Let's give David Duke a rest for a moment and consider the ravings of another prominent bigot. I'm not sure what his real name is but he is known to his many fans as Ice Cube. Mr. Cube is described by his publicists as a "rap artist." His publicists also say that Mr. Ice Cube likes to use his music, if it can be called that, to make social statements. One of his recent social statements has to do with the strained relationship that exists between black customers and Korean merchants in Los Angeles. Many blacks believe, as Mr. Cube says, that the Korean merchants "disrespect" them. He says that the Korean shopkeepers seem to believe that every black who walks in the door is a potential thief. The problem has flared up in other multiracial cities, so in one of his recent recordings, Mr. Cube has made a social statement. The song includes this thought: "So don't follow me up and down your market "Or your little chop suey ass'll be a target . . . "So pay some respect to the black fist "Or we'll burn your store right down to a crisp . . ." It's no surprise that Koreans were surprised, frightened and upset by what they took to be a rallying cry for blacks to engage in arson against their property. Mr. Cube's publicist says that the Koreans have misunderstood the intent of the song. Mr. Cube wasn't really urging blacks to burn stores. He just wanted to make the Koreans aware of the frustration and resentment many blacks feel at social and economic injustice. Well, that is a worthy goal, I suppose, but if I were a Korean, I would tell Mr. Cube to stop the con job about social and economic injustice; that he is a front-line bigot and is no better than David Duke. If blacks don't like the idea of buying groceries, liquor and other products from Koreans, the solution seems simple enough. Open your own stores and sell the stuff yourself. Yes, it takes a certain amount of capital to open any business, even a small store. But the Koreans manage to raise the start-up money, despite being a minority and, in many cases, having the added handicap of not speaking much English. Mr. Cube, for example, is a wealthy young man. His rap records are big sellers. So why can't Mr. Cube finance some ambitious blacks who want to open stores? In fact, if all of the disgruntled rap artists who make social statements would throw some money into a pot, a considerable number of blacks could open their own small businesses. That's how the Koreans do it. Those who are successful create a pool of money and finance those who want to get started. Mr. Cube might also give some thought as to why Korean merchants might be wary of their black customers. If he wants to check police statistics in Chicago, New York and L.A., he would find that it isn't unusual for Korean merchants, as well as those of other backgrounds, to find themselves looking into the barrel of a pistol held by a young black man. This wasn't Mr. Cube's only social statement about other groups. It seems that he had a spat with his agent over the profit from recordings. Normally, these show biz differences are handled in lawsuits. But Mr. Cube used his artistic form to air his grievance. It included this lyric: "Get rid that devil, real simple, "Put a bullet in his temple. "Cause you can't get a nigga for life crew "With a white Jew telling you what to do." When he was asked why he thought it necessary to mention that his former agent was a Jew, Mr. Cube said it had nothing to do with bigotry: Jew rhymed with crew, so he was just being a poet. Mr. Crew has inspired me to my first effort at rap. You provide the mindless thump-thump background music, and I'll handle the words. "Hey, Mr. Cube, you don't like the Jew? "Say he should be shot for cheatin' you? "And you got a grudge 'gainst them Koreans? "Say they should burn for treating you like peons? "Different reasons and different strokes, "But you and David Duke hate the same kind of folks. "You're just another bigot, guilty as sin, "You and David Duke, brothers under the skin." Chicago Tribune