Treat Others as you Would Like to be Treated

Duh?? But I thought... Apparently, the duo Jodeci has some "Freestyle" lyrics that are derogatory because they are very disrespectful to those with Autism. In fact, I don't know why I said "apparently," because I've read the lyrics myself. I've seen a petition on Change.org, asking for a public apology, and for Jodeci to change the lyrics (or, I should say, remove them). The offensive verses are as follows:


(I went back a little bit)

"I'm undoubtedly the hottest and that's just me bein' modest.
Go check the numbers, dummy, that's just me gettin' started.
I'm artistic, you (N word's) is autistic, retarded.
Started. Hold your applause (...)"

Okay. He feels disrespected, and he's telling whomever disrespected him where they can go, right? That's basically the gist of it. ... For his own sake, he never should've used the word "Autistic" in that line! Doesn't he know that the outrage from this is only gonna get worse? The thing is...outrage usually does not surprise rappers. Autistics, take heart! What we have here is someone spewing venom to get a reaction out of someone... and we are giving (them) exactly what they expect. They are demanding respect but really disrespecting others in the process. Isn't this what usually happens with rap music? The pattern seems to be that a rapper fuels disrespect with the lyrics they write ABOUT someone else who disrespected them. They take the reaction from the public to their lyrics...and then write more lyrics about more disrespect. The cycle goes on and on.

Do I think that what (Drake) said was appropriate? Absolutely not. I think it's insulting, and derogatory and mean, and offensive, unnecessary, completely out of context, and a display of his own ignorance considering his choice of words! Never use any term that applies to a group of "differently abled" individuals to tell somebody where they can go. Why? Because, as rap artists are always whining about... IT'S TAKEN COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT AND WE'VE BEEN DISRESPECTED!!! When I say taken out of context, I simply mean that "Autistic" is obviously never a term one should use to insult someone in such a sick way. Duh, right? But some people don't get that!

Alright...expressing angst in rap music is one thing (this is what I would say to Drake) but we in the Autistic community have enough difficulties as it is explaining what Autism is NOT. So much of rap music is all about the rapper himself being taken out of context and misunderstood. HELLO!! So, if we voice how WE feel about THIS ignorance, will it be another rap song about more "disrespect"? Possibly. I don't know. As I said, the cycle goes on and on.

Do I think he should remove the lyrics? Yes. For his own sake he should remove those lyrics because now Autistic individuals everywhere are gonna say "I don't think so!". This is not just going to go away. But I refuse to personally be mad as hell at these guys and spew any uncontrollable anger, because as I said...this is the nature of rap music. Disrespect...and the disrespected fighting back...and on and on it goes. So, sign the petition...please do! It's on "CHANGE.ORG". Started by Keven Healey. There's also a link to it on Kevin Healey's Facebook page. (SAAS). In my opinion, the entire song in question is pretty much an ongoing, derogatory, offensive rant that is completely uncalled for (as is most rap music). But this time, a definite line has been crossed, don't ya think?