Friday, March 16, 2007

March 16

49-year-old Michael Stuckey was stabbed to death in the Southwest, allegedly by 50-year-old Robin A. Weaver. In the same article, Antwan D. Askins was ID'd as the man who was fatally shot in Lauraville on Tuesday night and Maurice Wilkerson was arrested for the murder of Steven Washington.

Danielle Eboni Riley got 20 years for killing her newborn baby.

Yesterday, Anthony Jerome Miller was found guilty for the murders of Jason Convertino and Sean Wisniewski. Sentencing is scheduled for June 8.

On April 16, 2003 at approximately 2:30AM police responded to 1917 Gough Street for a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discover the bodies of Jason M. Convertino, 31, and Sean M. Wisniewski, 22, in an apartment inside the building. The medical examiner later rules that both men died as a result of gunshot wounds. Evidence from the crime scene is gathered and secured. In May 2003 a laptop computer owned by Convertino is pawned by Miller. In March 2005 DNA evidence is collected from a piece of evidence discovered at the crime scene, a latex glove, and in November 2005 that DNA is matched to Miller.

Perv of the day: Jose Elder Montufar is wanted for kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old Baltimore girl.

Anthony Hawks was arrested for last month's murder of Harold Robinson at Club International. Also in the Blotter, a burglar in Greektown got the beatdown when he broke into an occupied house.

City leaders are outraged and horrified by the arrest of 7-year-old Gerard Mungo Jr.

Yesterday, Frederick County released the 911 tapes from the fire that destroyed a shopping center last month.

An inmate at the Baltimore City Detention Center was injured during a fight on a jail van.

Kevin "Chopper" Barnes got community service for robbing a couple at gunpoint in 2001. Apparently, his lawyer asked the court to cut his client some slack for the youthful mistake and not jeopardize Chopper's pending million-dollar record deal.

It looks like Bowling Brook might be liquidating their property.

Former BPD cop Andre Alan Stover earned $150,000 from false workers' comp claims.

Truants may be losing the right to drive.

The Guardian Angels will be recruiting for their Edgewood chapter this weekend.

31 comments:

ppatin said...

From The Atlantic's witness intimidation story:

"Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. attorney for Maryland, says the federal government has a big advantage over the states in breaking through the code of silence: leverage. Federal sentencing guidelines provide for long prison terms and, unlike the state system, do not allow for probation or parole. “We don’t appeal to their sense of civility and morality,” Rosenstein says. “We get a hammer over their heads. They realize that cooperating is the only way they can get out from under these hefty federal sentences.”"

That's what we need in Maryland. Long, mandatory sentences that judges can't reduce, with no possibility of parole. Is that too much to ask for?

ppatin said...

The Kevin Barnes story made me want to vomit. Community service for armed robbery? Why did they even bother prosecuting that case. I'm also surprised that he was tried in Baltimore County. I would expect that sort of crap in the city, but I thought that the county was a little less tolerant of serious felonies.

Marc said...

Yeah, the "hammer over their heads" line is the part I read out loud to my wife (she loves it when I do that). Isn't that what Galt has been advocating?

Marc said...

Chopper Barnes:

“Shout out to Diamond Cut Entertainment,” Chopper said in the release. “They bonded me out and I came out to a 550 Benz.”

Remember folks, hip-hop has no connection to crime.

Dopple said...

I'm gonna be sick too...Kevin Barnes and "Snoop" from The Wire. The courts should order these two "diamonds in the rough" to pay restitution to their victims and their victims families.

ppatin said...

Rod Rosenstein has become my new hero. The funny thing is that his official photo makes him look like he's about twelve years old.

John Galt said...

Hammer Time !!

John Galt said...

The Sun reported:

Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said the mayor was "very disturbed" by the level of homicides. "She is working 24 hours a day with the police commissioner to come up with some real solutions to this problem," he said.


Come up with ??? What, she's trying to discover Cold Fusion or the Fountain of Youth or something ??

It's not very high-tech stuff, Hon.

Hire cops. Good cops. Lotsa cops.
More people will die every week until you do so, dearie.

.
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.
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I said, .... NOW !!!

John Galt said...

