The views and opinions expressed in the following feature editorial are those expressly of the writer of this piece and do not necessarily reflect those of HipHopDX.
“You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go ‘according to plan.'”
– The Joker
Let me just say this up-front, so that the hooked-on-phonics-worked-for-me-ass ninth graders who read my column won’t miss it due to a television-shortened attention span: What happened to Representative Gabrielle Giffords (and the others killed/injured in Arizona last month) was a tragedy. The situation that DJ Kool Herc is in is a tragedy. I wish them all the absolute best, and in no way wish to minimize their respective pain and suffering.
That said…
There is a great deal of you-know-what going on with respect to the Congresswoman’s shooting. I’m not referring to the handful of (really interesting) conspiracy theories floating around about the motive for the shooting or its architects. I’m talking about the media-induced preoccupation with Giffords. From an objective, critical thinking perspective, the hyper focus/concern/sympathy concerning what happened to her is hard to explain, to put it lightly. To put it heavily, it makes no sense.
Why so serious?
According to The Washington Post, on Saturday morning January 8th, 2011 just before 10 a.m., Giffords drove her luxury SUV from her midtown home to a Safeway supermarket just outside Tucson city limits. The grocery store is in an affluent suburb named Casas Adobes, complete with Spanish-tiled roofed houses, a Whole Foods market, gelato shop, an organic bakery and a dermatologist clinic. Minutes later, 20 people were shot, six of them dead. Among them was a federal judge and a nine-year old girl named Christina-Taylor Green, who was born on September 11th, 2001.
A compelling story, no question…with plenty of subplots. “National attention” immediately focused on Congresswoman Giffords who, apparently the primary target of the gunman, survived the attack despite being shot at “point blank” range. The Obamas held a national (televised) moment of silence for the victims. For weeks, television reporters swarmed Giffords hospital, home, congressional office, friends, and family covering every possible angle of her recovery. Doctors who have never even seen (much less treated) her were interviewed and asked for their expert opinion on her condition and prognosis.
Why so serious?
You know what got lost in all of the focus on Giffords? The fact that in this country people get shot and killed everyday. Consider the following statistics reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 20071:
- There were 18,361 homicides in the U.S. That’s more than 2 dead people every single hour.
- Homicide ranked 15th on the cause of death list.
- 6.1 out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. population died in a homicide.
Granted, I don’t watch a lot of television. But the little that I did see regarding the Arizona shooting was all about Americans “coming together” and “prayer” as the appropriate response to this tragedy, which side of the aisle to blame, and, of course, gun control. President Obama’s statement was reflective:
“What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other, so at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers,” he said. “We are going to get to the bottom of this and we’re going to get through this.“
GTFOHWTBS.
Where’s all the “coming together” and “support” for the other 18,355 homicide victims who died in the past year? What makes the Arizona victims so special? Gabby Giffords has gotten more national media attention and public sympathy than Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Abner Louima, and Aiyana Jones. Combined.
And she lived. WHY SO SERIOUS?
There seems to be a bit of a bias when it comes to valuing life in America. Some people’s lives are clearly more important than others. This (thanks for asking) is extremely problematic and one of the roots of the same gnarly tree of liberty and justice-for-all that my ancestors hung from.
The unspoken rule when it comes to calculating how important an individual’s life is in our society goes like this: Those who contribute to the mythical American Dream are valued in proportion to their contributions. These include soldiers, businessmen, teachers, preachers, students, community “leaders,” pop culture entertainers, married couples, blue-collar workers, doctors and “humanitarians.” Let’s call these folks “heroes”. Those individuals who do not contribute to the mythical American Dream are not valued at all. These include protestors, organizers, question-askers, single-parents, the unemployed, the homeless, handicapped, and those on welfare. In our world, these folks are the “villains.”
Hip Hop reflects the exact same type of thinking, but applied with a twist. Hip Hop doesn’t just celebrate or embrace the winners. Hip Hop reveres those individuals who used to be losers, but somehow crossed-over to the winners’ side. Don’t believe me? Try this: Close your eyes and visualize the first rapper that comes to mind. (Don’t tell me who it is yet). Okay, now I want you to visualize what that rapper does (or would do) if they weren’t a rapper. In other words, I’d like you to try to imagine what that person’s role or function in society would be if they were not in the music industry.
(I’ll wait.)
Okay, got it? I’ll bet you he or she has some version of a rags-to-riches story. Either he was a drug-dealing hustler-turned-millionaire or a contestant on a recent season of America’s Next Top Rapper. He either goes hard in the muthafuckin’ paint or else everybody knows he’s a muthafuckin monster. And I’ll bet you something else: you have no earthly idea what that person does or did outside of rap (other than one of the aforementioned muthafuckin occupations). Hip Hop never was about the streets. Hip Hop is about getting out of the streets. By the way, this is why Hip Hop has such a cushy seat in higher education these days. It’s movin on up…all part of a plan.
