Re: [Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North
Color me shocked. hehehehehe. -Brandon Lacy -Powderhorn Park _ Unlimited Internet access -- and 2 months free! Try MSN. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/2monthsfree.asp ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North
I knew that at sometime I would find myself posting in support of an opinion of Mr. Lacy's (although he might be a little surprised himself), but I never thought it would be in opposition to a post by Mr. Graham. Life is always full of little surprises. JIM GRAHAM wrote: > 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. I don't see how you can equate a rural background to an intercity one. You might just have found yourself on one of those street corners if, in order to avoid being beaten up everyday, you'd joined a gang. There are a lot of short term benefits that come with gang membership and we need to be aware of them if we want to lessen the attraction to young people. Gangs provide: protection, family, love, power, prestige, adventure and sex. Not being in a gang in some intercity neighborhoods is a daily struggle and is not quite on the same order of resisting the temptation of stealing watermelons. > 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. I don't think that this is a statistically valid argument. The vast majority of kids who become involved with drugs don't have parents who are drug dealers. I think that you need to reassess your evidence. Gang leaders in L.A. have been telling community leaders for years what needs to be done to combat gangs: good jobs. Unfortunately, gang leaders don't see the connection between education and employment. I suppose this idea might stem from the cronyism inherent in many unions where good jobs are awarded based on who your daddy is or how good his connections; an option not historically open to many minority members. Michael Atherton Prospect Park ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North
List, Nope. Proud to say that I'm not a drug dealer or a criminal. I think you brought up a key point, that I brought in an earlier post. That as well many people living in poverty, paritcularly people of color, are living in places where all they see, learn, and hear are poverty, crime, drugs, prostitution. And, if that is all you see, day in and day out, that is what you most likely will grow up and know. And, I've lived in Puerto Rico, and I've seen modern day sharecroppin' right there on our little island colony. I was lucky to have a Mother with a strong familial support system. It is also to note that my Mother is white. And, no matter how downtrodden she was, she grew up with a cultural understanding that was based on hope and a sense of fundamental entitlement. That is a feeling that many people of color did not grow up with. And, you are right on with the flaw in our legal system. At all levels of our legal system people of color are disproportionately negatively affected. A black child is more likely to be returned to his drug addicted mother than a white child. A black man is more likely to spend time in jail for being busted with drugs than a white man. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that our justice system was unduly biased towards people of color. The case escapes me right now. But, the end result of the ruling was that Justices ruled the problem so pervasive that in order to fix it the entire system would have to be dismantled and reassembled. Therefore, it could not be done. And, Jim, praise your Mama if she did indeed instill you with values so deep and strong that injustice makes you want to raise up mentally or physically to correct it. -Brandon Lacy -Powderhorn Park _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ___ 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
Re: [Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North
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
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:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Re: City budget woes- a microeconomic view from Crack Street North
In a message dated 10/10/02 6:05:56 PM Central Daylight Time, Brandon Lacy wrote: If we want to sustain our city, then we need to STOP giving out enormous subsidies to corporations (and for those of you who believe that subsidies to corporations create jobs...please show me one example in recent history in Minneapolis where the value of the subsidy has or will been returned to the city in the number of jobs created, and I'll point you to the current article in CityPages about Norm Coleman's failed experiment in St. Paul). We need to stop crowing for public financing of sport entertainment projects, and we need to redirect our spending to where it counts. We need to focus on small business development, improved tranpsortation infrastructure, decrease of urban sprawl, job creation, debt reduction, education, affordable housing, and mixed use development. How many jobs could have been created with the financing that went into Block E Development and Target's downtown store? How about the money to move the Shubert Theater? Good heavens, Brandon, you better watch how you talk or people will start thinking you've joined the Green Party, or worse yet the Republicans. :) Seriously, though, the only point on which I disagree with you is that you don't think we need a renewed emphasis on crime control. You may be correct that the overall level of crime in the city has dropped, but in Phillips and Hawthorne (that is where Dyna's at, right?) it seems that we're getting the bulk of it concentrated in our laps, and as Dyna correctly points out, it's kinda tough to persuade people to invest in businesses when you have that sort of thing going on. For that matter, in the last six months we've lost two businesses on Franklin: Instrument Control, which has been here for dog's years, has finally closed up shop, and the SA at 11th & Franklin has now closed as well. So. We know the police are busting all the dealers and crack whores they can plausibly bust, but there seems to be a serious leak in the pipeline of justice since the numbers don't seem to drop much from day to day. Fix that, and maybe we can get some more business investment here and in Hawthorne, maybe even somebody to renovate the Sears building. Kevin Trainor Republican Candidate HD 61A East Phillips www.taxpayersfortrainor.org