The arrested seven year-old shoulda gotten the Chair.

Well... , at least after getting him a coupla phone books so that he could sit in it.

ppatin said...

I wonder how many years that girl who murdered her baby will serve. She got a 20 year sentence, so I'm guessing that'll be paroled in 7 or 8? I guess that's the going rate for murdering children in Maryland.

Gor said...

It would nice if Mayor Dixon and City Council band was horrified over all the leaking bodies littering our sidewalks.

As for the tiny citizen being man-handled I can understand being concerned, but I used to drive a tractor-trailer in the city and those dirt bikes used to fly up and down (and across) the streets, infront and around me (mostly around the N. Monroe Street area). Most riders were shirtless, no helmets and wore only baggy pants and sometimes only flip-flops for shoes. Many of those riders couldn't have been older than 10.

ppatin said...

Why exactly was a 7-year out alone with a dirtbike? I saw arrest his parents for negligence.

Marc said...

Obviously, arresting a 7-year old is a dumb move - but what were the cop's alternatives?

Just ignore it and hope the kid doesn't cause an accident or get run over? Write him a citation that he'll throw in the trash? Talk to his mother, who'll give you a raft of shit?

The best thing to do probably would have been to just confiscate the bike, although I'm not too sure about the legality of that.

Gor said...

This 65 year old man died from his injuries and is now classified as a murder.

http://wjz.com/local/local_story_075212552.html

Is this the 59th for the year?

ppatin said...

"The best thing to do probably would have been to just confiscate the bike, although I'm not too sure about the legality of that."

I think that dirt bikes are illegal in the city, so the cops could have probably done that. I know that the city impound lot is full of them.

Unknown said...

Marc...Chopper Barnes? Do you mean Kevin Barnes, or better known as Young City?

dopple....And who is a victim of "Snoop's" from the Wire? If your talking about that soliciting charge it was a fake story put out by a gossip column... unless there is another charge I'm unfamiliar with

jaimetab... maybe it's just me, but I understand your disgust but your comment sounded a bit biased... not all hip hop artists talk or label songs that way, almost sounded a bit racist... maybe not , maybe I just took it wrong. I am not trying to defend "Young City" as he is now called, he is my husband's cousin, and an asshole he has always been according to him and the rest of the friends we have who know him.

ppatin.. I agree, the parents should have been getting fingerprinted and arrested for neglect!

Marc said...

sam's lil sis:

Yeah, that's the guy.

And "Snoop" is a convicted murderer.

John Galt said...

Snoop was sentenced in late '96 for 2nd degree murder and was charged but null-prossed more recently a few years ago for CDS and assault with deadly weapon with intent to injure on separate occasions.

She's just a real sweetheart.

Unknown said...

Wow thanks for the link... I guess her wire character resembles her true life to a scary extent...

I

C Love "The Rap Addict" said...

Marc said...


Remember folks, hip-hop has no connection to crime.


^^^^ YOU ARE CORRECT.


PLEASE....PLEASE......PLEASE........STOP LUMPING THE CULTURE OF HIP HOP WITH WHAT YOU SEE ON TV AND/OR HEAR ON THE RADIO.....

THAT CRAP IS ALLOWED TO BE BROADCASTED BECAUSE IT IS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF BRANINWASHING THE MASSES (particularly the youth and unmotivated populations) AND TO STRENGTHEN THE RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT IN THIS COUNTRY. HIP HOP UPLIFTS!!!! HIP HOP EMPOWERS!!!

I REALIZE THAT MANY PARENTS ARE SICK OF HIP HOP'S INFULENCE ON THEIR KIDS.....I KNOW MANY ARE DOWN RIGHT ANGRY. BUT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSIC.....THAT IS A ISSUE IN YOUR HOME. I KNOW PLENTY OF ARTISTS THAT MAKE GOOD HIP HOP MUSIC...SONGS WITH MESSAGES AND MEANING, BUT YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT THEM. SO IF U R ANGRY ABOUT HIP HOP'S MESSAGE.....YOU NEED TO TALK CRAP ABOUT THE LABELS THAT PRODUCE, MANUFACTOR AND DISTRIBUTE IT...IMPLORE THEM TO OFFER MORE DIVERSITY.




YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HIP HOP (AT ALL!!!!) and PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED AN OPINION ABOUT IT WITHOUT RECIEVING A TRUE AND BALANCED EDUCATION!! O HOW DID YOU BECOME SO WISE?



SO RAP MUSIC DOES NOT TALK TO YOU OR REPRESENT YOUR AMERICAN DREAM....

SOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT!!!!


YOU PROLLY ARE NOT IMPACTED ONE IOTA BY HALF OF THE STUFF ANY OF YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT SO CASUALLY AND WITH SO MUCH DISTASTE......


WHY DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT REALLY AFFECTS YOU (GARDENING, BOCCE BALL, RECYCLING, CHEESE, ETC.) YOU DON'T WANT TO IMPROVE BALTIMORE....YOU JUST LIKE RUNNING YOUR MOUTHS!!!!! (OH MY BAD, PONTIFICATING PROFUSELY) .....WHY ELSE WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT THE CRIME RATE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORICALLY RICH CITY WITH SO MUCH HUMOR AND SACASM???? ITS A BIG JOKE???



Chopper is immature. He is not the nationally recognized BLACK spokesperson (we don't have one of those)....he is not a role model to anyone I know.....nor is he HIP HOP.

What many of you may not know is that RAP is fake....LOL! The reason he is probably not in jail is because he did not do anything that warranted that sentence.....I mean, Is that possible??? Or are all BLACK people charged with something automatically guilty and God forbid if they rap they must have the HAMMER thrown down on their neck expediciously!!!!????


Sorry......... imo You are just as ignorant (NOT KNOWING) as the ppl you sit here and criticize. <----- no dis to you personally because I don't know ya, but its just funny how folk can sum up ppl's whole existence thanks to a few sound bites and news paper clips. WOW!

Marc said...

c-love:

Here's what happened in my neighborhood over the weekend...

Stabbing // Police were seeking a man who entered a barber shop in the 3500 block of 10th St. in Brooklyn, armed with a butcher knife, about 5:15 p.m. Saturday and pursued the barber to a back room. There, the man stabbed the 25-year-old barber in the head and back before fleeing. The victim was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. His condition was not available yesterday.

Shooting // A 31-year-old man remained at Shock Trauma after being shot in the face in the 100 block of E. Patapsco Ave. about 7 a.m. Saturday. Police said the victim was not able to tell police who shot him or why.


... those sorts of things make me uncomfortable taking my daughter outside of the house, so I don't do a lot of gardening or bocce.

"Chopper" Barnes was found guilty of robbery and he should have received a sentence commensurate with his crime. Do you think he should have got a break because he's black or because he's a rapper?

And when I see a hip-hop label making excuses for a convicted criminal instead of distancing themselves from him, what conclusion should I draw?

As for the black humor with which some Baltimore residents treat the continuous reports of violent crime - I think that's just a coping mechanism that keeps people from being angry 24 hours a day. You can only beat your head against the wall for so long.

C Love "The Rap Addict" said...

MOST times when a person is convicted by a jury of his peers (particularly in a high profile case)...the "people" feel justice has been served.

No one questions the judge's decision and/or sentence when the punishment is one that is in line with one's personal feeling regarding the particular case.



No one wonders about the make up of the jury or the incompetency of the prosecutor or defense. We assume that they made a decision based on the evidence that was presented.

I'm more than sure that this judge is qualified to make a decision.

Since you nor I was there.....nor were we judge or jury...we have to assume that either the state could not prove their case or the case against chopper was not substantial.

Although you may feel that their is a better place for him (i.e. prison), the judge in this case felt that he deserved his freedom. Justice was served. Why do you even care if he goes to jail or remains free?


He showed up for court with proper representation and things worked out in his favor. That to me is an example of our criminal justice system working. Has nothing to do with him being black or a rapper

.....of course I do not want to see another black man in jail, but you better believe that if he truly did assult someone and was proven guilty ...I'd say put him on ice.

Black people appreciate when criminals are convicted too. We don't like living around crime, despite what may appear as our indifference to it. Many of us have no choice but to cope. <-----or we have been conditioned to think so.


