Alonzo Washinton
My first story of the week was going to be about Saturday’s National Socialist Movement/Neo-Nazi protest at the Jackson County Courthouse…
It was about what you’d expect; 25 Nazi asshats on one side of the street and about 1000 locals on the other side of the street (with its fair share of asshats as well). Chief among them was one Deron Black who took his best shot at inciting a riot with his unintelligible chants, perched on a marble pedestal, high above the madding crowd.
As an added feature for the laaaaaadies, Black yanked off his white hoodie to expose his wife-beater and luscious biceps.
The only redeeming quality of the day; I was in the company of three news babes, (said purely for the feminists in the group) KMBZ‘s Darla Jaye, Valerie Paraso and Aimee Patton, who I ended the day with enjoying adult beverages at Makers Mark.
Darla Jaye
However I got sidetracked from the Nazi story by a Twitter conversation with resident crime fighter, Alonzo “I’m going NATIONAL” Washington.
I’ve reached out to Alonzo on multiple occasions seeking his opinion on the black condition. I’ve asked to meet with him andquestioned why he doesn’t put more of the problems in the black community’s laps, but this exchange left me dumbfounded.
Alonzo, I love you, man, but it seems to me your true colors are showing here.
When it comes to race baiters, they come in various colors, sizes and shapes, but basically just two categories. You have your run of the mill local baiters, where I’m about ready, but have not yet placed Alonzo. Then you have your master baiters, the Reverends of the world; Al, Jessie, et al.; the ones where it’s hard to tell the difference between fighting for the cause and profit-based entrepreneurship.
The following Twitter conversation took place between Alonzo and me over Saturday and Sunday. I’ve put it all in chronological order and I didn’t clean up grammar or spelling, it’s just how it came off Twitter. Nothing is modified or taken out of context:
Alonzo: Most of the press is racist.
Nazi rally is over & KC is still a super racially divided city with no true opportunities 4 most people of color. The KC hood is jacked up.
The media’s lack of coverage of black issues beyond crime is racist. The coverage of black crime promotes racism more than any hate group.
The lack of positive black stories in the press enforces racist stereotypes
The medias lack of diverse stories about people of color promotes racism more than all hate groups combined in America.
In reality most local media organizations are PR agents 4 black criminals.
With that, I felt the need to jump in and offer my man some help with his cause.
Paul: Find me 1 positive black story and I’ll write it on KC CONFIDENTIAL! You pick it; I’ll do it. 10K readers a day.
Alonzo: I have doing it 4 decades. Even when I was a teen. Next question
My son published a diabetes awareness comic book series when they was 8 & 9. Every year the do a national awareness tour.
my 2 sons who are now 18 & 19 have a chapter in a national book that’s sold on amazon & @ Barnes & Nobel called typecast.
They also r in documentary called diabetes & me that premiered @ various national film festivals this year.
Paul: I’ll look it up! But you want a positive story, find me a big, current one! General interest across the black community.
Alonzo: All the local press knows about these great achievements but they would rather covered murdered black teens & flash mobs.
that’s a pure form of racism. Presenting negative black stories & suppressing positive ones.
Paul: It’s GREAT your sons have a chapter in a book, a documentary; but lets find something big in the community you want touted!
FIND ME A GENERAL INTEREST POSITIVE STORY! I’ll write it AND get it on a local talk show. I’ll talk to @kmbzdarla!
Alonzo: This story is current. The book was just published this month. Plus, diabetes is a chronic illness that’s impacting the entire world.
4 ten years my sons have been bringing awareness to this plight & They are featured in 2 national outlets 4 their work.
Paul: Your complaint was no 1 covers positive black stories in the community; I offer, you want me to promote you or your kids?
Is that self serving OR do you believe that’s the BEST, most POSITIVE story I could do to promote positives in black KCMO?
U want positive story on black KCMO, like U say NO media will do, or want me to promote ALONZO and his KIDS? Big difference!
