When you see something that is not right, not fair, find a way to get in the way and cause trouble.
Congressman John Lewis
JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG
WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.
what a shame. he was trying to get away from his old life of thugary but the scum wouldnt let him out, obviously. palmetto bay is way to close to the goulds.. he should have move to aventura--- he would still be alive.
"Anonymous said... Judge Cohen is exactly correct. She has jurisdiction concurrent with the 3rd DCA to have judicial review hearings on all children in TPR or dependency cases. The only exception is if a show cause order was issued in a writ of prohibition appeal against the Judge.
Unlike civil cases in which the trial Judge loses jurisdiction completely in Dependency Law Section 39 of the Florida Statutes Cohen can and should hold judicial review hearings in the interest of the Children. In limited circumstances she can even enter orders while the case is on appeal. I have even seen trial judges reverse themselfs while the issues is on appeal mooting the case on appeal.
Someone in Tallahassee needs to shut down the DCF bull and get with the program.
While I disagree with Cohen most of the time. On this one she is 100% correct.
Monday, November 26, 2007 3:13:00 PM "
Someone replied and said:
"Anonymous said... Ditto 3:13. JB is right on this issue. The DCA stay is limited. That court has no idea whether the child is doing well today in her placement, and has no ability to find out since it's not a trial court.
What really shocks me is that DCF is so in the tank for Joe Cubas here. Judicial reviews MUST take place at the stautorily prescribed times - for federal funding purposes, and to make sure the child is safe and properly taken care of (remember Rilya).
DCF beats judges with a stick to make sure they comply with these mandates. What's going on here?! I thought Butterworth was supposed to bring some adult supervision to the DCF mess, but he's AWOL.
The hearing today was an embarrassment to DCF.
Monday, November 26, 2007 8:17:00 PM"
Judge Cohen as one of the top Justice Building Bloggers I command that you resume the Judicial Review Hearing. Who is the Judge here you or the lackeys at DCF or the puppets on a string at the corrupt GAL office?
DCF shut the f... up and start caring about all children and not just the one's that get your name in the national media. The appeal is a waste of judicial time and will be reversed by the Supreme Court if and only if you get one of the 3rd DCA Judges that also what national media attention. Otherwise your appeal will be affirmed with a cut and paste of Judge Cohen's written opinion as the mandate.
As we examine the death of a young man still trying to find himself we can not ignore the greater issues which this senseless act represents. Specifically, we have glorified the thuggery and gangsterism of a large number of profesional athletes. These are the people our young look up to, idolize and admire. They strive to be like them and in so doing lose their sense of right, wrong, sportsmanship and purpose.
We go to football games and cheer wildly at the most violent acts. We deify athletes whose expressed intentions are to inflict physical damage on the opponent, celebrate in that accomplishment and join in the public displays of "celebrating the kill" we witness.
It matters little that Sean Taylor was attempting to extricate himself from his past associations. The question still rings as to why he was involved with these people in the first place. And if he was, as evidenced by his own behavior 2 years ago, why was he treated differently than any other thug with a gun just because we recognize his athletic talent?
It is not only Taylor and football. It permeates the entirety of professional athletics. The continued exhibitions of random violence, unlawful acts which flaunt law enforcement with this overwhelming belief of invulnerability and teflonism sets a horrendous example to our youth.
Professional basketball has become the breeding ground of gangster attitudes. Your play does not speak for itself, it is all about your mouth and your "manhood". The "greatest player of all time", Michael Jordan, just played the game, performed and let that speak for itself. No self-engrandizing tattoos or markings, no yelling and screaming and pounding of the chest. Just a satisfied smile and a feeling of accomplishment.
It is truly time to put athletics and the people who play the games professionally in proper perspective. We need to stop making instant millionaires out of young people without the character or knowledge to handle who and what they are. They are not all Dwayne Wade, Tiger Woods or Shaq. Too many of them are Bill Lambier (??), Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, Ron Artest, Barry Bonds, Koby Bryant and others.
