The Search for Thugs

I had no idea that there were still so many racists in this country until I started reading message boards on the Internet. Anyway, racism does continue to be a serious problem, but ultimately, blacks' perception of ourselves is the biggest impediment to our progress. Why is that so many blacks think that any attempt at intellectual prowess is acting white and that being hard and being gangsta is acting black? I am a 29 year old black male and I, like someone else mentioned earlier, had to travel a lonely and ostracized road (the ostracization came mostly from women actually--I never hear this brought up in the media) for not accepting the asinine conception of blackness that's embraced by so many of my peers. If we'd change our outlook and our approach, then our situation would change. We need to start ostracizing criminals and those that think underachievement is something to be proud of.

Here is a very brief list of the contributions of African-American people:
Disposable Syringe: Phil Brooks, Pencil Sharpener: John L. Love, Home Security System: Marie Brown, Pacemaker, Otis Boykin, Traffic Signal: Garrett Morgan, Heating Furnace: Alice H. Parker, Urinalysis Machine: Dewey Sanderson, Refrigerator: J. Standard, Helicopter: Paul E. Williams, Cell Phone: Henry Sampson.
Wow! What a drain African-Americans have been, but I am sure that biggots like you will always try to make yourselves feel superior with such lame and ignorant statements.
The AIDS issue: again you are wrong: Medical experts in the field of infectious diseases say that the virus was around as early as 1919 and a white man, a merchant sailor, is believed to be the first documented case of AIDS.
An African-American woman has proven you to be ignorant and to be a biggot.

Here we go again....Sean Taylor's death is symptomatic and routine for what ails us. .Lets be real about this, as black people. We want to have this view of ourselves as the this socially misjudged race, when in fact, we won freedom long ago and misused it. Yes, I said it. Some of it strove to do things the right way, follow the path, and do whats right, rich or poor. Others of us have chosen the easy wrong over the hard right decision. These choices defy class or economic status. When I was growing up, unmarried pegnancy and the Gangsta" life were stigmatized by low income blacks. As a child, I was not allowed to associate with people who followed these paths, and trust me, we were far from rich. Today it seems that black parents dont hold to the firm hand they once weilded, and in some cases turn a blind eye to their childrens activities (thereby endorcing it). When i walk down a dark street at night, I am not afraid of some white guy robbing or killing me, but a young black male. Racism aside (and it still exists), its an excuse, just an excuse, among the thousands we use for being screwed up as a group of people. We attack one another for not thinking in lockstep, and basically apply responsibility for the entire race on those who have succeeded. Politically, we let the white media dictate who our leaders are (Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson etal), when most blacks cannot identify with them. This guy, like so many other famous blk males, made it, but couldnt escape the "keeping it real" attitude of blks, and devoid himself of thugs and their associates. I dont care if his father is a cop, a minister, or whatever, he was an adult, whose lifestyle and associations played a tragic part in his death. To those who blame rap music and media for the blk child ills, you folks have too much time on your hand. I watched the roadrunner as a child, but never thought that any pain I may have inflicted was glamorous. Its an excuse, plain and simple. If you dont teach your child to separate fiction from reality and to have a concious, then you are a poor parent. As the father of 3 younf blk males, I seldom filtered what they could see or hear, but made sure and questioned what they learned from it. as adults, I was sure they would see and hear much worse, so turning off and tuning out is NOT the answer. Basically, be responsible for your children blk people, as adults, that teaching will carry them a long way. As adults, they will stumble, but, I find that children as adults fall back to how they were raised. Do it right, and hope for the best.


A Stanley
Fredericksburg, VA

Obviously, Mr. Taylor's death was unfortunate. I was not sure where you were going with your article but you really turned it around for me. The reality is that he did have some troubles in his life and that is news - for better or worse . The media's portrayal of Mr. Taylor will not affect me one bit. I pray his family and girlfriend find peace out of this tragedy.

For all the posters out there, instead of being so negative and spouting statistics (which are probably accurate), get out there and ask the right question like what can I do to make things better so there is no perception of the "black gangsta". I bet you can't answer that question. Honestly, I can't either.

I am not a Sharpton fan, but what Raina wrote makes sense. So I ask those reading this, stop projecting blame on others or convincing others to do the same, ask the right questions. Let's get over ourselves so we can progress in this society. It is getting old and as another poster stated "self-defeating". If we keep this up, latino americans (with or without legal immigration) are going to continue surpassing us economically, socially and politically because we can't seem to get over the idea that someone owes us something and we won't assimilate into mainstream because we'd be acting a certain way. We can either recognize this lace up our boots and get it together or just add lationos to the list of folks who are oppressing us - holding us back.

By the way, I am a black attorney, married for 14 years and have three kids who make straight A's (who have been teased because they are so smart - by other African Americans - never white or latino). I did not grow up in a wealthy family, as a matter of fact, right now my mother has a job making $9.37 per hour - she's 55 - had has worked for the same company for over 20 years and my father is a construction worker and will probably work until the day he dies. So no life of privilege here.

Hard work and not placing blame does the body and mind good. Stop placing blame, our youths buy into it...Ask the right questions...Move forward.... Have faith.

Peace be with you.

I just completed reading many of the posted comments. One of the things that bothers me about this type of story is the comment section. A lot of arguing occurs, a lot of insults and racism gets tossed around between people. And nothing gets solved by the responders.
I would like to challenge my brothers to get busy in their respective communities. We have a problem that we are going to have to work on. We have our children lives to save. If the current system is not of the mindset to do so. Shouldn't we be the ones who step up in that role?
It is due time for the adults to show a different style of leadership. There is a real need to apply the African principles that never seem to be raised in a discussion like this.
These types of articles will continue to be published as long as we are not moving towards a solution.
It makes no sense in this century to spend a lot of time aruging about the root causes of racism. Our sons and our daughters are dying. If we really believe that they are worth saving~we need to be about the business of helping to set that foundation.
It is easy to sit and point out all the ills of this society. It is also easy to sit back and wait on someone else to work on solutions. Meanwhile our children are dying. That is one hell of a price to pay for inactivity.
It is time for us to step up and be about our collective business.

While I could argue on both sides of this article, and the related issues it raises, I have decided instead to ask a few questions of the group in hopes of hearing all the different sides.


Why do blacks seem to support institutions that betray their interests?

Why haven't they learned to pool their economic resources to demand change?

Why haven't they succeded in controling the self destructive elements within theri own ranks?

Why do they seem to value athletic prowess over intellectual prowess?

Why have blacks elected to handle the mantle of honor that belonged to MLK over to the likes of Al Sharpton?

Where is the unity amongst them? Don't they see without unity they can have no power?

In actuality, thugs use intimidation, manipulation and mis-information to extort -- all types of resources. Be care Newsweek, one would think there are some closet thugs without their pointed hoods, writing articles about things they themselves have maybe and possibly never had to experience. Lets not fall into the revisionist trap. Africans got to this hemisphere under the most thuggish schemes in history. Hmmm.