That seems a little self serving, but if you think that’s THE most important thing there is to offer, I said I’d do it!
Tom the Bomb tweeted in: have to agree w Paul on this one. Seems self serving.
Paul: I OFFERED. I can get radio onboard. I was counting on something beneficial to the community as a whole!
Give it thought; headed 2 bed. I gave you my word, pick the best the community has to offer. I’ll BEG @kmbzdarla to help me.
Alonzo: it’s not easy for your community service to be featured in a book & film @ the same time. Yet, these 2 black teens did it.
4 ten years my sons have been bringing awareness to this plight & They are featured in 2 national outlets 4 their work.
if they was white the local press would have them all over everything. That’s racism in effect.
This next line made blood shoot out of my eyes, given the topic of Alonzo’s rant;
Alonzo: being on your blog & on kmbz is a step down 4 my sons. They have been featured in diabetes media & national press.
my point is that if white kids were doing what my kids were doing @ the same level press would cover it no matter what.
Everyone the media highlights is self serving. I do more for people than anyone for free. It’s joke 2 call me self serving.
So, no one covers positive, black stories, I offer to get any story he wants published, only to find my friend and his kids have so much publicity, KC Confidential and Darla Jaye would be a step down? Color ME confused.
Paul: If being on my blog/KMBC is step DOWN 4 your kids, you’re now making a case they are WELL publicize? WHICH IS IT?
You told me no one gives blacks media attention. I offer u offer your kids, but tell me it’s a STEP DOWN? I’m lost.
Alonzo: being on darla Jaye or you blog most likely wouldn’t help their cause but my point was made.
it’s countless positive black stories that the media chooses not 2 cover, most whites can’t see & don’t want 2 deal with real racism. Fact!
Yes, Alonzo, I’m afraid you are correct; your point was made. I’m just not sure it’s the point you intended. If your kids have too much media attention, let’s go back to my original request; find me a positive story that hasn’t been covered.
Can you find one, anywhere? The offer stands.
For the love of god, that was brutal to read!
It’s gotten to the point that the “black leaders” have nothing to add to a conversation about racism, except to just keep shouting racism!
I agree totally. This was my last comment from him;
Alonzo Washington @kccrimefighter Paul Wilson: just forget it. I don’t get along with the KC press anyway.
Whats not to get along with? I offered him exactly what he said was missing and offered to anything I could to get it promoted outside of me in other, local media.
He really showed his ass.
Pathetic…
It seems Alonzo is Alonzo’s biggest fan.
Wilsun: Give me one positive story from the KC black community that we can put up on KCC.
Clownzo: Mah kidz be doin’ mad thingz fo’ diabetes.
Wilsun: Uh, besides horribly pimping out your own children like Kathy Lee Gifford.
Clownzo: Man, dat be de only thing I know about!! Self promotion and baiting!! And pimpin’!!
Wilsun: Oh dear Lord.
This article is about 6 months old, but is still valid. The media bends over backwards to cover postive aspects of the African American community to the point of outright fabrication. More telling evidence of the Main Stream Media’s efforts to place the African American community in the most positive light, is the effort to conceal, obfuscate and misdirect the public eye from violent crime, to the point, that in fact, these outlets and many more, have stated policies of blatantly refusing to identify the perps in violent crimes if they are minority.
http://www.examiner.com/article/media-continues-to-censor-black-on-white-crime
Thanks Chuck.
An interesting and informative read.
🙂
This from Kyle Rogers-
“There has been a longtime unwritten rule in the media. Black crime, especially black-on-white crime, must be downplayed. This has resulted in the rampant censorship of the race of perpetrators. What is most troubling is when media outlets censor information about dangerous at-large suspects to hide the fact that the suspect is black. Political correctness has taken first priority instead of public safety.