Why is a former defense attorney prominent in the death of this young man.? Please explain to me that if someone is killed an attorney who represented the person and got him a great deal where Abe Laesar caved in to his celebrity status in a case with a 3 year min, man, is prominent in commenting on his death. Could it be that because Sharpstein got Taylor such a great deal that the people involved in that mess over a stolen atv and gun threats retalitated for the sao caving in and the perpetrator getting no punishment because of his celebrity status and that his father is a cop. So did Taylor get murdered in retaliation for his escaping punishment as a spoiled athlete for committing several acts of agg. assault with a deadly weapon and is that why Sharpstein is so prominent and close to the murder. I mean how many of us have any contact with a client in a criminal case once it is over. Just a thought.
got to love sharpstein and his seeking the publicity in this sad time, and in pointing the finger at someone. maybe sharpie could donate his services to the homocide investigators.i would like, for once to keep his mouth shut.but the quotes keep comimg......
5:39 and 6:37 are those typical dolts that get upset anytime anyone who walks throught the Gerstein building is quoted in the paper or on TV. Maybe, maybe, the family was indebted to Sharpsteen and asked him to get the word out and speak about their son. There are plenty of defense attorneys who remain in contact with clients after big cases, does that bother you so much you angry jerk off?
So why dont the two of you shut up and go be angry with your miserable meaningless lives on some other blog.
To 11;37; sounds like you have a guilty conscience. are you one of those lawyers who got someone off and then they killed again, or raped. Sharpstein is on tv to try to get another millionaire client. He manipulated the system perfectly with the assistance of Handfield and the acquiesence of the annointed one , AL of the sao, to obfuscate the issues where Taylor committed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against kids who took his atv for a joyride. He used conflicting statements, behind the scenes threats by Taylor's camp, cops bullying people because Taylor's father is a cop, and witness tampering to get a guilty person off with a great result.That is what great defense attorneys do and he did it and was paid well. I am not sorry if you cannot accept the truth which is that in this business sometimes when you do your job as well as Sharpstein, a bitter victim will retaliate. Maybe if Taylor was convicted and had to miss a season in the NFL as punishment for a felony conviction even if he avoided the 3 year min. mand... then he would probably be alive but would have missed one year in the nfl and lost some money. So you can go to hell because you sir are part of the problem, you want money and fame and not justice. Justice was not done in Taylor's assault case, because in part due to Sharpstein's work, and now Taylor is dead and Sharpstein is on tv as a defense mechanism because he is in denial that his work was probably the proximate cause of Taylor' s victims retaliating leading to Taylor's death. This analysis presupposes that the two are connected. If this was a random burglary unrelated to the prior case than my analysis is incorrect, Sharpstein if off the hook, and YOUR righteous indignation is justified. P.S. I worked on plenty of cases dealing with the media before realizing that it was pointless and I no longer I have an interest in having my name in the paper or face on tv.
5:53 P.M., Don't be an asshole. If I have something to say, I'll put my name on it. Rump has my email and can confirm when my name is attached to a post. I was waiting for someone with too much time on their hands to bring my name up. My opinions about Richard Sharpstein have (for the most part) remained private and will continue that way. I have nothing but positive things to say about Larry Handfield, Ed Carhart, and Abe Laeser, and you are speaking out of school when you insinuate that I have made any comment to the contrary. What happened to Sean is tragic and I have reached out to Pedro with my condolences. This recent shooting obviously had nothing to do with the Assault case and bringing me up is irresponsible. Leave it alone.
Given the present circumstances under which this blog is being posted, I would first like to express my heartfelt sympathy towards the Taylor family and their tragic loss. May God give you strength and wisdom to face the coming days and years as you remember the life your beloved Sean. May his life and death be not used as an evil device to sow seeds of division and discord, but rather as a time of coming together of all the concerned peoples of this nation who still hope to establish that beloved community. May his death ignite the flame of social change, which now stands extinguished in ignorant abandonment, and may God give you the courage and strength to be keepers of that flame. This is my prayer to you in Jesus name, Amen.
