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Know the Message!
Popular t-shirts featuring a
stern-looking snowman are being marketed by rapper Young Jeezy, but critics see
more than seasonal whimsy in the image. Young Jeezy sings a song, "Let's
Get It: Thug Motivation 101," whose lyrics include cocaine references and the
lyrics: "Jeezy the Snowman / I'm iced out, plus I got that snow, man."
Anti-drug activists are worried that parents may not have any idea about the
symbolism behind the snowman shirts. "This is part of a phenomena in which
parents have no idea what their children are exposed to," said Sue Rusche,
president and CEO of National Families In Action. "There is a code that children
are aware of, but not parents."
The company that produces the shirts, Miskeen Originals of New Jersey, is aware
of the drug message. "I wasn't sure what the snowman meant until the artist
explained to me that it was a drug dealer, the man delivering snow," said
company owner Yaniv Zaken. "Now everyone is selling the snowman -- all
unlicensed. It's become a street-hood hit worldwide."
Young Jeezy's label, Def Jam, declined to address concerns about the drug
message being delivered by the shirts.
"The research tells us that influences coming from the media can have a profound
effect on kids and influence them to use drugs," said Gilbert Botvin, director
of the Institute for Prevention Research at Cornell University Medical College.
"All of these things help to convey the impression that engaging in these
behaviors using drugs is normal and that drugs might help you be successful or
sexy or something."
This Article was originally published by
Join Together Online
and reprinted with full permission
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