Interesting Read About Taylor's Death

[Mandarinia]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442

[JetCane]

You didnt post the entire article.

Yeah, Jason Whitlock has been on a major roll the last couple of months with his columns.

There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.

The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.

Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

About as well as the attempt to shift attention away from this uniquely African-American crisis by focusing on an "injustice" the white media allegedly perpetrated against Sean Taylor.

Within hours of his death, there was a story circulating that members of the black press were complaining that news outlets were disrespecting Taylor's victimhood by reporting on his troubled past

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL player, made the radio circuit Wednesday, singing the tune that athletes are targets. That was his explanation for the murders of Taylor and Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and the armed robberies of NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry.

Really?

Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

Our self-hatred has been set to music and reinforced by a pervasive culture that promotes a crab-in-barrel mentality.

You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.

Of course there are other catalysts, but until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it's not OK to "super man dat ho" and end any and every dispute by "****ing on your bitch," nothing will change.

Does a Soulja Boy want an education?

HBO did a fascinating documentary on Little Rock Central High School, the Arkansas school that required the National Guard so that nine black kids could attend in the 1950s. Fifty years later, the school is one of the nation's best in terms of funding and educational opportunities. It's 60 percent black and located in a poor black community.

Watch the documentary and ask yourself why nine poor kids in the '50s risked their lives to get a good education and a thousand poor black kids today ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter.

Blame drugs, blame Ronald Reagan, blame George Bush, blame it on the rain or whatever. There's only one group of people who can change the rotten, anti-education, pro-violence culture our kids have adopted. We have to do it.

According to reports, Sean Taylor had difficulty breaking free from the unsavory characters he associated with during his youth.

The "keepin' it real" mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There's always someone ready to tell you you're selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you're selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.

The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next.

[Lil Bit Special]

Since I'm not a black man, I cant really comment on whether the black community is failing itself. But what Whitlock says is strong and harsh and hopefully the "leaders" will follow in his footsteps and start changing the culture. It is a shame that no one else has the courage to step up.

I dont know what Whitlock can do to help foster change in the community, or if he really wants to. Is he truly upset about this or just trying to make a name? Seems as if he digs this issue up and never goes anywhere with it. Cant he get athletes and other "celebrities" to join him in saving the black culture? Or are all of them too wrapped up in the "gansta" culture... I know it really isnt right of me to question his motives, but for the life of me cant understand why more blacks dont realize what Whitlock is saying. I am of the belief that if the black community could ever come together and work together, they could be the strongest voice in America.

Also, what Whitlock says can also be carried over to the rest of society. Why are we all afraid of "telling it like it is" and just blame eveyone and anything else. Why cant people accept responsibility and hold people accountable for what they do. All these stories I read every day about horrific acts being commited, it just makes me sick and wonder where we are headed as a society. It makes me sad.

It makes me sad when 2 teens get shot on their way to school. It makes me sad when an ex-boyfriend kills the mother of his child. It makes me sad when someone plows into a senior citizen and takes off in her saab because she is late for symphony practice. It makes me sad when a woman is walking on the street is attacked and is nearly raped. It makes me sad when someone has to cut up their dead mothers body and stuff it in garbage bags to collect her social security checks and then dumps her body on the side of the road.

Sorry for the rambling here. Just had to clear my head of this stuff. Do me a favor, teach your kids the right way. Teach them morals and how to behave in society. Tell them you love them. Be a role model for them. For those of you without kids, tell your friends and family you love them. Show them you care. Help them when they have problems. It all can start with us. We cant change the world, but we can impact change with those around us.

[RSJ]

Since I'm not a black man, I cant really comment on whether the black community is failing itself. But what Whitlock says is strong and harsh and hopefully the "leaders" will follow in his footsteps and start changing the culture. It is a shame that no one else has the courage to step up.

I dont know what Whitlock can do to help foster change in the community, or if he really wants to. Is he truly upset about this or just trying to make a name? Seems as if he digs this issue up and never goes anywhere with it. Cant he get athletes and other "celebrities" to join him in saving the black culture? Or are all of them too wrapped up in the "gansta" culture... I know it really isnt right of me to question his motives, but for the life of me cant understand why more blacks dont realize what Whitlock is saying. I am of the belief that if the black community could ever come together and work together, they could be the strongest voice in America.