It used to be a complicated uphill battle to explain this censorship. In 2007, this became a lot easier. The website for the Los Angeles Times issued a public statement admitting that it was the newspapers’ policy to censor the race of crime perpetrators. Not only that, but the paper admitted that this censorship was widely practiced in the media:
“Racial information was once routinely included in news stories about crimes, but in recent decades, newspapers and other media outlets stopped mentioning suspects’ or victims’ race or ethnicity because of public criticism. Newspapers came to embrace the idea that such information is irrelevant to the reporting of crimes, and may unfairly stigmatize racial groups.” (Los Angeles Times, June 6, 2007)
A few years later, more newspapers started admitting the same thing – the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times, the Associated Press and more. Even the creator of the TV show “COPS” admitted that the show intentionally distorts the racial makeup of criminal offenders. The show over-represents white suspects by throwing away half their footage of black suspects.
It is now at a point where I can simply call a media outlet, and there is about a 50 percent chance they will openly admit that they censor race. There does seem to be one section of the country where the media blatantly censor black crime, but still lie about it. Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen many black-on-white mob attacks in the recent past. The media coverage is usually the same. Only a tiny blip with no details or pictures. Newspapers and TV news affiliates go out of their way to provide as little information as possible. Vicious attackers are described as “youths.” Innocent victims are just people “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
When I call media outlets in these cities, they still put on a charade that there is no intentional censorship. Outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin, it seems to be freely admitted now.
Two outrageous statements stick in my mind. The first was when I called the Greenville, S.C., NBC news affiliate, WYFF. I was armed with two articles from its website. Both were about attempted burglaries, where the burglar fled the scene when spotted. One had a detailed description of the perp’s clothes, but no mention of race. The second had a detailed description of the perp’s clothes, but started with “a white male.”
The woman who answered the phone admitted right away that the WYFF staff actually holds meetings to decide which stories should be censored! She told me that she did not feel it was censorship, but “making a decision.”
Associated Press—-
Tom Kent, deputy managing editor for standards and production at The Associated Press recently admitted that the AP censors black crime.
Last March Kent said that race is not usually mentioned unless it is a “hate crime.” As you know, the media rarely declares black on white crime to be a “hate crime.” Only the extremely rare white on black crimes are ever considered a “hate crime” in the media.
Kent said that if the police are looking for an at large suspect they may mention race. However, Kent stated “but once a person is captured, it probably would not be germane to the story.”
In other words, unless the perp is white or the police specifically ask for it, the AP censors the race of black crime perpetrators
New York Times
Philip Corbett, associate managing editor of the New York Times recently confessed to censoring black crime.
Last March, 18 black males aged 16-27 were arrested for allegedly gang raping an 11 year old Mexican girl in Cleveland, Texas. The radical New Black Panther Party actually held a rally at an all black church demanding the release of the perpetrators. Over one hundred local blacks attended the rally.
The New York Times ran an article that critics say blamed the victim and her family. It also expressed shock that members of the public were supported the accused perps.
However the Times completely censored the fact that the perpetrators are black. The newspapers also portrayed those who were supporting the perps as “Texans.”
There was a backlash against the New York Times for their insulting coverage.
The New York Times published a follow-up admitting their first piece “lacked balance.”
Philip Corbett, however, defending censoring the race of the perpetrators. He said that mentioning the race of a crime perpetrator does “not really providing any useful information and it could be sort of boiler plate.”
By “boiler plate,” Corbett means that it would be politically incorrect to inform the public the truth about crime in America. He feels that political correctness is more important than public safety.
Chicago Tribune
Last June Chicago Tribune senior vice president and editor Gerould Kern admitted the newspaper censors black crime in a rather nasty response to his critics.
Kern stated, “we guard against subjecting an entire group of people to suspicion because of the color of their skin.”
His admission of guilt came after a series of brutal racially motivated mob attacks against white people in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune censored the race of the perpetrators and concealed the nature of the attacks.
When critics attacked the Tribune for their coverage, Kern proudly boasted of the papers’ censorship and personally insulted the white victims. He ranted, “there is no evidence to suggest that the victims were singled out because of their race.”
