A little girl died last Christmas night in Milwaukee. According to news reports, her mother drank a half can of Blast by Colt 45 and tried to drive. Unfortunately, she slammed into the back of a truck trailer killing one daughter and critically injuring another.
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/136928403.html
Most people know about the fight I had with Pabst, the makers of Blast by Colt 45, last year. Besides my argument that a Snoop Dog endorsement would attract young drinkers, there was was also the issue that the "Kool Aid flavor" would mask the 12% alcohol content making the drinker oblivious to the fact that he/ or she was intoxicated.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8030929
So, I can't really say that I didn't see this coming.
But the question that has me up at 3AM is, did I really do enough to stop it.
Yeah, I went to the press, tried to get anti-drunk driving groups involved, (to no avail) got some stores in my neck of the woods to pull the poison and even chased the Blast promo truck out of my 'hood.
But apparently that was not enough.
There were numerous news stories that 18 attorneys general across were going to do something but besides a good feel good PR moment,after the initial media buzz died down, nothing happened, Not sure, but I kinda think that an alleged leaked letter to the AG's from the Pabst camp that warned them about associating with radicals like myself may have had a little to do with it.
But whatever the case, a little girl is dead and a family is in ruins.
And I sit here kickin' my self thinking about what more I coulda, shoulda done...
I remember something my late Pops told me a decade ago when I was on some crusade to save our youth from the thousands of issues they must face in this cruel, cold world.
"You can't save 'em all ,son"
Yeah, but I can try Dad. I can try....
Paul Scott No Warning Shots Fired.com
Showing posts with label Snoop Dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snoop Dog. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Friday, March 18, 2011
A Dog Returneth...
As a Dog Returneth...
Colt 45's Controversial Comeback
Min. Paul Scott
Many African Americans of my generation have fond (or not so fond) memories of getting up on Saturday mornings to watch our favorite Hip Hop video show, only to be scared out our wits by the sight of an angry, giant blue Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull bustin' through our tv sets. Even today, if you ride through any 'hood and yell out the window the familiar '90's ST Ides Malt Liquor jingle, "just hit the corner store, you know what I'm lookin' for..." I guarantee that some wino in the alley is gonna yell back, " ST IDES!!!!" There was even an evil scientist who came up with the diabolical formula to mix malt liquor with gen-sing, call it Phat Boy and pour it into giant bottles with graffiti on the label. However, thanks to the tireless and thankless work of grassroots activists, for a decade, the blatant advertising of cheap, high powered malt liquor to the "Hip Hop generation" virtually, disappeared.
Fast forward to March 2011, as the folks at Pabst Brewing Company are getting amped up to send another generation on a one way trip to Alcoholics Anonymous.
In a few weeks, the company is scheduled to launch its latest monster piece, "Colt 45 Blast," a 12% high octane malt liquor that comes in a variety of fruity flavors that would put the makers of Kool Aid to shame. The marketing scheme that Pabst is using is pretty much the same that the malt meisters of the past have used; grab a rapper with questionable morals and a bunch of video babes and, bingo, a match made in heaven (or some other place.)
Although the brew is not officially scheduled to come out until April 5th, the company has already launched a major marketing campaign staring the Doggfather, himself, Snoop Dogg. Ironically, it was Snoop who was one of the first rappers to appear in liquor commercials almost two decades ago. He has a history of getting people to join him in the game of "get to' up 'till you throw up" . So, to borrow from the scriptures, in 2011," the dog has returned to his vomit."
Unlike the marketing schemes of the early 90's, in the 21st century, liquor companies have gone high tech. Already, there are Colt 45 Blast Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages set up that will deliver the latest booze news straight to your child's smart phone.
One may ask how, in the wake of the Four Loko controversy, can a company come out with a product that so blatantly, targets underage drinkers. The answer is quite simple.
Nobody cares.
Quiet as kept, when dealing with black youth issues, many people follow the sage wisdom from "The Godfather," "they're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls." And if you can make a profit in the process, so be it.
