11-Year-Old Christian Rapper Is Proof Of What Real Indoctrination Looks Like
Isn't this exactly what people like Tyson James argue that LGBTQ+ groups are doing?
urbazon, pixelshot, Josh Sorenson / Canva A Christian rapper named Tyson James claims to be the “most banned rapper to ever live” — and it isn’t very hard to figure out why.
The father of five claims to be a man of God, but regularly raps about how much he hates LGBTQ+ people. More recently, he’s found himself in hot water for enlisting his 11-year-old son, Toby James, to record rap verses in which he also spreads his father’s hateful beliefs.
The 11-year-old Christian rapper is proof of what indoctrination really looks like.
“If you are a Suzie, you can’t be a Scott,” Toby raps near the start of his verse on a song dubbed “Still 2 Genders.” “I know it’s a doozy, can’t be what you’re not / Ain’t getting to heaven with nail paint / It’s going to be hot where you’re going, that’s Hell gate.”
If his father’s verses are anything like his, then it’s no surprise that Tyson is on his third TikTok account after his first two got banned. In fact, while writing this article, his third TikTok account was banned. Unfortunately for the people of Instagram, his account is still active there.
This is hate speech, according to the dictionary definition, which defines it as “speech, writing, or nonverbal communication that attacks, threatens, or insults a person or group on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.”
Not only is it hate speech, but it’s also a perfect example of the same argument that is used to remove LGBTQ+ friendly books from schools, attack trans people, or spread hateful beliefs anywhere to anyone who will listen — it’s indoctrination.
As Toby and many people in the comments pointed out, the 11-year-old is homeschooled. This made everything clearer for the people who were wondering where this kind of behavior came from. Hate is learned, and he learned it from his father.
By forcing his own beliefs and ideas onto his son, he has essentially indoctrinated him to hate LGBTQ+ people.
The same argument people use — saying that trans or gay people are indoctrinating kids to be trans or gay — comes from them wanting to indoctrinate their own kids.
“Isn’t this a perfect example of grooming kids into an ideology?” one man wrote in reply to a video of Toby’s verse. Tyson’s response was, “It’s a perfect example of brainwashing kids with [the] truth.”
Not only is Tyson James causing real harm to a developing child's brain, but he's now put his 11-year-old son's digital footprint in a precarious situation.
It’s also important to note that LGBTQ+ people are not indoctrinating anyone. They’re not grooming anyone. They’re not trying to make people gay or trans. They're simply trying to exist.
Teaching kids about LGBTQ+ people is just teaching them about the diversity that comes in the form of gender identity and sexual orientation. They’re thoughts and feelings that they may or may not experience, and creating a loving and supportive community around them will help them immensely when it comes to understanding themselves and others.
Not all Christians share the same hatred as Tyson James tries to preach.
It’s equally important to note that most Christians are actually not on Tyson’s side. Tyson, and people who agree with him, are attempting to use their religion as an excuse to hate instead of just admitting that they are hateful, prejudiced people.
A man named Darren Hulbert, a self-proclaimed follower of Christ, offered the comment, “Hmm not sure this is very Christ-like.” Tyson responded by claiming that this was in the Bible, but upon Hulbert’s challenge to show him the verse, he vanished from the comment thread.
“Wow. This is literally the complete opposite of what Jesus taught. But we'll see if that kind of hate finds you salvation I guess,” someone else wrote. A third called it for what it is, saying, “This is using religion as a cover to promote discrimination.”
Religion and organized religion are not inherently bad practices or institutions. The concept, as a whole, is not a negative one, nor is it harmful to anyone. However, it can become a problem when people attempt to use it to spread hatred and harm to others — effectively the complete opposite of what the Bible teaches!
This creates an even bigger divide between religious and non-religious people. Non-religious people might see religious extremists like Tyson and think all Christians are Bible-clutching fanatics who hate anyone who isn’t a cishet white person, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
People like Tyson are in an extremely loud minority, and it’s a symptom of ignorance that allows them to be completely confident in their hypocrisy.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.