Is it the Music? Opinions on Hip Hop' s Influence

Recently, I came across some information that I would like to share with you. Older people have their disagreements with the effects of music in every generation, the current generation is no exception. Please read the comments about what "the music" both advocates and produces nowadays. Let me know if you agree or disagree.
According to the information I obtained, HIP HOP is implicated in producing:
"Youth with no fear. Youth with no purpose. Youth with no respect for authority. Youth with no parental guidance. Youth with no regards for their bodies, appearance, self-respect or futures. Hip Hop drives every aspect of our youths lives in most cases. They live it, breathe it, wear it and die for it. Hip-hop has done what no other [tool] has been able to do at this level. It has influenced all races, all ages, and all low-income areas in America. You can easily tell when youth are into gangsta rap [and/or] explicit lyrical content. They show it in the behavior and the choices they make in life."
HIP HOP produces some of the following clothing trends:
"Sagging jeans, tight fitted tops and bottoms [for females, hopefully!], gang related outfits, prison attire. These are the clothes that hip hop influences our teens to wear freely. What was once considered appropriate only for prostitutes and hardened criminals is now acceptable attire for our youth!"
HIP HOP even affects the mentality in the following ways:
"Hip-hop causes youth to be rebellious, use foul language in public, commit very strong sexual acts with other youth, to feel they have nothing to lose, to give up on their “good” values and take on the negativity of the hip hop culture."
Finally, HIP HOP states either directly or indirectly that:
"Prison is a good place. To be arrested and beat the rap makes you a hero. Teen pregnancy is accepted as the norm. Sex is good. Getting a venereal disease (STD) is not even frowned upon. Having multiple partners okay. Homosexuality and Bi Sexuality is normal and accepted. Foul language and physical abuse is accepted. Bad grades in school are okay. Using drugs and drinking is accepted. Murder is a good thing, if you deserve it. Love is just a word.m. Being a thug is cool. Looking like you just robbed a bank is the norm. The white man is not fair and holds the black man down. Church, the bible, preachers, etc. are not needed. XXX behavior is accepted and preached lyrically in the music. Anything goes, as long as you are feeling it."
I know that I will get some pretty intense responses to this one. Please let me know what you think. You may also debate on some of the statements and if you want me to respond just let me know.

CorelDraw Questions

As a class in Sci Vis I we are more than halfway through our lessons for CorelDraw. I know there are many questions so I would like for you to start asking me via the dudleyscivis weblog, what you do not understand about using CorelDraw so far and what you would like to learn. I will answer your posts as soon as I read them.

Words are Loaded Pistols pt. 2

N.C. State has issued a statement saying that it is distancing itself from comments made by an occasional instructor. Kamau Kambon, an author, taught in N.C. State's Africana Studies program as recently as last spring. In an October 14th conference at Howard University in Washington D.C. that C-Span televised nationally. The conference was to discuss the media coverage of racial issues after Hurricane Katrina. Kambon explained his background and rearing in Brooklyn, NY and his questioning of the oppression endured by Blacks. He later concludes that the reason for such oppression is the "systematic oppression by a society designed and run by Whites."
So just what is this statement that Kamau Kambon made. It is as follows:
" We have to exterminate white people off the face of teh planet to solve this problem...," and he also states, "So we just have to just set up our own system and stop playing and get very serious and not be diverted from coming up with a solution to the problem, and the problem on the planet is white people."
Compare this to the statements made by William Bennett in a previous post (Words are Loaded Pistols). Also, where do you think attitudes such as these come from?

Dear Mrs. Martin

If you could write a letter to Mrs. Martin explaining some of the positive and negative changes that have been implemented at Dudley, things that need to change, and what you have seen that brings the image of the school down what would you write. I would like for you to write on some of the things that you would like to see in a letter to Mrs. Martin about what is good, bad, and outright ugly at Dudley (please don't include people, just policies, situations, etc.). Keep all responses free of profanity and vulgar language and back your responses with facts. Remember you may be writing something that can get her attention.

Execution Set for Gang Co-Founder

Stanley "Tookie" Williams is best known for his involvement in co-founding the Crips, a gang originating in Los Angeles California. Upon his sentence to death row he has tried arduously to remove this stigma from his record. Currently, Mr. Williams is at work producing children's books about the subject of gang involvement. He seeks to educate the youth of America and the world so that they do not follow in the footsteps he has created for them and of which many of them have been imprisoned, murdered and maimed for life all in the name of gang affiliation. He has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and has received awards for his children's literature and political activism. With all of his commendations and work he is not being bestowed the most prestigious of awards afforded to an individual, life. October 24, 2005, a California judge signed a death warrant for December 13, 2005. This execution can only be detered by an issue of clemency from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mr. Williams, 53, was sentenced to death in 1981 for fatally shooting a Whittier convenience store worker in 1979. He was also convicted of killing two Los Angeles motel owners and their daughter during a robbery the same year. He and a high school friend started the Crips in Los Angeles in 1971. My question to you is should he be granted clemency by the governor? Also, describe the impact that gangs have on your community? Is this impact positive or negative? What can be done if this impact is negative? Try to think about true measures that can be implemented to make a real change.

NBA Dress Code

With tickets sales for NBA games waning (lagging) in comparison to years past, increasingly due to the perception of the NBA, the comissioner (president) has taken notice. On Monday, October 18, National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner David Stern issued that effective the start of the 2005-2006 NBA regular season the players would have to adhere to a dress code. Some of the details of the dress code include: no more sunglasses worn indoors, no more sleeveless shirts, no more headphones during news conferences, no more caps cocked to the side, no more do-rags, no more rumpled sweats, no more chains bearing expensive, gaudy pendants. In a nutshell, business casual dress is now required of every player while on team business. In response, players have cited everything from needing clothing allowances to racism for reasons why they should not have to follow such regulations. For example, Marcus Camby, who makes $8 million a year playing for the Denver Nuggets, says that the burden is "unfair," and "if the NBA wants to impose a dress code it should give each player a clothing allowance." Other players, like Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers and Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics to name a few, say that the code is racist and aimed at ridding the league of the hip-hop gangsta look that is popular with black men. Pierce is quoted as saying, "...I think that's part of our [black] culture. The NBA is young black males." Indeed the NBA is 75% black, however, consider that the dress code affects white players that like to "dress down" as well. Also, consider that the NBA is first and foremost a business, a very lucrative one that thrives on entertainment and also the perception of its investors. If these investors, a majority of whom are not black, perceive an organization made up of frightening, intimidating men in great physical shape and capable of the acts displayed in the infamous Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers game, the business will not thrive. Give me your viewpoint on the new dress code implemented by the NBA. Also look at what some of the players in the NBA thought about the new dress code.

Perception is Reality

“We have to prepare the next generation for battle. We have to realize that the fight against [our enemies] might last a long, long time.”
So long as men like [this one] continue to send their young to die, that prediction may well come true.
Who might have made this statement?
Why do you think this is the case?
Does fighting your enemies last a long time?
Who are your enemies?

Is Race a Valid Concept?

Hotel Rwanda detailed the events of the nation of Rwanda from April to July of 1994. In April of 1994, Rwanda entered into a civil war, which sent ripples throughout the African nation. Within the first eight days over 8,000 innocent people had died as a result of the hostility that the Hutus (an Africa tribe contrived by the Belgians) had against the Tutsis (another contrived African tribe). The result of this mass genocide was close to a million people (937,000) dying simply because of a race that in all actuality did not exist. To explain, the Hutus and Tutsis were "tribes" that the Belgians created based on skin color, size of the head, and other irrelevant characteristics. It was a cultural conception meant to establish a division and thus maintain more power over the people that inhabited the country of Rwanda. My question to you is about this concept of race. Is race a cultural conception? Or is it a valid biological concept? Before you answer think about it first. We have been handed that we are a certain race for some time, many of the documents we fill out to apply for things have a section to denote your race so therefore we have always believe race to be valid. Many have used this as a means to make one race inferior to another. Also, think of who first developed this concept of race. Basically, try to look at this question from all angles.
To learn more about the Rwandan Genocide try some of the following links:
Rwandan Genocide
Rwanda 10 years after
Triumph of Evil

EXCUSE ME!!!!

