Maybe I'm out of line on this one, like that ever stopped me. The Power and Light Civil Rights March, or as I like to call it, the" I have a dress code dream tour", is old news, but there is something that bothers me about it. Let me just make clear, I could give a rats ass about the P&L district, I don't care about the dress code, I don't care if the shysters running that giant punch bowl and the surrounding over priced eateries close shop and leave town tomorrow. As far as I'm concerned, they could require everyone to wear Tuxedo's, elf shoes, and Assless Chaps, in order to gain admission. From where I sit, the P&L doesn't rank very high on my give a shit list. Then again, I'm not one of the guys in the photo above, acting like I'm marching on Montgomery in the 1960's.
We have 104 murders in this city, the majority of the killings have occurred east of Troost. Most of the victims have been black or Latino. The same two groups that are supposedly being discriminated against and refused entry to the P&L clubs. You won't make it a couple of days in this city without hearing of at least a couple of black or Latino folks being killed. You will hear a laundry list of reasons offered up, some are valid, some are bullshit, but the one thing you can bank on is that the body count will grow. You will see mothers making tearful pleas for justice, you will see news crews in front of one crime scene or another, panning on ambulances and cop cars. What you won't see is the aftermath, when the cameras stop rolling and the police leave the scene, and the grieving survivors are left to piece their lives back together. That's a pretty tall order, the piecing together. There is a major part of the puzzle missing, there will always be that hole in the center of the picture. One more thing you won't see, the guys at the top of this post, linking arms and marching on downtown, on the police department at 12th and Locust, or on City Hall.
There is no shortage of opinion and speculation on the why of it all. Poverty, drugs, poor education, schools that are rife with violence and full of kids who don't see a way out. People blame it on government housing, fatherless homes, video games, gangs, drugs, give it a name. It's a list that is constantly added to, full of reasons, short of viable solutions. Regardless of your school of thought, no matter what your opinion might be, one thing is certain, people are dying, black, brown, and white, and if you happen to be east of troost, your chances increase. Maybe I'm missing the Big Picture, perhaps I just don't Get It. So help me out, educate me, clearly I need it.
The Power and Light district people claim there is no discrimination. They can show you stats that say they have turned away 3 or 4 white people for every person of color, I tend to believe them, at least the ratio of people turned away part. That's not to say they don't target a certain look, that's not to say there isn't discrimination. So these self professed leaders of the black community got their ducks in a row, locked arms, and marched on that bastion of perceived White Privilege, singing we shall overcome, doing their best Martin Luther King I have a dream impression. Meanwhile, east of Troost, the asphalt bears the stains from the blood of their young. The gang culture rules the day, loose lips sink ships, snitches are bitches who end up with stitches. Babies die, caught in crossfires, sometimes still in the womb. Kids too young to vote have their brains scattered in the same yards they played in as children. I recently exchanged emails with teachers who are afraid of losing their jobs if they speak out, I heard from a girl who had her neck broken in a classroom by another student. Where are those leaders in all of this. Sure they hold vigils, 40 or 50 might walk two blocks with a couple of signs. What you won't see is the kind of organization, the righteous indignation, voiced loud and clear. You won't see these preachers marching on City Hall, amplifying that Sunday sermon voice through a bullhorn at the corner of 12th and Locust.
People like to blame the media, hell I've done it myself, more than once. " They don't care because the victims and perps are one in the same, black or brown, poor, no clout. If it happened to a white person it would be different. It's all about money, race, and power." There is some truth to that, but it's a half ass truth. Whats missing from that truth, is the absence of the kind of determination to set things right, the kind of determination that these Shepperd's exercised for their flock during the P&L protest. You don't hear such impassioned speeches on the steps of city hall, you don't see this type of unity in front of a high school where the students deal with chaos and violence on a daily basis. Bodies in the street will get you a two block march and a candle lit 10 minute speech, maybe. But if there is money and power involved. If the offending party has deep pockets, you get what we saw at the Power and Light district. Am I saying these men have no concern for the violence and death in their neighborhoods? Do I think they are uncaring when a 16 year old kid dies at the hands of another 16 year old kid? No, I'm not saying that. I can't speak to their thoughts or their hearts. I'm sure there are countless people willing to school me on all the great things these men have done. I'm certain some moron will say I'm a clueless white guy who couldn't possibly understand. But the perception, on the surface, that lack of outrage and indignation, says wrong only matters when it can line a pocket, support a pet project, when it brings some power or benefit. I don't know what kind of backroom deals, if any, will take place over the P&L issues. But it wouldn't be the first time palms got greased to placate an annoyance. Maybe I'm just a pessimistic prick. That said, I can't help but wonder why these men of the cloth and community leaders can't generate the same level of fervor and outrage over the ongoing genocide in their community, as they have managed to muster over possible racial profiling in an over priced entertainment district. It almost looks like the right to drink 8 dollar beer and eat 15 dollar burgers is more important than the on going slaughter on the east side. Hopefully I'm missing something, hopefully I just don't see the big picture. Allegations surrounding an entertainment district, brought the wrath of God down upon the offending parties. Violence in schools and murdered young, not so much. Perception is everything.
