Racism Works Both Ways

I know I promised not to delve into politics on this blog, but I'm so pissed off right now that I kinda have to. But don't worry, I don't even mention republicans or conservatives. This one's all about the left and how stupid their beliefs can be sometimes.

Apparently, I'm a ractist. Despite all of the work that I do to promote equality, despite everything I do to point out the desparity between wages of minorites and whites, despite everything I have done to show white America that minorities ARE NOT equal in this country, I get called a racist.

Why, you ask?

Simple: I don't like rap music.

I got into this discussion with a black guy in my class. I said that if there wasn't descrimination in this country, rap music wouldn't exist, at least not in the form that it's in today. He berated me about rap and R&B being an expression of what being black is. My only response: being black is defined around demeaning women to the point of sexual objectivity and the worship of money?

Though the discussion went no farther, mainly because I took extreme offense at the insinuation that I was a racist and left the situation after calling him a hypocrite, I cannot help but wonder what reality he thinks he's living in as far as rap music goes. My only reasoning is that he must believe that white people dislike rap because its supported by black culture. Well I've got some news for him as far as rap defining black culture. 90% of all rap music sold is to white people between the ages of 13 and 29. 85% of all rap music makes reference, often vulgarly, to sex. 80% of all rap music is in some way related to money, and a large majority of it is using the influence that money grants to get sex, etc, etc, etc... Are these numbers at all reflective of black culture? Well, I'm not black, but I think I can say with a high degree of sureity that they are not.

Now I'm not gonna say all rap/R&B is like this, nor am I gonna say that I dislike all of it (I own "The Love below", which does both of the things I mention earlier, for example). But this dislike of me because I dislike rap is inidicative of the problems with progressives: we fight each other too much to fight the real problems. I don't dislike people because they like rap music, but, apparently, I can be disliked for not liking rap. That seems a little fucked up doesn't it?

Disliking rap isn't a race issue in my mind. I'm all for equality, but when women are objectified, they are given unequal status. And what happens when money becomes the sole motivator? Well you get America as it is today: a class system based on one's income, not one's talents, skills, education, contribution to society, or necessity of the job performed; and rewards are paid out disproportinately to those that agree with the system.

But those aren't even the issues here. The issue is that disagreeing with someone on even a single idea can earn you a label. I'm unpartiotic because I oppose the war in Iraq, too. Who's fucked up view of patriotism is defined on an unjust war? Writing my congressmen on a regular basis, voting, paying taxes...none of this makes me a patriot? It's all based on violence? By the same token, fighting for minority rights or fair wages doesn't make me a progressive, but hating rap music because of the ideology presented therein makes me a racist?

What's next, disliking Broadway musicals means I hate gays? WTF? Where's the boundary? Where does it end?

Well, I've got news for anyone that would define their identity solely on a single issue (like rap music): racism works both ways.