Stop the Violence

[DISCLAIMER]

I recall the early days of hip hop (a subcultural movement and art form encompassing music—comprised of turntablism, lyricism, and beatboxing, and graffiti, breakdancing, fashion, language, and lifestyle). Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the movement to become violent.

For context, violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Regarding this matter, various media entities began reporting on violence which was correlated with hip hop. For instance, on August 19, 1986, the Lost Angeles Times reported:

Fearing a recurrence of violence that left 40 people injured after a concert Sunday [8/17/1986] in Long Beach, promoters canceled a “rap” music concert that had been scheduled for Monday night [8/18/1986] at the Hollywood Palladium featuring some of the same entertainers who had appeared at Long Beach.

When asked about my recollection of the ‘80s, I often respond by admitting that the ‘80s were wild. Even hip hop acts which used relatively nonviolent lyrics, such as Run-DMC, couldn’t escape ridicule. As an example, on September 11, 1986, Rolling Stone reported:

With the success of Run-D.M.C.’s third album, rap has come of age. Raising Hell is both the first rap LP to go platinum and the first to enter the Top Ten on Billboard’s pop chart. And after some initial resistance from AOR [album-oriented rock] stations, the album’s second single, a hip-hopping remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” is becoming a crossover hit with the help of heavy play on MTV.

Run-D.M.C. has been able to go where no rappers have gone before, in part because the group has created such a smart, accessible blend of rap and rock. The excitement of this breakthrough has been dampened, however, by incidents of violence during and after several concerts.

After Run-D.M.C.’s June 28th [1986] show in Pittsburgh, the mayor called for a movement to ban all rock concerts. During the group’s July 24th [1986] concert in Atlanta, there was an extended brawl. Onstage, Joe “Run” Simmons tried to cool things down. “Fuck the fight,” he told the crowd, “the real fight’s up here!”

Anecdotally, Run-DMC was one of those groups which I could listen to in my youth and when around adults. All the same, violence apparently erupted at their concerts. A couple years then went by and on August 29, 1988, The New York Times reported:

Like early rock-and-roll, rap’s tough sound and aggressive esthetic can be abrasive and anti-authoritarian, raising concern among some parents and critics about hip-hop’s sexual explicitness, macho swaggering and association with violence. These fears centered on incidents surrounding the release of the 1985 Run-D.M.C. movie “Krush Groove,” when violence broke out at several theaters.

Was it the case that I’d been self-deceived? Was Run-DMC’s message inherently violent? Recently revisiting music of the group, I now maintain that this isn’t the case. What then explains what appeared to be a targeted campaign against the group and hip hop as a whole?

Retrospectively, all I can offer is conjecture. For whatever reason, music of my preferred subculture was heavily criticized by politicians, clergy members, media talking heads, and others. As a final example, on September 13, 1988, The New York Times reported:

In recent years, concerts of rap music have gained a reputation for violence. A concert Saturday night [9/10/1988] at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island featuring Eric B. and Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, Doug E. Fresh and other rappers was the scene of robberies, stabbings and a homicide, violence that led to a ban on rap concerts at the coliseum.

It is also likely to make concert promoters and hall owners more leery than they already are about staging rap concerts. Even now, attending a rap concert is likely to mean entering by way of a cordon of police, a metal detector and a frisking, with more police and security guards stationed inside the hall.

Reports linking violence and rap tend to reinforce racial tensions, since rap, or hip-hop music, is closely identified with a young, black, urban audience (although its listenership is growing increasingly integrated).

But many performers, promoters and listeners believe it is simplistic and misleading, and perhaps racist, to equate rap and violent behavior. They cite violence at other large public gatherings, from soccer matches and hockey games to heavy-metal and pop concerts, that is less widely reported than rap violence.

Quick note: I wish I’d been at that Nassau Coliseum concert, because the lyricists featured in The New York Times article are legends within hip hop. In any case, it was in the late ‘80s that violence in the subcultural movement began to become a significant issue.

