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~ CPNet.com - Tupac Shakur Page t of 2 To Front Page - College Press Network Shakur a victim of his message Rapper cannot escape world he idealized Tupac Shakur: One of the leading figures of gangsta rap. 1993 file photo. By ARMANDO BONICHE, CPNet Opinion Editor Last Friday, dozens of Tupac Shakur fans gathered outside University Medical Center in Las Vegas to mourn the death of their slain idol. Mortally wounded during a drive-by shooting near the Vegas strip, Shakur finally met the end he so vehemently invoked in many of his songs. But in this time of grief and mourning, what was the real impact of his message? {In a society where racial equality has yet to be reached, Shakur simply polarized the opposing sides with his message of hate and intolerance. Instead of using his talents to bring the races together, he did everything imaginable, whether intentional or not, to make peaceful co-existence impossible. Living in a country where homicide rates are the highest in the world, Shakur blindly promoted the indiscriminate use of guns and violence to make amends. Shakur even became a victim of his own message when he was shot five times during a 1994 robbery atten»t. Although Shakur tried to convey a positive image of women and fatherhood in some of his early songs, whatever credibility he possessed quickly deteriorated when in 1995 he was arrested and sentenced to jail for sexually attacking a 21-year-old woman. Shakur's detrimental message fueled the fires of political conservatives who called for such extremes as censorship and nation-wide imposition of what they considered to be "true” family values. Even in pronouncing his own First Amendment rights, Shakur managed to attract negative publicity to this most intrinsic right guaranteed to all Americans. Last Sunday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was quoted in a Los Angeles newspaper as Oct 18 1996 ALL INFORMATION CONTADVED 08:51 AM REREIN POLASSIPT BATEIOUN IS “eyed peLua| Bee | PK MivAlabba. ANG Iu 4