RZA Says Dressing Better Could Prevent Police Harassment And All Lives Matter

[D0wn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy1wO054yLg

Very accurate.

 

[A Talented One]

They givin' RZA that well deserved heat on twitter."
http://twitter.com/Kayla_Applebum/status/685647799464112129

This the kind of shit that really gets on my nerves.

It's a spectacularly bad argument against respectability politics, and the fact that this person felt comfortable making it in public is sad commentary on our times.

No one ever said that respectability politics can save you from an angry racist mob. But this doesn't mean that it doesn't ever work. In fact, the civil rights era makes it abundantly clear that it does indeed work, to some extent.

To be sure, this bad argument against respectability politics doesn't mean that there are no good arguments against it.

 

[zzombie]

He criticizes people getting shot /assaulted for not dressing like a GQ ad while they go about their daily lives....

The same people he made millions off of while dressed like one of them

I think ya'll are misrepresenting what he's saying. He's not really criticizing victims for how they dressed.

“When you think about some of the brothers who are being brutalized by the police, you also got to have them take a look, and us take a look, in the mirror, at the image we portray. If I’m a cop and every time I see a young black youth, whether I watch them on TV, movies, or just see them hanging out, and they’re not looking properly dressed, properly refined, you know, carrying himself, conducting himself proper hours of the day—things that a man does, you’re going to have a certain fear and stereotype of them,” he espoused.

Here he's basically just saying that if every time you see a black male with a certain look, be it on tv or in real life, that male is always up to no good, it's only natural that some fear or stereotyping will arise from that. That's absolutely true and not even isolated to black people. As a white dude with a bald head that likes boots and camo if he's ever been mistaken for a Skinhead. That shit happens. He didn't say anywhere that people were wrong for dressing that way. He just said that if we push that image in a way that associates it with negativity, people will eventually come to stereotype everyone who fits that mold. Again, that is 100% true, right or wrong, that's the way of the world. Where I think he's wrong is that he seems to imply that we have more power in pushing that image than we actually do. While I agree the we do bear some of the blame (Ironically hardcore rapper are probably the worst culprits), the white media is far more responsible for promoting those negative stereotypes.

“I tell my sons, I say, if you’re going somewhere, you don’t have to wear a hoodie–we live in New York, so a hoodie and all that is all good. But sometimes, you know, button up your shirt. Clean up. Look like a young man. You’re not a little kid, you know what I mean? I think that’s another big issue we gotta pay attention to. Is the image that we portray that could invoke a fear into a white officer, or any officer,” he continued.

For the most part, what he's saying here is not wrong either. Every responsible parent teaches their children this regardless of race. You think white people teach their kids to go into business meetings in whatever casual style of clothing white kids wear these days? Of course not, they teach their kids the same thing that there is a time and place for everything.

I'm not saying Rza is right. We have more than enough evidence out there to know that being well dressed does not save black people from police brutality, but ya'll are misrepresenting what he's saying just so you guys can go on the standard "coon rants" that you seem to love so much. He didn't say that Tamir Rice got shot because Rice was dressed like a thug. He said unfortunately certain images of black males have been put out there negatively and you have to know that if you put on that image it will attract negative attention. Right or wrong, that is 100% true. A lot of white people associate dreadlocks with thuggery. Does that mean blacks should stop wearing that hairstyle? Hell no. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out that it may attract some negative attention.

My post while shorter was synonymous to yours.

Problem is the majority only skimmed the thread title. Which is a total frabrication. But thats how these things work nowadays.

Damn, you're right. Most of these niggas don't even know what Rza said. They read the lie in the topic title and have been commenting solely on that. Sometimes I forget how dumb most of the niggas on this site are.

i know exactly what rza said and coming from him it's hypocrisy

 

[King Ghidorah]

 

[stringer bell]

https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685578209585303552
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685579240167706625
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685580306993184768
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685584148375851008
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685585472693768192
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685587424018206720

Dusthead Robert trying clarify his coonery.. All Lives Matter Y'all.. Smh...

 

[JokerzWyld]

No discussion necessary here. He's wrong. History has showed me pictures of black men hanging from trees in three piece suits. Look at the book "Without Sanctuary" to see it for yourself. Police either fear or hate niggas. Period. Which one isn't my problem.

