It's Easy to Pull a Breezy, Smoke Trees, and Stay Drunk

If I knew that shit would be as f*cked up in the new millennium as it is, I would have partied harder in 1999 – damn you Prince. Let’s see, Bush gets elected, and then a few months after his inauguration I lost my job due to corporate downsizing – hell, the towers hadn’t even fallen yet. And here we are almost 10yrs later and pretty much everybody is up shit’s creek without a paddle or a friggin life jacket. Damn I miss the 90s, with Puff Daddy and the shiny suits.

So the other day I’m whippin’ the ride around the city, and I turn to one of the two local stations for Hip Hop. Of course I rarely listen to these stations but this day in particular I had an itch. After maybe ten or fifteen minutes of listening I was infuriated. No, I wasn’t mad at myself for being a glutton for punishment by listening for what today passes as Hip Hop music. Instead, I was mad because it seemed as if all these assholes with songs on the air were clueless to the fact that we’re in a deep recession.

When the unemployment rate is at a 26yr high nationally and the rate of employment for Blacks and other minorities are as staggering as they are. The last thing I wanna hear is some fool on my radio talking about how much money he has and how much of it he throws away or wipes his ass with. When there’s a home foreclosure every 13 seconds in this country I seriously don’t think I wanna hear about how you make it rain on hoes or your 75 inch rims on your 1976 Chevy Nova, or how your pitbull drinks Cristal. I mean, that's unless rappers are the only employed Black people right now, that is; then and only then is that type of talk positive, uplifting and motivational.

Yep, why finish high school when you can be a rapper, right?

No seriously, I know rappers are not the only people currently with money in this country. And the fact that they are insulting my intelligence in ways that a big booty stripper could get away with back in the day pisses me off. I mean obviously these chowder-heads aren’t aware of the state of the economy. Shit man, not trying to be the disgruntled old school Hip Hop fan, but whatever happened to music that related to everyday people, or the realities of the everyday struggle? You know, that whole “Don’t, push, me, cuz', I’m, close, to, the, edge,” thing? What, did they hand out reparation checks and forgot to let a brother know?

In the ever popular “keepin’ it real” landscape that is Hip Hop, is this truly what is really happening? I’m 39yrs old and if this is indeed the way rappers are living someone needs to let me know quickly. Yes, because that would mean that at my age it’s not too late to pursue a onetime childhood dream of being a dope MC, meeting Kim Fields and getting married.

Damn straight!

While the rest of you losers are out here complaining about the state of the economy, and the price of milk while waiting on unemployment checks. I’ll be spending my ringtone money and eating food off of the platinum plaques on my wall as I watch the movie Scarface for the 5,500th time; why should Lil' Boosie and company have all the fun gettin' wiped down. Somebody get me Mr. Rourke's phone number so him and the midget Tattoo can make it happen.

Who said dreams never come true, right?

Oh well, don't tell that the guy who wrote this song...

His name is K'naan, he was born in Somalia and is currently a rapper...

You won't hear this on the radio...

Revenge of the Crackbaby

Remember back in the 80s when crack exploded? Wasn't that devastating to our communities? Well, remember when back then there was much talk about all these babies being born addicted to crack cocaine? Umm, err, where are all of these babies today? Seriously, that's a question that ha been on my mind for quite some time. Whatever happened to these crack babies and what are they doing with themselves these days.

Can any of you clue me in on that one?

I mean I really would like to know because I'd hate to continue believing that they've all been employed by BET (Blaxploitation Everyday Television). Speaking of which, checkout a now famous ex-crackhead who happens to be employed by a certain network at a recent red carpet affair hosted by said network:

Now look, the last thing I'd like to do is make fun of the personal triumph of an individual unless his name is R. Kelly. And yes, R&B sensation Keyshia Cole's mother Frankie is an ex-crackhead who makes it hard to believe that she actually is a recovering addict. But I have to wonder how in the hell was she able to wear platinum gold fronts in her mouth when she doesn't have any teeth? No seriously, when did they start making platinum dentures? This is disturbing folks, and I hope it doesn't become a trend. Lord forbid if someone at Viacom gets the bright idea to give Frankie and Flava Flav a new reality show... together.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that she's able to bounce back as many recovering addicts have; and I see her emotional meltdown on the red carpet as evidence of just how much she is aware of her blessings. Yes, it's very unlikely for a recovering addict to walk out of prison to become a mainstream star on television with her own show. But am I wrong to see her as being the victim of exploitation by the corporate executives at BET similar to the drug dealers with whom she had dealings?