Following the diatribe by Chicago Tribune Editor Kern, Chicago Tribune opinion page writer Steve Chapman, who calls himself “a minority of one,” stated the same thing and defended the practice.
Chapman, who is on the far left, states “It’s the newspaper’s sound general policy not to mention race in a story, whether about crime or anything else.” Chapman then got very nasty in his diatribe defending censorship. He states that people who advocate accurate reporting of crime stories “fear or dislike blacks.”
Chapman also decided to take a jab at the innocent white victims of black mob violence in Chicago. He claimed the race of the perpetrators was not relevant. Then he said stated “what good would it do to trumpet the skin color of the thugs? So pedestrians on Michigan Avenue can run away when they see two or more African-Americans?”
Obviously Chapman would rather see more innocent white people attacked than report the news accurately
Washington Post
In August of 2010 the Washington Post Ombudsman Andrew Alexander stated that the paper censored race. He said that Weekend News Editor Robert E. Pierre supported the censorship.
The Post came under criticism by readings for censoring black mob violence on the local metro system.
Alexander whined, “The Post should always be sensitive to overplaying stories, especially if race is involved.” Keep in mind that Alexander is talking about a story that the Post was criticized for downplaying, not overplaying.
Pierre attacked critics of the paper’s coverage as “racial insensitive
LA Times
The LA Times was the first newspaper I ever noticed openly admitting to racial censorship. This was back in 2007. The paper made an online database of homicides. They offered a sort of apology for including the races of the perpetrators. They stated that it was normally their policy to censor this information.
On June 6, 2007 the LA Times made this official statement. “Racial information was once routinely included in news stories about crimes, but in recent decades, newspapers and other media outlets stopped mentioning suspects’ or victims’ race or ethnicity because of public criticism. Newspapers came to embrace the idea that such information is irrelevant to the reporting of crimes, and may unfairly stigmatize racial groups.”
By “public criticism,” they are referring to bullying by radical racial groups like the NAACP.
Alonzo, your friends in the 4th estate, cover for you every day of the week.
Hey Alonzo, do you just want to complain? Or do you actually want to DO something that could change the outlook of things? Sounds to me like you’re just lazy, and want to sit there and throw a tantrum over past slights and injustices. Move forward, and be a part of the solution.
As long as he gets his name in the paper, or his face on the evening news.
Wow, I noticed 10 comments on the counter… and come here to see Chuck be a busy boy! I’ll come back and read the links in a few.
Thanks, as always.
Just a small correction Paul, as I understand it from the KC Star sometime back, Deron Black, aka Shahid Abdullah, wishes to be addressed by his Muslim moniker, “Shahid Abdullah”.
My apologies; he responded to “Deron” when I walked up to talk to him, but out of respect, I’ll have the Admin make that change immediately!
Due to my personal beliefs, I would like to ask you refer to me as “Little Pauly Wilson” from here forward. Thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter.
Well Little Pauly Wilson seems like you and Matt Lauer have a lot in common, your conversation with Alonzo seems to mirror the one Matt had with the Queen of Mis-information…..no not Michele but Sarah
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/sarah-palin-matt-lauer_n_4254785.html
Wow; that’s amazing. I would assume, in direct opposition to what some might think, I started the conversation with only one intent; addressing his complaint with the intention of doing a major story on good news and positive coverage of an event , accomplishment, person or business. But alas…
@kansas karl Always with the left it’s a pathetic attempt at moral equivilence. Just sad. Never admit wrong doing, just the other guys did/do something sorta kinda similar and so you shouldn’t pick on us at all. What crap.
Probably better to say “sometimes” with the left as opposed to “Always”. Let’s not paint with too broad of a brush here. I’ll admit that sometimes, those of us on the left make the same broad generalizations when we accuse the right side of the aisle with an issue we have a problem with so we can be just as guilty. I think there a lot more of us in the middle somewhere as opposed to always left or always right.
Thanks John.
