
your site that discuss violence toward
MTS: Actually I have. I think about
that a lot. Why do you think that
would be?
VAM: I don’t know, but in all fairness,
I don’t think that we should make sweeping judgments about music by any artist
based on a few lines from one song.
MTS: How do you mean?
VAM: Well, I am sure that on any album from today’s music you may find
some line or other that may be considered controversial, but I think, as a
company, we try to evaluate the artists
and music we sell from a “big picture”
standpoint and not at such a granular
level.
MTS: So you are saying that even
though [artist name] performed
B---- Snitches, those few lines don’t
disqualify the song from being sold on
your site?
VAM: Yes. If [artist name] is in our
top-100, I can assure you that he has
other popular songs that don’t contain
that type of content. I’m sure the vast
majority of his work is positive and more
suitable for a widespread audience.
MTS: Well, let me ask you this then.
Let’s pretend I was a singer with an
album full of positive songs, but one
song had a few lines that would be
considered “controversial.” I want to
read you some lyrics from a song I
wrote called The Smell of Your Lovin’.
Tell me what you think.
“Girl, let’s stop the pushin’
and the shovin’
Let’s start the kissin’
and the rubbin’.
Girl, I love the smell
of your lovin’
More than the smell of
Jews in Hitler’s ovens.”
VAM: (shudders) Oh, that’s awful. I
can tell you right now that we wouldn’t
sell that on our site.
MTS: Even if it was labeled “Explicit”
and only available for people over 18?
VAM: The age restriction wouldn’t
matter. We would view that content as
“Hate Speech.”
MTS: What about B---- Snitches?
Is “two in his head” and “Naw, that
F-----’s dead” not considered “Hate
Speech?” Is it “Love Speech?”
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
9 of 10
those real people are no different than
VAM: Music is not considered “Hate know if you are attempting to be funny or reference in a song is inappropriate.
any other decent human beings. I want
Speech” because of the violent content, clever, but I can assure you it is neither.
MTS
:
Do
you
think
that
is
part
of
the
those same real people that tell me that
but because whenever someone from one There are so many people in our country
race humiliates or denigrates someone
from another race, it crosses the line of
what we consider “entertainment.”
MTS: Ahh, I see. So for me as a white,
non-Jewish person to write this song,
it is considered “Hate.”
VAM: Correct. We would summarily
reject any music that propagated killing
any minorities.
MTS: What if those lyrics were written and performed by a Jewish artist?
Would it cease to be “Hate Speech?”
devastated by school violence that it is in
poor taste to even use this as an example.
MTS: Okay. So you wouldn’t sell
it. Let’s say though, by some form
of oversight, a song like that was to
make it into your top-100 page. Do
you think you would receive any complaints about it?
VAM: Plenty, I am sure. And rightly
so. That is a moot point though, because
we would never put that on our site.
MTS: Why?
VAM: Because I am quite sure they
don’t consider the killing of other Jews
in ovens something to be trivialized and
labeled as “entertainment.”
MTS: Interesting. But would you
consider selling The Smell of Your
Lovin’ if it were performed by someone Jewish?
art? Or is it just not in line with your
I am not a sociologist or psychologist. I
am an online music and video retailer.
VAM: I am not sure that you can call
those lyrics “art,” but I am sure that
some sick mind may consider them to
be. In any case, the answer is YES! That
content is NOT in line with what our
company represents.
MTS: I understand that you are a
retailer, but you also appear to be a
man of good sense, with some form
of corporate standard regarding the
content you sell. You were absolutely
right to reject my songs about “Hitler’s ovens” and shootings in schools.
I just can’t figure out why you can’t
see anything wrong with B---- Snitches. How can you sell that song and not
the others?
MTS: Still, IF it made it onto your
site, do you think you would get
enough complaints to take it down?
Maybe even to remove me as one of
your artists?
VAM: You are missing the point. In
VAM: No. The very idea of the song is light
of all the pain that people are
offensive.
