For me in no particular order:

1. Michael Jackson Hair Catching On Fire
2. Challenger Explosion
3. Magic Johnson being diagnosed HIV positive
4. Death of Len Bias
5. Death of Optimus Prime

What about you?

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Hogan losing to the Ultimate Warrior on Summer Slam
Jordan coming back and losing in the playoffs to the Orlando Magic
Eazy E dying
crack coming to the hood (New Jack City was a pop culture reflection)
The City College party riot involving Diddy and Heavy D

I rented that tape from Tidal Wave/Hollywood Video so much I could probably perform that match. Warrior was my guy.

2. Kobe
3. Magic and the sudden retirement
4. Jam Master Jay being shot
5. Easy E

He said childhood.

.

First time hearing about Apartheid, Steve Biko movie.. ehhh, not really pop culture but I was focused on trauma. That movie had me all types of fucked up.

Challenger Explosion

Marvin Gaye dying - not when it happened but hearing his father shot him fucked me up. Couldn’t process such a thing at that age.

New Edition breaking up

I can remember exactly where we were when we heard it on the radio and him pulling over and crying. Forgot about that one.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

He was RIGHT THERE to blow. I kept his HBO special on VHS for years after his passing. Hell, I paid money to see House Party II over that

1. Florida Flight 90 crashing into the Potomac
2. Challenger explosion
3. Leon dying (okay, I was out of childhood, but that shit hurt)
4. Bridge to Terabithia
5. Hostages coming home from Iran

Bonus: LT breaking Joe Theismann's leg.

______________________________________________________________________________

"To Each His Reach"

but.....

Fuck aliens.

Challenger Explosion - https://youtu.be/nmAbcDud2L8
Bud Dwyer's On-Air Suicide - https://youtu.be/zK47s7G1oo4?t=99
The My Buddy Doll, after Child's Play - https://youtu.be/OdximU6Ao00 & https://youtu.be/QDqSIsuRDxc
Anti-Drug PSAs - https://youtu.be/ygqTCBI0S4I
Superbowl XXIII, at Joe Robbie Stadium, 4th Quarter - https://youtu.be/Oq9PjJ6tVTU

The SF earthquake shoulda been on my list. I’m claustrophobic so seeing those cars crushed had me fucked up.

Dude who killed himself on TV. That was crazy. Didn’t see it live but heard about it and saw the video when he pulled it out of the envelope.

and I wasn’t a Theisman fan but I remember walking to school and my boy telling me about it. My leg hurt just thinking about that shit.

Bo Jackson’s injury is also up there. Dude was a beast.

Barry Sanders retiring earlier than I expected. That was real trauma. The best RB ever. My favorite player to watch.

The way this father looks--https://youtu.be/KUXb7do9C-w?t=13 his bug eyes and large forehead--formed my opinion of what coke addicts looked like for most of my life, probably into college. Anyone who even slightly resembled this man made me think they freebased in their free time.

Similarly, as a very young kid, the house we had was on a block that was home to headquarters and offices of various lobbyists. I'd look out the window and watch them going to and from work, mostly bald white men. I thought that bald horseshoe hairline they all had was a chosen style and presumed it must have been cool as shit.
I'd be eating breakfast staring at my Pop's full head low afro thinking to myself, 'why didn't he decide to go with the public rest room split toilet bowl lid cut instead?', more importantly, 'why wouldn't he help me articulate better to the barber to cut my hair as fresh as theirs?'

Sheeesh

That fucked me up good for a little bit. "Jarring" doesn't even begin to describe it.

many people didnt see it or even know about it.

- TWA Flight ....800 I think? And one crashed into the Everglades like around that same time too
- Columbine
- Aaliyah & Left Eye dying 8 months apart
- I didn't feel 'trauma' but Princess Di dying. Biggie and Pac get lumped in here too.

I remember that Everglades crash.
ValueJet, which turned into AirTran in response...who had the flyest most friendly and welcoming Flight Attendants and best priced flights of all time. Randomly I'd get upgraded to business class--having spent $40 on a ticket. I even had one or two of them, who sexually harassed me, back in my dorm, or at a college party with me.
RIP AirTran and whoever recruited and trained that staff.

