The Stigma of the Ghetto and its influence on Generation me

The Stigma of Ghetto and its influence on Generation Me

By M.K. Alexander and C.J. Dunlap

 

 

Ghetto. In today's society, this small, six letter word tends to have several different personal and political meanings that are all but accepted in today's society. The word is used to describe a number of things, from the way a person acts and dresses, to the area a person or group of people live in, to an entire lifestyle that has been glamorized in pop culture, but what does it really mean? More importantly, what kind of ramifications does its meaning, both in its dictionary translation and public opinion, have on our society today?

First off, lets take a look at the actual definition of the word.

 

Ghetto: (get-oh); noun, plural.

1)  A section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social and economic restrictions , pressures, or hardships

2)  (formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live

3)  a section predominantly inhabited by Jews

4)  any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment

Ghetto: adjective

5)  pertaining to or characteristic of life in a ghetto or the people who live there

6)  Slang: Often disparaging and offensive. Noting something that is considered to be unrefined, low class, cheap, or inferior

 

So, from this definition, we can see a few critical things. 'Ghetto', at one time in history, was a word that was used to describe mainly poor places, and the Jewish people as a whole. Both in Europe and America, the neighborhoods that Jews lived in were referred to as ghettos, and from the definition and a historical perspective, we can also see that most of them were poor, which explains why even today the word is used to describe low income or lack of substantial wealth.

Now, lets take a look at the definition of the word today. The above is the politically correct definition, taken straight out of a dictionary, while the following is more of a definition based on public opinion.

 

Ghetto: (get-oh)

1)  (n.) an impoverished, neglected, or otherwise disadvantaged residential area of a city, usually troubled by a disproportionately large amount of crime

2)  (adj.) urban; of or relating to (inner) city life

3)  (adj.) poor; of or relating to the poor life

4)  (adj.) jury-rigged, improvised, or home-made (usually with extremely cheap or sub-standard components), yet still deserving of an odd sense of respect from ghetto dwellers and non ghetto dwellers alike

 

As you can see, there are striking similarities between both definitions, but this second, public opinion definition sheds some light on to how ghetto today is perceived. The most striking difference between the two is the mention of crime, which in and of itself lays the basis of the definition of ghetto today. In most neighborhoods today that can be deemed as 'ghettos', there is truly a wave of criminal activity that can be matched by very few. To even find something criminal that surpasses the ghetto lifestyles in these neighborhoods, you would have to go so far as to compare them to third world countries (Most of the African continent and the Middle East are prime examples of this).

These are two different yet similar definitions, but now the question changes from 'What does it mean?' to 'What does this mean in respect to our culture today?' If you take a look at the word, it had gone through a sort of change throughout the years, and it has moved from defining just a poor neighborhood to an entire lifestyle. Take a look a pop culture for a moment, especially its relations to the African-American community. Ghetto is something that has its own stigma, popularized by numerous movies, songs, and other pieces of work. In a way it has become the standard; most rap and hip hop recording artists use classic examples of the ghetto in their work, describing the rampant drug industry in our society, and they way we as a people generally live and are accustomed to living.

Here's a question that comes to mind: how did this word, 'ghetto', come to be an acceptable definition when it comes to the African-American race in general, especially when the definitions, both the dictionary and public opinion, can pertain to any race of people? Whereas in the past it was used to define the poor and the Jewish people just because, it now is used to define the Black American, most of the time without regards to the person. Its unfair in many ways, yet for some reason it continues to stick, but why?

I'll help you out with this one, but to answer we must first take a trip back in time, back to the days of the civil rights movement, back to a time when there was another six letter word that was freely used to describe the Black American- n****r. Back in those days, America was undergoing several social changes, epitomized by the Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's. There were social inequalities rampant just as they are today, but back in those days, people had a real passion and desire for change, and from those desires, a movement materialized that eventually changed the face of America. Individuals such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, JFK, Andrew Young, and several others made a lasting impact on our society by upending segregation and racial inequality, but where does that all stand in our day and age?