The reason the rapper you imagined fits the bill is because they all (to some degree) fit the bill. Seems like that’s all Rap is about these days, fitting the bill. Have you ever wondered why most of the rappers you know are wildly successful thanks to their hard work, or genius, or skills, or whatever, but most of the hard working, brilliant, talented people you know in real life are struggling? Don’t let the smooth taste fool you: The same mythical American dream that encourages us to value some lives over others is present in Hip Hop too.
In 2008 I spoke at an event at Winston-Salem State University which featured DJ Kool Herc. Thanks to some really great organizing (shout out to Chelli) the event was totally free to the public and extremely well-attended. After Herc performed, however, I was baffled to see him walk to the back of the auditorium and proceed to sell DJ Kool Herc paraphernalia (CDs, t-shirts, etc) from a make-shift booth.
Trust me when I say that few experiences (personal or professional) have stupefied me more than seeing the man most folks credit with being the original purveyor of Hip Hop music and culture nickel-and-dime it, at a Hip Hop event no less. DJ Kool Herc (and the rest of the founders) deserve 50 times more respect and admiration than subsequent generations of hip hopers give them. Herc’s creative contributions in particular go largely un-acknowledged, as thousands of deejays and tens of thousands of emcees profit off of his genius and years of dedication to his craft. Meanwhile, of course, the Hip Hop scholars at the event collected hefty honoraria for their impressive Hip Hop scholarly-ness.
Fast-forward to 2011, and reports abound that Herc is in financial trouble and needs help paying medical bills. There was a ferocious public outcry (at least on Twitter) of “Support Kool Herc” sentiment. I even saw one effort to get successful rappers to pawn their chains and send the money to him. DJ Tony Touch recently tweeted that he planned to take up a collection to help pay for Herc’s medical bills at a Tony Toca event. Through his blog, Hip Hop icon DJ Premier was quoted as saying the following regarding the struggling pioneer:
“Since he’s very sick and has no insurance, uses a metro card to get around, needs to pay his bills so he can get out of the hospital, it’s ill… If you don’t know about it, now you know about it. …We spoke today, and he needs some help to pay his bills for the hospital because he can’t hold it down. And being that he is the man who set this whole culture off, ya’ll should be wanting to do it any type of way that you can. People know how to reach us.”
I completely understand and applaud DJ Premier’s concern and efforts to do something about this. But let’s be honest: none-a-yall would be do-gooders were the least bit concerned about this brother’s finances in the last say, I don’t know… 30 years. Aside from a few fleeting bars by a handful of dedicated rappers (most notably in my book, Black Thought) Hip Hop ain’t did shit for DJ Kool Herc. So excuse me if I’m not moved that all-of-a-sudden the general public wants to be caring and compassionate.
Why so serious?
Instead, I’m struck by how much traction this story is getting, given the fact that there are literally millions of people who are very sick and have no health insurance. Again, for those who like statistics, (this time from the U.S. Census Bureau2):
- The poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3%, up from 13.2% in 2008. This is the highest rate since 1994.
- Nearly 51 million people (17% of Americans) were without health insurance during the entire year.
- Additionally, the number of people with health insurance decreased for the first time since the Census began tracking insurance coverage.
What about all the nameless, faceless masses of downtrodden, marginalized men, women and children who suffer and die every single day because of poverty-induced sicknesses? Where’s all of the talk of taking up collections for them?
Why so serious?
Oops, almost forgot: They didn’t “start a culture.” They were born villains, and they made the unfortunate decision to stay villains. They are unimportant and deserving of their plight in life… after all, they could change things if they only put their minds to it…right?
Such a self-hate perspective is precisely what the real bad-guys want you think. They continually parade situations like Herc’s and Giffords’ in front of us to encourage us to focus on and blame the poor, undeserving, seemingly random victims of the machine; rather than identify the machine as the problem. People, en masse, are struggling. It is not worse when someone famous is struggling too.
Get Your Mind Right: DJ Kool Herc is not more important than you are because he is a Hip Hop legend. Gabbie Giffords’ life is not more valuable than yours because she is a congresswoman. The perspective that allows us to mourn and care for some members of society while ignoring and castigating others is as insidious as it is hypocritical.
Brian Carey Sims, Ph. D is a North Carolina-based author, journalist, lecturer and assistant professor at North Carolina A&T University. He is also executive director of the Hip Hop Journalists Association (HHJA). He has contributed to The Journal of Pan African Studies, Journal of Black Psychology and HipHopDX.com. Visit his website here. Twitter: @bsimsphd
1 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm” http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm
2 http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf” http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf
3 http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/kool-herc-is-in-pain-and-using-it-to-put-focus-on-insurance/” http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/kool-herc-is-in-pain-and-using-it-to-put-focus-on-insurance/
All in all a nice read. But as a professor of black psychology (on a side note: -black- psychology?!) I assume you do know that most people have a hard time relating emotions to abstractions; i.e. poverty stats and homicide rates.
Hence your focus seems indirectly to be tied to the concept of celebrity as such, since the public outcries and attention is just about the bad. Celeb weddings are also celebrated by people completely unrelated to the ones getting married.
This is the second article I’ve read, that gives off the impression (imo) that we shouldn’t help Kool Herc. If you love the culture of Hip-Hop and are able to, why not? If you don’t care, don’t have money, don’t want to, or whatever the case is…so be it. Having the incident spread through the discussion of it will at least get it to somebody who does care or is able to donate.
Yes, they are celebrities. That doesn’t mean that public moniker excludes them from being human.
All in all, thank you for at least continuing to make it a topic of discussion.
It just came off slightly insensitive to their personal tragedies, even though I know that was not your aim.
DX, why are you still working with this douchebag? His points are as ridiculous sometimes as they are hate-filled. Why would anyone care about Herc’s finances until recently?! Nobody knew he was broke! His closed eye rapper visulization test knocked a couple IQ points out of my head that I can never get back. Also, until he does begin watching more tv, maybe he should stop acting like a network coverage expert. Nobody’s more important than anyone else, but being a so called “journalist”, he should know that doing a story on one person to highlight a larger problem is much more effective than giving emotionless stats about that problem.
Simply caring about one person’s plight doesn’t mean you don’t care about everyone elses. I consider myself an animal lover, does that mean I’m a person hater? Fuck no, it just means that’s one of the things I’m passionate about. There’s toooooooo many problems in this world for every single person to dedicate all of their attention to, equally, all of the time. You go with what moves YOU. When everyone does that, all the bases will be covered.
One final thing “Dr.” (GTFOHWTBS) Sims is forgetting: some news stories are just more intriguing than others, just like fictional stories. With so much network competition, news has to be as entertaining as it is informative. Deal with it, Brian.
My last “fuck you” to db Sims is for assuming that because Giffords survived, everythings gravy. She has severe brain damage, asshole. Time will only tell how much of it is permanent.
This guys about as much of a “Dr.” as Dr. Dre is a doctor.
he didnt say Gifford was fine and gonna live a healthy productive life dummy. he was saying that there was all this coverage on her when 6 people were KILLED not wounded. when there are 18000 people killed each year it doesnt matter who it is that survives even if they now have problems they still have a chance, granted a small one, to recover and live life. you cant fuckin give a dead person any chance, asshole.
Hm…This guy just annoys the fuck out of me for some reason. I get some of his points. But to me he sounds like a paranoid prick who is trying to fight everyone but himself. Next thing you know he’s gonna say he won’t (or didn’t) cry for his mother. What makes us mourn for other people, rather than the masses are a few factors:
1) We knew them, had a relationship with them.
2) It’s gonna sound cheesy but Kurt Vonnegut said it; Soul. Humans have this awareness called soul. WE’re aware we lost someone invloved in our life. People out there, aren’t involved with me.
Don’t get me wrong, if I could I’d help out everybody, but reality is, I can’t. Do what you can, and do it the best you can. That’s that.
He sounds almost like an adaption of Hitler.
Really? Ad Hitlerum already?
He made valid points! You would have to be a monster not to care about Giffords or Herc but im from the hood! Like i told my brother when i kept seeing giffords on the tube NI%&** GET KILLED EVERYDAY SON! We gotta fix this genocide!
first of all shout out to doing that event at WSSU wish I couldve made it. The whole problem is ratings, they should pass some kind of law where news shows arent allowed to measure ratings. It only reads if it bleeds, but only if it happens to cute young white women or famous people. Thats why you should make horrible sell out rap music, so that people will remember you for more than 5 seconds after you die.
I agree with this piece 100%, i think some of yall are missing the whole point of this article, he never said that we shouldn’t feel bad for the congresswoman, nor did he say we shouldnt want to help Kool Herc if thats what you want to do then do it. But i do think that certain people problems get put on a pedestal or get more shine than they should in this society. On the Herc situation EVERYBODY in the country got health care problems. If i found out i needed heart surgery to live and needed help paying for it, how many ppl you know would volunteer to help or openly campaign on my behalf. Sure they’d feel bad but as far as most ppl are concern sh*t happens. And as far as the congresswoman thing go she didnt even die, how many ppl you know who were innocent got killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was no national out cry for them, because sh*t happens, its unfortunate and sad but thats the america we live in. I dont blame obama for having the national moment of silence because a federal judge did die and he had politics to deal with that can make you look like the bad guy if you dont do exactly what your opponents want you to do. Basically all im saying is no ones life or their financial problems are any lil bit more substantial or important or more valuable than mine or yours. And finally, sh*t happens…
I agree with Professor Sims, but think that his message got lost in his sarcasm, anger, and condescending tone. It’s easy to point fingers at others for their lack of action, but you must also look at your own. Professor Sims, when you saw Kool Herc selling t-shirts, did you go up to him and buy one? Did you say to him, “Hey I don’t like watching you nickel-and-dime it, so here’s a hundred bucks, take some days off”? Or did you say to yourself, “I’m going to blog about this!” Again, it’s easy to sit on a pedestal and criticize others without reflecting on your own faults.
