Minority Report

Music is a very powerful thing.

Last night I found myself staying up with my sixteen-year-old brother, once again, listening to Jay Z. “You have to hear this song Nadia,” he said to me. “It makes me feel so guilty. It’ll probably make you feel guilty too.”

At these words I was very prepared not to feel guilty. In fact, I was prepared not to feel any emotional difference after listening to the song. And I might not have if I hadn’t listened closely to and considered the words. But my brother made me listen. He repeatedly stopped and rewound the c.d. to break down the words and make me listen to them.

I've come to realize that my mind is very desensitized and my heart is incredibly insensitive to crisis, tragedies and all such like. After all, most news is bad news. I’ve been hearing bad news nearly every day of my life since I was a child. It’s what is reported. And my mind hardly processes the meaning of anything I hear any more.

The song my brother had me listen to is called Minority Report. It’s about Hurricane Katrina. And when I remember my reaction to the news of Hurricane Katrina I remember feeling sympathetic and being prayerful, but that was about it. I didn’t feel sad or passionate or enraged. I didn’t cry. I didn’t feel compelled to go and help those people. It was just another horrible thing that was happening amongst tons of other horrible things around the world.

I clearly remember sitting in kitchen at my grandma's house with the news turned on. My aunt gasped, "That's awful," she said as she covered her hands with her mouth. Then she turned her head, "Hey, are those green beans done yet?"

But when I listened to the words of the song, I imagined if it was me in the situation if the Katrina victims. I imagined if it was my family sitting on the roof of our flooded home. I imagined my brothers and my sisters wet and cold with nothing to eat, no sanitary place to dispose of waste, or sleep or live for days.

It hit me really hard. "Wait..." I said to Bruce. "How long were they stranded on roofs?"
"For days Nadia." he said.
This is also when I considered the words, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," in a different way than I had before. I had been watching the television when Kanye West said those words. And I had agreed with him. But it wasn't until over a year later that it crossed my mind, "Bruce," I said. "That's inexcusable. And there's no way it would have never happened if all of the victims were white."

Please read the lyrics as you listen to this song. I think the words are more powerful than the images of the video.

Here are the lyrics:

"Minority Report"
(feat. Ne-Yo)

[Intro: News Excerpts]
The damage here along the gulf coast is catastrophic.
There's a frantic effort under way tonight to find
survivors. There are an uncounted number of the dead tonight...
People are being forced to live like animals...
We are desperate...
No one says the federal government is doing a good job..
And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people...
No water, I fought my country for years..
We need help, we really need help..
In Baghdad, they they drop, they air drop water, food to people..why cant they do that to their own people?
The same idiots that can't get water into a major American city in less than three days are trying to
win a war...

[Verse 1 - Jay-Z]
People was poor before the hurricane came
But the down pour poured is like when Mary J. sang
Every day it rains, so every day the pain
But ignored them, and showed em the risk was to blame
For life is a chain, cause and effected
Niggas off the chain because they affected
It's a dirty game so whatever is effective
From weed to selling kane, gotta put that in effect
Wouldn't you loot, if you didn't have the loot?
Baby needed food and you stuck on the roof
Helicopter swooped down just to get a scoop
Through his telescopic lens but he didn't scoop you
The next five days, no help ensued
They called you a refugee because you seek refuge
The commander-in-chief just flew by
Did he stop? No, he had a couple seats
Just proved jet blue he's not
Jet flew by the spot
What if he ran out of jet fuel and just dropped
hu,That woulda been something to watch
Helicopters doing fly-bys to take a couple of shots
Couple of portraits then ignored 'em
He'd be just another bush surrounded by a couple orchids
Poor kids just 'cause they were poor kids
Left 'em on they porches same old story in New Orleans
Silly rappers, because we got a couple Porches
MTV stopped by to film our fortresses
We forget the unfortunate
Sure I ponied up a mill, but I didn't give my time
So in reality I didn't give a dime, or a damn
I just put my monies in the hands of the same people that left my people stranded
Nothin' but a bandit
Left them folks abandoned
Damn, that money that we gave was just a band-aid
Can't say we better off than we was before
In synopsis this is my minority report
Can't say we better off than we was before
In synopsis this is my minority report

[Verse 2 - Ne-Yo]
So many times I'm, covering my eyes
Peeking through my fingers
Tryin' to hide my, frustration at the way that we treat
(Seems like we don't even care)
Turn on the TV, seein' the pain
Sayin' such a shame
Then tryin' to go on with my life
Of that, I too, am guilty
(Seems like we don't even care)
So we send a lil' money, tell 'em it's alright
To be able to sleep at night
You will pay that price
While some of these folks' lost their whole life
(Seems like we don't even care)
Now it wasn't on the nightly news no more
Suddenly it didn't matter to you no more
In the end almost nothing changed
What the hell, what was that for?
(Seems like we don't even care)

[Outro: News Excerpts]
...Buses are on the way to take those people from New Orleans to Houston
...They lyin'
...People are dying at the convention center
...Their government has failed them
...George Bush doesn't care about black people