There is a belief, popular amongst gun control advocates, that teenagers and young men shoot people because of misplaced machismo. You can certainly find plenty of ballistic braggadocio in rap music. But the plain truth is that armed gang bangers are motivated by the same thing that motivates all human beings: the fight for resources.
Gang bangers use guns to gain and protect turf. Turf equals money. Drugs. Sex. Cars. Respect. Safety. Etc. If gang bangers weren’t using guns to make a living, they’d be using . . . boxing gloves?
That’s the idea behind the Guns Down, Gloves Up movement. Which is gaining traction in the Jacksonville area, as witnessed by this rap video and article at actionnewsjax.com:
The movement encourages young people to get aggression out during [unsanctioned] boxing matches to deter gun violence.
Already in 2017 more than a dozen shootings have been reported in Jacksonville [Florida].
“So we just reached out to the artists to see who all wanted to be a part of this movement to put an audio to the visual,” rapper Boo Deezy Take it Eazy said.
The artists and members of the community came together at a boxing gym on Saturday to film a music video for a song that backs the movement.
In the rap song, you can hear a little kid saying, “Guns down, gloves up.”
Seven rappers in Jacksonville wrote their own lyrics for each verse.
“I didn’t realize how much it has impacted the city but I’ve heard so much about the whole movement before I was even involved in it,” Slimm Baby, one of the artists, said.
Other artists include Wizzle, Lil Duvy, Polo Bryant, Jiggaman35, and Kuban Blake, who all said they want to use their voices to make an impact.
“It’s a blessing to be a part of something positive and have a local radio station show us support,” Kuban Blake said.
So I guess the first rule of Guns Down, Gloves Up isn’t guns down. It’s you always talk about Guns Down, Gloves Up.
Anyway, while there’s nothing wrong with channeling youthful aggression, frustration and boredom into supervised physical activity, this “movement” solves nothing. Because when gang bangers get down to business in the ‘hood, it’s business as usual. Know what I mean?