I recognize crime in our city and it enrages me (prolly more so than you!!!!!) I grew up in one of the most crime and drug ridden neighborhoods in Baltimore.


but unlike you (& Im not talking about not being about to sit on your back porch)......it actually impacts my life in ways that I cannot avoid.

I've lost friends to random, violence RECENTLY, I've lost people who I was trying to help, I know kids that can't go out side to play - not because they are afraid of bullets, but because there is no play ground and/or other safe designated place for them to go, I know a person who's little brother is in a gang and can't get out.....I know people that worked 30 + years to pay for a house that isn't worth shit today because of crime, etc. I could go on and on............


True, we are both Baltimoreans, but I feel like we live a totally different Baltimore experience.

As for the black humor with which some Baltimore residents treat the continuous reports of violent crime - I think that's just a coping mechanism that keeps people from being angry 24 hours a day. You can only beat your head against the wall for so long.


why are you angry?????



In closing...LOL!
You don't know anything about Chopper's case. You are only gossipping. I know you prolly wanted to keep the convo "light"...make your little jokey joke about some black guy and its all good, but I just wanted you to know that your comments were mean and truly highlight whats wrong with our city and America as a whole.


No one is better than the next person......no one's life or comfort is more important than the next.

Until folk start talking about addressing the crime in Baltimore..... get ready because eventually the crime will be on your door step.


Also....I am no fan of crime. Its messed up that your neighborhood has crime too. No one should have to live in fear.


Not sure why you asked it I think he should get special treatment b/c he is black or a rapper??? I think my point was.....he got the sentence that the judge felt his crime warranted. I know for a fact that charges often sound far worse that they are.....

A friend of mine was accused of bumping (not picking it up and swinging it...more like shoving it into the person's leg) a person with a bar stool at a local club. An argument followed.....which was follwed by him later being served with a restraining order. Later....he had to go to court and faced charges including assult with a deadly weapon. The chair was the "deadly weapon". He was later cleared of all charges because the case was BS. Now on paper....it sounds like he is a chair swinging, mad man, but the reality....he was falsly accused by a lying b*tch. A judge listened to his case and made a decision. That IMO is what happen here.

Im sure you DO NOT know Chopper...prolly didn't even know he was on Puffy's 1st Making the Band. On that show ...he repped Baltimore well. You have no reason other than reading a few articles to think he was guilty of anything. You passed judgement based on sterotypes.

I know me saying all this will not change you, but I hope it helps someone else.

Marc said...

c-love:

How many of the people you have lost to violence were killed by convicted criminals who got out on parole, or got next-to-nothing sentences in the first place? Maybe if the judges in those cases had imposed real jail time, your friends and loved ones would still be with you.

You're right - I know nothing about Chopper, except for this: he was convicted of a serious crime. Based on that knowledge, he should have received a serious sentence.

Obviously, you are honestly concerned about the crime problem in this city. What kinds of solutions do you propose?

Unknown said...

C-Love... I agree hip hop has nothing to do with crime...PERIOD. No one ever says that heavy metal songs or rock that talk about kill kill kill make people who lsiten to it commit crimes

If someone commits a crime it is because of their choices in a situation, not in music or culture.

The only point of your comment I don't agree with is about the sarcasm. I think people use sarcasm to cope with the bad stuff that goes on here. I used sarcasm to deal with my brother's murder trial... it wasn't funny but during the breaks we made jokes about Warren Brown and life in general i.e the guards who let us upstairs when we set off metal detectors because " we had already been in.. go ahead"... myself and my friends used it as a way to deal with something very real and very unpleasant. But I will say sometimes I feel like some comments are racially toned... I stated this in a post a few days ago, but overall myself I use my sarcasm as a coping mechanism... I have had friends killed here, family killed here, I've had friends killed in my hometown recently also, but I can only speak for myself.

C Love "The Rap Addict" said...

i appreciate you taking the time to respond......



How many of the people you have lost to violence were killed by convicted criminals who got out on parole, or got next-to-nothing sentences in the first place? Maybe if the judges in those cases had imposed real jail time, your friends and loved ones would still be with you.

