F
Sacred Ignorance
By Scoop Jackson
Page 2
I used to love H.I.M.
He used to be my man 50 grand. The Revolverlutionary. The Phrenologist.
I used to hold him down to no end.
Triangle offense? Ride or die.
Phil Jackson was the one dude, despite all his flaws, who I publicly protected and defended. Said nothing when others would criticize him or find fault with him. "Damn you, Red Auerbach!!!"
I had to do that for him. I shared his last name.
Phil Jackson escaped criticism for his comments about hip-hop "prison garb and thuggery."
But over the years something's changed. Something's flipped. The openness, the acceptability of individualness, the personal liberalness -- all disappeared. It seemed that the minute Bill Clinton left office, Phil also left the building. Turned to the dark side, turned righteous, turned into Billy Graham, became � conservative.
Which is cool, because as long as he kept winning basketball games, as long as he kept the Lakers relevant, everything was golden, all good, irie.
Do or die, I had his back.
* * * * *
In October 1999, these words came out of his mouth:
"I don't mean to say [that] as a snide remark toward a certain population in our society, but they have a limitation of their attention span, a lot of it probably due to too much rap music going in their ears and coming out their being."
OK. Let that one slide. Chalk it up as generational hate. Cultural Alzheimer's.
Then�
In October 2005, these words came out of his mouth:
"I think it's important that the players take their end of it, get out of the prison garb and the thuggery aspect of basketball that has come along with hip-hop music in the last seven or eight years."
OK � the camel's thoracic and lumbar vertebrae just went into trauma. Forget a broken back, this is spondylitis. A disease.
Now, I'm not calling Phil Jackson an Al Campanis, a Marge Schott or a Jimmy the Greek, but I will say for those comments he needs to meet the same fate.
At what point did Phil Jackson feel that it was his place to take derogatory and demoralizing shots at a culture and walk around as if we were too "illiterate" to understand the subliminal, covert messages behind his comments and beliefs?
Not necessarily being fired -- something beyond that. At this point he should be placed in the same sports pantheon of bigots and frauds that have come along in this post-Adolf Hitler/Jesse Owens generation of athletics.
"Limitation of their attention span � due to too much rap music"? "Prison garb and thuggery � that has come along with hip-hop music"?
Forget calling the kettle black, let's just call the hypocrite white.
Or should I say, hippie?
One who was a member of an anti-American culture that made marijuana mainstream, one that dressed in Woodstock and Vietnam garb.
But before we go there, let's deal with the greater issue: the cultural and racial ignorance of Phil Jackson.
The first comment was made upon his first comeback. It came in a conversation with the media during training camp about the Lakers learning the intricacies of the triangle offense.
The second comment was made upon his second comeback. It came in a conversation with the media during training camp about his feelings toward the implementation of the NBA's new dress-code policy.
Notice a pattern? Notice a recrudescence?
At what point does he feel it necessary to "blame" the ability to learn a complicated offense on music that some of his players might be listening to? At what point does he feel justified to "hold responsible" clothing that some of his players may wear on artists who create music in the videos some of his players might be watching?
At what point did Phil Jackson feel that it was his place to take derogatory and demoralizing shots at a culture and walk around as if we were too "illiterate" to understand the subliminal, covert messages behind his comments and beliefs?
At what point did he feel nothing would be said?
In the words of SNCC: I AM A MAN.
In the words of KRS-One: I AM HIP-HOP.
And just like any subculture inside of America -- rock 'n' roll, grunge, heavy metal, country, bluegrass, electronica, reggae, merengue, punk, funk, rave, classical -- that has been given birth through music, there are both good and bad sides. All open not only to judgment, but interpretation.
But when a Hall of Fame-bound, messiah-like respected coach who is a child of a subculture of imperfection feels that he needs to go out of his way to defame and slander another culture and its music while making an irrelevant point about music and basketball, someone has to Kanye West: Stand up!
To him. To his legacy.
Someone has to remind him of his past, remind him who we really are.
Someone has to expose him for what he really is: a b---- in sheep's clothing.
* * * * *
Last I looked, I had on an oversized pair of Sean John jeans, an L-R-G white tee with a black L-R-G hoodie resting on my shoulders. AF1 LE's that cost $300 on my feets. Every time I get dressed for work, this is what I wear. And every day I sit down to work I see that master's degree with my name on it hanging on my office wall.
