Michelle Obama recently invited rapper Common to the White House for a poetry reading. This was problematic for two reasons. First, nobody with one name deserves any respect whatsoever; this is especially true of rappers, who have generally contributed nothing to humanity except for the systematic dissing of women and an explorations of verbal porn and vulgarity. Second, Common happens to be an especially egregious in giving the non-art of rap a leftwing political dimension – he averred that Americans should “Burn a Bush for peace,” he opposes interracial relationships (“I disagree with them. It’s a lack of self-love. It’s a problem”), and he defends cop killers.
When faced with the public outrage over showcasing Common in the White House, Obama’s press secretary, Jay Carney, spat, “[Common is] known as a socially conscious hip-hop artist” who has been feted “by a lot of mainstream organizations and fair-and-balanced organizations like Fox News, which has described that music as very positive.” Jon Stewart, the ever-willing flunky for the Obama Administration (and his army of trained seals in the audience – what are they laughing at?) has made it his mission to personally rehabilitate Common, explaining that after all, Common is a “two-time Grammy-winning vegetarian.” By that standard, Hitler may have been a decent guest to the White House – after all, he was a Time “Man of the Year”-winning vegetarian. (And no, Jon, I didn’t just compare Common to Hitler – I’m mocking your standards of what makes someone a worthy White House invitee.) Stewart also explained that Common’s lyrics were being taken out of context: he actually opposes violence against cops. But Common’s defense of cop killers Assata Shakur and Mumia Abu-Jamal were very much in the context of his music. So, in essence, Stewart took Fox News’ out of context remarks out of context. Well done, sir.
The left’s defense of Common raises another, more pernicious question, however: who won’t they defend? When the left likes a person or organization, and that person or organization is linked with a nasty behavior, the left immediately implements a “totality of the circumstances” test. “Totality of the circumstances” is a legal standard often utilized in criminal law to determine whether or not there was probable cause for a search and seizure of a suspect. Historically, judges looked at the “totality of the circumstances,” for instance, to determine whether a suspect’s confession was coerced. “Totality of the circumstances” is even used in bankruptcy law from time to time. It’s essentially a catch-all legal principle allowing the judge to decide what he or she wants to do without reference to any bright-line rule whatsoever.
The left loves totality of the circumstances tests with regard to political actors. Generally, the left will excuse any action by any leftist under the guise of “totality of the circumstances.” Bill Ayers’ terrorism? Totality of the circumstances – he’s now a highly-respected educator, so let’s not bother with whatever he did when he was a young fellow. Van Jones’ communist rhetoric? Totality of the circumstances – he’s actually a moderate (like Common), plus he’s working for “green jobs,” so let’s leave him be. Obama’s kowtowing to foreign dictators? Totality of the circumstances – he’s simply respectful of their cultures and trying to integrate relations with them into a larger scheme of “soft power.”
I have to say that I find this to be irrelevant nitpicking by both sides. So to counter (or maybe add to) this pettiness I will add some nitpicking of my own. Ronald Reagan invited Merle Haggard to perform at the White House in the 1980s. Now I am going to assume that Reagan appreciated Merle haggard’s music without embracing his full life’s work (Darryl Jackson proposes that a President should embrace such an artist fully). I say this because Merle Haggard was a criminal. I don’t mean he wrote songs about crimes. I mean he committed crimes, repeatedly, including assault and several robberies of homes and businesses. He spent many years in prison until Reagan pardoned him and invited him to the White House.
Merle Haggard committed violent crimes and created music that often evoked violence and embraced the lifestyle of being an outlaw. Yet I have no problem with Merle playing at the White House because as an intelligent and sensitive person I can appreciate that this man had a difficult life and understood the darker, rougher side of American life and was able to transcend that and communicate it through art. People like Merle Haggard and Common help us understand the perspectives of less fortunate people. That is why we embrace them. If you think Reagan was inciting us all to rob and assault people by inviting Merle to the White House you are a fool. The exact same is true for Obama and Common. And I can only imagine the uproar that would have exploded if Common, as a black rapper and not a white country singer, not only had lyrics as controversial as Merle’s but also shared his history of committing crimes and serving time in prison.
All I can say is it is certainly based in our fear and anxiety about eAmerican ethnicities and cultures that we see as the “other” and therefore respond negatively to. This is normal, but let us call it what it is.