MTS: Wouldn’t you just chalk it up
to the “generation gap?”
VAM: Not at all. Some music is not fit
to be labeled “entertaining” no matter
what generation creates it.
VAM: I don’t know why people respond
feeling in our country regarding school
shootings, it would not even take one
complaint to get that song pulled. We
would pull it ourselves.
MTS: Even if it was really popular
and sold a lot of copies?
VAM: Look, I understand the point you
are making and I wish I had a different
answer. All I can say is that there is a
huge market for that type of music by
black artists and we have made a decision
to sell it. We don’t support violence or
anything like that. We just sell music.
Besides, I am quite sure that every major
study has concluded that there is no connection between violence in entertainment
and what people do in real life.
VAM: It probably would not sell well,
MTS: So you’re saying that you but
even if it did, we would pull it. Money MTS: I am not talking about the
would not sell The Smell of Your Lovin’
because you find the content repulsive. You contend that the race of the
performer or the age of the intended
audience is not a factor. Yet, you do
sell B----- Snitches. Is that content not
also repulsive? Is it because someone
black is talking about killing someone
black? I’m lost on the logic.
VAM: The logic is very simple. The
song lyrics you wrote make light of the
Holocaust, a major blight in our world
history. The song about “Snitches” is
just a young person singing about things
that are really going on in the world today. There is presently a lot of violence
in our country.
MTS: First off, I agree with you
about the Holocaust. I am not trying
to make a comparison. Secondly, [artist name] is not young. He is over 40
with teenage children. But even if he
was young, do you feel B----- Snitches
is lamenting the violence or glorying
in it? In your mind, do his lyrics support
or confront the violence you see in our
world?
VAM: I don’t know. All I can say is
that the song is about something really
happening in our world and I don’t fault
[artist name] for singing about it.
MTS: Okay. Then take a listen to
my second song. It’s also about the
violence happening in our world and I
don’t think it falls under the category
of “Hate Speech.” It’s called Middle
School Surprise.
“I blast through the halls,
laughin’ as they run.
Instead of an apple,
I brought a gun.
Kiss your mommies goodbye,
class is in session.
The last lesson of your life
is on automatic weapons.”
Do you think my song can be in your
top-100?
VAM: (shaking head) That is absolutely
horrible. How can your mind even think
up something like that?
MTS: Trust me, it was not easy to
think it, let alone to write it down. I do
think it meets your company’s criteria
though. It is not “Hate Speech” about
another race, and it is about violence
in today’s society. Would you sell it?
VAM: Don’t be ridiculous. A song
like that is so awful and insensitive that
I can’t even begin to respond. I don’t
songs containing “Hate Speech” or
insensitivity to violence in schools have
no place on your site to also tell me that
songs that glory in shooting two bullets
into the head of some poor woman’s son
also have no place on your site. I want
you to tell me that the same real people
that decided pornography “wasn’t right
for your company” can also decide that
any music with a first-person reference
to committing murder, selling drugs,
denigrating females, etc., also has no
place on your site. Can you tell me that?
differently to the deaths of one group over VAM: Listen, I totally hear you, and I
MTS: Are you trying to censor my another. That is an answer I don’t have. respect what you are saying. I really do.
VAM: I doubt that a Jewish artist company culture.
would write such a thing.
problem? That we don’t get to look
into the faces of these black parents
enough? There is certainly no shortage
of them. Or, do you think maybe there
are too many black mothers for them
all to be shown on the national news?
Or maybe they are not the type of
mothers who can garner national attention? If we saw more of their faces,
do you think that we would become
more sensitive about the content of
some of our “entertainment?”
is not our bottom line. I think that I
covered that in my earlier point about
pornography.
MTS: You did. You did. So, if I am
hearing you correctly, you would not
pull my school song based on censorship, Hate Speech, or its relevance to
what is happening in our nation, but
just out of sensitivity to the families
that lost loved ones in school shootings.