By the owners of Pabst own admission, Colt 45 has been known, primarily, a 'hood drink and as long as they keep it ghetto, they do not have to worry about those underage drinking crusader organizations throwing a monkey wrench in their program. Most of these organizations only seem to get MADD (pardon the pun) when alcohol abuse starts affecting middle class white kids at college frat parties.
I can remember on more than one occasion, going to an anti-teen drinking event and loudly proclaiming with a 40 oz bottle raised in a gesture of moral indignation , " In the name of the 'hood, I have come to warn thee of the plague that is about to come upon thy children" only to receive the classic "deer in headlights" look from a crowd who saw nothing wrong with a rapper bragging about malt liquor giving him super sexual prowess but thought some darn talking Budweiser bullfrogs signaled the coming of the Apocalypse.
Only when Bifffy and Buffy, start passing out in the middle of English Lit 101 will it become a problem. Which brings us to the proverbial question "if black kids start falling out in the 'hood do they make a sound?"
I think you know the answer.
What is, also, problematic is the liquor industry's uncanny ability to buy off voices of dissent within the African American community. Any time you start cutting checks to Hip Hop radio stations, Hip Hop magazines and start sponsoring (Black) cultural festivals, you can almost guarantee that your favorite Civil Rights leaders won't say a mumblin' word.
So, where does that leave the community activists who are going to be the ones picking up the pieces when the Colt 45 Tsunami floods the hood with alcohol? What can be done?
Community activists must demand that the neighborhood stores where their children go every morning, before school, to pick up honey buns and orange juice for lunch not stock the product in their establishments. We must also ask our local Hip Hop radio stations not to take the blood money that will have our children dancing down the road of destruction all summer long. Also, black organizations must not accept the 30 pieces of silver to have a malt liquor company sponsor "cultural" events that are supposed to be promoting the health and the well being of the community.
Finally, Hip Hop fans must stand up and tell Snoop Dogg and the legion of other rappers who will come behind him not to be "Pabst Blue Ribbon Pimps" putting poison in the 'hood.
We must not look for politicians nor underage drinking organizations to solve this problem. No one is going to save us but us .
As former malt liquor promoter, Ice Cube, once said in a classic line from a popular gangsta flick.
Either they don't know, don't show or don't care what's goin' on in the 'hood."
Paul Scott is a minister, activist and lecturer based in Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com Website http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
Colt 45's Controversial Comeback
Min. Paul Scott
Many African Americans of my generation have fond (or not so fond) memories of getting up on Saturday mornings to watch our favorite Hip Hop video show, only to be scared out our wits by the sight of an angry, giant blue Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull bustin' through our tv sets. Even today, if you ride through any 'hood and yell out the window the familiar '90's ST Ides Malt Liquor jingle, "just hit the corner store, you know what I'm lookin' for..." I guarantee that some wino in the alley is gonna yell back, " ST IDES!!!!" There was even an evil scientist who came up with the diabolical formula to mix malt liquor with gen-sing, call it Phat Boy and pour it into giant bottles with graffiti on the label. However, thanks to the tireless and thankless work of grassroots activists, for a decade, the blatant advertising of cheap, high powered malt liquor to the "Hip Hop generation" virtually, disappeared.
Fast forward to March 2011, as the folks at Pabst Brewing Company are getting amped up to send another generation on a one way trip to Alcoholics Anonymous.
In a few weeks, the company is scheduled to launch its latest monster piece, "Colt 45 Blast," a 12% high octane malt liquor that comes in a variety of fruity flavors that would put the makers of Kool Aid to shame. The marketing scheme that Pabst is using is pretty much the same that the malt meisters of the past have used; grab a rapper with questionable morals and a bunch of video babes and, bingo, a match made in heaven (or some other place.)
Although the brew is not officially scheduled to come out until April 5th, the company has already launched a major marketing campaign staring the Doggfather, himself, Snoop Dogg. Ironically, it was Snoop who was one of the first rappers to appear in liquor commercials almost two decades ago. He has a history of getting people to join him in the game of "get to' up 'till you throw up" . So, to borrow from the scriptures, in 2011," the dog has returned to his vomit."
