While the fakes from Jersey Shore (who weren't even real Italians or from New Jersey) pretended to show off the real Jersey to the rest of the world, individuals like Prince the Pimp were enjoying the gruesome reality of New York's little cousin. Though American politicians like to claim that Russia is a "mafia state," no other state fits that same description better than New Jersey. It's a state where the Governor's best known attributes are: obesity, vindictiveness, and shouting ability; the same attributes you'd expect from Al Capone.
Governor Chris Christie owes his stellar rise to the attacks of September the 11th. He was conveniently appointed by Bush to be New Jersey's top prosecutor the day before the attacks, and from then on his office played a prominent role in the early hysteria of the War on Terror: letters containing anthrax were mailed from a New Jersey post office. Sadly, the main suspect committed suicide, so we may never truly know what the deal with that whole thing was.
In the midst of all that political intrigue, Prince the Pimp labored away, providing a service that many of New Jersey's politicians crudely required. However, Prince wasn't a politically-connected man. His services were largely made available to the residents of his working-class neighborhood. For his dedication to his community, Prince was sentenced to 18 years in prison. A sentence that would turn into a life-sentence -- he died in prison shortly after beginning his stint.
Though the Mafia State accused him of using violence to seduce his victims into prostitution, Prince denied those allegation, and promised to become a preacher upon his release. He would have been in his 60s had he not died in prison, and could have become a rather well-known preacher over the course of many years, proving his reformation.
Prince became internet famous after pictures of his hairdo made rounds on the internet. Though it may seem reckless to celebrate a man who dedicated his life to selling and manipulating women of African descent, it is important to understand how the man was able to operate. Prince lured women by using promises of a better life, and his gold chains and fancy cars were as important a part of that illusion as was his hair.
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Growing up in the South Bronx, I frequently noticed how hair held a certain power over my classmates of African-American descent. Curly hair was referred to as "bad" hair, and straight-hair was seen as "good" hair. Words like "poor" often preceded "nappy" when my classmates exchanged insults. One scene which will never escape my memory: a dark girl with bleached blonde streaks, combing away for the duration of the whole class, only to turn around and insult a girl with natural hair.
Our culture sells the illusion that wealth should involve a certain hairstyle, that natural black hair is to be frowned upon and seen as a symbol of poverty. Prince was successful because he not only understood the power of hair, he utilized it masterfully. If he gave any of the women that he managed to grab in his claws a gift, it was surely a weave -- the price of some can be in the thousands of dollars -- making for a cheap lure into sexual slavery. Some of Prince's victims were as young as 17, and many of them came from abusive backgrounds.
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Children raised by narcissistic parents are often abused not just physically, but also verbally. I've seen parents insult their own children's noses, hair, lips, and skin color. These children are left with a racial complex that individuals like Prince can easily exploit.
Though I've heard individuals of European descent in the United States argue that slavery has long since been over, that African Americans are no longer in need of programs which help them -- promoting "reverse racism" -- TV shows like Jersey Shore prove that the preconceptions of many Americans are still a force in play. Segregation and the idea of a racial underclass are still vivid memories in the minds of many older Americans, and TV shows that perpetuate the idea of a racial group congregating for a single, stereotypical activity only empower individuals like Prince. Since it's normal and fun for a group of people to just hang out while selling sex to the camera, Prince only had to take the TV show to the next level.
Though no longer legal in the public sphere, segregation is still very much a reality in many aspects of American life. Where a dark-skinned woman with curly hair could not easily be accepted, an African-American woman with straight hair, brown eyes and light skin could possibly be introduced. If Prince sold anything besides women, he sold the same ideal that Hollywood, MTV, and Beyoncé are selling.
If Prince had a camera, he could have had a show more successful than Jersey Shore, and his crimes/art would have been forgiven by corporate apologists in suits and ties, the same type who defend Chris Christie. In another reality, Prince could have been New Jersey's governor. He had all the qualities that a politician needs: the ability to seduce and charm a naive public, especially those just about to come of voting age; business acumen; a natural ability to attract the media; and a take-initiative persona.
And as long as corporate rap on BET and corporate segregation on MTV continue to form a main part of a typical American's TV-watching hours, individuals like Prince the Pimp will be able to survive, and as long as Fox News continues to defend individuals like Chris Christie under the guise that his "masculinity and muscles" are the reason why he is targeted, individuals like Prince the Pimp will flourish.
