So far I’ve managed to avoid the ridiculous public beef between Ice T‘s grown ass vs. Soulja Boy‘s silly ass – I think both parties are wrong, but especially the OG Ice T. A grown man of 50 arguing with a young silly boy is never a good look.

But something happened this weekend to make me focus on the subject of their public feuding.

I’m in Ice T’s age bracket. I grew up listening to Ice T’s music (if that’s what you want to call it) His music was garbage back then just as Soulja Boy’s music is garbage now. It isn’t about music as much as it is about a lack of respect. R-e-s-p-e-c-t is not in anyone’s vocabulary these days. Respect is a lost art along with pride, creativity and tradition in our community. Hip Hop killed all that.

This past Saturday (6/21) I walked into the Athlete’s Foot on Lee Street (in the West End) looking for a pair of black slides. The young girl who waited on me couldn’t have been older than 21. She was dark skinned. She stood about 5 feet tall and wore her hair ghetto-pocahantas style with two braids extending back attached to long extensions (I’m describing her for a reason).

Her body language and lackadaisical attitude indicated that she didn’t want to be there that day. She was not helpful at all. She wasn’t familiar with the store’s inventory: when I asked her if she had any other style of slides in the store, her answer was no. But when I pointed out the other styles of slides on a display right next to her, she just stood there like a stone statue.

So I tried on a pair of the display slides that she said didn’t exist. When I slid my foot out of the slide and turned to walk away, the stone statue suddenly came to life. In a high-pitched condescending voice, she said, “SO YOU GONNA MAKE ME BEND DOWN AND PICK THAT UP OFF THE FLOOR?”

My initial shocked reaction was to laugh out loud. Then anger quickly replaced my shock and I said, “ISN’T THAT YOUR JOB? You want ME to pick that up and hand it to YOU?!” Realizing she was standing in the path of an approaching storm, she ducked down and in one smooth motion, snatched up the shoe and turned to run. I yelled after her, “You better hope you live to be my age with that attitude!”

The other customers stood in stunned silence.

Granted, I was wrong to scream on the little girl, but is that how the Athlete’s Foot on Lee Street in the West End train their sales staff to disrespect their older customers?

So on the subject of who’s right or who’s wrong, I can’t side with either Ice T or Soulja Boy. Our community as a whole is totally f*cked up. We all need to show a little more respect towards each other before Aretha Franklin is gone and it’s too late.

Oh, I ended getting my Adidas slides at the Foot Locker in the West End Mall where I’m always treated with courtesy and respect.