“Had Sean Bell Survived Those Shots…”
GENERAL By Gotty™ on April 30, 2008 at 9:56 amPhonte speaks via his Myspace…
“…he would’ve been signed to a record deal.”
I know it sounds crazy, but it really ain’t THAT crazy.
It seems to me that becoming a rapper is the only way that Black male victims of our justice system can receive any sort of “justice” at all. After all, NOTHING sells more magazines and CD’s apparently than dead and/or criminally insane niggers, right?
RIGHT?
*sigh*
Conventional wisdom says that people often laugh in order to keep from crying.
But even my halfway joking in the subject line couldn’t stop the tears from falling once I heard the Sean Bell verdict a few days ago. To echo the sentiments shared by the brother Ant Springer on hiphopdx, the Bell verdict made me shed tears for the first time in what seems like forever.
The Darfur Genocide?
Absolutely horrendous, but no tears from the kid.
Hurricane Katrina?
Sadness at first, but later turned to rage as I saw how our government completely mishandled it. I was at the brink of tears, but still not quite there.
9/11?
A tragedy, of course. But once I got over the shock of seeing two planes hit the WTC on some Jerry Bruckheimer shit, and called to make sure my fam in the DC area was cool, I (like many other Black males in their early 20’s at that time) just wanted to know what that new Hov was taumbot.
The Sean Bell verdict was the first news piece that was able to break through the emotional numbness that I, and many other Americans have been dealing with in the wake of our declining empire. For the first time in my 29 years, I just shook my head out of frustration and wondered a), “When does this shit ever stop?” and b), “What the fuck do I tell my sons?”
As the father of two, I look at my boys and wonder if I’m doing my job and molding them to be strong, resilient Black men for the world they have to live in. I watch them laugh, play, and be amused at the silliest things, and I want them to cherish that feeling. I want them to hold on to that innocence before this world does everything it can to beat it out of them. I want to tell them that the world’s a fair place and as long as they work hard and sacrifice that things will be okay.
But I’d be lying. Things will not be okay. Things are far from fucking okay - Marcellus Wallace. But even still, I keep the faith. And in keeping that faith, I just can’t bring myself to look my sons in the eye and tell them that their lives, their very existence in America, ain’t worth shit. I ain’t ready to bust that bubble yet. But maybe I should be.
Make no mistake, wading through the details of any legal affair is a very extensive process and in discussing the Bell case with a few of my attorney buddies, they all agree that this case woulda been a bitch for anybody to prosecute. The New York Times has a pretty good breakdown of the case right here, and I encourage everyone to read the facts and judge them for yourself. I’ve been over it 3 or 4 times and still can’t quite put it all together. The one thing that remains clear to me though, is that the officers AT THE VERY LEAST should have been charged with excessive force and reckless endangerment. I mean, really, how many shots does it take to kill an UNARMED Black man? I guess the officers figured that if Pac could take 5, and if 50 could take 9, they had to go the extra mile to make sure that Bell never lived to release a mixtape detailing the affair. They was practically shootin at homeboy like he was one of the zombies from “I Am Legend” or some shit…
I don’t know what to make of all this, nor do I know what the verdict in Bell’s case ultimately means for Black America. I’m just trying to figure out what I can do to ensure that reckless and thoughtless behavior like this never goes unpunished again.
I am often…….ashamed….at what our country has become. But my biggest fear is that one day my sons will grow up, look at our country, look at me, and then say, “Nigga you let this shit happen on YOUR watch?!??! What the fuck did you ever try to do to bring about some change??!”
And so I write. I create. I mentor. I try to inspire. I try to spread goodwill and harmony to those around me. I try to lead by example. I sincerely try to be the best man that I can be.
I want to believe that things will change. But as a Black man, events like the Sean Bell verdict make it harder for me to believe in just about anything good these days.
May Sean Bell rest in peace, and may God continue to watch over his family.
Somehow we will move on…I guess…
Tigallo
Posted in GENERAL, SMOKE BREAK — Tags: Little Brother, Phonte, Sean Bell
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36 Comments
Ignorance, you are the reason sean bell was shot. You give black people the name that quotes nas’s new cd. Not caring about 9/11, then you stereotype all young black males into that category. Are you just slow or ignorant. It affected every person in this nation all equally, keep your words to yourself if your that close minded. Any tradegy gets compassion from a real black man, not just the ones that affect a sigled out black man. Black on Black crime, so who you gonna blame for your own mistakes this time, rich white folks or your own kind. Learn to read.
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I watch them laugh, play, and be amused at the silliest things, and I want them to cherish that feeling. I want them to hold on to that innocence before this world does everything it can to beat it out of them.
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sad, but true.
deep write up.
^ very true.
After reading the article written by Drew Ricketts (which was a little too heavy on the verbiage) I can honestly say that I agree that these dedication songs/blogs/artists PSA’s mean nothing. The real people who hold the power don’t give a fuck about a few politically charged bars that MC So&So utters out of his mouth, nor do they care about community marches and protests. Time to start getting militant and fighting back; shoot the cops instead of each other. When a few of their own start dying then maybe they’ll get the picture. Think about all the other individuals who died at the hands of the police? What was done? A few songs here and there, some social commentary, picket-sign marches and STILL no change!!! Time to fight fire with fire people; the next time someone gets shot or beat by the cops I say we shoot or beat a police officer.
