Machine Guns and Stupid Choices

[roscoegino]

+1

[BlazinSkull209]

honestly honestly who agrees that Illdoc aka Jay Smooth should be the president of the USA

[interpolluter29]

I knew that's been the idea behind smart people doing that. I guess people calling them stupid is all about the patience we don't have dealing with all these people who try to hold up all these defense mechanisms. It takes someone strong, positive, patient, and caring to break that wall down, and not take all that personal.

[SexDrugzTechno]

Damn this foo just dropped some real science on us!

[fallencrescent]

Wow that was put so well... I'm blown away. It's something I try to put into words from my time as a counselor... but I've never heard it put so well. Thank you. Just wow.

[KnotL00]

Whoa... you just blew my mind... :|

[Harbringe]

Wow that was impressive



[andersv20]

In 4 minutes this summoned up the whole baseline for my anthropological and ethical philosophy that I developed from 3 years of doing academic philosophy.

[GNinja]

Wow, every word had weight...Every fucking word.

[YouThinkWho]

And in reality this is how Jimi Hendrix died :( you got sweet vocals and knowledge that backs up everything you say

[abramhb]

The education system doesn't teach you things like this on the contrary they are trying to stupefied you so you wont have a voice. So once you do something stupid they will stick your ass in there "correctional facilities".

[sarge727]

dude is incredible

[martiallaw04]

wow man..get a tv show..broadcast your word. others need to hear it

[oghalea]

I Love You

You are Brilliant

[pooloolmool]

damn you talk some real shit

[latestranger]

I have to say, I got linked through to your "how to tell someone they sound racist" video and I've been watching a bunch of your other videos, and you really seem to have a handle on what's going on. I admit that I judged you when I first got linked through because of your whole hip-hop image (accent, username, etc), but I definitely MISjudged you based on those things, and I'm going to keep thisin mind the next time I see someone like this on the news. Thanks for opening my mind a little more.

[OrganicGreen157]

thank you for bringing a bigger and different message that I'm not always accustomed to hearing

[DamirDiz]

wow man, this video is one of the best videos ive seen in a long time.

greetings from sarajevo

[huntedrasta]

you are truly a poet. and, as a Hiphoppa and every-day liver of Hip Hop, you are a strong influence for me. thank you, Jay Smooth.

[MajorKickass]

Amen

[cybervore]

And yes, when stupid people do stupid things, they get what's coming to them

[tweezelbub]

insightful and true. I like machine guns though. This was good.

[ashley110188]

This was dope. It's not about sympathy but looking at the bigger picture. You can't fix things if you don't know what the problem is.

[Rinotchka]

Bless you for saying this, illdoc. Thank you. I hope to one day let go of my defense mechanisms, to no longer feel as if I need them. And hope that TI does too.

[Rillion12]

Jay, you are pretty much a study on empathy. People like to think of themselves as not being caught up in offense and outrage, but those are really the things that usually prevent them from understanding why others do really abhorrent things. And the "why" is so important. Thank you for doing these "translation" videos so that one side can understand the other.

[augusteisfree]

Heh. What's funny is, this reaction, right here? This is your version of "gotta make sure I'm not a punk." This is you saying "if I show any weakness, any understanding for people who grew up different from me or the way motivations are based on personal history, I'll lose everything I am."

Also, "If I open a dictionary..."

[SimWebb]

@akula621 I think you misunderstood what Jay was saying- He's not arguing that we "give them a pass," that no one should be punished for their actions or something. He's saying that we can't just dismiss it by saying "Man, some people sure are stupid" when we see stuff like TI getting arrested- there's more complicated stuff going on there.  If we want to work on the issues that plague our society, we can't simplify things- we gotta be aware of the truth of how complicated those issues are.

[tommyatomic]

@akula621

For a forty two year old you're pretty dense. This has nothing to do with giving anyone a pass, it has everything to do with understanding where these actions are coming from. Why? Because this may help us solve the real problems instead of merely punishing and looking down on all of the symptoms of these problems.

[MalbMavro]

Too few people have seen this video. This was brilliant!

[JATESx70]

That...

Is some serious science.

[Hollow4ever]

where is this dude educated at? he just picks apart these situations and people and its amazing how on point he is. more people need to hear him but sadly nobody wants to.

[konradhk00]

@Hollow4ever where was u educated at?

[doctorsizzle]

great great point. so easily we wish to write off the history...or the historical relevance of a person's life based solely on economic status or color of skin.

when there is a crazy killing spree in Nebraska...after the dust settles...you find a Dateline cover outlining the historical relevance of this behavior.

[CertifiedHotTracks]

Well T.I. friend Philant Johnson was shot and killed in the back of a van while he was right next to him and they were trying to shoot T.I. so i can see why he cop some weapons

[LowRyze]

word up. but homie had to go out on a milion dolla shoppin spree!? hahaah id buy guns for the love of em, but ya gotta admit t.i. goin to jail for a overload of weaponry is hella lame. if anything it states dude is scared and secure but mad stupid. but whatevs no respect gained or lost for tip.

