Lois,

have you ever heard of the saying, "Call a spade, a spade?"

well that's what the author did.

hip hop hoodlums are exactly what they have become.

they run the streets and industry starting beef with other blacks and steal each other's chains and treat our black women like strippers.  these men, encourage the degradation of the black woman and child and they expect us to defend them just bc they are black. our women look up to these men and follow them down the road of self destruction.

BLACK MAN, STAND UP AND EMBRACE YOUR HERITAGE AS A LEADER. WITH LEADERSHIP, COMES RESPONSIBILITY.

STOP PIMPING THE MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN.

it's starts from the top and trickles down. look at the major players in the rap game: they all are currently or have been engaged in beef.

they promote and instigate the insanity.

i am a firm believer in: you cant fight fire with fire. fighting doesnt help. we must seize our true power and give our burdens to GOD. in doing that, we will neutralize the power of the enemy and karma will reign on all of those who have betrayed the greater whole for individual gain.

shut them out by ignoring and refusing to listen to them. dont give them a voice. the nba needs to sever ties with the rap game.  vigilante behavior should NOT be rewarded. 

maybe if we shut them out, they will find more presentable ways to get attention.  maybe the leaders will find alternative ways to entice the majority.  remember, the leaders want the masses bc they milk and pimp us for financial gain.

WE HOLD THE POWER.

BLACK PRIDE IS GONNA KILL US FASTER THAN A BULLET.

I'm not sure where the disconnect begins, but I have some theories...hear me out.

1. For some reason, a certain segment of the population felt that it was necessary to show up during all-Star Weekend and act ignorant.  They may be locals, they may not be locals...that part isn't the issue.

2. WHY did these people feel the need to act ignorant?  My theory is that it's been promoted by record labels, media corporations such as MTV & BET, sports stars, etc for MANY years now, and there aren't enough outspoken opponents of such behavior getting airtime.

3. Kids have been growing up for years now, watching this behavior and thinking that's how folks should be.  It's a learned behavior, not an inherited behavior.

I think J-Live said it best in AUDIO VISUAL..."I see grown folks acting just like little kids...And little kids thinking that's what they should grow to be"

So now unfortunately these kids that grew up to be "adults" now effect the entire national view of Black folks...just as the biased media, music videos, and radio play did before them...which made them what they are.  It's a vicious cycle and it's begun to spin out of control. 

4. How do we stop it?  CAN we stop it?  I'm not sure.  We'd need positive role models to get as much air time as the negative ones.  We'd need people that grew up in the neighborhoods to come back and make a difference rather than taking their money & runnin' like hell.  We need to see people on MTV Cribs who instead of spendin all their money on fancy bullshit, spend it on opening a rec center in the neighborhood they grew up in...or donating some cash to literacy programs.  Some MATURE people for the kids to look up to instead of some spoiled overgrown brats who want to do nothing but flaunt what they've got and set up false expectations for our youth.

But what do you all think?  What would I know, I'm just a teacher.

The article is blunt and sharp but I agree with the writer's sentiments.  This is sadly what we have become.  I say we because we are each other, whether we see it or not.  The hip hop world has contaminated the mind's of our inner city youth and black america at a whole. The images are self destructive and we allow it. 

 All in the name of "I aint mad at a brother for doing him...... gettin dat money." 

SELLOUTS

that is what we are.

I'm starting to realize that the blackman has played by himself.  We  seem to have forgotten about the black treason that has long plagued our people.  We all know that there were blacks who sold our ancestors into slavery.  We seem to believe that the black snitch/hater/sellout has somehow disappeared.

NOT-

he is still amongst us.  Selling us out for governement grants,fame, a rep, EGO and more money.

WE NEED TO RID THEMSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITY OF THE BLACK TRAITOR.

he is our worst enemy.