 

[BedStuy]

Did Hollywood fuck RZA head up? anyway bumps

 

[VulcanRaven]

I don't know what possess a black person to think this way.Harassment, stereotyping and encounters with the cops have zero to do with how a minority is dressed.I guess he missed the video of that old man from the middle East who was visiting his family and got tackled by the pigs who broke his hip.He was not wearing a hoodie.U-God was right about the RZA this whole time.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685578209585303552
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685579240167706625
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685580306993184768
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685584148375851008
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685585472693768192
https://twitter.com/RZA/status/685587424018206720

Dusthead Robert trying clarify his coonery.. All Lives Matter Y'all.. Smh...

What is he trying to clarify? That's exactly what he said in his original statement. I don't agree with what he said 100%, but it ain't his fault that most niggas seem to be too dumb to understand a simple point.

 

[Plutarch]

there's obviously some truth to what RZA literally said, and I think I mostly agree with him; but then again, there's obviously much more to what he said, and he didn't allude to any of that, but at the same time, he didn't really have to do so. I highly doubt that RZA is that stupid. Most of the backlash just seems like your everyday ignorant twitter bandwagon bullshit.

On another note, I didn't know where to post this, but I know there's some cats from philly on here, so if you're in philly and have some free time today (Sunday), stop by Anderson Hall @ Temple University for "The Black Radical Tradition in Our Time: Reclaiming Our Future" conference. It's the last day of the three-day event, and the likes of Cornell West, Jeremiah Wright, Angela Davis, Mumia Abu Jamal (yes, you read that correctly), Sonia Sanchez?, and many others have already spoken, and a lot of good material (American imperialism, black feminism, police brutality, gentrification, white supremacy, etc.) has been covered, but some of the aforementioned will still be here for the last day, and many others will also speak, so check it out. It's a powerful experience, and I only found out about the event by chance. It's also being streamed live, I believe. Follow for more info: theblackradicaltradition.org/

 

[Colin$mackabi$h]

Coons are so lost smh...

 

[5th Letter]

They givin' RZA that well deserved heat on twitter."
http://twitter.com/Kayla_Applebum/status/685647799464112129

This the kind of shit that really gets on my nerves.

It's a spectacularly bad argument against respectability politics, and the fact that this person felt comfortable making it in public is sad commentary on our times.

No one ever said that respectability politics can save you from an angry racist mob. But this doesn't mean that it doesn't ever work. In fact, the civil rights era makes it abundantly clear that it does indeed work, to some extent.

To be sure, this bad argument against respectability politics doesn't mean that there are no good arguments against it.

What are you even talking about?

 

[A Talented One]

They givin' RZA that well deserved heat on twitter."
http://twitter.com/Kayla_Applebum/status/685647799464112129

This the kind of shit that really gets on my nerves.

It's a spectacularly bad argument against respectability politics, and the fact that this person felt comfortable making it in public is sad commentary on our times.

No one ever said that respectability politics can save you from an angry racist mob. But this doesn't mean that it doesn't ever work. In fact, the civil rights era makes it abundantly clear that it does indeed work, to some extent.

To be sure, this bad argument against respectability politics doesn't mean that there are no good arguments against it.

What are you even talking about?

What don't you understand? Do you know what respectability politics is?

 

[Jabu_Rule]

Coons on this forum stay sticking to the script no matter if it's a different play.

 

[Busta Carmichael]

Woat flow

On the same level as silk the shocker

I was initially going to write

Silk >>> RZA

 

[R0mp]

Uh oh, this could be the gateway into him morphing into those types that were more upset at the tone and language Bland used with the officer than the details surrounding her death, the types that actually fixed their mouths to say that the Charleston shooting could've been an attack on Christians, not black people...

Rza pls.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Woat flow

On the same level as silk the shocker

I was initially going to write

Silk >>> RZA

Uhhh, that's a nosign. Rza can actually rap with onbeat flow. He chooses the offbeat flow to be unique. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Silk can't rap for shit.

 

[Colin$mackabi$h]

I just feel like he is talking to everybody except the main thuggish gang that killed innocent black folks since forever. Cops are showing us how to kill not how to dress...

 

[Busta Carmichael]

Woat flow

On the same level as silk the shocker

I was initially going to write

Silk >>> RZA

Uhhh, that's a nosign. Rza can actually rap with onbeat flow. He chooses the offbeat flow to be unique. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Silk can't rap for shit.

Nah silk chooses to rap without the headphones on. Thus never hearing the beat.

Only way to know is if they made a track together.

 

[Broddie]

What an anti-hip hop thing to say. Fashion is a means of self expression for many. Just like rapping or b-boying or DJing. People should dress however the fuck they want regardless of others' ignorance. Abbot been out in Hollywold far too long. He's losing his grip on reality. Never conform. Even if you dressed like them they will still view you as a nigger.