Monday, April 20, 2009

Kill The Culture

I am tired about writing about the same thing because that means it keeps happening.


For many years now we have had this sad acceptance of violence as long as the victims fit a certain profile that said they were in the street game. As long as they description of the people involved in the stories included the words young, black, corner, and drugs were found on the scene we just sucked it up and moved on. We are all guilty of being silent and dismissive. Some of us are even guilty of giving the street soldier more admiration than an everyday hard working man. We’ve had a love affair with the thug even though we know there’s a good chance he might not live long or destroy the community. It became such an acceptable way of living that it spawned its own culture. It has its own music, dress, and language. Now the virus has mutated and that invisible wall that existed to keep the acceptable level of death between young black males is breaking down and we are having infants, children, and young girls just starting life all falling victim to the same ignorance we let get out of hand.


We have to kill the culture. It's the only way. The only way we save the people in the culture is to stop letting them think it's cool to be that way. You can't come up with all these great solutions in the midst of people living the problem as a lifestyle. We have to teach the little kids that the stupid shit they think is cool really isn't. We have to stop letting people talk up drugs, murder, violence and a lack of respect for women. We have to eliminate stupid ass words like "haters" and "beef" that people actually harm one another for like that is a good reason. This is no hate at all. No one loves me more than my dad and he never let me make excuses for anything. If we love these brothers and sisters then we can't make excuses for them either. The idea that thug culture is somehow interwoven with survival is false. The last time I checked, black people made it through a lot of challenging times without having to slaughter one another. We'll be just as black and cool without going to war with one another all the time. The babies won't live if this culture doesn't die.

4 comments:

Not So Old Soldier said...

" The last time I checked, black people made it through a lot of challenging times without having to slaughter one another. We'll be just as black and cool without going to war with one another all the time." That is the entire message in two sentences. Well said.

Susanna Powers said...

Teenagers being killed is always a sad story, guilty, innocent, or somewhere in between. This story is so sad, I was so sorry to hear the news. sp

Anita said...

Powerful message, powerfully written. This needs to get around.

Thanks, Cliff, for this blog and for all you do.

GentillyGirl said...

Blessed Be for this one. Spot on.