Be my Joneses
It was said that it is not so much important as to what goes into your mouth but what comes out of it, which is a maker of your character. A very good word historically used as a negative connotation is Joneses meaning basically neighbor. It is a saying to “keep up with the Joneses.” Suggesting that you be in competition with your next door neighbor, sort of like they by a fence and you buy a more expensive fence, they buy a car and you buy a better car.
But in actuality the term Joneses is a friendly and non competitive term. I call on the Hip Hop community to replace the terms “Nigger” and “bitch” with “Joneses.” I call on them to say in there songs “be my Joneses.” Because like Rev. AL Sharpton said, you are what you say you are.
Let us bring back a community to raise a child mentality and be truly neighbors and not allow ourselves to just simply be victims on the system. A change in mentality is in our grasp, we can determine our destiny, by changing how we speak and therefore changing how we think.
It is like the new Mafia is a non profit organization for the betterment of our communities and not a self destructives movement of surviving by any means, because we are packed in the projects like sardines. We have to address our circumstances and the situations we are facing such as the expansion of prisons, wars around the world and the AIDS pandemic; single parenthood, illiteracy and the symbolically castrated Blackman?
As simple as it may seem, a major step in the right direction as a new greeting of camaraderie (Friendship) is to stop calling your brothers or sisters Niggers and bitches and say “that is my Joneses.” I call on major Hip Hop community to introduce this concept into their culture. Personally I really like some Hip Hop and Rap music, but I am embarrassed by it; I think the term Joneses will sell more records and allow the music to reach more homes. At least consider it. And most importantly it would create a safer community and brotherly and sisterly love among our youth.