Ben…you are a freekin liberal IDIOT!! So now its us…not the crude rapper punk. Tell ya what ben…have him over your CRIB!!
I agree. Moral confusion is a measure of societal health. Rap music is mostly pathetic trash showcasing the lowest common denominator held in high esteem by the diabolical left.
Except Common is not one if the less fortunate. He had a nice life and I gather his father was an NBA basketball player. He was not raised in the inner city in deplorable conditions like many of these other “artists”.
Ben… really? Good gravy… when all else fails, let's pull out the "it is certainly based in our fear" argument. Wow. That's pretty funny but you can't be serious. What people objected to was Obama inviting a "poet" to the White House who supports cop killers and uses words in his "poetry" that advocates cop killing. PERIOD! Funny, I can't find ONE Merle Haggard song that promotes cop killing. This "we're afraid of what is different" nonsense is just that… NONSENSE! I'm surprised you didn't pull out the old "race" card… because, surely if we question Obama in any way we are undoubtedly racist. Although you did trot out black/white paradigm with the "black rapper and not a white country singer" comment which was a little more subtle… but basically the same thing. This argument is so overused that it has been rendered ridiculous. Luckily, people don't buy it any longer.
BTW… your characterization of Merle Haggard is entertaining but he hardly lived a life of violent crime. Nor did he spend "many" years in prison. Juvenile crimes beginning at age 13 resulting in time at a juvenile detention and three years at San Quentin for attempted robbery all behind him before he reached the age of 23. The ONE violent crime consisted of beating a boy up… when he was a boy! "He spent may years in prison until Reagan pardoned him and invited him to the White House"… LOL… good story but… not actually what happened. He was actually pardoned by GOVERNOR Reagan in 1972. He was released from prison in 1960 at age 23.
Tena, well said. I'd want you in my corner anytime!
Ok. But still, Haggard (of whom I am a huge fan) was a criminal. Common (who I've never heard of until the right started freaking) is not.
The message from the right: we are ok with a criminal being invited to the White House. We are not ok with this noncriminal being invited.
But keep flipping out, righties. It's funny!
It is funny.
If these guys ever get serious about an issue, I might start to worry.
That seems the problem for them. If their leaders ever got serious about policy issues and real problems, their followers would fall asleep.
Therefore: "BLACK RAPPER IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!! BLACK RAPPER IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!"
I'm a retired police officer. I retired at the age of 45. Sounds good doesn't it. Some people dream of retiring early so that they can do what they want for the next 30 yrs. or so. However, it is not as wonderful as it sounds. At the age of 43 or so, I was head of our departments gang unit, trying to make the streets safe for all of our citizens. Trying to arrest a young gang member resulted in an injury to my lower leg. After a dozen surgeries my left leg was amputated below the knee. With this injury came a host of other maladies and resulted in my early retirement. I now live on my pension but have no insurance. I suffer every day of my life and will do so until I die.
The young black man who caused the injury was in one of my daughters classes in high school. I heard him sing as he was part of the choir my daughter was in. Young, nice looking and talented. I had stopped him one evening about two weeks before the above incident, he didn't have a driver's license or insurance on the vehicle he was driving. He was close to home so I let him park the vehicle and go home. There was no reason for him to fear me. He knew me, knew my daughter, and I had always treated him with understanding. But he wanted to be a gangster. Where did he get such a desire? From the gangster rap on tv. It glorified the "thug" life. Obama's embrace of this rapper is worse than spitting in my face. My life is a living hell. The young man who did it was later stopped in Texas for transporting drugs. He also tried to murder the trooper who stopped him. He's doing 23 yrs in a Texas prison. I realize that the rapper message wasn't the only influence in his life, but it was one of the most important. What a waste, thanks Mrs. Obama. Spit in my face any time. I'm sure you'll come up with a good excuse.
I am so sorry sir. My heart goes out to you. God bless you. I will pray for you.
Bless you, sir. I am so sorry for your troubles and I hope there will be some ease for your suffering.
