The sky is falling.
No need to go outside and look for yourself. Trust me. I’m on the Internet so what I say must be true.
The sky is falling.
Rush to your neighbors and tell them too. Keep your head down as you do this as not to look at the sky because its falling and you don’t want to get hurt.
Tell everyone you know that the sky is falling but be sure to say it like this:
“I heard/someone told me/read somewhere the sky is falling.”
Make sure to say it with such conviction that they have no choice to believe you. In a panic they will then pass the same information along to their network.
Think you could never fall victim to the hype? Well guess again. This sort of thing happens all the time. We’ve become so accustomed to others telling us what’s news that we are too lazy to dig for ourselves.
Last week I wrote about Prez Obama’s health care reform plan. What amused me the most was some readers’ colorful responses, or should I call them verbal jabs, because I admitted to not having read the fine print of the reform plan.
Each week, the purpose of my column is to take social and political issues that are overlooked by Hip Hoppers add to them my opinion, a dash of humor to make it easily digestible, throw in some fact or links to some facts and leave it up to you to dig more and formulate your own view.
How many writers, bloggers, journalists will tell you when they don’t know the full facts? How many would have faked the funk and built themselves up to be an expert? Well I could have played the smarty arty role but I can’t lie to you.
Writing about non music related topics for an entertainment thirsty society has always been a challenge. I still fight with editors about their insistence that rappers photos be used as art for The X Fact(her).
You think I don’t know that Jay-Z has nothing to do with urban farming? Without his image, how many would have clicked the headline to read that article or any other of my columns that didn’t feature a rapper in the art?
When I was the News Editor at The Source I always fought to prove that we didn’t have to dumb things down in order for the readers to get it. Nevertheless I had to include the meaningless quotes of D-List rappers who could care less about the issue at hand because that was what the bosses felt the reader need in order to relate. I won’t even tell you who was on my “I need a political quote from a rapper” call list.
Since I began writing this column there are a couple things that I’ve learned:
– Knowing is half the battle. The other half is doing something with that knowledge. People like being in the dark. Its so easy to say you didn’t know and blame it on ignorance than to be enlightened and forced to do something with that knowledge.
– For some my race is really an issue. What does my skin color have to do with the merit of my work? (Going back to being misinformed, a simple google search of my name will turn up several pictures but I guess for some it much easier to sling mud than do some research.)
– Making people care about what’s going on in the world is a tough job
– Prez Obama has done little to nothing to restore Hip-Hop’s faith in the government.
Ultimately, the X Fact(her) is one woman’s attempt to spark a dialogue, a break from the monotony.
Sorry if I don’t tell you what to think or how to think it.
Spoon feeding you is not my objective. You get enough of that everyday.
– CH
The X Fact(her) is a weekly column that appears on 99problems.org. Started on Inauguration Day 2009 by the League of Young Voter’s Education Fund, 99problems.org is a non-profit initiative that aims to keep young people engaged in the political process through activism and community involvement. Please visit 99problems.org to find out how you can get involved right now! For more on Chloé A. Hilliard visit www.chloehilliard.com.
