Whitlock: The black KKK killed Sean Taylor

[Galen Sevinne]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442?MSNHPHCP&GT1=10637

[Rayvens52]

that could not have been said any better, my prayers go out to taylors family, but this is something all of us see way to much in the baltimore area and it needs to stop. great article.

[highwater]

I have an unusual reaction to Whilock's work, in that sometimes l really like it and sometimes I hate it. I don't know if he's inconsistent in his columns or if I'm inconsistent in my reactions to what he writes, but in this case, I like what he wrote about this killing. He does seem to have a feel for African-American issues, and isn't afraid to express his opinions.

[4G63]

The writer is basically repeating what Bill Cosby has been saying for years......Read or listen HERE!! (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/billcosbypoundcakespeech.htm)

[Admin Steve]

Side note but related: Having read the lyrics to 'Crank that Soulja Boy' I was amazed to see Ellen devote a whole show to the dance steps.

(For thise living in a cave, it is the latest dance fad)

Do a youtube seach and you wil find multiple videos of kids as young as 4 dancing to Soulja Boy while singing the lyrics 'Super Man dat Hoe'.

There's something wrong in society and that can't be helping much.

[Rochardrik]

Excellent article! On point in every way! :thumbup:

[festivus]

Very well written piece. Thanks for the link.

[Mad Puppy]

It seems that this is an article only a black man could have written.
Unfortunately it is pure speculation and basically an opportunity for someone to rant on his personal cause (though I feel it a good one). Perhaps it's best too learn the true details first?

[festivus]

"Best"? Probably. I think Whitlock would agree with you it would be "best" to have the complete picture before writing. But his piece is relevant and thought provoking - definitely a rant - even if he wrote it without waiting for perfect knowledge.

:2c:

[crpravens]

Great Article

[Greg]

What do "super man dat ho" and "cocking on your bitch" mean?

And Steve, Carroll County isn't a cave but we are equally, if not more, isolated from these kind of things. It is one reason I live out here.

[4G63]

What do "super man dat ho" and "cocking on your bitch" mean?

And Steve, Carroll County isn't a cave but we are equally, if not more, isolated from these kind of things. It is one reason I live out here.

You haven't walked the halls of Westminster High lately have you? You're not isolated in Carroll county my friend.....

[crpravens]

What do "super man dat ho" and "cocking on your bitch" mean?

And Steve, Carroll County isn't a cave but we are equally, if not more, isolated from these kind of things. It is one reason I live out here.

super man dat ho means: A very degrading sexual thing.. PM for the details

[Greg]

I looked it up, thanks.

My kids are 6 and 3 and are not in public school so as yet we have not been touched by this, uh, form of art.

[FellsPointRaven]

When you said 'crank that soulja boy', I thought you meant this...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1235/1377910033_fc06eec71d_o.gif

[bmoreravengirl]

Side note but related: Having read the lyrics to 'Crank that Soulja Boy' I was amazed to see Ellen devote a whole show to the dance steps.

(For those living in a cave, it is the latest dance fad)

Do a youtube seach and you wil find multiple videos of kids as young as 4 dancing to Soulja Boy while singing the lyrics 'Super Man dat Hoe'.

There's something wrong in society and that can't be helping much.

Count me as one who lives in a cave as I can't stand/don't listen to rap since so much of it is utter filth/garbage and is degrading/disrespectful to women.

[RAVENOUS52]

LMAO @ Greg's ummm, "discomfort" with crass hip-hop/urban terminology...:rolling:

The article is very on point though socially, albeit without the complete facts in regards to Taylor's death.

[Admin Steve]

Count me as one who lives in a cave as I can't stand/don't listen to rap since so much of it is utter filth/garbage and is degrading/disrespectful to women.

You don't have to listen to rap but only to any top 20 station as a impressionable teen or pre-teen may be disposed to do. Soluja Boy happens to be in the top 3 right now. If you have kids around 4th grade or up, you will have heard it.

My 10 year old girl attends a private school and neither me nor her mother play much Top 20 but she can do the 'dance' and knows some of the lyrics. I assume she doesn't know what they mean.

