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Post by RJ (NOT reazon) on Jun 10, 2007 17:53:09 GMT -5
sorry if you got offended by the title but that's how some people think.
recently, my friend told me about his friend that thinks bboys are bad people (slackers, egotistic, rambunctious, etc.).
as a person who is often around bboys and is a bboy, i do not think that bboys are bad people (most of them). the person i mentioned above is only one person but...
...do you think society thinks that all bboys are bad people?
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Post by Scotty Pimppen RTC on Jun 10, 2007 19:07:00 GMT -5
man... the other day when we were at the gym some kids were asking if i knew where to get ectacy and shit... because i'm a "breakdancer"
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Post by cryzko on Jun 10, 2007 19:12:47 GMT -5
i used to get if i sold drugs allll the time or if i was on something when i was dancin''.....haha
i can understand why people look at bboys as bad people...
hmmmm lets see...
go to the club and take over the floor kickin people when doing footwork trying to air flair in a small cypher and knockin people over wanting to battle everyone...even the ravers/drunks that dont earn you stripes in the game thinking that people owe you shit cause u are a bboy
open them eyes a bit
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Post by EPIC on Jun 11, 2007 3:08:29 GMT -5
my bad guys, im the one who gave breakin bboys a bad name in japan by whoring myself to millions of japanee highschool girls while doing windmills
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Post by Lunchbox Jams on Jun 11, 2007 6:43:59 GMT -5
I think that the younger generation of bboys in Michigan (myself included) may be a little naive/protected from the past culture, lifestyle, and reputation of the typical bboy. And while these stereotypes may not be true for a lot of the up and coming michigan scene (that's a good thing), that's not to say that it didn't exist at one point in time and that they weren't true.
I'm relatively confident that many bboys of the past used drugs excessively and I know there are many that still do, even in Michigan. I know bboys that resort to smoking up during practice in order to find creativity, blah blah blah. So I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to assume that bboys will have drugs on them.
As far as being bad people: Listen to what many oldschool and even modern day bboys tell you about being hard, cocky, throwing dick, fighting during battles, earning your way in a cypher, just the basic language in general. From what I've seen, when fights break out, someone was too cocky, running their mouth, or whatever, bboys (and people in general) will make excuses as to why it happened or blame someone instead of holding themselves accountable. I don't disagree with it, but it's easy to see where the aggressive nature is developed and nurtured. The way most bboys run their mouths is bad enough as it is (myself included). And if you ask that type of bboy about it, they're likely to say that it's apart of their culture. "It's who we are" or "That's the way it is" or "That's hip hop"
Society doesn't think that bboys are bad people. Society knows that some bboys are bad people. And since they can't differentiate one bboy from another, the result is we're all drug users, aggresive by nature, egotistic, untrustworthy, cypher hogging, etc. And I don't blame society...because we need to take responsibility not just for ourselves, but for all of the dancers in our scene that are misrepresenting.
Ha! Oooops....I ended up turning this into a preach. Whatever, peas!
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Post by blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah on Jun 11, 2007 9:38:28 GMT -5
i think that tha image comes from people who look at todays rap thats on t.v and assumed that were those type of people, even though breakin really did start in tha hood, does'nt mean that were hoodlums. theres a lot of positive things people are doin with breakin.
i'm sorry to hear ur boy feels like that, but i'm sure he had a bad experiance, if not, try and show him tha good side of breakin. yes i do beleive there is a bad side as well.
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Post by Padlock on Jun 11, 2007 10:35:08 GMT -5
Why don't you take him to the next battle and let him see firsthand all of the different people with various backgrounds, racial makeups, men and women, ages, etc having a good time and see if he changes his mind
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Post by Banana on Jun 11, 2007 16:55:39 GMT -5
I think part of the reason that particular stereotype is still around is because breakin in the US is still very much underground. You don't see a whole lot of negativity surrounding scenes where the art has become embedded in the public realm. What it really comes down to is a lack of information and knowledge, and a lack of educators to teach the outside world.... Michigan's got enough young breakers that are on the road to success where we could probably break that stereotype if we worked at it.... we should be discussing how to eliminate it, or finding out why the stereotype (still) exists in the first place.... Any ideas?
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Post by RJ (NOT reazon) on Jun 11, 2007 17:03:35 GMT -5
it's good to hear all of your opinions and experiences.
the reason i don't think society believes that bboys are bad people is because whenever i see them watching me or another bboy dance, they are usually pleased and don't say anything negative; some can even make the distinction between the hip hop culture that we experience and practice and the culture mistaken as hip hop as seen on tv; i just don't think they know what to call either of them anymore. i am aware of some of the bad history behind bboying but i don't think that most other people do.
i actually don't know the person who said this; i just heard about him saying it. like i had said, since he's only one person, i didn't really care much or get angry...it just made me think a little bit as to why he would feel this way. i came to the possibility that he just had witnessed a few (or even just one) "bboys" that show off a lot and do the things mentioned in the responses above. however, i became a little concerned at the fact that he called us bboys and not breakdancers as most would.
i marvel at the fact the bboying is so diverse today. up until about two years ago, i did not realize that bboying had reached countries such as israel and germany. and up until original v.i.b.e., i did not realize that there were more bboys in the area and in the community than young asian americans. with this type of diversity, it's difficult for some one to make a stereotype unless his or her ignorance is powerful.
