Detroit Mayor's Stupidity May Help Young Folks
There was a time when I thought the best thing that could ever happen to this arrogant, pants-sagging generation of young black kids across America was to look at a guy like Kwame Kilpatrick, who wasn't much older than them, and realize there really was hope ... without guns and drugs ... if they just put out the effort to grab it.
I mean, the young brothas and sistahs will readily tell you they'd much rather listen to the words of people like Kanye West and Fity Cent, instead of messages from folks like T.D. Jakes and Barack Obama.
So, I thought when Kilpatrick was elected Mayor of Detroit seven years ago ... at age 31 ... it was his golden opportunity to use the stage for an up-close and personal performance of how a young black man should carry himself, have respect for our young black women and represent the black race in a way much of white America thinks can't be done by someone like him.
Now we know white America may be a lot smarter than we think.
It's a sad commentary that the stupidity Kilpatrick has shown while in office with very public adulterous affairs, lies to the citizens of Detroit and shady business dealings have let a lot of people down ... himself, his family, a city that believed in him and a country that desperately needs more young, intelligent black politicians like him.
But maybe, just maybe, some good might come out of his political career unraveling right before our eyes.
Maybe ... just maybe ... instead of being yet another self-indulgent young black man who literally blew himself up, Kilpatrick will stand as a symbol for other youthful blacks to look to as one more example of what a power-drunken ego can do to you.
One thing about humans, black or white, we need continued reinforcement of what not to do before we're convinced not to do it.
Already in this country there is a shift amongst young people of all colors to get back to the foundation of what being somebody is all about.
Oh, don't get me wrong! There's still that element of youth out there who want the quick dollar, who are lazy and who want things given to them without doing any work for it.
But, just look around you ... there are a lot more, too, who know the quickest way to the cemetery and jail is to put themselves in positions to get there.
There will always be an element like that in our society ... has been since the beginning.
But there's also that other side of the coin where folks look around and say: "Man, that was pretty stupid! I ain't goin' out like that!"
The things Kilpatrick has done lately are pretty stupid. It's over for him.
He is going out like that.
And this from an intelligent, college-educated, licensed lawyer who's supposed to be so far above it.
We've all been there ... done stupid things that don't even begin to portray who we really are.
But when we did those things, we learned from them.
We didn't do them again ... and again, and again, and ... well, you get the point.
That's what young African Americans need to look at where Kwame is concerned ... how making the same dumb mistakes over and over can not only get you nowhere, but can also completely kill whatever it is you're trying to get to.
Yeah, they can feel bad for him for being so stupid and throwing so much away.
But, more importantly ... much more importantly ... they need to learn from what he did and realize they're always only a few ridiculously dumb things away from destroying everything they've worked an hoped for.
Remember what our mama's and daddy's told us when we were growing up?
"As a black man or woman you're gonna have to be better than everybody else if you want to make it in this world."
They weren't lying ...
(Darron Patterson is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Detroit and President of WriteStuf Communications, LLC, a full-service literary consulting firm)
I hope that something good can come out of this. I say as a Detroiter that voted for him his first term not second. That a person who appears to have his act together and have everything "big mama" would be proud of as ended like this. It is very sad.
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Just Imagine, IF that 1 Million BLACK men, Back Then owned, along with Their families 300-600 Shares of Stock of the MDIC, AADIC, or whatever, and Since that Time, through Stocks, Bonda, Investments on the Open World markets, just THINK what Each Family would NOW be worth, Especially IF the Investments were ito High Growth Industries as OIL, FOOD, Comodies, Google, Facebook, and other tech Stocks, Financial, Euros, and into China, Africa, Japan's markets?? Open your Mind...WHY have our leaders Refused to BE TRUE Financial Economic Visionaries....All I see is Selfish greed. "I got mine" and "You pray for yours" attitudes...But IF You never ever Remebmer me for any other Quote..."FAITH without WERKS/WORKS, is Always Dead, Dead, Dead"! .. and "MY people perish, for lack of Vision"!