As previously mentioned, Ellen devoted most of a show to learning the dance steps like it was a song by bloody Barry Manilow.

I don't get it.

[PurpleRulz]

You guys know me very well and my stance on this subject. With this being said, Whitlock is dead spot on. This article is the reason I am a strong activist to the empowerment of African Americans. It has nothing to do with wanting to separate from whites or other cultures either. There is a major problem within the A.A. community when it comes to positively contributing to society.

I work for the Howard County Public School System as a behavior specialist and I work with kids with-well-behavior issues. One of our stats has 51 percent of out-of-school suspensions committed to A.A. males. These kids just don't see the value in any other response to a problem save for an act of aggression. On today and during a seminar, the presenter stated that "there is pressure on black youth to NOT achieve success." He further stated that "these youth receive attention typically when they are committing some destructive act" and the go ignored when "they achieve success." For example, I have a B.S., Masters, and Doctorate in Psychology from UMBC, and I have been called everything from a "sell out and uncle tom" to "not a real African American and not keepin it real."

My point is that a lot of A.A. youth (boys in particular) just don't see the value in achievement or in resolving issues without an aggressive act. My sell job is hard, but with my personal life as a testimony to the boys I work with, I have made progress in opening their eyes. All these boys see, however, are thuggish African American behavior getting attention.

I disagree though with Whitlock that hip hop is the total blame. It plays a role, but the biggest impact is coming from the homes. I am telling you what I know here, because most of the kids I counsel go home to a (parent-absent) home. A lot of my kids learn this behavior directly from the exmaple of their parent, guardian or care giver. There are no parents or responsible adults at home teaching these kids the value of morality and ethics.

Again, hip hop plays a role as does media. Look at BET and all you see is GHETTO-type behavior (i.e. rudeness, loud-silly acting girls, boys with their pants around their ankles, etc.) Look on ESPN and black athletes like Pacman Jones, O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick, Chad Johnson, T.O. Barry Bonds are getting most of the attention. Meanwhile, the LTs, Marvin Harrisons, Reggie Bushes are often ignored. Now, I am not contradicting myself here, but my point here is that parents are not talking with their kids and explaining that such behavior is inappropriate. The greatest influence in a child's life comes from home. If they don't get it from there, it is only then that the outside world, T.V., hip hop, etc. becomes a major influence.

Jason Whitlock is spot on with this article. The black KKK must be destroyed. Sadly, the black KKK is in the homes of the destructive kids. I am tired of seeing black kids (like Sean Taylor) the victim of senseless acts of agression.

[PurpleRulz]

You don't have to listen to rap but only to any top 20 station as a impressionable teen or pre-teen may be disposed to do. Soluja Boy happens to be in the top 3 right now. If you have kids around 4th grade or up, you will have heard it.

My 10 year old girl attends a private school and neither me nor her mother play much Top 20 but she can do the 'dance' and knows some of the lyrics. I assume she doesn't know what they mean.

As previously mentioned, Ellen devoted most of a show to learning the dance steps like it was a song by bloody Barry Manilow.

I don't get it.

What is interesting is that 70% of rap sales are white boys and girls, yet this does not lead them to acts of aggression.

Another distinction must be made, and that distinction is that hip hop culture is not black culture. It is its own culture within itself. It isn't the music telling these kids to shoot each other. It is some influential adult (parent, older brother, etc.) teaching them; or not teaching them anything. Depends on how you look at it.

[Galen Sevinne]

You guys know me very well and my stance on this subject. With this being said, Whitlock is dead spot on. This article is the reason I am a strong activist to the empowerment of African Americans. It has nothing to do with wanting to separate from whites or other cultures either. There is a major problem within the A.A. community when it comes to positively contributing to society.