You're right - I know nothing about Chopper, except for this: he was convicted of a serious crime. Based on that knowledge, he should have received a serious sentence.

Obviously, you are honestly concerned about the crime problem in this city. What kinds of solutions do you propose?




OK.....i know this sounds strange, but the average black person knows a "criminal" personally. I put it in quotes because......whereas you may think a person that sells crack is the lowest form of human.....I do not think that.

WHY?

EXPOSURE. BLACK PEOPLE have lived a qualitatively different experience that any other race/group of ppl. ESPECIALLY IN BALTIMORE.


Let me make this clear:

I am not talking about child molestors, rapists, burglers, arsonists, gang bangers, etc. Theses folk should do the time if they do the crime.

Most black people are murdered or are in jail due to drugs...the use or sale. Selling drugs is not murder (itself - just like guns don't kill). You want to get rid of crime...address the drug problem. And not just lock up the ppl that sell them....get the folk that bring it into the black community. We do not own boats!!!! Most do not have their own columbian connect.

I happen to know some very nice people that sell drugs. These people take care of their families and try to give their children a better life.


I am in no way justifying this thought pattern or way of life.....nor am I saying that these people are the brightest in the normal sense of the word, but for them.....they are performing their actions out of love.

We all know criminals...its unfortunate that black ppl tend to know more than the average. Our system is set up to label black men (in particular) as criminals.
NOT EVERY ONE THAT SELLS DRUGS IS A KILLER. WE ALL KNOW SOME NE THAT SELLS DRUGS (i.e. WEED) or HAS in the past and is now a "law abiding citizen". Do you think they (i.e. your brother, son, college roommate, neighbor) are/were scum too? If you do...you are defintiely cut from a different cloth than the average.





What I think you fail to realize is that the average black person does NOT expect justice. I expect the police to DO NOTHING!!!! when they do something I am pleasantly surprised. Perhaps they respond to you and your problems differently. When a love one of mine was killed....I NEVER expected them to find out who did it. That's not the norm. Of the 500 + ppl killed in Baltimore last year...over half were black and how many of their killers were found???? Blue light cameras are all over the 27 and 2800 blocks of Harlem Ave (at Dukeland, Glenolden and Ashburton Streets) and a young man was killed a few days ago(mentioned here earlier this week)
and yet they still don't know who did it? WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE CAMERAS??? WHO ARE THE WATCHING?? I thought they were there to stop crime. Looks like they are there just to watch and lock ppl up for selling drugs. Is that the only task they have?


They do not stop ppl from selling drugs nor do they lead to more arrests for violent crime....???? so like I said...I don't expect the Police to do nothing!!!! I have to keep on living...I have to put myself in a position whereas I can not only rise above the conditions but also help those who cannot escape it. Can you imagine someone getting killed in front of your house and you still have to live there???


You on the other hand seem to view the police as your protector and feel that the courts are here to ensure justice....I know this true (the right of an American citizen)ONLY because I am educated, .....but believing it with my heart of hearts or having proof that the system is fair - I DO NOT!!!!

It pissed me off a little when Tommy Ryan (the DJ that supposedly KILLED his girlfriend) was aquitted and there was no outcry. No one took the comments made by him or his attorney and ran with it. No one fussed that he was at the club a few days later. No one talked about the kind of music he spins.....WHY???? More info about that case was released than the Chopper case...YET Chopper's made folk come out of the wood work with ignorant comments.



As for what I propose to do:

today i will be city hall btw 4-6 PM to see what the Baltimore Hip Hop community and I can do to help curb the violence in this city. I do not have the answers.....I was raised to accept. Baltimore's motto, "Its is what it is". First I had to realize that no one cares about the deaths (sure you talk about it, but then what)......then I had to realize that I am a leader within my own right.......and now I am open to doing more than talk.

C Love "The Rap Addict" said...

Liz....

You are truly a strong woman and I respect you. Not many ppl could have survived your ordeal with as much grace, compassion and maturity. I think you are an asset to the community. Your story will help so many.