Sincerely,
"the Warrior"
www.TheReeceWarrior.com
www.ReeceEnterprises.com
www.theLAZERUSproject.com
People get so mad at me, When I Say things Similar, even to My Articles That OUR CLERGY, Greedy MEGA-MINISTRIES, such as T.D. Jakes, And Many, many More all over our nation "PIMP" The Masses of our People out of MULTI-MILLIONS, Yet do Very little as far as Developing any Sound Economic Plan to Help Lift Our people....I Once Challenged Minister Farrakahn, Right before the 1 Million Man march, (People asked me If I was Going)..I refused to participate, even though at that time, MY Automotive Shops in Texas were doing quite well, and I was A Very Noted Business/Potential rising Political Leader (Groomed...1996/97 LEADERSHIP SOUTHWEST GRADUATE) to run for Public office in Southern Dallas County, I answered and challenged The minister, BY This proposal:
My Proposal: Instead of having a Million Black Men Ride Trains, buses, Planes, Stay in Hotels, eat in resturants, Bowwow from banks, etc... Spending Millions od Dollars average of $300-$800 per MAN to Companies, NOT owned by People of Color, or BLACK people, And Instead of Collecting the $10 Pledge from All of them, which by the way is $10 Million, I Think, : WHY not take that $10 Million and Have Launched the AADIC ( African American Depository Insurance Corporation) which would have been the Rival to the FDIC, The Gigantic Financial Corporation which keeps our people at bay, By Denials of Fair mortgages, Denial of Fair Business Loans, Denial of Equal Interest Loans all over the place...They Could have Called it the MDIC (Minority Depository Insurance Corp) or Similar/Whatever...
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That Start alone would have Changed BLACK Economic History World Wide. That Corporation could/would have Recirculated Our Dollars the 3, 3 1/2-6 times within Our Communities as Supposed, as All other Cultures does..
Imagine Mortgage Loans, Auto Loans, Business Loans, Credit cards, Shopping Revenues, Recirculating through such a Planned Organization, with Stocks, Bonds in the World open markets, ...You see what I'm Placing in the Plan!
I Proposed: Instead of Spending that $300-800, just Stay Home with your families, and Purposely Find a Black Business, Spend $200 of that with Known Black Business, The rest be ready to Invest into the Stock of the MDIC, AADIC or whatever the Organizations Final label would have been...Then I proposed that Just 5 of the Most Promonant Preachers/Ministers within that Dallas, TX area sit down together and Form a Group (Economic Stimulas Group) and for ONLY 1 Month refuse to take their parts of the more than $60 MILLION deposited into DFW Banks every weekend/Monday Mornings, DO NOT deposit it, for 1 Month...Keep it in Their Chosen, well Guarded, Secret Vaults, Spread out, some as Diversions....And Just watch The Banks that Depend on that Every MONDAY intake to Fund their Buddies and Big Caucasion Corporate LOANS. Scramble for What was happening....After the 1 Month, they could Have Pooled, LEVERAGED the Very large GROUP'S Purse to 1 Bank, with an Economic Stimulas Agreement, Pulled their Money Completely Out of their Separate respective Banks, to Begin (CHARTER their own), or simply Began again to Redeposit into their Same Respective Banks, yet operating 1 Month behind, while they Organized and launched their version of the Economic Stimulas Gropu, or the MDIC, AADIC....
WHY do OUT SO-CALLED LEADERS NOT see the WHOLE reasons of our People's Plights of Economic Injustice, which feeds all of the other Legal Injustice, Social injustice, Educational Injustice, ....The Willie LYNCH Plan ONLY keeps working because OUR "PIMPS" parading as Leaders Have Selfish Motives, Greed, and EGOS too Stupid to Allow A TRUE VISIONARY PLAN into our Communities.
The Largest Economic generator within OUR People is the BLACK Church MONDAY Banking Deposits..Our Churches are Many, many more than any other people, WHY do WE continue to Allow Ourselves to be "PIMPED"?
Preachers hate me, So called Christians ignore me, Because I am Straight UP, and NOT Totally FOOLED by GREED, Empty Sermons....Sure I respect Those MEN, of the Clergy, But ONLY as another BLACK MAN..I do NOT IDOLIZE ANY other MAN....I do NOT feel in AWE of ANY other MAN....I sat down and talked to Jesse Jackson, Senators and State reps, as Easy as I talk to my friends, and family, while others of my Group (Friends of RED Bird Airport) Back then "Stood around and Gawked at Jesse", until he Mad them Sit down at the same table, as I and he sat....
Oh, Y'ALL Don't hear me,yet!
"the Warrior"
www.TheReeceWarrior.com
www.ReeceEnterprises.com
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Ms. Beatty, and Ms. Stinger seem to be examples of a sad legacy of women (too many black) who seem to believe that to have a man, any man (even someone else husband) is better than no man at all. everytime I hear about an incident like this it creates a scenario in my head, I didn't spend time around my grandmothers growing up, but I was lucky enough to have my best friends grandmother "granny" and her sister "aunt Goldie", may they rest in peace.......I can picture them sitting at the kitchen table, in their house dresses and slippers, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, watching the scenario's play out and each time saying "now that was just plain stupid, she's supposed to be so smart, lost that good paying job over that man" on the flip side, just for Mrs. Kilpatrick and Mrs. Jackson "you knew he was a (enter your choice of animals here) when you took up with him.....
As for Monica Conyers, well as Granny and Aunt Goldie would say "that just don't make no sense..........."
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