I agree, the lives of Congresswoman Giffords and Kool Herc are no more valuable than mine. That should be emphasized to all children, particularly black children, who perceive themselves to be less than others. BUT the Giffords shooting and Kool Herc’s medical situation give us, and YOU Professor Sims, the platform to even talk about these things. It reminds us that these issues are REAL in a way that little else can. No one would have even clicked on this post if it hadn’t featured “Giffords” and “Kool Herc” in the headline.
Wow, this is hands down the GREATEST post hip-hop dx has ever had up.. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE PLEASE READ THIS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS WORLD. STOP BEING SO IGNORANT! WAKE UP PEOPLE PLEASS WAKE UP TO WHAT IS GOING ON!!! WE NEED TO RISE UPP!!!!
wow… no one gives a fuck about the poor? and everyone wants to help out famous people? thanks for making an article about something 99% of the population already know, real helpful
Your right, He should know to keep quiet until it… it continues to stay the same…. your sarcastic is also real helpful. It’s fascinating that you could read this piece and then feel compelled to trash it. You are a part of the blind 99%.
I respect your opinion but I think the only reason why they’re deemed as somewhat martyrs is the relation people have. Gifford put in the public eye for everyone to see reached out to everyone. Combine that with survival and the fact that America loves a winner, and thats how she became of such importance. I, personally can’t say she’s a hero. She survived a bullet. A hero are the docs saving her. A hero was the dudes that tackled him.
Same with Kool Herc. But instead of America, it’s with Hip Hop Culture and those that embrace it and understand it. You can’t tell his story to some randoh off the street because Kool Herc hasn’t affected them. But anyone that is involved with Hip Hop Culture knows of Kool Herc and realized what he’s done for it’s society.
They’re just public figures representing their culture. At the same time, this can reach those that it had zero affect with. Like the medicare situatiion with Obama. If Kool Herc comes out and explains in simple terms or to those that dont understand it, it could start a change. That’s all this is. If you lead them to the source then they’ll go there. Thats why all these politicians are bitching about gun laws in Arizona all of sudden. Why now? Cause someone brought a gun to a meet and greet. It’s all a matter of how you bring it to people’s attention.
I also never intended this to be this long.
typical bullshit from this a-hole. I honestly dont even know why I read this shit or even go tho this joke of a hiphop site anymore.
are u fuckin kidding me you spoiled mother fucker? its obvious your ass hasnt worked for shit in your measly little life. fuckin rich faggot.
although i understand this , i beg to understad, were is the individuals responsbilty in this situation. i am gratefully for all that he has done being a pioneer, but he is and was a entertainer and maybe at fault for never setting things up for himself to have some finicial security. also present day hip hoppers and music lables are they willing to set aside funds to help these guys. we have rappers with million dollar cars, so a 40 to 50 k medicial bill should be nothing. so to turn this on to society and speak of it as a example of the ills is wrong. blame should be spread around and because we have supported him and others through the music we have bought, the fact we listen to radio and support advertising, we have done things. people in a captilistic society have a certain level of responsibilty of their own. i love the brother, pray for good helath.i will not take the blame or believe society is the blame for his economic situation.
yes people do get murdered everyday, but not everyday 20 people get shot by the same maniac including a 9 year old girl (in the head point blank) and a congresswomen in a parking lot at a public event and not everyday does a representative of our government get shot in the face point blank and be able to live to tell the story, its not that their life is more important than yours its in the news because a mass murder happened in front of hundreds of people, stop having the same america hates me attitude and realize that people do care about the regular poor people, you spoke of welfare well our country spends over 100 billion dollars a year on the welfare program, healthcare is also in the process of being fixed (both republicans and democrats agree it needs to be improved immensely), the government also has programs set up to help single parents with lower income. So don’t tell me that no one cares. the only thing that no one cares about is your ignorant one sided opinions.
We all need to try and make a difference in a good day.
on another note
a friend who was hit by a drunk driver and is now in a coma. Before I say anything else I do ask that you pray for her recovery.
I was recently interviewed by a west coast magazine, and just had the interview published to the mag site. If I get enough FB likes my interview will go into the actual magazine. The link is http://wwsmag.com/updates/bryant-c-caught-up-20-10/
I just ask that you take a look, and press like for me. I made it an honest interview so I’m sure that you will like it.
http://wwsmag.com/updates/bryant-c-caught-up-20-10/
Also feel free to view my youtube link @ http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bryantc1000&aq=f
You’re beyond a douchebag for trying to exploit your friends situation…something tells me you made up the coma story anyways in an effort to garner some sympathy. Another question, dickhead? How can we pray for your friend if we DON’T KNOW HER FUCKING NAME?!
”
What about all the nameless, faceless masses of downtrodden, marginalized men, women and children who suffer and die every single day because of poverty-induced sicknesses? Where’s all of the talk of taking up collections for them?”
