The correlation of a lack of a fear of authority does not come by way of hip hop music, it comes by way of this country's laws.

Look, I am probably part of the first true generation of people who came up on hip hop music. Born in 1972, I remember music before hip hop but only sparingly. Rapper's Delight hit the scene when I was about 6 years old and I remember everything from that time on. NWA came out during the years many people consider a person's most influential, yet I wasn't spurned by hip hop to act with anti-social behavior.

What people have to realize is music is not the root to the anti-social behavior, and it is not necessarily all racism and government related. What I have noticed that is a major contributing factor for a disrespect of authority is that authority, because of today's laws, no longer has authority.

Children nowadays have more rights than adults. I always hear from the "time out" parents that if you hit your kids they will fear you and that's not right. Really? So what's right about a child having no fear in their parents? Now don't get me wrong, in no way am I advocating abuse. If your child fears you when they're doing nothing wrong, something's wrong. But believe me, if one day I should have kids, they will fear me when doing something wrong. And they should. That's where the fear and respect for authority comes from -- fear.

Nowadays, kids can threaten to have their parents locked up for disciplining them. Kids have no sense of fear of authority, and naturally, kids want to do whatever they want to do.

Then the time out advocates claim that your child will suffer in shame when you show them how disappointed you are in their actions. Really? If they do suffer, it will be for... let's see ... about a second. Children are naturally selfish. We learn from children to adulthood not to be selfish. Watch a small child and you will see a person who wants what they want when they want it and if they don't get it they throw a tantrum. That's nature. Take a bottle from a baby and they grab for it and cry. How many times have we heard small children yell "MINE" when you want to play with a toy of their's. We are naturally selfish and it's through discipline we learn how and when we are allowed to have and do what we want.

At a young age children do not respond to the same type of punishments you can dispense to teens. I remember when I was younger if you were to put me in "time out" I had enough imagination to make a game out of the shadows on the wall for 15 minutes. Time out would have meant nothing to me at that age. What I did respond to, however, was pain. When I became a teenager is when punishments such as no phone, or no television, or you can't go out really made a difference. And by then I had enough fear of my parents, who I was bigger than both, to obey those punishments. You can set punishments for a teen all you want, but when there is no fear of authority there you will get no response. That's why you start it early while your still able to intimidate. Believe me, it sticks over the years. And that's why the teens responded when the male came out -- because of fear, not respect. The respect is the bi-product of the fear when it comes to authority figures.

These teenagers aren't a product of the music they listen to, they're a product of the ability to call social services if they receive a spanking. They are a product of being able to take their parents to court for locking them in their rooms for the day for not obeying the rules. They are a product of the misguided theory that children can be reasoned with and that time out is punishment enough.

And here's a secret for you: It's not just happening in the black community.