I had not heard of Benny Goodman until I googled him after your mention of his name. It sounds as though the ‘king of swing’ was quite a performer and had a fair degree of influence upon the music industry of his day.

Certainly, these rap artists are popular partly because of the way in which they tap into social frustrations which already exist, and from a social standpoint, one could argue that there has been a degree of silver lining in the cloud presented by this type of rap music in that it does tend to raise awareness about and promote discussion and debate with regards to the underlying issues reflected which this form of art.

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I will address both of your comments together since you both seem to reflect a somewhat similar line of thought with regards to this topic.

As I was saying to Jake, even though some may quite reasonably consider hate rap to be undesirable from a social standpoint, I would not support any form of action to legislate against it.

No matter how well intentioned any bans on this kind of music may be, it would be difficult to ban hate rap many other forms of media, such as violent horror films, and it would be very difficult to draw a clear line as to where any form of legislated ban on this type of music should start and end.

Andrews last blog post..Hate rappers – social menaces or genuine entertainers?

I can certainly understand your broader concerns with regards to the broader issue of de-sensitization which results from influences like hate rap (along with some other influences) with respect to serious forms of criminal or anti-social behavior, and I doubt many would dispute that these kinds of influences can be a factor behind criminal or anti-social behavior even if they are not the sole cause.

Although I would not support any form of limitation on free speech when it comes to rap music, I am inclined to agree with your concerns with regards to the care free attitude of some of these artists in the way they talk about horrific actions such as murder, rape, armed robbery, pornography or drug abuse, none of which should be treated lightly in any way in any form of public discussion.

Andrews last blog post..Hate rappers – social menaces or genuine entertainers?

That being said, bring on Benny Goodman, my ears are tired.

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There are many things that I disagree with when it comes to “free speech.” If there is any actual physical harm to a living thing, then that is wrong and should be banned. But rap, while very crass and commercial, is also an expression of ideas that are out there. Is rap generating those ideas or just reflecting pre-existing ideas and feelings that came about in other ways? (The chicken or the egg argument.) I think the latter.

If someone does something violent, sure, maybe rap heightened that anger, but the violent nature and lack of ethics was there to begin with. I watch horror movies and love violent books, but I don’t act on that because it is not in my makeup as a person. These kinds of “arts” only lead to destructive actions when the seeds have already been planted by society, family, or maybe even genetics.

Plus, when you ban rap, where does it end? Goth? Alternative music? Anti-war songs? Songs against the government? Songs about love? Books against the Catholic Church? Banning may be effective in the hands of some, but in the hands of others, it may be destructive and destroy freedoms. And you can’t please everyone all of the time.

Plus, who would regulate rap music for the good of society? Government? But that would mean regulation….and we know where that discussion would go.

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I’m not focused on the likelihood that “…a hate song alone inspired any form of serious criminal behavior…”; in fact, tend to agree with your point. Am more concerned about expressions of rage and hate in whatever form they exist being sufficient to encourage acts dangerous to others and sufficient to push an unstable person over the brink. Ten years ago the term “outrage” was used as it should be – sparingly and carefully, much like a sharp knife. Today it is the term of choice to describe a full range of emotions from discontent to maxed out anger. Its overuse is symptomatic of a malaise in our society that needs to be toned down. We tend to play too fast and loose with the words we speak.

You raise an interesting point, and one which I was thinking about raising in the post but refrained from doing so due to post-length issues.

Regardless of whether or not hate rappers are considered desirable, under no circumstances should they or their music be banned. Even though some limitations on free speech may appear to be well intentioned, freedom of speech is a right which should be defended at all costs, and so I would never personally support any form of attempt to place legal limitations upon the type of things which these artists can and cannot say.

That said, that does not mean that their music necessarily represents a positive contribution toward a better society, nor does it mean that production of their type of lyrics should be encouraged.

Notwithstanding my responses to comments from Bill and Brad with regard to the social influence of hate rappers, I think that it would be a very rare occasion that a hate song alone inspired any form of serious criminal behavior, and I take your point that even in cases where hate music does contribute to such behavior, the individuals concerned most likely have a whole host of other issues as well.

I also think you raise a fair point in that the mere fact that a few individuals cannot control themselves would certainly not constitute sufficient justification for any form of attempt to ban Eminem and other artists like him.

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Thanks for your comment and welcome to my blog.

I was not personally around during the Woodstock years so I am not really able to make a great deal of comment with regard to that period, but I am certainly glad that your nation was able to get through that period with its social fabric intact.

Hate rappers do have a de-sensitizing effect, and as I noted above, Eminem in particular has had a particular de-sensitizing effect upon me personally. I could certainly see how the process of becoming de-sensitized to shock entertainment could adversely affect our perceptions with regard to the seriousness of any form of criminal or anti-social behavior.

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