Signatures Strength in Numbers Network Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	First Name	Last Name	State	Comments
401	aquil	talley	IL
402	Dana	Weston	VT	i'm between working and trying to go back to school. from burlington, vt. interesting place with thriving local artists. i ran accross the site kinda accidentally but i crave the expansion of conscious hiphop as i find myself trying to supply meaningful lyrics on a regular basis. my crew's opened for many artists and we're just getting organized. we'd like to get as many people to listen as possible.
403	Rena	Ford	NC	I am tired of sitting around not doing nothing while my people are dying...I want to be apart of the solution...
404	Brittany	Matt	CA
405	steve	rogers	KY	was just wondering if i could print the petition out to get signatures in my area and mail them to you.
406	lara	jackson	MA
407	Derek	Johnson	NY	I have argued that the Viacom chain(BET,MTV,VH-1)have included lyrics of sexist,violent and self hatred to influence our youth that this is normal.To not include the KRS-1's,the Public Enemy's,the groups like Dilated Peoples,the Roots,Talib Kweli,Common and hiphop's pioneers in their playlist promotes an era of brainwashing. I believe that there is a conspiracy to eliminate social upliftment in music.
408	Johnny	Davis Jr	VA
409	Brad	Hudson	TX	We need to hear Dead Prez, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, KRS-ONE, Public Enemy, Immortal Technique, Paris & The Coup as much as we hear Little John, 50 Cent & Chingy (if not much, MUCH more). www.guerillafunk.com
410	christopher	currie	MI	Where it concerns politicians in general, I consider myself to be rancorously ambivalent. It’s like a sewer treatment system-- they serve a purpose, though often it takes filtering through layers of filth to see exactly what that is. There are some that I can tolerate listening to more than others. I don’t necessarily agree with anything some of them have to say, but there are some that I just can’t stand to listen to. George W. Bush strikes me largely as being a moderately intelligent man who might make for a good manager of a Wal-Mart. But being President of the United States involves a lot more than making sure that the deoderant aisle is well-stocked and the floors buffed. John Kerry, a man I didn’t know existed when he announced his candidacy, is now a man that I still barely know exists. Once again, a Massachusetts senator with Catholic ties—look for a southern, evangelical running mate—seeks to unite the disaffected masses. An honorable goal, though how he intends to do it I’m not quite sure. Did he vote for the war in Iraq or not? Did he vote for the $87 billion or not? Perhaps in trying to avoid being lambasted in the press as too emotional/radical/loony ala Howard “Argh!” Dean, Kerry has chosen to be a quasi-stiff, all while maintaining a look that vaguely resembles Herman Munster. I resent the two-party system as it exists currently. I can’t be a GOP cheerleader, because I am not for many of the things that tend to be on their platform(s): less regulation on business practices, outlawing abortion, de-emphasizing public education, banning gay marriage; I’m not gay, but I really don’t care who gets married—or divorced—just let it be. Plus, the so-called ‘southern strategy’ of GOP advisers and policymakers has always courted that element of the white citizenry who are/were resentful of civil rights—and the civil war, for that matter—and willfully opposed to anything that remotely smacks of ‘special treatment’, to the extent that ‘liberal’ is implicitly equated with ‘communist’. Even nominal Democrat Howard Dean made it clear that he wanted to get NASCAR Joe on his side—apparently oblivious to the idea that the confederate flag was anything more than a neat graphic on the Dukes of Hazzard’s car. Over the years, I’ve developed a deeply cynical streak that manifests in a general spirit of snarkiness and irreverence that makes me uncomfortable at many social functions, especially those for any type of political party. People get up and speak, say stuff that sounds good, people cheer, and go home to, well, whatever they go home to. I’m not much for feel-good rallies, whoever’s throwing them. If there’s free food and cute women to look at, that’s a plus. But beyond that, much of it comes off as self-congratulatory. One of the reasons I come of as fairly acerbic is that it’s partially a defense mechanism, from the recurring ostracization I faced as a kid. I was the tall but overweight kid with glasses who had to wear a powder-blue uniform shirt and navy blue slacks five days out of the week (no gym shoes or ya got sent home!). Having stood outside the circle of most traditional social customs and relationships, it has imbued me with an outsider’s vision of virtually all gatherings. I see people who are apparently comfortable