^^Thank you!! allhiphop was encouraging people to write hot 16s for sean bell and i think thats a misguided mockery. i understand support but everything shouldn’t turn in2 a rap! sometimes u gotta shut the fuck up!
@ #1
U missed the whole point: clearly it DIDN’T affect everybody equally. How could you say it did?
Check out our album
Fly.Union: Kill Fly.U: http://www.zshare.net/download/965801081c2bf1/
my favorite emcee. he makes heads nod to more than beats and/or a catchy hook.
Calm down with this “start shooting all the cops” shit. That’ll make things 10000x worse. What do you seriously think will happen if cops start getting fired at in the hood? C’mon now.
I said the same thing the day of the verdict, “How do you explain this to the kids?”
“Nigga you let this shit happen on YOUR watch?!??! What the fuck did you ever try to do to bring about some change??!”
Hysterical, sad and true.
this post is the problem with black america…telling your son his life ain’t worth shit? that is ridiculous…tell him to be a strong man and work hard, rather than instilling a thinking of uselessness in him…that is what continues to drive black-on-black crime…this is a joke…focus on the more detrimental problem to black america…that is, the killing of each other…instead of embracing one another…for you to cry because of the sean bell incident, but not 9/11, darfur, or katrina is down right laughable…in this country, its a shame the black community glorifies drugs and gun violence so much, but blames cops more than themselves…it really disappoints me.
This is one of the primary reasons I have a hard time listening to “dumbed down” music. You gotta come with SOMETHING in these unequal times.
…. at LEAST be clever and show you gave a fcuk about what you want me to take time out my busy life to listen to.
I recognize my time as being too valuable.
Collectively we “less than wealthy” folks (insert ethnicity) spend wayyy too much time doing nonsensical sh*t (nothing), acting as if everything is all good, all the time, and it ain’t…. as this trial, Katrina, Darfur, Jena 6, et al clearly show.
When it IS time to mobilize, organize, or take any kind of focused action we waste far too much time returning back to a central location from our various points of excess and ignorance to ever do anything beyond these trivial “freestyles”, TV appearances, and various marches, to deal w/ whatever the latest “bomb” was that just dropped upon our communities…
We need to take a cue from the Panthers and start learning the system enough to police our own communities, but folks need to recognize their worth and get serious about the world and their place w/in it.
The babies deserve better, the kids deserve better, and the adults need to step it up… In a fair and just society it’d be nice to have the luxury of just being able to shake our asses, and making it rain.
We don’t have that luxury.
Excuse my diatribe, I’m just tired of all the Mon-Sat ignorance, and anger on Sun AFTER we’ve been violated again.
Once, shame on you…
Twice (or whatever # we’re up to now), shame on me.
@ Tres: Don’t shoot ‘em in the hood, bring it to THEIR neighbourhood.
Sounds like suicide Flea…
@ OED: Real fucking talk my ninja.
yo Flea,
me and my boys were headed out one night years back, typically drizzed and whatnot, and leaving my crib, ran into some of the most diesel military vehicles I’d seen, or seen since up close turning up my dead end street. So deez you couldn’t even see them clearly b/c the headlights were brighter than any halogen bulb you know. Obviously they took a wrong turn somewhere along the way to be where they were, but it ain’t just 5-0 that’d be released behind those “kill a cop” actions, but ALL agencies of the govt’s militia, and WE ain’t in no ways organized enough for no sh*t like that.
@ TC: Better to die for something than nothing right? After reading “Negroes With Guns” by Rob Williams, I’m down to ride. Fuck passive non-violent resistance.
One of my favorite Dilla joints. Try to tell me dude couldn’t ride a beat…
http://www.zshare.net/audio/7429762d07f308/
Dilla - Fcuk The Police
hxxp://www.zshare.net/audio/7429762d07f308/
Tell me Dilla couldn’t flow…
This sh*t ain’t easy. It’s not easy to collect our thoughts, to organize, to mobilize or what have you. It’s not easy to leave our individual selves out of it for the sake of our entire people. It’s not easy to make sense of something that wasn’t created to make sense. Can we not just “feel” sometimes? Isn’t some of our strength in being human?
Black men are often guilty of this more than others: figuring into this invincibility-or-death equation. Let us allow ourselves, as a whole, to feel this one. Let us then pray on it, relate it to our children, and move forward.
http://www.zshare.net/download/813645809f0de2/
Nigerian Gangster - Hova & Fela
Phonte’s piece shows EXACTLY how most americans not just “black america” functions, if the issue doesn’t directly effect you; there is no EMPATHY.