Unlike the marketing schemes of the early 90's, in the 21st century, liquor companies have gone high tech. Already, there are Colt 45 Blast Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages set up that will deliver the latest booze news straight to your child's smart phone.
One may ask how, in the wake of the Four Loko controversy, can a company come out with a product that so blatantly, targets underage drinkers. The answer is quite simple.
Nobody cares.
Quiet as kept, when dealing with black youth issues, many people follow the sage wisdom from "The Godfather," "they're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls." And if you can make a profit in the process, so be it.
By the owners of Pabst own admission, Colt 45 has been known, primarily, a 'hood drink and as long as they keep it ghetto, they do not have to worry about those underage drinking crusader organizations throwing a monkey wrench in their program. Most of these organizations only seem to get MADD (pardon the pun) when alcohol abuse starts affecting middle class white kids at college frat parties.
I can remember on more than one occasion, going to an anti-teen drinking event and loudly proclaiming with a 40 oz bottle raised in a gesture of moral indignation , " In the name of the 'hood, I have come to warn thee of the plague that is about to come upon thy children" only to receive the classic "deer in headlights" look from a crowd who saw nothing wrong with a rapper bragging about malt liquor giving him super sexual prowess but thought some darn talking Budweiser bullfrogs signaled the coming of the Apocalypse.
Only when Bifffy and Buffy, start passing out in the middle of English Lit 101 will it become a problem. Which brings us to the proverbial question "if black kids start falling out in the 'hood do they make a sound?"
I think you know the answer.
What is, also, problematic is the liquor industry's uncanny ability to buy off voices of dissent within the African American community. Any time you start cutting checks to Hip Hop radio stations, Hip Hop magazines and start sponsoring (Black) cultural festivals, you can almost guarantee that your favorite Civil Rights leaders won't say a mumblin' word.
So, where does that leave the community activists who are going to be the ones picking up the pieces when the Colt 45 Tsunami floods the hood with alcohol? What can be done?
Community activists must demand that the neighborhood stores where their children go every morning, before school, to pick up honey buns and orange juice for lunch not stock the product in their establishments. We must also ask our local Hip Hop radio stations not to take the blood money that will have our children dancing down the road of destruction all summer long. Also, black organizations must not accept the 30 pieces of silver to have a malt liquor company sponsor "cultural" events that are supposed to be promoting the health and the well being of the community.
Finally, Hip Hop fans must stand up and tell Snoop Dogg and the legion of other rappers who will come behind him not to be "Pabst Blue Ribbon Pimps" putting poison in the 'hood.
We must not look for politicians nor underage drinking organizations to solve this problem. No one is going to save us but us .
As former malt liquor promoter, Ice Cube, once said in a classic line from a popular gangsta flick.
Either they don't know, don't show or don't care what's goin' on in the 'hood."
Paul Scott is a minister, activist and lecturer based in Durham NC. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com Website http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thug-o-phobia: The Real Reason we Can't Stop Gangs
Thug-o-phobia: The Real Reason We Can't Stop Gangs
Paul Scott
"In Durham they say we gang bang.
All around the world it's the same thang."
Unless we're shootin' you don't know my name
That's the only way we gain fame."
Thug-o-phobia-TRUTH Minista
Go to any major city in America and ask residents what are the major problems facing their communities and you can bet somewhere in their top 5 will be gangs; that dreaded group of young'uns who go 'round robbin' and pillagin' innocent town folks. Durham, NC is no different, as since the late 90's, the city has been portrayed in the media as the gang capital of the South. This has resulted in an epidemic of "thug-o-phobia" that has town folks seeing gangsters behind every street light post.
In some ways, Thug-o-phobia has become the new radical chic of the 60's, as there is something dangerous, yet exciting about gangsta-ism i(n a James Dean kind of way) for many suburbanites . So, any O.G. (Original Gangster) Joe who rolls into town with a tall tale about how he "was a member of the notorious, Riverdale "Archie Gang" but experienced an epiphany on his way to Pop's Drive Inn to do a drive-by on rival gang "The Jugheads" is welcomed with open arms to "save Durham's youth."