with expressing themselves in whatever format they’re used to. I almost never really feel comfortable in my own skin at any of these functions. I just don’t relate to them at all. Because of this, half the time I feel dumbfounded at the prospect of being able to contribute anything of consequence, which tempts me to just bark out something totally inappropriate ("Say, who likes to watch Jell-O wrestling?"), which I know would single me out as a deviant for sure. When I hear something I don’t agree with, I feel lumps in my throat, and I feel blood rushing to my temple area. Oftentimes, I can sense my temper seethe. But I know it’s not necessary to get into an argument with people, so I keep it quiet. For me, I am aware that as a black man in this country there are people who already look at us with vague apprehension, and to approach people with the ‘loud belligerent, big black guy’ routine is inconsistently effective, especially when it’s not your natural proclivity to be loud and belligerent. There are two types of people in this society—hamsters and field mice. Hamsters, by and large, find acceptance and community early on, and interact with humans and other hamsters without heavy maintenance. Hamsters are adopted, caressed, knowing little but the comforts that they’ve had from the pet shop forward. Field mice, on the other hand, are undesirables. Whack them. Poison them. Send cats to maul them. Send snakes to eat them. Sure, if you capture one, you could force it into a hamster cage, hang a water bottle and feed it pellets. Don’t forget the exercise wheel. But chances are, if you leave the cage open, it’s going to bolt. And not come back. When you’re that ‘field mouse’ you get used to being surrounded by hostile elements— constantly on guard for someone who’s looking to bully or belittle or otherwise make you feel not welcome, or just plain invisible. And that goes from family pecking orders to those in the schoolyard to the workplace. You’re left to navigating the social seas as a PT boat among sprawling battleships. Socializing increasingly became a chore. My high school was a rather conservative atmosphere—which for a suburban Catholic school was to be expected. But the longer I spent there the more my internal attitude became “Eff this”, and I became increasingly antsy to bolt. Virtually no hip-hop at the sock hops, er, school dances.. Okay, when Young MC was hot, they played "bust a move"; when Hammer hit it big they played "You can't touch this".. you can throw in "Wild Thing", I guess.. Torn between that baseline human desire to belong, but frustrated at your voice not being heard. After graduating, I don’t think I’ve visited there since. As a kid in Gary, I grew up in the aftermath of a city economy that steadily crumbled as the steel industry began downsizing (despite this, my dad managed to put in 30 years as a crane operator for US Steel, in between layoffs) and white flight/business flight to neighborhing towns and cities—some of which de-annexed themselves from Gary after enough people moved there.. Northwest Indiana was largely union friendly, and thus, generally sympathetic to the Democratic party—virtually the only region in the state like that, incidentally (also curious, that Indiana was a Union state during the civil war, but ended up being KKK central in the 1920’s—but I digress). But, certainly by the 80’s, you didn’t have to travel far outside Gary to reach Reagan country— ‘a great communicator’ to some—and to others (like, well, my family) a grinning lunatic. It wouldn’t be long, however, that Reagan country became Quayle country, eventually. It’s amazing, the things that were said about Dan Quayle’s quirks are largely parallel to those directed at W. Bush—though in Quayle’s case, he was never seriously trotted out as a presidential candidate. I had a vague amount of respect for the Democratic party, but, post-JFK, the accepted leadership of that organization has increasingly moved to the middle, if not right of center; waffling on most key ‘hot button’ issue to appease those centrists and potential party-jumpers, and apparently not really promoting leadership of color, turning blind eye to urban blight and inconsistent sentencing in the court systems. Bill Clinton is popularly referred to by many as the first ‘black’ president, despite decisions which seemed to be a slap in the face to progressive goals: There was the war of words with Sister Souljah early on—which, indirectly, embarassed Jesse Jackson at the national black caucus; there was the abandonment of Lani Guinere; see-sawing on gays in the military; the firing of Jocelyn Elders over whether or not jacking off was preferable to teen pregnancy— the mysterious death of Ron Brown—and a ‘commission’ on race relations that seemed to vanish into the ether after a much-ballyhooed beginning. In all fairness