I think Tyrone?s situation was a little different. I would consider it a sub-category of materialism, the means of obtainment. His idea of ?securing the bag? by any means necessary is troubling. Seeing him posted up with his designer clothes, bags, etc reinforced this ?flex culture? or idea in some black people that they need to uphold a certain image, look like money, keep up with the joneses. When it was alleged that he was paying for these luxury items with aid for other students, he was doomed. Proof wasn?t needed. I do believe some blacks don?t like to see other blacks do better than them, especially if they consider the methods illegitimate, which somewhat underlined that crabs in a barrel mentality. Unfortunately, the speech for that teachable moment on materialism fell on deaf ears once people saw him as the keynote speaker of scamming.
