Essay 128

Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis? Presenting a few real quotes from the real world.

“It’s so easy for a kid to join a gang, to do drugs. We should make it that easy to be involved in football and academics.”
>>Snoop Dogg, who is running a kids football league in Orange County. Looks like Snoop is becoming quite the suburban dad.

“Where is the threat to our way of life and mode of communication? …On a philosophical level, is this the kind of society we want? A society where a person who arrives at our shores to make a better life has the door slammed in his or her face because he or she does not yet understand English or at least not well enough to speak or read it fluently?”
>>Mayor Joseph Kernan of Norton, Ohio, who vetoed a resolution that would require all municipal documents in Norton be written only in English.

“When you have 99.9 percent of the people speaking English in Norton, when they go into the voting booth, they will have their say. What he’s doing for our city is completely wrong. It’s a strike against democracy. I’m a proud, English-speaking person in Norton.”
>>Norton Councilman William Mowery, who sponsored the resolution, predicting Mayor Kernan can expect a political backlash. But if 99.9 percent of Norton residents speak English, why would Mowery feel the need to push his resolution?

“It was a strike against me that I didn’t wear baggy jeans and jerseys and that I never hustled, never sold drugs.”
>>Kanye West, discussing the challenges he faced establishing street cred in the world of hip-hop. Guess he made some headway by hosting a party where Suge Knight took a bullet in the leg.

“Make me.”
>>Nation of Islam leader Tony Muhammad, responding to LAPD demanding that he “back up” during a confrontation. The cops made Muhammad back up by beating him down. A recording of the conversation was released to the press.