१४ डिसेंबर, २०२२

"During Tuesday’s testimony, [Megan Thee Stallion] described the rap game as a 'boy’s club' and said she knew she would be hated because she was 'telling on one y’all’s friend.'"

From "‘Going through torture’: Megan Thee Stallion testifies against Tory Lanez/Rapper takes stand in case against Canadian-born musician, emotionally recounting night when she was shot" (The Guardian).

The Texas-born rapper, whose real name is Megan Pete... described how the attack left her with constant pain in her feet and said the reliving the incident in the public eye had been “torture.”

“I don’t wanna be on this Earth,” Pete said at one point during a daylong testimony. “I wish he woulda shot and killed me if I knew I would go through this torture.”...

Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, faces over 22 years in prison....

Pete told the courtroom she had asked to be let out of the car near the Hollywood Hills home she was staying in, but as she walked away, Pete said, she heard Peterson yell “dance, bitch,” and when she turned her head to face him he was hanging partly out of the car with a gun pointed at her. Then he began firing.

Terrible. I had never heard of anyone in real life acting out the cartoon cliché of shooting at someone's feet while telling them to dance. TV Tropes has an article, "Bullet Dancing," that describes the comic meme and ends with a warning that real life is not a cartoon:

This should be obvious but Do Not Try This at Home. Pointing a deadly weapon, much less firing it, at someone should be reserved for life threatening situations. Firing a weapon should only be to eliminate a deadly threat in which case you should be aiming at centre mass. Deliberately firing near someone to scare them will get you into very serious legal trouble in most jurisdictions, not to mention you could hit and kill them accidentally, or someone behind them, and if the surface you are firing at is something like concrete the bullet could ricochet extremely unpredictably - you might even hit yourself.

ADDED: Here's the classic Yosemite Sam version: 

 

Cartoons are full of violence that ends up not particularly hurting anyone.

५० टिप्पण्या:

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I’m an advocate of Free Speech, but I’ll make an exception for rap and hip hop. They should be censored except for anything done by Lin Manuel Miranda.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

While the typical person has enough sense to get through life without causing too many problems, there is no limit to how stupid somebody might be in any given scenario. No matter how obvious it is that you should not try this at home, if you put the idea in people’s heads, somebody will do it.

The first time Tommy shot Spyder in Goodfellas, it was in exactly this way. Maybe Tory should have watched more gangster movies.

Robert Marshall म्हणाले...

Hard to work up too much sympathy for someone who would hang out with the sort of miscreants who make up the world of rap music. Lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.

Enigma म्हणाले...

Insert standard comments about the tolerance and glorification of violence in some subcultures. Power is coupled with responsibility. Society requires functional rules to function. End standard and obvious comments.

Regarding 'bullet dancing' and firing warning shots...good luck hitting your target for good or bad. Handguns are notoriously difficult to use beyond a few yards, especially with the adrenaline boost of a shooting situation. You might hit center mass when aiming for a leg or arm. You might hit an arm or leg or head when shooting at center mass. If you aim at the ground the bullet can ricochet up or break into pieces and hit the person. Shooting in the air could send the bullet a mile away, only then to fall on a random strangers head.

mezzrow म्हणाले...

Talk about your bad comedy. Ignorance, pop culture, entitlement, easy money, casual violence, low cognitive function and guns are a deadly combination.

Part of the problem is that saying the sentences above warrants the death penalty for any professional career in 2022. In the words of Vladimir Lenin, what is to be done?

I do not know know it's gonna be (all right)

rhhardin म्हणाले...

The defense is keep both feet off the ground as much of the time as possible.

Howard म्हणाले...

I guess some people are just too lazy and stupid to be born White like you Althouse deplorables.

Curious George म्हणाले...

"Dave Begley said...I’m an advocate of Free Speech, but I’ll make an exception for rap and hip hop. They should be censored except for anything done by Lin Manuel Miranda."

So not an advocate of free speech then.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Howard:

You have a low cognitive function. No one here mentioned race. And other than me (because of my photo), you have no idea of the race of the people who have commented here. They all could be Black for all you know.

Iman म्हणाले...

Doin’ teh Pony gives you a chance…

Iman म्हणाले...

Do the Levitation!

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

It doesn't matter whether you like her music. It's a trial about an act of violence, and she's being criticized for testifying against her attacker. She deserves your support.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

The rap culture is evil and part of its evilness is the requirement that people don’t testify. So, I support her for that.

Heck of a culture that strongly discourages crime victims from testifying. We had a case like that in Omaha recently. A White stripper (her picture was in the news) was shot and killed at 3 or 4 am at a large party. Nobody saw nothing.