Therefore, it was unsurprising to me that classic hip hop group Boogie Down Productions (BDP) – consisting of lyricists KRS-One and D-Nice, as well as DJ Scott La Rock – released the album By All Means Necessary which featured the track “Stop the Violence”. Lyrics include:

[Verse 2]

This might sound a little strange to you

Well, here’s the reason I came to you

We gotta put our heads together and stop the violence

‘Cause real bad boys move in silence

When you’re in a club, you come to chill out

Not watch someone’s blood just spill out

That’s what these other people want to see

Another race fight endlessly

You know we’re being watched, you know we’re being seen

Some wish to destroy this scene called hip hop

But I won’t drop

Not I or Scott La Rock

Well, here is the message that we bring today

Hip hop will surely decay

If we as a people don’t stand up and say

(Stop the violence x5)

[Hook]

I say, one, two, three, the crew is called BDP

And if you want to go to the tip top

Stop the violence in hip hop, Y-O

Since my youth, I’ve appreciated how KRS-One has continually educated people on hip hop history. I argue that no other hip hop artist in my lifetime has done more for this subcultural movement that KRS-One.

Regarding this matter, one source states, “In 1988, KRS-One and hip-hop journalist Nelson George formed the Stop the Violence Movement. The collective would change hip-hop forever.” This effort was predominately facilitated by two historic hip hop tracks.

The first was a song entitled “Self Destruction” which featured BDP, the late Ms. Melodie, Stetsasonic, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice, the late Heavy D, and Public Enemy. To this day, the track remains as my favorite hip hop collaboration.

According to one source, “After a young fan was killed at a 1988 Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy show, KRS-One formed the Stop the Violence Movement in hopes of encouraging the hip hop community to end violence being committed among themselves.”

The song starts with a sample of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz stating, “We all agree, tonight—all of the speakers have agreed that America has a very serious problem. Not only does America have a very serious problem, but our people have a very serious problem. America’s problem is…”

The chorus then kicks in, expressed four times, “Self-destruction, you’re headed for self-destruction.” Although this track was released decades ago, I still experience pleasurable feelings in the form of joy (emotion) and bodily chills (sensation) when listening to it.

In his introductory verse, KRS-One states, “Well, today’s topic, self-destruction, it really ain’t the rap audience that’s buggin’. It’s one or two suckers, ignorant brothers, trying to rob and steal from one another.” I appreciate the distinction drawn by the lyricist.

For clarity, I offer that when practicing the psychotherapeutic modality of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) I invite people to consider thoughts and beliefs which are rational (in accordance with both logic and reason). Similarly, KRS-One noted a rational discrepancy.

In particular, the lyricist highlighted a hasty generalization about which one source states may occur when “drawing a conclusion based on a small sample size, rather than looking at statistics that are much more in line with the typical or average situation.”

Logical form –

Sample X is taken from population Y.

Sample X is a very small part of population Y.

Conclusion Z is drawn from sample X and applied to population Y.

Example –

Some attendees at hip hop events commit acts of violence. Therefore, all fans of hip hop music are violent.

About this form of irrational argument, I stated in a blogpost entitled Unjustified Generalization, “When a syllogism has a faulty conclusion from valid premises, using unjustified generalization, the consequences of actions following irrational propositions can be quite significant.”

Do you understand how and why such generalizations are considered illogical and unreasonable? I’ll share more on hasty and unjustified generalizations in a bit, because I suspect that my contribution may resonate with some people in regard to current events.

For now, consider that following KRS-One’s verse MC Delite (of Stetsasonic) stated, “Pop, pop, pop, when it’s shot, who’s to blame? Headlines, front page, and rap’s the name MC Delite here to state the bottom line. The black-on-black crime was way before our time!”

Back in the ‘80s, emcees weren’t afraid to speak truthfully about who was committing violence. Although not all rappers, lyricists, rap fans, or adherents to the tenets of hip hop as a subculture were violent, black-on-black crime was a significant matter and was called out in rap songs.

Following MC Delite’s lead, Kool Moe Dee stated, “Back in the ‘60s, our brothers and sisters were hanged. How could you gang-bang? I never ever ran from the Ku Klux Klan, and I shouldn’t have to run from a black man, ‘cause that’s (self-destruction).”

