Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all: The Black KKK

[JMI]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442

There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.

The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.

Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

About as well as the attempt to shift attention away from this uniquely African-American crisis by focusing on an alleged injustice the white media allegedly perpetrated against Sean Taylor.

Within hours of his death, there was a story circulating that members of the black press were complaining that news outlets were disrespecting Taylor's victimhood by reporting on his troubled past

No disrespect to Taylor, but he controlled the way he would be remembered by the way he lived. His immature, undisciplined behavior with his employer, his run-ins with law enforcement, which included allegedly threatening a man with a loaded gun, and the fact a vehicle he owned was once sprayed with bullets are all pertinent details when you've been murdered.

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL player, made the radio circuit Wednesday, singing the tune that athletes are targets. That was his explanation for the murders of Taylor and Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and the armed robberies of NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry.

Really?

Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.

Our self-hatred has been set to music and reinforced by a pervasive culture that promotes a crab-in-barrel mentality.

You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.


Make your voice heard...


This story has touched off some very spirited debate. If you would like to join in, it is being discussed on our community page.

Of course there are other catalysts, but until we recapture the minds of black youth, convince them that it's not OK to "super man dat ho" and end any and every dispute by "cocking on your bitch," nothing will change.

Does a Soulja Boy want an education?

HBO did a fascinating documentary on Little Rock Central High School, the Arkansas school that required the National Guard so that nine black kids could attend in the 1950s. Fifty years later, the school is one of the nation's best in terms of funding and educational opportunities. It's 60 percent black and located in a poor black community.

Watch the documentary and ask yourself why nine poor kids in the '50s risked their lives to get a good education and a thousand poor black kids today ignore the opportunity that is served to them on a platter.

Blame drugs, blame Ronald Reagan, blame George Bush, blame it on the rain or whatever. There's only one group of people who can change the rotten, anti-education, pro-violence culture our kids have adopted. We have to do it.

According to reports, Sean Taylor had difficulty breaking free from the unsavory characters he associated with during his youth.

The "keepin' it real" mantra of hip hop is in direct defiance to evolution. There's always someone ready to tell you you're selling out if you move away from the immature and dangerous activities you used to do, you're selling out if you speak proper English, embrace education, dress like a grown man, do anything mainstream.

The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next.

[dennisw]

Interesting article. The author has a big set and makes some good points. I imagine there will be a fair amount of backlash from the usual suspects.

[Dad]

Whitlock NEVER shies from his beliefs. RE: his comments on the Don Imus fiasco. You can read his articles at kansascity.com. He may be the most entertaining sports writer in the country

[The Reaper]

Okay, I am a white man with an opinion about race, so I understand that automatically makes me a racist to some.

Taylor was a thug, led a thug lifestyle, and died like a thug, likely at the hands of another thug. The real surprise here is that someone would actually say it publicly.

I seriously doubt that the killer looked like Joe Gibbs.

The elephant in the room nobody mentions is that over 50 percent of crime in the US is committed by blacks, 80 percent of crimes against blacks are committed by other blacks, and over 90 percent of all homicides against blacks are committed by other blacks.

You take a demographic with an extremely high number of kids without fathers in their lives (which pretty much equals poverty, as a single or no wage earner), put them in government housing, living in poverty, on welfare, in close contact with criminals and substance abusers; expose them to high crime rates, little or no educational involvement by the parent or guardian, denigrating academic success or achievement, low expectations, deification of sports and entertainment celebrities of dubious character, and a constant bombardment of music full of anti-establishment, racist, misogynistic, hate-speech, praising criminal activity and exhorting listeners to commit further criminal acts, and wrap that all up in a neat package, what do you expect the inevitable outcome to be? That anyone escapes to succeed in life is a miracle and a testament to man's ability ot overcome his environment.

This lifestyle is an affront to decent black Americans who are trying to make a good life for themselves and their families. This cycle will be hard to break, and impossible for anyone outside the community to influence. To hear a few voices like Bill Cosby, Alvin Toussaint, and Jason Whitlock speak out is quite refreshing, and reminds me of the courage that a small number of American patriots must have felt when they first stood up and decried the British occupation of this country, knowing that most of their fellow citizens opposed them.

When I was growing up on the farm, we had a family of black sharecroppers living in a tenant house. No indoor plumbing. Dirt poor. The couple was married and had six kids. The father and mother worked hard at other jobs before coming home to work the farm and raise their kids. They had high standards and high expectations for their kids. They asked for nothing from the government but an opportunity, and they took no charity. They saved their money and eventually bought a small house just up the road from the farm. Every child worked hard in school and at home, and they all went to college. None of them went to jail. They all found good jobs. They all got married before having kids. They all live in nice neighborhoods and raised their own kids properly. They are good people, good neighbors, and good friends. Is this a fairy tale these days?