What crap, I was just showing that the cries from both sides are equally stupid, be it racism or just being stupid. My post was not left any more than your’s was intelligent. Anyone who listens to either of these 2 morons joins the club. What a sad and pathetic outlook, those who boast the most in my opinion are less than what they say, the true professional lets their actions speak and does not boast.
no john….its not about moral equivalence.
Paul picks a hanger on to pass the word of the good things going
on in the community. Go talk to one of the real leaders in the
African American community.
And what can they say good is happening…their voting rights
are being taken away….the kids and elderly got their stamps cut
while the congress gave away billions to billionaires …..
the banks and wall street fucked them by bringing the world
economy to its knees. what do you want?????
with guys like you and chuck banging on the people…
what do you expect????
the Alonzo is no leader….where did he become a crime
fighter? reading comics does not make you a crime fighter.
BUT LETS GIVE THE YOUNG MAN SOME HELP…LETS GIVE
HIM SOME CREDIT….LETS PULL HIM UP INSTEAD OF
PUSHING HIM DOWN.
we have a serious problem in this nation….and guys like
Alonzo .( instead of trying to use vile language and hate
like chuck) has stepped up to do something about it.
NO ONE ELSE CARES….whether Alonzo is right or wrong
on this subject…he’s stepped up to try to do something…
he’s trying to be part of the solution….while guys like
john and chuck are part of the problem without doing
anything to change the situation.
TELL ME CHUCK AND JOHN…WHAT THE F HAVE YOU
DONE TO HELP THE COMMUNITY….NOTHING I SUSPECT!!!!!!!!!!!
Brace yourselves…
Harley makes some good points here. There obviously are plenty of African American leaders – citizens even – more than capable of citing deserving issues, people and stories.
Catching one dude in the middle of a hate rally is more than a little out of context.
If Harley has issue with the quotes or facts as stated in my posts, I would suggest he address them and refrain from affective, apoplectic ad hominem insults and generalities which if indeed have basis in fact, are as yet to be determined while sifting through his standard, vacuous, inane drivel.
Repairing to the “Man be keepin us down” argument in the face of Alonzo’s idiotic premise (That the 4th estate, print and TV, are out to destroy the reputation of African Americans.) , with which even a cursory knowledge of Main Stream Media bias refutes categorically is absurd.
Alonzo’s self aggrandizing, desultory, parapatetic profferings in response to Paul’s specific requests, speak to deception and an inability to stay on message when faced with difficult and uncomfortable facts.
Sound and noise, signifying nothing is Harley’s wont and embarrassment. He has good company in Alonzo.
come on chuck…tell us something positive
you’ve done…tell us the things you do.
You sit there with your thesaurus and
try to compensate for your lack of intelligence
with hate filled language and the constant
barrage of racism.
People get you. they understand your
vile hatred for minorities.
I was simply addressing the squeaky wheel; the one who claims most often that no one will do or say anything positive. After seeing that for what it truly is, I’ll find someone in the community who really DOES want to get the GOOD news out!
There is an unmistakable connection between poverty and crime that has been described by experts from all fields, from sociologists to economists.
Scholars at the Brookings Institution identified three social norms to avoid poverty :
(1) graduating high school
(2) having a full-time job
(3) waiting until you’re 21 and married to have children
From the Washington Post article: “Only 2 percent of those who follow all three norms were in poverty in 2007, whereas 76 percent of people who followed none of them were in poverty that year. ”
You want to find someone in the community truly working to reduce crime and poverty? Find an organization focused on encouraging the youth of Kansas City to meet these goals.
Paul did try to give him some credit, and Paul definitely tried to pull him up.
Then Alonzo proceeded to snub Paul the second his ass was showing.
I am in total agreement with you on getting in touch with the real leaders in the black community, if you want real answers.
I’ll third that
I thought I had you blocked, admin. I’ve already emails Pat Clarke to set up a meeting. He offered my his contact info, I bet he’ll be interested in something other than self promotion.
Clearly, I’ve fourthed it.
Yes, just like my five year old.
