Hey soulstrut (rap music/anderson cooper related)
Vitamin
631 Posts
What's going on soul strut community. I hope you all are doing well. I am in Irbil, Kurdistan and just saw this segment on snitching on CNN international with Anderson Cooper. A few thoughts. 1) The segment, about how black communities are not helping cops solve crimes (the stats for some NY neighborhoods are like single digit rates to clear homocide cases), was surprisingly similar to the problem American forces face in some Baghdad neighborhoods. Well it's not really the same, because there is no war going on in America like here, but nonetheless, the lack of local information makes effective policing impossible. 2) Cooper focused on rap music, and it's message not to snitch. He actually interviewed Cam'ron, who was poised and funny. Normally, I tend to frown on people who blame rap music for deeper problems, but there is something slightly lurid about millionaires encouraging young people not to cooperate with cops, when many (though not all) live in crime free communities. 3) I have not liked Anderson Cooper for years. I actually don't watch much news. But he was more than adequate in this segment, just being himself, a rich white dude who couldn't understand why people would not help the cops. His bewilderment was actually quite refreshing and made for more informative interviews, as opposed to the interview technique of some reporters trying to get themselves into the story. So bully for that dude. 4) Seriously it is time for some rapper to make a rap about cooperating with responsible law enforcement authorities. Someone needs a hug the police song. I've been saying it for years. I might just do this as a one off on the internet, but I fear my voice won't resonate in the community. Iraq related: Baghdad was a fucking mess. I was there when everything got much worse. That said. Kurdistan is kind of the shit. More later, not trying to debate it out right now.
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ps--anderson cooper is so hot.
Be safe over there.
I actually was disappointed to read your post because I had hoped you would have added some conjecture about why Baghdad and inner city US residents are not cooperating with "responsible" authorities.
To me, people who are *not* snitching are doing so because of real threats, not because of rappers. Kids wear t-shirts that say "stop snitching" because of rappers. People don't snitch because the police do not or cannot protect them.
you sound white.
that along with a general distrust for a police force who have been abusing, harassing and sometimes falsly acusing them for their entire lives.
It's also irresponsible for rappers to use their image and power to perpetuate a serious problem without presenting any possible alternatives or even real reasoning.