Everyone is saying it's rap but why are kids looking to rap in the first place and acting on it, if it is the cause? It's not rap. It's the
feelings that drove them to rap in the first place. Without rap, these kids would still have these issues. Rap is not the cause and merely soundtrack to what is already there. Replacing that with anything else would have the same effect.
The issue is, we don't value these boys and men as we should. We treat them rather terribly and do nothing to address the issues they encounter in the system and even more, in their homes. It's why some will listen to the same music and be fine but others do wild shyt, regardless of how many parents or what not in the home. At most, rap is a black male power fantasy. A black man striking out at a society that has turned its back on him and him taking what's his through force, fury, and guile. Without rap, these issues would still be unaddressed and the kids would still be messed up. If anything, I feel like rap has stopped many of these kids from being worse than what they could be because of how little regard we give them.
Consider:
Everyone knows about this I keep posting:
Black boys being singled out and treated terribly even by their own race, from a young age by teachers, people we entrust to teach our kids.
Add the issues of school to prison pipeline that is a real thing.
Add the constant male bashing some see both in their homes, the real world, and the internet.
Add the refusal to even acknowledge their issues in our society, even black society, even among black men (one thing I do blame black men for).
Add the constant gaslighting people who are supposedly smarter than such kids, do to them.
Add the fact that many people we hold up are the same people these kids would regard as terrible.
Add the things society as a whole puts on black boys ("superpredators" was not some obscure sentiment shared by some random person).
Add that we don't even take the time to sit down and talk about these issues with these kids as if they're human beings and pass off any attempt to treat them properly as "coddling".
Then it is no surprise how they end up like this. If anything, how could they not? Imagine calling someone crazy and being surprised they resent you for it? I mean really now.
We need to do a better job talking to these boys and men and actually acknowledge the issues that they face instead of acting like it is all in their head.
what fam?