to the guy, sleeping with the plus-sized intern shouldn’t have gotten him kicked out—but even a reasoned critique of his policies is virtually shouted down by that most loyal of Democratic voters—black, churchgoing women. Whose churches Bill sought solace in during his ‘crisis’.. The women who are almost invisible at these $500+ a plate soirees that take place when one of his fraternity pals is running for something. The intense fundraising, moneyed aspect to attaining political power has not changed, which leaves many black candidates out by default since, with respect to inner cities, they are almost universally dealing with an economically disadvantaged demographic. People for whom zero % financing on new cars means nothing if they are unemployed or underemployed. Fathers who can expect to be arrested at gunpoint for failing to meet stringent child support statutes. Many people in the Dems or Reps organizations may have sincere enough motives—but the polarization engendered by the tactics of the establishment is too entrenched for someone like me not to notice. Color me jaded, but the USA has been increasingly balkanized with little end in sight. Immigrant enclaves of today have tended to remain insular (some have speculated that the goal for some immigrants of color is not even to become ‘American’ as it is to simply not be ‘black’). Those who feel ‘out’ of the mainstream are less likely to pine for that type of acceptance anymore. We’ve tried to understand, we’ve tried to participate, but got shut out, so why bother? The perception, whether real or imagined, is that the greater society just doesn’t care anymore—if it ever did. The “I WILL DO (fill in the blank)” of today’s candidate becomes the “BUT…(fill in the blank)” of tomorrow’s elected. To do a preemptive strike on a potential question, I vote—just not necessarily for the people at the top of the ballot. A protest vote is still a vote. The pollsters need to calculate how many people cast alternative votes—not just the Greens or Reformers, but also Socialists and Libertarians and Write-Ins. There is a desire for alternative representation, alternative government, that has nothing to do with the established order. Suddenly, anarchy doesn’t seem all that bad. At least then, people aren’t even led to believe that there’s a system of people working in their best interests. But I suspect that by the time the people in charge realize this, it may be too late.
411	Rebecca	Hartman	CA
412	Kate	Dalton	TX	I think you have a great organization; similar groups are sorely needed. I'm interested in starting one in San Anto with some other conscious heads - how did you get funding?
413	allan	turner	NV
414	Sedra	Joseph	LA
415	Tiffany	Lee	GA
416	Alicia	Purvis	GA
417	Catarina	Gutierrez	GA
418	Jennifer	Bartell	SC
419	Anna	Nguyen
420	Cherrelle	Stokes	TX
421	francesca j	perkins	LA
422	Rachel	Rubin	OH
423	Courtney	Ware	GA	I'm so glad there is an organization devoted to promoting the truly authentic, positive, and artistically talented musicians, artists, and entertainers in Hip Hop. It's time to show America and the world the true side of Black American culture.
424	Toccara	Allen	GA
425	Jalila	Nur	FL
426	Tiffany	Brand	GA
427	Shani	Franklin	GA
428	LA	Smith	GA
429	Yolanda	Curtis	GA
430	Rick	Flores	TX	Support that Independent Scene
431	Jaz	Infinite	TX
432	Bianca	Flores
433	Ariel	Harrison	GA
434	rosemary	flores	TX
435	Terica	Black	GA	I am very interested in this topic and my friends and I are always discussing it. I am more than happy to support our artists who deserve equal, no more, recognition than those promoting violence and misogyny.
436	Amina	Gassam	IL
437	Tricia	Youmans	CA
438	carolyn	Beoris	CA	Underground hip hop tells what life is all about. . . World wide word of mouth pass the word man.
439	Twanda	Bowen	GA
440	Shannen	Williams	TN	We must demand artistry, consciousness, and excellence from our hip-hop artists! Racism and sexism are equal systems of oppression in our society. Hip-hop artists must began fighting both!
441	Julie	Freccero	CA
442	Melissa	Logan	MN
443	Tiara	Cochran	LA
444	A.D.	Young	AR	change will come.
445	Itohowo	Ekanemesang	GA
446	Torian	Black	TN
447	Karon	Edge-Fitzpatrick	GA
448	J	Samuel	MS
449	Joanie	McCollum	FL	I recently relocated to Florida from Philadelphia. I am having an extremly difficult time landing employment in my field. I am interested in linking with groups dedicated to supporting healthy mental health for folks of African descent and those surviving in poverty. Can you provide me a list of contacts in the Tampa area who may be helpful?
450	Wiley	Huff	FL	I think creativity is the essence of the spirit. No one should be discouraged from being a creative spirit; however, our people have lost sight of their responsibility to themselves, their families and the Black community. They, as we all must, keep our balance.