The death of Sean Taylor and every person who died in like manner, died because an individual chose to obtain a firearm, and then chose to use that firearm as a means of obtaining the thing they wanted. Now we all know, sad to say, that this is literally a commonly accepted every day occurrence in this nation. Someone, somewhere ends up being fatally shot or brutally murdered with a firearm. The question we should be asking ourselves is why it tends to happen so much more in the African American community than anywhere else. The answer to this question is very simple. In fact, it is so simple, that many for their own personal gain and benefit choose to ignore this common fact. The reason we have such a high rate of death in the African-American community particularly among our African-American young males, is because many suffer from deep psychological and emotional problems, while they live in a state of traumatic generational suffering, poverty, and/or anger from which they have never been made whole. This condition was created through the violent and criminal acts of slavery, mob lynching, segregation, discrimination, and white hatred, caused by the founders and early settlers of this nation, for which there has never been national atonement, reconciliation, or counseling for. This induced state of existence, has been present in African-American communities for decades, and has been largely ignored by most. As a result, it has unnoticeably traveled down various family lines, and has passed on to many of our young people. It also affects many middle-aged and older African-Americans as well. Unlike their ancestors and fellow young blacks today, they are simply losing their ability to control or hold back this anger at an ever-increasing rate. This condition exists because of this national and global practice of white-hate towards people of African descent, which has been progressively making them immune to seeing the destruction of a black person. From Rwanda, to Darfur, from South Africa, to the United States, blacks have been consistently victimized through white colonial domination, corruption, or influence in some way or another. This institutionalized victimization occurs most of the time, through the use of other blacks that confederate themselves with oppressive whites in the domination and control of society. Through the desire of financial prosperity and security, economic, and political power, many blacks have been lured into violating, oppressing, disrespecting, mocking, and/or humiliating other blacks as a means of establishing their so called “status” in society, or securing their own personal future success. This is one of the main reasons why the death rate is so high within black communities. Over the years, various well known blacks have consistently targeted other blacks as victims of cruel jokes, humiliating characterizations and unprovoked hate filled ridicule. This sick practice has been played out before young blacks on a daily basis, and worked to only worsen their struggle with anger, hate, and negative attitudes towards blacks. In addition, the gun manufacturers of this nation have been allowed to recklessly produce and flood the communities of this nation with firearms. These guns like an abundance of surplus toys are then stockpiled and sold cheaply, traded away, or given freely to our young people who at this point in their lives have unfortunately become caught up in, or involved with illegal activity as well. Through the abandonment of the black community and the allurement of the broadcasting industry, this sick nation persistently, aggressively, and continually, exposes young blacks to a bombardment of images that promote and glorify gun violence and the criminal life style. This practice of abandonment, and endorsing of violent behavior was put into action long before there was Gangsta-Rap or Hip-Hop. In fact, both gave birth to Gangsta-Rap and Hip-Hop, and have been continually and progressively nurturing and grooming our young people with the idea of being violent since the days of early radio and television. Society leaders simply abandoned them to this deadly practice, which eventually took its toll on our inner cities as time progressed. Gangsta-Rap and Hip-Hop are the consequential rise and evolvement of abandoned inner city and ghetto blacks in America. It is the young black solution to American suffering and ghetto life. The personification of black thought, anger, emotions, and suffering in open view. These cultures however, did not give birth to themselves. The seeds were planted and watered many years ago. Well before the days of Cinemax and HBO there were those old black-and-white Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, and James