Surely there is a symbiotic relationship...

But is it right?

You tell me...

Police Gone Wild: Police officer beats 15yr old special needs student, and now in jail for rape

There are good cops, and there are bad cops. Christopher Lloyd is a very bad cop, and dare I say a very bad human being. You may not have heard about this guy, but he’s the police officer who was caught on tape giving 15yr old special needs student Marshawn Pitts (pictured above) a beat down in a Dolton Illinois school hallway back in May. Allegedly, according to Lloyd, Pitts refused to tuck his shirt in his pants. The parents of the 15yr old as recent as a few days ago decided to release the tape to the public.

Check it out:

Well, according to a story ran in the Chicago Tribune, officer Lloyd is currently sitting in a Hammond Indiana jail cell on rape charges. According to the story, on September 14th, Lloyd sexually assaulted a woman he knew while he held a pillow over her face. The story also revealed that he had previously threatened the very same woman with a knife.

B-b-b-but wait it gets worse!

Last summer while working in a different jurisdiction, Officer Lloyd shot and killed his ex-wife’s new husband 24 times in the presence of his kids. But guess what? He was never charged and per a currently pending lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, this was as a result of the Chicago police believing his story that he acted in self defense. I don’t know how true that may be, but I know cops do tend to stick together and lie to protect each other - you can click here to read about how that has happened recently in Chicago. Of course Lloyd was suspended from the Robbins Police Dept after the fatal shooting last summer, but according to his father he was able to find work with the Dolton Police Department in January.

Here’s the question: Why was Christopher Lloyd allowed to be employed by another police department? OK yeah he was never prosecuted for the murder of his ex-wife’s husband. But still, was it appropriate to hire a man who clearly had anger management issues? Clearly his anger issue was evident per the recording of him pummeling that 140lb 15yr old kid the way he did. Did it take him sexually assaulting a female the way he did for him to be kicked off the police force?

Not taking anything away from police officers as they do perform a very stressful job. But all too often in their daily lives their everyday on the job activities can have negative effects on them which can be played out in similar ways as was the case of officer Lloyd. I don’t know departmental policies as it relates to psychiatric evaluations and police officers, but given the actions of this individual, isn’t it something to think about?

I mean, is it any wonder why a police officer would be involved in a series of unrelated events as Officer Christopher Lloyd has? We've seen in recent weeks just how violent youth in the city of Chicago can be and are. I just wonder if we're going to attribute the behavior of this cop and others like him to bad parenting as in the case of the kids without giving any care or concern to their mental state given the environment within which they live.

The Irony of Barack Obama Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

So Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 as announced this morning. There has been much debate as to whether it is deserved or not - a debate I'm going to weigh in on a little bit later. But one initial thought I have is the irony of him being the recipient of said award. I mean, isn't it ironic that he is receiving this award for his efforts to affect change internationally through diplomatic talks, negotiations, nuclear proliferation and all of that mumbo jumbo. You know, basically all the shit Bush was against...?

But here at home, he is the motivating source of much ridicule, and hate.

Isn't that ironic?

Lets see, Barack Obama is great for the world, but not for the country?

Like this for example:

Like I said, I just wanted to throw that out there before actually sharing my thoughts on him being awarded the Nobel prize. Whether you agree that the award is deserved or not, we must be careful to not ad fuel to the fire for idiots like the gentleman in the clip above who is clearly racist by the way. But at the same token we must never miss an opportunity to put people like this guy in check, and hold him accountable for his actions. You know, the people who hide behind the bible and constitution and use it as a shield to express their hate? You know, people who used to be identified as racist at one point in time but now are called Teabaggers, Birthers, Republicans etc...?

SIDENOTE: How can a Republicans/Conservatives disagree with Barack Obama receiving this award when in fact he's currently seeking a 40,000 troop increase for Afghanistan? You know, a war they are all for??

Even in receiving this award there are assclowns on the right side of the political spectrum who are as always, politicizing this announcement. The irony of that is that there are people (like me) who are of the opinion that he hasn't done enough by way of ending the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize in such a short time in office. But yet even as he is pushing for troop increases in Afghanistan, or stalling on the closing of Guantanamo Bay, those very same right wing nutjobs are still not happy about him winning the Nobel Prize [Click here to read about them].

While people like me cried tears of joy on election night last year. Even with as much hate they throw out now. I take much pleasure in the thought that on that very same night. Assholes like the gentleman in the clip above reacted this way...

Somehow, I can't help but to think that many of them have yet to get over the traumatic experience or realization that the president of the USA is a Black man. Well, Barack Obama is definitely Black, and Karma is obviously a Black bitch from the Southside of Chicago as well. These same fools who were ecstatic a week ago because he failed in his attempt to bring the Olympics to his hometown are now all looking like they ate stir fried shit as they carry on with whining. Oh well, Magical Negroes have a way of doing that to some people, I suppose.

QUESTION(S): Why is it that Obama gets love abroad but not here at home? What is it that people abroad see in him that some of us here at home fail to appreciate or embrace?

BREAKING NEWS: R. Kelly is functionally illiterate - R&B star reveals that he's unable to read, but still believes he can fly

The city of Chicago has been in the news cycle a lot lately. Not to be outdone, R&B singer/song writer/producer/ Grammy Award winner R. Kelly while speaking at the Midwest Music Festival in Chicago recently came out of a trapped closet and shared with the world that he is illiterate.

Yes, not only does R. Kelly believe he can fly; he’s also unable to read:

"When I was trying to make it out here, I already knew, and I was stubborn about it," he said. "I don't even read really and I'm not afraid to say that. My cousins and brothers used to tease me 'you can't even read right. How you think you're going to come up?' The only reason I graduated from grammar school is because I had a great jump shot. I went to high school and [my teacher] told me 'you will one of the greatest writers of all time.' I believed. You [have to] believe it. You can't believe [anything] if you're hating. You can't achieve [anything] if you're hating." [Source]

Wow, so that explains why he never checked the ID of the then 14yr old with whom he had sex on tape. Oops, my bad, that wasn’t him; I forgot. Dammit R. Kelly! It's bad enough that you're forty something years old wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask and cornrows, and now you tell us you can't read?!! Now I don’t know if what was said above was the centerpiece of the message to the kids. But I’m kinda concerned that he chose to tell them to stop “hating” or else they won’t get anywhere in life. I’m surprised he never gave them the “stay in school,” or “learn to read,” message? Nope, none of that; just believe you can fly and you will only if you don’t hate on anybody. Oh yeah, and it also helps if you have a good jump shot; can't forget that one. It's a wonder he didn't tell them to learn how to rap.

Somebody keep this fool away from kids.

Literacy in America is an often overlooked issue, and it is a major problem. Somehow, as damaged as R. Kelly's image has become. As much as I hate to say it, nobody sees his deficiency as a tragedy; he peed on a 14yr old for crying out loud! From this day forth, nobody will ever remember that he's unable to read. Instead, all we'll remember is that he should be in prison for statutory rape. Which is really sad when you think about it, because there are a lot of kids in Chicago and across the country unable to read, and who never will be; children who will never be as financially successful as the Pied Piper of R&B.

QUESTION: Is illiteracy and incurable disease or educational malpractice?

Jon Gosselin has enough b*tch in him to be on The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Albert Einstein once said, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” With that said I’d like to know what would possess a married man with a wife and eight kids to sneak out and get some side booty. Oh and let’s not forget that this married man at the time had a very successful television show centered on the fact that he and his wife are raising eight kids. You know, eight kids who without a television contract they would be in a commercial with Sally Struthers begging for money with flies on their faces while daddy is out on the corner slinging crack?

Seriously Jon, I’d like to hear your excuse for that one. Now grant it, having eight kids at home would mean you’re gonna jerk off 94.6% of your time for the rest of your life when you and the wife aren’t sneaking into the closet to get some. But damn man, you’re on TV, on a reality show – nothing you do is ever going to be private, or on the down low as you think. Shit, TMZ knew Michael Jackson was dead a week before you, I, and the rest of the world. Did you really think your wife would never find out about you creeping with that young chick? C’mon son! At least have the brains to mess around with a Black woman if it was all about the booty. Oh don't look at me crazy, you know a “sister” would have made sure none of this would ever come out.

