One Sick Puppy...

Usually I don't speak on personal issues, or personal allegations, however the issue of Afrika Bambataa's allegations of sexual misconduct has deteriorated exactly how I expected it to when compared to when I initially read the story. What was initially presented in the press by Ronald Savage as an issue of principle with regard to a statute of limitation has now turned into an all-out tabloid-esqe, TMZ inspired assault on ONE individual, with people now taking sides, accusations now being thrown around, courtesy of the mind-shaping media.

Now my Facebook news feed is being populated with virtual soapbox speeches condemning those who they say "sit idly by and say nothing regarding pedophilia and sexual abuse." It's as if they're trying to shame (it's funny how that word takes a different tone when you attach it to liberals...side note) people for not saying anything, or for not condemning Afrika regarding this subject, which for all we know as of right now are mere allegations, and regardless of guilt or innocence, should be handled in a court of law, not a court of public opinion. I've said the exact same thing regarding Bill Cosby's personal allegations, and I will say it regarding any person's personal issues. 

Courting or trying to shape public opinion regarding an issue is not always the best thing to do in this society, and eventually you risk the chance that it may come back to bite you in the ass. Especially for marginalized and disenfranchised people, who have seen rogue police get away with murder and brutality despite damning camera footage, recorded voice messages, as in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain's death in White Plains, N.Y in late 2011, witness accounts, and a barrage of social media comments, these people walk the streets unabated, and some even received publicity, compensation and funding from television networks and internet funding outlets.

We must never forget the words of the late Malcolm X (Al-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz) regarding the hypocrisy and double-standards of this society when he stated"

"They sell you liquor, then arrest you for getting drunk. They sell you a deck of cards, then arrest you for using them."

You may ask "why is he using this quote in this context? It doesn't seem to make sense." But allow me to expound.

Malcolm was commenting on the double-standards of this country where some things that harm and contribute to the destruction of individuals, families and communities are legalized and marketed by this country, however one is punished in crimes where such objects may have been contributory. We see this yearly with alcohol-related deaths in the 15-20,000 range in this county, yet the issue regarding prohibition of alcohol can never come up again, because those same people will tell you "you can't legislate morality."

Let's take a look at how public opinion was shaped, leading the federal government to declare the now-infamous "War On Drugs." The propaganda surrounding that topic, leading with "this is your brain on drugs", "Just say no" ads on TV, news articles and TV features showing crack addicts, prostitutes, and gang members, the violence and mayhem, all lead Black community leaders to give the go-ahead on laws that we know now wreaked havoc on the Black community, and hasn't been able to recover from it since. Black men were profiled(and still are), arrested and charged with huge sentences, sometimes in triple digits, while others returned back to society only to experience what we now know as "The New Jim Crow". 

However, what happened to the REAL gangsters, the real criminals, who lived outside of the inner cities, who brought the drugs in, who profitted off the lives destroyed by the sale of drugs and guns, and the mass incarceration of young Black men, sent to prison and made to work for slave wages?

This is an excellent example of how the public opinion of an uneducated and uninformed community can come back to haunt them, and the real exploiters of such opinion can get away with virtually anything they desire.

In a 2005 book entitled Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships And Our Families, the author Pamela Paul discussed how she interviewed several men who watched porn, and discovered that a majority of those interviewed expressed some interest in child pornography, regardless of the level of the interest, and despite knowing the illegality of it. Many who were interviewed expressed that initially they had no interest in child pornography, even finding it repulsive, however they found themselves gradually harboring an interest in such form of "entertainment". 

But if I was a betting man, I would be willing to bet the house that you could not garner enough public opinion to see a possible connection between pornography and pedophilia. And don't even mention advocating its' prohibition, for the notion of banning pornography would label one "prude" or relegate one to being "conservative" or "religious", and the howls of "censorship" would forever ring out, and one would be cast off as infringing on one's "constitutional rights". 

And in an even more stranger twist of fate, despite the claims of "rape culture", "street harrassment", "misogyny" and "patriarchy" that flood the media now,  modern-day feminists now do not see any harm in pornography, nor do they see it as a contributory factor in how some men view women as sex objects, and will defend its usage and purported purpose, although the one exception would be that they are in control of the content, production and manufacturing of the material. Such a strange change of events, when just a few years ago anytime a rapper showed strippers on a video, or called someone a bitch or a ho, the calvary would come in, men who didn't "speak out" were labeled and shamed...Go freaking figure.

If you're still reading this blog, by now you should know that the title "One Sick Puppy" is not a reference to Afrika Bambataa, but to the society as a whole. A society that picks and chooses its heroes and enemies, its angels and demons, its vices and virtues by way of a mind-warping media and an unknowing and/or uncaring public, filled with hypocrisy and double-standards, harboring a cake-and-eat it too attitude, and susceptible to view the latest gossip or satire website as some form of actual news. 

After all, many still believe Beyonce performed a tribute to the Black Panthers in the Super Bowl....




Just be careful of what you're advocating....