Cagney type movies which glorified criminals such as Babyface Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bugs Moran, Al Capone and the likes. These role models were set up and introduced (through broadcasting) into our communities long before there was a " Biggie Smalls or Tupac", yet there was no large loud public outcry against this. As a direct result, society as a whole slowly became desensitized to the idea of glorifying gangsters and gun violence. There were movies like Underworld (1927), The Racket (1928), Little Caesar (1930), The Public Enemy (1931), Bad Company (1931), Scarface (1932), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Roaring Twenties (1939), This Gun For Hire (1942), Key Largo (1948), White Heat (1949), Gun Crazy (1949), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Machine Gun Kelly (1958), and Al Capone (1959), As we moved through the '60s '70s '80s, and the '90s violent TV programming increased dramatically, and was particularly destructive towards the black community where abject poverty, discrimination, social injustice, and public corruption ran rampant. There were movies like The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Bloody Mama (1969), Trouble Man (1972), Super Fly (1972), Cool Breeze (1972), Black Gunn (1972), Coffy (1972), Hit Man (1972), The Godfather (1972), The Mack (1973), Dillinger (1973), The Godfather, Part II (1974), Scarface (1983), The Godfather, Part III (1990), Goodfellas (1990), Carlito’s Way (1993), and a host of others. These images helped in persuading blacks to commit violence, and making them hardened to the idea of taking human life. Blacks are killing blacks, because this nation’s established practice of devaluing blacks as people, has sadly and tragically begun to take it’s toll upon the minds of our young people, and we as black people must turn this around. Through joint efforts, we must establish a national awareness of this problem throughout our communities, so that healing can flow to this present condition. We must be willing to establish dialogue that addresses and challenges these practices, and which creates open forums of discussion among our youth, so that they can not only see, and understand, but can also prevent the future passing on of these sick societal practices and ideologies. Through this effort, we can begin to reestablish our sense of self- worth, self-value, and self-respect within our black communities. Together, we can make it happen!
16 comments:
Sad.
this really makes me change my position on gun control.
England, Canada NO GUN's.
England, Canada FREE HEALTH CARE.
America a bunch of dumb asses!
what a shame. he was trying to get away from his old life of thugary but the scum wouldnt let him out, obviously. palmetto bay is way to close to the goulds.. he should have move to aventura--- he would still be alive.
rip s.t.
Someone said:
"Anonymous said...
Judge Cohen is exactly correct. She has jurisdiction concurrent with the 3rd DCA to have judicial review hearings on all children in TPR or dependency cases. The only exception is if a show cause order was issued in a writ of prohibition appeal against the Judge.
Unlike civil cases in which the trial Judge loses jurisdiction completely in Dependency Law Section 39 of the Florida Statutes Cohen can and should hold judicial review hearings in the interest of the Children. In limited circumstances she can even enter orders while the case is on appeal. I have even seen trial judges reverse themselfs while the issues is on appeal mooting the case on appeal.
Someone in Tallahassee needs to shut down the DCF bull and get with the program.
While I disagree with Cohen most of the time. On this one she is 100% correct.
Monday, November 26, 2007 3:13:00 PM "
Someone replied and said:
"Anonymous said...
Ditto 3:13. JB is right on this issue. The DCA stay is limited. That court has no idea whether the child is doing well today in her placement, and has no ability to find out since it's not a trial court.
What really shocks me is that DCF is so in the tank for Joe Cubas here. Judicial reviews MUST take place at the stautorily prescribed times - for federal funding purposes, and to make sure the child is safe and properly taken care of (remember Rilya).
DCF beats judges with a stick to make sure they comply with these mandates. What's going on here?! I thought Butterworth was supposed to bring some adult supervision to the DCF mess, but he's AWOL.
The hearing today was an embarrassment to DCF.
Monday, November 26, 2007 8:17:00 PM"
Judge Cohen as one of the top Justice Building Bloggers I command that you resume the Judicial Review Hearing. Who is the Judge here you or the lackeys at DCF or the puppets on a string at the corrupt GAL office?
