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Los Angeles Times Valley Edition | Glendale News-Press | 2005 February 26
Aram, Snoop and the green dragon
BY PATRICK AZADIAN
My Japanese- style tattoo was not well received by my family.
My mom threatened not to speak to me until eternity. Later she reconsidered, and her threats withered away to blocking her vision with her right hand any time the "ink" was showing.
When my freshly arrived cousin, Zareh, saw the green dragon, his reaction was animated. As his palms were pointing to the heavens, he blurted out his final judgment with the authority of a revolutionary commissar: "No Armenian girl will ever marry you." As is usually the case, revolutionary commissars are often out of touch with their territory's cultural conditions. A few days later, Zareh had softened up. Perhaps, his son's reaction to the newborn dragon had put his mind at ease. He reported to me proudly about his son: "Do you know what Aram had to say about that thing?"
"What?" I asked.
He said: "Why would anyone tarnish their God-given body by a tattoo?"
I was happy father and son were in harmony. But, I was determined to get back at the little rascal.
Months later, Zareh had to revisit the "old world." So, when I saw Aram sitting in front of me at church during a baptism, I knew it was my opportunity to get even.
I tapped him on the shoulder, as Robert DeNiro would in an Italian-American mobster movie, and delivered my line: "I've heard (pronounced 'huyd') things," and pointed to my chest.
Aram knew exactly what I was talking about, but displayed the same calmness Joe Pesci possessed in the first few minutes of "Good Fellas."
He responded: "I said nothin'."
"I know what I've heard." I squinted my left eye and stared at him skeptically: "Tell me, Aram, whom would you prefer to dress up like, Bono or Snoop Dogg?" (Bono is a Euro-chic rock artist and Snoop is a "gangsta chic" rapper.)
"Who is Bono?" He asked, and continued: "I like Snoop's music, and the way he dresses."
Aram knew where I was going with my line of questioning.
He had his next answer ready: "But, I know he has done very bad things in his life. I would never do those things, but his music is cool. I like his look."
I wasn't sure if I had made my point, but I decided to drop it. After all, Aram is supposed to be the kid, and I am supposed to be the adult. Snoop Dogg once said in an interview: "I don't walk around gangsta' all day, slapping people up and being a vicious criminal. No. That's only when it's called for ... same with the pimp image. That's a dream of mine I had as a kid, to be a pimp, living like a pimp. I've lived that dream out and had fun doing it."
These are not Aram's roots. So why would a 10-year-old be open to the idea of taking style lessons from Snoop? Which brings us to President Clinton. He once said: "I think every country's image of itself is rather like a person's image of himself or herself. It is the product of the accumulated dreams and nightmares of your family."
I'd like to revise that statement: A person's image of himself is a product of his own, his family's and his society's experiences. And if we define society as a combination of what is immediately around us, as well as virtual society, which is what we see through the media, then it becomes easier to comprehend why a significant number of kids take their fashion sense and music taste from Snoop.
My guess is Aram will never do "bad" things. His ties to his family and his own roots are too strong. But there are kids out there who are vulnerable. And there are kids out there who will embrace Snoop Dogg's fashion sense, and will listen to his music out loud when they drive their lowered Caddy's with shiny spinner rims on Brand Boulevard.
Does this mean they will all mimic what they think Snoop Dogg's life experiences are? My guess is that a small minority will, and the majority won't.
I am hoping the world of grown ups, which includes our respective families, friends, neighbors, city officials, school staff and the law enforcement officers, is keeping up with the changing times. More than ever, superficial appearance is not indicative of what's inside. Labeling kids as "bad," because of their fashion sense is not only unintelligent, but it can also be counterproductive.
Copyright 2005 Glendale News Press
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