When teaching psychoeducational lessons on REBT, I differentiate between self-disturbing narratives related to inflexible demandingness – which present in the form of should, must, or ought-type statements – and flexible narratives expressing a preference or recommendation.

In the case of Kool Moe Dee, it’s as though the lyricist is stating that he preferentially shouldn’t or recommendatorily shouldn’t be required to run from members of his own race. This isn’t akin to use of inflexible absolutistic or conditional demands which cause self-disturbance.

MC Lyte follows Kool Moe Dee by stating, “Leave the guns and the crack and the knives alone. MC Lyte’s on the microphone. Bum rushing and pushing, snatching and taxing, I cram to understand why brothers don’t be maxing.” This is some throwback ‘80s hip hop slang.

Stetsasonic members then state, “Spittin’, spittin’, spittin’ straight from the mouth of Wise and Daddy-O. Do a crime, end up in jail, and gotta go. ‘Cause you could do crime and get paid today, and tomorrow you’re behind bars in the worst way.”

I appreciate that these lyricists express what I teach my clients, that reactions have consequences. The duo is a tough act to follow, though D-Nice’s entire verse remains worthy of highlighting herein:

It’s time to stand together in a unity

‘Cause if not, then, yo, we’re soon to be

Self-destroyed, unemployed

The rap race will be lost without a trace

Or a clue, but what to do

Is stop the violence and kick the science

Down a road that we call eternity

Where knowledge is formed and you learn to be

Self-sufficient, independent

To teach to each is what rap intended

But society wants to invade

So do not walk this path that they laid, it’s (self-destruction)

I’ll forgive D-Nice, whose legal name is Derrick T. Jones, for the misspelling of his first name (/s), because his advocacy for empowerment is precisely how I approach the practice of REBT. Thus, I appreciate an “each one, teach one” method of rational living.

Ms. Melodie then stated, “I’m Ms. Melodie, and I’m a born-again rebel. The violence in rap must cease and seckle. If we wanna develop and grow to another level, we can’t be guinea pigs for the devil. The enemy knows, they’re no fools, because everyone knows that hip-hop rules.”

In her verse, the late Ms. Melodie used a flexible recommendatory must statement. My interpretation of her statement is that members of the hip hop subculture would be tested when confronted with violence, so people recommendatorily mustn’t engage in such action.

Speaking to the statically low number of people who choose to enact violence, Doug E. Fresh then states, “It doesn’t make you a big man (and) to wanna go and diss your brother, man (and) you don’t know that’s part of the plan (why?). ‘Cause rap music is in full demand, understand?”

Following this verse, Just-Ice states, “My name is Just-Ice, a man, not a prankster. I was known as the gangster. But, believe me, that is no fun. The time is now to unite everyone. You don’t have to be soft to be for peace. Robbing and killing and murdering is the least.”

Although I ignored the proclamation of Just-Ice in the ‘90s, by befriending a number of gang members, I later understood the magnitude of his message. Nonviolent acts don’t make one “soft.” One can be peaceful without engaging in crime. Heavy D’s verse then followed thusly:

Ayo, here’s the situation, idiocy

Nonsense, violence, not a good policy

Therefore, we must ignore fighting ‘n fussin’

Heavy’s at the door, so there’ll be no bum rushin’

Let’s get together, because we’re falling apart

I heard a brother shot another, it broke my heart

I don’t understand the difficulty, people

Love your brother, treat him as an equal

They called us animals, mm-mm, I don’t agree with them

I’ll prove ‘em wrong, but right is what you’re provin’ ‘em

Take heed before I lead through what I'm sayin’

Or we’ll all be on our knees, praying

The late Heavy D was one of my favorite lyricists in childhood. The immense amount of respect I had for him when he was alive has been difficult to be matched throughout decades of my existence. Thus, I appreciate his entire verse, to include the recommendatory must statement.

Lyricist Frukwan, initially of Stetsasonic and later of the Gravediggaz, follows by stating, “Yo, Heavy D, deep in the heart of the matter their self-destruction is served on a platter. Makin’ a day, not failing to anticipate, they got greedy, so they fell for the bait.”