DCF shut the f... up and start caring about all children and not just the one's that get your name in the national media. The appeal is a waste of judicial time and will be reversed by the Supreme Court if and only if you get one of the 3rd DCA Judges that also what national media attention. Otherwise your appeal will be affirmed with a cut and paste of Judge Cohen's written opinion as the mandate.
JB show some back bone and reset that hearing!
got to love sharpie. he always take advantage of free pub!!!
Looks like a hit to me. The phone lines, the bust in and shoot....
Tragic on many levels.
Tragic but not surprising.
As we examine the death of a young man still trying to find himself we can not ignore the greater issues which this senseless act represents. Specifically, we have glorified the thuggery and gangsterism of a large number of profesional athletes. These are the people our young look up to, idolize and admire. They strive to be like them and in so doing lose their sense of right, wrong, sportsmanship and purpose.
We go to football games and cheer wildly at the most violent acts. We deify athletes whose expressed intentions are to inflict physical damage on the opponent, celebrate in that accomplishment and join in the public displays of "celebrating the kill" we witness.
It matters little that Sean Taylor was attempting to extricate himself from his past associations. The question still rings as to why he was involved with these people in the first place. And if he was, as evidenced by his own behavior 2 years ago, why was he treated differently than any other thug with a gun just because we recognize his athletic talent?
It is not only Taylor and football. It permeates the entirety of professional athletics. The continued exhibitions of random violence, unlawful acts which flaunt law enforcement with this overwhelming belief of invulnerability and teflonism sets a horrendous example to our youth.
Professional basketball has become the breeding ground of gangster attitudes. Your play does not speak for itself, it is all about your mouth and your "manhood". The "greatest player of all time", Michael Jordan, just played the game, performed and let that speak for itself. No self-engrandizing tattoos or markings, no yelling and screaming and pounding of the chest. Just a satisfied smile and a feeling of accomplishment.
It is truly time to put athletics and the people who play the games professionally in proper perspective. We need to stop making instant millionaires out of young people without the character or knowledge to handle who and what they are. They are not all Dwayne Wade, Tiger Woods or Shaq. Too many of them are Bill Lambier (??), Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, Ron Artest, Barry Bonds, Koby Bryant and others.
Why is a former defense attorney prominent in the death of this young man.? Please explain to me that if someone is killed an attorney who represented the person and got him a great deal where Abe Laesar caved in to his celebrity status in a case with a 3 year min, man, is prominent in commenting on his death. Could it be that because Sharpstein got Taylor such a great deal that the people involved in that mess over a stolen atv and gun threats retalitated for the sao caving in and the perpetrator getting no punishment because of his celebrity status and that his father is a cop. So did Taylor get murdered in retaliation for his escaping punishment as a spoiled athlete for committing several acts of agg. assault with a deadly weapon and is that why Sharpstein is so prominent and close to the murder. I mean how many of us have any contact with a client in a criminal case once it is over. Just a thought.
got to love sharpstein and his seeking the publicity in this sad time, and in pointing the finger at someone. maybe sharpie could donate his services to the homocide investigators.i would like, for once to keep his mouth shut.but the quotes keep comimg......
5:39 and 6:37 are those typical dolts that get upset anytime anyone who walks throught the Gerstein building is quoted in the paper or on TV. Maybe, maybe, the family was indebted to Sharpsteen and asked him to get the word out and speak about their son. There are plenty of defense attorneys who remain in contact with clients after big cases, does that bother you so much you angry jerk off?
So why dont the two of you shut up and go be angry with your miserable meaningless lives on some other blog.