"Americans' fast-paced, high-tech existence has taken a toll on the civil in society." USA Today.com recently ran an Associated Press article in which a poll on the politeness of Americans or lack thereof was done. Seventy percent of the individuals polled said that Americans were more rude today than say twenty or thirty years ago. Everything was cited for this increase in rudeness from long commutes on packed roadways to boisterous cell phone users that engage in loud conversations. Yet overall, the resounding answer to the problem is that, "More and more, manners are taught less and less."
Do you think that Americans are rude, perhaps even more than in the past? Also, tell me about a situation in which you experienced someone acting rudely towards you.

Is Science Education Equitable (Fair) for Both Girls and Guys?

Why are there so few women in science? This is a question recently posed to me in a graduate course I am currently taking. Apparently, this problem begins with the expectations in the home and later at school. I would like for you to read these two views from a private school in Rowan County, then answer the four (4) questions at the end of this post.

I think girls in science are too detail oriented. They aren't willing to take risks and venture into uncharted territory. In the classroom I think teachers of the opposite sex of the student answer a little less carefully and exactly. To students of the same sex, however, answers are more thought out.
- Ricky, 12th Grade

I think that most of the time the females are more diligent and neater in their work. I also think that females are somewhat looked down upon in the science field. The traditional thought, I think, is for males to be the ones that are scientists. For example, if someone was an environmental scientist there would be a lot of outdoor work or physical labor and some people think that females should not do this type of work. I also think that some of the males think they are better than the females and think they know more and therefore will not give females a chance. But when there are female teachers, then things are more fair to everyone, male or female.
-Heather, 12th Grade

Do you agree or disagree with the statements?
Are females being properly prepared for professions in science if they so choose them?
What have you seen, as far as treatment is concerned, from teachers when they are dealing with students of the same gender? What about their treatment of students of the opposite gender? And finally is there any bias or prejudices about females in science that you have seen?

Why Didn't the Media Report This?

Please comment on this topic I read in a recent email sent to me:
Denzel Washington and his family visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas (BAMC) the other day. Thisis where soldiers who have been evacuated from
Germany come to be hospitalized in the United States, especially burn victims. There are some buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a Hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the Hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base, but as you can imagine, they are almost filled most of the time. While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, they gave him a tour of one of the Fisher Houses. He asked how much one of them would cost to build. He took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amount right there on the spot. The soldiers overseas were amazed to hear this story and want to get the word out to the American public, because it warmed their hearts to hear it.
The question posed is, why do Alec Baldwin, Madonna, Sean Penn, and other Hollywood types make front page news with their [causes against the war]and Denzel Washington's Patriotism doesn't even make page 3 in the Metro section of any newspaper except the Local newspaper in San Antonio?

Why did they have to bomb Smurf Village?

In a recent ad campaign, UNICEF, shows the cartoon, the Smurfs, as the victims of a bombing. Smurfette is left for dead, Baby Smurf is left crying and orphaned and the childhood scenario of Smurf Village is in shambles as fire and destruction plague this once serene setting of childhood bliss. The reason forusing the creations of Belgian artist Peyo? UNICEF says that it wants to shock a complacent public into backing its fund-raising efforts for ex-child soldiers in Africa. However, was this the best method of generating such support? In defense of UNICEF they did say that they waited until 9 p.m. to air the ads, when children are less likely to be exposed to the destruction of one of their favorite cartoons. Let me know your feelings about the tactics of UNICEF to generate support. Is this acceptable or not? And what could they have done instead?