My son is a rapper (Beyond Comprehension). I hardly think that ALL rap is bad! Please read my previous comment and you'll understand this is NOT an indictment of rap… it's about a SPECIFIC person. SPECIFIC points of view. Ricky, maybe you can enlighten me about what is "thought provoking" about killing cops? What is "thought provoking" about supporting cop killers? What is "thought provoking" about misogynistic lyrics? You may call what Common does "poetry"… but, I call it absurd. It would be one thing if Common was rapping about his life experience… but, that's not the case… his life is one of a privileged background… not a street thug who is explaining his "reality."
He's not supporting cop killers, or "advocating cop killing" as you said earlier. You clearly do not know anything about Common…
So, what is he advocating? Explain what the "A Song for Assata" is all about. Please explain what he means by his lyrics in "A Letter to the Law?" I know about Common… I know all I need to know. I actually research what I post. So, tell me about this all-American who sat in the pews of the likes of Reverend Wright. Maybe, like Obama, he didn't hear the Wright hatred of America filled sermons either.
You can do better, Tena. Of course you know all you need to know, it's comfortable. Research goes beyond google searches and wikipedia. I know about a ton of artists and may not like their specific genre, but I wouldn't listen to what other people say about one of his/her songs to make judgement on his/her music.
You're right. It is comfortable and if you think my research is limited to google (which I NEVER use) and Wikipedia (which I use sparingly), then you are as misguided as your post. Did I really expect you to be able to have a coherent debate… no, but I hoped. One song? Indeed! LOL.
Well please guide me in the right direction, where is your research coming from? Coherent debate? You're the one all over the place. What does your son being a rapper have to do with anything? Who said anything about the civil rights movement other than you? What does Rev. Wright have to do with this? You've been so inconsistent throughout with trying to draw correlations or connections to proving your own point that it's hilarious. This isn't a debate by any means – you've done nothing to prove that Common supports "cop killers" other than stating that he does. You've not listened to one verse of the song, so as far as a debate, you've been mislead.
Here is the guide, Ricky. All over the place? My son being a rapper was in response to… "To say all rap is bad is quite petty and irresponsible. If all rap music is bad – does this include christian artists like Le'Crae, Tedashii, Pro, and Trip Lee? All rap is not the same." The civil rights comment was directly related to the "oppression of blacks" argument (as related in Common's lyrics). and Reverend Wriight… he is just ONE of the links between Obama and Common that clearly join their hatred of America via REVEREND WRIGHT. I guess you're too far behind the curve to understand the SIMPLE connection.
Just because you may support the fact Common thinks Assata is unjustly convicted… I guess Mumia Abu-Jamal was unjustly convicted too (also supported by Common). LOL. Yes, and YOU don't get the correlation of Reverend Wright in this argument… who preached both to Common and Obama who think THESE cases are non-issues and perfectly OK. Then, you are absolutely right… not worth debating because YOU are as just as dis-ingenious as Obama when connecting the ACTUAL connections. But, yes, lets fall back on the Obama administration's argument that anyone who disagrees MUST watch Fox… lol. You've outed us. Good job, Ricky.
Mumia and Shakur's convictions are matters of public debate, whether you like it or not. It's anyone's right to take a side in that debate and voice their opinion.
Your earlier statement that Common's song commenting on that debate "supports cop killers" is both false and misleading, and you still haven't mentioned any other instance which would qualify Common as an advocate of murdering police officers.
LOL. You're absolutely nuts! I don't even support the Obama admin., I just know how discern news. You, on the other hand, are clearly unable to get beyond yourself to see anything that's real. Even if he did support cop killing, what the hell does that have to do with creating jobs? It's all a distraction. You sound like you watch Fox News religiously with all your "connection" references. All media outlets have agendas, even this website, c'mon now. It's just funny how something like this gets picked apart while these politicians – on both sides of the aisle – get away with highway robbery but people like you, Tena, like to play the blame game. Grow up, it's people like you who give true conservatives a bad name.
No response necessary to your non-response above. You are as ridiculous as your leader.
Ricky: Use ad hominem arguments much?
I don't know if it's worth the time. If you read the lyrics for the Assata song, and what you got from that was "GO KILL COPS", I don't know what I can say to you that will make any sense. Also I don't know the song "A Letter to the Law" (I'm no fan of Common, I find him annoying) and I don't care to rap music metaphors to you. Perhaps you should look into the rest of Common's catalog, rather than the two songs Fox News found to pick on.
I can't defend rap music. It's just a loud voice, shouting at you. Sorry.
