[eDebate] (no subject)

[Kevin Sanchez]

dear schnall, jarvis, and others:

"Of course there are plenty of songs that try to do the same in the names of 
other religions (if you were going to pick on Christianity, you might also 
have mentioned, say, the Battle Hymn of the Republic!), but your pointing 
that out is like many a uniqueness press against a kritik -- it simply begs 
the question."

and do you feel its justified to call all hymnals 'violent' due to 'the 
battle bymn of the republic'? then why call all rap/hip-hop 'violent' due to 
ONE LINE from this song? i wasn't 'pick[ing] on' christianity, i was merely 
indictating that devout religious followers often invoke war metaphors and 
that's not necessarily connected to actual violence; clearly we should not 
label every christian church that sings 'onward christian soldiers' as 
'terrorist' or 'violent' (though 'out-dated' may fit); now if this holds 
true for the way most people look at christianity, then it seems that it 
should hold true for islam, unless there's a double standard, which i think 
this list's discussion on this topic displays

as for my intrepretation of this song, i must say i find myself at an 
extreme disadvantage for not having actually heard these lyrics rapped, 
especially since it all turns on the way this one line "i'll be comin' round 
the mountain with my islamic warriors" is expressed (does he rap it with his 
hand in the figure of a gun? or does he rap it with calmness as if its god's 
inevitable plan?); so although this discussion seems limited from the 
beginning and not very determinative of authorial intent, i must also add 
that the last line 'nubians wid jihad in my mind' seems to again suggest a 
passive voice reading, considering what jarvis contributed regarding jihad, 
and especially since this jihad is 'in' mind (a struggle within oneself) and 
not denoting any outward call to war or violence; moreover, i don't 
understand why if this rapper wanted to incite violence, why he would feel 
the need to explain himself so poetically and personally? why not just 
actually incite violence? why only use the word 'warriors' once? maybe 
there's more restrictions on free speech in britian, but it seems if these 
lyrics were really violent, we wouldn't be having this discussion

(i don't know anyone who defends 2 Live Crew as peaceful rap, considering 
for example that one of their songs relishes in the pleasure of breaking 
virgin's vaginal walls; maybe examples like this aren't used because they 
also show how rare such advocacies of violence in rap&hip-hop actually are)

and let me say something else about all we've been discussing, that my 
spirituality determines my reality, and i can't take it no more, and never 
was a happy man - in dire times like these, where war is on everyone's mind 
(instead of IN everyone's mind), i must say that extreme acts are certaintly 
called for, and despite every terrorist's (bush's or bin laden's) assertion 
that violence is what is required, one can be extreme without being violent, 
as i think the last line of the last section you quoted accurately reveals: 
'You say money is everything and money makes the world go down down down ... 
YOU GO FOR YOURS COS I'M IN JIHAD' (or go make your fucking money and i'll 
continue to devote myself to allah's divine will)

:luv,kev

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