In a willfully ignorant post, local blog "Toellner Tells it" reveals that the murder of dozens upon dozens of African-American people in Kansas City doesn't mean much to him . . . Maybe, including the first one of the year.
In his post he attempts to play silly games with numbers and only gives passing mention to the carnage on Kansas City streets. His detached logic is common among hipsters who have completely missed the point of the insightful book by Steven Levitt which attempts to provide unique correlations using a variety of databases.
In so many words Toellner seems to be saying that KC's murder rate is related to the increasing number of young people in Kansas City:
"So with Kansas City, MO seeing growth in its population, and the national trend is of growth in the 15-24 year olds that are most likely to be responsible for violent crimes, it is HIGHLY forseeable that we'd see an uptick in the murder rate. And we have. Meanwhile, based on our current trend data, I'd expect this to continue to be high for the next 5 years or so, and then we will start to see a decline again (so tip to the next round of politicians, run on the crime platform, and you will likely succeed)."This is analysis is not only childish and cursory but also just doesn't make sense. In both the suburbs and Latino Community there have been dramatic increases of young people from ages 15-24 without the same massive rates of homicide on the Eastside. Toellner willfully avoids the subject of racism, economic disparity, availability of guns and lack of social justice for an entire community in favor of a meager attempt to mimic a pop culture trend. Sadly, if all that was going on was simple hipster poseur-ism, I probably would have let it slide . . . But these conclusions about Kansas City crime are too dangerous to go unchallenged and represent the fundamental lack of concern for Kansas City's diverse communities among local yuppies.
Without a doubt:
IF THERE WERE AS MANY MURDERS IN A WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD AS THERE ARE ON THE EASTSIDE THAN KANSAS CITY WOULD DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY!!!
Instead, local pundits look for ways to blame the victims of these neglected neighborhoods and fight meaningless culture wars in the middle of a massacre.
What I've seen from the middle-class, suburban, bourgeois community is a complete indifference to these problems that inevitably find their way to other places and bar districts . . . Instead, these same suburbanites only acknowledge crime when it comes in the form of a missing white woman.
Even worse, local leaders in the fight against crime are vilified when they dare speak out of turn or challenge the status quo in this cowtown. Kansas City is a backward place where strange social mores dictate that everyone must be agreeable when discussing rampant discrimination, disparity and even in the face of death.
To wit, I'm sure TKC just might face some hostility simply because I didn't allow some blogger to indulge in a fantasy that he was a statistician. Such is life for any person of color . . . Double standards rule the day while protecting the delicate sensibilities of hipsters and suburbanites is more important that minority dead.
whatevs.
ReplyDelete"What I've seen from the middle-class, suburban, bourgeois community..."
ReplyDeleteI guess you'd have a really good view of it from over in your hipster neighborhood. Did you write this on your laptop from the Bluebird Bistro?
more boobs photos please
ReplyDeleteTony's just mad because he thought he had the market cornered on willfully ignorant posts.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. There are lots of stupid people you can compete with. And they all have blogs.
Lolz.
ReplyDeleteAgain, Tony, if Toellner's comments are so ignorant, why don't you give us your plan to stop the violence?
ReplyDeleteWant to know why suburban white people don't seem to care about the murder rate? Because a culture of ignorance that creates murder over drugs, material possessions and "turf" is so unbelievably foreign to them and can't be solved by them.
Wurd. Kyle is wise, and spot on. Willing ignorance, is what does this to the group you claim whites ignore. That is your reason. Kyle had it correct. Why help those who will not help themselves if given the chance.
ReplyDeleteTake the two Million we GIVE to the ball teams and institute a plan like the Seattle plan of intervention which provides alternatives.
ReplyDelete"Want to know why suburban white people don't seem to care about the murder rate?" Because it does not touch them. If allowed to grow with the population it will become endemic.
Kansas City violence can't be solved by bloggers alone, we need all of the community to come together in order to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteI'll give you that - they don't care because it doesn't touch them. But saying it will grow with the population is far-fetched. This murder increase is not really different from the late 80's/early 90's one - remember kids getting murdered for Starter jackets and Air Jordans?
ReplyDeleteThat stayed out of the suburbs for the most part, just as this will. Why? Because suburban kids might talk a good game but they rarely resort to violence over such trivial things.