>- Columbine

I tried explaining the significance to my daughter and it was lost on her. made me sad that she's grown up with a Columbine every other month.

Actually went to that memorial when I was out there for work and by far one of the eeriest places I’ve ever been to. It felt full of life and death at the same time

- Adam Walsh murder (specifically the TV movie they did about it). That was how I learned what decapitation was.

- One of the After School Specials about drugs where the older brother comes home and finds that his younger brother got into his drug stash, got high and drowned in the pool in the backyard (he was floating face down, dead.) I think that's the same special where the Michael Jordan "stop it" gif comes from.

>- One of the After School Specials about drugs where the older
>brother comes home and finds that his younger brother got into
>his drug stash, got high and drowned in the pool in the
>backyard (he was floating face down, dead.) I think that's the
>same special where the Michael Jordan "stop it" gif comes
>from.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Child Murders.

saved by the bell ep where jesse gets hooked on speed
90201 ep where brandon gets beat up for his gambling debts

I was crushed that he just quit.

2. Optimus Prime's death
3. Rodney King Beating/LA riots
4. Tupac/Biggie deaths
5. Niners losing to the Giants in the NFC title game/Montana injury

>3. Rodney King Beating/LA riots
But yeah - I remember seeing the video tape when it first came out.

And the day before the verdict I drove from Indiana to Denver. That night riots in Denver. Drove from Denver to San Diego the next day (yes - 1 day) and ran into riots in Vegas riots, the LA riots, and the San Diego student protests.

So much smoke in the air - but I was well out of the riot areas.

Note: I had just gotten the Beastie Boys Check your Head cassette that week (April 21st) and the trip started April 28th - I had that tape and Ice-T's O.G. and those are the ONLY two tapes I had for the 2 day trip.

And being from the midwest, I didn't get a first hand look at it but I remember there being a LOT of tension in the streets amongst black folks. Even some of my classmates wanted to do 'something' to appease their anger over the event.

Around that time I was listening to Arrested Development, KrissKross, BDP (sex and violence lol), Das Efx and Spice 1 (187 Proof!!)

>>3. Rodney King Beating/LA riots
>But yeah - I remember seeing the video tape when it first came
>out.

>And the day before the verdict I drove from Indiana to Denver.
>That night riots in Denver. Drove from Denver to San Diego the
>next day (yes - 1 day) and ran into riots in Vegas riots, the
>LA riots, and the San Diego student protests.
>
>So much smoke in the air - but I was well out of the riot
>areas.
>
>Note: I had just gotten the Beastie Boys Check your Head
>cassette that week (April 21st) and the trip started April
>28th - I had that tape and Ice-T's O.G. and those are the ONLY
>two tapes I had for the 2 day trip.

3-5. ???

1. John Lennon / Murder
2. Bernard King / ACL Injury
3. Darryl Strawberry / "Drugs"
4. Doc Gooden / "Drugs"
5. Space Shuttle Challenger / Explosion

First found out reading the sports section over a bowl of cereal. You could have drowned me in half an inch of cold milk and Captain Crunch, I was catatonic.

2. When I left my plastic case containing an almost-complete set of Marvel Series II trading cards on the bus after a school trip and realized I'd never get it back. That one hurt, definitely the worst self-inflicted wound of my childhood.

3. The end of "The Incredible Journey" (the book, not the movie)

4. The parents dying in "The Land Before Time"

5. Optimus Prime's final moments. He had the touch. He had the power . . .

1. Challenger Explosion - Dude at school was going from class to class to tell them about it - no one believed him. (Regane addresses it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt4wDBoZtEY)

2. Reagan Being Shot - I was 10 and he was the president. It was pop culture - involving Jodie foster, Taxi Driver/etc. On TV for weeks.

