What's Ice Cube talking about??

I enjoyed the video put together by Ice Cube... and now it's time to talk about what he's saying.

It's a Timely Video, speaking to the topic of Gangsta Rap's influence on crime in black communities... and overall violence in America. Of course what he's NOT saying, is that Gangsta Rap IS indeed responsible for this violence; What he's Saying, (in case anyone missed it) is that any violence found in the black community was learned from the white community; And he's right.

Violence is not spurred from Gangsta Rap - Gangsta Rap did not Create the conditions that he talks about; But, it does keep those conditions going; It does not do enough to speak out against those conditions, or to motivate the people born into those conditions to Do something different, to change those conditions.

Gangsta Rappers do not do enough to change those conditions; Instead they've used those conditions to make a better life ... for themselves. You tell me, is that right?

The world has always been a violent place, going all the way back to Cain and Abel. Man killing Man has always been a problem that we face in our world; Countries going to war against Countries has always existed. Some believe wars and violence will always exist.

And while that may be true, the reality is, we do not really know IF that's true. All we know is, it's always been here, and we've accepted that it will always be here, so, We've done Nothing to stop it, end it, curtail it, and so on.

Music is very powerful; and while Ice Cube may not feel that he is solely responsable for creating the violent conditions that exist in the black community, I would respectfully disagree to a point; I mean you really cannot lay 100% of the blame on the rapper; You really can't; That's neither fair or accurate.

Just like you cannot solely blame "the white man" for what they put in place 400 years ago; Systems, Ideas ... Cultures - created and grown - seeds planted, with a plan of them turning into trees called Niggas - who would act and think a certain way; The truth is those plans have more to do with black on black crime than gangsta rap does; Even more truthful, those plans explain Why gangsta rap exists in the first place.

Those plans, created a culture that is truly divided; Even during the Civil Rights Movement the black community was divided about the proper way to go about securing these, Equal Rights - Non-violence ... or Violence if Necessary.

The Crips and Bloods were at one time, ONE political Party, similar to the Black Panther Party; but they were eventually divided; as a people, sticking together, especially for the Good of our race, is not part of our culture. Certainly unlike the Jews.

Often when I would get into "fights or debates" with racist white people in chat rooms, they would point out that blacks are the only race that hasn't recovered from the harm that was done to them; They almost always point to the Japanese who were rounded up and placed in concentration camps during WWII - or the Jews and the Holocaust;

The biggest problem with this comparison, this way of thinking that all races have been through traumatic times, is that The other two races were not "divided" while going through their trauma; Instead, their trauma brought them closer together. I do not have time to go into all of the things that were done to black people during Slavery And Legalized Segregation in this post, but I have gone into detail before in other posts on the web (here and other sites).

When I say there is Lots of work to be done, that's an understatement; The black race was divided long ago, and the only true way to end violence in the black communities, is to totally destroy black culture, and then start anew. Pulling this off however, would be nearly impossible; Because of what culture is.

Culture is passed down; from one generation to another; Views and Ideas are given to young black children, and as they grow older, these views and ideas are reinforced by the communities they live in, the music they listen to, the movies they watch, the People they are around, friends, family, uncles, aunts, cousins, and so forth. So starting anew would be difficult, mainly because the Old ideas and views have not been eliminated; and are being passed on, as we speak.

Who are we to tell someone that their Mother and Father, perhaps even unknowingly so, have ruined them with views and ideas that are detrimental to their own development; that the very views and ideas they hold onto so tightly, are the same views that are holding them back from achieving success, legally, in a country that is constantly looking for ways to lock black people up.

And so, the debate ... and the conversation continues; perhaps with the hope, that the current views and Ideas held by many in the black community, can somehow begin to change on their own... that perhaps unity can eventually seep it's way into our mind sets - so that together we can all decide what to do, to better our communities; along with what not to do, to keep our communities going in a downward spiral.

I used to love Gangsta Rap growing up; I had all the NWA and Ice Cube albums; till the day I came to realize just how detrimental this music is to my people. While some people can listen to it, and not enternalize the ideas expressed with in.... many black people in my community, take those words to heart; They Become the characters from the songs; They mimic the visual representation given to them by music videos, and the movies these same gangsta rappers write for themselves, to further exploit the black community, living real good lives from representing the crime found in 'the hood' ....

Here's to America - and the hope that the Nation will wake up to the tragedy going on at home.