GO NUTS JOHN! Handmaidens to corruption! Red Star!
oh wait you already are.
PS, nice piece, Paul.
Thanks, John.
The score so far; 1. for the love of god, that was brutal to read and, 2. Nice piece! I’ll see how it plays out, but as usual, thanks for your comment!
Before all the “racist” rants start, I had nothing but the intention of saying, “You think this is a problem, give me a story line, I’ll chase it down and PROMOTE something that matters!” And after debating it for two days, all I got was, “Forget it….”
Just to clarify, I loved this piece and I enjoy all of your columns.
It was brutal reading Washingtons tweets.
I know, Kevin, and thank you so much .
p.s. you’re insane.
Derek, is that you you hussy. You’re just pissed because the Women of The Star calendar with you on the cover isn’t selling worth a hoot. Next time cover up a little skin, that picture was disgusting and tennis shoes with a thong, tasteless.
Hahaha! Don’t let um get you down. You know what Ben said; if you stop along the way to throw rocks at every barking dog, you’ll never get to your destination!
harley says:
November 12, 2013 at 7:07 am
come on chuck…tell us something positive
you’ve done…tell us the things you do.
You sit there with your thesaurus and
try to compensate for your lack of intelligence
with hate filled language and the constant
barrage of racism.
People get you. they understand your
vile hatred for minorities.
—————————————————————————————————
Harley, your response to my posts (Which acutally, for the most part, are merely quotes from sources that refute Alonzo’s premise of Racial Bias in the Main Stream Press. In fact quotes from the ACTUAL Main Stream Press, proudly and blatantly reporting to their readers, that in fact, not only are they NOT biased against African Americans, but in fact, have stated policies and protocols in place which by ommission, protect the image of African Americans, even if they are rapists, murderers, thugs and thieves.), that I have done nothing positive is incorrect. You and most Americans, in my opinion, are willfully impercipient with regard to the African American culture of violence in this country, that is aided and abetted by the entertainment industry, the 4th estate, our politicians and the new American demographic. Depending on teh year, 8,000 to 10,000 African Americans a year are murdered in crimes by other African Americans. White on Black hate crimes are ubiquitous, underreported and encouraged on a de facto basis, by Eric Holder’s proud admission in front of Congress, that he will not proescute any black on white hate crimes, only white on black.
The net effect of this nation wide hypocrisy, in conjunction with the 4th estate’s absolute abrogation of any semblence of journalistic responsibility with respect to these issues will, again, in my opinion, have a devastating effect on African Americans. There will be, at some point, serious blow back for these crimes of ommission by the press, these crimes of blood in the streets and crimes by you and liberals like you Harley, in your assistance and encouragement of the status quo, which leaves the dead, stacked like firewood, exsanguinating into urban gutters, while we all stand in line to see D’Jango.
You Harley/JoJo, and your ilk, are Civil Rights alchoholics who first, need to admit, they have a problem that is destroying lives and in fact destroying this nation. Your standard response above, is to attack me and “Killing The Messenger” is a very successful tactic, but it won’t change the facts. Your comments with regard to my IQ are noted. I would submit, that if in fact, you are, as you say, a graduate of Journalism School from the Universtiy of Missouri, you wouldn’t need a thesaurus.
My contribution, is truth, as I see it with regard to these matters.
Again, I would encourage you to address the issues, the facts, the stats and refrain from personal attacks. They diminish and destroy your argument and render your position (Whatever that position is…) untenable.
You cant help a community that isnt willing to help itself.
Whitey isnt to blame for B on B crime.
Lib, you made some good points and thanks as usual.
Some people on here who do a fast scan and move on to the insults and accusations, assume that when I am willing to just stand up and call it like I see it, it’s racist. Racism can’t ever be confused with truth.
