Jackaveli

I am black. I don't care that the NPC is homeless. I don't care that she's diggin in trash. The problem is how she speaks. Yeah, there are a lot of homeless, bum ass black folks that speak in a horribly broken English....

But NEVER in my 30 years of life have I ever heard a black person talk like that besides in Roots, or some mammy ass minstrel show. They say the victor writes the history books and while there was never an official Black vs White war, it's safe to say us black folks got our asses kicked in that one so white people got to record in history what we were supposedly like. We didn't even talk like THAT back then.

BUT this is supposed to be a form of entertainment so while it makes me uncomfortable while playing, I can eventually look past it. What DOES trouble me is how disconnected SOME white people are to think that this is really how down-trodden blacks speak. And how come there are white people across the country vouching for this saying it's how they talk and I've not met a single black person in the world that speaks like that or KNOWS anyone that speaks like that?

I fear the day when one of you make a grave judgement call.

Don't take this as a religious statement but have any of you ever heard of forgiveness and repentance? Ok, I'll give it to the angry ones...Vick is a "vile" human being and deserves all the bad things in the world for his act in your opinion. But what happens when/if a person is changed and is truly remorseful for their actions? We have no idea what's going on inside that man's head. Probably never will in the age of PR reps.

I'd hate to be FOREVER judged by my past mistakes that I've grown to learn from and to correct. I just think a lot of the hate towards Vick is deep rooted and I won't dig deep into the history of that because I'll open up a big can of worms. Yes, it's racism related but it's not the simple "Vick's black" argument. It stems from whites back in slave days placing pets higher on the totem pole than blacks as an insult. It was a social condition that was so deeply embedded into their culture that it may never be reversed.

Vote this comment down if you'd like. Just make sure you read some books afterwards.

It's funny how Velstar used Linkin Park as an example of the standard hip hop supposedly can't live up to. The MAJORITY of hip hop acts (believe it or not) rap about some of the same things Linkin Park rap/sing about. The problem isn't rap as an art form, it's media as an outlet. I have 100s of gbs of hip hop on my PC and a MINORITY of it is "ignorant" rap.

The only ignorance I see in this discussion is people's lack of ability to judge a CULTURE outside of what's displayed on MTV & radio. I don't pay attention to either and I'm exposed to nothing but good music. It wouldn't be fair for me to make a sweeping judgment on a particular genre of music based solely on what I see on TV or hear on radio.

I'm black, born in '81, and my preference in the 80s was hair metal, believe it or not. It took Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, and Big Daddy Kane to convert me over to hip hop for good. I still listened to rock in the 90s but only the commercial acts. I could have easily said that rock is nothing more than heroin music. I mean, every act I saw on TV had a lead singer who either OD'ed, actively using, or was suicidal. I knew better though. It's a shame many others don't.

I'm 26, of african descent, residing in Chicago.

Now that that's out of the way, let's clear up some things.

For those that think the majority of blacks act that way, you're way off base. When it comes to (ignorant) hip hop music, you have to consider what is embraced and who is embracing it. Sure, there are a lot of blacks running record labels but they are usually under the umbrella of a bigger label that is run by a white person. That person picks or chooses what will and won't be released. I see it all the time. There are good artists that are shelved constantly just so they can toss another stereotypical rapper out there. The rap audience consists mainly of white people statistically, so it is mainly white people that embrace the ignorance of hip hop. Go to hip hop sites that offer illegal downloads...no one downloads that crap. Most don't even like it. They go crazy when Lupe Fiasco or Talib Kweli or Common comes out with something new.

As far as how we act in our community, once again, you have to realize that unless you live in our community (and not 20 minutes outside of it) then you have to consider the source of your information. News in general focuses on scare tactics. It's the best way to get ratings. Look at what happened on Fox (Faux) News recently. At an Obama rally, an 8 year old black boy was in the front row, EXCITED, and jumped up and down waving his arms to get Obama's attention. He did. He got to ask Obama a question. "How do you run for president?" Well, the reporter thought it was cute. This 8 year old black boy was inspired. But that reporter all of a sudden asked "Well, didn't you also want to be a gangster? Your granny told us." She just destroyed his cute image. Now he's a future thug in everyone's eyes. Why not make it a story that he used to want to be a gangster because that's all he sees but then Obama broke the mold and gave black youths across the country hope? Nah...let's just do what's easy.

What does that rant have to do with video games? Once again, I consider the source. I look at ALL the extras on the limited edition discs because I'm into video games heavily. I RARELY see a black face. On the Halo 3 disc, I saw ONE black person in Bungie. Volition, who did Saints Row....I saw NONE. The same goes for all these companies. Their perception is limited to wherever they get their source material on blacks. It inspired me. I want to add some authenticity to urban games & characters in the industry so I immediately started going to school for game design. THAT'S how you make a difference.

This contest would have a massive effect on my bank account because I can sell my plain ol' white console and all the white accessories.

Black is the new.....black.

make that TODAY is my birthday....everything in the world goes by EST
:|

I want in on this. Tomorrow is MY birthday too
:)

GT: Jackaveli

:(

BEST....GIVEAWAY....EVER

I skipped a day....damnit!!!!!