"Blair blames spate of murders on black culture"

[Crawe]

I don't like Blair and I can't stand his government, but on this issue he is perfectly correct (though I would have respected him more if he had made the same point five years ago when he could have done something about it).

My wife's black and my son's mixed race, so I've had plenty of first hand experience of black culture. The problems that Blair mentions are clearly evident - but no one wants to admit it because of political correctness. In fact I think political correctness is probably the biggest single threat that Britain faces today. Forget the terrorists - it's these politically corrects morons who are slowly killing us!

By the way, for what it's worth, my wife and just about every other black woman I've ever known is 100% behind Blair's comments. This is specifically a young black male issue and I think the lack of fatherly rolemodels for a lot of these young guys is a key factor. Without a father, they end up turning to 50cent or some other moron as a rolemodel. Instead they need a srong male figure, who when they're little boys an put them over his lap when they screw up and administer a good spanking! As for social exclusion and poverty, yes these things exist, but they're hardly unique to black culture.

[crazyj]

I'm jumping on the bandwagon I guess by reiterating:
1) In the U.S. a white politician could never say that without being drawn and quartered.

2) Spot on analysis. Poverty is a factor, but plenty of poor people grow up straight if they have proper parental role models.

[Falconius]

@ Rzzza
Is your argument that people are responsible for their own actions but are led towards them by the surroundings they grew up in? If so, then culture, which may result from being born to a crack addicted mother in a place where business is conducted with guns and divided into turfs also plays a roll. In short the ghetto culture of gangs and violence, of which rap and hip hop seem to be a part of, tends to lead to violence. So Gangsta rap is at the same time a cause and a symptom of the problem. It seems black culture is in a hole and it needs to work to dig itself out of it or it will keep on suffering from being in that hole.

There are, I'm sure, cases of kids appropriating Hip hop Gangsta culture who have nothing to do with it (wiggers perhaps?). But I wouldn’t look outside of their own upbringing or stupidity and blame it on black culture(Columbine, which has nothing to do with black culture points to this just as well). People do stupid things regardless of whether they listen to Biggie, Tupac, or Marilyn Manson (hell songs by some people like Britney should make people violent purely on an aesthetic level). It's the individuals own responsibility (for the most part, and its harder for some then others). At the same time, these things are not clearly only "outlets" sometimes they may help feed the beast.

Although censoring and other such silly things would hardly be the answer given that it wouldn't work. Something far more fundamental would have to change and that decision is up to the black community not politicians or anyone else. Indeed the most likely avenue for positives change in black culture would be through its musicians, cause few kids likely have the patience for anything else (nor should they necessarily).

[Fianóglach]

The problem isnt movies, or video games or music lets just put it that way...Lets think realistically here, the problem most likely boils down to where you were born and what family you were born into.

Its not raps fault that you were born to a crack addicted mother, in a place where business is conducted with a gun and territory is divided into turfs.

How do you explain people of other cultures who live under the exact same circumstances, yet the murder rate is far less than in predominantly black areas of the same country? Some areas of Belfast are scarely better than the slums of east London where the black gang culture has taken over, but you dont see dozens of murders on the news. You see fights, bloody noses, and the odd stabbing.

I'm not saying that rap music is the reason for such violence or the social problems of black people who are poor. I'm saying the acceptance of that way of life as normal, or even admirable is the problem. Even people who live in good areas, with good parents are going around trying to be a gangster stabbing people for petty crime. I'm afraid social hardships can only account for so much, those kind of problems have existed for a long time all over the world but in the last ten years the violence has sky rocketed in said black areas. Black culture isnt just movies music and that crap, its trying to emulate a lifestyle that is degenerate and destructful. Poverty is not an excuse for criminality, and neither is racial inequality.

[the_mango55]

Its not raps fault that you were born to a crack addicted mother, in a place where business is conducted with a gun and territory is divided into turfs.

That's why this is about "Black culture" and not "Rap culture"

Do you deny that the urban black male lifestyle which is often portrayed in rap, perhaps not caused by it though, is the most violent in America?

[LoZz]

I never thought I'd say this but, SPOT ON TONY BLAIR!!!

wow that feels odd.

.

ditto,

it is already widly accepted, even among the black community itself that young black people are more involved in guns, i mean look at operation "trident", a perfectly legal, soicaly acceptable police operation that targets young black man.

[Shaun]

The thing is, even if other cultures promote violence as much as black culture, this is irrelevant, as currently in Britain its the black males that are disproportionately more violent, hence why they need to be targeted more. The ultra PC crowd can call me racist all they want, and shut their eyes to the facts all they want, but its true.

[TestudoAubreii]

Yeah...if gangsta rap is to blame for gang violence, then why not mafia movies? Why not just blame grand theft auto, the gay teletubby and satan while you're at it.

Mafia movies have every element gangsta rap has. gang violence, drug trade, misogyny. But Too many people like mafia movies to say anything about that, now the scapegoat is rap. How convenient...