Laurel म्हणाले...

She's being criticized for testifying against her attacker?

Well, pray tell, WHO is "criticizing her"? Indict the entire 'culture' of rap, if you will.

The rest of us won't stop 'noticing'.


Josephbleau म्हणाले...

Everyone deserves a justice system that punishes crime. Even if your town has a Soros prosecutor.

Scotty, beam me up... म्हणाले...

Lanez is a thug and an idiot. Then again, it seems like most male rappers are whether they are black or white. Lanez is a thug for smugly threatening Megan with a gun (for what? Dissing him?) and an idiot for pulling the trigger. He now has street cred, so if he is convicted, he has that going for him when he goes to the Big House… (/sarc)

Howard म्हणाले...

I can't help it David I'm a damn good geologist which means I have an uncanny ability to see the things that exist beneath the surface.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

It doesn't matter whether you like her music. It's a trial about an act of violence, and she's being criticized for testifying against her attacker. She deserves your support.

I aassume they're black (checking ... yes) so it falls under the "I think the problem is on your end" development in what was in years past white good will, a sort of patient indifference until they figure something out and we'll try again. Any help now will get you charged with racism in the meantime.

Carol म्हणाले...

I only know her because of TikTok. Talk about a brain worm!

Fuck being good, I'm a bad bitch...

Michael म्हणाले...

I love to play the hip hop game. I put it on and count the seconds before I hear the n word. You would be amazed.

Michael म्हणाले...

Howard
And you awaken every morning wishing you were born black.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

speaking of testimony -

This is worth watching

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

This poor woman was shot in the feet. And now she is being criticized for testifying against the shooter.

Of course she should be supported.

Imagine how apoplectic Howard would be if the victim was white.

Howard म्हणाले...

You can say that again

Tom T. म्हणाले...

What's the significance of one being born in Texas and the other in Canada? Why were these details included?

Inga म्हणाले...

I really have to wonder why so many conservatives lack empathy.

John henry म्हणाले...

Wasn't she a gangbanger herself? My understanding is that she was into some really serious crime in an earlier phase of her life.

Glad she got out of it, glad she can make some money, but if anyone knows the downside of ganglife with her shot up painful feet it is her.

So why does she glorify it?

I guess for the money, but is it worth it? Not a question for me. Strictly a question for her to cogitate on in her private thoughts.

John HEnry

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I've gotten into all sorts of trouble in the past over this, but here I go again.

Blacks in America need to change parts of their culture.

Drugs. Violence. The unwedded mother and absent father problem. The antipathy towards education. Rap and hip hop "music" which is unlistenable.

The irony here is that the Obama family was completely the opposite. Barack could have been a leader and said to Black America, "Hey, look at me. I'm the President. I'm rich. I'm successful. I don't do drugs any more. I'm married. I went to school and studied. Be like me. Not everyone will go to Harvard Law and nor should they. But you can apply yourself in school. Why aren't there more Black electricians, plumbers and others in the high paying trades? Don't join a gang. Don't commit crimes. Don't do drugs."

But instead the Dem party feeds the Black victimization narrative and complains that Blacks are four times more likely to end up jail. Maybe that's because they commit more crimes.

But I'm for eternity (infinity) I'll be labeled a racist for these views.

When I was in college I thought the Black culture then was the coolest. They had the best music. The best basketball players and musicians were mostly Black. For some reason, the good parts of Black culture have been eliminated.

Tom T. म्हणाले...

Her lyrics frequently go on about screwing some other woman's man, so it seems a little out of character for her to be making a big deal about now breaking the codes of friendship.

Apparently Drake released a song on which he accuses her of lying, and it sounds like she changed her story to the police. What facts are in dispute, though? Is Lanez saying that she wasn't actually shot, but rather hurt her feet in some other way?

Charlie म्हणाले...

Shooting a gun at someone? In the Hip-Hop world this is known as......Tuesday.

Jefferson's Revenge म्हणाले...

Dave B is correct. There is a huge difference between having an opinion of a black person in particular based upon their race and having an opinion of popular black culture. Black culture is the single most self destructive culture probably in the history of humanity. It is so self destructive that it seems like it must have been created specifically to destroy any chance of black success.

If indeed this is an instance in which culture has been weaponized to destroy a specific segment of society, who is the guilty party in this? Certainly not conservatives whose message has been pretty consistent over generations- get educated, get a job, get married, have a family. It's the left whose message magnified all the negative aspects of black culture and used it as a subjugation tactic. Plantation indeed.

Aggie म्हणाले...

Just imagine if she had been packing.

Iman म्हणाले...

