Freakonomics & Gang Warfare......Unlikely Bedfellows?

I was perusing the halls of journalist David Mills' excellent blog, Undercover Blackman when he posed a simple (at least one would think) question regarding the choice between two stereotypes-my answer is both are reprehensible and based on a one-dimensional reality. The first Youtube clip demonstrates what happens when a gangsta subculture is exported internationally and the second video denotes that same thuggish aesthetic being documented for profit within the states. Either way, it is exploitative cultural warfare with the Black image being the first and only casualty. Also check out the above snippet of Steven Levitt (economist and co-author of the excellent Freakonomics treatise) discussing his partner's research into the economics of inner city gang life. Pretty riveting stuff...although I'm not sure about the nervous laughter exhibited by his audience. I'll leave that up to our readers to sound off on this one.