I see this whole thing with black people in america eventually turning into an all out seige.  the governent WILL declare us an endangerment to amercian society and they WILL quarantine the hoods across amercia. 

when it comes down to it, whites and the rest of america will all vote to get rid of the less desirables.

it's going to be posed as their safety/families/values vs. our babylonious subculture.

we dont have a pot to piss out of or a window to throw it out of.

why do you think they broadcast black ignorance around the clock on tv/bet?

our enemies are building their case against us and it looks pretty good for them.

we gotta shake our rich, fabulous, famous and most hateful traitors OFF.

OR

they will destroy us- we will destroy ourselves.

and when i speak of OUR ENEMIES, i'm speaking of US.

we sold the first african up the river by allowing the europeans to snatch blacks from africa.  we were isolated and enslaved here in america.

we are our original sell outs.

how can foreign forces kidnap indigenous africans?

how can they get into the land from the coastline and run up into the villages and snatch up residents?

that's like some out-of-towner running through another man's hood and taking live bodies back.

it just couldnt have happened without inside help.

 i suspect that  we were fighting when the europeans landed in africa.

fighting is very destructive for a number of reasons but in our case, we were fighting therefore we were distracted and therefore, we were easy prey for an oncoming swoop down.

we were divided and therefore, we were eventually conquered/kidnapped.

we have a seldom talked about history of betraying one another.

we are quick to blame the white man, but........

NOBODY CARES

know why they dont care?

BECAUSE WE KILL AND BERATE OURSELVES.

nobody's gonna listen to or respect it when the guilty cry foul.

we dont even take our own cries of racism seriously.

we dont stand behind our own.

it's a crying shame and i love GOD, so I love myself, which means that i STILL love my people inspite of the hatred that i have experienced from them.  non whites often treat blacks better than blacks treat themselves and it's shameful.

LOVE IS THE ANSWER.

we gotta ask GOD to teach us how to love ourselves.

it's the only hope for us and i pray for us because we need it.

I too heard 'Supa Ken' from the Russ Parr Morning Show constantly defend the show of ignorance during the Whitlock/Judge Mathis interview Friday morning. Supa is the fake thug on the show, typical 2 parent household surburban dude 'playing hood dude', so take him with a grain of salt.

Now Whitlock does come off as a bitter hater at times, but he's no sellout for reporting the nonsense and foolishness that folks displayed. Fact is, some Black folks are tired of having to defend 'niggerish' behaviour by other Black people. It's beyond old and tired. If you can't take your Black ass out without acting a fool, stay home.

Yes, this is what the traitor does.  He defends ignorance, mysogyny, hatred, and self destruction all in the name of "keeping it real"  or getting money

black people have not been real with themselves for sometime now.

we are mentally disillusioned, stunted and confused.

we want to live the "life" but fail to realize that when you put superificial lifestyles and greed before GOD, family, and LOVE, you are setting yourself up for failure.

the real sell outs are these black rappers, politicians, and proud blacks on BET and in Washington.

they are the inheritors of the legacy of black self hatred and betrayal.

they are the decendants of the original black sell outs from africa.

we must shut them out and form voices for ourselves that represent our children and our communities and our women in lights that are pleasing to GOD and benefitial to our future here in america.

how do we do that?

i suggest that we start by ignoring the ignorance and forming our own voices independent of BET, the mass media, the fake black revolutionaries and the goverenment welfare grant writing frauds. dont even fight with them but ignore them.  pray for strength and walk in the light of GOD.

if we ignore them, they will go away.

if we dont start soon, our enemy selves will destroy us.

as a black person born in the hood, i dont even go near it anymore.

i stay away from the negative energy that dominates our communities.

it's the only way to avoid being infected by the disease of self hatred.

and "we" werent there in vegas to harm others, we where there to berate, outshine, embarrass and destroy ourselves.

we are the worst racists bc we single out and destroy each other.

another young woman named DJ Rene, spoke on it and I agree with her.

we must isolate, ignore and dethrone the black hater.

the thugs, "hoes," and undesirables are too aimless victims of the false traitor leadership from our own. people.

why are we protecting them?