3. The Day After tv movie and aftermath - That movie was WILD and it influenced Reagan to sign the SALT treaty. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-flashback-1983-day-terrified-919007

4. Iran Hostage Crisis - Another event I saw on TV everyday for months.

5. Muhammad Ali saves that dude from committing suicide; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFCH9QdMd2Y

that shit was traumatic

Reagan getting shot was weird because as a little kid i thought that just happened to all presidents.

Middle School - Being bussed from your neighborhood school across town to a TAG Magnet school with a bunch of white people (who were the definite minority at the local school) at the onset of puberty in '85/'86 was the WORST. I've mentally blocked 6th-8th grade

Len Bias - I was a big Celtics fan at the time, thanks to Larry Legend. I remember hearing of Bias' death in Spanish class. Took over a decade for the Celtics to recover. I'm not sure I did and moved on from the team. Adopting the Knicks didn't do me any favors in the late 80's/90's, so there's that

Challenger Explosion - A few teachers in our school knew Christa McAuliffe and were watching live. This pretty much was like watching a snuff film in 6th grade. Everyone was traumatized, students, teachers, everyone.

The Death of Optimus Prime - You have middle school boys openly crying about a cartoon character, you dune f*cked up. Put me off Transformers for a while.

Trouble T-Roy - His was probably the first hip hop death that resonated with me. It was an accident. No beef. Everybody loved Heavy D and The Boyz. And at the time, you only heard from the radio, MTV, or the monthly music mag of choice, so details and facts trickled in slowly. I didn't like Peaceful Journey, but gave Hev a huge pass for it. We got T.R.O.Y out of it, though most that hear it have no clue where it stemmed from.

Bonus: Anytime KITT got destroyed. That was a long week waiting for the cliffhanger for him to get rebuilt.

1. 9/11
2. 7/7 London Bombings
3. Ronaldinho's free kick goal to knock England out of the 2002 World Cup
4. Seeing The Prodigy's 'Smack my Bitch Up' music video way too young
5. Y2K bug

I remember sitting in my kitchen hearing it on the radio...

https://youtu.be/KUXb7do9C-w

i still aint got over Chef.

pac and biggie

they kind of just blur together for me. i more so remember how shook my cousin was. she was the biggest 2 pac and selena fan and we were pretty close at the time. seeing her go through that was something. then biggie was my brothers fav.

definitely made my outlook on life/the world different.

what kind of kid watches la bamba. poor ritchie


one of the things i remember most was "it tastes like chicken" lol

i dont know why it hit me hard but i remember legit breaking down. siblings still make fun of me about it here and there lol

wanted to dance with Mauser

Rewatch them as an adult and you'll KNOW why!

Most things I didn’t know about or didn’t care that much.

My auntie, who I would never say is knowledgeable about hip hop said Big died at one of our family dinner. I definitely said in my head “Bitch, SHUT UP. There’s no way Big died like that last night.”

My original music business dream was to become great friends with Missy and Tim and just live life making dope new Aaliyah and Ginuwine records. That totally shit the bed after hearing about her crash.

My guy caught me walking down the hallway on 9/11 and said a plane flew j to a building in NYC, while laughing. I was like, bruh, that’s the worst joke you’ve ever told. I get to Trig and sit my bag down, and there’s for damn sure a plane sticking out of a building. Then the 2nd plane hit.

1. Utraman reruns being cancelled on KTVU. Loved them. Then the local station cancelled them. Bastards. It only slightly helped when they came back a few years later.

2. The British Bulldogs losing the tag team titles to the Hart Foundation and Andre the Giant turning on Hulk Hogan in back-to-back segments on the same episode of Superstars of Wrestling.

3. The end sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I mean, they were Nazis, so fuck 'em, but it still scared the shit out of me.

4. Watching Krull in the theater. Only movie I ever left when I was because I was too freaked out.

5. EPMD breaking up. Hip-Hop hasn't been as fun since.

4. The Gulf War (does that count?)
5. The Rodney King beating, trial, and riots.

My list is everything pre-teen years.

1 and 2 were huge. My school did a whole play about the Challenger, and we did a fair amount of reading about space and NASA. My teacher at that school also made a big deal about the issue with dolphins in tuna.

