There's a mentality that I call "The Ghetto Philosophy" which contends that if you're "disrespected" and you don't respond to this disrespect, you're a punk and people will take this disrespect farther and farther each time until they have every bit of commissary and every stamp you have. And nobody wants to be a punk. Like many things ghetto, it goes back to prison, which is a powerful generator of ghetto mores and values. In prison, you can't let anyone make you a punk. And as they say in the ghetto: "If you're a punk on the street, you're a punk in the joint."

You can see how well this works out for people who live in the ghetto. Look at someone the wrong way: Shot. Call someone out their name: Shot. Let someone's dog poo on your driveway: Punk. Throw the poo into their car: Shot. Look at the town clock across the street when someone's woman is between you and the clock: Shot.

You can see why it doesn't pay to have the ghetto philosophy. If you live in the ghetto, move. If your neighbors just act like they're in the ghetto. Smile, Wave, Forget. SWF. It really doesn't make you a punk. Unless you're a punk. Then at least you'll be a punk who isn't shot.