Once upon a time a man by the name of James St Patrick had a son and that son’s name was trouble. Just kidding, his name was Tariq and he was, and still is, bad news.
We can forgive Tommy, Ghost, Tasha, Kanan and everyone else who is into that life because they are products of their enviroments — a mould Ghost and Tasha tried so hard to break with their children.
That obviously didn’t work or we wouldn’t be here because in spite of his sheltered upbringing, Tariq has managed to, against all odds, keep that vicious cycle going and build a nasty reputation for himself in the process. Here are the 19 instances his actions made us question if he was really a St Patrick!
Not Being Smart
We’ll start with the most obvious example: Tariq is dumb! which is like the opposite of what his parents are. Sure, we can blame it on youthful exuberance but that’ll be a lie because he had a twin sister and she was the sweetest, kindest person on that show. Whichever way this story is spun, it’s quite clear Tariq’s intellect just doesn’t cut it.
Falling In With Kanan
We all know how deep Kanan’s grudge against Ghost went and we can forgive tariq for not knowing kanan’s true identity at the time. But then everything came out into the open and you’d think this kid would make the most basic of logical decisions and stay the hell away from kanan, alas, we all know how that ended — in a messed up Father/Son relationship with his real father’s mortal enemy.
Became A Bully
We know the St Patricks have had a rough go at it domestically since this show began but there are better ways to achieve catharsis without bruising up your sister’s arm or breaking anyone’s face in with your fist. Also, Legend has it that there is a section in hell reserved for bullies, corrupt politicians, and people who pour their milk in the bowl before the cereal; so we’ll be sparing a few thoughts for Tariq when the time comes.
Covered For Dre
No one likes Dre. That much is known. He’s a weakling and a backstabbing ingrate who, though under hreat, refused to clue ghost in on the identity of the new gangbanger his son was running around with. That didn’t matter because as soon as Tariq was asked by a pissed off Ghost if Dre knew about Kanan, He covered for him without missing a beat. Now, at this point Tariq was only midway through his evolution into a full — blown pathological liar but as chaotic as the street life seems on Power, there are rules to this game and Tariq flunked the simplest of them all — Don’t trust liars.
Stealing Angela’s Gun
Being made to hang out with your dad’s mistress was always going to be rough, but it doesn’t say anywhere that you had to steal her gun and take it with you to school for absolutely no reason. Tariq can thank his stars that his dad’s mistress was, well, his dad’s mistress because she also happens to be a federal agent. if he had been turned in to the authorities Tariq’s lifelong dream of filling out his rap sheet as early as he could would’ve come to pass a lot sooner.
Being Rude To Everyone
Explicit instructions to not call his father by his street name fell on deaf ears, as usual. That is just one instance in a series of events that included him basically calling Angela a slut and grabbing his mom’s arm when she tried to smack him in the face. That is tantamount to sacrilege because when your mom tries to smack you for being naughty, you let her.
Robbed His Friends
For someone who has lived such a privileged life there seems to be a lot of stealing happening when he’s involved. It probably doesn’t help that he was running around with grown ass men who were enabling his destructive behavior but is that really reason enough for all this? We think not.
Caused Raina’s Death
Oh! Raina. Sweet Raina. The most innocent bundle of gentleness any parent could ask for. Sadly, you came to this world saddled with possibly the heaviest burden in the history of heavy burdens, maybe ever — Being Tariq’s twin sister. Don’t get it twisted: Ray Ray may have been the one who pulled the trigger but it was all Tariq’s doing, he might as well had shot her himself. What Tariq did was a crime against humanity and as far as we’re concerned, unforgivable.
Being A Coward
Like chummying up to his sister’s eventual killer wasn’t bad enough, this boy hid behind a wall and watched the person he shared a womb with being murdered in cold blood. When you decide to lead that street life, you better be prepared to die for what’s yours- another unwritten rule Tariq didn’t care about. He simply wants to get in the game, consequences be damned.
Lied To The cops
Quick question of the abstract nature: what do you do when you have the blood of your sibling splattered all over your concience? Co-operate fully with the authorities and get justice you say? WRONG! You lie to the cops, that’s what. Riq was already building up quite the rap sheet at this point like some kind of mini gangsta, running around robbing stores of expensive Jordans and whatnot. Shoes his parents could easily afford no less. Lying to the cops, to him, was just another step on his way to the top of the bratty teenagers’ foodchain.
Lied To His parents
Now, we can find a tiny corner in our otherwise gigantic hearts to forgive Tariq’s newly found “Fuck the Po – Po” philosophy. But these were his parents asking if he saw anything, Parents he knew quite well would be his best shot at getting the swift, brutal street justice he was supposedly hankering for. But what does Tariq do? He comes clean to his parents about everything? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Tariq did what Tariq does best- being stupid. Again.
Stealing Tasha’s Gun
Seriously! when you take a closer look at Tariq’s actions, it’ll begin to look like he is actively trying to get his parents thrown in jail. When trying to murder somebody, get a piece that can’t be traced back to our mother. That is like the first thing they teach you in homicide school. Everyone knows this, right?
Made His Parents Accomplices To Murder
We’ve estabblished that ‘Riq does not think things through. it truly is a shame that Ghost and Tasha’s street smarts wasn’t genteic because their kid could really do with a helping hand. Rolling up on Ray Ray like that with no concrete plan was suicidal. He’s lucky his parents also pulled up in that same location to help him clean up his mess.
Talked Back To Tasha
Tasha is an absolute ride or die for ghost and we love her for it. she has been nothing but an amazing mother to her kids and a true partner to her ex? husband, so it’s kinda hard watching almost everyone on this show conspiring to screw her over, time and time again. Then there is the case of her only living child who you’d think would be a source of comfort instead becomes an evergreen fountain of misery, second only to Ghost. It’s just like the Green Goblin said: She offered him a mother’s love and he spat in her face.
Shoving Ghost
No one puts his hands on Ghost and that’s that. I mean Tariq can ask around about the fate of anyone who has tried that — not like there is anyone of them left alive — but he can try. You step up to Ghost like that and you better be ready to catch a bullet — A fate we secretly hoped would befall ‘Riq,
When He Tipped Off Dre
The nerve. The disrespect. Tommy and Ghost were plotting Dre’s end during Raina’s wake but made the mistake of letting Tariq overhear their conversation. He decided it was best he abandoned the wake to go warn Dre of impending danger and now we blame him for every messed up thing Dre did later because he should have let him get popped by Tommy.
Breaking And Entering
To say Kanan had his vices is the understatement of the century, but couldn’t Tariq at least try to pick up anything useful from him, like a personality maybe? We instead have to watch him learn the super useful skill of breaking into locked rooms using credit cards. And then it got darker after he practically sentenced a woman to die at the hands of his fellow burglars by calling someone by his real name in front of her.
Became A Lean Addict
We all have our ways of dealing with emotional trauma and Tariq decided to go the narcotics route. Good on him, you know. We aren’t judging. Nah! that was a joke because geting hooked on drugs is messed up and he definitely could have found a more productive outlet for all that pent – up angst.
Sucking Lean Through A Straw
When you decide to become an addict, you might as well be an addict the right way. This may come across as pedantic but there are rules to things and without them society as we know it will crumble and Tariq sucking that lean out with a straw was inappropriate on so many levels.