This is one of the best things I've read in a loooong time. You nailed it perfectly. Well done! This should be reprinted in every black church bulletin this Thanksgiving weekend.
ReplyDeleteFrom Monday, November 16, 2009:
ReplyDeletehttp://moravings.blogspot.com/2009/11/protesting-over-what.html
imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.
ReplyDeleteall local bloggers should be on this, frankly. Midtown Miscreant, as above, Tony, State of the Line, everyone. Then we ought to have our representatives downtown--the Mayor, the Council, everyone--on this until the shootings and killings stop.
pflow
ReplyDeleteNo offense but I don't read your stuff, so any similarity is purely accidental. I've kind of been doing this for a while now.
and these:
ReplyDeletehttp://moravings.blogspot.com/2009/11/star-is-shocked-but-for-wrong-reason-it.html
http://moravings.blogspot.com/2009/11/yesterdays-murder-in-south-kansas-city.html
and this one from August 19, 2009:
http://moravings.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-is-it-going-to-take-for-you-people.html
Well said, MM. I have often wondered the exact same things when hearing about the outrage over P&L discussed with so much more passion than the countless murdrers that happen in this city. The enthusiasm for change and drive to make themselves heard shown by these men in the P&L incident seems like it could be put to such better use in seemingly more pressing matters around town.
ReplyDeleteYou paint a perfect picture, MM.
ReplyDeletePerception of priorities.
They're a little off with those marching dudes.
excellent, MM. I didn't mean--or take--any offense, for sure. actually, I was surprised more people didn't come to this conclusion earlier.
ReplyDeletesure, scream about real or imagined discrimination about clothes at the P & L but not the people being shot and/or killed? It's insane. Really irresponsible.
anyway, great writing. keep it up.
You are totally right, but it would argue that these people do care and try to do things about violence in their neigbhorhoods. as much as they can do on their own.
ReplyDeletei would like to hear more about what YOU are going to do to solve the problem. are you going to organize a protest that anyone can attend? Are you going to do more than tell the black people how they should act? What kind of direct action and protesting are you doing?
My only criticism is that it must feel nice and cushy to be able to write this criticsm without particpating in the actual direct action that you call for!
Why don't you use your blog to rally for people to get together and do something about the problem? Why is it JUST BLACK PEOPLE that have to STAND UP FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. WHAT RE YOU WHITE FOLKS GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
ps i am white too
the reason why "JUST BLACK PEOPLE" ought to stand up for this, "anonymous", is that it's largely 50% of the people being shot at and/or killed are "JUST BLACK PEOPLE," sadly and tragically.
ReplyDeleteMidtown Miscreant and I are writing about this in an effort to point out the problem and get something done about this. We are, in fact, doing something.
We aren't getting people out on the streets and protesting but "the pen being mightier than the sword," we are doing something about it. We think these ministers should be protesting these deaths, not just some real or perceived discrimination going on w/ the bars at the P & L District and we're saying something about it.
Do you not agree that it's hypocritical to demonstrate against clothing discrimination while they're not giving any such effort to the murders and shootings?
Mo Rage
I write about it. I put a take on it that reaches people who might normally not take the time to understand. This commentary was about a particular set of circumstances. It wasn't an indictment against black people, it was a commentary on the subjects in the photo. You seem to imply that I have no concern, that I'm cushy, whatever that means. If I didn't care , why would I bother to write about it? Trust me, most of my readers would prefer a different subject. Jason Whitlock writes about the problems with the chiefs. Should he suit up,run out on the field, start tackling people? You might want to read through my archives before you accuse me of dogging black people, trust me, Ive been harder on whites. But to answer your question, "what am I going to do about it", same thing I've been doing, I'm going to write about it. That's what I do.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you. Rarely have I seen an overview like this written with such empathy, all the while rightfully taking people to task for what they aren't doing. What you're describing here, these ministers' and community activists' shortsightedness, is played out time and again in just about every major city and struggling small town in this country. I often reflect on "I am a MAN" placards many black men wore during the Civil Rights movement and hope for that kind of self-respect and spirit to return, but maybe I'm too wistful.
