Monday, April 19, 2010

Speaking of dysfunctional cultures...

...here's another one:

Shiny, unmistakable and a little strange, the custom wire wheels of choice on some of Houston's toughest streets are the star attraction of whatever they're beneath, be it Benz or Bentley, certified slab or laughable junker.
...
If Houston's rappers are quick to praise the rims, they are just as eager to cite the risk, if one bothers to listen. Then again, the acknowledged, danger may add to the appeal, lessening the intrusion of imitators and wannabes. If you roll on swangers, you roll ready. Self-defense is a required add-on to the purchase price of $2,000 or more.
“The police will never admit it, but if they want to catch young black men with guns, they'll stop a car with elbows and Vogues because they know the young men will have guns,” Quanell X said.
Oh, wait. I better not say that. It might be judgmental. It must be the guns that would make these people kill for a set of wheels. It could never be a warped sense of right and wrong. No, because everyone knows that there's no clearly defined standard of right and wrong. If those people think killing over a set of wheels isn't morally reprehensible, who are we to claim to be more enlightened than them? Tougher background checks NOW! Yeah, that's the ticket...

(and yes, the above WAS sarcasm...)