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Garry is a young black professional, Florida State and UNC Law grad, and attorney currently residing in Miami, FL.

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Commentary or Contempt?

August 20th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

 

191959362.jpgMy mother called me Friday afternoon outraged. The cartoon to the left had run in Friday’s Florida Times Union, the local paper in Jacksonville, FL (my hometown). She had to describe it at first, as I did not have the cartoon at hand. But in her description all I heard was stinging social commentary.

Point: Moms insisted the author does not matter. The use of that word was inappropriate even if it can be distinguished from Imus in that a black person is saying it to another black person.

Counterpoint: If Aaron McGruder had run this as a Boondocks strip, I don’t think there would have been a problem. Even here at YBP we’ve discussed the negative influences some of the words and images in rap and hip-hop perpetuate, albeit without using those words. The fact that “ho” was used between two black people is not lost on me. I think it highlights the dichotomous position we sometimes take that certain things are ok “with family,” but not otherwise. I also think it echoes the “stand by your gangsta”-mentality a video with a gaggle of scantily clad women swarming a “soldier” (who may or may not be describing his conquests, drug deals or violent beefs) invariably portrays.

Point: this paper and the city are notoriously conservative, at best, if not decidedly racist and pessimistic. Mom thought it was insensitive that the cartoon mirrored a recent shooting at a busy park (that, I don’t want to say ironically, but … ironically had no witnesses).

 

Counterpoint: I am not concerned with who holds up the mirror if the image is accurate. I thought it was timely and to the point. A local businessman purportedly asked the cartoon’s creator, Ed Gamble, to clarify his motivation. Apparently Gamble had heard his grandchild repeating vile language from a rap song and was livid; he should have been.

Point: Gamble and parents have the unenviable responsibility to monitor this material and their children’s access to it.

Counterpoint: But, I think we all have a responsibility not to extol and sponsor the material or the lifestyle it encourages. And, I am just as concerned about the 60% or more of consumers of hip-hop and rap who are white males 18-34 who also play a part in this as I am about the black community itself. We have an opportunity to truly lead by example. It is illogical to tell my little brother that x,y, or z music is not the best thing for him to listen to if, while in his presence, that is exactly what I am listening to.

So, I asked my mom to evaluate where her feelings were being directed. Was this more like when I saw the movie “The Crucible” and was angry and swore it was the worse movie ever made, only to realize later that it was the situation and the injustice depicted that angered me? Or, did she genuinely think that this was a racist or insensitive cartoon by a white man in a predominantly white city that routinely votes republican and seems to be fine with the glaring segregation and socio-economic inequalities? Apparently it was the latter. The NAACP also thought so and the editor later admitted “using the word ‘ho’ was bad judgment.“

 

I searched high and low for the YouTube video I saw of a darling little black girl asking where her money was and what my M-F’in problem was. So, as long as I hear ‘Lil Wayne at two in the afternoon on the radio or on MTV, and I see youngsters with gold teeth or pop-lockin’ in videos where rappers are talking about what they want to do in a club and the “space” they want to fill, I won’t care who holds the mirror up to us. I am outraged at a culture that thinks Fiddy’s gun shots wounds are ok or that turns a blind eye. For me the cartoon illuminates a problem and sad truths that are the result of many things, and not just rap music; but that makes the cartoon no less relevant. What do you think?

Viewing 5 Comments

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    I agree with you on this one. I think the fact that people are really wearing "stop snitching" shirts in high-crime areas and that rappers are on public airwaves demeaning women and promoting criminal behavior is MUCH worse than the fact that someone made a cartoon about it. If we don't like what we see in the mirror, we need to change the reality.
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    If you read the billboard in the back it shows the "spirit" in which this cartoon was drawn. I think it is a great cartoon. It just sucks that it is in a newspaper - something most of the cartoon's target audience doesn't read on a regular basis.
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    So many paradoxes in the community nowadays. Folks complain the po-lice aren't stopping the crime.. but those who know who's committing the crimes won't 'snitch.' We can say nigga, ho, bitch... but 'they' can't. (Why would we even want to demean each other with those words?!)
    It's time to sideline these 'artists' who are 'keepin' it real' -- they are indeed keeping it 'real.' They have created what's become the reality and it is self perpetuating. Glorify thug life and more young kids will think that's the gold standard to emulate. I say that whomever can hold up a mirror and stop the madness has my support.
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    Having grown up in a predominately white neighborhood, it always made me cringe when my white friends would ask me questions about what they perceived to be our behavior, especially when it came to the images from hip-hop videos. I hated the questions about the style of dress, ebonics, and the level of violence we can employ in situations where violence is not needed.
    I could only walk the fence for so long both condemning the behavior and pointing out the social inequalities that exist in America that help create the negative imagery. The conversations were enlightening because, nearly daily, I got a window into how we were being perceived and it was completely enraging seeing how television just created a monster in terms of what it was doing to how we are being portrayed.
    At some point you just have to draw a line and say what is right and what is wrong and then get on the right side of the line.
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    Don't get distracted. This cartoon is not about using the word "ho" - though it is an interesting social commentary in and of itself.

    The primary message is that the Black Urban community 1) tolerates crime, 2) aids & abeds criminals, 3) suborns criminal activity, destruction of property, and the taking of life, & 4) is not the least bit civically engaged in creating/promoting safe living environments. These 4 perceptions (and sad to admit realities) of Black urban neighborhoods in the US are some of the main reasons why the black middle and upper class run far, fast, and long from inner city neighborhoods. It also exacerbates the problem of classism within the African-American community.

    But back the the word "ho". I think it clearly is used as a pronoun to describe a powerless person. In this case, the powerless citizens of urban neighborhoods who do nothing to stop/prevent violent crime and who may also be the same type of people who think of the police/government/etc as the enemy. They are hos - being pimped my criminals to give up what they may have worked hard to obtain - a home, financial security, peace of mind, safety, innocence of children, etc. They have turned all of that over to the criminals - society pimps if you will.

    It reminds me of a quote "Injustice against anyone is an injustice against everyone." Many people turn their heads to violence and cruelty invoking the ever popular and cowardly phrase ït ain't me, so I'll shut up."

    As an evolutionary biologist, I can't help but see parallels. It's cultural evolution before our eyes. Tolerating crime against you neighbor sends the message to cruel criminals (or politicians/businessmen) that you can be taken advantage of, too. And that's exactly what happens. Over time, neighborhoods become less safe and people don't care to be vigilant.

    Not snitching isn't cute and it isn't a black value. Not snitching is a victim attitude and if people relinquish their power and possesions to those who haven't worked to create security for them selves, then maybe HO is an appropriate word to describe them.
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