Y'know what? rock n' roll turned a generation of kids into whores and drug users, drop outs and space outs.

Well, I beleive the thing with this is that we do not see mafia members on the news killing each other. If that were the case, I'd agree with you. I don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but here in Orlando a few weeks ago, ever single morning for the entire week there was a report of a murder and every single case involve two things, a certain part of town and a black person. I am not saying that there isn't crimes that involve other races of people, I know there is. Maybe the news media is just not reporting such crimes committed by the mafioso and only focusing on blacks.
As for Blair, I glad to see a member of society standing up for what he beleives is right. I am not for certian, but form what I've read about Blair, it seems he may've commented about any race if he thought it was of any relevance. Any of our British friends, please correct me if I am wrong. This is just what I've taken in.

[Tabell]

news of the year that tony makes a comment relevant to the situation. I wonder if theyll do or be successful at fixing the problem though.

[TestudoAubreii]

The thing is, even if other cultures promote violence as much as black culture, this is irrelevant, as currently in Britain its the black males that are disproportionately more violent, hence why they need to be targeted more. The ultra PC crowd can call me racist all they want, and shut their eyes to the facts all they want, but its true.

You know, Shuan, I do not think there is much anyone could say, if directed at a race, that wouldn't be considered racist. That is, of course, only if the same race was saying it about their own race. I think it is time to move past some points of PC-ness and treat everyone equally. Is this not what everyone wants anyways? I don't know, I'm ranting on, off the subject that is. I agree with you is what I'm trying to go.

[Real.]

Dear Friends,

The reason why these black young males are being so violent is because of their education, or lack of it. If more educational campaigns existed, perhaps the percentage of this undisciplined would be lower.
This is not a case of racism, this is a case of laziness.

Forever ashamed of our Human society,
Real

[boofhead]

Good on Blair. If you can't call a spade a spade then why do we have vocal chords at all?

Sounds like in Australia. Certain crime waves were being committed by men of a certain ethnic background, and yet the police and newspapers never mentioned it. About as close as they dare go to specifying nationality of the offender is "Of middle-eastern appearance". Pretty bloody weak I think.

[removeduser_426582376423734]

He's got a point. He may as well hang himself, but his term's nearly over anyways, and this is just the type of thing that can make or break an image.

The good thing is, now I think he's not being very politically correct, and telling it like it is because he knows he will be replaced very soon.

[TAG]

+Rep point to Blair ,
sometimes you need to drop the PC **** and say whats on your mind.

[Templar Knight]

he is right the black culture today, but not all of it, is a crime and drug mess. all they do is go around smoking weed and going saying "lets pop that cracker and bang his momma" or thats how i see it in America so i think Blair is correct in his acusation. but remember i think there are still a lot of good black people out there i have a good friend who is black.

[misfitsfiend138]

No, And I Would Never Vote For A Black President Untile All This Ghetto And Rap Stuff Is Over

amen to that

[Freddie]

It could be political suicide, as I'm sure he could find some way to say the exact same thing without saying 'Black' every other sentence. Sure, he's practically spot on, but it matters little since he's opened the door to calls of racist.

LOL, trust me Blair has already committed political suicide, Iraq, Cash for honours etc, this will in no way effect his standing, and given the fact that it has barely been reported in the popular press (the Guardian is very much a minority paper) I can't see this going anywhere. Now saying that I've probably jinxed him.

I have to say I think the poll has been loaded a bit to try and paint Blair as racist, I would like to think people can see through this. As for the comments he made I find all to little to late, he is a lame duck prime minister. Whilst I agree with the point he is trying to make it really ought to have been addressed 5 years ago when he still had a chance of sorting this mess out and not now when he only has a couple of months left in his premiership.

[boofhead]

(Excuse me) maybe the UK needs a woman PM like Thatcher again. The men are failing miserably.

[NaptownKnight]

he is right the black culture today, but not all of it, is a crime and drug mess. all they do is go around smoking weed and going saying "lets pop that cracker and bang his momma" or thats how i see it in America so i think Blair is correct in his acusation. but remember i think there are still a lot of good black people out there i have a good friend who is black.

Its good that you see that, but you are generalizing "bad" black people, and the way you think they act is exactly how the media portrays them. The people you are referring to do not go around saying "let's pop that cracker and bang his momma", many of them are quite cool but they are caught up in this gangsta phenomenon. There is a problem that it is cool to shoot someone, or even cooler to sell crack. The day rappers stop rapping about "pushin work" and killing people will be the day I start listening to rap again. Look at the old school rap, it is politically motivated. The second NWA came out however, everything changed.

[William the Bastard]

(Excuse me) maybe the UK needs a woman PM like Thatcher again. The men are failing miserably.

Are you s***ing me? I can hardly afford the taxes I pay now! I can't afford to get on the property ladder and I am expected to get into debt that I can't escape as a part of modern culture!!! Actually now I think about it it does sound like Maggie is back! Damn our Labour leader is TORY!!!