How the hell has your ignorant ass never heard of a charity?
And certain people ARE more important than others. Ever since we were Homo habilis and before, we’ve given more weight to people who unite others and have an impact on many people.
I hear what the author of this article is saying, but I strongly disagree with his main points. I’ve got stuff to say on both Herc and Giffords
ON GABBY GIFFORDS:
There are two reasons which combine to explain why this shooting got so much attention:
1) 6 people were killed and 14 were injured. This was a very big incident and we don’t experience tragedies of this magnitude very often. Yes, it does happen sometimes, but not very often (you don’t usually see so many people attacked at once).
2) A member of our government was apparently the main target of this attack. The fact that someone specifically attempted to kill an elected representative has huge implications for the state of our democracy, and therefore it should be concerning to the average citizen (even to those of us who think that our government has many unfair social policies regarding poverty, crime, etc. I’ll come back to this point).
Gabby Giffords is no more of a hero and/or victim (depending on how you look at it) than anyone else who is shot. There is nothing that makes her life more special or valuable than that of a random person off the street who, for example, is shot while getting mugged. The reason people care so much about this incident is because the US is not used to its elected officials being attacked like this, especially with so many casualties, and because an attack on an elected representative who is out there meeting with anyone who wants to come and express their opinions is an attack on democracy.
then I think that you are vastly underestimating the importance of democracy. Even if you are not happy with our government as it is right now, you gotta understand that democracy itself (keep in mind I am specifically talking about DEMOCRACY, not capitalism or any other aspects of our society) is something we should all hold dear and want to protect, because democracy (when it is working at its best) is what enables our society to improve. If we look at the example civil rights, obviously there is no politician who had anywhere near as much of an impact on the issue as Martin Luther King did. He shaped the will of the people and gave it legitimacy. But if America wasn’t a democracy, he probably wouldn’t have had anywhere near as much of an impact and minorities would be much worse off than they are now. Because America is a democracy, the will of the people forced the government to change its policies. Our society still has A LOT of room for improvement in that area, but democracy is what is going to allow us to fix it.
ON DJ KOOL HERC:
Why would a fan of hip hop care more about the ailing health of DJ Kool Herc than the ailing health of some random person (lets call him “Dave”) they’ve never heard of (even if Dave is a great person)? Because the number of people who would be willing to spend money to help save Dave’s life (basically, his friends and family, and perhaps even his community) is less than the number of people who would be willing to do the same for Kool Herc (hip hop fans who think that his continued presence would be good for hip hop). This certainly doesn’t mean that Kool Herc’s life is worth more than Dave’s, just that more people would be directly affected (negatively) by Herc’s death than Dave’s death, and therefore more people would have the motivation to want to prevent it.
>>
The longer DJ Kool Herc lives, the longer he can contribute his expert perspective to the evolving nature of hip hop (and since his mind is partially responsible for hip hop’s birth, I think many fans of hip hop would say that this would be a good thing). If Tupac and/or Biggie, instead of getting shot, got very very sick and were in a situation similar to Kool Herc’s, wouldn’t you want to go back in time and give some money to help them afford life-saving surgery? If either of them were still around, they would have had the chance to continue working with / teaching / influencing newer artists, and maybe those artists would be making better music that hip hop fans would enjoy more (because of what they learned from Tupac / Biggie). You might say, “in the past 5 years, even though Kool Herc has been alive, not many people have been paying attention to him; it wouldn’t make a difference to hip hop if he lived or died right now because he no longer has any influence”. I would agree with the first half of that statement, but I think the recent attention he has been getting due to his sickness indicates that a lot people are just starting to realize/remember how important he is to the movement. I think it is terrible that it took a life-or-death situation for people to pay attention to him (I am very embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t heard of him until recently), but while it’s very sad that Kool Herc didn’t get the attention he deserved before this incident, what is important is that he is starting to get it now.
SORRY FOR THE REPOST: some stuff got cut out so I’m gonna post this in two parts
I hear what the author of this article is saying, but I strongly disagree with his main points. I’ve got stuff to say on both Herc and Giffords
ON GABBY GIFFORDS:
There are two reasons which combine to explain why this shooting got so much attention:
1) 6 people were killed and 14 were injured. This was a very big incident and we don’t experience tragedies of this magnitude very often. Yes, it does happen sometimes, but not very often (you don’t usually see so many people attacked at once).
2) A member of our government was apparently the main target of this attack. The fact that someone specifically attempted to kill an elected representative has huge implications for the state of our democracy, and therefore it should be concerning to the average citizen (even to those of us who think that our government has many unfair social policies regarding poverty, crime, etc. I’ll come back to this point).
Gabby Giffords is no more of a hero and/or victim (depending on how you look at it) than anyone else who is shot. There is nothing that makes her life more special or valuable than that of a random person off the street who, for example, is shot while getting mugged. The reason people care so much about this incident is because the US is not used to its elected officials being attacked like this, especially with so many casualties, and because an attack on an elected representative who is out there meeting with anyone who wants to come and express their opinions is an attack on democracy.
