[Carmela]

Hip-Hop music covers many areas, and you may not fully understand the locations of it and culture. You may not like some of it, but my guess is that some of the music you do like is heavily influenced by Hip-Hop (and rap and is considered a part of Hip-Hop music). Have you ever listened to Eryka Badu, Lauryn Hill or Mary J. Blige (speaking of beauty and melody)? You may not like Hip-Hop or rap music, but many people do, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. I don’t think Hip-Hop will mind you not participating.

I like some rap and hip-hop. Just like all other forms of music, some of it is good and some is bad. Hip-Hop is not required to be a social cry for change. It is one of many tools that have been used to foster social change, but it is not limited to that use. As far as making a statement, any kind of musical form can be used to make a statement. Also, as far as racial identity, I am black and think you can be a Hip-Hop artist and/or a person who likes Hip-Hip regardless of race. Ask the millions of Hip-Hop heads worldwide of all races and colors. Ask Eminem. And there are some Latin Hip-Hop groups as well. You may want to ask them how they feel about Hip-Hop as racial identity – Jennifer Lopez may have a word or two on the topic as well. Perhaps you need to check your own bias issues about black people and Hip-Hop culture and what you think they mean before you get on your high horse next time. A book you may want to read to expand your knowledge of Hip-Hop is Vibe Magazine’s History of Hip-Hop. It talks about rap and Hip-Hop from the late ’70s to the present. I think it may help you see some things about that music that you may not understand.

User Detail :  

Name : Carmela, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : College Park, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : College Administration, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Carmela]

I think all kids may call names regardless of race, and they should not. But that doesn’t mean they have not been instructed not to do that. Would you make such a sweeping generalization if a white child had said the same thing to another white child? My son has called people names and I have corrected him for it. I think, a parent’s job is to instruct their children. A child calling names on one occassion does not mean he has bad parents, no matter what color they may be. And that was not exactly a name, it was more a use of adjective to describe the color of his body part. I am black and I don’t mind people describing my color. But the word a** should not be used by children or most adults.

User Detail :  

Name : Carmela, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : College Park, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : College Administration, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Carmela]

Dear Leah, I think you may have confused that one poorly raised child with all black children. I teach my child not to call names, he is 3 and he does not call people names because I won’t allow it. I think that child may not have been taught the Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t make sweeping generalizations about black parents across the board like that. That was one child, if I had a penny for every child I heard calling names, black or white, I would have hundreds of dollars. I think you are confusing racial issues with poor parenting, which is something that crosses all color lines. And correct me if I am wrong, from time to time, even good kids misbehave, maybe he was just not at his best that day, does that mean his parents have not taught him not to call names? Nope, it does not. I think you may want to analyze your thinking on black parents and step away from the stereotypes that are clouding your thinking about black parents. Think about this, if that child had been the same race as you, would you have thought all the parents of your racial or ethnic background did not teach their children that it is rude and wrong to name call, or cuss? What that child says,I think qualifies as cussing, not name calling. I would like to know what the white child said to the black child that told him to sit his ‘white a**’ down. It sounds like they may have been having a disagreement of sorts. On occassion I have heard black folk tell someone to sit their ‘black a**’ down. I think it is more a description of the person’s a** than a racial slur. All the same,it is not appropriate for a child to talk like that and I don’t allow my child to use such language and I don’t think many black people allow that.

User Detail :  

Name : Carmela, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : College Park, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : College Administration, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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