Equally as foolish was the woman with whom he had “the affair” if you ask me. I’m sorry, but maybe it’s just that I’m used to Black women making a conscious effort not to get involved with Black men with kids, and the baby momma drama that comes with it. But err, if I were a woman, why would I want to get with a guy with eight children unless we lived in some polygamist compound, and I was obviously brain washed? I mean I could understand wanting to be with someone famous, or at least some form of celebrity assuming they may have some money; actually, I think that’s how The Flava of Love got started, no? No but seriously, how much money could this guy have with a wife and eight kids at home?

Well let’s see, shall we…

Oh so now he decides that he “cares” about the kids and doesn’t want them on television anymore. Yep, now that his “role” on the show will be limited, he decides to act an ass. Not only act like an ass, but act selfishly as well by withdrawing all of that money from their bank account! I’m sorry Jon, but you f*cked up royally with that one. Yes Jon, $1000.00 dollars won't buy enough Ramen Noodles to feed those kids. C'mon son! Just in that one move you went from idiot status to super douche bag; yep, and old wrinkled up red one like my grandmother used to have. Forget about even getting laid after pulling a stunt like that. What about the kids Jon? The only thing keeping them afloat is in fact the show. So what they dropped your name from the show; if you were against them being on TV you would not and should not have agreed to the show in the first place!

What’s surprising to me is that when the “Octomom” was in the news “certain people” gave her hell. People were all over her case and had her pegged as a “Welfare Queen” for being unmarried with fourteen children. But yet no such outrage at the actions of Jon Gosselin; imagine that. The way people are treating this, you’d think Kate Gosselin was a Black woman...

White folks, you people need to get it together and show this guy how he’s messing it up for you people. If you don’t, I’m afraid that this will become the new trend in America with white men. I mean damn, we Black men already have the running out on the wife and kids thing covered; can’t we just leave it that way? You folks are always quick to talk about and down to us for what we do. Can’t you all at least do the same for one of your own? Who knew white men were capable of the same type of behavior; I dunno, bad parenting, maybe?

The cherished concept of family which as you know is exclusive to white folks, is in jeopardy. So white people, since you’ve never cared about anything other than white women as evidenced by the love you all collectively share for Orenthal J. Simpson. I urge you to stand up and do your part to protect American family values as only you people can. I know you people hate Barack Obama and all, but he takes care of his kids. I’m sorry, but Jon Gosselin makes you people look bad, and next thing you know, single white mothers at the welfare office will be the rage, and we can’t have that now, can we?

Save the White woman!

I'm not a shrink, but every now and then I play one on the internet; seriously, I do.

It’s been almost two years, and this blog has developed somewhat of a following. Why you people keep coming back I have no idea. But be that as it may, I’m appreciative, and I hope this “thing” continues to grow. As a matter of fact, you can help me out by adding this blog to your Technorati favorites by clicking HERE; if you're not signed up with Technorati, I suggest you do. Now if you haven’t figured it out by now, in spite of my name, I’m pretty personable. Unlike some bloggers out here I’m a pretty down to earth kinda guy; and I’m approachable. Nope, I'm not one of those asshole, “bow before me you mindless reader,” type people. Like I said, I'm a people person and I love the interaction.

I get emails all the time from people asking my opinion on various issues. And you know what? I love nothing more than to help a person solve their problems or issues, so I make it a point to always give them honest feedback or answers. Nothing says “I appreciate you reading my blog,” like honest answers and interaction with your readers. Unlike some of the attention starved individuals with internet accesses who call themselves bloggers. I think it’s a great thing to interact with your readers in a positive way. Certain bloggers aren’t proficient in the art of communication like myself; and that coupled with an overinflated ego induced by a few page hits never leads to anything productive.

But see, RiPPa is different; RiPPa loves the kids, and RiPPa cares. Yes I do, and with sage-like wisdom, I have a lot to share with the world and the people who email me seeking my thoughts and advice on various subjects.

Like these fine folks for example:

QUESTION: RiPPa, this is gonna sound like a joke, but I swear it's not. I'm an unattractive guy. About the only thing I have going for me is a huge penis. I can never get a woman to go home with me because of my looks. What should I do? I know once a woman gets home with me she'll be pleased. How do I let women know that I'm packing so she’ll give me the time of day so I can get laid?

Shabba Ranks?