I work for the Howard County Public School System as a behavior specialist and I work with kids with-well-behavior issues. One of our stats has 51 percent of out-of-school suspensions committed to A.A. males. These kids just don't see the value in any other response to a problem save for an act of aggression. On today and during a seminar, the presenter stated that "there is pressure on black youth to NOT achieve success." He further stated that "these youth receive attention typically when they are committing some destructive act" and the go ignored when "they achieve success." For example, I have a B.S., Masters, and Doctorate in Psychology from UMBC, and I have been called everything from a "sell out and uncle tom" to "not a real African American and not keepin it real."

My point is that a lot of A.A. youth (boys in particular) just don't see the value in achievement or in resolving issues without an aggressive act. My sell job is hard, but with my personal life as a testimony to the boys I work with, I have made progress in opening their eyes. All these boys see, however, are thuggish African American behavior getting attention.

I disagree though with Whitlock that hip hop is the total blame. It plays a role, but the biggest impact is coming from the homes. I am telling you what I know here, because most of the kids I counsel go home to a (parent-absent) home. A lot of my kids learn this behavior directly from the exmaple of their parent, guardian or care giver. There are no parents or responsible adults at home teaching these kids the value of morality and ethics.

Again, hip hop plays a role as does media. Look at BET and all you see is GHETTO-type behavior (i.e. rudeness, loud-silly acting girls, boys with their pants around their ankles, etc.) Look on ESPN and black athletes like Pacman Jones, O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick, Chad Johnson, T.O. Barry Bonds are getting most of the attention. Meanwhile, the LTs, Marvin Harrisons, Reggie Bushes are often ignored. Now, I am not contradicting myself here, but my point here is that parents are not talking with their kids and explaining that such behavior is inappropriate. The greatest influence in a child's life comes from home. If they don't get it from there, it is only then that the outside world, T.V., hip hop, etc. becomes a major influence.

Jason Whitlock is spot on with this article. The black KKK must be destroyed. Sadly, the black KKK is in the homes of the destructive kids. I am tired of seeing black kids (like Sean Taylor) the victim of senseless acts of agression.

Well said. I also work with troubled-adolescents and spent some years in the alternative high schools. Hip-hop culture was around for a couple decades with little to no negative effect on A.A. It was the emergence of "gansta" rap that began to encourage negative behaviors and values. Unfortunately this "genre" was commercially successful so it became the way that a lot of people now see the hip-hop culture to be all about. I think it also gave the younger A.A. community something to identify with and rally around and the whole "stop snitching", "keep it real" mentality has really imbedded itself in the younger A.A. community. The end result is what we are seeing with incidents in Baltimore city and elsewhere.

Many kids will not do well in school if their parents don't care. If there is going to be a change in the idea of a "Black KKK", adults are going to have to leverage kids into doing better in school which is really what Whitlock and Cosby are really saying.

But anyway this is a football board right?

[PurpleRulz]

Well said. I also work with troubled-adolescents and spent some years in the alternative high schools. Hip-hop culture was around for a couple decades with little to no negative effect on A.A. It was the emergence of "gansta" rap that began to encourage negative behaviors and values. Unfortunately this "genre" was commercially successful so it became the way that a lot of people now see the hip-hop culture to be all about. I think it also gave the younger A.A. community something to identify with and rally around and the whole "stop snitching", "keep it real" mentality has really imbedded itself in the younger A.A. community. The end result is what we are seeing with incidents in Baltimore city and elsewhere.

Many kids will not do well in school if their parents don't care. If there is going to be a change in the idea of a "Black KKK", adults are going to have to leverage kids into doing better in school which is really what Whitlock and Cosby are really saying.

But anyway this is a football board right?

Yes it is a football board, but this topic has so many layers to it. Tragic events such as the Sean Taylor murder are just symptomatic of a deeply seeded problem in the A.A. community. To be blunt, some wish to simply exploit these problems to rationalize their stereotypes and perceptions of all Black Americans. I say that because they often point out what is wrong in the A.A. community (or emphasize stats that show how worse off A.A. are when compared to whites) without offering any type of solution. Hey if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

Instead of featuring many articles and segments on the "thug life" that Sean Taylor lived leading up to his death, why not use this incident to makes changes ad take some sort of action. I am using this event as a model, to the young boys I counsel, to show how a destructive lifepath can lead to destruction.

