[QUOTE]Originally posted by soul_fly
[B]


There are alot of people out there who don't understand what Pac meant to our community(Black).

 

A little hypocritical here, isn't it. He's remembered as a legend due to his struggle to convey a message....a message of survival, of which he ultimately failed?!

This man was not a hero, we was not a legend, he was not a positive role model.....he was a thug, a criminal, a man who was out on bond during this unfortunate scenario.

Albeit, he was talented and well liked, he was also well hated. You are looking for "heros" that are African American, that do something for their communities and are from the hip-hop/music industry, look to the likes of Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, Chuck D, Russel Simmons, and many more.

My opinion is that Tupac got what he earned....he got his money, he got his gold, he got his clothes, he got his burial rites. I bought his music, I watched his movies...what I feel slighted for was what I could be missing with him not here on this Earth providing us with his talents.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by brantshali
[B]I believe that I understand the role he played.

 

No one is perfect. Alot of his actions were sensationalized by the media. It is so easy to judge someone for the things that they do. But there is a reason for everything, and not everything is in black and white.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by soul_fly
[B]

It takes more than money to effface the ills of the black community.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by brantshali
[B]

You're right, it takes far more than just money.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by soul_fly
[B]

I don't think it was so much as he need to change being that maturation is a process we all endure, some sooner than others.

 

I have been away for a day, but now I am back to follow up this thread, and what has been previously said: First of all, yeah, he was part of the bloods, a "gang" if you may, but he did what he had to do to survive, he wasn't very much affiliated as them, but used them for their services such as bodyguards, and who isn't part of a gang in their own respect? George Bush is part of a gang called Congress, and he is a gang leader, do you think he should be known as a hero for destroying Nations, and raising taxes, etc? Tupac Shakur was the greatest POET of our time, as he said a couple years ago, "I came from the gutter, and I am still here", now his childhood does not condone some felonies that he has done, but what has he done that was so different from Malcolm X? He was opressed, just like many black people at the time, I mean, the guy was cuffed for Jay walking... Now ya know what, some people would never fathom what he did, but I will assure you that everything was justified, so do not mock someone beyond the grave because he cant defend himelf, but I can speak upon him to keep his legend alive... in one of his songs, it says "You could never understand till you trade places", and I think that is why some can not comprehend what he has done, but put yourself in his shoes, and out of the dome that you call "normal life", and you would do anything you could to survive.... He stood and died for his cause and is in many ways a Martyr... I can go on and on, but I am tired of writing about something many people will never understand, so I will leave you with this: There were 2 sides to Tupac Shakur, the ying and the yang if you may, remember him not for his faults, but for his triumphs over adversity.... wanna know what his favourite song is? The theme from Les Miserables...

 

I hope that I'm not coming across as mocking someone beyond the grave, because that was not my intent. I am not trying to debate his talent, though I do question whether he is the greatest poet of our time.

What I AM trying to sort through is the idea that, because he was born into a bad life where many people simply try to survive, it is okay for him to have achieved the means not to live that life but still chose to do it.

2Pac had talent and opportunities, but through choices he made he was unable to escape his past. He was a martyr for a cause...but being a martyr for a bad cause doesn't somehow make you a good person.

Liking the theme song to Les Miserables doesn't make you a good person, it just means you have good taste...

 

Anyone ever see tradin places the movie? If anyone has seen it, I dont have to go into detail to the point I was trying to make! Like I said, I dont expect many people to understand, but if you had the oppurtunity to walk in his shoes, how long would you think you would last? The man got shot 5 times in the lobby in Times Square, and lived to tell about it. He excused himself from the hospital just 3 hours after surgery due to fear that someone would finish the job in the hospital room. That was his life, and he knew that he didn't have much time left. After just finishing a movie (I think it was juice), the director told him to some extent that "You are gonna have a great future in the next 10 years", Tupac replied, "I don't think I will be here in 10 years", knowing that his lifestyle would get him killed, but ya know what, in many ways, he did what very few of us could ever do, he was a true soldier in every aspect of the word....