Deputy Mayor Salima "They just don’t have no black people up in there like that" Marriott holds a doctorate from Howard, was a member of the faculty Morgan State University for 24 years, and while in the house of delegates served on at least four educational committees. Wow.
(Thanks Cynic)
23 comments:
His track record obviously proved his credentials of being able to command a semi-retarded language with millions & millions words to denote every different thing in the universe...
Amongst those culturally akin to himself it's not a bad thing that he may slip into his own cultural jargon...
1. he's a she.
2. Luke Broadwater is in no way culturally akin to her. He is physically incapable of uttering a double negative.
3. What about the message?
Mental gymnastics ain't be making no sense.
Its pretty tragic when you think about it - the Deputy Mayor (and her daughter) seem like perfect examples of someone who broke the cycle that she spoke of in her interview. But then, in the same breath, she blames that same cycle of addiction for her son's downfall?
Call me cynical (tee hee), but it simply does not add up in my book.
I think there's definitely different societal pressures put on boys growing up in that environment vs girls.
breaking a pattern within boys is very difficult without a strong male authority figure in the family.
Salima: "I understand that these individuals who are released from prison are not ready for life again. "
O.K, so we're letting them out of prison early. Why ?????????? By hypothesis, they aren't ready!
Bottom line: very large chunks of the male population in Baltimore need to be and remain incarcerated.
It is not a shame; it is a necessary management practice.
Have folks who grew up outside Baltimore ever seen so many political/community leaders with tainted family & social networks ? Where I was raised, that sort of background would keep you out of office. Here, it keeps you in.
Have folks who grew up outside Baltimore ever seen so many political/community leaders with tainted family & social networks ?
Yes, but I'm from Detroit.
Have folks who grew up outside Baltimore ever seen so many political/community leaders with tainted family & social networks ?
Not this bad, no. We all have "that relative" or "that branch of the family" who makes us cringe at every family gathering -- hell, I'm probably lumped in that group in my own family. But I've never seen a city with so much social rot, from the top down. It's no wonder we're in this mess -- we're being governed by people who don't hold themselves to a higher moral code...which, I think is a critical trait.
Man, you guys are pretty judgmental.
First off, the longer someone is in prison, the less likely they are to be ready to return to society. This is a widely recognized problem about imprisonment--the mentality and habits developed in prison and the mentality and skills lost during incarceration make it extremely difficult to get back to "normal" life. This doesn't even include the stigma around having a criminal history that prevents ex-prisoners from finding jobs and becoming successful members of society.
Check out American incarceration rates and prison situations and compare them to that of say, European countries. Then look at recidivism. We are doing something wrong.
I would like each and every person here to claim they are innocent and pure, and their entire family is innocent and pure. When you live in a city as bad off as Baltimore, if you come from a poor area and manage to scrabble your way to the top you will have family and friends with criminal and drug backgrounds. It's unavoidable. What's your argument? That only the rich white people in Baltimore should run it? My God, is that the kind of country we're in, when people advocate for that kind of classist mentality? How is someone ever supposed to get out of the ghetto when you require not only their record to be clean, but the records of everyone they know and love?
The woman seemed well-spoken, compassionate, and fair. Yes, despite the quoted sentence, which was one use of slang (and I suspect purposefully chosen as such) in an otherwise grammatically correct and intelligent interview.
When we're talking about corruption, I tend to think it means she's manipulating DAs and trying to collect on favors in order to get her son a lighter sentence. But she's being a decent human being and saying "He's wrong, and he's going to do the time, and I'm not going to enable him." If only all politicians were as straightforward and justice-minded as her!
I agree with the last comment by Anonymous. Having read the entire article, Deputy Major Marriot comes across as very articulate and realistic. I would think that her experience with her family would inform her work on the city’s community and human development programs, not hinder it. She knows what the city is facing.
Europe has less incarceration and recidivism because there is less freedom there. Cases aren't routinely thrown out because of the 4th amendment or juries not believing police offciers.
"Europe has less incarceration and recidivism because there is less freedom there."
Huh? If you were talking about Singapore I might agree, but I wouldn't say there's "less freedom" in Europe.
Anonymous, please spare me of the apologist sentiment that you've posted here.
----
"First off, the longer someone is in prison, the less likely they are to be ready to return to society. This is a widely recognized problem about imprisonment--the mentality and habits developed in prison and the mentality and skills lost during incarceration make it extremely difficult to get back to "normal" life. This doesn't even include the stigma around having a criminal history that prevents ex-prisoners from finding jobs and becoming successful members of society."
So, this exempts them from having to act like functional human beings upon being released? Talk about low standards.
Also, with each day there are more and more opportunities for those in jail. Didn't the city just pass something that allows released inmates to be eligible for city jobs? They could do any number of things that all of us are expected to do.
And for the record, stigmas come with the territory, regardless of who you are - I don't accept that as an excuse.
"I would like each and every person here to claim they are innocent and pure, and their entire family is innocent and pure. When you live in a city as bad off as Baltimore, if you come from a poor area and manage to scrabble your way to the top you will have family and friends with criminal and drug backgrounds. It's unavoidable. What's your argument? That only the rich white people in Baltimore should run it? My God, is that the kind of country we're in, when people advocate for that kind of classist mentality? How is someone ever supposed to get out of the ghetto when you require not only their record to be clean, but the records of everyone they know and love?"