Super-Size Me!!!: Revelations from a Documentary on Fast-Food

Why are Americans so fat? Two words: fast food. What would happen if you ate nothing but fast food for an entire month? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock does just that and embarks on the most perilous journey of his life. The rules? For 30 days he can't eat or drink anything that isn't on McDonald's menu; he must wolf three squares a day; he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked. Spurlock treks across the country interviewing a host of experts on fast food and an equal number of regular folk while chowing down at the Golden Arches. Spurlock's grueling drive-through diet spirals him into a physical and emotional metamorphosis that will make you think twice about picking up another Big Mac.
Summary written by Sujit R. Varma retrieved October 12, 2005 from imdb.com.

Director Morgan Spurlock seeks to expose one of the "biggest health epidemics" America currently is facing, obesity. Spurlock is prompted to conduct the study based on a news report of two young ladies seeking to sue McDonald's for "making" them obese. I would like to know your opinion. Are Americans eating too much fast food nowadays? Is obesity really a health epidemic? Should people be denied certain types of health insurance because of their weight? Also, would you consider viewing the documentary Super-Size Me to see the hurtful health effects of eating fast food three meals a day for a month? Please as always keep your responses clean from profanity and hurtful language.

Do the Dollars Really Make Sense?

PLEASE READ THIS QUOTE FROM THE GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD AND THEN RESPOND.
Retrieved from "Dollars and Sense." Greensboro News and Record, Sunday, October 9, 2005.
Each morning, the student body at Northwest High School sets out for school from neighborhoods of homes worth more than $200,000. High-end cars line the driveways.
Drawing from the county's wealthiest attendance zone , Northwest also has the county's highest passing rates on state end-of-course tests. The average student scored 120 points above the national average on the SAT.
Students at Dudley High School leave homes half the size and worth just a third as much. They're 3 and a half times as likely to have done their homework the night before in rooms with no air conditioning.
Drawing from the county's poorest attendance zone , Dudley ranks at or near the bottom of those same end-of-course tests. Its students are less than half as likely to pass end-of-course tests in algebra and chemistry.
Across Guilford County, the wealth of residents in an attendance zone has proved to be a better predictor of test scores than class size, teacher experience or racial background, a News & Record analysis shows.
Image retrieved October 12, 2005 from http://www.antongraphics.com/illustration/magazine/DollarsSense.gif

Are Our Public Schools Becoming Resegregated?

A recent article in the Greensboro News and Record was forwarded to me via email. The article stated that since the 1980's, the South is slowly resegregating its schools. The article goes on to address that it will take a community commitment to change such a trend. This led to another issue that I was introduced to some time ago. Have the current generations lost the fire of the civil rights era? In class many times I address the use of the word n***** when referring to classmates of the same race as you (i.e., Black). But, do we really take for granted that people worked hard to give us the privileges we have today? In reality, resegregating would be a first step backward. In conversation with several teachers across the county and state it is clearly evident that diversity is a key to educational progress. Problems with segregation include everything from lack of financial resources to lacking social practice. All this being said, I would like to know the following. Do you feel current generations are grateful for the sacrifices of past generations in making equal conditions in school and society as a whole? Have current generations forgotten the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, and other prominent Civil Rights activists? What could you be doing personally to show appreciation for the contributions of past generations towards your future success?

