So Brandon, are you a drug dealer or a criminal because of your up-bringing and your mother's gallant efforts? I grew up on a sharecropper farm in Arkansas in poverty you might have trouble even imagining, unless you have visited some truly third world country. (I do not mean Cancun or Dominican Republic here). Yet I do not sell drugs on the corner and I do not rob people! I wonder why? Do you ever have that overwhelming desire to commit criminal activities? I do, but only assault type behavior, and only when confronted with true child or woman abuse. Your mother, like many poor mothers, may have given you something more important than "Good economic" conditions. It is called values.
We have a generation coming on line whose mothers have taught them the "value" of criminal lifestyle. That is the reason for the phenomena of criminal families. We have whole families who work in the drug industry from child hood to grandmother, and have done so during the best economic times in the history of the United States. What are downturns in the best of economic times going to do to those families? Probably nothing. The Police and true intervention might. We have children engaged in the drug trade being returned to the "Boss drug dealer", their parent, by Family Court and Drug Judges in Minneapolis. Remember the National furor about the child being beaten that was caught on video. People were outraged, and wanted the mother thrown in prison, and to never get the child back. When was there ever ANY outrage at a judge's sending a child back to a crack mother who kept the child in an active drug house, without even the slimmest chance of recovery and a decent future. I don't remember it even being worthy of any attention, let alone any public outrage. Poor children and especially children of color, are returned to psychological abuse, moral abuse, and yes very real physical and sexual abuse without anyone really caring and judges saying well it is preserving the family. I guess it is, but judges should stop BS-ing us. It really is about judges feeling it is less important to save poor kids than more "Normal" affluent children. This discrimination against poor children also brings out of me the desire to commit criminal assault and battery, but I restrain myself. I guess Mama might have been successful after all. Jim Graham, Ventura Village ----- Original Message ----- From: Brandon Lacy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2002 9:20 AM Subject: Re: [Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North > Hello list, > > I didn't mean to say that there doesn't need to be an increase in policing > in troubled areas. But, I wanted to point out that the drug dealers and drug > addicts aren't the central problem. They are, indeed, symptoms of a deeper > disease that needs to be cured in the city. And, of course you aren't going > to see a dramatic decrease in the number of drug dealers and addicts. As > long as we continue to invest in incarceration instead of education and > rehabilitation the cycle will continue. And, even once a person has been > educated/rehabilitated there needs to be livable wage jobs available so that > folks can support their families. > > I grew up with a Mother who worked full time, was single, and raised two > kids. Often my Mother had to work two jobs and still had to get some support > from the state (medical insurance). As long as we keep believing in the myth > that the free market will provide and that if you just get out there and get > a job all your ills will be fixed, we won't seriously address the issues of > poverty and the working poor. It's hard to have time to mow the lawn, paint > the house,and make the neighborhood look pretty when you just got off your > 8-5 and you are getting ready to start your 7-12. > > Vicky Heller asked the question does anyone know how hard it is to earn an > honest buck in this city? Yes, thousands of people know just how hard it is > to earn money AND provide for themselves and their families. It's time we > stopped paying Bob Ulrich at Target Corporation a couple million dollars a > year salary and start paying the average Jane $15 an hour so she can feed > her family and have time to raise it as well. > > -Brandon Lacy Campos > -Powderhorn Park > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > > _______________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