ReplyDeleteI knew some of the folks pictured here through family ties. From what I remember, they were committed, caring, and loving -- focusing their energies on those forgotten, marginalized, and brutalized within their communities. However, I haven't been in their churches or around them for quite some time. I would hope that some of them would preach about the responsibility people must take in these communities to drive out the deviants (both adult and teenage) going around blowing other children away and cracking other people's skulls. I would hope they'd demand better juvenile detention services (emphasis on detention) that support better mental-health counseling, education, and community re-introduction. I'd hope that they'd be man enough to say KCMSD is a trashed district with consistently inept leadership that's squandered money for almost 35 years. (And I really don't care who "started" it before desegregation.) I also wish they'd tell some of the mothers to stop saying Junior is "a good boy," when he clearly isn't living up to that rose-colored ideal as he rapes, brutalizes, or murders some young woman with low self-esteem who found herself with him.
I'd hope they'd STILL partner with KCPD despite historic and well-documented tensions between law enforcement and certain communities. I have no compunction calling the police on thugs, and that was something my now-elderly parents taught me early in life, despite their vocal criticisms about brutality. I would hope they'd be at the forefront of a movement to reduce recidivism among ex-cons, to keep them employed, healthy, and less invested in robbing me and mine. I'd hope they'd send realistic messages to young people that you actually have chance at a good life if you keep your legs closed (or a condom in your back pocket) and stay in school, even if the ediface is crumbling around you. I'd hope they'd increase support for programs that ensure the youngest of the poorest kids are fed consistently, so they perhaps won't grow up MEAN and hungry. (Hell, that's what the Panthers did.) Maybe I'm just missing something here.
These issues you write of are real for this *particular segment* of blacks and Latinos in K.C. Screw what the racists say. I'm sure some less-fortunate family members of the more high-profile critics of all things black probably have similar pathologies. (Ours just get publicized more often.) But none of this negates the responsibility that's lacking here. I refuse to make excuses for it, and people on the inside shouldn't either. I really don't think anyone can do anything about the impotence, the inaction, unless they're willing to be honest about those who pose the most destructive force within these communities. Though institutionalized racism still infects life opportunities, it's not a crutch. And really, if the P&L District dress policy is all these men can protest about, then perhaps we need to be in prayer for their clarity as well.
The reason white people don't do anything about problems in the Black community is we can't. 82% of black kids are born out-of-wedlock. 82!! When there is a crime scene on the news, what do you see? A bunch of black women and their kids. Not a black man in site. You know who else is there? A bunch of white police officers trying to solve a murder(s) in the hood but getting zero cooperation from said residents. Last, many continue to do the things in life that multiply their chances of failure infinetaly. That is, have kids at a very young age and drop out of school. There is one thing in life that can make things the great equalizer and that is education, which the black community values less than anybody on Earth.
ReplyDeleteMM-
ReplyDeleteBig fan of your no-bs take on things. This is one of the best you've written. Yes, you ARE a pessimistic prick- but that doesn't make you wrong. Like you, I have no idea what is actually in these people's hearts. Perhaps they do care about the meaningless violence claiming so many of the core's youth. However, based on what I do know about some of them, I can assure you that were there dollars to be made marching on the east side- that is where they'd be.Thanks for the honest words...
Excellent writing.
ReplyDeleteI cannot solve anyone elses' problems. I can't change anyone elses.
All I can do is do my best to make sure everyone has the tools they need to accomplish their goals.
A great many people make very comfortable livings by keeping poor black and whites convinced "those people" are keeping them down.
Just as there is more money in treating disease than in curing it, so it is with poverty.
MM, you are an artist with your words.
"the reason why "JUST BLACK PEOPLE" ought to stand up for this, "anonymous", is that it's largely 50% of the people being shot at and/or killed are "JUST BLACK PEOPLE," sadly and tragically."
ReplyDeleteI hope you aren't implying that the disparity and violence in poor black neighborhoods in kansas city is the problem of black people alone. it's everyone's problem, including mine and yours.
Well, I had this wonderful comment about how the church is to be salt and light in the community, yada yada, and I hit the wrong key and it went away.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post, and the comments are great too.
Here to use another biblical metaphor, the church has gotten lukewarm. And afraid of offending. And dependent on victimhood. And charmed by numbers, money, influence and "success."