This perspective reflects the Belief-Consequence connection of REBT’s ABC model. When an individual baits oneself with unhelpful attitudes about undesirable Actions, it’s one’s unfavorable Beliefs which cause unpleasant Consequences. Thus, one preferably shouldn’t fall for the bait.

Finishing the track, Public Enemy states, “In your head, you know our job to build and collect ourselves with intellect (Come on). To revolve, to evolve, to self-respect, ‘cause we got to keep ourselves in check, or else, it’s (self-destruction).”

This outlook reflects the tool of unconditional acceptance (UA) in REBT. In short, UA maintains that we live in an imperfect world, maintaining exceedingly little control and influence, as we preferably should focus on what we can control rather than otherwise self-disturbing.

Not to be upstaged by East Coast lyricists, per one source, “We’re All in the Same Gang’ is a hip hop song by a collaboration of prominent American West Coast hip hop recording artists under the West Coast Rap All-Stars umbrella, who assembled to promote an anti-violence message.”

This 1990 track features King Tee, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel’le, Tone Lōc, Above the Law, Ice-T, members of N.W.A, J.J. Fad, Young MC, Digital Underground, Oaktown’s 3.5.7, and MC Hammer. I enjoy this song, yet I favor “Stop the Violence”. Still, I’ll examine the West’s song.

King Tee opens the track by stating, “I’m trying to stress the fact that you’re dumb. Get yourself presentable, son, and just come together. You better, ‘cause pretty soon it’s gonna be too late – a message from King Tee The Great.” I like his advocacy for personal ownership, not victimhood.

Building upon the personal responsibility and accountability message, Body & Soul add, “Sisters, since we are the mothers of this Earth, it’s time we start being good mothers from the birth of our children. No time for sleeping. Teach them to fight and win for the right reason.”

Responsibility is the quality or state of being able to choose for oneself between right and wrong. Accountability is the quality or state of being answerable for fulfilment (or lack thereof) of one’s obligations. Yet, Def Jef’s verse blurs the line regarding personal ownership of this kind:

One and the same

Everyone came in the same chains

Caught with the same aim

Brain games and names changed

To protect the innocent bystander

Lies, slander, and the master-planner

Destroy the black male

Crack jail and semi-automatic

For static if the crack fails

So since we all talk the same slang

Stop killin, my brother, ‘cause we’re all from the same gang

It’s a hasty generalization to infer that all black males are “one and the same” and subject to the “same aim.” Furthermore, the victimhood narrative regarding chattel slavery has little (if anything) to do with gang violence in 1990. Personal ownership is required in this regard.

Michel’le offers a brief bridge on the track by stating, “Don’t you know we’ve got to put our heads together? Make the change, ‘cause we’re all in the same gang.” I altogether reject the notion that all of any race are “in the same gang” to infer that everyone’s experience is the same.

Tone Lōc, someone whose opinion I respected in my childhood, then added, “Now as a youth, I used to get my bang on, and on the Ave., get my part-time slang on. That point in time for me was no joke though. They knew I was crazy, so they labelled me ‘Loco.”

In blogpost entitled Hulk, I stated, “Although I was nicknamed ‘2-Nice’ by my gang-related friends, a member of another gang set once stated to me something like, ‘You’re fucking crazier than any of us! I’m gonna call you ‘Suicide-Psycho,’ ‘cause you’re fucking crazy, ese!”

As such, Tone Lōc’s message once resonated with me. Taking ownership for my behavior, I turned away from criminal activity. This likely wouldn’t have been possible had I used a victimhood mentality similar to that expressed by Above the Law in the group members’ verse:

Violence don’t only revolve from drugs and thugs

And gangs that bang

Most times, it’s a political thang

Yeah, a couple of spots’ll get popped

And if the government wanted to freeze it, it could all get stopped

But they don’t, because they want it like that

Because the system’s been set up to hold us back

I maintain that it’s secularly evil to teach people, especially youthful individuals, that a malevolent “system’s been set up to hold us back.” Using the technique of an elegant solution, granting this premise as true, one can still take personal ownership of one’s own life in a system.

