The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
There’s a reason for the sparse coverage of the Country Club Plaza’s Saturday night race wilding. And that is that Kansas City’s news media – starting with the Star at 18th and Grand – is largely an absentee ballot when it comes to weekend newsroom staffing. The Star has always fielded a skeleton staff on Saturdays and Sundays. And these days, the skeletons are fewer and farther between. Ditto, I suspect, for TV news crews.
Missing in action in the mix:
jojo
this happened on the plaza years ago and
the owners ran off the black teenagers.
We better get used to this. The demographics
of the nation are changing rapidly. The
fastest growing populations are minorities and
they are moving into “white” bastion areas.
The plaza used some creative tactics to keep the
young black teenagers off the plaza in the
past. Now I doubt that will work.
Apparently some fights prompted this “riot”
but i can see a long hot summer of tension on
the plaza as the owners and the kids fight
it out.
The plaza is a public place and the kids have
rights but the plaza can’t afford to go down
the same road as westport. But it will.
Was down at power and light saturday for a
party after a wedding and noticed the large
black population there. Its built with tax
dollars and they have a right to be there..
but with that comes the problems.
The plaza had better find a way to eliminate these crowds. There’s too much at stake for
them. The tv video showed young black kids running down the plaza streets.
It appears that whatstarted as a fight…escalated…then once the police showed
it got totally out of hand.
Let’s all be honest. Let’s be frank. Tony has
been right in his columns here. Whites don’t
want blacks in their areas. The plza represents
upscale k.c. and people can’t fathom the idea
of young blacks “wilding” on the plaza as they
are with their “white” families and kids.
The plaza got rid of the young black kids
about 10 years ago…the merchants and owners
of the plaza are scared sh*tless that this
could get out of hand and keep shoppers and
money away from the plaza.
We saw what happened in westport…the nightmare
of such a thing occuring on the plaza is
scary. It will evnetually kill off the power
and light area and I predict it will have
serious effects on the plaza.
The owners of tghe plaza have done a good job
keeping crime news outof the media. This was
a major disaster for them. How long will the
medi run this story until the police move onto
every corner of the plaza and keep the
“wilders” out.
jojo
Hearn…i think its wrong for you to use a
photo of a full scale riot with someone
holding a molotov cocktail right next to this
story. NO photo would have been better unless
it was from the actual scene.
Try not to inflame this situation. Someone seeing
that photo might get the wrong idea of what
actually happened satruday.
MandDShagger
I’ll sure that Craig knows the difference between small arms fire and fireworks. If he heard between 30 and 40 shots of small arms fire than this is the most under-reported story in the history of KC. Also, what goes up must come down. Even if the bullets were shot straight up, and not on some trajectory, they had to land somewhere. You’d think that some person, place or thing would have gotten beaned. Could be that people were shooting blanks.
Can’t believe the media types don’t monitor the police scanner and couldn’t get somebody on the scene for pics or video. Maybe they were afraid to show up for fear of becoming targets. Maybe they were told to stay away?
It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
smartman
If the adults handle this it’ll never happen again. If it turns into a political football then it’ gonna be a long spring and summmer. Can’t wait to hear the Star Editorial Board opine on this one.
Gulliver Foyle, Jr.
JoJo said, “Let
Monica
Can everyone please call Glenn Stephenson at Highwoods and ask him what his plan is? I haven’t heard shit from Plaza about what went on or what will go on THIS weekend down there.
joe
Let’s call a spat a spat, Hearne!
Them gansters vas no African-Americans, Hearne. Nothing Afrikaner about them.
Them was rioting black, Americans, Hearne.
bschloz
The law of unintended consequences…….
Man this City is starving for leadership.
craig glazer
I have seen this problem in our city many times, not only in Westport, but on Broadway a couple summers ago. I happened into the mess, where at least one young man was shot to death, pulled out of his car near Wal-Greens. The police stayed out of the area, cause it was out of control and they couldn’t get in or out..plus them coming in could have made it worse and gunifire towards them and others, so they let it go til about 4 am…it was out of control.
This was not quite at that level. I spoke to Police Chief Jim Corwin, he got right on it…for the next several weeks on Saturday nights, and stopped it.
Its a sad statement on this cities problems with black and white folks. Clearly there is a big problem. I am just stating a fact not really an opinion. IF HUNDREDS OF WHITE PEOPLE DROVE DOWN TO THE PLAZA AT ELEVEN, THE PLAZA WOULD SAY ‘WOW WE ARE BUSY, GREAT.’ HOWEVE IF ITS YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE, THEY CALL IN THE POLICE…ITS A PROBLEM..DUE TO BAD,BAD BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF LARGE GROUPS OF YOUNG BLACKS ON THE STREET AT THAT TIME. Its sad, but true. Don’t know the answer.
Johnny Utah
The Star does not report on things that contradict their world view.
therefore, you will read little to no coverage of tea party success, wife of publisher’s DUI, riots involving minorities at social areas in the metro, teacher abuses within the KCMO public school system, etc.
C
>>IF HUNDREDS OF WHITE PEOPLE DROVE DOWN TO THE PLAZA AT ELEVEN, THE PLAZA WOULD SAY
Duke
ALL blacks have become much more ‘upity’ since Obama Hussein came on the scene. Expect much more of this in the future. They feel entitled now more than ever. I wouldn’t go near the plaza or power and light on the weekends this summer. When I go to Sprint Center it’ll be a cab to the door and same out of there.
Rick M
I wasn’t there Sat night, but bet anything there was a bigger police presence (and probably more arrests) the night the Royals won the World Series in ’85. Of course, that was a happy “riot.”
kidcongo
You can go to PNL. They have a dress code remember? And you have to be 21 to get in. Not gonna see much opposition to that now. It applies to everyone. I’m a white male and I was approched in PNL to remove my hat one night; a greek fishermans cap. No complaints.
Bob Loblaw
Now, maybe this will shut up everyone about how “racist” and “inexcusable” it is for the Power Light District to have a dress code.
smartman
There is a racial component to stupidity when you consider that many blacks go to the shittiest public schools and are raised with little in the way of family structure. You can’t learn to read, write and add until you understand the concepts of morals, manners and discipline.
Zach
I wouldn’t want those kids in my area either, with their stupid sagging pants and their, at best, failing-level grasp over English.
It’s bad for business.
Zach
And it is not “racist” and “bigoted” for the PnL district to have a dress code, it’s a matter that people who go there typically do not like to see your ass hanging out of your pants. I will not sugar coat this with euphemisms, telling people to pull up their fucking pants isn’t racist, it’s that people don’t want you looking *as* stupid as you usually do.
Dexter Morgan
Savages.
WONDERWHY
Stories I’ve heard about the “incident” from friends on the Plaza that night, and law enforcement personnel that I know lead me to believe that this incident is growing in sensationalism as the days pass.
Several attornys that I know in town also state that they are seeing a rising number of cases of individuals harrassed, assaulted, and verbally abused by Highwood Properties private security – mostly women of either race.
I believe there may be more to this story than we are hearing. It is also very possible in the current tense political atmosphere that divisive individuals are utilizing incidents of this sort to cause further division between races. It would be extrordinarily sad to allow individuals who have actually made a living out of race baiting to continue to profit from their actions.
Wade
PLEASE REMEMBER TO SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS