The recent riots up in Baltimore disturbed me quite a bit. I can’t fathom what gets in the heads of residents that makes them destroy their own city. It makes no sense at all. And it’s not just in Baltimore. In 2000 and again in 2010, there were riots in L.A. after the Lakers won the NBA championship. I recall back in ’98 when the Broncos won the Super Bowl, there was rioting in Denver. This was back before marijuana was legal, but how does this crazy behavior occur in normally peaceful citizens?
As I sit upon my balcony looking out on a rain-drenched Padre Island, I begin to ponder over this dilemma. What makes young folks today go ape-caca and start destroying their own hometown? Back when I was a young man, you’d see stuff on TV about peaceful demonstrations like “sit-ins” and even something called a “love-in”. College kids would peacefully fuss about stuff that gets in their craws, and then they’d run out of dope and Cheetos and call it quits. No property damage or injuries, just a mess of empty Fritos wrappers and Old Milwaukee cans.
Hmm? I think I just figured out why today’s kids (at my age, anyone under the age of 35 is still considered a kid) are so angry and destructive. It’s the music they listen to. That hip-hop or rap crap that young-uns listen to these days is often performed by hoodlums. Artists (really?) like Eminem, Public Enemy and some fine group of men calling themselves Bone Thugs-n-Harmony rap about popping a cap into someone or slapping around some poor gal. I s’pose there are some nice hip-hop songs, but so many appear to promote violence.
Back in my days of youth, the airways were filled with peaceful, comforting songs. How can someone not feel relaxed after listening to the Eagles” Peaceful Easy Feeling” or pert-near any John Denver song? When Kool &the Gang or KC and the Sunshine Band started singing on the jukebox, kids didn’t go out and start looting. We’d gather into a mob and start bumping our butts together.
Back in the 70’s, at 17, we would listen to silly love songs hoping that tonight’s the night, only to find our dreams were dust in the wind. In my college days, James Taylor and Barry White were often present on many romantic occasions. Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” and Stevie Wonder’s “Sunshine of My Life” still make me weak in the knees. We listened to Donna Summers sing “Love to Love You, Baby” and Roberta Flack’s classic, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Kids today hear romantic ballads from the likes of Lil Wayne and Eminem. No wonder teenaged boys are confused and angry.
I’m not saying all hip-hop is bad, but you sure won’t detect any of that music coming from my headphones as I’m out driving my tractor. My mp3 player cranks out real music from real artists like Jim Croce, the Righteous Brothers, Elton John and Fleetwood Mac, plus a lot of country songs to remind myself that I am still a redneck. I wonder what songs those misguided kids in Baltimore were listening to prior to all the rioting and looting? I seriously doubt it was the Tams singing “Be Young, Be foolish, But Be Happy.”
Clint Younts’ cows often wonder what he is singing as he trundles past them on his pickup truck.