Also, what Whitlock says can also be carried over to the rest of society. Why are we all afraid of "telling it like it is" and just blame eveyone and anything else. Why cant people accept responsibility and hold people accountable for what they do. All these stories I read every day about horrific acts being commited, it just makes me sick and wonder where we are headed as a society. It makes me sad.

It makes me sad when 2 teens get shot on their way to school. It makes me sad when an ex-boyfriend kills the mother of his child. It makes me sad when someone plows into a senior citizen and takes off in her saab because she is late for symphony practice. It makes me sad when a woman is walking on the street is attacked and is nearly raped. It makes me sad when someone has to cut up their dead mothers body and stuff it in garbage bags to collect her social security checks and then dumps her body on the side of the road.

Sorry for the rambling here. Just had to clear my head of this stuff. Do me a favor, teach your kids the right way. Teach them morals and how to behave in society. Tell them you love them. Be a role model for them. For those of you without kids, tell your friends and family you love them. Show them you care. Help them when they have problems. It all can start with us. We cant change the world, but we can impact change with those around us.

potw.

[Lady Jet]

Why cant people accept responsibility and hold people accountable for what they do.

It really should be as simple as that!

[shawn306]

Whitlock is the only writer out there who I look forward to reading every week.

He goes beyond sports and speaks his mind. Sean Taylor, Jena 6, Imus it doesn't matter and is usually dead on correct in his commentary.

[JetCane]

Since I'm not a black man, I cant really comment on whether the black community is failing itself. But what Whitlock says is strong and harsh and hopefully the "leaders" will follow in his footsteps and start changing the culture. It is a shame that no one else has the courage to step up.

I dont know what Whitlock can do to help foster change in the community, or if he really wants to. Is he truly upset about this or just trying to make a name? Seems as if he digs this issue up and never goes anywhere with it. Cant he get athletes and other "celebrities" to join him in saving the black culture? Or are all of them too wrapped up in the "gansta" culture... I know it really isnt right of me to question his motives, but for the life of me cant understand why more blacks dont realize what Whitlock is saying. I am of the belief that if the black community could ever come together and work together, they could be the strongest voice in America.

Also, what Whitlock says can also be carried over to the rest of society. Why are we all afraid of "telling it like it is" and just blame eveyone and anything else. Why cant people accept responsibility and hold people accountable for what they do. All these stories I read every day about horrific acts being commited, it just makes me sick and wonder where we are headed as a society. It makes me sad.

It makes me sad when 2 teens get shot on their way to school. It makes me sad when an ex-boyfriend kills the mother of his child. It makes me sad when someone plows into a senior citizen and takes off in her saab because she is late for symphony practice. It makes me sad when a woman is walking on the street is attacked and is nearly raped. It makes me sad when someone has to cut up their dead mothers body and stuff it in garbage bags to collect her social security checks and then dumps her body on the side of the road.

Sorry for the rambling here. Just had to clear my head of this stuff. Do me a favor, teach your kids the right way. Teach them morals and how to behave in society. Tell them you love them. Be a role model for them. For those of you without kids, tell your friends and family you love them. Show them you care. Help them when they have problems. It all can start with us. We cant change the world, but we can impact change with those around us.

Great post, man.

This would be a good time for the African-American community to rally around Sean's death and start making the cultural changes that Whitlock is writing about.

Here you have a young black man with a soaring career in sports (not politics, not music, not insurance or business- but sports, which the culture has a high regard for) who was taken out with a gun.

The best thing that could come out of this tragedy would be for it to be a turning point, and for people to say "Enough! we dont want our young black men to continue facing this horrible fate."

But as long as small-minded people want to continue blaming the victim for "running with the wrong crowd" they will never get to the heart of the problem.

[Boozer76]

That is one hell of an article and it took alot of balls to write it. I know he mentions some of the "hip hop" culture and it has been a hot debate topic here, but I will say this; Old school rap that was about the ghetto life and gangster mentaility was written to tell the story of the problems that young urban african americans were dealing with at the time. They weren't glorifying it, they were just telling it how it was. Most of the rappers and hip hop artists of the times grew up in that culture and their intention was to bring change through their music. It was real.

