Rap Videos Must Be Lying

The Stanley Ross beating incident reminded me of an interesting chapter in the Freakonomics book. The chapter is called “Why do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?” Once the authors delved into the numbers, they found that most drug dealers earned only US$3.30 an hour. Yes, most dealers would actually be better off working a minimum wage job! It would also reduce their 1 in 4 chance of being killed.

Mr. Ross is not only a Level 4 car thief but a gang member as well. Aren’t all of the gangstas in rap videos driving $100,000 automobiles decked out in bling and spinners? It would seem that Mr. Ross’ need to steal someone else’s “ride” is decidedly less glamourous than the antics of his poseur MTV contemporaries.

If the MSM and politicians are to do anything productive on the gang front, perhaps the most important first step would be to deglamourize the gangsta lifestyle. There seems to be a wide enough discrepancy between the grim reality most gangbangers face and the P. Diddy lifestyle they aspire to. If the gritty truth were more prevalent than the MTV illusion perhaps prospective gang members would be more hesitant to make this unfortunate career choice…