Whitlock woes
The following is a comment I posted on Afronerd’s site (note–I added one more sentence in my blurb):
I think one of the biggest complaints I heard against J.W. commentary (”Taylor’s death a grim reminder for us all“) was the fact that he laid part of the blame on hip hop. Personally, I would not have gone that far with it, but I do understand the overall message JUST LIKE MANY OF HIS CRITICS. Plus the resistance (which is often cheaply disguised as “setting the record straight”) to such a message is not only painfully obvious, but should be expected. There have been MANY commentaries put out there that have falsely laid the blame of all that ails Black America mainly on Whites, poverty, or the government with NO challenge to its accuracy–especially from the same social critics who know better. Do what J.W. did and it gets micro-analyzed followed by the ever-expected response “Black Conservatives (or right-leaning Blacks) just TALK about Black problems but do nothing about them” as if some amount of street cred was required for stating the obvious (mind you, ‘cred’ oftentimes they themselves have never acquired to the level they hang over folks like J.W.). BTW, “stating the obvious” in Black America is not a “Right” issue, but it often gets categorized that way in MSM and bloggers. That is why the best response to commentaries like the one put out by J.W. is no response to the online tit-for-tat which is ineffective on the streets. What is funny here is that his biggest critics do a much better job at keeping up with and advertising his commentaries than the rest of us.
Nothing wrong with the micro-analyzation. Again, it should be expected and welcomed. However, the flare-ups every time a Black individual like a Cosby or J.W. states the obvious is not all about “setting the record straight”.

This is the first time I’ve ever really agreed with him for the most part. I don’t like how he chose to implicate Hip Hop in Taylor’s death though.
Can music or some medium be blamed for the actions of slave masters, Nazis, & conquistadors? Should we blame Christianity? There was nothing else to blame other than the perpetrators. The world wasn’t a utopia before (garbage) Rap music.
& if (garbage) Rap is such a problem, pick a bone with the consumer cuz they have no qualms with it. Second comes the record label & the media since they pump trash based on supply & demand. Third comes the rapper since he/she creates garbage.
With regards to his article I agree wholeheartedly about how we as Black ppl embrace the vile members of our community or look the other way when they set out to destroy us but are gung-ho about fighting The Man for committing the same acts.
Comment by JerseyBred | November 30, 2007
Breaking news indicates it was a “simple robbery gone bad” not retaliation for his past misdeeds or not something to do with “keeping it real.”
Comment by DarkStar | November 30, 2007
The Whitlock column is another example of horribly irresponsible journalism and dime-store racial demagogy. Nothing more.
Comment by MIB | December 1, 2007