First of all, in making such a statement you are missing the point. (at least) I am not making the point that she is ineligible for anything because her family has struggled with addiction. Heck, I'd say that at least she can empathize with the people in this city to some extent. My problem is how she chooses to use this experience in describing her struggles. As a person who wields power and influence, she is advocating a mentality that holds the system more accountable than her son. So for all of her accomplishments -- as a politician, a mother, and an educated SOCIAL WORKER, she's falling on the all too common, "Blame someone else" mentality. Its a problem, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Given the scale on which it exists here, I would say it is certainly as large as, if not larger than the prison system.
Second, it looks like you slipped into the all too familiar trap that happens on this blog. Is it just me, or does it seem like every single time someone speaks about accountability or responsibility here someone immediately turns it into a discussion of race or class? Why is it that we can't stick to the subject at hand as opposed to going into full on tear jerker mode?
Brandon Morris has chosen to have his sentence decided by a judge rather than a jury.
Considering what I said in my comment about myself, I certainly don't think you can make accusations that I claim to be "innocent and pure". Judgemental? Hardly. If the people who govern this city can't even clean up their own "back yard", why should we expect that they're capable of telling the rest of us what to do?
For the stupid choices I made in my life, I blame nobody but myself.
Ironic how this idiot claims her son's addiction was caused by his inability to get a job.. let's see.. because he's not only black but 6'4" and weighs a lot too!
Please, your son is an addict because he is weak.. simple as that. He had opportunities, more than most in this city, and squandered them. Place the blame where it belongs.
The quote in question shows an appalling level of spoken English for someone in a senior public role. And therein lies Baltimore's problem; low quality city officials with no experience of successfully improving the living conditions of another town or city. The mayor & co should be people who have lived/worked/traveled to other American/European/Asian cities and seen how they deal with poverty/crime/education/transport etc. Not just a bunch of locals who think the world ends at I-695.
She opted to answer ONE question using AAVE grammar. So what?
Yea us, we were all raised in homes using a single grammar in line with academic standards. Poo poo on her for being fluent in two grammars.
Obviously, she chose to switch to AAVE for some sort of effect. A befuddled, half kidding tone that is lost in the written word, perhaps?
Cynic, people bring up class in posts like this because the issue at hand in this post is class. Respectable people use one grammar; less than respectable people use another. Race is brought up in discussions about class because... well, this is America. But please, share with us a screed about accountability in a post about her grammar and blast others for getting off topic.
Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster, please grace me to not have to deal with more excuses for our chosen leadership...
Yea us, we were all raised in homes using a single grammar in line with academic standards. Poo poo on her for being fluent in two grammars."
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
This is perfect - once again, you're getting away from the point. Grammar is only a surface issue here - its more about her appealing to the same victim mentality that holds a lot of people down instead of, which reveals to me what type of leader she will be. What is so hard to comprehend about that?
"Yea us, we were all raised in homes using a single grammar in line with academic standards. Poo poo on her for being fluent in two grammars.
Obviously, she chose to switch to AAVE for some sort of effect. A befuddled, half kidding tone that is lost in the written word, perhaps?"
Two things amuse me about this:
1) That you would classify ebonics as a separate form a grammar, and
2) That you would have the audacity to use a euphemism to describe it.
You might make a good City Education administrator - what do you say?
"Cynic, people bring up class in posts like this because the issue at hand in this post is class. Respectable people use one grammar; less than respectable people use another."
No, respectable people know when is and is not appropriate to speak certain ways, which appears to be the most offensive point of the discussion to some of the posters here. I can see both arguments. Still, its annoying when anyone does it, regardless of race or class (George Bush, anyone?).
"Race is brought up in discussions about class because... well, this is America."
Its unfortunate that in Baltimore these two classifications are so interconnected - I think it gets in the way of rational discussion.
"But please, share with us a screed about accountability in a post about her grammar and blast others for getting off topic."
Thanks for teaching me a new word. Dictionary.com is my friend. And yes, I believe I will.
And for the sake of all of us, continue to defend her with your insipid rhetoric- your sarcasm and condescension has been a real asset to the discussion.
Obviously, she chose to switch to AAVE for some sort of effect. A befuddled, half kidding tone that is lost in the written word, perhaps?
Okay, I'll give you that one. However, I do indeed think that our elected officials need to hold themselves a little higher and straighter. If she was doing an "average joe on the street" interview -- who cares? But she's the deputy mayor, for crying out loud. I expect better.
There may be a plausible excuse for her grammar. I don't even blame her for having a ne'er-do-well son, once somebody's an adult they're free to make their own rotten choices, even with the best of parents. But for someone in a public position to imply that the corporate world is so racist, ageist etc. that there's no reason for anyone fitting her son's description to bother to get an education is a wrong message, both factually and morally.
"He was working for a little more than minimum wage with his brand new B.S. degree with honors" -- everyone fresh out of college has to pay their dues and build a skill set. That doesn't mean that a college education won't pay off in the long run.
So, then my question for the Deputy Mayor of Human and Community Development is:
how do you intend over the next, say, five years to remove persons like your son from Baltimore City ?
Because they are quite toxic. Sorry, it's true.
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