ANSWER: Well dude, apparently you've been ugly for quite some time. The tone of your question suggests that you're content with your ugliness and you've given up on spending money on weight loss pills and acne medication. Good for you. When you reach a certain level of physical ineptitude Proactiv and Slim Fast won't help. The problem with most ugly people is that they refuse to accept it. You on the other hand have decided to embrace your reality and try to make the best of it.

On to solving your problem.

Hung like a horse but you look like a Gremlin. There's only one solution. Get rich. You see my friend, it's not the size of your tool that draws women in to ugly men; it's the size of their wallets. Even if you don’t have money, the Arab man in the mall has cheap costume jewelry that'll make you look like just about any rapper you've seen on MTV. This should trick the women into thinking you have money.

Every rapper needs a posse. Get more Black friends; they add validity to your rapper persona. And being Black yourself, get a white woman to walk in the club with you. Nothing says successful black man like having a white woman on your arm. If that doesn't work, then take 3 Viagra pills and walk around the club with your pants off. That'll get their attention for sure.

QUESTION: RiPPa, I have a question. Everybody I know here keeps getting a DWI. Whenever one person gets their case dismissed or found guilty, somebody else goes and gets one. After one friend of mine got his 3rd one, a friend of mine gets one, and once she gets hers dismissed, I get one, and then once I get mine dismissed, another friend of mine gets one. What's going on RiPPa? Are we partying too much?

Also RiPPa, what should we do about my friend with 3 DWIs, because the state gave him back his license and car, and right when he gets it, he almost got a 4th DWI but the cop let him go cause somebody offered to pick him up, and he was in a town one hour away. I know it's going to be hard now cause here in Texas, they have the new law where the cops can arrest you for being drunk in the bar.

PARTYING HARD - AUSTIN, TX

ANSWER: HARD PARTIER! - DWI's can be a touchy subject. Numerous people are killed every year by idiots like you and your friends who chose to get intoxicated while driving. There's nothing wrong with partying, just do it responsibly. But I sense responsibility left your brain years ago, so go ahead and get stupid drunk in public. Much like the Olympics, the secret to keeping drinking entertaining is to change the venue. I suggest a shopping mall or Toys R Us. The four of you obviously have drunk yourselves under the table at bars, time to take things up a notch.

Getting drunk in public places will give you a great story to tell your friends. One that's much much better than “We got drunk in a bar.” So what? Everyone's been drunk in a bar before. But who's been drunk at 'Long John Silvers' on Kids eat free night? Not many. You could be a pioneer man. Have you ever gotten drunk in Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning and popped a porno movie into all the display televisions in electronics? Now THAT'S a story. It’s much more entertaining than “A cop let me go once.”

Have your lawyer subpoena the surveillance tape so that you can have a video memento of this event. Because TRUST ME, you will be arrested for this. But the important thing is that you'll be arrested long before you can make it to your car to drive home and danger sober motorists who don't deserve to die. A drunk driver is off the street, you’ve got a good story to tell, and the kids in electronics learn a valuable lesson about the dangers of tequila.

QUESTION: My girlfriend is always angry with me for leaving the toilet seat up. If a relationship is 50/50 and I put the toilet seat up, can't she put it back down? My girlfriend is one helluva nag how can I get her off my back about this?

GERALD-- BROKEN ARROW, OK

ANSWER: Shit on the floor; and after you wipe leave the toilet tissue on the floor too. Turds on a floor have a tendency to take precedent over a toilet seat being up. The answer to most problems my friend is redirection. Similar to how if you're tending to a hurt finger but you accidentally bump your head. For just a little while your finger doesn't hurt because your bruised head becomes a new priority. Shit on the floor and give your girlfriend some new priorities.

I don't know if any of you saw yourselves in these questions. If you do, don't you feel much better and well equiped to tackle said problems? Sure you do. Of course you don't have to listen to me; I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on television. But where else can you receive pearls of wisdom free of charge like this.

My advice is just that...advice. Honest advice but still, it's just advice. So if you're stupid enough to go out and do anything that guy you've never met told you to do then you deserve whatever is coming to you. But hey, if you ever feel like dropping me a line to help you sort out your woes, feel free to drop me a line HERE, or go ahead and ask in the comment section below.

Epic Fail: Chicago loses 2016 Olympic bid

Black people, yeah, yeah, yeah I know; it’s a sad, sad day for us. In case you didn’t know, the city of Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janegro or one of those countries on the Southside of Mexico. Yep, and it’s especially sad because such an event would have provided so much for our Mississippi cousins who all migrated to the north to escape the horrific life that was the south after Lil’ John came out screaming Bia Bia.

