I posted this in another thread, I'm going to share this opinion here too. Agree or disagree if you want, but there needs to be dialog. ================================== Part of the issues facing Baltimore right now derive in large part from a greater problem of the pressure from recording artists and entertainers that trickles down to the communities that everyone needs to live the[i] black experience[/i]. They're have to watch black TV shows, listen to black music, wear black clothing, talk black vernacular and when they don't get they're way, they say it's because they're black. The problem is it's not really a black thing, it's an urban thing. There are millions of people who live in our neighborhoods, whom we work with, who we walk neighborhood parks with, whom we're friends with, whom are family, etc that are black but they're just people like anyone else. We don't see any color with them, we see our friends, neighbors and community. And the real kicker is that the same -blam!-ers that are burning down Baltimore can't stand them. If you're black and successful and don't talk Ebonics or live the full [i]black experience[/i], they call them Uncle Toms. So how the f*** are we ever going to just be people? The only time I ever see color is when I'm in the city and these kids spend all day working the public transit routes selling drugs at all the stops. Who walk around with their pants around their goddamn knees and sit in stores with n**** and motherf***** being every other word out of their mouth. Who invariably get in giant fights in the streets and in malls with each other at least once a month because of Bullshit gang mentality. The thing no one talks about is there are just as many shitty low class, crime and drug ridden non black low income communities. The difference is the gun violence and murder that are glorified in the music and on TV and in movies by entertainers that get rich selling out their race. Selling a heritage of crime, violence, misogyny and murder. Rhianna telling little girls to be promiscuous or going back to NWA selling thug culture. Never mind that NWA were basically The Free World from 8 Mile, a bunch a dudes from Englewood who acted a part and made it real for millions of youth across the country. To shit on TV like [i]Blackish[/i], with a black husband who makes fun of his wife for not being black enough. Wtf is that? Not black enough? The question is where does change come from? Well it starts with being able to talk about it and right now, if you're not black, you're not allowed to have an opinion on black culture or you're racist. Never mind that you may have family and friends who happen to be black. Never mind that a lot of these issues face every other culture too. Right now there's all this rage about police killings, which don't get me wrong, are terrible and need to stop. But more people are killed each year in Chicago than die fighting in the Middle East, where's the outrage about that? When Obama gave his acceptance speeches in Chicago (particularly the second), the only thing I wanted to hear him say is that the violence and killing has to stop, that it's time we fix America and eliminate the poverty and make our inner cities[i] communities[/i] again. He didn't say one -blam!-ing word about the issues of his home town. There is 100% racism towards Black's in America, but someone having a problem with a person wearing their pants on their knees or saying n**** every five seconds isn't -blam!-ing racism. The racism is the forced and often subliminal messages in media and entertainment telling black youths that they are black and to act black and think black and that their future is set and it's hopeless. The racism in America is the absolute shit city schools (the ones they don't just close) which should be the nicest and best funded in the world from downtown commerce and big business... except they don't pay a -blam!-ing dime in taxes to support local communities because they get tax breaks for creating jobs (or they divert revenue overseas like Apple to not pay their share). The racism in America is the privatized prison systems that are guaranteed prison populations and who feed on the inner cities, who advocate the crime and drugs and violence to ensure a steady stream of [i]tenants[/i] in their cells. There are real issues in America, but they'll never get discussed because [i]let's burn CVS[/i]. We're angry, so let's rob and destroy businesses and homes of people creating the few jobs that exist in our neighborhood. -blam!-ing brainwashed idiots. Keep giving the government exactly what they want.