Present

Mouthpiece Theater may have been silenced

But we all know the real clowns are still on the air

Hey, don't I know you from someplace

Most of the time there really is nothing most of us can do about the the issues that overtake the collective consciousness of the nation/world. But in light of the most recent unpleasantness with the Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. episode, there is something we all can do about it.

If you will recall from my YoMamaGates affair posting, I decided that the real tragedy was neighbors not knowing each other.

Cue the National Night Out people. I don't really see where all registration and organization is absolutely required (especially since its now too late to do it anyway), but I think they have the thing figured out. Just get out on the street and meet your neighbors. And if you don't get around to it until tomorrow or the next day so what. You can start with the kids, hand out treats (assuming that's cool where you live). Then the parents might wander up and before you know it we are a force to be reckoned with (either that or you will be reminded why you stay the hell away from them sombitches). But at least you will know your neighbors and more importantly, your neighbors will know you (I'm looking at you Dr. Gates).

Oh goody, we are having iced tea and donut holes on my block. I wonder if they will be checking the cups?

Can you say buttwhuppin on TV

What is wrong with you people? Why are we celebrating this little psychopath in training. In case you missed it, little 7 year old Preston took a joy ride in the family car. Take a look




The kid blows through at least two stop signs like they weren't even there. And at the end of the ride makes a break for it towards the house. What are the consequences of his actions? Instead of beating his little ass, he and the whole family get a trip NEW YORK CITY so he can wave at his friends back home on national TV on The Today Show. I'll bet he's even the center of attention with the playground set back at the local school. To my knowledge the Today Show did not present the cops perspective on this. I wonder what the take away message is for them.

The question I have is, what happens the next time he (or some other kid who watches this) starts to feel like he needs a little more attention. Sure the video is entertaining and sure the kid looks cute running to the house afterwards and sure the tape was worthy of national airplay. But why do we need to hear from the family that reared this child. Something is wrong here and somebody better fix it before its too late. I'm no child psychologist but I have enough child rearing experience to know that driving off in the family car is not the normal response of a seven year old seeking to avoid an unwanted outcome. I do know this, from the day of their birth most children are driven by two and only two things:
1. cause
and
2. effect

I cry and somebody feeds me. I make babbling noises and people pay attention to me. I steal the family car and run from the cops and I get a trip to New York to be on TV. I wonder what I get if I burn down the family house?

This was not the finest hour of The Today Show. Hey I know morning show news is a tough business but this child's actions could have turned out much differently (I'll let you use your own imagination). And that is what has to temper the public response to this thing. And in light of the whole Louis Gates Jr. thing one has to wonder what might have been the response had this been a little black inner city child.

No word yet on whether there will be any sort of milk and cookies summit at The White House to sort it all out.

But its my elfin porch

Well it looks like cooler heads are prevailing (as it should be) in the Henry Gates affair or YoMamaGates as we like to call it. But as we all return to our neutral corners there seems to be a bit of claim staking taking place. I think one of these claims needs to be challenged.

The cops seemed to have circled the wagons and laid claim to the right to arrest anyone who is spouting off at the mouth but physically situated on their own private property when their is no police emergency requiring their presence or involvement.

Now I am the first to concede that cops generally have a hard job, but so do firemen and we don't allow them to become the arbiters of who may use fire.

I think this issue needs to be clarified and if necessary fixed so that we continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The real tragedy of the Henry Louis Gates Jr. story

The tragedy of the Henry Louis Gates Jr. story began long before Mr. Gates found his front door inoperable or the subsequent arrival of the local po po's to investigate a reported breaking and entering.

Whether what happened that day is the result of racism will probably depend on your personal perspective. If you are a minority in this country (or any country for that matter) and you have lived your entire life under the weight of the oppressive force of racism that is as intangible but just as real as a fart in the wind (and every bit as offensive) you are likely to see the racism in this episode. If you have the perspective of a street cop and live day to day with the knowledge that your next assignment might be the last thing you do on this earth because some asshole has decided he ain't goin' back to jail you can see the necessity of controlling the situation. On the other hand if you are a non minority who feels like you have done your part to eliminate racism in this country (I'm not racist, hey I voted for Obama) you might wonder what all the fuss is about.

There really ought to be a cost whenever you invoke racism, a licensing fee perhaps. Just like Paul McCartney having to pay Michael Jackson's estate every time he sings Hey Jude. When one hollers racism it is not a personal thing any longer. To cry racism is to summon the pain and fear, the hopes and aspirations of everyone who has ever suffered silently or not so silently under the degradation of a dual system. Calling it racism makes it our business. And business is business, put a nickel in the cup. No matter how disgusting it is, racism is our ugly step baby, and you have awakened it. It needs to be fed and put back to sleep.

There is a certain logic to cops controlling the street. If cops are to control the streets for our mutual benefit, they must, by definition, be invested with a certain amount of ownership of those streets. So when someone fails to comply with a directive from an officer of the law on the streets an assertive response is not unreasonable. There is no such reasonable ownership rights on a man's front porch. My front porch is the one place I ought to be able to act a fool if I have determined that its time to do so.

And if you don't understand what all of the fuss is about, why everyone must get so excited about this then I submit that you are part of the problem (I don't care who you voted for). Because ignorance of and blindness to the problem is what allows it continue to exist.

But I digress, back to the tragedy. The real tragedy occurred when the apparently well intentioned neighbor made the call to law enforcement to report a break in as Mr. Gates attempted to enter his home. The real tragedy is that you can live anywhere in America, but especially in a reasonably safe neighborhood, and not know what your neighbors look like when they live within eye shot of your home.

And unlike racism, that is something each one of us can fix.

Just say no to crack

OK, not sure if its the boredom or the beer, probably a little of both, but these folks seem to know what to do when you have a little drunken time on your hands.

Loosely referred to as the Annual Mooning of Amtrak, they really know how to spend a little quality family time.

I especially like the section marked WHO IS IN CHARGE?
No one. No one organizes or is responsible for this annual event. Everyone who attends helps make it a safe, law-abiding, fun & successful day. It occurs the second Saturday in July each year, whether this web-site existed or not. This web site is a gratis service to provide some helpful information

But, beware if you plan to participate. You might want to bring bail money. The city of Laguna Niguel has declared war on the festival.