If you think that the upper class or the so-called “heroes of the mythical American dream” are the only ones who should be worried by this attack on our government
then I think that you are vastly underestimating the importance of democracy. Even if you are not happy with our government as it is right now, you gotta understand that democracy itself (keep in mind I am specifically talking about DEMOCRACY, not capitalism or any other aspects of our society) is something we should all hold dear and want to protect, because democracy (when it is working at its best) is what enables our society to improve. If we look at the example civil rights, obviously there is no politician who had anywhere near as much of an impact on the issue as Martin Luther King did. He shaped the will of the people and gave it legitimacy. But if America wasn’t a democracy, he probably wouldn’t have had anywhere near as much of an impact and minorities would be much worse off than they are now. Because America is a democracy, the will of the people forced the government to change its policies. Our society still has A LOT of room for improvement in that area, but democracy is what is going to allow us to fix it.
SORRY FOR THE REPOST: some stuff got cut out so I’m gonna post this in two parts
I hear what the author of this article is saying, but I strongly disagree with his main points. I’ve got stuff to say on both Herc and Giffords
ON DJ KOOL HERC:
Why would a fan of hip hop care more about the ailing health of DJ Kool Herc than the ailing health of some random person (lets call him “Dave”) they’ve never heard of (even if Dave is a great person)? Because the number of people who would be willing to spend money to help save Dave’s life (basically, his friends and family, and perhaps even his community) is less than the number of people who would be willing to do the same for Kool Herc (hip hop fans who think that his continued presence would be good for hip hop). This certainly doesn’t mean that Kool Herc’s life is worth more than Dave’s, just that more people would be directly affected (negatively) by Herc’s death than Dave’s death, and therefore more people would have the motivation to want to prevent it.
If you think there is something wrong with caring more about the life of someone who directly affects you than the life of someone who you don’t know:
then I challenge you to think about what you would do if you had just enough money to pay for one life-saving surgery, and had to choose between spending it on your mom or on someone you don’t know. Even if you think that example is too extreme to compare to DJ Kool Herc and his supporters – you probably care more about your mom than most hip hop fans care about Kool Herc – the same principle still applies (the only difference is that you would probably be willing to spend more money on your mom than the average hip hop fan would be willing to spend on Herc). What I’m saying is that you have no right to be angry at anyone who cares about saving the life of Herc or any other specific individual; if you want to blame someone for for the plight of the average “Dave”, who is very sick and unable to pay for treatment but ISN’T fortunate to have an entire movement of people who care about his life (specifically his), you should direct your anger towards the people responsible for our health care system, because THAT is what is supposed to help save the lives of the people who don’t have anyone to turn to.
If you disagree about why hip hop fans would (or at least should) feel that they would be directly affected by DJ Kool Herc’s death and therefore be willing to take action to prevent it:
The longer DJ Kool Herc lives, the longer he can contribute his expert perspective to the evolving nature of hip hop (and since his mind is partially responsible for hip hop’s birth, I think many fans of hip hop would say that this would be a good thing). If Tupac and/or Biggie, instead of getting shot, got very very sick and were in a situation similar to Kool Herc’s, wouldn’t you want to go back in time and give some money to help them afford life-saving surgery? If either of them were still around, they would have had the chance to continue working with / teaching / influencing newer artists, and maybe those artists would be making better music that hip hop fans would enjoy more (because of what they learned from Tupac / Biggie). You might say, “in the past 5 years, even though Kool Herc has been alive, not many people have been paying attention to him; it wouldn’t make a difference to hip hop if he lived or died right now because he no longer has any influence”. I would agree with the first half of that statement, but I think the recent attention he has been getting due to his sickness indicates that a lot people are just starting to realize/remember how important he is to the movement. I think it is terrible that it took a life-or-death situation for people to pay attention to him (I am very embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t heard of him until recently), but while it’s very sad that Kool Herc didn’t get the attention he deserved before this incident, what is important is that he is starting to get it now.
Dr. Sims makes a valid point in this article. We put celebrities and wealthy people on a pedastal. The shooting in Arizona was absolutely horrific and the families of the victims are in my prayers. However, people are murdered everyday. Gifford is in the public eye but does that make her life more valuable than yours or mine? It’s terrible that a 9 year old was killed senselessly in this event. Last year a Detroit police officer shot and killed a sleeping 7 year old. This event barely garnered any attention. We need to value ALL human life.
I hope the writer takes time to actually read what the people he writes to have to say about his views…
I guess sir, you’re expressing your opinion… We all do, but because you got a Phd, your opinion matters more than ours do… See, it’s the same principle. The people who achieve more attract more attention, whether in good things or bad…
I understand what you’re aiming at, especially coming from the Congo, where a nobody dies everyday from a gunshot, disease, or hunger…
However, as was said by Napoleon in Animal Farm, ‘We are all equal, but some of us are more equal than others’… This is the reality of life… So don’t try to rationalize reality because it is irrational… Please sir, ‘apply the education’ that came with your PhD… Not my words, Malcom X.
