Black People : DAY OF REFLECTION.....HAMMER TIME!!!

[happy69]

Happy69 wrote:

"Russell Simmons perpetuated some of the ills that the Rap game came to incorporate...that is just a fact. But, he has taken that wealth and he is doing some good for the community; in my mind anyway. So, where do we put people like him? Should we look at him like Rockafeller, etc... criminals who took their fortunes and turned them into something good?"

For some reason I'm looking at this like a mathematical equation: positives increase and negatives decrease. So if we look at this on a social scale starting at zero, if Russell Simmons perpetuated some of the ills that the Rap game came to incorporate, then I would view that as a negative. All things being equal, if he turned around and used the wealth he gained from those negative activities and did something positive to the good of the Black community, although that would advance us socially, wouldn't that simply bring us back to zero? So, in essence, we haven't advanced at all, we've actually stood still. What has to be measured then is the impact of what Simmons has done on the Black community. Do the negatives cancel out the positives or vice versa?

Should Simmons be admired for the good things he does even though his ability to do those things was made possible by some not so good things? How would this or he compare to someone who earned and used their wealth in positive ways? Does it make what Simmons does equally good or should he be held accountable for the error of his ways?

What happens if the way wealth is made leaves social casualities in the wake of their activity? If some rap music sends negative messages and some people take it seriously and learn to believe it, can they always be saved in the end when the artists contradict their money-making messages later?

Why aren't positive activities valued as much as those activities we might think are harmful to us--or are they?

Queenie

You hit me with a Great one again. I honestly cannot answer that off of the cuff!
So, the good that has come from monies from the Rockerfellers in the form of schools and endowments for Blacks (just one example); and in America we only talk of people like John, in the good; totally omitting the fact that all of this was built upon a criminal enterprise... and I was inferring that it is okay, by American standards to see him as such....because the majority deems it as such; and if we should do the same.
But, and I will admit, you have me once again thinking seriously about this issue.

After I think about it, I'll get back to you. Thank you Queen.

 

[Queenie]

Another example while you're pondering on this. . .

Another example...drug cartels in third world countries. It has been reported that some cities in countries like Colombia have benefitted tremendously from investments made by drug cartels. I've heard where the poverty level in many of the smaller towns is extremely high and the citizens of these small towns view the drug lords as saints because they are helping to improve their living conditions there. On the surface, I can see why these citizens would think this way. The quality of life has improved for them. But at the same time, the money made to improve their lives is generated by decreasing the quality of someone else's life. On a socio-economic scale, some might think this is okay because drug use is an individual choice that people who indulge make and no one forces them to do it. But on an ethical scale, could (should) this be viewed differently?

Queenie

 

[Akilah]

How about The Vatican and organized crime syndicates - The Mob .... Hmmmm

 

[happy69]

I have been thinking about what Queen asked, when she said that in the case of Russell Simmons who I compared to the robber baron J. Rockerfellar, in that he made his riches criminally, but then took those riches and used them for some good- should We look to RS in the same way? He did perpetuate some of the ills of the Rap Game that has spilled out into Our communities... and made a lot of money off of doing so; but now that he has wealth--and in America, that translate into power (whether we like it or not); and he is using his new found power to effect change within Our communities.

Queen wanted to know if the positive and the negative negate each other?

Right now, I say, YES.

BUT!!! If we are back at zero, in this relation; it is up to us to take the mantle and make it a verifiable Positive. So, what RS has afforded Our Communities is a fresh start. That is not a negative.