GOD has already promised to redeam the lost and misguided little ones who believe and call on HIS name.

we are making exuses for these enemies of GOD, all because we too want to live their fabulous lives.

we need to get on GOD'S side and do the right thing, people.

we must let our current leadership and voices go.

they dont love themselves, they will never love us.

btw, i saw Oprah's oscar special which featured Sidney Pointier and Jaime Fox and it was very empowering and hopeful.

we have true blacks who love themselves out there.  we should rally behind them and stop falling for the black devil's pie.

we defend our own enemies bc we are so "proud" of ourselves and our illustrious culture and achievements. 

WHEN ARE WE GONNA BE PROUD OF GOD?

we are the most self absorbed, arrogant, violent, superficial, hateful people in america- and dont even know it

but that's sounds about right- you're always the last to know and the first to go.

I feel what everyone is saying but....let me just say that these cats at the All Star game were majority younger guys from out of town who were living it up for the first time in their lives, maybe the only time. No excuse, but when the white kids do it, it's just good clean fun. No one is excusing beatings, stabbings, shootings (especially shootings) or anything that takes away from people having a good time and enjoying thier life. At the same time, let's not sit here and act like the world is going to end b/c some young cats (and grown ass rich rap/athlete niggas) went ape crazy at All Star Week. Who cares? The NBA, that's who. This guy's article (and the backlash to this year's all star "fesitivities") are thinly guised racism and racial propaganda in it's worst form: get a collaborater from within the group (in this case, a younger black reporter) and create a scathing article using all sorts of nasty innuendo and racial codewords (thugs, baby-mammas, posses, Suge Knight...ok maybe not the last one), publish it in a major internet provider's sports section (making sure that the broadest audience possible reads it), and push for a whiter, more family oriented All Star break that will make more money for its corporate sponsers. I do agree with one point the author made: let's boycott the All Star Game. And the Superbowl. And all of the other major social events and set up our own black owned, black run functions. I mean, this may be extreme (and unpopular) but hey, if they don't want our money, why break down the door giving it to them. Most of the sports players and entertainers revel in the sort of mayhem described in the article. Some are even accused of creating some of the worst (the Pac Man Jones/Nelly debacle). Let these 'urban-inclined' athletes and entertainers take that moola and throw events catering to our crowd, along with events for the more upscale if they want. Hey I mean, whatever floats your boat. I really said all that to say when it's white boys and girls trashing a whole town, then it's just good clean fun. Just like Iraq. But when it's black boys and girls, we act like the world is coming to an end. So niggas acted up? So what? It's terrible, and needs to be addressed, but damn white people have done waayyyy worse at any Spring break or Mardi Gras (or super bowl, or March Madness, or college rush week...). Let's not get all emotional and start preaching and so forth. Forget All Star Weekend. We (black people, especially under 35 all hip hop black people) are the lifeblood of this entertainment scene. We need to act better, yes, but we also need to stop drinking and drugging so much, which was probably the real culprit behind all this nonsense. As for the multiple imposters on this post putting up bogus comments, y'all need to stay out black peoples' business. White people, if you don't have anything relevant to say, just read and educate yourselves. This is for whoever anonymous is , and all those other clones on here with no pic. Yall probably work for the NBA...

Hefe,

This is EXACTLY why blacks lose out.

 We make excuses for our self destruction.

BTW, I dont work for NBA and I'm African American.

The sellout traitor "negroe's" days are almost over.

we will not continue to support BABYLONIOUS BEHAVIOR and make excuses for it by bringing the white man into the equation.

Sidney Pointier spoke it best in his film when he told his father that the difference bt them was that his pops looked at himself as a black man but he looks at himself as a man.

ATTENTION BLACK PEOPLE: PUT THE RACISM DOWN AND EMBRACE YOUR HUMANITY.

also- I have NO DESIRE to post my picture on here.

everybody doesnt want to be seen but i see how YOU wouldnt understand that.

