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[QUOTE="Col. Bleep, post: 1020117, member: 1023"]
Here's the reality:

From a "news" perspective...I'd do the story, too.
What does it mean to Jay Z who not only is a huge "music"/cultural  figure but is a sports agent and former part-owner of an NBA team?

He's a guy whose fans happen to include the President of the United States and whose image and behavior extend to his wife, another huge star.
As such, the symbols he wears are not irrelevant.

BUT...is that enough to label him a "racist"?
I don't think so.
Certainly, no more than the Confederate stars & bars being used as a symbol by southern rockers.
One of my favorite bands - The Allman Brothers - have been linked to it and they've had black guys in the band since day 1 (let alone the fact they idolize the great black blues players).
Far more significantly, the stars & bars are part of the ambience of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The explanations may be strained to northern eyes and ears in 2014 but that doesn't make them racist.

[url]http://www.lynyrdskynyrd.com/board_posts/a-message-from-gary[/url]

People put different interpretations on symbols.
That doesn't necessarily make the use of them right.
But it does provide some context.

By the way, far more distressing are some of Jay-Z's lyrics and language.
It fairly can be called anti-social, misogynistic and anti-gay.
How come no one raises THAT issue?
And how come no one has asked the President about it while he's praising Jay-Z as one of his faves?
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