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Post by Schwan on Jun 12, 2007 10:27:11 GMT -5
Ok, somewhat insightful so far. If you think anything more then 5% of the population (even our age) knows that bboying started amongst gangs, your nuts. People just assume it but have no real clue. They make snap judgements based on claims and exaggerations of even more ignorant people. You have to always remember, this is an artform - first and foremost. And as with any art, people who are close minded or even are just comfortable with conformity, will not appreciate it and will probably ridicule it. It happens with every art. It's just a shame that it's been labeled so strongly with hip hop and that image to a lot of people is sex, drugs, rowdy people, gangs, cockiness, violence and lack of respect.
If your friend or whoever thinks bboying is all about those things, then by all means, educate them. I'm thankful to have been taught about the style and the stereotypes around the scene and then been invited to make my own decisions. Like Thai said, yes there are people who fit those stereotypes. I hope they realize how poorly their actions hurt the entire scene at times and how pointless is can be.
Like Banana mentioned as well, we have enough people in Michigan who have the ability to change this stereotype, why not work at it? There are a lot of open minded people who simply just don't know how huge the bboying community is in Michigan and the mid-west. I'm not saying go grab random people off the street and lecture them (unless they're some smoking hot chick, then by all means...DO IT!) but rather correct the people who don't know and challenge them to prove why they think the way they do. If they can't, invite them to a battle or even a session somewhere.
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Post by cryzko on Jun 12, 2007 11:16:35 GMT -5
anyone know where the b-boy stance really came from....
i was educated a bit from mr.wiggles on this......over the phone....
i'll post it later
cryzko
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Post by Scotty Pimppen RTC on Jun 12, 2007 12:05:19 GMT -5
Bboy Stance... wasn't it how stickup kids would stand before they robbed someone, so when bboys did it, it was an intimidation thing?
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Post by blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah on Jun 12, 2007 14:57:47 GMT -5
my only problem about tryin to change a stereotype is people are gonna have to want to change there opinion and thats not easy. but i definatly agree with educating people on this subject. but what everybody has to remember is that hip hop started in tha hood, it came from dudes that used to be stick up kids, straight up grimmey dudes. every mc,bboy,graff writer,dj, who came from tha hood will tell u crazy ass storys about crazy shit happenin, for instants when i was a kid i lived on tha westside of detroit of joy rd. i saw someone get shot, it was crazy, but to everyone else it was tha norm. thats hip hop mentality, cause hip hop is were people were from, what they experianced. now that experiance did'nt stop me from goin to tha d after i moved to tha burbs. tha thing is hip hop is what it is, people are most likely gonna see tha negative over tha positive, thats why i tell people hip hop is'nt for everyone, cause it's not, people are either gonna take it or leave no matter how many positive aspects u can show them, cause when people make up there mind about something it's very hard to change it.
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Post by blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah on Jun 12, 2007 15:06:41 GMT -5
if ya'll wanna start makin a difference fo real then peep this.
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Post by Banana on Jun 13, 2007 2:44:19 GMT -5
tha thing is hip hop is what it is, people are most likely gonna see tha negative over tha positive, thats why i tell people hip hop is'nt for everyone, cause it's not, people are either gonna take it or leave no matter how many positive aspects u can show them, cause when people make up there mind about something it's very hard to change it. I disagree. I think people are naturally curious and open to change. Hip hop is also open to evolution. I think the problem comes from the fact that their initial interest might be curbed by any discomfort the learning environment might be creating for the student. People don't wanna learn from an asshole teacher, and people don't wanna take classes in bad neighborhoods. I don't see any reason why people should put the negatives first.... I think the problem is that bboys generally put blame on the student for disinterest, or have the mindset that hip hop is a static organism and is therefore automatically exclusive. I've tried doing research on bboys, it's not easy. Fuck, it's downright impossible if you don't know what you're doing. The information and the teachers simply aren't readily available. Sure, the standard history of breakin is readily available, but other than that there really isn't sqat. I dug up this while on my quest for knowledge, and it illustrates my point: cfp.english.upenn.edu/archive/2000-12/0029.htmlThis tells us three things: 1.) There are interested students 2.) There are no teachers 3.) There is no material available There is not a single good reason why 2 and 3 exist, and it's sad to know that U of M of all places is, in the new millenium, having problems finding enough material to teach hip hop 101 to interested students.... A question I have for everyone: Are issues like those presented even important to bboys? Does anyone ever think of these things?
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