Culture might not be so “Gangstalicious”

Last night, with my potato chips and beer beside me, I watched Cartoon Network’s “The… Last night, with my potato chips and beer beside me, I watched Cartoon Network’s “The Boondocks.” This satirical brainchild of the comic Aaron McGruder generally comments on what problems fester in the black community.

For a while now, I’ve tried to be an individual – for the sake of my community, the black community. After living in predominantly black neighborhoods, mixed neighborhoods, and primarily white neighborhoods, my eyes have come from the center and from the outside of this community, whether it’s been in Pittsburgh or not. I’ve felt pressure, as most of you have, to assume a role – a role molded by stigmas, history and skin color. This pressure forced me to respond.

I’ve responded with individuality – to act in contrast to what’s expected, to what’s accepted. On Sunday night’s episode of “The Boondocks,” the character Gangstalicious, his fans and emcee troupe exposed the stereotypes you’ve heard before: excessive vanity, violence, lewdness, ignorance. Riley, a young, black character, holds Gangstalicious as a near idol. This is cute, something we can laugh at. Riley’s obsession is childlike, puerile. McGruder made Riley symbolic (something good satirists do) of a widespread infatuation with Gangstalicious-like rappers.

In a New York Times article last week, studies showed that young black men in America suffer more now of the common ills – incarceration, joblessness, drop-out rates – than they did in the ’80s and ’90s. Is this a surprise? Researchers noted poor schools, hopelessness and unaccountable fathers among other causes. Yeah, I can agree with that. I can also agree with adding all the Rileys and Gangstaliciouses to the list. If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re – you got it – part of the problem.

Gangstalicious symbolized the problem. The fact that black people buy into the Gangstalicious image is the problem. The fact that people buy into this stereotype is the problem. Not one group, man, radio station or news outlet is at fault, though. It’s collective. It’s also a business. Think MTV, BET: business. Think throwback jerseys: money. Think about those really cool Timberlands: Someone’s getting rich. Maintaining stereotypes is a cash cow. And people feed it and feed it well.

“What then, Bilal, is your solution?” you might ask. Individuality. Hear me out: Marketing has gotten smart. Think wearing Timberlands and New York Yankees hats is your “culture”? Think those top executives really care about your culture? Think that buying the latest CD of, say, Gangstalicious, who you know is bad, is a part of your “culture?” Well, yeah, it is, because people have bought into it. It is, in a sense, manufactured. Sad thing is, it has become a culture, which is another problem. Ideally, individuality – in response to these things – is a rejection of wearing those boots or buying those CDs.

This is what I have to say: If more were individuals, fewer would feel compelled to play the role. If more found strength outside the “culture,” i.e., the image, more would steer away from that lifestyle. If fewer would keep mimicking the Gangstalicious persona, more might, just might, feel, stand and walk as individuals. This is my primary solution: Don’t follow the herd, or, if you do, make sure that your Timberlands are fresh and clean.