We all used laughter to cope. In this instance tho...it was not UNIVERSALLY funny. I thought jokes should be understood without the teller needing to explain it. If you have to do that then maybe you need to tweek your joke or sarcasm. It wasn't even the fact that it was a black guy...it was the fact that this is someone's life and freedom and folk can so casually joke about that.

Unless you've been incarcerated...I guess you cannot relate to how mean it is to joke about it.

taotechuck said...

C Love,
I tried to attend today's meeting with the Mayor but was told that it's not open to the public. I'd love to hear your perception of the meeting.

Lots to address in your comments above. Yes, sarcasm is a coping method. I use it regularly, and I think most anyone could get pissed at me, particularly Frednecks and pervs.

No, rap music isn't responsible for the state of Baltimore. However, when mainstream Americans chose the violence of NWA over the revolution of Public Enemy, we made an economic and societal decision that has certain repercussions.

We (as Americans, not as any
specific racial group) chose ignorance over intelligence, misogyny over respect, bigotry over equality, fighting each other over fighting the system. Yes, revolutionary hip hop is still alive and well, but it is not in the eyes or ears of most people. Hell, I would love, just once, to hear Blackalicious coming from someone's car.

Ironically, the money that supported 'gangsta rap' came primarily from white kids. If you ever have a lot of spare time on your hands, study the demographic sales data for hip-hop albums from that period. Suburban white kids were largely responsible for hip hop's rise throughout the 1990s. Racist? Maybe. Or maybe it reflects the suburbanite's desire to experience the chaos of poverty and purge the guilt of being blessed with a life that doesn't include your friends and family members being killed, imprisoned, etc.

As for the name-calling going on here, there's nothing to be gained by turning on each other or drawing lines of "us" and "them." That is a classic way for corrupt leaders to control their populace. Look at most any genocide throughout history and you'll see what I mean.

We are all hurt by the crime in Baltimore. We are all angry. Nobody here is going out to play bocce ball or work in our garden, we're going out and talking to politicians and reporters and neighbors to try to make things better. We are the people who actually give a shit, so we should work with each other, not against each other.

C Love "The Rap Addict" said...

taotechuck,

ever thing you said is very real.

Thank you for reminding me to not take posts so literally.


I attended the meeting not knowing if it was open to the public or not. I plan to try to be at everything I can.

When I was going in...I overheard the press secretary (I assume) tell a camera woman that was there that no cameras were allowed and that the mayor would talk to them at the conclusion.

Unfortunately, I don't have much to report ...in that I heard comments/suggestions from about 9 kids and then the mayor asked several adults (myself included) to leave because there were 15 children outside and the fire marshall would shut the meeting down if she let any one else in the room. The kids were the people she actually wanted to hear from.

I did not know anything about the Monday night meeting which I later understand was for community leaders.

The format was basically:

the room section into 3 seating groups with mics in the aisles and mayor seated in the middle with 2 assistants writing down what the speaker said.

Speakers were asked to offer solutions for the problems in the city...not problems. The kids had some pretty smart ideas, but some of what I heard was shortsighted and spoke to their lack of understanding of the overall situation (i.e. one kid says, "I think you should lock the drug users up and stop going after the dealers cause if no one was buying them...no one would sell them"...we all know that is not working).

The kids were really cute tho...LOL! mainly middle and highshcoolers. I would have loved to see how it progressed. I guess I will have to figure out another way to get an audience with her honor.

I think its great that Sheila Dixon is positioning herself to be seen as a mayor that is accessible to the ppl. I am not sure how much these types of meeting will accomplish, but the fact that she is saying that she will read any and all proposals for change - to me - says a lot.

One bright spot....got to shake hands with the commish! I like his energy. I went to school with his son (Saint Frances Academy C/O 95) and the Mayor's nephew. Its beautiful to see 2 people I admired as children acheive their positions. Hate it or love it, they are great role models and respectable people.




Baltimore's problems are rooted in the overall disinvestment in its people. People do not feel like its their city too. Children are not taught to have pride in their city and so therefore...its nothing to tear it down. There is no real investment in education (several of the kid's comments addressed this).....how can you build a great and wealthy city when more than half of your residents are uneducated and don't give a f*ck about nothing? How can you fix one side of the city and not touch the other (black side)? Kids are not stupid at ALL!!!! They know that they are treated different and its simply easier to believe it is that way because you are black. The youth are angry and misguided. These folk grow up to be angry and misguided adults.

