Noose.

Are black people hanging themselves. By black people, I do not mean the ones out speaking for Black people. Thankfully they are exempt from this generalization, I'm speaking on the average black dude or homegirl. Are we hanging ourselves? Has the unflux of hip-hop culture been us slowly tightening the noose around our on necks? I look at the supposed evolution of hip-hop fro the 80's to the culture today and I see a bunch of blinged out coons, tapdancing on stage for a little change. I see the images of Birth of a Nation brought forth in real time and streamed for all audience to see. The internet provides a global stage for todays supposed "Black Culture" to poisen the minds of everyone. To create a universal disdain and, more importantly, a universal image of African Americans. There is a currently a debate going on BET (....) between scholars and 'conscious' blacks and with the rappers as well, who have milked this image to fatten their owners pockets. It was an interesting debate but the ignorance and routine statements by the rappers seem to generate more applause from the audience then the actual educated statements made by some of the more educated on the panel. I am one who follows of the path of criticism as a means to, hopefully, spur change. I criticize Black people pretty often because I know there is so much. If we could only stop willingly tieing the rope for ourselves and seperate ourselves from the rope then we can hope to move forward. At this point control no longer needs to be overt. We have a self governing way of dealing with issues and that is through ridicule and beating each other down. We only look to pick each other up when we are knocked down as a group. Why must it wait for that moment? Every other culture seems to understand the value of oneness and togetherness, why not us? Hasn't the shackles of slavery held us back for too long.

.......I never like to say slavery should be forgotten and we should move forward. I am complelty aware of the damage slavery had on the Black pshcye and I do see us moving in the right direction soon but right now we are still learning how to deal with freedoms and understanding responsibilies. In describing Black people, I think we are in our teenage years, we exagerrate alot, we are very materialistic, seemingly hard to please, we want to be left alone but still need the strength our parents provide, we are confused at the prospect growing in though it is a definite, we are in constant of defining ourselves, and most importantly we need to grow without the shackles of our parents. Mistakes will be made but that all leads to growth. But I guess moving is better then stagnating, I'm just afraid we might begin to stagnate because Black culture is almost definitly infused with hip-hop when it should not be.