Personally I couldn't give rats ass what white kids do on spring break or at Mardis Gras... I do care when we do what we do to each other.. Some dude saw his wife get punched out for not giveing a knucklehead a phone number. We had brothers shooting at each other and we had 4-5 people killed.. Thats black on black..

Sadly such issues are rarely discussed on BET or Radio One except when an article like this gets published and white folks start weighing in or catch wind...

The question is what's it gonna take to stop the madness. I mean stop it irregardless of what white kids from accross town do..

Hello, I will introducing myself first.  I am an italian, white, working-class woman, who follows events in oppressed and exploited communities around the world.  I am often struck and saddened by how many people state that "black people are doing this to one another".  I think that the current disrespectful and violent behavior exhibited by young black men is also exhibited by other disenfranchised men all around the world, and it is a consequence of the new forms of capitalism we live under.  For example, violent behavior at soccer games here in Italy has been a huge problem for the past two decades.  On a weekly basis, young, working-class italian men attack one another (and on occasion killing one another) before, during, and after soccer matches.  A few weeks ago a mega-riot, punctualized by assaults, fires, stabbings and shootings (in which a cop got killed), erupted during a match between two Sicilian teams, which prompted the Italian government to order that all matches, in all of Italy, be played without the audience (a heresy in italians society).  This violent group behavior can also be seen among young skinheads in eastern europe, among young south-americans, etc.  I think this is due to what is often labeled as the new "hyper-capitalism": on the one side we are bombarded by the media with glorification of material wealth, consumerism, and power, while in reality most (young) people's lives are marked by poverty, isolation, humiliation, and hopelessness.  Not only the gap between the rich and the poor has become an abyss, but also the gap between what we constantly see on tv and our real, daily lives.  The violence exhibited by young black men, and young men in general, is a manifestation of the symbolic violence they experience through constant lies, humiliations, poverty, isolation and hopelessness about their future, and not the failure of some particular black men.

I also want to mention another consequence of modern capitalism: the break down of communities, and in particular of the black community.  One of the characteristic of this economic system is the social and economic isolation we are all subjected to: unless we were born wealthy, the only recourse we have to provide for ourselves is to sell our time and our labor to somebody who will hire and pay us by the hour (kind of like prostitution).  So, we all have to go to our own job, pay our own rent, and buy our own food in isolation.  The consequences of this economic arrangement is the break down of the social fabric of communities who used to take care of one another.  This worrying trend has developed over the past 100 years or so, affecting some communities before others - northern europeans and white americans, being at the center of the capitalist enterprise, have the been the first ones affected by this atomization.  I am saying this because I think that the much discussed break down of the black community is the result of a ruthless, exploitative, and isolating economic system, and not the personal failure of some black people.  The violence we see exhibited by young men  is a consequence of this isolation and lack of a positive community with which they could identify with.  When we feel that nobody cares about us, why should we care about others (wasn't Tupac singing "they don't give a fuck about us"?)

Anyway, I hope I am making sense.  I just wanted to put this troubling behavior exhibited by young black men in a global, capitalist context, so as to show that it is an issue all around the world , and not a failure specific to young black men (with this I do not mean to take away from the particular challenges faced by African-Americans posed by the ruthless legacy of slavery and institutionalized racism - I just wanted to show the similar consequnces of this hyper-modern world).  One of my fantasies when I think about building a better world, is harness this aimless and destructive energy exhibited by young men around the world, and put it to use towards a revolutionary movement.  Imagine the power of that!
Much love to you all

Perplexed

P.S. On the subject of divide and conquer, the excellent article "Black Particularity Reconsidered" by Adolph Reed Jr. clearly shows how white power elites have used the black middle-class to dilute and soften up the initial radical demands of the civil rights movement.  Although it describes events in the 60's and 70's, it is still very relevant today.  You can find it on the web by doing a search on the title.