Ice-T began his verse by stating, “Ice-T, rippin’ the microphone the way I do. Listen close, my brothers, ‘cause I’m talkin’ to you. The problem is we got a suicidal lifestyle, ‘cause 90 percent of us are livin’ foul and wild.” How’s that for an admission regarding black-on-black violence?

N.W.A members Dr. Dre and MC Ren then state, “Yo, bullets flying, mothers crying, brothers dying, lying in the streets. That’s why we’re trying to stop it from falling apart and going to waste, and keeping a smile off a white face. N.W.A, never preaching, just teaching.”

Even if one disagrees with the racial element of the N.W.A members’ message, one may be able to appreciate how the duo advocated a nonviolent lifestyle on the track. Despite N.W.A preaching violence in other songs, I like that they once made an attempt to stop the violence.

J.J. Fad then added, “What’s black and black, yo, and kills another? An ignorant sucker that isn’t labelled as a brother, but another. So now it’s time we evolve, and get together, and solve it, ‘cause the world is revolvin’ around a terrible situation. One will kill another for a reputation.”

One remains uncertain as to what statistics applied in 1990. Yet, in 2019, black people constituted approximately 13% of the U.S. population and represented just under 52% of murders. Unfortunately, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports:

The number 13 used in conjunction with either the number 52 or the number 90 is a shorthand reference to racist propaganda claims by white supremacists against African Americans to depict them as savage and criminal in nature.

In this numeric shorthand, the number 13 refers to the purported percentage of the U.S. population that is African American.  The number 52 refers to the alleged percentage of all murders committed in the U.S. that are committed by African Americans.  Some white supremacists use the number 50 instead of 52. Similarly, white supremacists claim the number 90 refers to the percentage of violent interracial crime allegedly committed by African Americans.

Apparently, personal ownership of behavior represented in statistical data isn’t appreciated by all people. Thus, groups like the ADL may presumably label me (a biracial person) a “white supremacist.” Personally, I prefer the approach of Young MC who stated on the track:

Brothers killin’ other brothers

I thought the idea was to love one another

Open up the paper to one more death

If y’all keep this up, then there’ll be no one left

I try my best to set an example

Sayin’ hype lyrics over hip hop samples

Not just to brag or to boast, but to inform

‘Cause we’re livin’ in the calm before the storm

You see, I believe that the children are the future

But what’s it all about if in the future they shoot ya?

We’re all human beings; if we’re cut, we’ll bleed

And I want to see all young people succeed

Do 9 to 5, not 5 to 10

Just go to work and not the state pen

‘Cause you live better when you’re out there free

And that’s comin’ straight to ya from the Young MC

If someone representing an entity like the ADL said to young Deric that because I was born to a while mom and black dad that I’d remain a victim of racial circumstance, subject to rational criticism by other white people if or when I engaged in crime, then what would I learn?

I’d likely form the irrational perspective that others were racist for pointing out what is, and perhaps they ought not to do so. Such an illogical and unreasonable belief violates 17th century philosopher David Hume’s is-ought problem (i.e., one cannot derive an ought from an is).

As a biracial teenager, I (may or may not have) engaged in criminal activity, which is a matter of is. However, to irrationally claim that other people ought not to have declared “you’re headed for self-destruction” is irrational. I indeed would’ve been self-destructive if/when acting foolishly.

Apparently, members of Digital Underground understood this principle when rapping, “I’m in a rage. (Oh yeah? Yo, why is that G?) Other races, they say we act like rats in a cage. I tried to argue, but check it, every night in the news we prove them suckers right, and I got the blues.”

Oaktown’s 3.5.7 then added, “The gang that should hang is the one that contains the sisters and the brothers who are all in the same frame of mind. Now listen, get loose, it’s unity time. (Yeah, yeah) Peace is a presence that we all need. The future’s in our hands, in word and deed.”

These female emcees advocated talking the talk and walking the walk (“in word and deed”) regarding an approach to stopping the violence. Per my view, their message fit well with Digital Underground’s expression about not wanting to be perceived as something like “rats in a cage.”