To 11;37; sounds like you have a guilty conscience. are you one of those lawyers who got someone off and then they killed again, or raped. Sharpstein is on tv to try to get another millionaire client. He manipulated the system perfectly with the assistance of Handfield and the acquiesence of the annointed one , AL of the sao, to obfuscate the issues where Taylor committed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against kids who took his atv for a joyride. He used conflicting statements, behind the scenes threats by Taylor's camp, cops bullying people because Taylor's father is a cop, and witness tampering to get a guilty person off with a great result.That is what great defense attorneys do and he did it and was paid well. I am not sorry if you cannot accept the truth which is that in this business sometimes when you do your job as well as Sharpstein, a bitter victim will retaliate. Maybe if Taylor was convicted and had to miss a season in the NFL as punishment for a felony conviction even if he avoided the 3 year min. mand... then he would probably be alive but would have missed one year in the nfl and lost some money. So you can go to hell because you sir are part of the problem, you want money and fame and not justice. Justice was not done in Taylor's assault case, because in part due to Sharpstein's work, and now Taylor is dead and Sharpstein is on tv as a defense mechanism because he is in denial that his work was probably the proximate cause of Taylor' s victims retaliating leading to Taylor's death. This analysis presupposes that the two are connected. If this was a random burglary unrelated to the prior case than my analysis is incorrect, Sharpstein if off the hook, and YOUR righteous indignation is justified. P.S. I worked on plenty of cases dealing with the media before realizing that it was pointless and I no longer I have an interest in having my name in the paper or face on tv.
Imagine the irony if Sean's killer(s) had been represented by Sharpstein in the past and he walked them.
1:40, well said Grieco
5:53 P.M., Don't be an asshole. If I have something to say, I'll put my name on it. Rump has my email and can confirm when my name is attached to a post. I was waiting for someone with too much time on their hands to bring my name up. My opinions about Richard Sharpstein have (for the most part) remained private and will continue that way. I have nothing but positive things to say about Larry Handfield, Ed Carhart, and Abe Laeser, and you are speaking out of school when you insinuate that I have made any comment to the contrary. What happened to Sean is tragic and I have reached out to Pedro with my condolences. This recent shooting obviously had nothing to do with the Assault case and bringing me up is irresponsible. Leave it alone.
Given the present circumstances under which this blog is being posted, I would first like to express my heartfelt sympathy towards the Taylor family and their tragic loss. May God give you strength and wisdom to face the coming days and years as you remember the life your beloved Sean. May his life and death be not used as an evil device to sow seeds of division and discord, but rather as a time of coming together of all the concerned peoples of this nation who still hope to establish that beloved community. May his death ignite the flame of social change, which now stands extinguished in ignorant abandonment, and may God give you the courage and strength to be keepers of that flame. This is my prayer to you in Jesus name, Amen.
The death of Sean Taylor and every person who died in like manner, died because an individual chose to obtain a firearm, and then chose to use that firearm as a means of obtaining the thing they wanted. Now we all know, sad to say, that this is literally a commonly accepted every day occurrence in this nation. Someone, somewhere ends up being fatally shot or brutally murdered with a firearm. The question we should be asking ourselves is why it tends to happen so much more in the African American community than anywhere else. The answer to this question is very simple. In fact, it is so simple, that many for their own personal gain and benefit choose to ignore this common fact. The reason we have such a high rate of death in the African-American community particularly among our African-American young males, is because many suffer from deep psychological and emotional problems, while they live in a state of traumatic generational suffering, poverty, and/or anger from which they have never been made whole. This condition was created through the violent and criminal acts of slavery, mob lynching, segregation, discrimination, and white hatred, caused by the founders and early settlers of this nation, for which there has never been national atonement, reconciliation, or counseling for. This induced state of existence, has been present in African-American communities for decades, and has been largely ignored by most. As a result, it has unnoticeably traveled down various family lines, and has passed on to many of our young people. It also affects many middle-aged and older African-Americans as well. Unlike their ancestors and fellow young blacks today, they are simply losing their ability to control or hold back this anger at an ever-increasing rate. This condition exists because of this national and global practice of white-hate towards people of African descent, which has been progressively