Calm down. Personally I could care less if you listen to rap, country, classical, or 80's music. As long as your music is not playing loud enough to bust my car window or shake the shared wall between our apartment you are certainly entitled to listen to the kind of music that you want.
Alas, not all of us are such free-thinkers.
A 14-year-old Florida boy allegedly assaulted a man Monday night in what police say was a racially-motivated attack. The teenager was arrested after he allegedly struck the 22-year-old victim, who is white, in the face.
The victim was on a sidewalk listening to rap music when he was confronted by the boy and other teenagers. The suspect told the man to turn off his music, adding that he was "white and he shouldn't be listening to rap music." When the victim replied that he "could listen to whatever he wants," the suspect "repeatedly" punched him in the face. Though "other black juvenile males and females...attempted to get involved in the dispute," the victim fled "before any further battery could occur." The man sustained a swollen left eye during the assault, cops reported.
The 14 year old might want to take a look at the demographics of just who actually buys rap music. Turns out according to a study 70% of hip-hop consumers are white. That's a lot of ass kicking if you're out to spread the word that rap is not for whites. (This according to a Wall Street Journal article written by Carl Bialik.)
Does the word senseless come to mind when you read about this attack? When he goes to jail does he brag how he kicked a "white boy's ass coz he was listening to hip hop?" Rather than being a music critic perhaps this young man might want to crack open some books or actually write some music that would appeal to the masses.