While the local guy with a workable solution based on a strong socio-economic analysis of the problem may be ignored, any out of town slickster with a henna tattoo of Bugs Bunny on his shoulder is given the key to the city.
Since the gang problem has been an issue in Durham and many southern cities for over the last decade, we must explore the many reasons why a college town bustin' at the seams with smart folks, can't seem to get a handle on the problem?
First, there has been little effort to understand the history of gangs in this country. Although most people assume that gangs started in South Central Los Angeles with the Bloods and the Crips, the truth is that gangs in American started when European immigrants organized themselves into protection societies. Later, some of these organizations became organized crime families. This is ,somewhat, similar to the origins of the modern urban street gangs, however, the Bloods and Crips did not come into national prominence until the mid to late 80's.
While poverty and lack of employment may have played a major part in the criminalization of gangs, many will agree that it was the drug trade that gave rise to violent gang activity. Some have alleged that 40 years ago heroin was purposely introduced into black neighborhoods, as well as the hippie counter culture in order to stifle activism; opening the door for the problems we are experiencing, today. Also, authors like Gary Webb, in his controversial book "Dark Alliance," traced the government's alleged role in the crack epidemic in Los Angeles during the mid 80's.
It must, also, be noted that the act of "fighting gangs" is, in and of itself, a cash cow. Many people are depending on the continuous cycle of gang violence to pay their mortgages and to send their children to college. One can only guess the money that goes towards paying "gang experts," sponsoring gang awareness seminars and maintaining the prison industrial complex.
While the role of pop culture in promoting gangsta-ism is often discussed at anti-violence workshops, most presentations only deal with surface issues that begin and end with placing the entire blame for gangs on Hip Hop music. Although such rappers as Snoop Dog (Crip) and the Game (Blood) should be held accountable for the role that they have played in the destruction of our communities, most folks are totally oblivious to the names of the rich business men who sign their paychecks. Although many people would recognize rapper, Lil Wayne (Blood affiliated), they wouldn't recognize Jimmy Iovine (Interscope, which distributed Death Row Records) or Sumner Redstone (Viacom, parent company of BET,MTV, VH1) if they bumped into them on the street.
Hollywood's role in glamorizing the gangsta lifestyle also must not be ignored. While movies like "Colors," " Boyz in the Hood" and "Menace II Society" may have sparked America's fascination with gangs, HBO's 1994 documentary , "Gang Wars: Bangin' in Little Rock" served as a major recruiting tool for gangs outside of Chicago and California.
The key to solving the gang problems is as multifaceted as the reasons for their existence. Contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all.
Although, gang membership is not limited by color nor class, the rationale for an African American or Latino child joining a gang as opposed to a white child may be ,vastly, different. There may, also, be different reasons for a kid from the 'hood gang bangin' than a kid from the 'burbs. Unfortunately, Durham has been slow to embrace the cultural educational solutions that have been effective in larger cities for fear that they may be seen as divisive. We must listen to those voices who can address the problem from a cultural perspective.
Also, the calls for more activities for Durham's young people are often drowned out by the traditional "tough on crime" rhetoric.
City officials must make funding youth activities more than just a slogan to get votes during election time.
Lastly, the city officials, educators and religious leaders must sponsor more town hall meetings to come up with workable solutions instead of the usual "An Idiot's Guide to Gangs" type format.
If we do not come up with new and innovative solutions to the problem, 10 years from now we'll still be jammin' to the same ol' song:
"In Durham they say we gang bang...."
Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation For more information contact (919) 972-8305
Paul Scott
"In Durham they say we gang bang.
All around the world it's the same thang."
Unless we're shootin' you don't know my name
That's the only way we gain fame."
Thug-o-phobia-TRUTH Minista
Go to any major city in America and ask residents what are the major problems facing their communities and you can bet somewhere in their top 5 will be gangs; that dreaded group of young'uns who go 'round robbin' and pillagin' innocent town folks. Durham, NC is no different, as since the late 90's, the city has been portrayed in the media as the gang capital of the South. This has resulted in an epidemic of "thug-o-phobia" that has town folks seeing gangsters behind every street light post.
