Rapper sends ugly message

Simply, "street cred" isn't credibly worth having if it is an excuse for excusing criminality.

This comes to mind in the unfortunate case of New York rapper Cameron "Cam'ron" Giles, shot in both arms in Washington, D.C., in October while driving his Lamborghini. Theories abound. It could have been an attempted carjacking. Some speculate that it was retaliation for showing off his wealth while on someone else's turf. And others theorize that it was all a publicity stunt, though it is difficult to believe that someone would willingly undergo gunshot wounds to sell records.

About the only thing clear so far in this case is that Giles got a good look at his assailant and will not, according to a Washington Post article, cooperate with police, who have a potential suspect.
The reason: He can't "snitch" because he would lose all his "street cred." Apparently, for a rapper who is directing a movie - "Killa Season," which he says traces his ascendancy to "the King of Harlem" - this is quite important.

No, not really. What's important is sending a message to those who listen to his music that there is a concept here worth standing up for. That would be the rule of law and that all of us have a responsibility to uphold it.

The police have some leverage. Giles is on probation for an earlier gun charge, might be subpoenaed and be compelled to testify. But why police should have to resort to such tactics is puzzling. Giles can perform an incalculably valuable service were he simply to do the right thing.
If a person lives in neighborhoods dominated by thugs, it's easy to understand why there might be reluctance to report crime. Fear of retribution might play a role, and it takes genuine courage to step forward in these cases.

Others may withhold information from police to take the law into their own hands, a practice that makes the practitioner little better than the original assailants. And we understand the sometime tense relationship that occurs between police and communities.
But Giles is wealthy and - even if he is part of a pop culture that may glorify gangster behavior - there really is no compelling reason for him to withhold information and every reason to cooperate.

"It's not in our nature," Juelz Santana, Giles' friend and protégé, told The Post. "He isn't going to stand up and point out a guy in a witness line and say, 'That is the dude who shot me.' We all came from the street."

But what better way to change those streets than to rid them of those who make traversing them so perilous? Record sales driven by "street cred" is not a good enough reason to reward criminals with silence.

Is this a trend? Earlier, there were stories about "Stop Snitching" T-shirts being sold nationwide, including in Milwaukee.

In this case, we suspect less a trend than a musician who values image and sales more than sending a good message about helping the law work and keeping people safe.

I just wanted some of you to understand what the thought process is for many of the people in the inner city.....the people whose failure Liberals blame GWB for. How can you help someone who's baseline for thought is grounded in civil disorder?

How can you teach a class that only has 15 out of 26 students (my class this morning)? I really think most Liberals who stand up for all the poor in this country and want to blame racism and anything or anyone besides the poor need to at least understand what their thought process and work ethic actually is.