If that's what you think Common is, you have never heard him.
Guilty as charged. I just can’t get into it.
EASY there! "rap" and "music" don't even go in the same sentence together!
All I know is that I don't like it.
Didn't Ludacris, Obama's favorite rapper, say he wanted to "paint the White House BLACK?"
Here at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, they hired David Hilliard, a former Black Panther, to teach two classes on Rap and Hip-Hop! REALLY! For his $40,000 salary, and other perks, he had seven students in one class and ten in the other. He gave a joint speech with Mark Rudd, former member of Weather Underground and domestic terrorist who trained in Cuba, and a recently retired professor at our local communist, I mean, Community College which is run by radical Leftists and who only hire Leftists, also receives $5000 here at UNM for a reason I can't find!
I actually believe that Michelle is more a racist and radical than Obama is! After all, she sat in those pews to listening to the biggest racist in America speaking about Black Liberation Theology which is about as racist as you can get!!! You can guarantee that Michelle sets Obama straight during their midnight chats!
With all due respect, rap "music" or "poetry" is to me, just plain, unadulterated
GARBAGE, devoid of any actual worthy content but then again, a single tree doesn't
make a forest
I forgot to mention it before.
Same as this kind of "cultural manifestation" the First Lady holds Rap to be, are
people aware of the law a gay Congressman is trying to ram down our throats ?
It is no more and no less than to teach the marvels of homosexuality in our schools
Now tell me "culture" such as Rap and such "laws" are not signs of our demise
You are trying to connect things that have no correlation whatsoever. Rap isn't a culture, it's a form of music.
no it's not; it's a manifestation of mental deficiency.
Well and truly said. Was your "ram down our throats" reference serendipity or a great one-liner?
Oh… so, she's innocent… OK. Now, I get it. I was just confused that a jury found her guilty! Injustice? Of what? Explain how THAT makes advocating cop killing OK? And, you know what… the civil rights movement was 50 years ago.
LISTEN TO THE SONG!
"A Song for Assata" is about Common's belief that Assata did NOT kill any cops. It's about the injustice of her conviction, which he feels is wrong, and her subsequent inhumane treatment. It's not a difficult concept, Tena. At no point has Common advocated cop killing, and at no point has anyone said that killing cops, or advocating killing cops, is okay.
Wow. You really started out so confident and self-important. Ended up exposed as ignorant — clearly yammering about a subject you know nothing about — with ass in hand.
News flash — it didn't end 50 years ago.
The bottom line, she AND Mumia Abu-Jamal were BOTH convicted of killing cops. Common sings about both as though they are heros. Additionally, he sings about killing cops. You can spin it any way you want but the words speak for themselves.
NO. WRONG. YOU are spinning his lyrics to fit your own argument, which even you are now realizing is feeble and unfounded. You keep saying "he sings about killing cops" yet can't point to a single instance of it. You keep making the illogical leap that because he voiced support for Assata Shakur, he is voicing support for people who kill cops.
The point of the song is that Assata is INNOCENT, aka she did NOT shoot anybody, and was WRONGLY CONVICTED!! Is it really that difficult for you to grasp this notion? Do you feel it's wrong to ever publicly question a trial verdict??
Wrong? Because YOU say so… lol! Right! Innocent? Because YOU say so… again, FUNNY! Whatever. Believe what you want and so will I. His body of work speaks for him and if he speaks for you too… great. No big surprise there.
Sorry, I realize that by not spelling everything out for you in the manner with which one talks to a 2-year-old I may have confused you: I do not have an opinion about Assata's guilt or innocence, because I don't know enough about it. Common however believes she is innocent. "Song for Assata" is him arguing that belief. You have construed meaning from that song that is simply not there in any capacity. His "body of work" is full of calls for social awareness, justice, overcoming crime and violence in inner city neighborhoods, the importance of love and family, and criticism of mainstream rappers who glorify thug life. Snarky comments and "lol's" and repeating the same idiot statements over and over does not constitute an argument. You still haven't offered a shred of evidence to support your initial, ridiculous statement that Common advocates cop killing. I'm done however, because I don't feel your intellect is robust enough to communicate with on any effective level, based on your terribly fragmented understanding of this discussion.
"Whatever. Believe what you want and so will I."