The sad thing is, rather than propel people to take action to change things for th better, all it seemed to have done was glorify the issue. I would be willing to bet that guys like Chuck D listen to the crap they hear today and just shake their head in disappointment. What you have now is music that is rapping about murder, gangbanging, mistreating women, etc. and GLORIFYING it. That's the real problem. I'd be willing to bet that most of today's popula hip hop and rap artists came from middle class suburbia and have no first hand experience about the crap they sing about. That, to me, is the real shame about rap today. Music is a very powerful tool, whether we want to admit it or not. It is the impetus of many styles of behavior and fashion. To deny that is ignorant. When you constantly feed music to an impressionable teenager that glorifies killing, gangbanging, and superman dat ho eventually it's going to modify their behavior. I don't believe that one song here or there or even one band can have such a profound affect to coerce a teen to commit crimes, but an entire culture of music can. That's what I feel is the isue with rap/hip hop right now.

[L.I.MikeBleedsGreen]

That is one hell of an article and it took alot of balls to write it. I know he mentions some of the "hip hop" culture and it has been a hot debate topic here, but I will say this; Old school rap that was about the ghetto life and gangster mentaility was written to tell the story of the problems that young urban african americans were dealing with at the time. They weren't glorifying it, they were just telling it how it was. Most of the rappers and hip hop artists of the times grew up in that culture and their intention was to bring change through their music. It was real.

The sad thing is, rather than propel people to take action to change things for th better, all it seemed to have done was glorify the issue. I would be willing to bet that guys like Chuck D listen to the crap they hear today and just shake their head in disappointment. What you have now is music that is rapping about murder, gangbanging, mistreating women, etc. and GLORIFYING it. That's the real problem. I'd be willing to bet that most of today's popula hip hop and rap artists came from middle class suburbia and have no first hand experience about the crap they sing about. That, to me, is the real shame about rap today. Music is a very powerful tool, whether we want to admit it or not. It is the impetus of many styles of behavior and fashion. To deny that is ignorant. When you constantly feed music to an impressionable teenager that glorifies killing, gangbanging, and superman dat ho eventually it's going to modify their behavior. I don't believe that one song here or there or even one band can have such a profound affect to coerce a teen to commit crimes, but an entire culture of music can. That's what I feel is the isue with rap/hip hop right now.

POTW NOM Thank god someone gets it,Boozer hit it right on the head with this post.

[SouthernJet]

That is one hell of an article and it took alot of balls to write it. I know he mentions some of the "hip hop" culture and it has been a hot debate topic here, but I will say this; Old school rap that was about the ghetto life and gangster mentaility was written to tell the story of the problems that young urban african americans were dealing with at the time. They weren't glorifying it, they were just telling it how it was. Most of the rappers and hip hop artists of the times grew up in that culture and their intention was to bring change through their music. It was real.

The sad thing is, rather than propel people to take action to change things for th better, all it seemed to have done was glorify the issue. I would be willing to bet that guys like Chuck D listen to the crap they hear today and just shake their head in disappointment. What you have now is music that is rapping about murder, gangbanging, mistreating women, etc. and GLORIFYING it. That's the real problem. I'd be willing to bet that most of today's popula hip hop and rap artists came from middle class suburbia and have no first hand experience about the crap they sing about. That, to me, is the real shame about rap today. Music is a very powerful tool, whether we want to admit it or not. It is the impetus of many styles of behavior and fashion. To deny that is ignorant. When you constantly feed music to an impressionable teenager that glorifies killing, gangbanging, and superman dat ho eventually it's going to modify their behavior. I don't believe that one song here or there or even one band can have such a profound affect to coerce a teen to commit crimes, but an entire culture of music can. That's what I feel is the isue with rap/hip hop right now.

bingo

potw

[Jet Moses]

Since I'm not a black man, I cant really comment on whether the black community is failing itself.

That's not true at all. Any dysfunction, pathology, and violence that emenates from any community adversely effects us all, and not only can we comment, it's our obligation to comment.

But what Whitlock says is strong and harsh and hopefully the "leaders" will follow in his footsteps and start changing the culture. It is a shame that no one else has the courage to step up.

It's not about courage, it's about money and political power (more or less the same thing). There is an entire industry out there making loads of cash off maintaining the status quo. Bull Connor has been dead for a long time, and as far as I know, he's buried 6 ft. deep. Somebody should fax that memo to Jesse Jackson.

I dont know what Whitlock can do to help foster change in the community, or if he really wants to. Is he truly upset about this or just trying to make a name? Seems as if he digs this issue up and never goes anywhere with it. Cant he get athletes and other "celebrities" to join him in saving the black culture? Or are all of them too wrapped up in the "gansta" culture... I know it really isnt right of me to question his motives, but for the life of me cant understand why more blacks dont realize what Whitlock is saying. I am of the belief that if the black community could ever come together and work together, they could be the strongest voice in America.

