I was going to write this post for my sports blog,
Fundamentally UnSound; but I feel this issue has traveled well outside the sports realm.
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones has, yet again, had another
run-in with the law; thus resulting in a second suspension from the NFL by Commissioner Roger Goddell. Granted, in this particular instance, no charges were filed against Jones; but because of his
more than questionable past, Goddell was forced to discipline him.
This isn't another
internet post bashing Jones, or talking about how he's wasted a privilege for which the average person would become homicidal. It's already understood that Pacman has wasted an incredible opportunity. I'm not writing this to add to all the negative reactions to Pacman's decisions. I'm going to delve deeper inside a theory that we in the Black community use, but are too afraid to say publicly (read: around White people); and present you with a some hypothetical rhetoricals for you to toss around in the recesses of your mind.
With the acquittals of Black "superstars" such as
Kobe Bryant, O.J. Simpson (
the first time), and
Wesley Snipes, I can't help but wonder if Pacman—and, for that matter, a lot of today's Black superstars—believe that they have an aura of invincibility around them because of their fame. I wonder if they believe that they can wriggle out of any trouble they get into because of their celebrity status.
But what if the money Kobe and O.J. had laid down for those high-priced attorneys wasn't enough to protect them from a sentence? What if every Black superstar was treated like
Rae Carruth instead of Snoop Dogg? Would Pacman Jones had take
Terry "Tank" Johnson's conviction more seriously if he was an all-Pro? Would Pacman had learn his lesson, or would there have even been a lesson to learn? What I mean by that last question is that maybe Pacman wouldn't be act so nonchalant towards his situation if he had already known that he wouldn't get any preferential treatment. Perhaps he wouldn't have even been arrested anymore times after the first one at West Virginia University. The main question I'm asking is: Who, or what, is responsible for this arrogant invincibility that a lot of the people in my current generation possess?
Some blame hip-hop (as always) for the way most young people act. Some say that the glorification of gangster/mafia movies such as "Paid in Full," "Scarface," and "Goodfellas" have aided to the youth's false perception that everyone in that lifestyle lives successfully for years to come. And some believe that the large bank accounts these entertainers and athletes have allows for the to feel they can buy protection from the judicial system that has screwed over so many of their racial brethren.
I think we as a Black community made the mistake of being elated when O.J. was acquitted because I feel we were happy for the wrong reason. We weren't excited that an innocent man was found innocent, we were excited that a Black man was able to pimp the system that has pimped many of our own. We liked the fact that a man that the majority of the public—regardless of race—felt was guilty was able to buy his freedom. I think that future Black athletes and entertainers saw O.J.'s verdict and realized that the only color that the judicial system cares about is green. Maybe if the ruling was different, we wouldn't be worrying about whether or not Pacman will finally wise up and realize what blessings he has been given.
I don't know what's the right answer to those hypothetical questions, but I do know that my generation has to change our mindstate if we really want to be taken seriously.
Keep that third eye open. Peace.
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