(This topic may better be served in the Political section. While the incident and the article referenced stems from an incident with a NFL player, the core of this topic is very political).

[bmoreravengirl]

You don't have to listen to rap but only to any top 20 station as a impressionable teen or pre-teen may be disposed to do. Soluja Boy happens to be in the top 3 right now. If you have kids around 4th grade or up, you will have heard it.

I listen to the oldies station.

I guess I'm a "sell-out" too since I live in a nice house (that I bought) in a pretty decent neighborhood, wear nice clothes, and have a good job (one that doesn't involve "shakin' dat a**" or "backing dat thang up" in some rapper's video or anything else degrading, foul, or otherwise offensive).

[highwater]

Raven31, I just realized that was you when I read you sig -- nice to hear from you again! I guess I should address you now as bmoreravengirl but that's a lot to type.

LOL at you being a "sell-out" -- sarcasm noted.

[camdenyard]

I listen to the oldies station.

I guess I'm a "sell-out" too since I live in a nice house (that I bought) in a pretty decent neighborhood, wear nice clothes, and have a good job (one that doesn't involve "shakin' dat a**" or "backing dat thang up" in some rapper's video or anything else degrading, foul, or otherwise offensive).

Let me guess...you were probably also brought up by two caring parents who had old fashioned values and made sure you had what you needed physically and emotionally to succeed. Am I close?

Count me in as one who thinks that this subversive subculture that embraces the prison lifestyle and all that goes with it needs to be stamped out. This isn't a passing fad like long hair, bell bottom jeans or flower power.

I wonder what people from the 1800s would say if they were somehow transported in time to 2007. Clowns walking around with pants hanging on their knees, talking jibberish, listening to shit that flies in the face of common decency and rules of living that have served society well for hundreds of years. To me, it's a f*cking embarrassment.

[Galen Sevinne]

Yes it is a football board, but this topic has so many layers to it. Tragic events such as the Sean Taylor murder are just symptomatic of a deeply seeded problem in the A.A. community. To be blunt, some wish to simply exploit these problems to rationalize their stereotypes and perceptions of all Black Americans. I say that because they often point out what is wrong in the A.A. community (or emphasize stats that show how worse off A.A. are when compared to whites) without offering any type of solution. Hey if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.

Instead of featuring many articles and segments on the "thug life" that Sean Taylor lived leading up to his death, why not use this incident to makes changes ad take some sort of action. I am using this event as a model, to the young boys I counsel, to show how a destructive lifepath can lead to destruction.

(This topic may better be served in the Political section. While the incident and the article referenced stems from an incident with a NFL player, the core of this topic is very political).

My comment about this "being a football board" was only made out the frustration and possible irony that we would be talking about the problems kids face on a football message board. I agree with all you said and always like to hear about other folks out there on the front lines doing the work with kids. I applaud your work and wish you the best. Incidents like this should become learning moments for kids. They will not be unless brave people like Whitlock "push" them in that direction. Posting that link was with the intention of combining the politics with something we all love...football.

[bmoreravengirl]

Let me guess...you were probably also brought up by two caring parents who had old fashioned values and made sure you had what you needed physically and emotionally to succeed. Am I close?

You are correct, up until I was 14 yrs. old when my father died. If I got anything lower than a B in school, I'd better have a good reason why, otherwise I was going to be in trouble.

[BertJonesMyHero]

<<< The writer is basically repeating what Bill Cosby has been saying for years......

And Bill gets ripped to shreds for being an Uncle Tom.
Great article. Great thread. I'm not black so my opinion means zilch, but it seems to me the AA community needs more Cosby's, Whitlock's, Wilbon's, and Juan Williams'... And less of the knee jerk self serving media types the article mentioned. Unless our society can talk about these things without the PC police attacking us, it will never get solved(Just look what happened to Juan Williams after his chat with Bill O'Reilly).

And I have a ton of respect for those of you working on this problem.(As mentioned above)

[HoustonRaven]

<<< The writer is basically repeating what Bill Cosby has been saying for years......