Be careful with what you are saying here; Too often the conversation is sidetracked by obfuscation, but let's look at the facts...

Blacks (I refuse to hyphenate any Americans) make up about 13% of the population. All too often, the spotlight is shined on the lower class of the Black community, or the other extreme, the wealthy. Rarely are the working class or middle class blacks acknowledged. Why is this?

At the root of all pathology and dysfunction in the Black community, is out of birth wedlock. That is the elephant in the room NOBODY wants to talk about. 67% of all Black children born in America today, are born out of wedlock. Many of those children will never even know who their biological father is. Many of their mothers have no job skills, and little education. By the time they are adults, they will be functionally illiterate. Many of the daughters will have children of their own before they reach adulthood.

Now those kids that just killed Sean Taylor? I don't know yet, but I bet they all have mothers on welfare, don't know who their biological father is, and cannot read and write above a 2nd grade level.

The Left wishes to destroy the foundations of organized religion and the family, because those institutions prevent them from implementing their socialist nanny state. That's why the ACLU goes after Manger scenes in public squares, and wants gay civil unions recognized as marriage, because the idea to to compromise those institutions to the point that they no longer have any value or meaning.

So we've talked about the Black underclass, and how the welfare state has destroyed the Black family, now let's talk about successful Blacks- the working class and the middle class. Where will you find these people on Sunday? In Church.

So there you have it. "It takes a village" aint working to well in the ghetto. The destruction of the Black family in America is nothing short of a national crime, a crime perpetuated by social engineers. Left wing socialists' vision is to do that to ALL families. If you want to see what is right about America, look no further than the Black community. There you will witness a strong family structure, and a faith based culture. The Left wants to destroy religion.

Sorry for the rambling here. Just had to clear my head of this stuff. Do me a favor, teach your kids the right way. Teach them morals and how to behave in society. Tell them you love them. Be a role model for them. For those of you without kids, tell your friends and family you love them. Show them you care. Help them when they have problems. It all can start with us. We cant change the world, but we can impact change with those around us.

Go easy on yourself. You can't change the system, the politcal ideologues are too powerful and entrenched in our political institutions. I know it's frustrating to see things clearly, and all around you is a theatre of the absurd.

Take care of yourself and your family, and tune out the nonsense, It's all you can do.

Great post, man.

This would be a good time for the African-American community to rally around Sean's death and start making the cultural changes that Whitlock is writing about.

I wouldn't hold your breathe.

And the beat goes on.

[Jet Moses]

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

The real culprits are the the left wing ideologues who are the enablers of self-hatred. The real cancer on society is political correctness.

[JetsMan57]

Whitlock is perhaps the best sports journalist int he country today, he consistently hits it on the head and even if you dont agree with him you can understand where he is coming from as his opinions are very well articulated. He stood up against the Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons during the whole Don Imus fiasco too.

And he hates Mike Lupica and kills Herm all the time. How can you not like the guy.,

[serphnx]

Not all black rappers glorify it. I'm kind of out of touch since I don't really keep up with music, but isn't 50 cent popular and a black rapper? I remember hearing one of his songs relating how he wanted to get out because "nothing good ever happens in the 'hood" and not looking back.

I don't think Nas glorified it either. Maybe Jay-Z does but I don't like him anyway. Nas was always all about getting an education and becoming a doctor or lawyer.

To be honest I think most rap is marketed towards suburban white kids anyway. I'd imagine from a pure economic standpoint you can make a lot more money from a bunch of suburban white kids than a bunch of poor black kids in a ghetto.

[SouthernJet]

To be honest I think most rap is marketed towards suburban white kids anyway. I'd imagine from a pure economic standpoint you can make a lot more money from a bunch of suburban white kids than a bunch of poor black kids in a ghetto.

you would think thats true..but marketing studies show its not..

urban teens thru 20s spend a much higher % of thier income/disposable funds on music/clothing/car wheels/enhancements than suburban kids.. Rap targets all three of those items..

and the kicker is that the urban kids are much more apt to shift styles/trends at a alarming rate and spend more money to remain in trend..suburban kids will hang onto a style a bit longer..

suburban kids spend lots of cash, but when you take in the % and trend shift, the urban kids spend equal to more over time...

