On 6/9/03 7:19 PM, "N.I. Krasnov" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Suburban culture, meaning the lack of gunfire, and Ghetto culture, meaning > no lack of gunfire, are equivalent? > > Explain that one to me.
I think what Jim means by different cultures is not so much suburban vs. city as the different cultures involving immigrants that tend to be present more in the cities than in the suburbs or rural areas. I remember when I started studying at the University of Minnesota and had classmates or teaching assistants or professors who were immigrants and how other classmates who came to the U from some rural or suburban area often had a lot harder time adjusting to things like accents and mannerisms and such because they'd never had any exposure to such things before. > Bridge misunderstandings? Why should it be incumbent on a suburbanite, or a > resident of any other city neighborhood, to <understand> the horrendous > level of crap that goes on in north Minneapolis? I'm not sure that Jim's concern has as much to do with city vs. suburban as it has to do with what our expectations should be of our police officers. I really don't care where members of our police force choose to live. However, I do have the expectation that when an officer is assigned to an area, that he or she take the time and make the effort to familiarize themselves with the "culture" of that area. If that means learning some rudimentary Hmong or Somali or Spanish and taking a class to understand what is considered polite or rude in different cultures, so be it. Ideally, all officers would receive this kind of training. And officers who fail to demonstrate what they should have learned should have that held against them in their performance reviews. > Police are not there to protect anyone. They are commanded to keep the > public peace, investigate crime, and if possible, prevent criminal activity. > The enforce the law. The Courts provide justice. If the police do not exist to protect anyone, then why is the motto of most, if not all police departments, "To protect and serve" - isn't that motto written on the MPD squad cars? What's also interesting is a visit to the MPD web page (http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/about/) shows the following vision, mission and values: Vision: The city of Minneapolis is the safest place to live, work and visit. Mission: Implement effective prevention strategies and reduce crime in collaboration with the community and our criminal justice partners. Values: - Employees are our greatest asset - A workforce that reflects our community - Protection of human rights - Excellence in serving the public - Honesty and integrity - Community and community participation Looking at these statements, it would appear there have been far too many examples in recent years where the MPD has failed to live up to its stated vision, mission and values. Were the MPD a publicly traded corporation, I suspect the shareholders would have long since forced the board of directors to oust Robert Olson. Since he leads a government agency, the shareholders are us, the voters and taxpayers of Minneapolis and the board of directors is our City Council. So for those of us who think Olson needs to go, our job is to make plain to our council members that if they don't get rid of him, we'll find someone who will. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