3. La Bamba was, by far, our favorite movie. My grandma had the VHS tape, and we wore that thing out. Richie was my second musical idol, after Michael Jackson, and the end always killed me inside. I wasn't alive on The Day The Music Died, but I was keenly aware of the tragedy because of that movie. It's still my favorite movie to this day. It wasn't until later that I realized that the.songs in the movie were all Los Lobos songs, but Richie remains a treasured icon to me, and he's also what made me dig into Los Lobos and Carlos Santana later in life.

In fact, Bob was doing a meet and last year. My daughter had a play that same day, and I did briefly entertain the idea of skipping it to meet Bob. Briefly. My wife would have been there, either way, lmao.

4. Man... i'd be up all nighy, watching those night vision videos. They haunted me.

5. That was another that got seemingly around the clock coverage. But there's a LOT that I associate directly with this.


Right before the end of the trial, and subsequent riots, we were homeless in San Bernardino. Sometimes we had a motel, other times we had a shopping cart, and would wind up in shelter, or in the home of some stranger. I remember eating lunch at elementary schools and dinner at parks.

For my 11th birthday, my aunt came and picked me up. I thought I was going to.stay for a week or.so, but for whatever reason, she kept me for a year. I was happy to be out of that situation, but felt incredibly guilty because my mom and 4 younger siblings were still out there in the streets.

I felt much more guilty when the riots hit, because I was relatively safe in a podunk asssed, hillbilly desert. I got the privilege of being called a wetback at school every day, but I had no fucking clue what was happening with my siblings.

The were ok, thankfully, but some other shit happened. My youngest brother was 2, maybe 3? Anyhow he got a pot of boiling oil spilled on him. My mom was making donuts from pillsbury biscuits, and he grabbed the handle. He was burnt pretty badly. That shit killed me when I found out, and I was so pissed at my mom, because I was always the one cooking and taking care of the kids, and I felt that that shit would not have happened if I were there

Honestly. That's easily the most significant trauma of this. The king beating, trial, and the riots are all a backdrop to that situation and I can't think King or the riots, horrible as they were for so many, without thinking of all of that other shit.

Peace Bro. Your post reminds me that before I get into some asinine argument online about trivial stuff, I should take into consideration I dont know their life experiences.

You remind me that La Bamba stayed with me as a long time as a kid. To this day I dont think we get enough Lou Diamond Phillip's in movies and am happy every time I see him on screen.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>Peace Bro. Your post reminds me that before I get into some
>asinine argument online about trivial stuff, I should take
>into consideration I dont know their life experiences.

Thanks. Jokes aside, we should all keep that in mind, and not enough of us do, myself included.

But, you know, if someone is begging for it..... 😂😂

>You remind me that La Bamba stayed with me as a long time as a
>kid. To this day I dont think we get enough Lou Diamond
>Phillip's in movies and am happy every time I see him on
>screen.

Agreed. That movie man...

1)R. Budd Dwyer's suicide on live tv.

2)Challenger Explosion

3)The Move fire bombing. (I live a few blocks away)

4)Prime dying in the Transformers movie

5)Cops firing 50+ shots into a house in my hood killing a guy who was inside that they claimed had a gun. No gun was found. No charges pressed. All got swept under the rug.

humans suck

___________________
Nas >>> your favorite rapper's favorite rapper

and right around that time I was being molested.

seriously... I pray that you have healed from other peoples fucked up mind.

My favorite cousin was going thru that too when we were growing up,
i didnt understand it at the time (we were both 8 years old),
I wish there was more education back in my day (Im 30 now) in regards
to pedophiles and what they do/how they do things i.e
gain kids confidence, usually someone close, how they manipulate you
___________________
Nas >>> your favorite rapper's favorite rapper

The dude that fucked with me preyed on my vulnerability.

His wife ran a thrift shop and befriended my mom. When we needed a place, they rented us a small travel trailer at their house. Anyhow his older son had video games, which was my favorite escape in life

So he'd tell me I could play at any time. He also knew we didn't have much food, so he'd always have a sandwich, some cookies and milk, shit like that.

