Saturday, October 27, 2007

Allegory

Thanks to consumerism, MTV/BET and the No Child Left Behind Act, high schools really don't teach literature, essay-writing, basic composition, etc. any more. So let's define the term. Allegory is an extended metaphor, the way an illustration's an extended, story-like example. It carries a literal meaning and a symbolic message...




...so, five years after her son's murder, Jam Master J's mother Connie's still looking for answers. No leads. No clues. One thug who'd been living on J's sofa and likely witnessed the crime isn't talking to the cops or anyone. Connie blames the "don't snitch" sub-culture. J was one of the softer souls in Hip Hop, and in Run-DMC's music he will forever be a pioneer...
...and T.I., king of the durrrtySouth, is out on bail. The actual bond would buy a couple of houses even in this crazy D.C. market. Several of his fans were outside the courthouse, Michael Jackson-fan-style (by the way, did you know MJ's a citizen of our fair state, Maryland...sharing prime Chesapeake Bay frontage with Dick Cheney, author Tom Clancy and a couple of billionaires?). Their tee shirts read: "Let your haters be motivators." And what did this man who's "gettin; paid" do with his money to get him landed in the pokey? Stock fraud? Mis-stating a form 10-K? Nah. He brings machine guns and pistols with silencers to the BET Awards. Allegedly, of course...
...thus I pray the Connies out there will no longer have to grieve and lament. I pray our kids pick new heroes and real causes. Then again, they don't teach allegory in school anymore...
NEWSFLASH (yeah, and I tie it in, don't worry): The Turks vow to make the Kurds "grieve." It's so good to see our President inspiring yet more horseshit spillover from a horseshit war. Indeed, here's a quote from an old black man, a barber, down in Upper Marlboro, Md whose son just finished his stint in the Army and is now in a reserve unit: "The white trash and conservatives put Bush in office, let the white trash fight his wars and they can do it to a country music soundtrack. And let the conservatives pick up a rifle and put down their damn Blackberries and Bibles." By the way, this dude used to cut my hair, and I ran into him at Border's during the Capital Bookfest. He won a Bronze Star and Purple Heart in Korea (in case you wish to disparage him, Rush Limbaugh & Dittoheads) and yep, was once stationed in Turkey guarding an old missile base during the thick of the Cold War. He's one of the few regular folk out there who understands the centuries-long mess between the Turks and Kurds. And this dude barely graduated high school. But wait, didn't Dubya go to Yale? No affirmative action baby, him, right, so it must've been on merit. I'm sure they taught him something there, eh? ;-) Too bad TI's a hero to our youth, and not this old brother.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was hoping for some light and airy book news this morning, but nooooooooo.

Interesting points, per usual.

You want Barry for the Orioles? He'd make a good DH for a season or two.

michael a. gonzales said...

TI was on the cusp of being a major star, and he blew it acting like a fool. These rap guys gotta know by now that they're being watched. This is what happens to a generation who started smoking weed at six years old. I'm just saying...

Anonymous said...

The Jam Master J murder's unsolved for 5 years? Damn.

Weed can't explain all of this with TI. There's just no reason to live like that.

Anonymous said...

Is it true you're selling out and ghost-writing TI's babymama's memoirs with Karen Hunter? LOL

Lisa said...

Pardon my insomnia. I have to add that it's not just PUBLIC high schools that don't bother with writing skills and reading. I teach at a parochial school. My cousin teaches English at a VERY posh private school (and she is the sole African American faculty member if you don't count two teachers who were born in Ivory Coast and Somilia). I suppose it's a means of starting these kids off to corporate life early, but I swear in the private school they learn by Powerpoint presentations and DVDs of movie adaptations of classic literature stories.
I am told I cannot give a less than a 75 on most papers and essays. Uh-huh--these are our future leaders, all cut in the mold of our current President!

field negro said...

Great post Chrs!

This is why I love you bra. I get an opinion and some education.

Peace.

Anonymous said...

That old barber echoes my thoughts exactly!

tchaka owen said...

One of the best quotes I've read this month!

Lola Gets said...

Ive always loved allegory, particularly in art and architecture. Two of my favorite buildings in DC are the Thomas Jefferson Library and the Capitol Building. In the latter, tobacco leaves all over that bitch - this country was built on the backs of tobacco-picking slaves! And the vast majority of the visitors dont even know it.
L

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