ont/epis and hip hop

pms laflame at mindspring.com
Mon Nov 30 18:44:25 PST 1998



> the block
>>parties, freak nik, language, graffiti, clothing
>>styles, comportment, the use of white music for
>>purposes other than it was intended--should be read as
>>an attempt to take back and reclaim public spaces in
>>order to have some control over and assert Black
>>identity in the face of a culture industry that has
>>monopolized that representation.
>

This may be true, to some extent. But as far as Freaknik goes, the kids seem every bit as spoiled and superficial as any group of white college kids. Only these kids, on a whole, have better cars. The car is everything at Freaknik. Clothes and cars, that seems to be what it's all about. I have to remind myself that it's a type of prejudice to be disappointed in this celebration of materialism, since white kids have been doing it forever.

Of course, there is a racial aspect. The AM radio jocks are pretty mercilous. You'd think no white women ever got drunk and took their tops off in Ft.Lauderdale. But the worst part is the police. White kids would never be subjected to this kind of crowd control. Last year, some fuckhead state trooper, imported all the way from Athens, wouldn't let me off the exit to my house. It was midnight and very few people were on that road. Every year I have a hassle with some cop. And they plan absolutely nothing for these kids to do, because they expect the worst.

It reminds me of when a group of white kids trashed a downtown Marriot and really hurt some people. Later that week, there was an event attended by the same age black kids, and the place was an armed camp of security. Nobody was screaming about where the security was at the whit e fiasco. And this is a black run town. On the surface.

Anyway, there's nothing out-of-the-box or subversive about freaknik, as far as the kids go.

pms



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