This is where were are now in Baltimore.

So the issue is now.....Black people must start fixing our own problems. I'm saying it's a black problem because for far too long we as a people have sat back waiting for the "city" or the "government" to fix our issues or make things right for us (level the playing field), but I see now...THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. No one cares at all until it darkens their doorstep.


.....I am so sick of every race/nationality of ppl treating us and or talking about us like we are wild animals or idiots. I went into the Tuxedo pharmacy on Roland Avenue on Monday after stopping by Eddie's to get me a peresian (I love those!!!!)....anyways....I walk in and this Eastern European woman walks up to me (almost upstructing my walkway) and says to me...."May I help you?" Im like "No, just looking"...I'd walked into the store because I saw they sold cards and a co-workers birthday just passed.....she then says, "well, I just wanted you to know ...we don't sell cigarettes or anything like that" WTF? "like that"?? I didn't have on my NEWPORT T-Shirt?? whats like that....glass vials for my crack, dutches??? I was professionally dressed...coming from my very professional, starched collar work enviromnent and this broad tells me they don't sell cigarettes???? why????

........or how about Saturday when Im in the nail salon and a woman next to me questioned the nail technician about an additional fee......she asked him a simple question....next thing I know...he starts rattling off in some forein asian language to the two tech next to him (the one doing my nails included)....we all knew that this man was talking about her....in her face essentially....

this is just 2 examples...i can give you many more.

this is what we (BLACK PEOPLE) get all the time....a TOTAL lack of respect

How can you expect the people of this city to care about it when they are not respected or appreciated. There is a reason Mondawnmin is the riches mall in MARYLAND!!! We spend money, yet we get NO DAMN respect. Some of you may say....You all don't derserve any respect...look at how you act!!!


Well....this is the part of the problem I want to address. Once upon a time...the kids had examples of positive black people in thier communities. They lived next door to professionals. I do not plan to run away from the problems of the city. There are more ppl like me, but we have not cross paths yet. I like the idea of the group of people that decided to buy up Linden Avenue (I forget the name).....I think their model could be duplicated. I think there could be more effort put into creating more of a sense of community in many of the historically black communities in Baltimore. I'd like to see more public art.

The problems of the black community have to be addressed by black people. This is not being said in any way to belittle the efforts of anyone out here trying to make Baltimore better.....i applaud you, but at the end of the day......you get to go home to you neighborhood and choose to come back. Because statistically speaking...a black woman is more likely to be college educated and a homeowner.....she is prolly the one to buy a home....one income will only allow you to buy in certain areas because of that...if we leave things as they stand....you will be living in the hood or real close to it. I can never escape the crime without continuing to be part of the real problem. More programs are needed that address REALITY!!!!

taotechuck said...

C Love,

I sent an email to the yahoo ID listed on your profile. If you don't get it, would you let me know in this comment thread? I had an idea a few years ago that I've not been able to do, but I'd be curious of your thoughts.

Unknown said...

C-Love:
your right about some things IMO.

There was no outrage on this blog so much or in the public about DJ tommy. I know a friend of his quite well.

But I do see the point. I write about the guy who killed my brother and have made jokes about him going to jail. i've never done time so I can't relate to how it feels to be locked up. I think that sometimes people say things in public that , to the majority of us, are unacceptable because within their lives and circles of friends and families those things are acceptable. like jaimetab's comment about Chopper and using "ebonics" as if all hip hop is ignorant. Some rock music is ignorant, doesn't mean the whole genre is.

Anyhow, next time your headed to a meeting at City hall like the one you wrote about, let me know a little in advance, I'd love to go. Chuck, same for you, I'm always willing, time allowing, to go to any public hearings, forums, meetings so that I can possibly be able to speak and or hear what the people ready to take action think. I'm always open to ideas.

Anonymous said...

wow c-love, you act like ONLY black people get dissed. grow up. and turn in your "friends" that deal. they ARE murderers. get a clue.