Secret’s misunderstood
“Secrets’ secret is that it is a club making money playing black music, while it excludes black people.”
This article details a night spent in Ocean City where Gabrielle Beckles and her party were rejected from entering a nightclub due to one of the members not possessing proper ID. This sort of attitude is common, and I don’t mean the attitude of not allowing blacks to enter nightclubs. What the author of this post is failing to realize is that the member in her party was rejected not because of the color of her skin, but because she did not have the proper credentials required to enter.
A member of any other race would have also been rejected. The bouncer was doing his job and following company policy. The fact that the bouncer denied Gabrielle’s friend special treatment is not evidence of racism. This sort of attitude is a product of the current self-centered perspective of our generation, otherwise known as entitlement.
The author also betrays her own racist sentiments by characterizing what I assume to be rap and hip-hop as “black music.” While these two styles of music certainly have their roots in black culture, a forward thinking perspective highlights the growing diversity within this form of music and the need for it to be recognized as a medium shared by all, not a particular ethnic group.
Sorry, Gabrielle, you’re not entitled to be admitted to 21 and over nightclubs without proper identification, and you’re also a bit racist.
Natalie said,
July 28, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Would you say that The Stones and Rod Stewert (rock n roll) cannot be credited to a specific group either, that is, whites?
What about Polka and Country music? What about Salsa? Does that not belong to the Latins?
Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, Blues were all created by blacks. Let’s give credit where credit is due.
In this country entitlement is an issue among Americans in general. Spoiled brat self centered arrogant Americans.
Paul said,
July 29, 2008 at 2:40 pm
You’re looking at this from the wrong direction. Certainly those music styles have their roots in their respective cultures. That does not mean, however, that other cultures have no valid input upon that media and the lines between these different perspectives is becoming blurrier by the day. What you really should be asking is why is it considered faux pas for whites to engange in rap music or for black to engage in rock music? Or any other culture experimenting in a medium created by any other culture? There should be no barriers established for the progression of music, no one is discrediting the roots of these music styles.