Throwback: West Coast All-Stars - We're All In The Same Gang...

King Tee, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel'le, Tone-Loc, Above The Law, Ice-T, N.W.A, J.J. Fad, Young MC, Digital Underground, Oaktown's 357 and MC Hammer were all featured on "We're All In The Same Gang". The anti-violence posse cut was created to address the rapid surge in violence that was plaguing urban America in the late 80's and early 90's.

The increase in violence was directly related to an increase in gang activity in impoverished neighborhoods and more importantly an increase in the popularity of crack cocaine. It was also considered the west coast's version of the 1989 east coast rap song "Self Destruction".

This song came out in 1990, almost 20 years ago....yet everything that they're rapping about is still just as relevant if not more, today in 2009.

Despite having some of the highest taxes in the US, an overabundance of political corruption, absurdly overpriced parking meters, virtually non-existent summers and atrocious winters, I love the city of Chicago. I'm able to get over, and in some ways accept all of the aforementioned things....but the one thing that I can not accept, overlook, disregard or understand is the senseless killing of children that frequently takes place in this city.

I'm not sure about the city that you live in, but here in Chicago bullets fly around about as frequently as a breeze from Lake Michigan blows. Today marks the start of the third week of school for students enrolled in the Chicago Public School system as well as other students across the country. Unfortunately, it's almost a guarantee that several CPS students will be victims of gun violence before the end of this school year. Last school year (08-09), a record 36 Chicago Public Schools students were killed, making it the third straight year that youth homicides reached double digits in Chicago. That doesn't even include the numerous robberies, assaults, stabbings, non-fatal gunshot wounds and other malicious acts of violence that many children across Chicago experience and often goes undocumented or unpublicized.

Chicago currently has the highest youth homicide rate in the nation, surpassing both New York and Los Angeles. That's a title that should shame the citizens and the elected officials of Chicago, but the sad part is that many Chicagoans have become completely numb to the violence. The killing of innocent children and babies no longer invokes the shock and outrage it once did...it has gotten to the point where it's almost accepted and even expected.

"Open up the paper to one more death, if yall keep this up there'll be no one left." (c) Young MC

Well, I started writing this post on Friday (9/18), with the intention of posting it today Monday (9/21)...and unfortunately as much as I would like to be wrong, it doesn't look like this school year is going to be any different from the last. This past Saturday night (9/19), Corey McClaurin, a 17 yr old Simeon High School senior was shot dead while he sat in his car on South Side. A dark minivan reportedly pulled up along side McClaurin and a someone jumped out and opened fire on him before hopping back into the van and fleeing the scene. No motive is known and there are no known suspects at the moment.

West Coast Rap All-Stars - We're All In The Same Gang

So what's the answer? Hell if only is was that easy. Unfortunately there's no silver bullet, there are a number of things that need to happen in order for the violence and senseless killing to stop. With so many things wrong, it's hard to try and figure out where to start. Below I touch on a few things that I just wanted to vent about regarding children and violence. I apologize because from here on out I basically go on a completely unorganized rant. You may not agree with some or any of the things I say...oh well, that's life and these are simply my opinions...

Raise Your Damn Child...Yes, YOU...
Parents need to stop letting any and everything raise their children. Have you seen the bullshit that's on television? Have you listen to the top 8 at 8? Turn off the radio, the video games and the television. Let them know that everything that they see and hear isn't always what it seems. Be involved...your child shouldn't learn everything from school. It's sad because there are so many parents who let the coaches, the teachers, the neighbors and everybody but them play a more important role in their child's upbringing than they do.

Fuck 'em Up...
Beat your kid's ass. I'm not saying for every little thing, but if they get completely out of line...fuck em' up. I can't stand when I'm out in public and some little fucker is cursing his momma out and she's arguing with him like they're equals....fuck 'em up. I know a lot of people don't agree with hitting kids for whatever reason. Some say "violence begets violence...you're just teaching them violence". I don't call it violence, I call it discipline. Maybe that's because my father beat my ass...he's a former military man and he didn't (and still doesn't) play that shit. I was scared as hell of that man as a child, but I also respected the hell out him as I still do to this day. With that said, I think I turned out okay...I think. All my mom had to say was "I'm gonna tell you father" and I fell in line ASAP. Look, fear without respect is meaningless, so I'm not saying that simply hitting a child is a method of good parenting b/c obviously there's a difference between discipline and abuse. I just feel like the whole time out/punishment thing doesn't work as well as a good ol' fashion ass whooping. Don't believe me? You ever heard of a repeat offender? Yep, time out for children works as about as well as prison does for adults. While some people learn their lesson, a lot of them just get so use to time-out/prison that it no longer becomes a threatening consequence for doing wrong.

Babies Can't Raise Babies...
These kids need to stop having kids. There are a lot of adults that don't have the mental capacity, common sense or level of maturity it takes to raise a child properly, so what are the chances that a 14 yr old girl will? Look, I'm an animal lover and I've had several pets throughout my life and at times the responsibilities that came along with owning them were overwhelming. So I can only imagine the responsibilities that come along with raising a child. For some reason teenagers today have a warped perception about the impact that having a child can have on a person's life. Also those very same teenagers are completely clueless about sex. They "learn" about sex through HBO, MTV and their just as clueless classmates and friends. If you talked to some of the high school students about sex today, you would be completely floored by some of the dumb shit they think they know. So talk to your teenager about sex, teen pregnancy, STDs, protection and preventive measures....educate them.

Stop Focusing On Guns...
Focus on the people using guns. Guns don't shoot on their own. Anybody that believes that the answer to this problem is stricter gun laws, needs to use an ounce of common sense. The idea in itself is a fuckin oxymoron....you're talkin about a fuckin' law. We're talkin' about criminals....they don't follow laws, they commit crimes by breaking laws. The only thing that stricter gun laws will do is make it tougher for law abiding citizens to obtain a gun. "Where there's a will, there's a way", even when it comes to doing wrong. Let focus on the "will"...eliminate the criminals who desire, need and want to use a gun and the availability of guns won't matter. I know it's easier said than done and I'm not 100% sure about how to do it, but I think it's obvious that the old way of approaching this issue isn't working.

Oh and one more thing.....

FUCK THE 2016 OLYMPICS...
With all of the problems this city has, Mayor Daley and his minions have decided to focus all of their time and energy on bringing the Olympics to the city of Chicago. While I think it's a great opportunity, I think that there are more pertinent issues that need to be addressed before the global spotlight is placed on Chicago. I guess what I'm sayin' is that we're just not ready host an event of that magnitude. Just imagine how much greater this city would be if all of these money hungry ass politicians put that same amount of time and energy into eliminating the violence on these streets and balancing the fuckin' budget. All in all, we need to clean up the crib before we start inviting people over.

I could go into the many reasons why I feel that bringing the Olympics to Chicago is an extremely bad idea but that's a totally different blog post. Okay, I digress...but before I sign off I want to leave you with what I've always thought was the realest line from "We're All In The Same Gang"...

I got an idea, give me a minute
and if it makes sense, then get with it
what if we could take our enemies, feed 'em poison
under-educate their girls and boys and
split 'em up, make 'em fight one another
better yet, make 'em kill for a color
all my brothers need to know one thing
no matter what you think, we're all in the same gang
(c) Ice-T