[Jet Moses]

you would think thats true..but marketing studies show its not..

urban teens thru 20s spend a much higher % of thier income/disposable funds on music/clothing/car wheels/enhancements than suburban kids.. Rap targets all three of those items..

and the kicker is that the urban kids are much more apt to shift styles/trends at a alarming rate and spend more money to remain in trend..suburban kids will hang onto a style a bit longer..

suburban kids spend lots of cash, but when you take in the % and trend shift, the urban kids spend equal to more over time...

This is true, but you can also say on the other hand the % of money spent on frivolous or "luxury" items is larger simply because the overall income is much smaller to begin with.

For example, a family of four with an income of $40,000 annually and a family of four with an annual income of $100,000 will spend the same amount of money on groceries, however the family living on $40 thousand will be spending a much larger percentage of their income on food.

The family with $100 thousand can put the money not spent on food in investments, where the family making $40 thousand a year lives from paycheck to paycheck.

[SouthernJet]

This is true, but you can also say on the other hand the % of money spent on frivolous or "luxury" items is larger simply because the overall income is much smaller to begin with.

For example, a family of four with an income of $40,000 annually and a family of four with an annual income of $100,000 will spend the same amount of money on groceries, however the family living on $40 thousand will be spending a much larger percentage of their income on food.

The family with $100 thousand can put the money not spent on food in investments, where the family making $40 thousand a year lives from paycheck to paycheck.

who knows,,my point was to original posters assertion that rap targets white suburban kids cause of more cash spent., my only take was that wasnt true as urban vs suburban spending is equal if not even more on urban due to % and the mega practice of shifting styles very fast of urban dwellers

[Damaged89]

I blame gay marriage.

[Matt39]

Chuck D wouldnt get a record deal today.

[Jet Moses]

who knows,,my point was to original posters assertion that rap targets white suburban kids cause of more cash spent., my only take was that wasnt true as urban vs suburban spending is equal if not even more on urban due to % and the mega practice of shifting styles very fast of urban dwellers

I hear ya, they definitely have their priorities out of wack.

I just finished reading an article on Sean Taylor. His mom had 4 kids with 3 different men. Sean grew up with his father, but I guess he felt some obligation to his mother and his step-siblings, so he welcomed them into his house, bought his sister a car, put her in a community college and she wound up inviting dysfunctional anti-social losers into the home where they showed their appreciation for his hospitality by casing the joint, and then eventually causing his death. Idiots.

I don't know what that must be like to grow up in such an unstable environment, I'm sure it creates quite a bit of confusion. Then maturing into adulthood with so many unresolved issues, then becoming a millionaire...

That's alot.

Right now I'm thinking about the Movie Million Dollar Baby, that girls family.

What a bunch of scumbags. And they were still able to hold her as an emotional hostage in spite of the abuse.

Dunno it's just a big downer, the whole episode.

[Ghost]

Smizzy is right. This season been horrible in all different ways.

[NJ]

But what Whitlock says is strong and harsh and hopefully the "leaders" will follow in his footsteps and start changing the culture. It is a shame that no one else has the courage to step up.

I dont know what Whitlock can do to help foster change in the community, or if he really wants to. Is he truly upset about this or just trying to make a name? Seems as if he digs this issue up and never goes anywhere with it. Cant he get athletes and other "celebrities" to join him in saving the black culture? Or are all of them too wrapped up in the "gansta" culture...

Whitlock can do very little change the way black or white americans think but I'm grateful he's sending his reality based message as a black american. People are defect laden humans regardless of their pigmentation and everybody struggles with the high road vs. low road paths in their lives. Most of us that would post on an internet NFL fan website for recreation have been surrounded by a lot more high road influences than low road realities in our lives. To expect Whitlocks message to gain momentum because it's the truth isn't reality. There have probably been rap artists that tried to promote do the right thing in their songs and mysteriously they aren't popular. It's always an easier road to low living especially when it's glamorized - it's also by nature a downhill road.

If the guy ever makes a play for any political position - he'll have my support.

[anskyruben]

Chuck D wouldnt get a record deal today.

BINGO. It takes talking about hoes and murder to make money. These guys pimp this attitude that trickels down to the idiot kids in the ghetto. I grew up in Hollis Queens, and moved away when I was 19. I saw how many of these kids grow up and never snap out of that mentality. When I go back home, I see some of the same losers hanging out outside of the same Bodega , just like they did back in 1989. Sean Taylor was killed, and it probably had something to do with him wanting to " keep it real". I guess all the money couldn't keep him from going back to associate with the losers he grew up with. He paid a price, because the Black KKK caught up to him. Sad.