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I hear fear - anger - stress - hate and desire.
Submitted as a comment on the post: .45-Caliber Shells Fired - 61 Pleasant Street, Mt. Hope: Victim Had Drugs Up His Ass
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I hear fear...anger....stress....hate and desire. Desire to have order in the community...desire for the legal penalties to be enforced...Desire for "these people" lives to change...but I do not hear anything that involves positively impacting the society of the people you're speaking out against. Do you not see that something is missing that's key to living in this world? Do you not have the knowledge of these life skills yourself, thus you cannot foster a constructive network or platform to remedy the situation..therefore your only option is for the City to do it for you?
I know there's more substance in the minds of the people within this blog. This blog is the first stepping stone...but it's not all...there more that can be done!
We all work...Blue collar and/or White collar. At our jobs we have to speak to people we don't really have 1. Much in common with, 2. A personal reason not to like them, and 3. An understanding of who they are. However, through emails, errors and meetings you get to form FACTUAL & PERSONAL based opinions and feelings toward that person. I challenge those that read this to engage those who live in and around Mt. Hope whom you don't know, in dialogue about school, community, sports, entertainment ...anything!
We already see that the communication barrier internally in the community is one-sided and the same with the City Offices set up to protect our rights a residents.
Majority of what I've read on the site is GREAT material and some heartbreaking....heartbreaking that someone even took the time to process a ridiculous thought that frankly, is filled with racial hatred/tension. It's humoring to a (jack-ass) degree but in this day and age no matter how many (*) you use or how cautiously you preface things, racial divide and inequalities are more visible/prominent beyond any other issue in the USA. Face it. You live with it....you deal with it...you cannot fix it. You CAN grow to understand it!
...Understand points of view you just weren't faced with dealing with as a child/teen. Understand what makes someone think they own a side-walk or community. Understand what innocence has been lost in the kids of our community. With the opportunity you can then educate, relate and rebuild relationships.....and most importantly the Community.
Don't let fear feed your human tendency to stereo-type or place judgment....it only clutters the minds purpose in finding meaningful and peaceful solutions to the problems we face everyday as Citizens of the United States of America.
-A.Non
Posted at August 20, 2007 01:39 PM
Specifics, A-non, from the general to the specific. Bullets flying on Pleasant street, again, this time in the middle of the day, African American drug dealers from the projects on Pleasant Street involved, that is specific. Police in Mt. Hope have no clue as to how to stop it. That is specific.
Your fine sentiments are wonderful, but I wish to deal specifically and pragmatically with the drug culture in Mt. Hope.
Who enables the drug culture in Mt. Hope? What can you and I do to stop it, to make our streets safe?
How can we enable the African American Community in Mt. Hope to find the inner strength to stop tolerating this self-destructive, community destroying behavior?
I wonder if we can even get them to admit that there is a problem, let alone address it.
Has anyone been to a MHNA meeting where the moderator listed drug dealing as an agenda item, such as: "Tonight we will discuss drug dealing in Mt. Hope and what we all, as a community, can do to stop it." Anyone ever heard anything like that.
Why doesn't any one call up Mt. Watson and ask him to have the next meeting only about drug dealing and drug related crime and list the hot spot problem areas by address?
As I said, A-non, we can't solve the problems of racism or drugs nationwide, and I don't even believe Mt. Hope mirrors the nation on these issues.
I believe Mt. Hope is a small, corrupt neighborhood where people with a financial interest in the drug trade have preyed for years on their own community all the while yelling "racism" and "profiling" in an effort to keep the police at bay.
Maybe unwitting, liberal politicians have aided them. Maybe they are not unwitting, simply pandering for votes.
See, A-non, I'm writing about things specific to Mt. Hope. I'm not generalizing about anything.
Think globally, but start locally.
Posted by: John at August 23, 2007 11:57 PM
I'm sorry no one has responded to your excellent post. I have a lot to say about what you wrote, but I have been holding back, giving space to those who I thought you may have inspired.
Well, I'm also working my ass off, and there are only so many hours in the day to think deep thoughts. Still, I know what I want to say to you when I get the time, and I will begin with telling you that I believe that your heart is in the right place.
Around here, and from me, you may take that as a big compliment, not that that is worth anything.
Posted by: John at August 22, 2007 12:04 AM