"R.T.Rybak" wrote:
[snip]
> I'll do it without demonizing but it must be a high priority
> because we can't be safe is parts of the community do not have a strong
> relationship with the police. We spent a significant bit of time on the
> issue of racial profiling.
Ok. so what did you actually discuss with the police about racial
profiling? (i asked RT this question off list 13 1/2 hours ago but did
not get answer). While I appreciate a prompt response on the issue,
this is one of RT's classic answer that projects superficial sincerity
but lacks any substance. Come to think of it, i do not believe that RT
has provided any plan to address racial profiling. Has the three weeks
of meetings with police produced any plan? Frankly, i doubt it. If RT
was able to sell leftists and Greens without a plan, why give the police
any reason to find fault? While i suspect that the police federation's
main reason for not endorsing the Mayor was consistent with a common
reason for people of almost all political stripes - lack of leadership
on almost every issue, it is obvious that the police realized that RT is
no serious threat to status quo on issues affecting police practices.
Speaking of racial profiling, i will take this opportunity to bring up a
"skeleton" that has been nagging at me since a colleague who grew up in
Harlem brought it to my attention last week. C.J. reported on September
9 that RT, when featured in a book about "the most interesting single
men of the Twin Cities" in 1983, stated that "[New York] city was the
scene of his most dangerous venture, which was "walking through Harlem
on a Saturday night."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/464/673440.html
I happened to walk through Harlem on numerous occasions during the
1980s. Although I must admit that i might have grown up as sheltered as
RT, I would never have described walking through Harlem as my most
dangerous venture. In fact, i would not describe it as a dangerous
experience at all. (the most dangerous experience i had based on a
particular neighborhood was riding my bicycle through Bear Path [the
first gated community in Eden Prairie} and practically being run over by
a private security guard squad car because i did not obtain permission
at the gate to go into this neighborhood. The rich are generally far
more dangerous in many ways). To a candidate who always places a big
emphasis on his racial sensitivity, he can hopefully explain how he has
overcome his white preppie liberal fears so that he is at least no
longer scared to walk through an African American neighborhood.
Jordan Kushner
Ward 8 (come to think of it, i have probably seen RT almost everywhere
in the city except in my Ward)
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