Stallions gotta run and they can’t if their feets all shot to Hell…

RigelDog म्हणाले...

People brush past the often agonizing suffering that crime victims endure. As a prosecutor I dealt with thousands of victims and quickly learned that even a "simple" crime like having your car taken for a joyride can change your life forever. You come out of your house in the morning, needing to drop your kids off and get to your job. No car; just a pile of broken glass. No easy way to get where you and your kids need to be. No way to afford a rental car to be able to keep your job. Living on the margins, the $500 deductible to fix the broken filthy mess of a car the police recover is going to be tough--put that on the credit card too.

Being attacked often brings physical pain, scarring and mental suffering that don't go away. Your whole family suffers with you. It's never funny, it's never OK.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I want the Althouse community to know that the Jesuits in Omaha have been very, very successful in educating Black male children and teenagers.

My high school theology teacher built and founded (with his own hands and generous Omaha donors) the Jesuit Middle School. I think it is for grades 4-8. Boys only. Great results. All the boys don't go to Creighton Prep. But they stay out of gangs and drugs.

Creighton Prep has a good number of Black students these days. And, yes, many come to play sports but they get the full Jesuit education. Again, very successful. Not all Prep alums go into white collar work.

I asked a high-level manager at Omaha Public Schools if they ever look at how the Jesuits do education. Nope!

It can be done. Obama could have been the leader. He is the example.

William म्हणाले...

I'm sympathetic but not 100% supportive. She said that she delayed going to the police because of George Floyd and the bad reputation of the police in the Black community. The rap community has a far higher body count than the police. What are the odds that a Black celebrity who went to the police to report a gunshot wound would be treated in a dismissive or racist way? Any chance that she might be more prejudiced against the police than, say, Obama's fabled grandmother was prejudiced against young Black men...I wonder how much ostracism or Tory will suffer because of this. I'm not up to date on this, but I think the careers of both Chris Brown and Rihanna got a boost after he beat her up. Maybe this will be win-win for both of them and lose-lose for all of us.....Tory Lanez's birth name was Daystar Peterson. Isn't Daystar Peterson a cooler name than Tory Lanez......

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Black rappers do stupid things involving guns (and certainly drugs).

Dog bites man...

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

I really have to wonder why so many liberals lack common sense.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

There is no reason in the world why the Madison public schools couldn't start something like the Jesuit Middle School.

Two schools; 500 students per school. One all boys; one all girls.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Counting the tarsals, there are 26 bones in the human foot. If Daystar Peterson is found guilty then use a 3 pound sledge to break every single one of them in each of his feet so he knows not to try that again.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

The umpteenth repetition of the famous East Coast West Coast Rapper Wars of the Nineties. This is getting boring.

Lanez gets in a lot of flame wars with other rappers. BTW, it looks like "Lanez" may be pronounced like "lanes," and not in the Spanish way.

n.n म्हणाले...

Affirmative Antagonism (AA)? Discrimination (AD)? Diversity -- Inequity, Exclusion (DIE)?

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I've become convinced that the Democrat party operates like the Mafia. So, let's look at The Godfather movie for clues.

In the movie there's a scene where all the mob bosses are discussing whether to get into the narcotics business. It's illegal, preys on a human vice and has giant margins. Perfect for La Cosa Nostra!

Don Vito is against it and I can't recall why he was. But one of the other Mob bosses says, "We won't sell it near schools, but we will sell it to Blacks because they have already lost their souls." (paraphrase)

That's the Dem party. They don't care if the Black community is destroyed by drugs. The Dems are racists. They don't think Blacks are equal to whites and that they "have already lost their souls."

Rabel म्हणाले...

"I had never heard of anyone in real life acting out the cartoon cliché of shooting at someone's feet while telling them to dance."

Really. It's almost like something that somebody would make up.

Howard म्हणाले...

Nice blackwash walk back, Dave. Then you counter with a libtard takedown so your racist comrades don't think you're going soft. Kudos on the Judo

JAORE म्हणाले...

"Handguns are notoriously difficult to use beyond a few yards..."

You must be unfamiliar with the accuracy enhancing technique of holding the gun 90 degrees from verticle.

Watching street videos of gun violence it's pretty clear that range time is not a priority. He may have thought he'd miss her by THAT much.

Andrew म्हणाले...

None of this excuses the twerk scene in She-Hulk.

mccullough म्हणाले...

Men don’t shoot women.

William Burroughs was a scumbag

lostingotham म्हणाले...

"Hip hop" should perhaps not be taken so literally...

jg म्हणाले...

We have no reason to believe she's lying, and no reason to believe she's telling the truth. The story could have happened. It is a terrible culture.