Always a Scapegoat

Hip Hop gets made out to be a scapegoat a lot. Last night though, I laughed out loud at the latest problem that someone pointed the finger at this genre of music that I will forever champion.

I was channel surfing and flipped onto MTV Live (Canada). They were talking about environmental issues in a frank and open way. This has been the hot topic for some time now so I stopped to see how they would cover this issue. The interview was your typical fair about how we as individuals need to do something about this problem and how serious it is. The discussion was actually entitled, “Are we screwed?”

The in-studio interview was inter-cut with some footage of the host discussing this problem with individuals. He asked one of the ladies if they noticed the trends in hip hop. He said that in the last fifteen years hip hop has grown to such a level that it is ruling the charts and influencing culture heavily. He then added that in this same fifteen-year period we have seen a dramatic increase in global warming. He paused, “Coincidence?”

LOL!

Of course, this host wasn’t finished with the joke. He pulled out a graph that was set up on an easel to show his data. I tell you I was immediately sold. He must be right. Hip hop is responsible for global warming. It was right there, clear as a bell on the line graph.

Of course, any idiot can tell you that graphs can be made to illustrate anything that you wish to prove. Even if you use the same data on a scientific experiment, people can make a graph to prove completely opposite points of view.

This is one reason I was completely unimpressed with “An Inconvenient Truth.” It was a horrible movie that showed us graph after graph of nonsense. And yet, Al Gore is getting accolade upon accolade thrown on him because of it. I don’t get it. Obviously MTV doesn’t get it either and did a great send up of it today. Bravo! And thanks for the laugh.


5 responses to “Always a Scapegoat”

  1. Were they actually attempting to be serious?

    How ludicrous. Everything that we do adds to global warming. Exhale and you’ve done damage. Produce, buy, transport or consume any product and you’ve done damage.

    Hiphop is no more to blame than any other aspect of civilization.

    Short of committing global suicide, we can do little things to counteract global warming, though, such as avoiding plastic, driving less, stripping land developers of their citizenship,conserving energy and planting trees.

  2. Everyone needs to realize that their choices do have an impact on the natural world. It’s not that hard to come to this realization.

    It is difficult for us to make changes however. I know that I drive a lot less than I used to. I walk, bike and take the bus. I don’t waste electricity or hot water at home. I have energy efficient light bulbs.

    Little changes and choices, when added up by the thousands of people who do them, make a big difference. We can help the environment and make things better than they are now. I really believe that. Let’s try harder.

  3. Hah. I love how EVERYTHING is causing global warming, and everything bad that happens is somehow related to global warming.

  4. Global warming is an excuse. It’s something easy to point to. Truthfully, we don’t even know if it is a real problem. Sure, we need to conserve our resources and cut down on pollution but is the climate changing dramatically because of our actions? I’m not convinced.

    The earth is millions of years old. This “global warming” could be a pattern in weather. It could be a natural thing. After all nothing ever stays the same.

    The data that scientists and concerned ecologists are gathering is incredibly recent. It doesn’t really prove global warming.

    This whole thing reminds me of all the things that supposedly caused cancer when I was a kid. I remember that they even used to say that lettuce fought cancer. Eat your lettuce now boys and girls so you won’t get cancer. Of course, if you don’t eat local lettuce, you may be destroying the planet because of the environmental cost of getting it to your store. Maybe we just can’t win.