????

I hate how some rich privledged white kids from suburban communities listen to gangsta rap and try to dress like "gangstas" and act "gangsta", like its a cool fun thing. Really anyone in a gang who caught someone impersonating their set would beat them up, if not kill them on site. The thing is, from what I understand from folks who are connected to gangs, being in a gang and joing a gang is not something one does cause its sounds fun or cool, its something somebody does because for whatever reason, where they live, they don't feel like they can survive outside of a gang. Not to say that I can relate or anything, (obviously I can't and I thank Jesus Christ everday that the good Lord has blessed me the life He has, Amen) but I would assume that trying to lead a normal life and and go to school and get into college is hard to do in an enviornment where your highest priorities are dont starve and don't get killed. Its like a cycle, kid's grow up in families that don't have enough.Enough food, enough money, enough clothes, enough anything. So their highest priority isn't their grades, its surviving, which pushes them into the role of being an adult when theyre much to you to make responsible decicions. And then they have kids, and their kids are forced into the same situation simply by luck of the draw. Not to say that people arent responsible for their actions cause they are, but its not fair for folks who were lucky enough to be born where they were (folks like me) to just say "cut it out and get a job" cause its not that simple. If you've grown up always living day to day, dollar to dollar, meal to meal, chances are you never had a chance to develop skills that can land you a legitmate job that can put food on your table. After all, kids as young as 15 are forced into the role of being a provider for their family by no fault of their own, so you can either earn 90$ a week at the supermarket or over 1000$ working the streets doing w/e kind of job just to get by. Its not as simple as a matter of poor decicions, its just as much, if not more of a matter, of a lack of good options. Sell drugs and join a gang to protect your business and risk getting shot, or starve and get evicted. Either way their is a high likley hood of winding up dead in the gutter. If we as a nation want to save our youth and help the kids, whos only difference from is really luck of the draw, then we, the lucky ones, have to do our best to help them up. Spread the wealth, and give these kids better options. Again, from what I've heard from people connected to this lifestyle, if their was the option to NOT grow up in a warzone, these kids would take it. Make housing in inner cities more affordable, put more money into our inner city schools (to learn about other options for improving our inner cities and fighting violence read Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun, by Geoffery Canada).

So bottom line, rich white kids, stop wishing you were something that you should thank God you will never be, and do something to help those out who aren't so lucky.