MC Hammer continued, “It’s gotta stop. We don’t need all the violence. Peace in the hood, and a moment of silence. We got together, not for ego or fame. We got involved, ‘cause we’re all in the same gang.” Even though I maintain that black people aren’t a monolith, I like this message.

Besides, it isn’t as though I must agree with a one’s message in order to appreciate it. Consider that in a post entitled Non-Aggression Principle – Don’t Put Your Hands on Me, I admitted, “In my youth I was prone to violence.” Similar to this admission, N.W.A’s late rapper Eazy-E stated:

You knew good from bad, fair from foul, right from wrong

Now, your mother’s singing that sad song

(My baby ain’t never hurt nobody!)

But he still got smoked at BeBe’s party

But you’re not the first or the last

You’re nothin’ but a short story from the past

You’re dead now, not number one but a zero

Take notes from Eazy-E, the violent hero

One can be of a violent nature while simultaneously valuing a nonviolent approach to living. I suspect that’s what a number of the artists on “We’re All in the Same Gang” attempted to do with this second historical track pertaining to the Stop the Violence Movement.

Yet, despite efforts to stop the violence in hip hop, Dr. Dre’s 1992 album The Chronic arguably stoked the proverbial flames of violence. Yet, you don’t necessarily have to take my word for it. I invite you to consider what one source states in regard to this matter:

Audio from what would become [Matthew] McDaniel’s guerilla documentary Birth of a Nation 4-29-92 also became the intros to “Little Ghetto Boy” and “The Day the Niggaz Took Over” from Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic. Released on December 15, 1992, The Chronic boiled down all of the angst, anger, and paranoia of black life in the Southern California inner city into a potent distillation of sound and emotion never heard before or since.

Admittedly, I enjoyed The Chronic quite a bit. It’s one of those classic hip hop albums which serve as a soundtrack to a specific period of my life. Nevertheless, I regrettably behaved violently during that time. Regarding the 1992 Los Angeles (L.A.) riots, one source states:

When the riots including multiple shootouts had ended, 63 people had been killed, 2,383 had been injured, more than 12,000 had been arrested, and estimates of property damage were over $1 billion, making it the most destructive period of local unrest in US history.

The black-on-black crime that was a significant matter and which was called out in rap songs spilled over into other racial and ethnic enclaves in L.A. during the riots. What climaxed with the decision about Rodney King’s police brutality case resulted in catastrophic damage to L.A.

Still, according to one source, “The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots that took place June 3–8, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, United States [U.S.], involving American servicemen stationed in Southern California and young Latino and Mexican American city residents.”

Apparently, rioting occurs in L.A. every two to three decades or so. Sometimes, people don’t even wait that long for a period of respite between violent episodes. Per a separate source:

The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abusive practices of the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as grievances over employment discrimination, residential segregation, and poverty in L.A.

Riots popped off in L.A. in 1943, 1965, and again in 1992. Of course, some readers of this blogpost may not have been born by the time that any of the aforementioned violence took place. Yet, I imagine that anyone old enough to read this post remembers another series of events.

Per one source, “George Floyd protests and riots in Los Angeles County, California” occurred between May 28 – July 25, 2020, and the L.A. “Police Department announced that ‘homicides [in L.A.] went up 250% and victims shot went up 56%’ from May 31 to June 6 [2020].”

Closely associated with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the so-called “summer of love” 2020 reportedly resulted in “$1–2 billion in insured damages in the United States (May 26–June 8, 2020,” though the civil unrest wasn’t specific only to L.A.

Discussing police violence with a friend a number of years ago, when I practiced graffiti on paper and when serving as military police (MP) in the U.S. Marine Corps, I drew the following picture for her that states “Stop the Violence” and “Is there justice of just us?”

As not a relatively long amount of time has lapsed since the last series of major L.A. protests or riots, it’s unsurprising to me that people in L.A. reportedly once again began behaving violently. Predictably, some sources are currently downplaying violence associated with this matter.

For instance, The New York Times reports, “The skirmishes with immigration agents of the past few days are dwarfed by the widespread rioting, vandalism and violence that engulfed whole neighborhoods in 1992.” Are you familiar with this form of deflection?