VAM: That, and the fact that our company would not want to be associated
with that type of content.
MTS: I totally understand where you
are coming from, but now I am really
confused. Are you aware that in our
country, far more people die in the
manner described in B---- Snitches
than in the manner described in my
made-up song about school shootings?
VAM: That may very well be the case,
but when you make references about
school shootings, you touch the heart of
our entire nation.
MTS: Did you know that black kids
are many times more likely to die of
a homicide in our nation than their
white counterparts? Do you have any
idea why the number of black kids
getting “two in the head” and being
left “black and red” doesn’t touch the
heart of a nation?
VAM: I am sure that it does.
MTS: But not in the same way as the
other tragedies?
VAM: The issue with school shootings
and the like is the total senselessness of it,
the fact that people that were just going
about their day and lost their lives for no
reason. All of the hopes and dreams of
those families and children are just lost.
It’s tragic. Those people didn’t deserve
that. I think that is what our country
relates to. I think that is the difference.
MTS: I don’t want to offend you,
but you may really need to pause and
think about what you just said. You
almost made it sound like those same
feelings didn’t apply to the people
being killed in the manner found in
the song you sold me.
VAM: Well, I apologize. That is not
what I meant at all. It is definitely bad
when anyone is killed in our country. I
am just saying that with schools and other public shootings, it’s different. I mean
all you have to do is look into the faces
of those parents and you will quickly
understand that even a small insensitive
issue of “causation.” I am not focused
on what the music may or may not be
causing. My primary issue is what
is causing the content of the music.
More importantly, what is driving
the appetite for this music as a form
of mainstream entertainment? I don’t
understand why the two songs I made
up are too offensive to sell, but the real
song you sold me is “just a song.”
VAM: I don’t have an answer for you
other than to say that the vast majority of
consumers disagree with you. They want
this type of music by black artists. It is
very popular. The artists that make it are
also very popular. It just is what it is.
MTS: But what about your corporate
philosophy and culture?
VAM: What about it? I told you before.
Just because our company sells something
does not mean we necessarily like it. If
[online retailer] were a grocery store
chain, we might offer foods that I personally
didn’t like to eat. Our company wouldn’t
refuse to sell certain types of food simply
because of my personal preferences. We
may also sell food that is unhealthy, high
in fat or in sugar. That’s what grocery
stores do. They don’t tell people what to
eat. They just offer food and let people
make their own decisions. It is a matter
of personal preferences.
MTS: What if some of the food was
poisonous? Should a grocery store
sell it and let people make their own
choice?
VAM: Of course not. But music and
videos aren’t poisonous.
MTS: Except music about Jews,
ovens, and school violence?
I just don’t think that you are looking at
this realistically. Even if [online retailer]
were to stop selling songs with those
references, it wouldn’t make a difference.
It would not make a dent in the global
market at all. People would just find it
elsewhere and buy it there.
MTS: This is true. I have, in fact,
heard this type of logic from other
“business men.” You are right though.
If [online retailer] were to stop selling
that type of music, it would have no
more effect on the global market than
your decision not to sell pornography.
That is not the point. Your decision to
refuse to sell this type of music is making a statement about who [online retailer] is as a company and what types
of people are in charge. You would be
actively declaring, “This content does
not reflect who we are as a company
and we don’t consider this type of
content to be entertaining.”
VAM: I just don’t see how we could
make judgment calls about certain music
content over others.
MTS: It’s no different than the
decision you made about pornography. The only difference is that there
are varying views in our nation as
to whether pornography should be
considered “entertainment.” This is
actually an easier decision. I think
there is a general consensus among
sober-minded people that “first-person glorying” about murder and violence by any artist of any race in any
genre is not considered entertaining.
VAM: There is no practical way to
even begin to implement such a change.
We could not possibly scour the tens
of millions of songs we sell and find out
which ones contained that type of content.