And Bill gets ripped to shreds for being an Uncle Tom.
Great article. Great thread. I'm not black so my opinion means zilch, but it seems to me the AA community needs more Cosby's, Whitlock's, Wilbon's, and Juan Williams'... And less of the knee jerk self serving media types the article mentioned. Unless our society can talk about these things without the PC police attacking us, it will never get solved(Just look what happened to Juan Williams after his chat with Bill O'Reilly).

And I have a ton of respect for those of you working on this problem.(As mentioned above)

:iagree:

IMO, Thomas Sowell needs to be on your list as well!

[BertJonesMyHero]

I like Sowell also. But he is ignored by the AA community. Only political junkies know who he is.

[PurpleRulz]

More Whitelocks are needed in the A.A. community and media. Imagine if a white author wrote this same article. Folks would have asked for his head. I think it is important that an A.A. wrote that article, because it shows that this "Thug Life" is not encompassing all Blacks. There are many A.A. (myself and my girl Raven31) that are tired of this crap.

I am thankful to be in a position (to a lesser extent) to at least influence change. We need to hold parents and the children accountable for their actions. I do that with the kids I work with. Parents will always respond with curses and telling me to mind my business, but they never are able to dispute what I say to them.

Also, BET needs to die a horrible death. Besides the show "Sunday's Best" that station is a cliche fest.

[BertJonesMyHero]

I don't always agree with you SB, but I respect your work and your opinion. I've joked about black names with you in the past, but I seriously would like your take on the issue. The name that gets me this year- A kid on The Tenn Vols is named Arian. HELLO? Did his parents not know what the hell that means? It is not spelled the same, but still.

I heard a black comedian make a joke that(paraphrased) "Some black mother is bound to name her kid Chlamydia-Not knowing what the hell it means." To me, this falls under what you and Cosby say about parental responsibility. A yahoo article last year focused on a 19 year old kid whose mother named him Ronald McDonald. The kid has been in and out of jail, and openly he admits the teasing has mentally scarred him.

[BertJonesMyHero]

PS- White people are just as stupid. Just different. Last night O'Reilly did a piece on an Ohio woman who was stopped by the cops: speeding and breast feeding her infant at the same time. Then she goes on The Factor and says she did nothing wrong and her kid was not at risk in the slightest. She was actually mad at the cop for violating her rights.

Only in Ohio.

[Rochardrik]

You guys know me very well and my stance on this subject. With this being said, Whitlock is dead spot on. This article is the reason I am a strong activist to the empowerment of African Americans. It has nothing to do with wanting to separate from whites or other cultures either. There is a major problem within the A.A. community when it comes to positively contributing to society.

I work for the Howard County Public School System as a behavior specialist and I work with kids with-well-behavior issues. One of our stats has 51 percent of out-of-school suspensions committed to A.A. males. These kids just don't see the value in any other response to a problem save for an act of aggression. On today and during a seminar, the presenter stated that "there is pressure on black youth to NOT achieve success." He further stated that "these youth receive attention typically when they are committing some destructive act" and the go ignored when "they achieve success." For example, I have a B.S., Masters, and Doctorate in Psychology from UMBC, and I have been called everything from a "sell out and uncle tom" to "not a real African American and not keepin it real."

My point is that a lot of A.A. youth (boys in particular) just don't see the value in achievement or in resolving issues without an aggressive act. My sell job is hard, but with my personal life as a testimony to the boys I work with, I have made progress in opening their eyes. All these boys see, however, are thuggish African American behavior getting attention.

I disagree though with Whitlock that hip hop is the total blame. It plays a role, but the biggest impact is coming from the homes. I am telling you what I know here, because most of the kids I counsel go home to a (parent-absent) home. A lot of my kids learn this behavior directly from the exmaple of their parent, guardian or care giver. There are no parents or responsible adults at home teaching these kids the value of morality and ethics.

Again, hip hop plays a role as does media. Look at BET and all you see is GHETTO-type behavior (i.e. rudeness, loud-silly acting girls, boys with their pants around their ankles, etc.) Look on ESPN and black athletes like Pacman Jones, O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick, Chad Johnson, T.O. Barry Bonds are getting most of the attention. Meanwhile, the LTs, Marvin Harrisons, Reggie Bushes are often ignored. Now, I am not contradicting myself here, but my point here is that parents are not talking with their kids and explaining that such behavior is inappropriate. The greatest influence in a child's life comes from home. If they don't get it from there, it is only then that the outside world, T.V., hip hop, etc. becomes a major influence.

Jason Whitlock is spot on with this article. The black KKK must be destroyed. Sadly, the black KKK is in the homes of the destructive kids. I am tired of seeing black kids (like Sean Taylor) the victim of senseless acts of agression.

Keep up the good, hard, much needed work PR! I have an observation , though. It seems to me that the Home life begets the hip-hop which in turn tends to beget the Home life, a vicious circle, cycle, that somehow needs to be broken.
I also see the article by Jason as a sort of generic rant, using Sean as the
subject du' jour.
I listened to 3 black sportswriters yesterday, angry that the story had been reported with Taylor's background being "brought up" and the possible link from this background to the murder. I understand their point, which was the tendency of people to associate the black community with this sort of behavior, but I commend Jason Whitlock for rising above the "they're picking on us" mentality and getting straight to the point which is " Can we please stop this insanity?
In many ways, the inequities levelled against African Americans for 100's of years by whites is now being repeated by some of their own race. I long for the day when that word "race" is a thing of the past.. Are we not all of the same "race"?... The human race?... Anyhoo, keep up the good work PR!!!!!

[bmoreravengirl]

More Whitelocks are needed in the A.A. community and media. Imagine if a white author wrote this same article. Folks would have asked for his head. I think it is important that an A.A. wrote that article, because it shows that this "Thug Life" is not encompassing all Blacks. There are many A.A. (myself and my girl Raven31) that are tired of this crap.


You mean crap like "Shorty, let me holla at you for a minute" and then look at you funny or call you names when you ignore/don't respond to them?

Or how about wanting to "hang out" in a hotel room on the 1st date.

[RAVENOUS52]

Or how about wanting to "hang out" in a hotel room on the 1st date.

Umm, I don't think that phenomenon is unique or exclusive to Black men, bmoreravengirl... Pretty much men of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds want action like that...Haven't you seen "To Catch a Predator?" :laugh:

[Fiesty Ravens Chic]

They have just detained 3 suspects in Sean's Murder ages 17,19 and 26.

[bmoreravengirl]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_taylor_slain

[bmoreravengirl]

Umm, I don't think that phenomenon is unique or exclusive to Black men, bmoreravengirl... Pretty much men of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds want action like that...

Especially if the woman is Sage Steele, right Ravenous? :p

[BertJonesMyHero]

Yea, white suburban kids trying to act like thugs are just as bad.

[PurpleRulz]

I don't always agree with you SB, but I respect your work and your opinion. I've joked about black names with you in the past, but I seriously would like your take on the issue. The name that gets me this year- A kid on The Tenn Vols is named Arian. HELLO? Did his parents not know what the hell that means? It is not spelled the same, but still.

I heard a black comedian make a joke that(paraphrased) "Some black mother is bound to name her kid Chlamydia-Not knowing what the hell it means." To me, this falls under what you and Cosby say about parental responsibility. A yahoo article last year focused on a 19 year old kid whose mother named him Ronald McDonald. The kid has been in and out of jail, and openly he admits the teasing has mentally scarred him.

Friends can disagree. You are a long time poster that will always have my respect. It is true that in black families they makeup names for their kids that have zero meaning. This problem has so many layers.

As for the white kids that act like thugs, that is all that it is; an act. They talk the talk, but these kids, when faced with a conflict, still think through on their choices in how to respond. These kids still value education and contributing positively to society. I have these same kind of posers at the school where I work. Note that this school is 85% A.A., yet the honor roll was 80% caucasion or asian.

