Quote:
Originally Posted by JayT
It's not about race. Nor am I white, so don't think I'm biased towards races of darker shades. A lot of the people dress like that are usually trying to follow one of their rap idols. Are 50 Cent or Eminem not thugs?
|
No, they're not thugs. They want to pretend to be thugs because they want that to be their image, but they're not criminals. They're artists. To me, calling 50 Cent and Eminem thugs is like calling Marilyn Manson the devil. (And I've heard him be called the devil, too.) He's not ACTUALLY the devil. He just portrays a certain image as an artist. A lot of the students I've mentioned would love to call themselves thugs too - as an image. That doesn't mean they're really criminals, as you earlier suggested.
I do think it's partially about race. A person doesn't have to be white to be racist. My father is one of the biggest racists I know, and he's black. I've heard him make similar comments about the students I take care of. He looks at today's youth and sees not only their clothing but their race. He calls them "little thugs" and "little criminals." If he sees a white child portraying the same culture, he doesn't have anything else to say. It's called internalized racism. Everyone suffers from it in some way, including you and me.