Whatever happened to "Say No To Drugs"?

In the 70's, 80's and even apart of the 90's, there were many ads and commercials and many community leaders preaching to everyone to Just Say No To Drugs...

...What happened to that?

Drugs are more accepted now than in any time that i can recall in my life. You have young kids smoking weed just because their friends do it (which is usually the case anyway, but its so much more of em now). Prescription pills have made their way into rap songs. You have more politicians admitting to drug use in their past and getting a pass because "we all have experimented" at some point or another.

Since when did inebriation become so cool?

In my opinion, with the rise of hip hop or rap as i still wanna call it, the words of the black man was to glorify drug use because it was apart of the urban lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, other cultures use drugs, but i honestly dont think it was cool to speak on it in a public format before rappers made it popular. I could be wrong, but thats where i pinpoint the trend of actually talking about it openly.

Celebs even make it seem cool to get high. They have made rehab a trendy place to be instead of a place to go for help. They may bounce in and out of rehab and still have a successful career (i.e. Robert Downey Jr.). Sure, America is a forgiving place, but i would think if you are a role model with a possible detremental effect on my children (if i had any) i wouldn't support you.

Its even to the point when someone asks "Do you smoke", in some circles, they automatically assume you're talking about weed. And lets not forget, WEED IS ILLEGAL. So to make the assumption that someone does it because everyone is doing it is kinda ass backwards to me when its supposed to be frowned upon. I have an associate that will not go out to a party, to a girls house, anywhere without getting high first. A step further, he wont date a girl if she doesn't get high as well. Now we are supposed to think this is wrong, but you would be surprised how many people feel the same.

We as a people are not supposed to glorify drug use, for it only destroys the mind, body and your home. We should instead look for alternatives to getting high.

At least if not for you, for the future. Cause the cloud that hovers over our society may get you high...

Does the music you like define you?

I recently have come across a young man who's name is irrelevant essentially. He was listening to a rapper that apparently is very popular. When he asked me if i like said rapper, I told him that im not really into much rap. His response, "But its {insert name here} how could you not listen to him. EVERYBODY listens to him". That statement saddened me to think that people could have such a one track mind when it comes to music and things they like. That also made me think, does the music you like define who you are?

Many of us come from neighborhoods that we are apart of the majority so when one doesn't like what everyone else likes, then that person is deemed strange. Growing up in Jamaica Queens, I've dealt with that myself. When I used to tell people that I was into Jazz & Alternative Rock, they would look at me like i was strange. Like a creature from a foreign planet. I used to hear, "take that rock and roll shit to the suburbs" or "that jazz shit is for old people". I always felt like you like what you like and that should be the extent of it.

There is a statement, "People fear what they don't want to take the time to understand"

I think there are many misconceptions placed on the music one listens to. One of my former co workers was the most clean cut guys, very well mannered and polite. A real cool guy. Never seemed like the type that would get into confrontations or even raise his voice much higher than the rest of the crowd. So, the assumption was that he was into contemporary, easy listening music. Quite the opposite. He was into hardcore rap and only liked his music to have violence and alot of profanity in it. He was white and many people told him he was trying to be something he was not. Is that the case? I didn't and still dont think so.

In a way, it can go back into a blog i wrote about before about how hard it is to actually be different ( http://notableobscurity.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-hard-being-different.html ) Sometimes you wanna conform just cause you dont wanna get picked on, but when are you truly being yourself when you try to front like you like what others like when thats not the case at all?

Its hard for some people to fathom a 21 year old Dominican from Washington Heights into the Opera and that plays the violin, but I have met one and he doesn't seem like the type to be into Opera.

But thats an assumption, and you know what they say about assuming...

If you cant judge a book by its cover, why do many of us try so much to do just that?

Raising Adult Babies

I will start off by saying I do hate how kids are nowadays to when I was growing up. That may make me sound old, but it is so true. Kids now are in such a rush to grow up more than any other time that I have known or heard in life. Every kid wants a cell phone, and not only a cell phone, they have to have the latest phone. They must have the trendiest clothes and the most expensive gadgets. There isnt much humility with kids now compared to when i was a kid growing up. The appreciation factor isn't there as much. Kids are exposed to much more than when i was a kid. Back when i was much younger, if adults were having a conversation, you were not allowed to listen in. When adults may have passed a child on the street, if they were using foul language, they would curb the curse words until the kid isn't in an ear shot of the conversation. Kids nowadays are dancing to songs more provocatively, they are wanting to enjoy adult things such as sex and inebriation. There was a video on the net that circulated for a little bit about a boy no older than 3 i would say dry humping a grown woman with his penis out. Now some thought it was appalling, but there are similar bad things going on as we speak. Maybe not exactly on the same scale but some things lead to bigger things. If you feel comfortable drinking alcohol around your kid, how can you be mad if they wonder why mommy is leaning in the chair laughing and seeming to have a good time? There are kids smoking weed right now that dont even know how to put together proper sentences. Some parents let these things go on and if someone were to intervene and say something, the parent may get defensive and chastise the adult trying to give advice. If it takes a village, why are some of the parents village idiots? So sad. I dont know if things will turn around, i doubt it honestly. I heard a kid say to his mom, im a grown ass man and you cant tell me shit. Wow. That kid had to be in elementary school at best. I also think that some parents are afraid to discipline their kid out of fear of the judicial system. There has to be an indication between physical discipline and abuse.


Either way, kids are getting out of hand.