I spent 8 years of my life rescuing various families from Ethiopia during their civil war and no small expense on my end. That’s not the actions of a racist. And guess what? Those people arrived on our shores, immediately learn the language and, without fail, largely become independent business people. They don’t need welfare, Jerry Springer or an appearance on Maury to find out who the baby daddy is. And, they come here dead broke, not a penny. The “community” pays to get them here and get them on their feet.
I’ve asked Alonzo for weeks to be brave enough to put the issue of black on black crime where it belongs, not at the feet of the Mayor, not with the politicians, not hidden in excuses, but to place the blame in the lap of the community where it resides. Then, when this latest rant started about the racist media not giving any positive attention to the black achievements, as Harley pointed out, I wasn’t turning to Alonzo as THE spokesperson on the topic, THE civic leader. He is, however, a vocal voice in the cause. He DID make the charge.
I wanted to meet his charge with a true and honest answer, be part of the solution, let HIM pick a worthy story and I’d do anything I could to get the word out. I told him to pick it, I’d write about it as a fence mending act of contrition for HIM.
You see how that was responded to. Now, even my Admin has pointed out he thought that was disingenuous at best, but I have to disagree with him; Alonzo made the charge, I made an offer to Alonzo. Not because I think he has more power than Sly or any other black “leader”, I simply addressed his charge with a solution.
And his response; my KIDS did this, I’ve don’t THIS…. and then, when questioned, a final, “forget it, I don’t get along with the media.” Well, no, I bet you don’t, as long as you can’t spoon feed them and have them swallow hard and often. This is only my opinion, but to me, it shows once again, the focus is on self-promotion, not real change, not real advancement of the black cause.
But, hey, it’s just my opinion. I’m not a news anchor, I write about issues, opinion and commentary.
Here’s where you went astray imho.
There’s nothing wrong in asked Washington to weigh in and cite an example. But doing so on the fly in a mere series of tweets in the middle of what some feared would be be a race riot was hardly the time and the place to pin the tail on that donkey.
I agree. Not the right time. But Alonzo should have seen that and said, let me get back to you on that. Instead, he talked about his boys. Are they the only thing positive in the black community? I think not. If he took the time to talk about his boys, then he had enough time to text “let me get back to you with a story.”
I disagree. I didn’t care about the Nazi’s or the counter rally. Every time I see such a scene it reminds of the Blues Brothers movie, 30-40 Nazi’s and several hundred people yelling at them. Big deal. It was the police and press that wanted a race riot. Police would have had heads to crack and on a weekend without Chiefs it would have made up for an otherwise slow news cycle.
It is the perfect time to ask why can’t people, black and white get that worked up over the violence in the urban core that is largely black on black. This started with tweets about how news stories are racist. Once one opens that door, it is opened. Alonzo could have told Wilson “hey, sounds good, let me think of something good and get back with you” It would have been done. Alonzo was the one that kept it going.
Agreed, Bubba!
As usual Paul, a piece that hits people’s hot button. Well done.
I think the statistics about B on B crime are pretty overwhelming and I think that the press IS intimidated enough to censor information that otherwise might be included. Those are two different issues. Chuck’s points are well made but they address the latter. Harley’s point are also well made but they address issues that lead to the former. Ships passing in the night.
I really hope and pray that none of us ( or at least very few ) really think that B on B crime is strictly a function of race and understand there are other forces at play here. I know very few of the readers here spend time reading the Star, but there was a pretty provocative article in the Business Forum section of the paper this morning written by Eduardo Porter on the discrepancy of public school funding relating to property taxes, among other things. I think that is a good place to start the process of looking for solutions. Paul, when you get through your research on your education piece, which I think you said would have to be in several installments, public school funding should be one of the installments.
Chuck, with regards to your point, maybe if the media would report openly it would force a national discussion and get us to start working on the solution. Instead of hiding the boil with make-up, let’s get it to the surface and clean it out.
As far as good things happening in the Black community to report on, I think the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Kansas City and The Genesis School are great places to start.
Thanks Paul, it’s great to have you back and serving us up great topics !!!