It reflects whataboutism—the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse. In essence, sure, violence recently occurred in L.A., but what about the ’92 L.A. riots? Now that was violence!

Now, civil unrest has spread from L.A. to other areas of the U.S. Per one source, the Georgia Attorney General said anyone engaging “in violence for the purpose of changing public policy can be charged with domestic terrorism” and face a penalty between five and 35 years in jail.

I denounce acts of terrorism—the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims—as the current unrest in L.A. and elsewhere apparently may meet this criminal standard, depending on whether or not police are “non-combatants.” Still, USA Today claims:

Ralph Young, a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, who has written several books on dissent in the U.S., said it is often the case that overzealous law enforcement responses have escalated peaceful protests into scenes of violence and chaos.

“That’s a major question. Who provoked the violence?” he said, emphasizing that the instigating factor should be considered when deciding whether the word riot is applicable.

Here, Young appears to use an ideal should narrative. In other words, ideally, one should consider “who provoked the violence” which arguably may constitute terrorist activity before determining whether or not violent events constitute riotous activity. Aight, bet.

Young appears to be the same individual who once stated about participants in the Jan. 6th event, “The Capitol Hill invasion was meant to instill fear and terror, not inspire political discourse. It was a violent means to resist the change that the participants detested.”

One wonders what separates the alleged terror and violence of Jan 6th from actions currently unfolding in the U.S. In any case, I maintain that people referenced herein (whether directly or indirectly) are considered innocent until or unless proven guilty by competent legal authority.

Likewise, I’m not foolish enough to make a hasty and unjustified generalization about how all people currently protesting actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are responsible and accountable for violent, riotous, or terroristic behavior of some individuals.

Recently, I’ve watched a fair amount of coverage regarding the recent protests, unrest, riots, or however one chooses to describe what’s currently occurring in L.A. and elsewhere. As one may’ve expected, elements of the hip hop subculture have been observed (e.g., graffiti).

Yet, unlike the ’92 riots, it seems as if current violence is being perpetrated by multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural, and multinational people. Also, it appears as though members of law enforcement (LE) aren’t immune to violent behavior (e.g., trampling a person with horses).

Although I’ve never been a member of ICE, I was a participant in LE duties as an MP. Simply for having served in this capacity, some people may include me in the hastily generalized category of ACAB (all cops are bastards, or all cops are bitches).

It’s as though violent behavior by some LE members is representative of such actions for all policing entities. As one may’ve guessed, I reject this irrational framing of the matter. I served in the Marine Corps from 1996-2007, yet I don’t own the violent actions of current LE personnel.

Conclusively, the current post is intended to express my position for both sides of the current issue. While I support mass deportations, which some may perceive as advocating violence, I’d prefer that people on either side of the matter would stop the violence that’s presently occurring.

All the while, violence discussed herein may serve as little more than a distraction from how Palantir Technologies is reportedly being used against U.S. citizens. Likewise, 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops have reportedly been ordered to Los Angeles.

In my opinion, normalizing potential violations of the Fourth Amendment is morally, ethically, and legally wrong. Likewise, dispatching active duty military members to address the U.S. civilian population may violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which is also plausibly wrong.

In closing, I’ll take creative freedom to remix the lyrics of BDP’s song “Stop the Violence” by asserting:

This might sound a little strange to you

Well, here’s the reason I came to you

We gotta put our heads together and stop the violence

Or else people may irrationally become nihilist

Livin’ in the U.S., you have liberties

Not to be compromised by government entities

But if you pay attention, that’s what’s happening at present

So I’ll post a blog entry and address it

You know we’re being watched, you know we’re being seen

Some wish to destroy our freedom, send in the Marines

But I won’t drop

No, I won’t stop

So, here is the message that I bring today

Aside from the fact that you hope or pray

People can stand up, and we all can say

(Stop the violence x5)

[Hook]

I say, one, two, three, my site is Hollings Therapy

And if you oppose violence from the tip top

Stop the violence in and out of hip hop, Y-O

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost hip hop-influenced REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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Hollings, D. (2023, October 2). Morals and ethics. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/morals-and-ethics

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