I hear what you're saying about it being impossible to have no culture. White people do have a culture. The problem is that young white kids feel out of place in their own culture. I think the reason is that so much emphasis is put on things rather than people. Status in the suburbs is based on possessions, not relationships and not wisdom or knowledge. People try to fill the void in their lives with stuff and then throw in some conservative Christianity to justify it.

In college I began to seriously question my roots. First I did it by throwing off Christianity and condemning it as ignorance. Then I discovered Buddhism and found answers to the questions that weren't even being asked in my white culture. The materialism, the exploitation and the sexism of my culture all became clear to me and I was filled with a desire to right the wrongs I had done to those around me.

At this same time I began listening to hiphop and found that as a form of self expression it was unparalleled. The pure emotional input possible in hiphop is refreshing when youve grown up listening to canned top 40 hits. (This is not to say that all hiphop has this element of self-expression, of course.) So now I am in a position where I am being affected by three different cultures and I am trying to create a personal balance that will bring me happiness and let me affect some good on the world.

Hiphop is good for white kids because it helps them question their fucked up, materialistic and racist culture.

Russell
Austin, TX