I don’t know what’s worse; not getting the Olympics or knowing that the two most powerful Black people in the world failed. Do you realize just how big this is? Shit, if Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey couldn’t get the Olympics to be hosted in Chicago, we Negroes should just g’head and forget about reparations, jobs, getting’ rid of the bumps on the back of Forrest Whitaker’s neck n’ all’dat. Yep, throw the idea of Obama being president and gettin’ the bad credit of Negroes erased out the window, son; we’re screwed, and we should all find us a late night talk show host to extort while we still can. I could be wrong, and Rush Limbaugh could be right; but maybe Chicago would have won if Obama had his ACORN homies stuffing the ballot boxes at the vote.

One question: Were they not feeling his sales pitch in Copenhagen because he's Black or because they're not down with the idea of Universal Health Care for the entire world?

With Cook County Illinois being the county with the largest Black population per capita in the country getting the Olympics would have been a major economic boost. Hell, do you know how many Black people in Chicago were looking forward to that money? Shoot, Negroes have already been kickin’ out dead beat relatives who pay rent with food stamps! No shit, all this week after the news that Obama and Oprah was going to Copenhagen, folk been breaking out the Febreeze and the good dishes so they can list rooms on Craigslist for $1000.00/night.

I don’t know if you realize it or not, but renting a room to some white folks from overseas for a few weeks who know nothing about Cabrini Greens, J.J. Evans, or Good Times is a major come up. And you know what’s messed up right now? I could just imagine all the talk about how them white folks were scared to come to Chicago after that Derrion Albert video was all over the internet the other day. Yep, you know they gonna say it was because Negroes don’t know how to act, right? Which is bullshit because it ain’t like Toni Kucoc who used to play with the Chicago Bulls ever had any problems with n*ggas when he used to go to Chik Rick’s on the weekends (BTW: Chicago people? Is The Copper Box on 79th still open?).

Truth is: Chicago lost it's Olympic bid because R. Kelly is a free man; and you know what that means...

On some real shit, I hear Obama ain’t too happy about losing the bid. Hell, I heard Oprah was so depressed afterward that she decided to give Stedman some booty instead of Gail. Word on the street is that Obama is ‘bout to slip some of that act right in that Swine Flu vaccine just fo’ dem fools in the Chicago astreets. I think in all seriousness it would have been a major boost to the city’s economy as does any major international event hosted anywhere. I also do believe that some of the disappointment is due in large part to the current state of the economy. Which is sad because it’s not like jobs would be created overnight had they won the bid today. But hey, I guess when all you hear is bad news as things get tougher, any good news is welcomed.

Don’t feel bad Chicago, it could be worse…

Aside from the Chicago Cubs…

You could be like Cleveland; a city full of loser teams and suicidal sports fans.

I'm about to side with Republicans on this Health Care Reform thing-a-ma-jig

I'm just sayin'...

Who needs a “Public Option” or HEALTH CARE REFORM for that matter?

Yeah, it's too bad that my Republican buddies were not successful getting that amendment to the current proposal to exclude legal immigrants from access to any health care should it be reformed.

Hell, they get that good American air; what more do they want?

Understanding the Culture of Violence in America: The Death of Derrion Albert

Hopefully after reading this post you're able to look at this issue differently. To do so, I suggest taking the time to view the following videos starting with this one:

So everyone has heard the story - or watched the video - of 16yr old Derrion Albert savagely beaten to death in Chicago. In my opinion, I don’t know if the video or the knee jerk reactions to it was more appalling. I’m sorry and I apologize if that last line offended anyone, but it’s just the way I see it. I’m disappointed that a young man had his life cut short in the manner he did, but I’m not angry. Am I a bad person for not being angered by this incident? No. Am I apathetic because I’m not as “enraged” as some people claim to be? Of course not, but some may think that I am. But hey, the cynic in me tells me that this “rage” will quickly disappear as it did after the Oscar Grant incident earlier this year. Everybody was mad then after watching the video of him being killed by a police officer, but no such rage at the fact that currently murder charges against said officer might be dropped.