Marijuana: A Threat to Teen Academic Success

A recent ad from the Office of National Drug Control Policy got my attention as it read, "MARIJUANA COULD THREATEN YOUR TEEN'S SUCCESS." Upon reading the brief, one-page ad it was interesting to find the amount of credible research that has been conducted on the effects of marijuana on teenagers. For instance, did you know that heavy marijuana use impairs young people's ability to concentrate and retain information? Of course you did. How about marijuana use being linked to poorer grades? The ad states that a teen with a "D" average is 4 times more likely to have used marijuana than a teen with an "A" average. Still not convinced? Let's talk about dropout rates. Odds of dropping out are more than twice that of a non-user.
The problem is that marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among youth today and is more potent than ever. Kids are experimenting at younger ages. And don't be fooled by popular beliefs. Kids can get hooked on marijuana. Research shows that marijuana use can lead to addiction. Each year, more kids enter treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined. Give your view on this topic. From what you know is the information true or is it just another ploy to stop you from "having fun" and "experiencing life?" Reply seriously. For more information on marijuana and potential health effects go to the AntiDrug.com and research about it some more.

Minds are the Real Estate of the New Millenium

Chuck D, leader of the rap group Public Enemy, urged students at East Carolina University to resist the dumbing down movement occurring in American culture. "Minds are the real estate of the new millenium," he said.
"The worst thing that can happen is to have someone thinking for you."
Snippet from Greensboro News and Record, Saturday, October 8, 2005.

Let me know what you think about Chuck D's statements. Do you agree or disagree? Do you feel that American culture is getting dumber? If so, how? And if not, what would make Chuck D say such things? Also, give some examples that you have seen that either confirm or disregard his statement.

Intelligent Design? Evolution?

On March 13, 1925 marked a monumental date in history. It was on this day that landmark legislation was made. The Scopes Monkey Trial ended with the jury deciding that any teaching at any state-funded educational establishment in Tennessee, of "any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals," was forbidden. This is often interpreted as meaning that the law forbade the teaching of any aspect of the theory of evolution.
Today, a new battle ensues over this same topic. However, it now takes on a different twist. Intelligent design states that that certain features of the universe and of living things exhibit the characteristics of a product resulting from an intelligent cause or agent, not an unguided process such as natural selection. This often times alludes to mentions of God in creation. This topic is very volatile as far as debate is concerned since it puts many conservative religious groups and "liberal" activists groups against one another in head to head confrontation. Currently, it affects what is taught and what may be taught in schools.
What do you think? Should one concept over the other be considered correct? Or should be taught equally and further expose students to the impact of science on society and the way we view the world? Before answering take notice that a theory explains why a law works as it does. Therefore the theory of evolution seeks to explain the law or process of evolution. Also, check out the links about the intelligent design debate: FOR and AGAINST and A VIEW FROM BOTH SIDES.

Words are Loaded Pistols

"If you wanted to reduce crime you could--if that were your sole purpose--you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."

WILLIAM BENNET, former U.S. Education Secretary, now a syndicated talk show host. He added that it would be an "impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down."

Quote and comments retrieved from TIME magazine October 10, 2005

I would like to know your thoughts on this, as usual, no profanity, vulgarity, and be as serious as possible. This is a very serious statement to make.

Man Pays $20 Million to Go to Space

The site is Korolyov, Russia. It is here that the Russian space program has found a place to thrive again. The Russian Soyuz was launched Friday, September 30, 2005 and marked the renewed efforts of Russia to become a powerhouse in aeronautics. With all the excitement of the reemerging space program after the fall of the Mir Space Station four years ago, a wealthy tycoon has secured himself a spot on the Russian shuttle. Greg Olsen paid twenty million dollars to become a passenger on the space flight and accompany astronaut William McArthur and cosmonaut Valery Tokarev. Mr. Olsen is no stranger to science. He is a 60-year-old founder of an infrared-camera maker based in Princeton, N.J. and holds advanced degrees in both physics and materials science. People that know Olsen and also individuals that are associated with the Russian space program say that Olsen's place on the shuttle was not an act of "tourism," but due to the fact that Olsen is first and foremost a scientist. What do you think, is this "tourism" and is it simply an issue of the money that the Russian space program would receive? Also, think about if you had the opportunity to go somewhere in space. Where in space would you travel to? How much would you be willing to pay for such an opportunity? Will space travel be accessible to everyone in the future?