I think the first stanza in the song " Gangsta's Paradise " means that he has nothing to live for. To demonstrate this he says that even his mother thinks he has gone crazy. He also says that little(or younger kids) want to be like him but he says you better watch what your doing and saying or you will end up dead. Coolio says he prays every night in the streets, I think he does this because he wants to be forgiven and he wants to make his life right because right now he doesn't know how long he has. I think what Coolio means in the chorus is that many people spend there lives in a gangsta's paradise which I think means that there is fights, shootings, and competition. I think that second stanza means he was raised in a part of town where being a gangsta is all there is to be when he grows up, or at least that's what most think there. He says he is apart of a gang and he is chasing dreams he believes will never be possible. Coolio says he is educated, but all he is focused on it money and he is a real gangsta. He doesn't know how long he has go til death but he thinks it isn't to far away. I think the third stanza means that all he or other gangstas care about is the power and money. Coolio says everyone is running, I think this means people or gangstas are running from the law but most of them are not doing it smartly. He doesn't know what is going on or what will come out of this, and he says this is why my life is out of luck.
Can a person live a non-violent lifestyle in a violent environment ?
I think a person could live a non-violent life style in a violent environment, but it would be very difficult. I think most people would just follow the crowd and become a violent person, but there would be few who did not. One example of this is the Palestine Israel Iraq War that took place from 2003 to 2005. Streets were flooded with people and military vehicles and many people were trying to get on top of the vehicle and the military people had to pry and kick people to keep them from getting on the vehicle. Many people were throwing grenades/bombs at other people, military, buildings, and over fences. If a military vehicles drove by there would most likely be people throwing rocks or anything in reach at the vehicle. Military people had to stand guard and keep people from entering areas. Some people harasses the military people by hitting and kicking them. The military people were, most of the time, armed and would shoot in the air and have to fight off certain people. The military had to bring in tanks to help keep people away and defend themselves from the Iraq soldiers. Many people were injured or killed and there were pools of blood on some areas of the streets (Palestine, Israeli, Iraq War ). People in these areas with these types of things going on must feel like everyday they wake up might be there last. How could you wake up or go to sleep not knowing if you would wake up or have another day to live ? Living in this type of fear would be a horrible feeling. You would literally feel scared to death. I think a lot of people could not live through this, they might commit suicide. I think most people, if not all, would not be able to live a non violent life style in a violent area such as the Palestine/ Israeli/ Iraq War areas. An idea of a non-violent approach by Aung San Suu Kyi may just be the answer. She says that if you have one person and you don't give them a gun to resolve a problem, one must depend on intellectual considerations like using compassion and intelligence to resolve the problem. She thinks, which I agree with, that it will help society better if someone has to use their mind to work out a problem rather then making someone or something give you what you want by just showing or putting a gun up to someone (Aung San Suu Kyi: video 2). So with much effort I think some people could live a non-violent lifestyle in a violent environment.
