Social Acceptance.....and Me...

I know....I know.....I promised an article about the mosque being built next to the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks but I feel that Ill write about something that I personally strive to achieve whenever possible....social acceptance; and how I take my place in this social phenomenon along with others such as Eminem, Rush Limbaugh, Frank Lucas, and mvp.....Hillary Clinton (a personal favorite). 

As some of you may know.....I am a fan of rap music.  Yes I am that annoying person that pulls up next to your vehicle at a stop light in my Honda Lunch Box with the speakers blaring pure and holy thoughts so loud that the car is vibrating like a pleasantly plump handy man digging up your driveway with a jackhammer.  And then you'll give me a dirty look...and ill try and race you.  I will lose of course because little Murphy the hampster cant run fast enough in his little wheel that powers my....vehicle....to get me moving at any exhilirating sort of speed.  Speaking of rap music, I have been, with the assistance of my little brother, trying to figure out what it is about rap that is so offensive.  Now the answer that most people would give to this question would be.....you guessed it.......the lyrics.  But talking to a few people I have found that they cant actually understand what the rappers' are saying.....so how do you know its offensive?  Now in no way am I going to say that the lyrics in rap music are comparable to the ones found in say...the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; however I would theorize (dont worry.....ill keep it simple) that rap music is much the same as any socially questionable form of culture.....misunderstood.  When Dick Cheney shot a campaign contributor during a hunting trip in 2006, everybodys reaction was one of shock and horror, as if he had commited some form of non-socially acceptable behavior; however no one stopped to think anymore on the subject......maybe it was a clever strategic tactic to get more people scared of donating to political campaigns.....kind of a 'donate to a political campaign and get shot type of deal'; maybe he was commenting on the ethics of our political leaders (who knows...actually....who cares??).  Maybe making jokes that Hillary Clinton has mad cow is offensive to some people (although if you look at the pictures of her speeches, its hard to say she doesnt...); but that isnt the point....the point is there are a plethora of examples of people performing certain behaviors that are not 'socially-acceptable'.  But I digress...back to rap music...... 

The nice conservative student at a prestigious school, Berkeley perhaps, studying rap music will discover that Rap has its origins in the 1970's in the West Bronx.  It came out of a rebellion against disco music and the ilk associated with that sort of rubbish that caused so many of our dear parents to suffer from fatigue, saggy skin, and irritability.  Many of you may listen to music on the radio that sounds 'rap-ish'.....Jason De-talentless comes to mind.  However, decent rap....once you learn to understand and listen to it, can be found being produced by very FEW artists these days.  Perhaps the sharpest talent is found in Jay-Z, and the epitome of social acceptance....Mr. Mathers himself.  But the point I am trying to make here is this....rap music may be offensive to your conservative, meticulously planned out white picket fence life; but live a little people!  Get a feel for cultural vibrancy.  Rap is, I grant you, predominantly performed by black artists (no you socially repressed jamoke! black is NOT a racist slur!), and yes sometimes it is difficult to understand....but once you can....and once you listen to the lyrics and move past the mother-f#$!&** language problem, you will occasionally....very occasionally....get a glimpse into the lives of a group of people who you, quite frankly, probably dont have much of a relationship with.  People who have not only lived through one of the worst eras of civil degradation,  managed to live through it, and as a result remain imprisioned in a culture of social and economic destitution; but also people who have a god-given ability to do something that most of you cant do.....If it was 'socially acceptable'....you would call it talent.  Being black and being a rapper is perhaps not a social-norm....Dont assume that because they wear their hats backwards and have tattoos that they are evil people.  I mean, come on now people!! We're all human! We all have to live on the same earth...drink the same water, eat the same food, and breathe the same air.  We might as well learn to accept people for who they are.....it would sure make it a helluva lot easier to get along.  As the group of Jamaican gymnasts said in their message during their performance at Venice beach.....its all entertainment man! :)  Dont be so damn narrow minded!

Ill finish with this one last thought regarding social acceptance.....a thought that you are probably sick to death of being bludgeoned over the head with by our media (which I suppose I am now part of?...maybe?).....homosexual marriage.  You may be mormon (I happen to be).....you may be intelligent and well educated (also me)....you may be dashingly handsome (oh hang on....this is turning into my bio....ill get back to the facts ;) ).you may be liberal or conservative......you may be black, white, brown, or yellow......you may even be....dare I say it....a feminist ;)......but denying somebody....anybody! the right to marry or be happy simply because in the past we have found it socially un-acceptable.......that.......that is truly unacceptable.  I will try and avoid any sort of sappy sentiment if I can but I'll leave you with this thought.....what if gay marriage was the norm and it was something in your life that people were being prejudiced about?  What if your religion or your area of study in school, or your hair color was considered 'socially unacceptable'?? 

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me

and by that time no one was left to speak up."

SB