In some ways, Thug-o-phobia has become the new radical chic of the 60's, as there is something dangerous, yet exciting about gangsta-ism i(n a James Dean kind of way) for many suburbanites . So, any O.G. (Original Gangster) Joe who rolls into town with a tall tale about how he "was a member of the notorious, Riverdale "Archie Gang" but experienced an epiphany on his way to Pop's Drive Inn to do a drive-by on rival gang "The Jugheads" is welcomed with open arms to "save Durham's youth."
While the local guy with a workable solution based on a strong socio-economic analysis of the problem may be ignored, any out of town slickster with a henna tattoo of Bugs Bunny on his shoulder is given the key to the city.
Since the gang problem has been an issue in Durham and many southern cities for over the last decade, we must explore the many reasons why a college town bustin' at the seams with smart folks, can't seem to get a handle on the problem?
First, there has been little effort to understand the history of gangs in this country. Although most people assume that gangs started in South Central Los Angeles with the Bloods and the Crips, the truth is that gangs in American started when European immigrants organized themselves into protection societies. Later, some of these organizations became organized crime families. This is ,somewhat, similar to the origins of the modern urban street gangs, however, the Bloods and Crips did not come into national prominence until the mid to late 80's.
While poverty and lack of employment may have played a major part in the criminalization of gangs, many will agree that it was the drug trade that gave rise to violent gang activity. Some have alleged that 40 years ago heroin was purposely introduced into black neighborhoods, as well as the hippie counter culture in order to stifle activism; opening the door for the problems we are experiencing, today. Also, authors like Gary Webb, in his controversial book "Dark Alliance," traced the government's alleged role in the crack epidemic in Los Angeles during the mid 80's.
It must, also, be noted that the act of "fighting gangs" is, in and of itself, a cash cow. Many people are depending on the continuous cycle of gang violence to pay their mortgages and to send their children to college. One can only guess the money that goes towards paying "gang experts," sponsoring gang awareness seminars and maintaining the prison industrial complex.
While the role of pop culture in promoting gangsta-ism is often discussed at anti-violence workshops, most presentations only deal with surface issues that begin and end with placing the entire blame for gangs on Hip Hop music. Although such rappers as Snoop Dog (Crip) and the Game (Blood) should be held accountable for the role that they have played in the destruction of our communities, most folks are totally oblivious to the names of the rich business men who sign their paychecks. Although many people would recognize rapper, Lil Wayne (Blood affiliated), they wouldn't recognize Jimmy Iovine (Interscope, which distributed Death Row Records) or Sumner Redstone (Viacom, parent company of BET,MTV, VH1) if they bumped into them on the street.
Hollywood's role in glamorizing the gangsta lifestyle also must not be ignored. While movies like "Colors," " Boyz in the Hood" and "Menace II Society" may have sparked America's fascination with gangs, HBO's 1994 documentary , "Gang Wars: Bangin' in Little Rock" served as a major recruiting tool for gangs outside of Chicago and California.
The key to solving the gang problems is as multifaceted as the reasons for their existence. Contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all.
Although, gang membership is not limited by color nor class, the rationale for an African American or Latino child joining a gang as opposed to a white child may be ,vastly, different. There may, also, be different reasons for a kid from the 'hood gang bangin' than a kid from the 'burbs. Unfortunately, Durham has been slow to embrace the cultural educational solutions that have been effective in larger cities for fear that they may be seen as divisive. We must listen to those voices who can address the problem from a cultural perspective.
Also, the calls for more activities for Durham's young people are often drowned out by the traditional "tough on crime" rhetoric.
City officials must make funding youth activities more than just a slogan to get votes during election time.
Lastly, the city officials, educators and religious leaders must sponsor more town hall meetings to come up with workable solutions instead of the usual "An Idiot's Guide to Gangs" type format.