On 9/11 we chose to close the store I was working at early, we had lost a lot of people on those flights. The most trying thing that day was keeping employees from beatin the asses of customers who would say “why you closing? That happened in New York!”. My personal connection stemmed from knowing I could have been on one of those flights If I had decided to be a “buyer” for our company, but as I told cooperate “I don’t play pro-ball so as a black man what am I going to do in Boston”
I’ve been in a few situations with cops where guns were drawn. What’s troubling about a case like Sean Bell, If I go down under those circumstances, justice won’t be served; and that is a tough pill to swallow. So if you can’t understand what point Phonte is trying to make it’s because it doesn’t directly effect you.
First, let me say I’m not knocking my militant brothers. Not at all. In some aspects, I actually agree with what you’re saying.
However…
What you’re talking about is suicide. Point blank. I’m a father, and I’m sure it’s some more parents up here on TSS. What can I teach my child when I’m dead, whether it’s right or wrong? I’m not going to rush in, emotions first, bullets second, guns third, and my life last, to try a prove a point to an institution that has been around since 1845, and will be around long after they haul my dead and bloody carcass to the morgue.
I’m not bulletproof. I’m not trying to be. I’m not saying walk on eggshells and degrade ourselves back to saying “Yes, massa” and what not. But going completely in the opposite direction, being a group of HUMANS, shooting up other HUMANS, is just going to make this situation more volatile than it already is.
Yes, I believe that those cops should have gotten reckless endangerment and excessive force. Yes, emptying a clip, reloading, and emptying another clip is more than just ” a mistake”. Yes, I mourn for Sean and his family. Yes, I feel that we, as HUMANS; not as a race, color, creed, neighborhood, or any other group you want to stick us in, need to do better as a whole, not separately. But will I wage a outright WAR against one of the oldest police departments in the country?
Fuck no.
What do you think will happen if we riot? This isn’t 1992. 16 years ago from today, that shit would fly. Today? We’ll get swept under the rug of celebrity mishaps, rising gas prices, misquoted politicians sleeping with overpriced hookers, and how rap music and video games have influenced our children to become “7 year old little boys who steal their Grandma’s SUV and drive it down the block”. We’ll become a footnote in history. Maybe even less so.
What do I suggest we do? To be honest, I don’t have an answer for that, not one that I can think of alone. Coming together, I’m all for that, as long as it doesn’t have me risking seeing my child grow up. And to be real, that’s the double edged sword.
Just being black is risking me not seeing my child grow up.
Someone once asked ‘What is this world coming to?’ I say, it’s coming to an end.
And we are already here.
Phonte, you need to write a book. You’re a better writer than most writers. And this is from me, pursuing it as a profession.
Keep coming with the posts…
Co-Sign on E. Brock…Real Spit…
@ E. Brock: Point well taken my friend but I feel there has been enough analyzing and pontificating about the issues and no real action. I’m not advocating mindless violence, rather organized and coordinated militance in order to protect our people.
cosign e.brock…as much as i hate the cops, they’re a necessary evil…the idea of going around killing cops is so absurd it’s almost laughable…you would die. point blank. even if you somehow convinced a few hundred people who were crazy enough to go along with you, you would get squashed with a minimum of effort…cops have arsenols, body armor, riot gear and armored vehicles…if all of that fails, they’re backed up by the national guard…it’s a suicide mission at best…but okay, let’s say you had a really good plan and you succeeded in killing all the cops…what then? i don’t know if you’ve been around this muthafucka, but it’s some bad shit goin on…and it would be A LOT worse, not better, without the police around…like i said, they’re a necessary evil…the worst part is, we can’t even get on some black panther-lets-police-the-police type shit anymore a) because gun laws have fundamentally changed since the 70’s and you can’t walk around with guns like you used to; and b) nobody would do the shit anyway…sad, but true…
It’s hard for me to read about the bullshit like 9-11. People need to wake the fuck up to the media hype and manipulation that is being forced down our throats. “open your eyes, instead of soaking in lies.” Two planes hit buildings in some of the most protected air space in the world, not including the pentagon, yet three modern skyscrapers fell at free fall speed with zero resistance. Building 7 of the WTC complex was obviously a controlled demolition set up weeks in advance just like the twin towers. The government was looking for a scapegoat to go to war with the middle east. The fact that the aging Twin Towers were built with asbestos that was going to cost millions to renovate was just a bonus. Watch “Loose Change: 2nd edition” on google video and tell me the shit doesn’t make more sense then the government sponsored commission report.
^ Conspiracy theorists Unite!!
^ say word
What up Swif. bout time y’all caught on. lol
^ ^ ^
hehe
this thread became too extremist for me as it grew. i know the sean bell incident is race related. i know jena 6 and the katrina dealings were race related, but to schism such as this thread is doing is in no way solving anything. polarization brews a radical mind set, much as all this “lets dice the cops” talk does…
i co-sign, ross
what’s wrong with a radical mindset? extreme circumstances call for radical thinking. this country was built on radical and revolutionary principles. in any other age, america would be in the midst of a revolution right now. we’re just to satiated with new toys, celebrity gossip and big macs to take action, even when it’s warranted.
Teach the children……it’s too late for the adults.
The only ones that matter now are the CHILDREN!!!!
Make sure they “get it” before they turn 14yrs old.
We living in the days of Mad Max Terrordome.
Ross said what needed to be said.