Why Is Our Society So Enthralled With Violence?

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20080928/Florida.Wiseguys/ Here is an interesting article on John "Junior" Gotti. It gives a brief history of organized crime in Florida. With all the violence erupting in the streets of Oakland, I thought about a serious issue in the black community. The life of a "thug" is what some young black males want to aspire to. Certain rappers, moguls & record labels have been dragged through the mud for promoting that image. Yet, what was the point of giving Victoria Gotti her own reality show? It was to profit off of her relation to the deceased celebrity mob boss John Gotti. There couldn't be any other reason than that.

Our society glorifies violence in the media & on film. It's hard to be a rapper without having a life of crime & narrow escapes from death on your resume. Criminal life lends credibility to the individual that tells the grim tales of the ghetto. You can no longer be an outsider looking in & giving the details of what you have seen. You must have actually lived the details for people to "feel" you. In other words, you ain't real unless you've gang banged, sold drugs,or committed some kind of criminal act. A street soldier with the battle scars to show for it will become a major star in the world of rap. Look at Rick Ross. He got famous for his song "Hustlin" which was about being a major cocaine dealer in Miami. Then it was revealed that he was a former corrections officer. Now, people are wondering about the longevity of his career. Why? Because he may have been lying about just how "street" he is.

In this HBO documentary, it takes a look at the history of violence in America. For those who blame hip-hop for creating violent youths, take a look. Human beings are animals that are violent by nature. Many aggravating factors, such as the environment, can encourage violence. It is not a black or white thing. We all have the propensity to become violent. It angers me that this societal problem gets attributed to race. I am perplexed when I watch discussions on the violence in hip hop. This country was violently taken from American Indians. Africans endured horrific violence during the middle passage. Hip Hop is just a commentary on violence not the root or cause of it. Most wanna-be thugs emulate mafia bosses & their lifestyles. But you don't see me blaming the italian mob for the violence in the black community. So let's not blame hip-hop for violence in America. The same folks who love gangster rap feel the same about "The Godfather". And mostly every rapper adores the Gotti name. Lil' Kim even provided the theme for "Gotti's Boys". That's how intertwined rap & the mafia is.