If we do not come up with new and innovative solutions to the problem, 10 years from now we'll still be jammin' to the same ol' song:
"In Durham they say we gang bang...."
Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation For more information contact (919) 972-8305
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Natural Born Killaz
Natural Born Killaz:
Hip Hop and the Gangsta Gene
Min. Paul Scott
"I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking
King of my jungle just a gangster stalking"
Colors- Ice T
Back in '94 Dr. Dre and Ice Cube did a video for "Natural Born Killaz" that gave the viewer a glimpse into the mind of a psychopath. While Hip Hop fans were bobbing their heads to the beat, little did they know that the homicidal rantings were mirroring scientific research.
Earlier this month, news reports surfaced that scientists are suggesting that gangsta-ism is not solely based on socio-eceonomic conditions but genetic abnormalities.
According to a study conducted at Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, "Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the "warrior gene," are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons."
http://www.fsu.edu/news/2009/06/05/warrior.gene/
I can just imagine the scientists chillin' in the lab with the Geto Boys' "Mind of a Lunatic" pumpin' over the intercom while they wrote their research papers.
The data for the report was gathered from the The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, that gathered the information from "a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year," according to the organization's website.
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth
And all this time we thought the fascination with gangsta-ism started when Snoop Dog first did the Crip Walk at the Source Awards.
Although, the linking of genetics with gang bangin' may be new, the efforts of white folks to try to use science to justify things such as racial superiority go back more than a century.
There are many who have used Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution as proof of the Caucasian's superiority over other races.
In his book "The Ice Man Inheritance," Michael Bradley argues that while Darwin's work may have been published too close to the end of slavery to have made an impact he writes ,"I have always considered it a sobering thought that had Darwin's "Origins of Species" been published a decade earlier, the US might still be afflicted with slavery today."
There have also been studies trying to link genetics with criminal behavior dating back decades. As far back as 1968 there was an article in Time Magazine, "Chromosomes and Crime," that discussed the issue of criminal behavior and genetic abnormalities.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841254,00.html
Harriet Washington, author of the book "Medical Apartheid" explores an earlier study to link XYY syndrome with criminal behavior. While she discounts the theory of the criminal gene, she writes that even if there is such a thing as a XYY chromosome indicator for criminal behavior it is "a white one; not a black one found more commonly in white men then blacks."
But we must be very clear, the current discussion of the warrior gene is not about what makes white men sell other races into slavery nor what makes some of them put on white sheets and terrorize black people, this study is about a gangsta culture that has been mostly attributed to black and Latino youth.
So we are not talking about scientific facts but a public perception and its link to popular culture and life in the hood.
It has already been discussed, at length, how violence and misogyny in Hip Hop may contribute to methods of social control such as the disproportionate incarceration of black and Latino males but when you throw genetics into the mix, you venture into the ugly world of eugenics.
As Washington writes in Medical Apartheid, "eugenicists promulgated the weeding out of undesirable elements by discouraging or preventing the birth of children with bad genetic profiles."
In a time when cities across the country are, desperately, trying to find ways to stop "gang violence," this could easily lead to calls for genocide for the common good of the community. Desperate people do desperate things.
But this may already be happening.
Could the easy access to firearms, the crack epidemic and the brainwashing of black youth by commercialized Hip Hop all be part of plot to remove undesirables from the planet?
History has recorded plots just as evil.
If there is such a thing as a "warrior gene", could not that gene have been present in those who joined "gangs" to fight against slavery and injustice from Nat Turner and Toussaint L'overture to Malcolm X and Huey P Newton? So, the study could be killing two birds with one stone.
We must realize that Foundations do not donate millions of dollars without rhyme or reason. They do it to supply information that will be used to develop public policy. These policy makers are not trying to analyze the minds of white men who tie black men to the back of pickup trucks and drag them down the back roads of Texas, they are trying to come to a scientific conclusion as to why "O Dog" blasted the Korean grocers in Menace II Society and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
If innocent "inner city" babies perish in the effort to stop gangs; so be it
Even as you read this there are those who are meeting to discover ways to get rid of gangsta fetuses before they become OG's.
