Hide Article Text (OCR)
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?Sean “Puffy Combs said, in one of his songs, “We can’t be stopped now, cause this bad boy for life.”Sean Combs, Puff Daddy, P.Diddy, or whatever the hell you want to call him was right.Bad boys can’t be stopped. It’s not because they’re invincible, but because America won’t let them be stopped. America has a soft spot for the bad boy, and it’s this soft spot that allows these thugs to prosper.Remember Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter who plagiarized dozens of stories?This past week Blair received a mid-six-figure advance for his new book. “Burning Down My Master’s House: My Life at The Newr York Times,” with a first printing of 2 50,000 copies.“There are hard-working journalists out there who are never going to see that payday,” said Times columnist Clyde Habeman The only reason they won’t be rolling in the cash is because they all did a foolish thing: They told the truth.Blair, on the other hand, lied to the American public, using the reader’s trust to build his career. Now he will get rich telling us, “(the story of) a young black man...who rose from the fields, and got a place in the master’s house.and then burned it dow n the only way he knewr how.Blair, the product of two successful parents and a suburban childhood, is trying to pretend he destroyed the Times’ reputation on purpose.Rest assured, however, that Blair wasn’t trying to “burn his master’s house down.”But his story does show how America loves to hear the tale of a good con artjst, a real bad boy who doesn’t play by the rules.Let’s look back at P. Diddy” for a second. A multi-platinum artist, P. Diddy is a major record producer whose media empire pulls in $ 300 million annually.His Web site says, “It is a rare and significant occasion when a musical artist captures and expresses the sentiments of a generation, and expands his horizons to make an impact on society.” What is really rare is for a man to be the head of a media empire, but also maintain his ability' to be a thug.In December of 1999, “P. Diddy was faced with assault and weapons charges. Prosecutors said Mr. Diddy and his protege Jamal Barrow pulled out semi-automatic pistols in a club and started firing at a guy they got into anargument with.Three people were shot, two in the shoulder and one in the cheek. The woman who was shot in the face now has seven fragments in her head and suffers from seizures and severe depression. The shooting occurred because a man insult ed P. Diddy.Apparently the man threw a wad of money at Combs, which is a sign of disrespect. (This 1 really don't understand. Frankly, I wish more peo pie would disrespect me by throwing wads of cash at me. In fact, if 1 w ere dis respected like that on a daily basis, maybe 1 could quit my two jobs.)To be fair, only Barrow- got convicted for 10 years for the shootings. Then again he did not have Johnnie Cochran and Benjamin Brafman as defense attorneys like P. Diddy did.Now, two and half years after the shootings, P. Diddy is on Jay Leno with Leno acting like he is as lovable as Barney.How fast America forgets the attempted murder, and is eager to buy his clothing line “Sean John.”America loves the stories of guys and gals who work outside the law. and dothings their own w'ay. Many of our most popular films like, “The Godfather and “Bonnie and Clyde, focus on people who spit in the face of the law.The most critically applauded televi sion series in recent memory, “The Sopranos, shows the lives of murder ous gangsters. Get this—the show is genius because it makes us care about them.I could care less if a gangster gets gunned down, and ifl read in the paper tomorrow’ that P. Diddy died, 1 won’t shed a tear. I guess 1 don’t share America’s soft spot for the bad boyI. like many people, have run into these punks all my life.Whether they are murderers or small-time con men, bad boys act like they can do w’hat they want whenever they want.If Blair wrants to plagiarize or P. Diddy wants to shoot into crowds of people, they do it, and then we pay them by buying a book or a new compact disc..Wrhen I watch these guys do wTong and get away with it, it makes me wonder why I even try to do the right thing. In a -world where we reward the rogue and castigate the champion, why do good when it appears bad pays better7Maybe that’s why P.Diddy says he’ll be a “Bad Boy for Life.”
Newspaper Details
, ,
Mon, Jan 01, 0001
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 26 Sep 2024
Other Publications Near ,
Flagstaff Skylight Kicker
Flagstaff Coconino Weekly Sun
Flagstaff Arizona Champion
Flagstaff Coconino Sun
Flagstaff Lumberjack
