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Not to mention that Breaking Bad, featuring a white murderer drug kingpin as hero/antihero is considered by many to be the best TV series of all time.
Meanwhile, 98% of people saying such drivel never gave The Wire a chance because it had too many black people on it - even the much-maligned second season.
Not to mention that Breaking Bad, featuring a white murderer drug kingpin as hero/antihero is considered by many to be the best TV series of all time.
But this is TV - not real life. No one takes it as a representation of real life. Guys like Tupac influence real life people who don't have men in their lives showing them how to contribute to society in a positive way. Tupac was a role model to many black youths. Cars, clothes, admiration, money and women - he had everything these kids want in life...and getting into the thug life could get them there.
My 8th grade heart is breaking. Look at Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube and tell me that 2Pac and Biggie couldn't have grown and matured and still been here. Pac's biggest problem was his arrogance, but since when has that NOT been a trait of young men?
My dad has all those things, and he works in security. Well, he has *a* woman - my mother - but you get the idea. (Note to Millenials: if you ever want to know when to stop taking a conservative seriously - and "never start" is not an acceptable answer, although it's a very good one - it's when s/he starts talking about black youth as if s/he actually gives a fiddler's fart about 'em.)
This might shock you, eddiehaskell, considering your low opinion of black people, but you know how white people are able to watch TV and listen to music and separate fact from fiction? Black people can do that, too. You know...almost like we're real people.
Male role models who empower people: Neil de Grasse Tyson, Dr. Cornell West, Nelson Mandela, Bob Marley, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tom Joyner, and countless others who have spent their lives helping, educating, and promoting non-violence. I know nothing about Tupak, but that picture alone screams violence and anger. And I suspect that the young men of today who emulate him are ensuring the status quo.
But this is TV - not real life. No one takes it as a representation of real life. Guys like Tupac influence real life people who don't have men in their lives showing them how to contribute to society in a positive way. Tupac was a role model to many black youths. Cars, clothes, admiration, money and women - he had everything these kids want in life...and getting into the thug life could get them there.
It's wrong to say they don't have positive role models to choose from -- even if they want to look for celebrities instead of politicians and businessmen. There are the sports stars -- Michael Strahan for example, there are the Holleywood stars -- Denzel Washington for example.
There are all kinds of good black role models -- they're everywhere if you look.
It's wrong to say they don't have positive role models to choose from -- even if they want to look for celebrities instead of politicians and businessmen. There are the sports stars -- Michael Strahan for example, there are the Holleywood stars -- Denzel Washington for example.
There are all kinds of good black role models -- they're everywhere if you look.
Yes, those people exist, but they don't exactly cancel out the immense popularity of Tupac and gangster rap in general. Denzel is a great actor, but he doesn't really tell a 13 yr old how to be tough, get respect, make easy money and gain admiration from peers.
I don't think idolizing poor role models is specific to any one race...if it was then how does one explain Paris,Lindsay,Milley or the amazing rise of the Kardashians???
And Bieber -- but I think there is something different in that -- something more in the enjoyment people find in watching rich idiots self-destruct. I actually don't know a single person who admires any of them.
Also for some reason the media does push this -- you can't turn around without evening news reporting on the Kardashian bimbos and their marriages and divorces as though they're newsworthy in any way.
Yes, those people exist, but they don't exactly cancel out the immense popularity of Tupac and gangster rap in general. Denzel is a great actor, but he doesn't really tell a 13 yr old how to be tough, get respect, make easy money and gain admiration from peers.
But why not? Why are kids being raised to think they can only admire thuggish types over men who look great in suits and have real talent?
There really are all kinds of black role models, what makes them not want to see Denzel Washington as someone to emulate?
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