LOL – the mantra of the post-modern American right. Facts, be danmed!
No spin, Tena. I've looked at the lyrics and it appears that Common thinks they are innocent. He may be right. He may be wrong. I don't know. But his song tells us they are. If he thinks they are innocent, how is he saying the crime is something to be cheered or emulated?
He's not, Tena. That's really the bottom line.
You guys should publish a calendar: OUTRAGE DU JOUR!!!!
Every day you can have something new to be outraged about.
Maybe we'll do that AFTER you publish your HYPOCRISY DU JOUR calendar! And if you're not outraged… you a liberal or not paying attention.
You're right; I'm not paying attention to endlessly manufactured outrage. This utter silliness will be forgotten by next week. BTW, four of the most most tiresome things in political discussions:
1. charges of "hypocrisy"
2. calls for "common sense" (ironically, the most pretentious pose one can take)
3. the notion that "there's no difference between the two parties"
4. specious claims that my party is somehow more inherently moral than yours
What is MY party, Jim?
I'm not picking on you in particular. Libs and cons do these things in equal measure.
(By the way, Hitler comparisons should be on that list, too).
Jim, so should: "Whatever. Believe what you want and so will I."
Sorry for the repost, but I thought it appropriate given the context. In fairness to Tena, it doesn't just apply to the "post-modern American right" but also "that smelly part of the American left that Jim_C and trickyblain don't like to talk about."
Unfortunately — based on the above posts — Tena appears part of the "post-modern American right." Facts don't matter.
Never mind…
"The left’s defense of Common raises another, more pernicious question, however: who won’t they defend?"
I'm surprised you'd even have to ask this, Ben. The left won't defend anyone on the right, anyone who believes in free market capitalism, practicing Christians and Jews, those who believe in modestly traditional values, those who believe in Israel's right to exist and defend itself, and, basically, just anyone who disagrees with them.
umm I don't defend anyone that doesn't agree with me either. That is the point. If I defended them, I wouldn't disagree with them.
A long time ago, people – even liberal people, maybe especially liberal people – used to say things like "I don't agree with what he said, but I defend to the death his right to say it".
That's the sort of defense I am referring to, sorry if it wasn't clear. I defend people with whom I disagree all the time, in this manner; those on the left love to defend people claiming they don't agree with their stance, but appreciate their artistry, other views, etc. – see the above article for examples, should you need them – but yet they can't ever see fit to defend those they truly disagree with. That's telling, in my book.
"The Assata song is about his support of cop killers (do try to keep up)."
No, it is not. Not in any way, shape, or form is it about supporting cop killers.
Any article headline containing "Left" and "absurd" is clearly very credible and objective. Just because you are a raging racist that cannot appreciate art does not make your opinion valid. Common is much more than a rapper. He is a lyricist, an artist, and–yes–a poet! If you compare him to the likes of Ludacris, you have clearly never bothered to hear any of his work before bashing him. Furthermore, any moron that can't appreciate rap as an art form has even less intelligence than everyone initially thought. There are various forms of spoken word. Sacking all rap into one category is extremely ignorant. Can we get some actual journalism please?
oh yeah! and let's base our opinions of artists based on how many words are in the names they go by. Because Bono, Madonna, Sting, Cher, Prince, Aaliyah, or Beyonce also cannot be trusted. Seriously. Who lets you publish??
Did I say anywhere that those things I listed are all that is decent and good?
What a wonderful gift for reading comprehension you have. Or perhaps I should say, mind reading.
Art? What this guy does is a pathetic joke. Ah, like all lefties you just had to use the obligatory "racist" remark. Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Supremes, Ray Charles and many, many more black musicians are artists. All these rappers do is recite the words off of restroom walls to a beat. Big deal. Anybody that listens to this trash doesn't know what music is.
Ooh, goodie. Define music, please. Or better yet, define ART.
Real creative comeback. That took about as much creativity as rapping.
Rap is NOT music, speaking poetry to a rhythm track or some other type of beat synthesizer is not singing and definitely not music. Now with that being said I will add this, it may be entertainment to some people and these "Rappers" deserve the title of entertainer but it ain't music!
"If it's not good for Don Imus, I don't know why it's good for us. If we don't like other people to degrade us, why are we degrading ourselves?"
