thinkprogress.org — Yesterday on Hannity and Colmes, Pat Buchanan asserted that Hispanic immigrants were "not assimilated into America" because they were adopting "rap culture." Rap music, according to the U.S. State Department, is "an original American art form." It has its roots, however, in African-American culture, not white culture. (Video)
Aug 23, 2006 View in Crawl 4
crackedmachineAug 23, 2006
No one should give Pat Buchanan any credibility, but he has been spouting off his nativist crap on television for many years. I hope that circulating stories spelling out the racism behind his policy recommendations reminds people not to take him seriously.
scoot87Aug 24, 2006
I agree with most of what you say. I hate this rhetoric from pundits that Hispanics act this way, Blacks act this way. All Americans are individuals and we all think, feel, and believe differntly.
wiggles2Aug 24, 2006
In all honesty, the people I know who completely embraced "hip-hop culture" never got anywhere in life. From what I can see of it, hip-hop culture is "now-oriented" (immediate gratification) whereas our society descends from Nordic lifestyles and values and is "future-oriented", meaning planning, sacrificing the now for the future, etc. This is mainly due to the effect of climate (historically) on the development of cultures and societies. To summarize (and oversimplify) briefly- life in the cold north was difficulty and required alot of planning and ingenuity, where life in the tropics was much easier. Therefore it stands to reason that certain groups will either thrive or fail in our society depending on which cultural strategy they adopt.
wiggles2Aug 24, 2006
Firstly, I made absolutely no value judgement.I realize we have heritage from other cultures, but however you slice it, the culture that dominates this society is that of Nordic values. It's unfortunate, to be sure, but if you haven't noticed, much of the structure of the society we meld into is imposed upon us by those who own and operate the major influences in life- work, property ownership, our personal finances, even sociological factors concerning what the appropriate way to talk to or approach one another is. Most people don't have the slightest awareness of this, but some who've traveled to other places who have a different cultural heritage do. If you look at the Maoris for instance (whom I've visited), you'll find most everything there completely alien. I'm not trying to offend anyone, and certainly not trying to make a "back-door-dig-at-African Americans".
qwickoneAug 24, 2006
no need to be insulting just because you can't clearly explain what you mean.
Closed AccountAug 24, 2006
Buchanan is a moron. He could have just said "rap sucks" and he would have been right. Throwing in terms he isn't familiar with like "Hispanics" and "assimilation" didn't do much for his cause.
whiskers2Aug 24, 2006
@tomboyWhy are you so offended by his comments? He's just explaining why those people don't succeed in society, not agreeing with it.