Mr. Stomper, I think we are in lock step on this issue. Again, my contention is that the astonishing disproportionate amount of crime per capita commited by African Americans needs to be addressed by the 4th estate and the Main Stream Media sans the usual shifting of responsibility for same to nebulous, societal origins, which are based in white guilt. That has NOT worked and will NOT work.
I read Porter’s article and then looked up this-
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03234.pdf
you and Mr. Porter do make some good points and may well be correct. That said, the Cato Institute study on our very own KC School District seemed to prove beyond a doubt, that money, new computers, new programs, more expensive teacher salaries et al, were in no way bebeficial to the students here and indeed, may have had a pernicious effect on the city, the students and community.
Money in education, seems to be a spoke in the wheel, but nothing more.
Open, honest discussions with the facts on the table and no fear of the “racist” scarlet letter being administered extemporaneously by the participants, would be a first step in mitigating inner city crime in my opinion.
Yep, with regards to K-12 public education playing the pivotal role in solving the problem of inner city crime, it all starts and ends with committed parents. Money alone won’t solve the problem with the KCMo school district. Until that problem gets solved, KCMo is swimming with an anchor around its neck.
Lance the Intern nailed it.
How would you propose to fix the ‘parenting problem’? Force black people to take remedial parenting lessons (while letting whites off the hook)? Force black kids into public reformatories where Uncle Sam will raise them according to all the best left wing dogma? Force white families to adopt black kids? Just curious.
Also how many black people have you approached with your theory that black on black crime happens because black people are bad parents?
Thanks Expat,
My point was for parents to take a more active role in the performance of their school district, not in their relationship with their children. Other urban school districts are successful. My issue is with the performance of the school district, not parenting skills.
Can’t say I have a fix, but I do have a start. Why not start some sort of life skills class that 9th graders take for a semester?
We could start with the fact that being a teenage mother on government aid is not a good path to go down. I know it would get some people in a twist, but since teenagers have been know to have sex and teenage sex results in teenage mothers, family planning should be part of this.
I wouldn’t blame race on bad parenting. It happens in all races, ages, religions, etc…but it has been shown that teenagers make bad parents. I think stopping this would be a start.
Just for the record, I don’t say this to be smug. My child was not planned but I was in my 20’s and it became clear after a few years that my ex and I were good as going out to dinner, drinking, partying, but we didn’t have our stuff together when it came to parenting together and we got divorced. I so wish that I had picked a woman to have a child with forethought. I would have been a better father full time. I paid more than my share of money and spent almost half the time with my child but nothing is better than a couple that is on the same page when it comes to raising a child. If I hadn’t paid support nor been present, it could have gone bad.
Expat, maybe absent parent is a better description than bad. You’d be hard pressed to convince me the outrageously high illegitimate birth rate and undeniable breakdown of the family unit doesn’t play a role in the problem.
When you have a entire network TV show dedicated to DNA matching and finding the baby daddy, staring LaQuisha, who is absolutely sure the daddy is Deron, his best friend, brother OR coworker has to be the dad, only to find out neither of the four are guilty, during her few days of ovulation, even Houston during the government shut down can tell you; we have a problem.
Poverty, more emphasis on a career in sport or rap over education and the break down of the family unit leads to more fatherless kids. More fatherless kids with no firm direction in life, limited goals and values, provide kindling to assure the fire continues to burn. A sad bi product of all those factors; the culture of violence we see today.
No little banger stops to smell the Tulips on Troost and changes his mind about jacking the car at the intersection.
Remember; truth does not equal racism.
My next stop, Pat Clarke, Chief Fortes Community Outreach man; now THERE’S a standup guy I had the chance to get to know at the Nazi Rally. I bet he can add a positive message worth hearing and he extended the invitation to contact him.
Tulips on troost is an eastside beautification project, but I think it is run by whites.
Somebody came to swope in the middle of the night and sawed down a frustrating tree in a disc golf fairway a few months back. Brutal but effective I guess
Those tulips feed off white guilt and man do they prosper!