Gone are the great Civil rights leaders of the sixties, gone are the positive influences that defined an entire generation, now replaced with figures such as Lil' Wayne, Jay Z, Meek Mill, and others. Now, we have figures that this and the next generation look up to, figures that we figuratively hang onto, but these figures send a different message to our society. Instead of speaking on issues that could help change this generation for the better, they instead choose to speak on topics such as sex, drugs, gang violence, and upholding this spirit of ghetto that has become the social norm.

It might seem unfair at first to single out the rap game, but in a sense they need to be put on the spot. Reason: historically speaking, music was something that empowered the Black man, from our struggles in slavery ( which is where many Black churches in particular get many of their church hymnals), to the marches of the Civil Rights Movement. Even today, our style of music is something that we love and embrace without any question to what kind of message we are spreading. Knowing that, you would think that these rappers and musicians would use their talent and star power to reach out and expose some of the issues that are plaguing us as a race and as a people, but instead they choose to speak on ideas that are systematically destroying a generation even in its development. Yes, I know that selling an album that portrays the stigmas of ghetto in the limelight is generally going to sell more than one that negates them, but really, are the millions and the reputation worth it when you realize that these same mix tapes are being listened to and embraced, used as a proverbial bible to live a life?

Look at our communities today: living in the ghetto is a norm to those in it. There's no ambition for change and progression, no will to succeed and advance. As a matter of fact, the few who do are given another classification that can truly hurt to the core: white. For a Black person to actually try to escape the ghetto and make it, even from the school house, is nearly unheard of. When it does happen, that Black person had to face a 'prejudice' from his or her own people. They hear things like 'stop trying to be white' or 'embrace your own culture; stop trying to be something you're not'. Yet, the Black individual who takes to the streets and sells dope and marijuana, the Black man who acts like a dog and get women pregnant and leaves without regards to the child or mother, are looked at as a 'brotha', or the man who is trying to make it through the struggle.

In short, in the thirty plus years since the Civil Rights Movement, we as a people have become our own worst enemy. Our lifestyle has been defined by the word 'ghetto; because we have let it, because we have influenced it all on our own. In those thirty plus years we seem to have forgotten the challenges and the strife that our predecessors have gone through just to make a world where we all can be equal. We have become comfortable, for some reason thinking that we are owed something due to the hundreds of years of inequality, and think that now we can do whatever we want and think however we want, all without realizing the damage we are doing to us now and in the future.

Look at the now: Gangs are rampant, drug usage is at an all time high, Black unemployment is at a staggering 10.4%, the highest across the board when it comes to race by a large margin, and to top that, we as a race have a poverty percentage of 24.2% in our families and 28.1% individually, whereas all other races combined have statistics of 11.8% in families and 15.9% individually. These are truly upsetting statistics, but even these have become synonymous in regards to the accepted definition of ghetto in regards to the Black American. Instead of drawing attention to these statistics to change them, we somehow embrace them as our norm, and that is a true disservice to the leaders of old.

So, how do we change this? How do we reverse this stigma and its influence on this generation, known in many circles as 'Generation X' or 'Generation Me'? Well for starters, this glorification of the ghetto lifestyle, glamorized in pop culture, needs to come to a halt. These rappers and artists who use the ghetto just to make money; they need a real reality check. Its a shame that most of these rappers and artists are actually very well educated (Lil Wayne in particular is a Political Science major), yet they still choose to influence the world with this stigma of the ghetto lifestyle instead of using their persona to stimulate change and advancement for their own people.

When it comes to our communities, we simply need to stand up with an emphatic 'NO'! We need to show the world that we are tired of this stigma and classification. We need to work in our communities to spread a more positive message, one of change and advancement for a brighter future, especially to this next generation that is even now being influenced by this stigma of ghetto. Furthermore, we need to grasp onto the willpower and drive that the political and civil rights leaders of old possessed, the passion to instill true values in our youth and communities without fear of rejection from those who are content and happy with this version of ghetto that we see so rampant in our society today. We need ambition, we need guidance, and we need true unity in our race as African Americans and as Americans in general, for this isn't just a problem in our culture, it's a problem for our country, and the was we are perceived by the world at large.

So are we going to take a hint and do something about it, or are we just going to sit by the wayside and let this stigma undo everything that we have worked so hard to achieve?

 

           M.K. Alexander, author of Illumination X

           (www.writerscafe.org/knighterrant001)

           C.J. Dunlap