Race baiters and extorters like Jesse and Al do little to better the lives of their flocks, and IMHO, are given far too much credibility by the MSM as spokepeople for their race, as if it were monolithic and they had been elected by huge majorities. One day, people are going to decide that they have had enough of their crap and speak out against them and their alleged representation of the black community, and turn on them. There is a growing black middle class in this country, and the race baiters and Democratic party need to wake up and realize that this is the only path with a future of freedom and choices. The gangster and thug lifestyles will continue to lead to an early grave and/or incarceration.

Just my opinion, as I see it, YMMV.

TR

Great post, TR.

I didn't grow up on a farm. I grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Yet, I've seen exactly the same situations that TR describes. Both sides, the ones who are great people and the ones that have allowed themselves to be trapped into an existence that has no future.

If someone thinks that makes me a racist? The hell with them.

[Ambush Master]

Link to Jason Whitlock: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...ry/381481.html

[kgoerz]

Every time I hear about the privileged kids who go to better schools like private schools I think about cars.
When I pick my daughter up from the Flora Macdonald Academy that cost me the equivalent of a 2008 Ford F250 truck payment every month. I notice most of the parents are driving older beat up vehicles like mine. Wont find to many Escalades or 30,000 SUV'S picking Kids up at this school.
Go to the Public Middle School in town and its like a freaking car show. Its every Race of people I see with their priorities upside down. Of course if she doesn't get a scholarship ill probably kick her Ass

[glebo]

And we all no darn well that if it were caucasions that had done this deed, our good friends Jessee and Al would be on the first plane smokin' That article has alot of truth to it, but of course it can be interpreted differently from the other side. It's gotta be Bushs' fault.....

[doc22584]

The author of this article has alot of very good points. Im a young black man who went to private school, and grew up in what my black "friends" like to call a "white neighborhood". However the point about blaming rap music for the mindset of most black men is ridiculous. I am a fan of rap music but ive never sold drugs, robbed anyone or broken any kind of law. The bottom line is the black youth today are a product of there environment. I grew up with good parents and was taught right from wrong at a young age. The kids who are all screwed up are the ones who had no structure at home or came from a broken family. Im black, but ill be the first person to tell that the african american society as a whole needs to take a step back and take a serious look at themselves because we have no one to blame but ourselves.

[rubberneck]

Originally Posted by doc22584

However the point about blaming rap music for the mindset of most black men is ridiculous. I am a fan of rap music but ive never sold drugs, robbed anyone or broken any kind of law.

He never said that Rap music was the sole cause of black on black crime. He listed several factors including single parent households, poor education and a pop culture that glorifies violent behavior. In this case rap music is the single biggest contributor to inner city black pop culture. From where I am sitting nothing he said was off the mark.

[doc22584]

I know he didn't say that rap music was the sole cause, but its always blamed for any problems that arise with the black youth. I totally agree with all the points the author made except the one about rap music.

[The Reaper]

First, I fully understand that there are many kinds of rap.

At the same time, the recurrent theme that my family and I have to listen to while at the PX, gas station, parking lots, traffic lights, etc. seems to revolve around killing cops, doing drugs, abusing women, tossing about the F word, the N word, assorted derogatory terms for women, regarding females as merely an outlet for sex, ducking responsibility for ones children and actions, committing crimes, while reciting a racist, hate-filled screed blaming others for one's misfortune, etc.

Maybe someone from a home who has strong parental involvement can listen to that without being affected.

I have my doubts that somone from a broken home with few prospects and a probable life of misery ahead can.

TR

[doc22584]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

First, I fully understand that there are many kinds of rap.

At the same time, the recurrent theme that my family and I have to listen to while at the PX, gas station, parking lots, traffic lights, etc. seems to revolve around killing cops, doing drugs, abusing women, tossing about the F word, the N word, assorted derogatory terms for women, regarding females as merely an outlet for sex, ducking responsibility for ones children and actions, committing crimes, while reciting a racist, hate-filled screed blaming others for one's misfortune, etc.

Maybe someone from a home who has strong parental involvement can listen to that without being affected.

I have my doubts that somone from a broken home with few prospects and a probable life of misery ahead can.

TR

Sir, I totally agree with you when it comes to the music being blasted at a totally ridiculous level in public places. It is disrespectful to other people and it I personally believe that its a ignorant thing to do. I know the negative message is there in the music and im not going to even attempt to try to defend that. I wish the music would put out a more positive message because then maybe the youth would get that guns, violence and all that other obsurd stuff is not the way to go.

[rubberneck]

Originally Posted by doc22584

I know he negative message is there in the music and im not going to even attempt to try to defend that. I wish the music would put out a more positive message because then maybe the youth would get that guns, violence and all that other obsurd stuff is not the way to go.

Now I am confused. Just a few posts above you were upset about Whitlock blaming rap music, in part, for contributing to black on black violence. Now you seem to admit that the music has a really poor message that does have an impact. Which is it?

[Dad]

On the bright side, rapper Lil Romeo, son of rapper Master P, signed a letter of intent this week to play basketball for USC. He is one of the top 15 ranked HS guards in the nation. His comment? "It is important for kids to realize education is more important than money." Sounds like Master P raised a good kid.