Seattle rapper sparks race, violence debate

In the wake of a recent string of shootings across Seattle
from the Rainier Valley to Cafe Racer, the Seattle Times
commissioned an op-ed from a
noted member of local hip hop duo Blue Scholars. What
Prometheus Brown penned is sparking a heated discussion.

“Shots fired in the south end, nobody cares. Shots fired
in the north end, everybody scared. Nothing they can do
for us that we can’t do ourselves. Point the finger at
the mirror instead of somebody else.

“Shots fired in the parking lot, nobody cares. Shots fired
in the coffee shop, everybody scared. Nothing they can do
for us that we can’t do ourselves. Point the finger at the
mirror instead of somebody else,” Brown wrote and rapped.

In an interview with 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and
Burbank,
Brown says he’s troubled both by the violence and the
apparent disparity in the handling of it – depending on
whether it involved white victims in the north end of the
city or a gang related shooting in the Rainier Valley
where he lives.

“I’m not pointing fingers and saying like one is more of a
tragedy than another. I’m saying that it all is and I’m
hoping that people treat it that way because it seems so
far there is sort of this distancing and this dissonance
where it seems like the people who live furthest from the
“hood” have the most to say about the violence,” Brown
said.

Brown also argued the recent outbreak of violence points
to much deeper trends that aren’t being addressed, most
notably economic hardships.

“You see the correlation between economically depressed
areas and violence committed between citizens in those
communities and it’s funny how that conversation seems to
get left out as if it’s just random acts of violence,”
Brown said.

Brown was also critical of police in the Rainier Valley,
arguing there is a huge problem with officers not familiar
with the community sparking continued distrust and
animosity.

“The fact is, a bunch of the policemen who patrol our
areas
are not familiar with the very community they are
policing. In a lot of cases their interactions are very
superficial or antagonistic. Historically this has been a
problem area and it seems like the one cop that’s always
posted up in the area is more concerned with catching
people steal candy and beer from the Safeway than what’s
going on outside it,” Brown said.

He admitted there needs to be a big change in the
community as well, especially the unwillingness of people
to come forward with information that could help catch
criminals behind some of the shootings. He said
people need to stop accepting violent crime as a normal
way of life and stand up against it.

-Josh Kerns/MyNorthwest.com