Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Yum
I think kids in general do those things because they don't have real culture, real hobbies, too much energy and are bored. And parents are too soft on kids too.
If the kid (whether rich or poor) is up at 5am running cross country/swim team/club wrestling etc, attending classes from 7:30-2:30pm, doing homework for honors level classes and then participating in say choir/orchestra/jazz ensemble from 4-5:30pm every day - his plate is already full and doesn't need to put crap on there that doesn't help him grow as a person or improve his academic standing.
Speaking of kids and firearms look at kids who grow up in the country!
They understand the power and responsbibility of carrying firearms. They don't do it because they feel the need to be powerful - they grow up hunting, seeing entry and exit wounds of different rounds on deer and fowl. They've got to protect land when dad's gone.
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Of course those kids have no culture. That's why they are always imitating someone else's. And its not just the bored or ADD kids that fit that bill. There are plenty of A students that participate in extracurricular activities that still imitate the dangerous or violent attitudes.
As far as country kids understanding the power and responsibility of firearms, look at Columbine. Those weren't urban kids. Their actions were all about feeling powerful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Yum
You're putting words in the mouths of alot of people on here.
I listen to quite a bit of rap music, Uke. But unlike some, I can appreciate it for its beat, creativity and mood that it creates and then go off and carry on a normal life without trying to imitate what I've heard.
To be honest, I am more impressed with a performer such as Wynton Marsalis, whom although is a superb jazz musician, has the expertise to cross over into the classical world, and play oh Flight of the Bumblebee in under 1:00 flawlessly. Wouldn't you say that takes talent?
Not to mention that when he performs, his public persona is polite, professional and positive - quite a bit different than his counterparts in the rap industry.
For trumpeteers, playing flight of the bumblebee in under 1:00 is the equivalent of a runner breaking a 5:00 mile......while juggling!
I can chose whom I want to admire - the media doesn't chose for me.  |
I've got to be honest with you Tom. I don't think I am.
Its fine in most minds to enjoy a good gangster flick. The characters are men that they admire. Gangsta rappers admire them as well and many have adopted names just like them. When Joe Pesci shoots, stabs or tortures a guy, its a classic scene. When Don Corleone has a horse head left in a bed, its a classic scene. When Al Capone distributes liquor despite prohibition and bloody gun battles ensue, its classic. When rappers sing about it, its somehow terribly wrong though. In some strange way, a rapper named Scarface rapping about cocaine is somehow more harmful to kids than Al Pacino dropping his head into a pile of it on his desk.
I like Wynton Marsalis too. Did you know that most of the great jazz musicians could play not only classical music but all kinds including country? Did you also know that jazz musicians had to endure very much the same scrutiny and criticism that rappers do today? And the jazz artists were polite and properly dressed. Why then do you think that they were judged, criticized and even shunned? The answer is obvious if you can be honest with yourself. You can like whoever you want to, Tom. That doesn't change what I've said or the fact that its the truth.
Many people here like to pretend that things have changed, but they haven't. Bigots and assholes had double standards back then, and they still have them today. Its how they keep their egos intact.