Last I looked, Lord Finesse's "The Awakening," Scarface's "The Fix," TI's "Urban Legend," Lil' Kim's "Naked Truth," Ghostface Killah's "Supreme Clientele," and Eric B. and Rakim's "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em," were the six CDs in the chamber. Last I looked, I could retain information, hadn't missed a deadline, haven't been fired from a job, haven't been unemployed or unemployable, haven't been mistaken for a thug or bank robber, haven't been accused of a crime, haven't sold out or sold my soul, and last week was able to get a point about self-esteem across to an auditorium full of kids at a college that made them cry.
I recited Nas and Tupac lyrics. My jeans were hanging off my *** .
They asked me to come back.
Last I looked, someone from hip-hop's culture, Kanye West, made the cover of Time and was taking political stands through conscious statements about President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina. Last I looked, someone from hip-hop's culture, Jay-Z, had a feature story in Fortune about his success as a CEO and was GQ's Man of The Year in Britain. Last I looked, Vanity Fair did an issue portfolio on members of our culture -- Outkast, Missy, Common, Nas, Nelly, Eve, Ice Cube, The Beastie's, Kool Herc, etc. -- 38 pages, two pairs of jeans (one Dolce and Gabbana, the other Rocawear), three diamond necklaces, zero do-rags, Timberlands or guns.
Last I looked, two cats from hip-hop's culture, Russell Simmons and Sean Combs, created national voter-registration drives that eclipsed anything the Democratic Party has been able to do in the last 10 years. Last I looked, individuals from our culture were headlining movies and being nominated for Academy Awards (Will Smith, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube), having No.1 shows on television (Chris Rock), having art exhibits in New York, Los Angeles and London (Jean-Michel Basquiat), having plays on Broadway (Mos Def, Simmons), having best-selling books (Kevin Liles) and iPod commercials (Eminem).
The last time I looked, we -- being in and of the hip-hop culture -- were responsible for generating $1.5 billion annually for corporate companies, making what we do and who we are one of the top corporate financial entities in America. Last I looked, Cingular Wireless (which just posted a 56 percent third-quarter profit increase) and Target and Nike and Viacom and Disney were trying to "incorporate" us into their marketing and brand-building plans. Last I looked, Suze Orman was a keynote speaker at the Hip-Hop Summit of Financial Empowerment. But yet, we're thugs who dress like prisoners who make music that diminishes our ability to learn?
By Scoop Jackson
Page 2
I used to love H.I.M.
He used to be my man 50 grand. The Revolverlutionary. The Phrenologist.
I used to hold him down to no end.
Triangle offense? Ride or die.
Phil Jackson was the one dude, despite all his flaws, who I publicly protected and defended. Said nothing when others would criticize him or find fault with him. "Damn you, Red Auerbach!!!"
I had to do that for him. I shared his last name.
Phil Jackson escaped criticism for his comments about hip-hop "prison garb and thuggery."
But over the years something's changed. Something's flipped. The openness, the acceptability of individualness, the personal liberalness -- all disappeared. It seemed that the minute Bill Clinton left office, Phil also left the building. Turned to the dark side, turned righteous, turned into Billy Graham, became � conservative.
Which is cool, because as long as he kept winning basketball games, as long as he kept the Lakers relevant, everything was golden, all good, irie.
Do or die, I had his back.
* * * * *
In October 1999, these words came out of his mouth:
"I don't mean to say [that] as a snide remark toward a certain population in our society, but they have a limitation of their attention span, a lot of it probably due to too much rap music going in their ears and coming out their being."
OK. Let that one slide. Chalk it up as generational hate. Cultural Alzheimer's.
Then�
In October 2005, these words came out of his mouth:
"I think it's important that the players take their end of it, get out of the prison garb and the thuggery aspect of basketball that has come along with hip-hop music in the last seven or eight years."
OK � the camel's thoracic and lumbar vertebrae just went into trauma. Forget a broken back, this is spondylitis. A disease.
Now, I'm not calling Phil Jackson an Al Campanis, a Marge Schott or a Jimmy the Greek, but I will say for those comments he needs to meet the same fate.
At what point did Phil Jackson feel that it was his place to take derogatory and demoralizing shots at a culture and walk around as if we were too "illiterate" to understand the subliminal, covert messages behind his comments and beliefs?
Not necessarily being fired -- something beyond that. At this point he should be placed in the same sports pantheon of bigots and frauds that have come along in this post-Adolf Hitler/Jesse Owens generation of athletics.
"Limitation of their attention span � due to too much rap music"? "Prison garb and thuggery � that has come along with hip-hop music"?
Forget calling the kettle black, let's just call the hypocrite white.
