| |
|
Although having said that, despite not having seen the programme I can't resist commenting:
David grew up in an environment where crime, violence and social decay were seen as the norm and knows people who have been shot, shot others or taken drugs.
However, through self-determination David got his act together, went to university and forged a career as a writer - something he had wanted to do since childhood.
These paragraphs makes me a little queasy. "Self-determination"? It's pretty easy to read into this a standard reactionary message: it's not the racism of rest of society or the state that's to blame, because Davis has done well for himself - so could the rest of them if they'd just stop mucking about with the So Solid Crew music and get their act together! (Also "knows people who have taken drugs" - gosh!)
I dunno - there's nothing in the programme outline that suggests how (or even that) he comes to the conclusion that "it's not necessarily white culture that is causing all the problems for black kids", and obviously I don't know to what extent the programme suggests white culture is or isn't to blame (mind you, at one point the notes say it's shown that "the media" is partly to blame, and if that's not white culture I don't know what is). A lot of the factors which are described as causes of problems seem to me to have other causes themselves, causes which are to a large extent rooted in white culture or in historical oppression or current racism in society...
Yes, there's a balance to be struck, and stressing personal responsibilities - "tak[ing] a long, hard look" at oneself - usually has value. But I'm very wary of how even a balanced message could be hijacked as propaganda. It's not us nice white middle class people who are to blame, it's those nasty Yardies! Look, a black man says so! |
|
|
