[blackwatch06]

When I say values, I am not trying to suggests that lower Socio-Economic status (SES) is the result of a morally bankrupt value system only. I am trying to suggest that the choice to value hip-hop over education is the result of a person choosing to look at life from a perspective of expediency. Is this morally bankrupt? Only if we judge the morality of a decision according to the consequesnces and find that the consequences of the decision are destructive.


I understand that poverty is the result of a complex set of variables both within and without our community. It involves both personal and systemic factors that need to be considered, some of which are educational attainment, social policies, motivation of the people involved, opportunities afforded, preparation of the people involved, etc. Are personal values a part of this equation?, of course, are they the only factore effecting SES?, of course not. But among the factors, I think that personal values, in as far as our values can effect our choices, are a very salient factor. If you make certain decisions at certain times in your life, you can better equip yourself to withstand the systemic ills that plague our nation (racism, poverty, and discrimination) or you can make it easier for these ills to destroy you.


A note about political correctness and imposing values on people. Is it wrong for a person to see another person drowning and yell "Why don't you use a life preservers, here's one!!!" and toss it out to him? The drowning person can choose to use it , or refuse it. If the drowning person refuses it, that's fine, but the consequence of not using it can mean death. If the drowning person decides that as a principle, using life preservers flies againsts their belief in swimming without the use of the life preserver, would the suggestion of using one be considered politically incorrect? Is political correctness becoming the value to surpass all values, even over and above self (and community) preservation? Marx noted that ultimately what we would find in capitalist societies is that people would begin to value protecting rights over protecting life. He saw this as a result of a society cherishing their own individual rights over the rights (and survival) of the community. What sense does it make to tell a child nothing about protecting their lives because they may not want to hear it, or may find it offensive? Children are young people in ned of guidance and teaching from adults. Why sit around and watch children make fatal mistakes in judgement in the name of political correctness? While we talk about how wrong imposing values on others is, to suggest that it is wrong to impose values is in itself imposing a value on someone.


I stand firm in stating that if a person chooses the hip-hop identity of blackness, that decision will have certain consequences in our society. If the nihilism and lack of belief in education are values that black people hold dear, chances are that in our society today, the opportunities that are afforded to black people, already too infrequent and insuffiecient, will become just that much more insufficient and infrequent to an uneducated and unmotivated black person. These consequences are ends that they really don't want for themselves if they have any hope in their future. If this is politcal incorrectness, then call me an "un-pc" person, but also call me a person that is truly concerned with empowering our community.
Blackwatch!!!!!!