The Three Six Mafia certainly caused a stir by winning Best Song at this year’s Academy Awards.

Pundits from coast to coast decry the win as rewarding a “coon show” and as yet one more example of how “the man” thrills in bestowing accolades to Blacks for portraying seedy characters.

These same pundits, scholars, etc., most of whom don’t actually do what they critique made less than a whimper however, when MTV dropped “Pimp My Ride” into homes across the globe. Why? Because America co-signed pimp culture long before Three Six recorded their little ditty on the woes of pimpdom.

“Pimping” in American business means dominating or somehow taking advantage of your competition or market, and this ability to dominate translates into “cool” – the very basis of pop iconography. And as evidenced by the MTV show, it also means embellishing your possessions in the gaudiest manner possible. The idea of “pimping” is so ingrained in American culture that even some Black thinkers urge Blacks to co-opt the pimp concept in order to bring financial gains into the Black community.

Ho-ing on the other hand, does not hold the same esteem in American pop culture, as evidenced by the lack of shows with “ho” in the title or phrases with the word “ho”. Imagine: MTV now presents “Ho My Ride!” or someone at a car lot admiring a vehicle saying “That’s Ho! I’ll take it!”

But as the philosopher KRS-One once said, “ask yourself…why is that?”

The reason this contradiction exists between America’s love for pimps and hate for “hos” is simple: in America, the power dynamic pivots on a penis — usually a White one.

Historically, White men were the “makers” of America. They made the rules, they made the money, and they made the educational system — an institution that, instead of empowering children to build and sustain wealth, was specifically made to keep the working class — the “hos” –in check. White men historically and currently own most of America’s highest earning corporations.

In addition, they were in charge of, literally who was doing who. While Black men could be hanged for even looking at a White woman the wrong way – or because she said he looked at her the wrong way – White men could have, even by force, any Black woman they wanted. Some might argue that “pimping” is the Black man’s way of controlling the women who were so long controlled by others. But that’s only if you assume “pimps” are Black men.

The devil’s greatest trick was making the world think he did not exist, and White owned monopolies like Duke Power and Microsoft are bigger pimps than Don Magic Juan and Mr. White Folks put together. Now if you know the pimp motto, you know they don’t love “hos”, which is why millions of working class people get tricked out over a lifetime of cable and phone bills and predatory lending practices.

But in American pop culture, who is usually portrayed as the face of the pimp and the ho? The Black man and the Black woman, even though everybody knows it don’t get no wilder than a white woman.

Black culture is the rug White idiosyncrasies get swept under. It is this same manner that the public face of the “thug” is Black while the real G’s are on Capital Hill. The very fact that pimping – Black slavery’s next of kin — has been allowed to exist in this country screams volumes to the ill sexual and emotional health of the larger culture.

But in all this punditry over Black imagery, by critics of all ethnic backgrounds, little talk is aimed towards helping to ease the financial and emotional distress that leads women to become “hos” and often, captives of their pimp. Even less talk is given to healing the mindset of men who become, or desire to become pimps. And you can hear a pin drop when it comes to the national outcry for the legalization of prostitution. Why? Because then there would be no need for pimps, and it ain’t no fun if “the man” can’t have none.

Pimping is as pimping does, and will do until the hos revolt. To that end, perhaps a grassroots by effort by Blacks to co-opt the “pimp” concept can reverse some of the negative trends within the Black community, and certainly the idea of pimping the system for the greater good is not new to fans of the rap group Dead Prez. In this Pimps Up, Hos Down meets the Black Panthers remix we – the hos, devise a kick-ass plan to stack bank, pool our resources into community centered ventures, elect Black elders to office because we actually trust that they won’t get “funny” after they’re elected, reserve funds to ensure that Black youth have access to “Blackcentric” education, and then some. This could work, though Blacks would have to do two minor, yet fundamentally important things first: one, actually think of “us” as a community, and two, get tired of grabbing ankles.