It was great to go to rallies that numbered in the thousands and not see folks disrespect the cause by passing out tapes and trying to hawk their material. It was great to see folks come through and be down for a cause. These folks aren't people using Hip Hop they are Hip Hop. They embody the spirit of what Hip Hop has been over the years, folks carving out a niche and defining their reality. The same conditions that gave rise to Hip Hop culture in the late 70s exists right now.
Today there is an all out attack on young people by the 'establishment'.
Young people are being marginalized and conveniently being scapegoated for all of societies woes. Older people are scared of the youth and instead of rolling up their sleeves and attempting to break bread, folks are trying sweep young people out of mind or in this case, lock them away in prisons. History will show some eerie parallels in the late 70s. In new York City there as was an all out assault and crackdowns on youth gangs. After school and youth programs were being eliminated and blaming young people for societal problems was the order of the day.