The shower in their house was my only means to take a shower, so the above conditions were perfect for a predator.

And once it happened, he was able to keep me coming back, and keep me quiet, by threatening two things:

1. I had two younger sisters and two younger brothers, and he he'd always comment about how if it weren't for me, he'd be messing with them. Sometimes it was overt threats, other times it was just a reminder. He'd say, if I said anything, CPS would put us in foster homes, where we'd all be separated, and who knows if those foster homes would have guys like him?

2. He threatened to kick us out. He'd say, if I said something, he'dhave to kick us out.....and where we would go? We'd be out on the street, and anyone could do anything to us.

In light of that, my 9-10 year old brain figured, getting fed, playing video games, and letting him have his way was better than either ppl f those.

Before we left, I found out that my mom and his wife were both aware, and it was basically my fault for going over there.

Because that issue is so heavy on my radar, I try to temper my natural suspicion toward people through that lense. I.e, I stay leery, vigilant observant, without overtly assuming everyone is out to get my kids, if that makes sense.

I make sure I touch base on the subject with my daughter every few months. Good touch, bad touch, etc, and nobody is above reproach. Mom, dad, uncle, teacher, grandma, whoever, if anyone even TRIES... you let me or mom know, and if anyone makes any threats, you let me or mom deal with it.

She's also under the edict that she doesn't have have to kiss or hug anyone she doesn't want to, for any reason... and she doesn't have to give a reason. No is no, and if anyone has an issue with that, let me or mom know.

Ain't no lap sitting, no guilt trips if she doesn't hug someone goodbye or whatever.

Parents and guardians have to be vigilant and proactive about this issue.

over 42 million survivors.
fucking bullshit
and its a cycle too.. sometimes those survivors- due to the trauma,
mental damage, tend to do the same to kids....
the brain is scarred- there is evidenced based research on a pedophilic mind. it is such a thing. its a brain disease.

My cousin is trying to heal... still.
___________________
Nas >>> your favorite rapper's favorite rapper

Safety is paramount, and that's why we keep a relatively small circle in terms of who they spend ANY time alone with.

As far as babysitters.... we got... grandma and one close friend of my wife's, on occasion. There's my sister and another close friend of MJ my wife's, but that's about it, and it's not very often

I do have concerns about overall quality of lif though, and I don't want my children to grow up overly paranoid and fearful of people. So I think vigilance and consistent communication is key.

I.e, there are no secrets. I never ask my kids to not tell my wife something, even something small or inconsequential, and they know that that's the rule for everyone: no secrets, about anything, for anyone, for any reason.

One time, my daughter out me on blast for a flippant "thanks a lot, mom" comment I made. She was away for training for a week for her job, and made a promise of a toy for my son at the end of the week.

Well, he was 4, and didn't really pay attention to the "end of the week" part, and thought he was getting it after he got out of school. So after a three hour tantrum, I caved, because, frankly, he had a valid complaint lmao. So I'm at Walmart at 9 PM, buying my son a play kitchen, and I muttered "thanks a lot mom".

And my daughter let her I know ik blamed her for that whole thing, and I just had to eat it lmao. Because that's the price of transparency, because it's more important that she never, ever feel that she has to keep secrets for or from anyone, especially her parents.

I dont let anyone stay with my 5 year old.
no one.
I talk to him ALOT on how to be aware and stay safe and be open with me.

fuck. that

___________________
Nas >>> your favorite rapper's favorite rapper

to help give us a break.

Iont trust anyone.. not even some of my extended family.

l hate that I’m like this because I never had anything happen to me but it’s happened to other people I know m and other family members.

You and yours meets up with me and mine

I definitely question the judgement of anyone that's willing to just drop their kids off willy nilly.

If someone is that careless with their own child, I dont even want to ponder how careless they'd be with mine.

It was, maybe two years after it happened to me, and it really made me conflicted because I loved Mike.

But for you to see that right at the time?
That's beyond fucked up.

Of course, I can also see how it could have potentially helped. What was the effect of that episode on you?