The church is the healing place. And the victory place. And the proclaiming place. And the offending place. The not-of-this-world place.
I pray that these church leaders are doing everything they can in their community to help the needy, model the right way to live, show what good values and ethics are and what it means to live with good values and ethics, and speak the truth in love to their flock. Of course all of the proceeding done in the name and power of Jesus Christ.
My apologies to the non-believers in the audience, but the Bible is pretty clear on what the church's priorities should be.
If Jesus was to come now, as He did before, He would be hanging out with the gangbangers and single moms, not down at the P&L District.
One more sentence to my comment...
ReplyDeleteNot only would Jesus be hanging with the gangbangers and single moms, He would be showing them a better way to live.
Wow, what a superficial blog.
ReplyDeleteCrime is caused, in large part, by poverty. Poverty is caused by class-division. Class division is a function of capitalism.
Capitalism is the source of crime.
Plus, although you claim to not be 'racist' you've offered quite a bit of rationalization for those already-racist. Good job.
And 'perception is everything'? Do I smell a cliche? Or are you saying that so that when your attacked you can say 'its just my perception!'
Hey Anarchist Architech Philosophy dude. By "superficial" do you mean understandable and clearly written? Relevant to daily life? Then I guess MM is "superficial."
ReplyDeleteI'll give you credit for being "partly" right on poverty and envy as a cause of crime--but you are only partly right.
By the way, if you hate capitalism so much, why all the efforts to make money with your blogs? Didn't I see ads on one of your blogs?
Man, MM you really drew 'em our from the woodwork on this post.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kansas City has, effectively, no black leadership. The current "leadership" seems to consist of bunch of people that are focused on enriching themselves and their friends.
That's also true, as we all know, of the school district.
No. African-American. Leadership.
In Kansas City.
What a shame.
Sorry, this is Al that made the above comment.
ReplyDeletei cannot believe how racist these comments are!
ReplyDeleteyou assume that because kansas city has a crime and poverty problem, that we lack black or african-american leaders?
and you also act like the poverty and crime is due to black leaders not standing up and protesting accurately or trying to solve the problems in the way it should be done.
there is crime and poverty in these neighborhoods because of systemic racism. did you know that real estate was not sold to black people west of Troost up until at least the 60s if i recall the numbers accurately.
the poverty that causes crime is in place because the government wants it to be. because the people in positions of power to do something about it- -- want it to be that way. If the local government can organize a project as big as the power and light district, they have the skills, talent and money to organize something that would address the crime.
why do you think it's the preacher's job to solve the crime in these neighborhoods? that would be like me coming to you and saying, hey you need to deal with all the serial killers in your neighborhood. why don't white people take care of dealing with all the rapists, wife beaters, and drunk assholes in midtown? They really need to take care of their problem!
the problem of crime is a lot more complex that blaming it on the preachers and supposed lack of leadership in kansas city within the black community. its a systemic issues that all of us play a part in. including the blogger that points fingers and goes on little trips into run-down neighborhoods, takes photos, and thinks they have an accurate picture of what is going on.
"Assless chaps," though piquant, is redundant ...
ReplyDeleteI want to copyright that.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever start blogging, I'm using that as my name.
Pragmatic Prick.
Now I just need a pair of tights and a mask.
All they are doing is pissing in the wind. People who live in JoCo don't care. People who live east of Troost don't care. They're either worrying over their jobs, their kids, if they can safely walk down the street or how to pay the rent. The last thing they care about is what some dude wears to a club or hangout 99 percent of them never go to or can't afford to go to.
ReplyDeleteThese so-called leaders of the community are only interested in themselves. Everybody knows it.
This was good.
ReplyDeleteI don't care about the P&L District "Problems"...I think that they are BS. If you get turned away, who cares, there's really nothing there that you are missing. If that is your biggest problem, then yes, there are many things much better to focus your indignant anger on.
I have been turned away because I was wearing jeans that had the hems cut off, I'm a short white girl. I did not care. It's not like the dress code is hard to follow...it's also likely that if I would have gone to a different entrance I would have been admitted in.
Also, I realize that this post isn't about the dress code...it's about all the other problems. Problems that I agree need to be addressed, and like many other people I have my ideas of why things are so f'd up and realize my reasons are probably only a small piece of the problem. And, if I am completely honest, I will admit, I don't believe it to be my problem and I am thankful that I have education and ability to move away if I ever think that it is moving close to where I live. So, I am part of the problem.