Category Archives: Social

Attitudes & behaviors in society; looking at the past, present, and future characteristics among people.

To Snitch or Not to Snitch, and the community’s role

October 27, 2006 d dot b Leave a comment

To Snitch or Not to Snitch – And the role of the community

I know you have heard it all before – “stop snitching”, “don’t rat”, et cetera, et cetera. Many people don’t believe in the justice system, and especially the face of the justice system (cops). Now, in particular communites (especially, black, latin communities) there have been a long-standing demise of the relationship between the police, and the communities that they are supposed to ‘protect & serve’. Many stories of police brutality, and corruption are almost synonomous with police behaviour; and of course, the ultimate blow to the relationship between police and black/latino communities was the videotaped beating of Rodney King: that solidfied the disdain and distrust that many have of police.

So with that history, being circulated and passed on through oral & written tradition, and with popular music vocalizing the notions of ‘stop snitching’ – what are we supposed to do in the face of an injustice? If we don’t ‘snitch’ (hypothetically speaking), then what do we do when we know of, or have seen, an injustice committed in our community? Do we turn a blind eye?

Could you turn a blind eye if you were attached to the situation (i.e. someone you knew was victimized)?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you don’t wanna ‘snitch’ then you need to go to the members in the community who can rectify the situation.

For example:
In Arizona, a young teenage girl was violently raped; many in the community knew who was responsible. However, there was/is a disdain for cooperating with the law. So what happened? Several members in the community went to the people responsible for the rape, and basically told them to turn themselves in to the authorities … and surprisingly, the rapists obligied.

What I get out of this interesting story is that the community has decided to police and regulate behavior (sort of what the Black Panther party was ‘ideally’ supposed to accomplish).

Ergo, if we choose not to ‘snitch’ then, when something goes awry, the community has to step up to the plate and exercise justice.

What do y’all think??

Economics, Social

Tip What?

October 18, 2006 d dot b 1 Comment

TIP WHAT?
The cultural norm of tipping

This is just a funny story that I thought I would share:

The other day I was with my sister and my nephew in a popular Chinese buffet restaurant; the food was mediocre (what else can one expect at a buffet?), but the selection was vast in quantity. A perky waitress brought us to our seats and asked us if we had any additional orders (i.e. beverages, alcohol, etc.). We place a couple of orders and then proceeded to attack the buffet table to feed our appetite.

Now, to the extent of what the waitress performed, which was pretty much just cleaning the table of dishes that were dirty, a debate ensued whether what the appropriate tip should be for the waitress. I was baffled, because the question in my head was if there should be a tip at all.

Now, I’m not one that is really in favour of tipping; I don’t feel that it is rational to ‘tip’ someone for the job function’s that they are supposed to perform. Especially, in a buffet environment where the waitress does half of the duties than a waitress at a regular restaurant. Tipping has seemed to evolve into a cultural norm, but it is a cultural norm that I wish not to subscribe too. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have tipped in the past, but I’m strongly against the notion of deriving a mathematical percentage formula to determine how much one should tip (i.e. 10% of the order). That is foolishness. Tipping should only be done if you feel that the waitress went beyond her specific job duties: lets say, by providing excellent repertoire or customer service. Don’t just tip someone for performing their basic job duties.

Tipping has become expected and is embedded into our cultural, so much so, that has almost become a cultural norm – waitresses expect to be tipped no matter how much/well they perform their duties. Another factor is that because tipping is a cultural norm; any deviation from such actions will make one ostracised – stigmatized as ‘cheap’, ‘mean’ or ‘petty’.

In summation, I still contributed to a tip (much to my dismay) because I felt a desire to conform, rather than be true to thyself ….

Think about that.

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d_dot_b

Hip-Hop, Social

Stymie180 Archive – 2002: Bring in the Homies

October 18, 2006 d dot b Leave a comment

Stymie180.com 2002: This is from an article that I wrote in 2002; its a bit out of date, but the context is still relevant, check it out and see if it makes sense to you:

Lately its struck me just how low people will sink for cash. At a time when Hiphop is at the peak of its popularity, when you can’t switch on the TV without hearing a rapper trying to sell you a shirt / a watch / a drink, when you can’t walk down the street without passing someone who’s followed their advice and is now driving that car, whilst drinking that drink, and rocking that shirt and shoes, its become plain how much Hiphop is being prostituted.

Stating the obvious? Maybe. But something has to be said. When LL Cool J would rather spend more time shooting FUBU ads that proclaim him as the G.O.A.T. and less time working on an album that proves it, something’s wrong. When Busta Rhymes would rather throw a Mountain Dew at you, than a dope track, something’s wrong.

Don’t get me wrong – I understand they’re taking advantage of their popularity to strike out and get that dollar while its good for getting. I also understand that this is not the first, and certainly won’t be the last time that Hiphop goes through a cycle of unbelievable popularity with the youth (hands up who has an MC Hammer doll?)

But first and foremost these people have risen to popularity through the hard work of the people who bought their music. What do I mean? Let me break it down for you… where were corporate America and the rest of the world, when LL was “saying the kind of rhymes that make emcees wish that I’d die”? Where were they when Busta and the Leaders were telling us of their “Case Of The PTA”? They weren’t around then, simply because Hiphop wasn’t popular… there was no money to be made… and therefore in those early years, it was me and the millions of other “REAL” Hiphop fans who put a roof over the heads of LL’s kids, who bought that one raggedy piece of gold around Busta’s neck.

Where am I going with this? I’ll tell ya… I’m pissed off with being taken for granted by artists who owe their success to their REAL fans, yet desert them at the drop of a dime. I’m tired of being told that this latest piece of shit that they’ve decided to throw onto wax is the best record they’ve ever done, when in fact it’s little more than a studio out-take.

I’m pissed off with an artist blowing up, and before you even have time to cop an album, he’s talking about bringing through his homies and THEIR album, despite the fact that it often sounds that they’ve just walked in off the street, and never even LOOKED at a microphone before. Some might say, this is admirable – one blows up, and then brings his team through to share his success. Bullshit. Check out Ja-Rule as the newest example of this trend – he’s about to bring through his crew, who will sell simply on the back of his name. Now are you telling me that he’s isn’t gonna make a load of cash on the publishing of his crew’s record? Shit, if I stood beside Ja-Rule for long enough, I could get a fucking deal too. There’s no love here at all, its all about getting that cash while your name’s in the frame…

But that’s POP music, you might say. That’s what commercial Hiphop has become, you might say. I totally agree. But even when Hiphop was selling commercially before, it was always different from the run-of-the-mill pop music that normally infested the charts. Now, its EMBRACING it. The major players in Hiphop are selling it’s soul to line their own pockets, and its a fucking disgrace. But there IS something we can do… you can rest assured that Hiphop will fall out of favour with the mainstream sooner or later. And when it does, and when all these fakes come running back, telling you to cop their new “grimey” album, that takes it back to the streets, and is the best thing they’ve ever done…

Don’t be a sucka – vote with your wallet… vote Hiphop.

PEACE

Producer of Things