At the South Florence High School library in Florence, S.C., Obama said of rappers, "They're degrading their sisters." He said that "There are a whole bunch of young rappers who look like us, who use the words that Don Imus does, who are on our radio stations." Senator Obama, 2007
Just because we don't agree with what someone says, or writes, or paints, or performs does not mean we should censor that work. This country was founded on freedom of expression. Period. </rant>
The point isn't whether or not it should be censored, the point is whether it's appropriate for the president to host a guy who writes this violent garbage.
So….
He should have invited Marylin Manson?
Obama playin' the Rappers,
you knows it, he knows it, they knows,
Now, git ta, I said a git ta, I said a git git git wid it ta
Yo Yo Yo got a solid soul, got a homo bo, got sissy sis to,
Yoo know git ta, git ta, git ta, uh, uh, yaa aah, uhh, yaa uh,
Ugh, Ugh huh, Now
I said a now, Louie, Louie, we gotta go now,
watch it now, watch it now , Here it cumz
Back in the 'fifties and 'sixties, when I was young, blacks and whites joined together to fight for complete equality for blacks as well as for other disenfranchised peoples. In case anyone hasn't yet noticed the fact – we won. Sadly, the great majority of my erstwhile yoke-fellows and their descendents appear to be unaware of this reality, and continue to soldier on well after the bell under increasingly irrelevent, fatuous, banal and counterproductive pretexts.
Most parents understand that to uncritically praise and reward one's child for all its behaviors, be they acceptable or not, will cause that child to grow up with unrealistic expectations of the outside world which will propel him into early frustrated, immature and self-defeating coping strategies.
Please, my fellow superannuated flower children, try to understand that blacks are just as capable as are whites of cranking out bovine excreta masked as art. Just because a performer happens to be black shouldn't imply that we must tug at our forelocks and proclaim him a new messiah on the basis of his boring, musically illiterate and superficial cacophony.
continued…
If there exists on earth one group of people which needs no politically correct affirmative action to legitamize the status of its music, it is black Americans. I speak as one who in my youth obsessively bloodied my fingers trying to duplicate (alas, quite unsuccessfully) the licks of Robert Johnson, Charlie Christian and Albert King.
Music acknowledges no color distinctions; crap is crap, be it black, white, olive or purple.
Do you feel your taste in music is the universal standard for what constitutes "good music"?
Rap music?< I know what music sounds like rap aint no music bro < LOL LOL LOL >… rap is indoctrinaton of all who listen.. repeat it enough and it is learned, ingrained .. in yo brain …yo! It has destroyed all who participate! You cannot change my mind on this.
Thugs,looking for 15 mins….cannot sing … dance or think past hate.Its a filthy degrading social calamity.Fools listen and try to…, and succeed in beliving the "monotonous bull crap!
Years back Tipper Gore was going to put a stop to the filth… she was told to shut up and sit down…. well she finally rolled… Took her a long time, but she got it at the Get GO…Nothing American about it and certainly nothing I would listen to. so many wonderful songs and lyrics to listen to and lift your spirits.. why would anyone listen to Rap crap
And rock and roll is the devil's music, right???
This little thread is a viable illustration of the great rift between the Left who will laud any Communist sympathizer no matter how vile while demonizing any and all detractors and those who respond with logical assumptions, facts and a belief that common decency should be the standard.
I think it is time we recognize that no logic, facts and certainly no basis in common decency exist with these folks.
Know thy enemy is the first commandment of war. About time we recognize we are in one.
These are the same folks who viciously attack anyone who disagrees with Obama, Islamofascism or who supports Israel's right to defend itself.
Bottom line: we are in a death struggle for our way of life, common decency and liberty. It is easy to identify the enemy and a waste of time to try and reason with him. Time would be better spent erecting barriers to stop the onslaught.
Good vs Evil is what this is about. White vs Black, alright but it has NOTHING to do with skin color, only the makeup of one's moral fiber/soul.
And by all means we should pray for our enemies, too. It is the only way they have a chance.
A question i have is this website more right, left, or moderate? I tend to see myself as right in the middle, but im definantly open to all viewpoints that are right wing or left. Are you guys open to talk about this? I can explain, the people common was bringing up are not cop killers just wrongly accused. Now the guy that wrote this, i will prove him wrong on everything and prove the people he is claiming are cop killers are innocent political activists that were involved in civil rights and various movements for freedom in the 60s and 70s that were wrongly accused and unjustly brought down for their political views. You ready for this?
