Everything Is Racism
(Or maybe you're just vulgar and a bad example for kids who look up to you.)
P. Diddy bought a Maybach for his 16-year-old, and when Nightline's Martin Bashir asked him about it, Diddy cried racism. Jam Donaldson writes for BVBlackSpin, that Diddy told Vibe magazine about the Nightline interview, "The whole thing about giving a Maybach to my son, that's really like a racist question," and said Bashir wouldn't have asked Steve Jobs about what car he bought his kid. Donaldson agrees, but points out a criticial difference:
Men like Jobs and Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have not made a fortune promoting luxury lifestyles and defining themselves by them.A tenet of hip-hop is ostentation and glamour and luxury. Diddy's image, probably more than any other entertainer, is built on throwing wealth in the faces of others who look on with a mixture of awe, envy and delight. He brags at every opportunity about his wealth, so why shouldn't it be fair game in an interview? The image of boundless wealth, big mansions and fancy cars is how hip-hop has defined itself, and whether he wants to admit or not, Diddy is one of the main architects.
...I believe the question was less about race and more about the fact that he is not taken seriously.
You can't be a media whore and then get mad if someone asks you a question you don't like. If you don't want to be questioned about what you give to your children, don't do it on TV. You can't have it both ways, Diddy. I can't remember the last time Bill Gates bragged to the world about how much money he had.
I also think that the question is more relevant to Diddy than to America's wealthiest business leaders, because of the impact that his lifestyle has on young people.
Many young people want to be like Diddy, because he's rich. Not because he worked hard and built a mega-empire from nothing. Unfortunately, the message of hard work and the story behind Diddy's rise to power is lost on a generation who believe they are entitled to big Sweet Sixteen parties and Maybachs without lifting a finger.
We have collectively failed as a community in this regard. Diddy, along with the rest of us, are culpable in raising a generation who just want to be "rich." They don't want to work hard, they don't want to excel in school. They just want be a baller. And if they can't be rich, at least they can look rich, even if it means begging, borrowing and stealing to accomplish it. Somewhere along the line, we forgot to teach our young people the most important four letter word of all: WORK.
via The Root
What? Flashy douchebags are new to the world?
Frankly, they should just STOP paying him any mind. Let him learn from Oscar Wilde: The only thing worse than being talked about...is not being talked about.
Robert at August 4, 2010 2:52 AM
I've accepted the fact that since I'm white, it will always be assumed that I'm racist. And I don't care anymore.
Kendra at August 4, 2010 5:05 AM
"I can't remember the last time Bill Gates bragged to the world about how much money he had."
And yet there are millions of people who will claim that they have an absolute moral right to take away Gates' money, while simultaneously claiming that Diddy's money is off limits. We have a commenter here who made this exact statement on another thread yesterday. Hypocrites.
Cousin Dave at August 4, 2010 6:32 AM
I will admit; I want to be rich. And really, I don't *want* to work for it. But that's just reality. And from what I've seen from my parents, working hard isn't enough to get rich either. It doesn't matter if you teach the kids "the most important four letter word of all: WORK" if you fail to teach them money management and economics.
Elle at August 4, 2010 7:01 AM
Wait, am I understanding this correctly? Diddy buys his kid a car, someone asks him about it, and he plays the RACE card? WTF?
Once again, someone who has to get up really early in the morning to be offended. What a douche.
Ann at August 4, 2010 7:32 AM
could it be that they asked because pitty made the whole thing into a big press event a few days earlier - http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/diddy-buys-son-maybach-for-16th-birthday-2010251
oop! I blame the white devil!!
And let's be honest, what 16yr old kid wants a Maybach. They're like land yachts. He'd bought that car to show off the fact that he can afford to give his kid a Maybach. He obviously wants people to talk about it, but I guess not white news people, whom he expects should regard him like Steve Jobs(?).
T.Diddly at August 4, 2010 10:24 AM
Y'know, if Bill Gates did something so amazingly stupid, I'm sure Martin would ask him why, too. What a crock of stinky brown stuff... and a maybach?
Yeah, kid prolly wanted a Ferarri in truth.
I got my great uncle's '59 Nash Rambler for my 16th... and it was the coolest thing ever... the memory of it is what brought me to Amy's place in the first place.
That being said, there is a world of difference between a relative giving a kid an old car, and maybe getting their lawn mowed, and various housework done over time as payback...
and going and spending an obscene amount of money on a car for a kid, never making them work for it...
SwissArmyD at August 4, 2010 11:03 AM
I don't care how much money I make, I will NEVER spoil my kids like diddy the douchebag.
In 8 more years at my present pace, I won't "have" to work, not because I make tons, but because of what I do with what I make.
If more people were smart with their money, we'd all be better off.
If we limited the government to providing essential services, roads, national defense, the basics, we'd not need nearly the same level of taxation.
Robert at August 4, 2010 1:02 PM
I'm with Elle. I would love to be rich and not have to work for it. If work didn't suck, people would be lined up to do it for free, and it would be called a hobby. When asked what my dream career is, I answer "Trust fund brat" with a straight face.
Pirate Jo at August 4, 2010 1:07 PM
Still, he gave his sixteen year old son a MAYBACH. The only other person I read about owning one was Madonna.
I got my first car at 19 - a used 1974 Toyota Corona. My father co-signed on the loan with me. I paid it off in full.
Willa at August 4, 2010 2:00 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/08/04/everything_is_r_1.html#comment-1739598">comment from WillaI got my first car in my 30s. My parents generously allowed me to use their old one to drive up to a summer session at the University of Michigan (I lived at home that summer to save $ on housing).
P.S. I lived in NYC in my 20s and got around on public transportation -- or private (my bike or rollerskates)
Amy Alkon
at August 4, 2010 2:05 PM
Soooo sick of the race card. And like Kendra in post #2, I don't care anymore.
As of now I'm officially classifying people into 2 categories. Douches and non-douches.
David M. at August 4, 2010 2:28 PM
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