I am sure, by now, you've seen (or at least read about) Antoine Dodson's rant threatening the man who broke into Dodson's sister's room and attempted to rape her.
His rant, captured on video (below), instantly went viral.
This raises an interesting debate, entirely unique to the digital age.
On the one hand, an anti-rape message (although in rant form!) is a top youtube video, was posted on numerous blogs (and even MSM sites) and forwarded to countless inboxes.
On the other, the message is quickly overlooked because of, and this is arguably the only reason the video went viral in the first place, Dodson's humorous delivery.
It didn't take long before his message was "autotuned", which has resulted in a second top youtube video, a top track on itunes (which has in turn inspired two covers and another remix, also top itune hits).
The fact that people are now making money off of this is pretty tasteless.
However, I can't help but get the remix out of my head, humming it often. Especially now that the North Caroline A&T Blue and Gold Marching Band have adapted the remix into a pretty spectacular rendition.
The song is catchy, you can't deny it, and that has the potential of keeping the anti-rape message in the minds of the public.
But is that really happening? Are the kids of NC A&T aware of the original message? Are they being taught about gender equity and ant-domestic violence at the same time they're being taught amberture and keys?
Do the above examples dilute the original message (such as it was) or is it simply another distraction?
I'd like to believe it is the former, but I suspect it is the latter.
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