1. Magic contracting HIV

2. Challenger exploding

3. Joe Montana leading the 49ers back to beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl...twice.

4. Hulk Hogan turning Heel

5. The Rodney King video

1. Any 80's movie with kids getting murdered was absolutley crazy to me.
2. MJ was invincible. His hair catching fire was the beginning of the end.
3. Poltergiest. Loved the move and the little blond. Finding out she died was heartbreaking
4. Challenger- I mean how??
5. Fat boys breaking up! LOL so stupid but I didn't believe groups broke up back then. Earth shattering.

1. Andre the Giant dying
2. Shawn Michaels throwing Marty Janetty through that window
3. Earthquake squashing Jake's cobra Damien
4. Jake's cobra biting Macho Man
5. Hogan's heel turn


6. Mufassa's death

I swear I remember that SO vividly. Then Jake kept attacking Macho Man when he was on the stretcher. I was legit horrified. I remember crying so much that my dad let me have some ice cream.

If I watched it now I'd probably be like what the hell but that shit was so jarring

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

TV Category

1) Kevin Sullivan breaking Jimmy Garvin's leg with a cinder block

2) The Horsemen turn on Sting

3) Road Warrior Animal spikes Dusty in the eye

4) Big Van Vader's entire 1992

5) Ric Flair "wins" Precious


Live Event Category

this all happened one pivotal night in 1988. my dad got us front row tickets for an NWA/JCP show at Cobo in Detroit.

1) The Russians (Killer Kruschev and Ivan Koloff crashing into the table RIGHT in front of us. I pulled my hands off the barricade rail with 0.003 seconds to spare before they got liquified between the table and the rail.

2). My dad going back and forth with "Larry Nabisco" and me quietly pleading with him to stop. As an adult thats quality heel work. But to 5-6 year old me, it was terrifying.

3). The impending arrival of the Sheepherders to the backstage area my dad got us in to. He asked Tommy Young (referee) for an autograph and Tommy was so touched he brought us back. Met Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, Eddie Gilbert (cool ass dude), The Fantastics, and probably 1 or 2 I was forgetting. But then I saw Tully Blanchard and realized the bad guys were around too. Sting hadnt come out yet, but The Sheepherders (NOT The Bushwhackers yet) were on the card and they terrified me. I begged my Dad to leave, and when he saw how actually scared I was he acquiesced. Sting has always been and will always be my favorite wrestler, and I passed on my chance to meet him because I was scared 2 bloodthirsty New Zealanders were going to literally chew my face off and I didnt trust Lex Luger to be able to stop it.


edit: obviously that experience was enough to hook me for life

My four-or-five year-old brain couldn't quite make sense of 80s androgyny*.

I also remember some abstract painting shown during a beauty pageant that haunted me for a while.

And then there was that episode of "Monsters" about a giant spider that had me checking behind my bed for giant spiders for months.

-----

*I spelled androgyny correctly on the first attempt. I am a god. Hurry up with my damn garage.




_______________________________
gamblers and masturbators.

http://twitter.com/urkelmoedee

https://www.albumism.com/search?q=Marcus%20Willis

Return To Zero: A rap radio show hosted by mrhood75 (Spider Jerusalem) and me (UrkelMoeDee)
https://mixcloud.com

Joe Theiseman Leg beak
Watching Exorcist Home alone
Sugar Ray defeating Marvin Hagler
Bears trading Wilbur Marshall
Bad boy Pistons before Jordan’s Reign

Gong Show: The Unknown Comic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBZVQ4zBcU

This motherfucker used to stalk me in my nightmares as a little kid..


2 more..

Poltergeist - The Face Picking Scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nbntoc3Hr8

Gilligans Island: The Spider Cave Episode
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vtxph

i've always wanted to go to Hawaii off the strength of their trip tho

d

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

1. The rumor that Mikey died from eating pop rocks w/soda
2. being forced to watch the post nuclear film The Day After in grade school
3. The MOVE members being raided and bombed by the police on live TV
4. Buckwheat getting shot
5. Bud Dwyer shooting himself live on television

d