[oneileri]

It's a shame that this only has 4,500 views. You hit it on the head. This is the shit that people need to hear.

[ihelk]

who cares if someone has a fullautomatic? as long as the dont shoot any one

[harmlesspaperbag]

easily the most abnormally accurate thing ive heard in a while

[expertguy101]

you speak the truth.

[yerasko]

its hard to turn your back on your hood that made you.....to leave, we afraid to......because the same streets that raise you can age you. - common (black maybe)

[socrstreets]

"it aint where you from, its where you at" - rakim (the microphone fiend)

[32oz]

Ill

[KutzTravels]

Smartest thing I've heard all day. I work as a Substitute teacher and I see the same kinds of kids.

What tools worked for you to get kids out of that "loop"?

PM me if you want

[oldhacks]

you work at a group home? you're a socialist!!!

[Tmonstaa]

i really dug this one i never thought of shit that way. plus i like the song in the background. People Under the Stairs- Jamboree pt.2

[everl4stb]

good stuff

[HackBenny]

I love your videos. You have an excellent way of putting things into perspective.

[dbguy24]

This commentary, while interesting and provactive can become destructive and dangerous with an alternative interpretation.

[mindbully]

Uh ...theoretically, that potential peril exists in EVERYTHING. Nice work there, Hawking!

[dbguy24]

Right...so obviously that is true. There is, however, a glaring flaw in your critic. Your statement suggests a problem of frequency rather that quality or applicability. However, you are forgetting the essential component of rhetorical frequency. The reason your critic misses the mark is that, on its merits the argument dude is making has an obvious publicly paralleled interpretation.

[dbguy24]

Joe Phillips, John McWhorter, and many other often cited conservatives use the exact cognitive map to reach the same conclusions. Dude's "packaging" of his argument may have been antithetical to those examples, but they both accomplish the same goal, of progressing that highly critiqued and unpopular argument.

[Fiend148]

*applauding*

[theblakelvis]

More people should watch your videos.

[makinmovez247]

Yo man...yo vids are fire!

[YouGunnaEatThat]

U ARE SO RIGHT

[g7721]

very smartly seen. however, i come from a situation exactly like the kids no father my mother was a basehead, and my only form of a male example was my uncle who was part of a gang. even with these circumstances,u still gotta realize that everything that u do that is stupid, is ur fault. situations like the one i was in made some of my stupid decisions almost immpossible to not make, but i was still the one making them. u gotta look at urself in the mirror, no matter how cloudy the mirror is

[AcousticUplift]

Phew I'm so glad someone made that point especially someone who came from a background as illustrated in this post. It's good to have sympathy for those from the kind of background as described but as you said personal responsibility is everything. There are situations that make it hard or near impossible to make the right choice but the power of choice is always ours. Some people don't have much trauma in their background. They just choose to do silly things...

[AcousticUplift]

It could be boredom...heck some people haven't seen enough suffering in their lives to have a decent grasp of cause effect and consequence. Some people like to create trouble for themselves and take a 'holiday' in some1 else's misery. There are as many factors to people making stupid choices as there are people. I find it hard to believe all these music artists who get into trouble with the law - not just rappers - come from a background of great privation. Here in the UK it's quite the opp!

[shabbykins]

J. Smooth is a genius! This is a point of view that so many more people should hear.

[MCFateL]

That was a truly brilliant take on the situation, I wish more people thought that way.

[Primetime7]

For all their tough exterior, these MEN,..indeed they are MEN, are they are but frighten children who are afraid of their own Shadow.This is why they buy TONS of Guns. They are afraid of Everyone and Everything. Then it is hard to feel sorry for them, when this man has just shot someones daughter by accident because the was frightened of some guy across the street who was not throwing up gang signs but trying to get directions to the supermarket.

[LazarusDurden]

I don't know this "they" you are talking about. "They" sound pretty evil and vicious when you characterize them like that even though it's fallacious and missing the point but that's cool.

[p849]

indeed, the gun gives you complete access to a metaphorical world where you,This MAN, is a god. It makes them feel powerful, bulletproof, and at times untouchable. and anybody willing to question they're manhood is going to get the gun. But behind this shapeless yet secreat tough exteriers leis a boy who indeed fears his own shadow, so when drama hits what does he do? reach for the trigger.

[chrisheins88]

he is a smart thinker.

[everything4every1]

More excellence.

[CEHDaddy]

i liked your video but shorten it up next time

[150bpm]

"... shorten it up?"

it is *his* fault you have a short attention span?

pwnt.

[lydellb]

lol I wish all his videos were this long, the man makes some good points.

[bubygtf]

Wow! great!

[dpg35000]

Once again....IMPRESSED!!

[choonhachat]

Cant completely agree, but most of the stuff you say make perfect sense.. I like where you're going about this.

[DADDYMACKOFNYC]

yup

[Debonair73]

To quote Forest Gump. Stupid is what Stupid does. T.I. knew the pattern. He has seen many rappers go down on gun charges in the months preceding his arrest.