making them immune to seeing the destruction of a black person. From Rwanda, to Darfur, from South Africa, to the United States, blacks have been consistently victimized through white colonial domination, corruption, or influence in some way or another. This institutionalized victimization occurs most of the time, through the use of other blacks that confederate themselves with oppressive whites in the domination and control of society. Through the desire of financial prosperity and security, economic, and political power, many blacks have been lured into violating, oppressing, disrespecting, mocking, and/or humiliating other blacks as a means of establishing their so called “status” in society, or securing their own personal future success. This is one of the main reasons why the death rate is so high within black communities. Over the years, various well known blacks have consistently targeted other blacks as victims of cruel jokes, humiliating characterizations and unprovoked hate filled ridicule. This sick practice has been played out before young blacks on a daily basis, and worked to only worsen their struggle with anger, hate, and negative attitudes towards blacks. In addition, the gun manufacturers of this nation have been allowed to recklessly produce and flood the communities of this nation with firearms. These guns like an abundance of surplus toys are then stockpiled and sold cheaply, traded away, or given freely to our young people who at this point in their lives have unfortunately become caught up in, or involved with illegal activity as well. Through the abandonment of the black community and the allurement of the broadcasting industry, this sick nation persistently, aggressively, and continually, exposes young blacks to a bombardment of images that promote and glorify gun violence and the criminal life style. This practice of abandonment, and endorsing of violent behavior was put into action long before there was Gangsta-Rap or Hip-Hop. In fact, both gave birth to Gangsta-Rap and Hip-Hop, and have been continually and progressively nurturing and grooming our young people with the idea of being violent since the days of early radio and television. Society leaders simply abandoned them to this deadly practice, which eventually took its toll on our inner cities as time progressed. Gangsta-Rap and Hip-Hop are the consequential rise and evolvement of abandoned inner city and ghetto blacks in America. It is the young black solution to American suffering and ghetto life. The personification of black thought, anger, emotions, and suffering in open view. These cultures however, did not give birth to themselves. The seeds were planted and watered many years ago.
Well before the days of Cinemax and HBO there were those old black-and-white Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, and James Cagney type movies which glorified criminals such as Babyface Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bugs Moran, Al Capone and the likes. These role models were set up and introduced (through broadcasting) into our communities long before there was a " Biggie Smalls or Tupac", yet there was no large loud public outcry against this. As a direct result, society as a whole slowly became desensitized to the idea of glorifying gangsters and gun violence. There were movies like Underworld (1927), The Racket (1928), Little Caesar (1930), The Public Enemy (1931), Bad Company (1931), Scarface (1932), Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), The Petrified Forest (1936), The Roaring Twenties (1939), This Gun For Hire (1942), Key Largo (1948), White Heat (1949), Gun Crazy (1949), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Machine Gun Kelly (1958), and Al Capone (1959), As we moved through the '60s '70s '80s, and the '90s violent TV programming increased dramatically, and was particularly destructive towards the black community where abject poverty, discrimination, social injustice, and public corruption ran rampant. There were movies like The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Bloody Mama (1969), Trouble Man (1972), Super Fly (1972), Cool Breeze (1972), Black Gunn (1972), Coffy (1972), Hit Man (1972), The Godfather (1972), The Mack (1973), Dillinger (1973), The Godfather, Part II (1974), Scarface (1983), The Godfather, Part III (1990), Goodfellas (1990), Carlito’s Way (1993), and a host of others. These images helped in persuading blacks to commit violence, and making them hardened to the idea of taking human life. Blacks are killing blacks, because this nation’s established practice of devaluing blacks as people, has sadly and tragically begun to take it’s toll upon the minds of our young people, and we as black people must turn this around. Through joint efforts, we must establish a national awareness of this problem throughout our communities, so that healing can flow to this present condition. We must be willing to establish dialogue that addresses and challenges these practices, and which creates open forums of discussion among our youth, so that they can not only see, and understand, but can also prevent the future passing on of these sick societal practices and ideologies. Through this effort, we can begin to reestablish our sense of self- worth, self-value, and self-respect within our black communities. Together, we can make it happen!
Ofafricandescent
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