The Unsung Heroes of Our Time.

Plaxico Buress, Lil Wayne, T.I. and O.J. Simpson have let “us” all down.  Now it shouldn’t necessarily be their responsibility to bring “us” up, but like most non-white celebrities they bare the responsibility of uplifting a race that is damn near 450 years behind their white counterparts (socially).  So, in that respect these men have dropped the ball. They have mucked up beyond belief and no amount of Oprah appearances or MTV specials hosted by Sway (yes, the man is damn talented and he keeps those dread locks extra fresh) can save them.  These men are guilty of an offense so reprehensible it makes me want to put my fledging career as a Philadelphia Battle MC on hold and go into the ministry so that I can one day save young black men from making similar mistakes.  What have these four men done to earn such scorn?  They have committed the offense of being young, black, RICH, males who have been involved in some Nigga Shit so extreme in nature that they must now serve jail time as penance for the crimes they have perpetrated.

    Nigga Shit- Actions committed by black men that lack sense, reason, and good form.  More often than not said actions can be avoided all together but often are not and can result in rather long prison sentences.  (Example: Black man living in Worthington, Ohio and driving a vehicle with an un-registered firearm in it.  Getting pulled over by cops in route to the grocery store.  Un-registered firearm found, next 1-38 years of black man’s life ruined)-Nigga Shit.

    Now it is one thing to be involved in Nigga Shit when you are not rich.  Let’s face it many children living in urban environments have Nigga Shit thrust upon them almost as much as the perpetuate it. However, when a black man (born and breed in the inner city) is able to reach a level of fame and financial independence that now gives him the opportunity to step outside of the socio economic status/condition that, on paper, seemed doomed to define him it gives many blacks (and a few mulattos) hope that blacks are not defined by where they are born but where they end up when their casket drops.  Conversely, seeing that same black man who made it out of his humble beginnings be led away in handcuffs, on T.V.,  over some incredibly poorly timed incident is enough to make any black person look at their T.V. screen and utter the words; “Nigga Why? Don’t you know I gotta go to work in the morning?”     After bearing witness to the events of Plaxico, T.I., Wayne, and O.J.  and the 12 hour ritualistic shit/chant session that followed I have come to a conclusion:  We, as black people, have been looking for heroes in all the wrong places.  There has been one Unsung hero that has been staring us in the face for quite some time and I believe that it is in this,  his “darkest hour” that we give him the credit/respect he so richly deserves.  This man is Tiger Woods.

     Has Tiger cheated on his wife? Yes.  Did he break his Marital vows? Yes. Has he lost millions of dollars in endorsement deals? Yes. Is Tiger still filthy rich? Yes.  Is Tiger going to jail?  NO!!!!!!!!!! by the first quarter of 2010 it has been estimated that Tiger Woods will have become the first athlete to have amassed one billion dollars in his career (he will have been the first athlete to have done so).  Tiger Woods is a rich, young man who cheated on his wife.  Ladies and gentleman what Tiger did was not infidelity.  No, in fact it was/is Americana at it’s finest.  He’s rich, he’s supposed to cheat on his spouse.  That’s what rich people do; they have sex with people who are not their husband/wife and vote Republican, they DO NOT commit felony crimes that they must serve JAIL TIME for.  They DO NOT carry guns in their sweatpants, go into a nightclub, shoot themselves in the leg (with their own gun, that all the while was in their sweatpants mind you).  They DO NOT get busted on felony possession of firearms by a convicted felon.  They DO NOT win a Grammy one year, then plead guilty to  attempted criminal possession of a weapon less than two years later.  Unsung heroes do practical things.  They sleep around, crash their car into a tree, maybe foster some illegitimate children or make a sex tape with incredibly bad video quality.      Many will think less of Tiger Woods for his recent actions, I will not be among the group of detractors.  In a way I think it’s damn hypocritical of many of you to look down upon such a great American celebrity.  He hasn’t done one thing that any other rich or poor married man hasn’t tried to do at one point or another.  And he hasn’t tried to do  one thing that any rich or poor woman hasn’t SUCCESSFULLY done (yeah ladies, only difference between men and woman when they cheat is ya’ll just get away with it, or get pregnant). Tiger Woods thank you for being a hero, and even though you aren’t fully black your damn near all we got (seriously, it was either you or Mario Lopez).  Thank you Tiger, for not going to jail.

Setoiyo