Transcript
R.E.A.L. By Sin Raws (c) 2019 Remember Everyone Ain't Likeable I want to take this time of ours to really expound on an important misunderstood and misrepresented subject called 'REAL'. But first we must dissect the definition of real. A matter of fact, 'what is the definition of real?' Thus, we must first examine if the real we're speaking of is 'Literal or a 'Figurative' meaning. ' Real ' in a literal sense means ' authentic '. However, we must understand that in order for something to be ' real ' it must be 100% pure, un touch to say. If there's even a minute amount of imperfection, it can no longer be considered ' real ' because it's deduction from the perfection, the pureness. Real being used to describe a persons character, demeanor, principles and morals, especially if you're involved in the streets/ illegalness can be used and interpreted in a variety of different ways. To our youth, 'real' means to accept any challenge, be fearless, support yourself, taking care of your responsibilities, to maintain a level of respect amongst your peers through any number of illicit activities and under no circumstances ever cooperate with the law! To the older and more establish members of the street fraternity, some of these things may still apply. However, a grown man/woman understands with every battle isn't worth the casualties of fighting and sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. He understands that a youngin who feels he has to accept every challenge has a pride, low self esteem and is attempting to establish and uphold his reputations by all cost. His insecurity and still trying to find himself is like a man driving a sword through his own chest to kill his enemy behind him! Inwhich this makes him/her "fake' because there's no in between. You can not halfway 'real'. A man knows himself and though he acknowledges that a reputation is the corner stone of power, it's undisirable to him because he'd established himself long ago and is unconcerned with other people definition of real. Thus, his reputation has transcended into ' integrity '. One of my oldest nephew whose established his reputation through the game before going legit told me this story. " Unc I went down North Philly and pulled up on the strip I use to hussle on that you ran in Francisville when you was home. I was hollering at some dudes I grew up with who was still hussling or just came from jail. I seen this young bul no older then 13 grinding. While I was talking he walked up to my BMW jeep and inquired about it and said O.G. I wanna push a jawn like this. How can I get parts? I asked him did he go to school and he looked at me like I just asked him to set hisself on fire and told me he's not dumb he don't need school. I told him to get my eighty five thousand dollar jeep he need more then a buck fifty pack, he need to go to school or get a job. When I said that he looked at me up and down. Unc you know how I throw that shit on with my bezel iced out. I wear shit that dudes hear about but can't pronounce. He asked me how much work can I give him and I told him I'm not into grinding drugs I work as a supervisor. He had the nerve to ask me, have I ever did any jail time I said hell naw my uncles did and doing bids in the feds and state for murder in this same park you grinding on. That's why I got a job. This youngin had the nerve to tell me 'Well you can't be a O.G.' Man Unc hearing that made me hate the game even more. These young buls out here think to be an O.G. or even a stand up dude or dress good or ride fly whips, you gotta either be a rapper, drug dealer, jail bul and all this other nut shit. Validation is so low now-a-days and the youngins is so ampt to go to jail for whatever reason to be validated just to say they didn't tell and they keep it real " Hearing this story from my nephew had made me so upset and shameful because being in prison, I see the same youth mentality. All because they wants to be real. So as a writer I thought of this piece. So lets proceed. Now! Although the literal definition of 'real' maybe, transparent, cut and dry, the figurative definition of real is open to an individuals interpretation. A police officer may consider himself real because he feels he's protecting the community from criminals. A judge may consider himself/herself real, because he's doing a service for society when he imprison people who breaks the law. While the criminal or anyone that opposes them consider these kind of people the complete opposite of real or should I say ' anti-thesis of real.' However, at the end of the day, something is only considered as such because of the overall agreement that it is. For example : The american dollar only holds value because the mass majority of people agree that it's valuable. If all americans agreed that something else was to be used as currency, then the entire monetary system would collapse! So I must conclude that the definition of "real' is only such cause the majority agrees upon it being authentic. This makes us understand that because streets criminals of the earth are a minority population and they themselves can't even agree on a solid definition, then the real definition of real is one amongst the law abiding citizens. And if the definition of real can be changed at any given timeby the population management, then can real truly be real at all? This the real question we must ask ourselves because making a major change is real! Sin Raws 2019