Perplexed,

We can blame capitolism, racism, sexism, and everything else but at the end of the day, we MUST blame ourselves in order to do our part in rectifying the problem of black self destruction.

pointing the finger at ideas and "isms" is very disenfranchising. "isms" can never stand up and take the responsibilty  for their actions and therefore heal themselves. 

PEOPLE can do this- NOT ISMS.

WE MUST ACCEPT OUR RESPONSIBILITY AND POSITIONS IN CREATING THIS MESS AND IN THAT ACCEPTANCE, WE CAN OVER COME ALL THINGS WITH GOD.

HUMILITY WILL DO US GOOD.

Question:

I'm curious on why you believe that.  It almost sounds.. well, it completely sounds like you are a victim of self hate. 

VERY GOOD!

I have been both a victim and partaker in self hatred.

How can one truly know something unless they have lived it?

we need to make ammends with ourselves and GOD.

accept our responsibilities as the soul creators of our realities.

if we believe in limitations, we will live limitations.

let the racism thing go and embrace our humanity.

that can only come through GOD.

we can do it!

listen to this song by Kirk Franklin, Imagine Me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL6vw5xI0Bg

it's all gone.....self hatred, low self esteem, pain.....it's gone.....gone......gone.....gone......gone.

we can do all things that we put our minds and hearts to with GOD.

Listen To Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho by Mahalia Jackson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooWm10OyTNc

"the battle is in my hands, HALALUAH!"

and the walls came tumbling down:)

it's time for us to do something for ourselves with GOD. not bet, jet, essence,  city hall, naacp- none of that is going to help us. they make money off us just like everyone else does.  we need to let go and let GOD.

Once we take blame for these actions, what then? 

first things first.

take the blame and responsibility and make ammends with GOD and the answer to that question will come naturally.

the healing will unfold in our lives.

GOD IS ALL WE NEED.

every man must face his truth in GOD one day.

Lots of good dialogue here, but there is always more to the story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jackson/070228

What really happened in Vegas?

By Scoop Jackson
Page 2

As the reports continue to flow from the activities during NBA All-Star Weekend, the rage begins to build.

Hip-Hop Woodstock. The Black KKK. Weekend leaves NBA with a black eye.

What? Seriously? For real?

As difficult as it is not to turn this generalization of the entire hip-hop culture into an issue of race, let's be honest, it is about nothing else.

Was part of Las Vegas during the All-Star weekend out of control? Yes. But nothing more than usual considering the circumstances. This was Vegas!!! A place that labeled itself Sin City before the NBA got there. Expecting everyone to act "accordingly" over the weekend is like expecting all married men in Brazil during Carnival not to sleep with another woman. Not saying it's right, but to think that nothing will happen is a little naive -- dumb to be exact. Did people really think that everyone who went to Vegas would act like they were spending four days during an NBA All-Star Weekend in Park City, Utah?

But that's not the issue. That's not where the irresponsibility lies. The irresponsibility lies with those writers and broadcast hosts who failed to do diligent research before they typed a word or opened their mouths.

History verses his story? As usual, we lost.

At some point over the last week, there should have been more balanced reporting. If not balanced, then fair. But this is an unfair sports world we live in. A world, it seems on a regular basis, that is getting more and more comfortable with dispensing covert innuendoes and subliminal messages. Especially when it comes to those of us who have love for and are part of the game of basketball. Specifically the part where young black men are getting paid millions of dollars and don't change the people around them once they get drafted.

But if I screamed the "R" word, everyone would say I'm wrong.

They say numbers don't lie. True. But the people who crunch the numbers sometimes do, and those who fail to look at all the numbers fall into the same category as Bill O'Reilly. With that, let's put the Vegas weekend into a real perspective.

According to reports, there were 403 arrests made in Vegas over the five-day All-Star Weekend (Thursday through Monday). Not saying that's a good thing, not defending the acts that got those 403 people locked up. But in order to see the truth behind that number, we need to look at what that 403 means.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, according to the Las Vegas Police Department there was an average of 80.6 arrests made every 24 hours in Vegas over those five days. Compare that to New Year's Eve, when 130 arrests were made in a 12-hour period.

