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Also check out their other classic article "Gangsta Rappers Get Paid & Fronted by The Beast" (by Keidi Obi Awadu) For years there have been (largely unsubstantiated) allegations circulating within the African/Black community about those notorious 40 ounce malt liquors as a deliberate chemical warfare attack against our people, in particular young brothers. We are well aware, and there is widespread published evidence to confirm the point, that the residual damage being done by young, and not-so-young, Black men, high on a 40 oz. or some other devilish potion, armed with a handgun, knife, stick or brick, and set upon his own community with an attitude that the life of his brother African ain't worth much. Mainstream (white-controlled) media has been quick to dismiss our allegations of the 40 oz. as a supercharged killer-brew-badness booster that was further fueling the mayhem. One might recall one particular ABC 20/20 program which clearly documented the problems that were being linked to consumption of high-alcohol content malt liquors. One of the main points of the program was that inner city liquor stores (the number of which is provocative enough) were selling the 40 oz. to underage purchasers. Despite an impressive investigative analysis of the 40 oz. culture, the TV segment concluded with a summary dismissal of the concerns of Black activists who proclaimed the marketing of malt liquors to inner city residents as a conspiracy. The commentators poopooed the suspicion with a smirk and a five second throwaway repudiation. For years I also was convinced that malt liquors, in particular the 40 oz.'s, were a deliberate attempt to wreck havoc on predominantly young Blacks, Chicanos (Hispanic, Latino, Puerto Rican, etc.), Native Americans and poor whites -- the 'collective unwashed' of America's population. After having researched the subject for an extended period, I would like to share information from eight articles I have collected that should convince any sceptic that the 40 oz. manufacturer is indeed guilty of gross offense. Parts of the information I present demonstrate that this is a deliberate scheme, perpetrated in part because of corporate avarice and partly because of government "national security interests." For those who don't like to sweat the details, this evidence seeks to address the following points about malt liquors:
As always, for that rare (and historically/mentally challenged) individual who would dismiss this hypothesis as mere hysteria coming from a "paranoid conspiracy theory" whacko, I include a number of carefully referenced articles. Perhaps, rather than criticize me for the message, they will search out and read the available literature and come to a different conclusion. I will provide abstracts, as brief as possible, from eight articles which I cite as conclusive. Drinking more than 24 ounces of beer a day causes a variety of health problems. People are wrong to think that the alcohol in beer is not damaging. High blood pressure, stroke, and cancer are common among heavy beer drinkers. In addition, these problems are more common among African-Americans as well as diabetes, another condition that is worsened by alcohol consumption. Malt liquor sales grew 23% between March 1991 and March 1992, in contrast to only a 4% rise in the beer market as a whole. Major brewers do not plan to increase marketing efforts in this area, allowing smaller brewers such as Pabst Brewing, Stroh Brewery and McKenzie River to control the market. These brewers have been criticized for targeting minority and low-income consumers, but they claim they serve an already existing market. Chuck D of the rap group Public Enemy is suing McKenzie River Corp. for use of his music in advertisements for St. Ides Malt Liquor. In addition, Chuck D has repeatedly criticized liquor companies for targeting African-American youth. A new study, done by Theodore Cicero and colleagues at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis, has found that alcohol can reduce a man's shot at fatherhood. They began the study with knowledge that women who drink during pregnancy can pass birth defects on to their offspring and wondered if a father's drinking could pass deficits along through the sperm. In parallel studies done on two groups of male rats, one of which was injected with enough alcohol to be the equivalent of a 2.0 blood alcohol level (2 1/2 times the legal level for intoxication in California), the study found that the group which had been drunk showed a 50% decline in conception rates 24 hours after injection compared to the unaffected group. In addition, the condition of low birthweight, a deficit which plagues babies born to women who consume alcohol, was more prevalent in the male alcohol group. The World Health Organization's 1991 Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) campaign in the West African nation of Cameroon came under criticism by groups who suspected that the vaccination campaign was unusual in that it targeted only females of childbearing age for immunisation against tetanus, despite their low risk for the illness compared to farmers who were not vaccinated. A group called The World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Human Life claimed that they "found a sterilising agent in the vaccine" and acknowledged "a rumour that a local brewery had put sterilising chemicals in one of its popular beers, the target this time being the male population -- a complete conspiracy." On August 18, 1985, a speech made by South African President P.W. Botha to his cabinet appeared in the Sunday Times, a South African newspaper, in an article written by David G. Millu. Among literally dozens of shocking, racist and genocidal proposals made by the apartheid leader was the following: "The food supply channel should be used. We have developed excellent slow-killing poisons and fertility destroyers. Our only fear is in case such stuff came into their [the Blacks] hands as they are bound to start using it against us if you care to think of the many Blacks working for us in our domestic quarters...My scientists have come up with a drug that could be smuggled into their brews to effect slow poisoning results and fertility destruction. Working through drinks and manufacturing of soft drinks geared to the Blacks could promote the channels of reducing their population." Beer manufactures have long resisted disclosing the ingredients of their products including alcohol content. The federal government doesn't want you to know, citing a concern about a "strength war" theory. Alcohol is a factor in about 105,000 deaths each year with beer accounting for 54% of alcohol consumed in 1990. While regular beers average 4.6% alcohol content, malt liquors have much higher concentrations of alcohol, averaging 6.6%. Examples of products which are higher than that average are: EKU 28 --10.9%, St. Ides --8.0%, Elephant --7.4%, and Schlitz Red Bull -- 6.9%. Popular among Blacks, Old English 800 has an alcoholic content of 6%. In addition to higher-than-average alcoholic content, the 40 oz. is 3.33 times the volume of a regular beer, providing an average of 4.78 times the alcoholic kick-per-bottle than regular beer. The even-newer 64 oz. is 5.33 times larger than a regular 12 oz. beer providing a ratio of alcohol-per-bottle of 7.65-to-1 over regular beer. Anyone with a vague familiarity with the Conscious Rasta Perspective knows that I am convinced that there is reason to be pessimistic about the continuing relationship between oppressed groups within America and the government-corporate-media milieu. Based upon the research that I have done, this 'Attack of the Killer 40' is part of an overall scheme to control segments of the American population that might have reason to undermine the current power status. I don't say that only Blacks, Latinos or Native Americans have grievances against their treatment by government institutions. Most working people are oppressed by the dominant leadership. A portion of this oppression comes from non-white men and women in positions of leadership. Most people work for corporations which deliberately exploit the masses, producing junk food, petrochemicals, the media, defense industry, pharmaceuticals and industrial polluters. To preserve our communities' reproductive capabilities over the next century, we are going to have to arm ourselves with much more sophisticated analysis. To succumb to a cheap sucker-punch like a 40 oz. beer doesn't show much common survival sense. We know that we won't be able to convince everyone to do what is right to protect themselves. Perhaps we can influence certain leaders and community activists to strive to do the right thing.  |