Norfolk police investigating several shootings

Im not defending gangsta rap at all, most of it is mindless and unneccessary "hate" chanting. I agree. What I do not agree with is that it is not the only music peddaling this message. If you claim metal does not pedal the message, you have not been exposed to all kinds. I invite you to watch American History X, and you will learn about a whole sub genre of metal which embraces hate. Reggae frequently embraces religious and racial hate. I also disagree that the "music" is brainwashing them. I think the youth that any type of entertainment mediums "influence" already have preexisting risk factors to the type of behavior which the music, TV, etc seem to glorify. Therefore, I do not believe it a cause, simply maybe a little push down the hill, which is made up of many other influences, starting with bad/absentee parenting.

Sure, one can find negative messages from a variety of musical genres -- even Classical (i.e., Wagner). However, unlike country, rock, metal, reggae, or most hip-hop, "Gangsta Rap" is almost uniformly negative. Very few positive messages there. It is a chant . . . a HATE chant . . . repeated over and over again. The rappers brag about how they don't tolerate disrespect from anyone, and how they sling crack, beat women, and shoot other gangbangers and cops. They brag about the money they "earn" from armed robbery, drug dealing, and pimping. They brag about how they spend huge amounts of money on bling, designer clothes, luxury cars, clubbing, and escorts. And when a child is inundated with these SOCIOPATHIC messages all day every day for years, well, let's just say that chances are slim they'll turn out like you with a college degree, no record, and no desire to own a gun. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as "auditory driving" -- it is a form of hypnosis. And constant exposure to the negative messages of Gangsta Rap has cultivated a defiant and predatory mindset. Persons with that mentality would look down upon you for choosing to get an education and an honest job r

I find it discouraging that some people would like to blame a genre of music they do not care for, for criminal behavior. It is a rediculous concept to believe that music, TV or any entertainment medium is responsible for the misbehavior or criminal activity of anyone. It is also reckless to call out one genre of music primarily performed by a certain demographic, when negative music that encourages hate and violence, is a symptom of many genres. I possess an extensive library of the most violent of hard core rap, yet amazingly, I do not even own a gun, have a college degree, and havent had so much as a detention in my life time. I guess maybe we should look else where for the root of the problem then, which is actually the twin beasts of poor and absentee parents, and poverty.

Virginia Beach has a few bad neighborhoods . . . each of which is comparable to the average Norfolk hood. Norfolk isn't too bad in some areas, but they are mere islands of civilization floating in a cesspool of sociopathy. A few areas (the hood near Chesapeake & LaFayette comes to mind) are so bad I don't want to drive through 'em even in daylight. There are so many shootings here that only a fraction are reported in the paper. Thugs don't care about the penalty for carrying an unlicensed gun -- they all do it -- even 14 year olds. Rap music has infected some youth (black AND white) with a grandiose sense of entitlement and poor impulse control. If they see something they want, they pull out a gun and take it. If you "dis" them -- even unintentionally -- they'll pull out a gun and point it at you. Sometimes they get a new gun and think nothing of testing it out by firing out a car window. I'm moving out of this toilet as soon as I can.

This takes me back the my days as a young adult, just out of the nest. Me and a buddy moved onto the 3100 block of vimy ridege ave. Fond memories of coming home to a kicked in back door and all of my stuff stolen in broad daylight while I was at WORK. Not a witness in sight. Had to buy a pitbull for security. They stole him too. Ahhhh yes, good to see they are still keeping it real over there. I can just hope that our "victim" here has a 30 year old stolen JVC turntable at his house.

Yeah, thats the answer, simply bulldoze everything that is affordable in the area, which all tends to be in high crime "cess pools". This is what theyve already done in parts of Portsmouth, as mentioned, and have been doing in Norfolk (see a good percent of Ocean View).

So, where does the working class live after you replace all of the "ghetto" with half million dollar condos? Obviously that doesnt seem to be a concern to those who believe simply bulldozing the homes of the poor is a feasible solution.

One more reason why the Holy Bible should be put back in schools.

...of a T-shirt the hoods like to wear during my youth.
WE DON'T DIE, WE MULTIPLE!
Actually, they're doing both at a substantial rate.
I suspect the latter is the case however...LOL. Of course,
such a shirt would never be allowed in schools today or
would it???

Wrong Alane, if the birth rate is faster than the death rate, then the ghetto expands.

The area off Tidewater Drive...Vimy Ridge and the surrounding streets... the area off Sewells Point has always been a cesspool, paint it any way you want but it has always been infested. There is a bright side, they keep killing one another and getting locked up the police and the citizens will not have to deal with them. Just a waste of taxpayers dollars, least Portsmouth is wising up...bulldozing down the bad and creating the new, look at what used to be the Tower Mall area, compare the old with the new. Norfolk needs to follow suit in many areas.

HOME SWEET HOME

I was born & raised in Norfolk and after living on the west coast & Toronto for many years, returned and bought a home in Norfolk to be near my mother. Almost nightly now we have deadly shootings and there doesn't seem to be any end in site. Be careful trying to defend yourself as well, you never know when the police might be misinformed that you are breaking the law and decide to break your door down. I've had enough of living in a place where murderers rule the night. Norfolk has changed but highrises and malls don't make up for the nightly toll of violence we have to live in. Is there nothing that can help us?