ghetto
I think I should clarify myself when I talk about the word "ghetto". It has nothing to do with torture from wars or where anyone was held during captivity, NOR am I speaking of times during the early 30s when the majority of the nation lived in some SORT of a ghetto.
No, I'm talking about ghetto mentality, and that's strictly a minority thing.
Granted, there's nothing wrong with ghetto mentality in moderation, but some people just take it to a whole new level of ghettoness. I got an email from a friend that sent a whole list of things that were ghetto, and I had to agree with a lot of them.
101 Ways To Tell If You're GHETTO!
There's nothing spectacular about ghetto lifestyle. In fact, it's hard as hell. Fighting for that meal, living off of government cheese (wasn't that the best, yo? :-)), it's not something to be envious of, but then again, music and various rappers whom I won't name glorify the lifestyle.
I remember a problem I once had with my ex-boyfriend was that he was ghetto through and through. He had the ghetto clothes (back in the days with the pants hanging off your ass), ghetto language (the "yo, what's up, son. ." and various others that would make this list continue forever), ghetto walk. . .you get the idea. But he had the unmitigated nerve to tell ME that I wasn't down with stuff, because I was too stuffy. STUFFY! ME! I took such offense this, because on top of that he called me "white". Now, I'm not a racist or anything, but if you're gonna call me something I'm clearly not, what the hell?! By his definition (since he had it out for the "white man"), being black was equal to being ghetto, and anything else outside of that perimeter was being white.
But that really hurt, he was throwing my character as a Black woman out of the window. That's when I went on this ghetto trip (but I realize a relationship isn't about just pleasing another person, see my section on relationships), doing many of the things on that list above. Granted, I've had things hard in my life before, but not like some people I know. I can only be me, and if that's not completely ghetto, then I'm not sorry for it.
But anyway, I digressed a bit there. There's so many adjectives that can go along with the word ghetto. I'm gonna list a few and their meanings (my friends and I came up with some of these):
- ghettofabulous - not completely an original term, but refers mostly to those people that have become stars in their own right, but still have a ghetto mentality.
- ghettolicious - we made this one up. this is about all those things that can be described as ghetto and fit within the whole scheme of "dy-no-mite!" JJ terms.
- ghettorific - it's not just terrific anymore, baby!
- "backward-ass ghettoness" - this is for those people that are so completely stupid in the things they do, but still try to play it off like it's ghetto. BUT IT AIN'T.
Sometimes people do things that would be considered ghetto, like walking across the street to the bodega in pajamas and slippers for a 40. C'mon. . .that is straight ghetto.
I think the word is limited to being said by minorities, though. I can't see a caucasian man or woman coming up and saying, "Oh, that is SO ghetto!". NO. I don't think that would work too well, and if they said it in a black neighborhood? Oh boy. . .someone, guaranteed!, will say, "What the hell do you know about being ghetto?"
Am I being stereotypical again? Even if I am, I must say to all those brothers and sisters out there that qualify as ghetto, you know how hard it is. Keep on doing what you do. Just try not to act TOO ghetto. . .