"Repressed memories also come to light on"Stained Glass Ceilings," which features a blistering cameo from Butler and chronicles two major events in Campbell's life: the murder of a student from the after-school program where he volunteers between tours and the police response to Campbell being robbed at gunpoint years ago in South Philadelphia.
'When he got there, this cop told me that I should buy a gun,' [Campbell] says of the latter incident. 'I was kind of taken aback that that was his solution-that somehow I would be content taking the lives of two teenage boys over a cell phone and the absurdity of that--how little he seemed to value the lives of the people who robbed me. His solution was more violence and more death. He had no interest in education or looking at the system that would cause someone to rob, to feel like they needed to rob. He had no interest in the disease that was causing the symptoms, only what he could see and dismiss without having to face the hard truth: These people are robbing you. They are evil. You can shoot them. That's not the truth. There's a very serious system in place that's causing these kids to feel like their recourse in life is to take my cell phone. It's painting people with broad strokes. He's ignoring their struggle; he's ignoring their humanity. he's willing to kill over petty theft.
'There's this bullshit idea of "bootstrapping," that no matter where you came from, pull yourself up by your bootstraps," he continues. 'It's this lie we've been fed that everyone stands on equal ground to succeed if they put the work in. You're born on a level playing field. There are so many people who believe that if you aren't successful, then it's your fault--only your fault--because you didn't put the fucking work in. It's a patent denial of privilege. The song isn't about the KKK or a neo-Nazi group; that's not what this idea is. It's about a flawed education system. It's about a flawed judicial system. It's about neighborhood redlining. It's about poverty tax. It's about the war on drugs. It's about the school-to-prison pipeline.
...
'You can work as hard as you possibly can and still struggle--and maybe still end up dead. And that's not a reflection of character or work ethic; it's a reflection of a flawed system.' "
AP magazine, September 2015 (magazine #326):
"Repressed memories also come to light on"Stained Glass Ceilings," which features a blistering cameo from Butler and chronicles two major events in Campbell's life: the murder of a student from the after-school program where he volunteers between tours and the police response to Campbell being robbed at gunpoint years ago in South Philadelphia.
'When he got there, this cop told me that I should buy a gun,' [Campbell] says of the latter incident. 'I was kind of taken aback that that was his solution-that somehow I would be content taking the lives of two teenage boys over a cell phone and the absurdity of that--how little he seemed to value the lives of the people who robbed me. His solution was more violence and more death. He had no interest in education or looking at the system that would cause someone to rob, to feel like they needed to rob. He had no interest in the disease that was causing the symptoms, only what he could see and dismiss without having to face the hard truth: These people are robbing you. They are evil. You can shoot them. That's not the truth. There's a very serious system in place that's causing these kids to feel like their recourse in life is to take my cell phone. It's painting people with broad strokes. He's ignoring their struggle; he's ignoring their humanity. he's willing to kill over petty theft.
'There's this bullshit idea of "bootstrapping," that no matter where you came from, pull yourself up by your bootstraps," he continues. 'It's this lie we've been fed that everyone stands on equal ground to succeed if they put the work in. You're born on a level playing field. There are so many people who believe that if you aren't successful, then it's your fault--only your fault--because you didn't put the fucking work in. It's a patent denial of privilege. The song isn't about the KKK or a neo-Nazi group; that's not what this idea is. It's about a flawed education system. It's about a flawed judicial system. It's about neighborhood redlining. It's about poverty tax. It's about the war on drugs. It's about the school-to-prison pipeline. ... 'You can work as hard as you possibly can and still struggle--and maybe still end up dead. And that's not a reflection of character or work ethic; it's a reflection of a flawed system.' "