Now, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Authority, there were 302,000 people in town for All-Star weekend, about the same number of people (300,000) estimated in Vegas for New Year's Eve. That means the rate for arrests for New Year's Eve was more than three times that of All-Star Weekend.

But what happened while the NBA was in town is headline news? This is what becomes the reflection of a people, a culture? This is what constitutes columns and conversations of lawlessness and over-the-top irrational behavior? This is what gives people the right to editorialize and portray us as animals?

Where were these writers and broadcasters during New Year's Eve in Vegas? Where were they when the police reports were being filled out saying that of the 403 arrests, 172 were of local residents and only 231 were from outsiders who came to visit Vegas? Where were they when the police reports said that of those 403 arrests, 239 were for prostitution-related incidents, compared to an average week of 175 arrests for those same crimes. And none of these arrests involved an NBA player.

And I won't even get into, as Harvey Araton of the New York Times wrote, how nobody blamed NASCAR "for the death of a motorist who was shot in a road-rage encounter during a traffic jam after leaving the Daytona 500."

NASCAR ain't the NBA. You know the difference, I know the difference. But an NFL player comes into town, wilds out, tosses $81,000 up in the air, someone gets shot, and it becomes a reflection of the NBA?

Media, please.

Yet we are supposed to sit here and accept this? Accept what is being written and said -- and insinuated -- and say nothing? We should remain quiet as if there's absolute truth to what is being communicated about the behavior of the "hip-hop thugs and their baby mammas" (code: young black people) who went to Vegas and displayed a side of ignorance that had veteran reporters and columnists "scared" to go out of their rooms? But in Dallas a few weeks ago at the NHL All-Star Game these same cats felt safe as kittens.

Racism, please?

It's not even worth me going there.

I was asked on a radio show whether I thought in the next 10 years the NBA would have another All-Star Game in Vegas. My answer was no. But it had nothing to do with the actions that went down in Vegas, as the person who asked me the question was insinuating.

"One," I said, "there's no guarantee that the league will have a team there by then." And two, "neither will New York, Atlanta, L.A., D.C., Philly, Denver, Cleveland, the Bay or any other city that over the last 10 years has hosted an All-Star Game." I reminded him that the NBA doesn't get down like that. It spreads the All-Star Game around to give each city the opportunity to benefit from the attention and financial windfall (reportedly over $91 million over the four days in Vegas) that an All-Star Game brings.

The radio host heard me but wasn't feeling me.

Which is more irritating than anything in this recent campaign to make an entire culture (and part of a race) of people look or seem less than zero. No one wants to do the math. No one wants to look at all 360 degrees of the issue. No one wants to be responsible in their jobs.

Unbiased? Please. Please. Please.

What went on in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. And I'm not saying it should have, but if people are going to be responsible for putting out info about what went down, the least they can do is understand their facts before they start calling all us kettles black.

Scoop Jackson is a columnist for Page 2 and a contributor to ESPN The Magazine. He's also the host of ESPN Original Entertainment's "NBA Live: Bring It Home". Sound off to Scoop and Page 2 here.

Maybe David Stern can move the All-Star game to England and it can be held in Wembley Stadium where people get killed in fights at soccer games. . . or the game could just be moved to Iraq where virtually all of the money and resources are being sent by our government.

America is addicted to violence and sex.  Both of these things were prevalent in America waaaaaay before Kool Herc set it off at Sedgwick & Cedar.  Whitlock has no clue.  He needs to really take a closer look at our society in general before painting everyone associated to "rap" with the usual negative broad brush.

I'm gettin' a headache just writing about this B.S. but I had to comment.

Real Hip Hop will survive.

1Luv

Kudos to Davey D. . I'm glad somebody knows what time it is.