You sound like a Bigot and obviously you hate the hip-hop culture so why should anyone listen to what you have to say on the topic. Your close minded and probably don't want to hear anything anyone has to say about the matter. I'm just guessing but your probably a white guy who roles up the window and locks the door every time you drive anywhere near the ghetto, if you even allow yourself to get close to it. Common is a good man. He isn't your normal rapper, he's not even a Gangsta rapper like everyone has been calling him. He's a Poet who raps about his past and the troubles and life he has lived. But he always brings a message. Try listening to his music, go looking threw his lyrics. not that you'd probably understand anyways. All that this artical and Fox news and O'rielly has done is show that Racism and Prejudice still exsist. Congratulations.
i think it sucks to have a copkiller in the white house who backs one
…..What? Copkiller? Who?
The people on this site who are calling Common a supporter of cop killing are absolutely ridiculous. There is NOTHING about the song that supports violence against law enforcement agents. The whole song is about how she was falsely accused, and her mistreatment once she was arrested. I don't know if Common is right in that belief, but let's not be naive, and pretend that the justice system is correct %100 of the time.
It's amazing how much Conservatives are blind to social issues and the under(or over)tones of racism in your arguments, views opinions, etc. Hate to pull the race card but it's CLEAR. You can claim you don't see black or white but you attack this rapper and Rap music, as a whole, which is a Black form of music(it IS). You all look like idiots for thinking you can define a group of people so accurately using a few words(crap, loud, blah blah blah) and that further proves that there will never be peace/equality because of you guys that will refuse to understand the Black community.
My second post didn’t show up….*shrug*… I feel bad for even joining in on such an ignorant argument from the right…ha
Big mistake – allowing your personal taste in music to write of an entire popular genre (and one which consists of many styles, not just 'gansta' rap, which anyone who gave the genre any time would know). You clearly show in this article that anything you don't agree with or that is not to your taste is somehow 'bad' and 'leftist'. The dig about artists with one name was particularly shallow. I don't like country music – but I understand it's just me. I know that country music artists are talented, I know the genre is certainly music and counts as art, but I just don't personally enjoy it. I would NEVER use that personal taste to slag the entire genre or the people who DO like it – I understand myself enough to realise that would be an unfair extension of my personal opinion. All those college degrees and you can't see that?
I came looking at your site after seeing some reviews of your latest book, and thinking they must be overblown, so I wanted to read your words for myself, and make up my own mind.
After reading several of your recent articles and seeing this continuing theme, I finally snapped at this one and realised there was no point reading any further. Why do so many opinion columnists think that having an opinion gives them a right to make sweeping judgements without any justifications? Why do so many of them get SO tied up in their opinions, they forget that that is all they are?
Alright folks, lets bet back on track. Yes, it is true that "Song for Assata" is not about killing police. But it's also true that it's a defense of a former member of the Black Panthers (not exactly an organization that should be held in high esteem) who was convicted of a state trooper's murder. Never mind that the state trooper, a man and fellow human being, DIED–Shakur may have initially recieved some substandard medical treatment, so let's use her as a symbol of racial injustice and enshrine her memory in song! Can we paint "controversial" on this with a big huge "DUH" stamped across it as well?
It's also noteworthy that Shakur has become a type of cult figure for hard-left political activists who are the type who try to pin any action by cops against people who happened to be of color as being racially-motivated.
And lastly, let's remember that the above isn't the only reason Shapiro thinks that Michelle Obama shouldn't have invited Common to the White House–Common also doesn't believe in interracial relationships and used semi-violent rhetoric against Bush. No doubt among other things.
Dear Mr. Shapiro,
Just shut up. "Systematic dissing of women?" You're right, you're right…we should really stick to hating blacks and immigrants, right? Moron. You know nothing about hip hop music. What it's about, where it's roots are. First off, I know several emcee's who are better writers than you are, and could run laps around your poor excuse for political knowledge, so learn your place. Next time you feel like writing a political article and disrespecting someone along the ranks of Common, listen to some Immortal Technique and shut the f*** up.
And second…FREE MUMIA. If you really think he did it then your naivete is dumbfounding to me. Get your mind right.
One.