If you ask me, it is this very “anger” which is essentially a part of the problem. Let’s be honest, Derrion Albert wasn’t killed because people were “Steppin’ in the name of love,” in the streets of Chicago. I say that because I doubt he was caught up in the midst of two separate but very happy groups of teenagers. Real talk: How do we solve problems if angry? When has anything positive ever developed from a position of anger? Shouldn’t this be yet another albeit teachable moments as it relates to conflict resolution? Ironically, it is this “anger” which has fueled some of the most unproductive discussions and commentary surrounding this incident and the blame game.

So in the spirit of “community” where community exists only when there is real commitment to go beyond rhetoric, beyond the limitations of tolerance, beyond the accusations, attacks and suspicions often experienced when people try to talk through the tough issues. I offer some Socratic questioning in an attempt to provoke rational thought and hopefully move towards solutions.

1) Bad Parenting: I’ve heard it said that what happened to Derrion is a resut of bad parenting. How can one watch the video of this or read about this story and come to this conclusion? Were there parents at the scene acting as agitators and or instigators? I’m sorry, but unless that was the case, I’m not buying that “bad parenting” cliché explanation. If you feel differently than I, feel free to explain that one to me in your commentary. And please give me more than that “babies raising babies” talk.

2) Absentee Black Fathers: Yet another one of those silly arguments to explain this incident. Can anyone prove to me that every single solitary soul involved in that melee came from single parent homes? Again, I’m sorry, but Black people, as a people we need to stop believing the hype as we’re fed by the media. Using absentee fathers as an excuse negates this being a teachable moment as far as personal responsibility and consequences in my opinion. Absentee Black fathers may be a problem in itself. But let’s not use this incident as one of those soapbox moments to promote Black fatherhood when it is not known whether it's even a contributing factor in this instance. If that's what you think to be a contributing factor in this and all instances of violence, pay attention to the last video.

3) Hip Hop: Let’s see, Hip Hop as we know it in the mainstream has been around how long? I don’t know, but I seriously doubt whether it has been around as long as Black on Black violence and crime has, no? Hell, a White rapper was just arrested for murder a couple of weeks ago. How come nobody submitted Hip Hop to be the causation of his crime which had multiple victims? Do we blame, or are other musical genres the motivation behind acts of crime committed by non-minorities? But hey, we can debate that issue in the commentary as well; actually being a Hip Hop head I welcome that debate. Shit, I know plenty of cats my age who love Mobb Deep's “Shook One's PT. II” who have yet to just lose it causing the end to the life of an individual.

4) The Black Culture of Violence: I know and understand Black on Black crime is an issue itself. But, why make this incident, or use similar incidents to give the perception that “it’s a Black thing”? Correct me if I’m wrong, but is there something in the DNA of people of African descent that predisposes them to violent crime? I’m just curious, but isn’t crime – be it violent or not – a problem throughout society that affects us all negatively? Why then see it as another one of those Black problems? Also, I’d like to take the time to remind people that gang culture has always existed in this country, and that the U.S. Gov’t did not create Ricco law statutes to take down the Bloods and the Crips. Yes, there is a pathology associated or attached to Black folks which directly impacts behavior. But how can we challenge this issue without tying it in to a larger societal problem?

All in all people, the problem here as I see it is violence in America; yes, we live in a violent nation. Is it any surprise that a country that was birthed through violence, where people are comfortable packing guns to political town hall meetings, and creating “Should Obama be Killed” polls on Facebook that these type of incidents occur? Derrion was caught up between an incident which involved two rival groups – you know that same “mob mentality” currently occupying our national political discourse? But hey, I guess that’s to be expected when the country you love has, is and will always be the biggest bully in the world community. Yeah, mobs and gangs have long been a part of American culture; why worry about violence here when this country exercises its “violent will” on other people and other cultures abroad.

What’s sad to me Black people, is that we view Derrion’s demise within the “Black community” to be tragic but yet accept or are apathetic towards the culture of violence within our country at large. Hell, a White kid was beaten on a school bus recently by a group of Black kids, but yet I didn’t hear this much “rage” from the Black community. Lemme guess, he lived, so it was no big deal, right? But since I’m trying to offer solutions I’ll ask: how can we stop the violence when we all live or are a part of a larger society within which such behavior is commonplace and not addressed?

Let the healing begin after this video:

SUGGESTED READING: Whose Responsibility is it Anyway? by soulbrother v.2