I agree with what was said…simply put I always bugged out when an individual who is seen as a contributor to society is faced with an unfortunate circumstance that its plastered all over for one to see and hear. The media plays a vital role in conditioning and reinforcing that the upper crust is way more important. Young people are killed everyday whether gun violence, car accidents etc. but you rarely hear about it. Why? because thats not a problem for the upper crust to be concerned about. I’m a social worker and expirience daily that there is more emphasis on the well being of the wealthy and more prosperous. Many think that Brian Sims is saying to disregard the congresswoman and Herc, but he isn’t. He is simply pointing out the disregard for the individuals who are not seen as the productive ones in society. It is tragic about the congress woman and Herc…Its also tragic for the young individual who was murdered in Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx or anywhere. It has nothing to do with race and or ethnicity, its about class and treating one in a fair manner. However this type of dialogue is what gets the ball rolling in the right direction. Lets be real…no one reading these comments or posting the comments would be treated in the same manner as Herc and the congresswoman. Sorry to break it to you guys…but we are the individuals who are seen as not contributing to the mythical American Dream.
Very good point.
The American Dream is not a myth.
An attack on a congresswoman or a President IS actually more important than the average person getting gunned down. An attack on such people is not an attack on just an ordinary individual, but certain individuals we have empowered in our Republic to represent us in government. The attack on the congresswoman was not just an attack on her, it was attack on the system. These people are important to our system. In many countries in the world, including in our neighbor Mexico, they are killing government officials, and judges, and police chiefs, so if anybody wants to live in a nation where people do not value their Republic and the people who hold it together, they can just move there. If the American Dream is a myth, than why do people immigrate here? Do you know any immigrants that lived in say Bangladesh or Jamaica or Africa? Because I do. Tell them the American Dream is a myth and they will look at you strange.
People value Herc and other celebrities lives more than the individual also. It has nothing to do with some Marxist struggle between upper and lower classes. If a grown man somewhere gets shot down, people feel sympathetic. But people feel more sympathetic when say a little girl gets shot down. And even more so, people hold more value to the lives of their close friends and family, than others in society. This has nothing to do with class warfare, it has to do with people and the relationships they value. The celebrity who maybe tragically died has usually given something to society that people value and people feel that they have a relationship with that person. For example, the media at large was pretty unsympathetic to the death of Tupac Shakur. That is because those people were not part of the younger generation who were touched by the man’s music. For many of us the death of Tupac was very important, like the death of a family member, because that man had given something valuable to us. We felt like we knew him personally. That is why we value celebrities more than the lives of strangers.
Its actually as simple as that, but liberals want to paint a picture of this oppresive rich elite that is constantly waging war on us down trodden have not average joes. This feeds more into the entitlement ideology. “If Person X dies why is it a bigger deal than if I die? That’s unfair. Everyones lives should have EQUAL value.” The answer is if you establish a relationship with a person, that person will value you more than other people, because as human beings we value our family and friends more than strangers.
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery” – Winston Churchill
The capitalist will tell you the cold hard truth: in capitalism you have the opportunity to become wildly successful, but you also have the ability through bad luck or chance or maybe personal flaws to become a failure. Or anywhere in between those two extremes. It’s not a utopia, but it is reality and it’s actually not too bad. It’s not always pretty, but it’s the most successful economic system in the history of mankind, and I think most people believe it to be the most fair. Ask yourself the following question: The good Professor said the American Dream is a myth, but then how is that true when he just named a handful of dudes that got rich from making rap music? That IS the American Dream. It is not called the American Guarantee. It is called the American Dream. It is different for everyone, some will become super wealthy, some will just be happy with living in decent comfortable conditions, but it is POSSIBLE for everyone and there are millions of REAL life examples of people who have obtained it, and there are also REAL life examples of people who squander their lives.
The capitalist tells you how it is and gives us hope, however the socialist (like the Professor) will twist the truth and spread hopelessness. They will paint you horrible pictures of the state of the world, and then paint a utopia of how great it could be if we only just did things the socialist way: “This is how GREAT the world would be, if only the government would take the money from the evil rich people and give it to the hard working masses!!”. They paint pessimistic pictures about how the masses today and throughout history are always struggling and dying and unhappy, generally very exaggerated. However look at every country where socialism is tried, and it has FAILED on a large scale (whole nations) and on a small scale (progressive government programs like Social Security, Medicare, and various nations’ government run health care systems are FLAT BROKE). The failure of socialism stems from this question: “If you worked at your job, and didn’t get paid for your work, would you continue working there?” “If you ran a candy shop and you bought $1,000 worth of candy with the intention of selling it in your store, would you just give it away for free?â€. I don’t know if the Professor knows this, but they tried making people work for free in America before, it was called slavery. The socialists want people to work, and then the government to take the money that they worked for, and leave them with only “what they need” kind of like a sharecropper. And “what you need” is decided by some unelected government bureaucrat.
