My 2 Cents On Holly Robinson Peete (@Hollyrpeete) and 50 Cent
Dear Holly,
I want to start by thanking you for your tireless activism on behalf of Autism awareness. I truly respect you and your family and your husband’s book may be the singular thing that placed me on a path of acceptance and pride in my own Autistic son.
But I have to take you to task on something and I hope that you accept my criticism with the respect that it is meant.
In your recent open letter to 50 Cent, in a very classy manner, you challenged him on his blatantly hateful and cruel insult to the Autism community. You told him your “heart sank” and you were “disappointed” in his attitude and opinions toward our kids.
Jesus, Holly, with all he has written and spoken demeaning women, advocating violence (gun and otherwise), and glorifying a gangster lifestyle, this is what disappoints you? Have you taken a glance at his lyrical catalog lately?
You mention that your handsome son is a “huge fan” and rightfully call out 50 on making his life more difficult. But, Holly, aren’t you as worried that your son’s exposure to this man’s violent, misogynistic lyrics will do as much damage to his attitudes toward women, violence and sex?
I commend you, Holly, for not stooping to his level in your response. But I’m a little concerned that by responding at all you have elevated him to your level. You speak to him as if he is your moral peer who simply needs a small life lesson. And, in my opinion, he isn’t worthy of that.
Advocacy at it's finest again! Thanks again Bacon and Juice Boxes for keeping us all focused on the big picture. I have to admit that someone who hurts my child I get all my "momma bear" on. As for someone hurting me, well I am a big girl and can handle whatever they dish out. I don't like rap and had no idea about what was going around until Facebook went nuts over this. It is too bad that he has gotten this much publicity over this and it may pad his pockets more. I certainly hope not but the rap world is one I really don't understand. James and Charlotte are my only causes and people better treat them with the respect they deserve.
You make valid points and I agree with you on most, but consider this: There is a very low likelihood that 50 Cent is the only rapper Holly's son listens to, so he hears a variety of lyrics that will, in all honesty, remain consistent for a long time. Many messages are the same. As far as misogyny is concerned, that's not a burden you can fairly lay squarely on 50's shoulders. He's not the first rapper to utter lyrics you and others deem disrespectful and he won't be the last–predecessors did and successors surely will. Mainstream rap gets a bad "rap" (no pun intended) because mainstream rappers generally sellout and rap only about promiscuous women, drugs, violence, clubbing, "bling," etc. Underground rap music actually has some substance and often times, the subject matters are topics in which people view as "taboo" and/or focus on matters many avoid because they don't exactly want to "hear" or "tell" the truth. I'm not defending 50 Cent–he's a grown man and what he tweeted was "socially" unacceptable because he's hitting on 40 and society is ultra-sensitive nowadays. He should've known better. However, it's important to remember that 50 was retweeting someone who had angered him; the special ed jibe was not meantto be taken literally or a direct hit at special ed children. When I was in school, kids called their friends "retards" all the time, for various reasons (i.e. not getting the punch line as quickly as others did) — most often in jest. As a college student now, I hear the players say to one another "Kill yourself." This is frequently said when a player says something another may view as "dumb" or when one of them disagrees (or pretends to) and his response with sarcasm. Funnily enough, though, no player on our basketball team has committed suicide. Gee, I wonder why? Oh, that's right. Because a lot of phrases/words/expressions are conveyed in a manner that few recipients process them in a literal sense.
Hello–I am one of Holly's followers and my attention was drawn to this via her R-T. You make a lot of sense. But my attention is drawn to this statement:
"Jesus, Holly, with all he has written and spoken demeaning women, advocating violence (gun and otherwise), and glorifying a gangster lifestyle, this is what disappoints you? Have you taken a glance at his lyrical catalog lately?"
I'm a 25 y/o white male. listen to and enjoy all kinds of music — rap included — and I think it's actually a bit disappointing that you bring his music into this equation. Artists are people too, you know. They are paid to entertain the masses, but in their private lives, they are normal people. Many in our society aren't craving to listen to bubblegum pop, "we are the world" type of music. Also, at some point, society has to make the distinction between the ENTERTAINER and the PERSON.
Also, concerning that quote, 50 Cent isn't "glorifying" anything. Rather, he's telling his OWN story. Parents should censor their own children; Curtis Jackson has never, to my knowledge, in one of his songs, "told" a fan, "Grab this bleeping gun, go bleep the bleep outta this woman, rob her bleeping brother with the bleeping gun to his head." If a person is so weak minded that they allow a SONG to influence their actions, that's a personal problem and that individual needs to be placed in solitary confinement.
This man grew up on the mean streets of New York and did what he had to do in order to survive. Yes, he carried a gun in self-defense. Would you have rather be unprotected and get shot more than 9 times and die? (You DO know the man was shot 9 times while sitting in a car in front of his grandmother's house, right?)
There are loose women in this world. They copulate with loose men and if the latter have the appropriate outlet, they brag about it. This isn't a trait exclusive to rappers — "regular" men do this too. I, in the past, have done this.
Rappers get more grief than they deserve. Are you familiar with the country singer, Johnny Rebel? No. Well, he is an "artist" who repeatedly used the racial epithet, 'nigger', and voiced sympathy for the KKK and integration. His most popular recordings include, "Nigger, Nigger/Move Them Niggers North," "In Coon Town" & "Still Lookin' for a Handout."
So, which reality do you consider worse? A grown man "glorifying" – as you put it — a "gangster" lifestyle which men of all races have been known to choose to embark upon, or a grown man singing damnation to an entire race and perpetuating stereotypes and hatred?
There are more disheartening things in this world than 50 Cent's lyrics.
Thank you for allowing even the anonymous to share their sentiments. Take Care!
-Jake
I don't think Jerry was saying that 50 Cent is the only rapper that has such lyrics. His point was (I believe) that as parents we need to know about and care about all of what our kids take in- not just the autism put-down. Also, regardless of 'everyone's doing it' being the case, it doesn't make it right to put others down – rap music, or any other type of music.