S. Samuel
Outspoken hip-hop artist Homeboy Sandman is letting his thoughts pour out with the Donald Sterling audio recording conspiracy heating up by penning a dicey, open piece.
Sandman took direct aim at NBA athletes, notably Los Angeles Clippers players, with too much investment in their wealth than making a full-fledged statement.
“What do you call people who walk quietly to slavery? Who allow themselves to be insulted without standing up for themselves beyond wardrobe adjustments that in reality are nothing but a public show of shame? What do you call people that pretend that these ridiculous gestures actually hold some weight rather than face the fact that we are the laughing stock of the entire planet, and as long there’s the chance that someday maybe we’ll be rich there’s nothing that we’re going to do about it? I call us cowards.” (Gawker)
The New York native also pointed out how much power people really have if they put fear aside and make public stands.
“Let’s step it up. If every NBA player who wanted to stand up against racism vowed not to play until the Clippers’ owner resigned, it would be announced that he resigned before you were finished reading this. If he didn’t want to, someone would make him. If we boycotted every night spot that spins music about how much we love killing each other and taking and selling drugs, every single one of them would have new DJs by next week (don’t even get me started on these new DJs. The new drug dealers. Admitting that they know what they’re giving people is bad for them but caring more about getting paid).” (Gawker)
After moving away from the argument of Black people being “cowards” and putting human beings all under that category, Homebody admitted his issues go deeper than the Sterling controversy.
“So make a decision between cowardice and courage, and if you choose courage, step it up. Step it up in any of the myriad of ways that are available to us. I’ve named a few. Name a few more. Leave a few suggestions in the comments section. Call up your friends. Tweet. Facebook. Then start doing them. If you can’t convince anyone to do them with you, do them on your own. Start right away because we’re running out of time. I hear some states are fining people for sagging their pants. I’d never sag my pants, but if we begin to allow people to be penalized simply for attributes that we’ve allowed to be associated with being black, we’re going to find the water getting even hotter very soon. We’ve been cowards for a very long time. We have a lot of catching up to do. Let’s start right now.” (Gawker)
Over the weekend, West Coast rapper Game announced how he would join the protest against Sterling.
“I have now started the #ESC which is short for #EMPTYSEATCAMPAIN asking ALL Los Angeles residents to boycott the next Clippers game by not attending which will prove that we are more of a MAJORITY than the previously stated “minority” label given to us by Mr. Sterling. Although I feel for friends of mine that play for the Clippers franchise such as @CP3 whose own team owner considers a minority…… I now, along with good friend & designer @ceoselfmade ask everyone who reads this WORLDWIDE to RE-POST this picture & hashtag: #BoycottClippers #ESC #EmptySeatCampaign #Support #OGMagicJohnson #StopRacism #OneWorld #WeAreAMajorityFollowing” (Game’s Instagram)