Although capitalism is truly fair, the socialist spreads an ideology of entitlement and envy and hopelessness. They like to depict the capitalist system as “unfair” and a “rigged gameâ€.
“Why does person X have money, but person Y does not? That’s unfair. Why is person X rich and person Y poor? That’s unfair.” Sometimes people do not want to hear the answers to these questions Person X maybe didn’t work hard, but their parents did. If Person X was your son/daughter, does that give the government the right to take their money? What if Person X is Lil Wayne’s son or daughter? That man works hard and is providing entertainment that is in high demand right now, and he and his family deserves the fruit of his labor.
Maybe Person X worked really hard and put their neck on the line and got a loan to start a business and succeeded. Person Y maybe did the same thing and is a hard working person but the business plan just failed, or maybe Person Y just got laid off from their job, and they just had bad luck. Shit happens. When bad shit happens, is it the government’s responsibility to come over like your Mommy and let you cry on their shoulder and give you money to get you back on your feet and make everything okay?
Or maybe Person Y is a lazy fuck who watches Maury all day, and puts a job app in once every month, and blames the world for not having money while he puts every dollar he comes across into buying new $60 Playstation 3 games. Maybe Person Y spread her legs for a couple of unworthy men and had a couple kids she couldn’t afford with no husband to help her out. Are people like this entitled to get free food, free healthcare, free house, straight from YOUR paycheck? And maybe throw in a free car because it’s just really “unfair” that some people have cars and some people don’t? Well the answer is they are not entitled to it, but Americans are the most generous people in the world, and we give more money and resources to our churches, our communities, and our charities than any other people on planet Earth, and we give people things they need even if they didn’t work for it. Well actually recent polls shows that mostly us conservatives give to their communities, because liberals just tend to bitch and moan about how “the government†(aka somebody besides “meâ€) should do it, and never lift a finger to help their community out.
I agree that, at least on a societal level, human life certainly isn’t valued equally. But I would argue that it’s not problematic, nor does it have anything to do with societal injustice. It’s just basic human nature, and any argument which suggests people on a large scale should not act according to basic human nature is inherently flawed. There is no society in the history of the world, no matter how equal it tried to be, in which certain people weren’t far more well-known and important than others.
Sims takes issue with the fact that Giffords and Kool Herc receive more national attention for their problems then others do. What I want to know is, what would he prefer? Should CNN just have running text at the bottom of the screen listing everyone who died or was injured that day, with Giffords just a name with everyone else? Or just pick a name out of a hat and do a story on that person? Should the nation not even be aware of Giffords’ situation? I don’t understand what exactly Sims thinks should be different, or how things could even be any other way.
Yet another article which makes arguments based on ideas that make absolutely no sense.
I think this was more of a presentation for the hip-hop community, mostly of the artists.
Cool Herc was the pioneer of hio-hop and its frustrating that artists today will spend $250,00 on a chain or a car knowing that this man, who was an important part of creating their employment, is ill and in need of support.
Im sure the congress woman would have the support of the government based on the fact that she is an employee.
The media coverage/classism/socialism issues relayed in this post is just a disguise to garner dialogue.
Its not about that. Its about getting some of these lame ass rappers and entertainers in hip-hop to break bread and contribute to the healthcare of one of the founders of their genre.
I just hate when people publish their opinions and try to make a mountain out of a pile of dirt.
All in all this was a great read and the response from the readers were well received.
Gotta call a spade a spade
Many of you who blogged have clearly missed the main point of this article. It just goes to show how brainwashed many are living in a world where society has been self-influenced to falsly believe that one life is greater than any others based on social status, while dismissing the notion that WE are all important! We are all people! And no material possessions or social status should regulate the fact of that importance. I mentioned “self-influence” because, in order for the media, government to enact their intentions upon us, they cant force it on us without some sort of grand scale opposition. They introduce the idea of it subtly. They glorify the idea with glammour, and even fear of a threat. And once the idea is accepted is when the intentions are implemented. A prime examples are Facebook, Twitter, the Smartphone. 15 years ago, society was more guarded than it is now with the right to privacy, that the notion of a website documenting your whole life, or being tracked and listened in on constantly by the signal of a cell phone would have been met with ear-defning opposition. No one in their right mind would have wanted their privacy treaded upon. It was said that if you dont ask questions, they dont have to worry about giving you the answers. Today, on Twitter and Facebook, we give a play by play of our lives freely with no questions asked. You can even Google your name and find privacy stricken information that ANYONE can get hold of. Our cherrished privacy these days are little to none. Why? Because WE allowed ourselves to be brainwashed into the misguided notion that NOTHING IS WRONG WITH IT. Everybodys doing it. And if everybody is doing it and thinking along those lines then it must be okay. Oh how wrong you are. We are all important in this world. We all can for something. And no status or monetary wealth should detract from that fact.