MTS: Well, I would say that “where
there is a will, there is a way.” Go back
to your grocery store example. If you
received a complaint about some tainted
children’s medicine, I bet you could
have every shelf cleared in less than an
hour, even if you had 2,000 locations.
VAM: Even if we were to consider
doing something like that, I am not sure
where we would draw the line. Where
do we stop when it comes to first-person
violence in music and videos? I am just
saying that once you go down that road,
you don’t know where it will end.
MTS: Fair enough. There may be
conversations to be had about where
to stop, but the place to start seems
pretty simple. Begin with your own
children. If you wouldn’t want your
kids singing, buying, acting out, or
emulating the first-person behaviors
espoused in a particular song, don’t
make money off of it by selling it to the
children of other people.
VAM: (pauses) It still seems like
VAM: I never said those songs were censorship to me. And I am not sure it
“poisonous.” I just said that they do not
represent what we, as a company, want
to put into the marketplace.
will mean anything in the big scheme of
things.
MTS: But lyrics like “mom’s a baby
MTS: It is not censorship. It is
short” and “that f-----’s dead” do
represent what you want to put into
the marketplace? I am amazed at
how you seem to have such clarity on
some content, but not on other content.
VAM: (sighing) This conversation
is going in circles. I don’t think we are
ever going to agree on this. I don’t know
what you want me to say.
your right as an individual to make
decisions about what content your
company sells. And it may not make
a difference in the big scheme of
things, but it will mean that you
have stopped making money off of
things that are associated with so
much bloodshed in our country. It
will mean that you have “washed
your hands of it,” so to speak.
MTS: I’ll tell you. I want you to say VAM: You have certainly given me a
that your company is more than a tax
ID number and initials on a stock index.
I want you to tell me that real people
make the decisions about what types of
products [online retailer] sells and that
lot of things to think about.
MTS: I hope so. I think about them
often.
PA I D I N S E RT B y A C o N C E R N E D C I T I z E N
10 of 10
An Open Letter To the President
& First Lady of the United States
M i c h a e l T. S M i T h
P. o . B o x 2 3 7 3 9
JACKSoNVILLE, FL 32241
REFERENCE LINKS
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH – MALES BY RACE
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2009/LCOD_whitemen2009.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2009/LCODBlackmales2009.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2008/LCOD_whitemen2008.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2008/LCODBlackmales2008.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2007/WhiteMales2007.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2007/BlackMales2007.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2006/WhiteMales2006.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2006/BlackMales2006.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2004/04white.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2004/04black.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2002/02white.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/men/lcod/2002/02black.pdf
HOMICIDE AND MURDER
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-2
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/10shrtbl02.xls
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_02.html
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_02.html
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/index.html
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_02.html
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/violent_crime/murder.html
http://jacksonville.com/databases/news/homicides
US PRISON AND JAIL POPULATION
http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=174
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/p11.pdf
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus10.pdf
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/pim09st.pdf
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/
CENSUS AND POPULATION
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
http://www.census.gov/population/race/data/ppl-ba11.html
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12031.html
EDUCATION
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=147
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012457.pdf
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015.pdf
HIV/AIDS
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/surveillance/resources/reports/2010report/pdf/2010_HIV_Surveillance_Report_vol_22.pdf#Page=17
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/race-ethnicity/slides/2010-HIV-RaceEthnicitySlides.pdf
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/disease_ctrl/aids/Docs/HIV_Epidemic_Snapshot_FL_2010.pdf
http://www.dchd.net/files/Monthly%20Surveillance%20Report%20(Area%204)%20Oct%202012.pdf
POVERTY AND INCOME
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html
http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Jacksonville-Florida.html
http://diversitydata.sph.harvard.edu/Data/Profiles/Show.aspx?loc=688
http://www.usa.com/jacksonville-fl-income-and-careers--historical-median-household-income-by-races-data.htm
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
http://www.jcci.org/jcciwebsite/documents/10%20Race%20Relations%20Progress%20Report.pdf