We need for the media to start taking the attention away from the Pacman Joneses, Barry Bonds, and the Michael Vicks, and really emphasize the LTs, Reggie Bushes, Dontrelle Willises, etc.

[PurpleRulz]

Keep up the good, hard, much needed work PR! I have an observation , though. It seems to me that the Home life begets the hip-hop which in turn tends to beget the Home life, a vicious circle, cycle, that somehow needs to be broken.
I also see the article by Jason as a sort of generic rant, using Sean as the
subject du' jour.
I listened to 3 black sportswriters yesterday, angry that the story had been reported with Taylor's background being "brought up" and the possible link from this background to the murder. I understand their point, which was the tendency of people to associate the black community with this sort of behavior, but I commend Jason Whitlock for rising above the "they're picking on us" mentality and getting straight to the point which is " Can we please stop this insanity?
In many ways, the inequities levelled against African Americans for 100's of years by whites is now being repeated by some of their own race. I long for the day when that word "race" is a thing of the past.. Are we not all of the same "race"?... The human race?... Anyhoo, keep up the good work PR!!!!!


The word RACE really has no definition, because what we define as RACE actually are definitions of ethnicity or even culture.

You are right that it is a vicious cycle from what is done (or not done) at home as well as what is seen on T.V. Black youths are under pressure, from home, at school, and even at church somtimes, to not achieve. We hear the parents of white families pushing their children to succeed even to the point of living vicariously through their kids. At the same time, I'll hear over and over a black parent tell their child about how street smarts are greater than book smarts. At church, the preacher will always preach about how people think they "are better than someone else when they get a degree." As a result, black kids will say that they rather settle for a GED, and keep it real, than be snooty with a college degree.

That is why other blacks will call me uncle tom, simply because I can properly execute subject/verb relationship. I always respond, however, that at least Uncle Tom lives in an area where he is not ducking bullets everyday. At least Uncle Tom is making a positive contribution to not just black kids, but all kids. We need our black athlete to stop dancing around so much and deposit into these children the value of an education.

[BertJonesMyHero]

This guy is not a fan of the Whitlock column.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-taylorcoverage113007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[PurpleRulz]

This guy is not a fan of the Whitlock column.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-taylorcoverage113007&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

"The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time," Whitlock wrote, suggesting that Taylor was killed by another black man, after adding a minimal disclaimer that he could be wrong. As of Friday morning, Miami police still had no strong sense of who killed Taylor, other than to say they believed it was a random crime.

While I like a lot of what Whitlock, a black man who also works for the Kansas City Star, has written and said in recent years, I winced when I read the beginning of his column. It's powerful, it's strong, it makes you think. But if it's wrong, it's dangerous."

It is interesting the he "winced" when reading the beginning of the column. That is usually the response most have when reading an ugly truth. Maybe he also winced because he knew that was an article only a black writer could write.

What this guy is missing is that regardless of how Taylor died, what Whitlock wrote needed to be written. Come on and let's be real. What is the first thing that comes to mind when a young black male is killed? Exactly. And now that we have more information coming out, it actually supports what Whitlock wrote.

When black persons have money you have to be careful of whom is in your circle. Turns out that one of the killers was invited to a birthday party by his sister. (Imagine what she feels like now). It is the same thing most of us have talked about many times. Look at the trouble that Ray Lewis, Michael Vick, Steve McNair and countless other black athletes find themselves in. At times, it is of their own actions, but it also has to do with who they are "hangin" with. Of course these guys are scared that those people will say that they an Uncle Tom and forgotten where they have come from.

Again, folks have labeled me as a bougeise(sp?) black, but I figured out long time ago that folks like that are just mad because they can't get to me or take what I have worked hard to acquire in life. I keep acquaintences with a variety of persons (black, white, and even a asian guy that I lift weights with)that believe in achieving success.

These black athletes must learn how to make changes in their lives once they have achieved success. Change is life.

[BertJonesMyHero]

The Cole column is a classic example of white liberal guilt.

[HoustonRaven]

The Cole column is a classic example of white liberal guilt.

:iagree: