Suburban Baltmore delegate calls on governor to address city crime (Baltimore: appointed, spring break)

[oneworld25]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

Seriously. To call their response "tepid" would be a real understatement. "So long as the numbers are good, everything is OK." Ridiculous assertion by queen SRB who is so far removed from the issues of crime in this city.

Crime isn't the only issue she's removed from. SRB just doesn't understand what's going on in the city and how to govern it. The only reason she's got to be where she is, is because she had a famous father. A part of me wishes Sheila Dixon was still in office. Granted she was sleazy and corrupt (and everybody knew that when she got elected). But I always got the feeling Dixon knew what she was doing. SRB just doesn't have a clue.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by oneworld25

Crime isn't the only issue she's removed from. SRB just doesn't understand what's going on in the city and how to govern it. The only reason she's got to be where she is, is because she had a famous father. A part of me wishes Sheila Dixon was still in office. Granted she was sleazy and corrupt (and everybody knew that when she got elected). But I always got the feeling Dixon knew what she was doing. SRB just doesn't have a clue.

You may get your wish next election cycle. Dixon seems to be playing her cards for a return to the throne.

I've heard this sentiment from lots of others, also.

[ToneGrail]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

This will attract national media attention, I think... And the fallout will certainly be interesting, because you'll have a soundbyte of srb saying "no biggie" happens everywhere played over video of the young preppy Arlingtonian "ante-ing up" and also video of the roving youths (still havent seen any video of thqt days events though).

SRB is right that flash mobs are not unique to Baltimore. Youth unrest has grown throughout the industrialized world. However, theres no doubt that they unnecessarily kept it quiet. Just because it's something that has happened elsewhere doesn't mean it's normal, and people have a right to know about it. Cover ups look 100x worse than the truth.

As for the race baiting... Irresponsible and distracting from the issue. "rovingobs terrorizing citizens" is enough to get the headlines... Throwing in black serves only to energize those who think that being black is a problem and to everyone else on the defensive.

On the other hand here we are talking about it so I guess it was effective. Still irresponsible.

Adding a description of the perps is merely stating fact. It would be ingenuous to omit it. Unfortunately the PC types have taken over.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by ToneGrail

Adding a description of the perps is merely stating fact. It would be ingenuous to omit it. Unfortunately the PC types have taken over.

I second this. Reporting the facts isn't racist. The facts are just the facts. If the flash mobs in Baltimore are white, I would want to know that too (so would the police, I assume.)

I read nothing racially motivated in the Delegate's comments, he just described what he allegedly observed.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

You may get your wish next election cycle. Dixon seems to be playing her cards for a return to the throne.

I've heard this sentiment from lots of others, also.

You are Exactly right.. I have seen Dixon rubbing elbows in all the right circles.. She is quietly plotting her return.. SRB is digging her own grave. The recent calls by council to do audits and the former Parks Directors revelations cost overuns and the whole "we dont have money" then amazingly FINDING the money is pissing people off along with no accountability of how monies are being spent. It is slowly sowing seeds of discontent even among her most stident supporters.

That fact that a politico from "the County" called you out and your City has to sting a little bit... not to mention all your top brass are jumping ship. To me she made tactical error when she first got elected.. If she would have called for audits as her transition committee recommended, then she could have been seen as a reformer and pegged her predecessors as being the cause for some of the cities woes and then outlined her strategy to straighten them out. By not doing that.. she now OWNS the issues. She also can be painted as a business as usual Mayor of Baltimore instead of a visionary or change agent. I suspect she didnt want to get into the details via an audit because she was hoping to kick that can down the road for the next next next Mayor (whenever she decided to leave office) or she would have had to implicate her mentor MOM in the failings of the City since he is a former Mayor. The fact that council members are calling her out shows that they are no longer afraid of the "mayors office" and in fact ole Jack and Carl may decide to run against her or even support her potential opponent ...ahem Dixon. They will continue to fight and attempt to embarrass her by questioning the Grand Prix, School Budgets/Bottle Tax, Crime, Tax Breaks, Taxes in General, Rec Centers closures, Fire Station Closures, Ravens Tickets in the skybox(couldnt leave that one out)......all of which resonate with some disgruntled constituency within the City Limits...

I feel a little sorry for her.. because I think she is getting some poor advice.. but she wanted to run with the big dogs so she is going to have to get off of the porch.....

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

This will convince nobody of my position, but it's true. Everyone have a nice weekend, I'm unplugging and getting out to enjoy this amazing weekend before it gets disgustingly humid.

Delegate maintains racist view of St. Patrick's Day mob - baltimoresun.com

[Jermaine88]

Describing the people who are causing these problems is not racist.

[dogpark]

Looks like high school stuff, but it is still multiple blacks beating a white:
Man, 19, beaten by two groups of students downtown - baltimoresun.com
Interesting that the Sun reported the race of the participants; usually they don't.

Some express distrust of the reporting of incidents downtown on St Patrick's Day:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bre...,2288059.story

Even the liberal columnist Rodericks says the police need to do a better job downtown: Downtown Baltimore needs more cops - baltimoresun.com

No matter what, it makes the city look bad.

[EdwardA]

I believe some white Poly kid was beaten by two groups of black teenagers this past Thursday.

[B.K.]

Originally Posted by oneworld25

I don't see why he felt the need to identify the race of those making up the supposed mobs. If those kids were white why would he have identified them as white? I don't think so. Furthermore, I don't even understand why he chose to address the issue. He doesn't even represent the city.

I'll be the first to agree that Pat McDonough is a self-aggrandizing clown (worst toupee since Dutch Ruppersberger). However, in this instance I'm glad someone brought this up, since local politicos won't. The Inner Harbor is the City's biggest tourist attraction and cash cow. The fact is that for better or worse, Maryland is defined by Baltimore. There's us, and then there's everywhere else in the state.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed, no matter which delegate from wherever brings it up. Our local Baltimore Mayor and City Council aren't going to touch it. They need the majority population to keep them in office, so that they can continue bleeding the State and Fed for dollars to line their pockets and those of their supporters, families, and campaign contributors. The majority population wants them to stay there so that they can get some of what falls out of the trough.

Mob violence in the Harbor is increasing, particularly on holidays. The events of last year's 4th of July and New Year's Eve come to mind. In every instance the malefactors are roving gangs of black youth. The mayor and her Police Force make every effort to downplay this, or cover it up, as has been shown by the unfolding St. Patrick's Day scandal.
Until we seriously address the real problem of crime, rather than making excuses or attempting to sweep it under the rug, we will continue to see an escalation in this type of behavior. The fact is that crime is endemic to large populations of the city, and those populations are overwhelmingly black. Had these gangs rioting in the Harbor been white youth, not only would it have been the biggest surprise in Baltimore in the past 50 years, it would have been a story broadcast by every politician in the country, not just a Baltimore Co. delegate. We have become so politically correct here in Baltimore that when local news reports that Police need help in locating wanted criminals suspects, the race of the perpetrators is not included in their descriptions!