Min. Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com
Hip Hop and the Gangsta Gene
Min. Paul Scott
"I am a nightmare walking, psychopath talking
King of my jungle just a gangster stalking"
Colors- Ice T
Back in '94 Dr. Dre and Ice Cube did a video for "Natural Born Killaz" that gave the viewer a glimpse into the mind of a psychopath. While Hip Hop fans were bobbing their heads to the beat, little did they know that the homicidal rantings were mirroring scientific research.
Earlier this month, news reports surfaced that scientists are suggesting that gangsta-ism is not solely based on socio-eceonomic conditions but genetic abnormalities.
According to a study conducted at Florida State University's College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, "Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the "warrior gene," are more likely not only to join gangs but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons."
http://www.fsu.edu/news/2009/06/05/warrior.gene/
I can just imagine the scientists chillin' in the lab with the Geto Boys' "Mind of a Lunatic" pumpin' over the intercom while they wrote their research papers.
The data for the report was gathered from the The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, that gathered the information from "a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year," according to the organization's website.
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth
And all this time we thought the fascination with gangsta-ism started when Snoop Dog first did the Crip Walk at the Source Awards.
Although, the linking of genetics with gang bangin' may be new, the efforts of white folks to try to use science to justify things such as racial superiority go back more than a century.
There are many who have used Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution as proof of the Caucasian's superiority over other races.
In his book "The Ice Man Inheritance," Michael Bradley argues that while Darwin's work may have been published too close to the end of slavery to have made an impact he writes ,"I have always considered it a sobering thought that had Darwin's "Origins of Species" been published a decade earlier, the US might still be afflicted with slavery today."
There have also been studies trying to link genetics with criminal behavior dating back decades. As far back as 1968 there was an article in Time Magazine, "Chromosomes and Crime," that discussed the issue of criminal behavior and genetic abnormalities.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841254,00.html
Harriet Washington, author of the book "Medical Apartheid" explores an earlier study to link XYY syndrome with criminal behavior. While she discounts the theory of the criminal gene, she writes that even if there is such a thing as a XYY chromosome indicator for criminal behavior it is "a white one; not a black one found more commonly in white men then blacks."
But we must be very clear, the current discussion of the warrior gene is not about what makes white men sell other races into slavery nor what makes some of them put on white sheets and terrorize black people, this study is about a gangsta culture that has been mostly attributed to black and Latino youth.
So we are not talking about scientific facts but a public perception and its link to popular culture and life in the hood.
It has already been discussed, at length, how violence and misogyny in Hip Hop may contribute to methods of social control such as the disproportionate incarceration of black and Latino males but when you throw genetics into the mix, you venture into the ugly world of eugenics.
As Washington writes in Medical Apartheid, "eugenicists promulgated the weeding out of undesirable elements by discouraging or preventing the birth of children with bad genetic profiles."
In a time when cities across the country are, desperately, trying to find ways to stop "gang violence," this could easily lead to calls for genocide for the common good of the community. Desperate people do desperate things.
But this may already be happening.
Could the easy access to firearms, the crack epidemic and the brainwashing of black youth by commercialized Hip Hop all be part of plot to remove undesirables from the planet?
History has recorded plots just as evil.
If there is such a thing as a "warrior gene", could not that gene have been present in those who joined "gangs" to fight against slavery and injustice from Nat Turner and Toussaint L'overture to Malcolm X and Huey P Newton? So, the study could be killing two birds with one stone.
We must realize that Foundations do not donate millions of dollars without rhyme or reason. They do it to supply information that will be used to develop public policy. These policy makers are not trying to analyze the minds of white men who tie black men to the back of pickup trucks and drag them down the back roads of Texas, they are trying to come to a scientific conclusion as to why "O Dog" blasted the Korean grocers in Menace II Society and how to prevent it from ever happening again.
If innocent "inner city" babies perish in the effort to stop gangs; so be it
Even as you read this there are those who are meeting to discover ways to get rid of gangsta fetuses before they become OG's.
Min. Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com
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