Uncle Sam's rolling on dubs

The U.S. Army is rolling through the 'hood, offering candy-coated dreams of ice cream and secret fun like a dirty old man in a wood-paneled station wagon. \n"Just hop in," he says to you and your comrades.\nBut just before a less-thoughtful buddy grabs Mr. Trench Coat's door handle, you flee the scene because you know there's nothing more suspicious than a "generous" old white guy cruising the 'hood (or the barrio, for that matter).\nMy trust for the government is minimal. And the U.S. Army's "Take it to the Streets" campaign makes me even more suspicious.\nAnytime Uncle Sam's recruiters roll through BET's spring break soiree, Spring Bling, in a yellow Hummer, pumping Nelly, passing out trucker hats and throwback jerseys, something's amiss.\nDon't be fooled. The wristbands and headbands aren't attempts at supplementing a brotha's accessories game.\nThe Army's looking for a few good men … and women -- blacks and Latinos, to be exact.\nAnd in its search for the hip-hop generation's finest, it's linked up with Source magazine.\n"The magazine of hip-hop, culture & politics" ranks number one among music magazines, which means those guys know how to work the hip-hop crowd. So they're offering Uncle Sam ad space in addition to marketing expertise. In return, the Army's custom Hummers sport Source logos -- an advertisement for the magazine and an enticement for young folks.\n"Our research tells us that hip-hop and urban culture is a powerful influence in the lives of young Americans," said the campaign's director Colonel Thomas Nickerson in a www.salon.com article.\n"I want them to say, 'Hey, the Army was here -- the Army is cool!'" \nBut how cool is the Army?\nThe military's been attracting new recruits with promises of tuition assistance and post-service job placement for years.\nBut money doesn't grow on trees, and college scholarships don't grow out of combat boots. \nYou might remember Iraqi prisoner of war Shoshana Johnson. Remember? CNN ran her name across the bottom of the screen during Jessica Lynch packages.\nHomegirl enlisted in hopes of becoming a chef -- another sista trying to do better for herself and her child.\nSo on one hand, she's an example of how the military's helped minorities help themselves.\nBut let's not forget that circumstances overseas forced Johnson to set aside the apron and help fend off enemies. \nShe ended up with gunshot wounds to both ankles and served a stint in a Baghdad prison. And unlike her equally courageous comrade, she never saw a book deal or a made-for-TV movie -- not even 100 percent disability benefits!\nPoor, rural whites are more likely to die on the front lines of America's wars, according to www.usatoday.com, but the possibility of fatality during wartime is very real for all involved.\nSomehow, though, I bet free-throw contests and rock-climbing competitions leave recruiters with little time to discuss such realities.\nBlacks comprise 20 percent of the military and only represent 12 percent of the overall population. So while it's nice to see blacks are statistically overrepresented in something other than the year's number of incarcerations, a deeper issue shines through.\nI have the feeling that economic desperation, which disproportionately affects many young black and Latino folks, leads them to enlist. \nAnd Uncle Sam's well aware.\nThat's why we'll never see recruiters in Hummers rolling through the gated communities of America pumping Dave Matthews Band out the back.\nDon't get me wrong, serving and protecting the country is a noble endeavor. But when institutionalized racism denies minority recruits the very freedoms they fight for, there's a problem. \nAnd when young people are forced to choose the possibility of death overseas in response to fear of death at home, I have to ask Uncle Sam: \n"Where's the alternative"