Or should I say, hippie?
One who was a member of an anti-American culture that made marijuana mainstream, one that dressed in Woodstock and Vietnam garb.
But before we go there, let's deal with the greater issue: the cultural and racial ignorance of Phil Jackson.
The first comment was made upon his first comeback. It came in a conversation with the media during training camp about the Lakers learning the intricacies of the triangle offense.
The second comment was made upon his second comeback. It came in a conversation with the media during training camp about his feelings toward the implementation of the NBA's new dress-code policy.
Notice a pattern? Notice a recrudescence?
At what point does he feel it necessary to "blame" the ability to learn a complicated offense on music that some of his players might be listening to? At what point does he feel justified to "hold responsible" clothing that some of his players may wear on artists who create music in the videos some of his players might be watching?
At what point did Phil Jackson feel that it was his place to take derogatory and demoralizing shots at a culture and walk around as if we were too "illiterate" to understand the subliminal, covert messages behind his comments and beliefs?
At what point did he feel nothing would be said?
In the words of SNCC: I AM A MAN.
In the words of KRS-One: I AM HIP-HOP.
And just like any subculture inside of America -- rock 'n' roll, grunge, heavy metal, country, bluegrass, electronica, reggae, merengue, punk, funk, rave, classical -- that has been given birth through music, there are both good and bad sides. All open not only to judgment, but interpretation.
But when a Hall of Fame-bound, messiah-like respected coach who is a child of a subculture of imperfection feels that he needs to go out of his way to defame and slander another culture and its music while making an irrelevant point about music and basketball, someone has to Kanye West: Stand up!
To him. To his legacy.
Someone has to remind him of his past, remind him who we really are.
Someone has to expose him for what he really is: a b---- in sheep's clothing.
* * * * *
Last I looked, I had on an oversized pair of Sean John jeans, an L-R-G white tee with a black L-R-G hoodie resting on my shoulders. AF1 LE's that cost $300 on my feets. Every time I get dressed for work, this is what I wear. And every day I sit down to work I see that master's degree with my name on it hanging on my office wall.
Last I looked, Lord Finesse's "The Awakening," Scarface's "The Fix," TI's "Urban Legend," Lil' Kim's "Naked Truth," Ghostface Killah's "Supreme Clientele," and Eric B. and Rakim's "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em," were the six CDs in the chamber. Last I looked, I could retain information, hadn't missed a deadline, haven't been fired from a job, haven't been unemployed or unemployable, haven't been mistaken for a thug or bank robber, haven't been accused of a crime, haven't sold out or sold my soul, and last week was able to get a point about self-esteem across to an auditorium full of kids at a college that made them cry.
I recited Nas and Tupac lyrics. My jeans were hanging off my *** .
They asked me to come back.
Last I looked, someone from hip-hop's culture, Kanye West, made the cover of Time and was taking political stands through conscious statements about President Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina. Last I looked, someone from hip-hop's culture, Jay-Z, had a feature story in Fortune about his success as a CEO and was GQ's Man of The Year in Britain. Last I looked, Vanity Fair did an issue portfolio on members of our culture -- Outkast, Missy, Common, Nas, Nelly, Eve, Ice Cube, The Beastie's, Kool Herc, etc. -- 38 pages, two pairs of jeans (one Dolce and Gabbana, the other Rocawear), three diamond necklaces, zero do-rags, Timberlands or guns.
Last I looked, two cats from hip-hop's culture, Russell Simmons and Sean Combs, created national voter-registration drives that eclipsed anything the Democratic Party has been able to do in the last 10 years. Last I looked, individuals from our culture were headlining movies and being nominated for Academy Awards (Will Smith, Queen Latifah, Ice Cube), having No.1 shows on television (Chris Rock), having art exhibits in New York, Los Angeles and London (Jean-Michel Basquiat), having plays on Broadway (Mos Def, Simmons), having best-selling books (Kevin Liles) and iPod commercials (Eminem).
The last time I looked, we -- being in and of the hip-hop culture -- were responsible for generating $1.5 billion annually for corporate companies, making what we do and who we are one of the top corporate financial entities in America. Last I looked, Cingular Wireless (which just posted a 56 percent third-quarter profit increase) and Target and Nike and Viacom and Disney were trying to "incorporate" us into their marketing and brand-building plans. Last I looked, Suze Orman was a keynote speaker at the Hip-Hop Summit of Financial Empowerment. But yet, we're thugs who dress like prisoners who make music that diminishes our ability to learn?