When I was looking at the elevator video, I was thinking, “Why is Solange attacking Jay-Z?” As I was watching Jiggaman, waiting for the punch, I thought, “This is going to be bad, if he hits her…it’s a lawsuit.” then I had to consider that this is his sister-in-law. I’m not an advocate of a man hitting a woman but let’s be clear, everyone has a threshold. After watching the entire video of the attempted attack, I was impressed. At one time, it appeared that Jay-Z was about to lose it, while he held her foot, but again he showed impressive restraint. Hov didn’t shoot, slap, punch, kick or stomp his sister-in-law. I was impressed that Jay-Z, rapper, hiphop icon from the Marcy projects in Brooklyn, NY, didn’t beat Solange down. The entrepreneur, sports agent, philanthropist, 500 millionaire, mogul, Shawn Carter prevailed.
In our world, the Jay-Z world, walking away or not retaliating promotes weakness. I’m sure in his 12 narrative albums of bravado he boasts differently, but in the civilized world where people don’t try to go to jail, Shawn’s reaction is the norm. Think about it, if Shawn Carter retaliates and hits his sister-in-law, what is the outcome?…criminal charges, lawsuit, attorneys, court appearances, money wasted, apologies, press conference and possibly jail time.
Wait, that’s if Shawn Carter hits someone, if you hit someone, there’s no press conference, no recorded apologies, you don’t “Run this town”, your black @$$ is going to jail. Period.Then you’re an ex-con, can’t get a job, jail visitation, you barely have 1 let alone 5 passports, you can’t leave the country. I say this because we see the examples of ignorance played out where someone loses it and hits someone. That’s assault, it may not be aggravated or with a deadly weapon but it is considered a crime if you hit someone. Yes it feels good and yes they may deserve to get hit, but for real, it may be the biggest mistake of your life.
Shawn Carter while sporting a white tux, solidified his image as a millionaire businessman, friend of the Obamas, owner of the Nets and more importantly a husband with a wife that depends on him and a daughter that’s going to need him. Shawn has responsibilities and intangible values that a husband and father shouldn’t live without. I feel like his reaction exemplified maturity. You, my young black man, have to be smart, intelligent, controlled and mature. You can’t “lose it”. So remember the Shawn Carter reaction more than any other images of ignorance you witness.
We can all learn from Mr. Carter.
MPM
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
Sun Tzu
Middle Passage Mentor 