Midnight basketball is the answer.
ReplyDeleteWe need to get these kids working out their problems on the hardwood instead of the hard streets.
A couple of good-spirited and hard-fought games will get these kids thinking, "hey, we're not so different .... you and I."
Tony,
ReplyDeleteThere are probably three things that are the biggest problems with the murders on the East side. They're complex problems, with a lot of other moving parts, but if you fixed these three things, a lot of the problems would go away:
1) More police (which takes money from taxpayers)
2) Better Schools
3) More job opportunities or better public transit to the available job opportunities.
Scaring the hell out of people that KCMO is not safe -- causing people and businesses to not want to relocate here - is going to make at least 2, maybe 3, of these problems worse, not better.
It doesn't mean we should try to stop the problem -- but we should just run around waiving our hands that the sky is falling when it is all statistically very predictable.
That is wisdom from Brent.
ReplyDeleteThis city was built on fear and continues to feed the suburban growth with the same fear mongering. We reap what we sow and now we don't know how to turn it around because it is out of control. The Eastside will turn around when we get the 3 things Brent identified. But those won't come until fear no longer works to the advantage of the white "haves." The city is exactly as we want it. Want something different? Do something different.
ReplyDeleteMurder, homicide, racism, and ignorance all deserve attention - no matter how low or high the number.
ReplyDeleteI am encouraged by this conversation. I see Bret's point but I think that murder scares more people than numbers can indicate.
ReplyDelete"IF THERE WERE AS MANY MURDER IN A WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD AS THERE ARE ON THE EASTSIDE THAN KANSAS CITY WOULD DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY!!!"
ReplyDeleteBut there wont be idiot! White people dont stand on the corner in Lees Summit, OP, JO CO etc toting guns and slinging crack. Or simply killing one another because of the street they live on or the color of their hat. Stupid! That culture is the cool thing for teens, and young black adults in the urban core. It is accepted and taught. Get a fucking clue, your act is getting tired.
I like Brent's post but his conclusions might be too optimistic. However, he certainly doesn't deserve this personal attack by TKC.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 11:27 - True, but that never stopped Tony before.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 11:27 - True, but that never stopped Tony before.
ReplyDeleteBrent's post made a good point supported by sound reasoning. Tony's did not.
ReplyDeleteIf Tony had to rely on sound reasoning, he wouldn't have a blog. Baseless personal attacks are pretty much all he's got. Luckily for Tony, there are plenty of reasonable, thoughtful bloggers like Brent that he can attack for being white.
ReplyDeleteBetter schools, more police amd more jobs aren't anything near new concepts.
ReplyDeleteThey're meaningless statements, and bullshit platutudes that require no skill or critical thinking.
Now, ideas that will make these three, and other things, happen is another story.
It's Silly to think that people from the East Side and the Inner City will drive several miles to a White Neighborhood to kill each other!
ReplyDeleteya'll just better stay in the burbs the way you're talkin...
ReplyDeleteThis aint stupid.... Matter of fact, most of us from the East Side are brought into this from a child. We are shown this from birth til death. How would anyoneract? We are forced veterans of a war ongoing for more than 30 years in our own communities.... We cant be sent home to escape it.
ReplyDeletePeople should really wake up.... East KC is known on tha Westcoast as Babie Cali for a reason. There are little to no jobs, most of us dont have cars unless we deal drugs, and there is no hope.
I have lived in KC all my life KCMO and KCK. I feel many misunderstand us. Its not about wanting to get a job and doing something with your life... Its about having the chance the oppertunity to. i know people who have not had a job in ages because there is no where to work. I Hae to drive out to Olathe or raytown to get employeed and thats crazy!! All the people who talk about KC will never understand it until they live there. No its not the best place to live but dont talk about it, do something to help. This guy says its all about drugs!! well some people would not have to sale durgs if there was no discrimination, if officers did not set people up to fail. I know I know it happens everywhere, Well to me it happens more in KC. I have been harrassed by officers because of the color of my skin. I have watched my family members get bet up and harrassed by officers! So what do the people who try to " mimic pop culture" do when somebody breaks into our house and get a gun held to our heads? Go to the police??? well we did and they said there is nothing they could do, we just need to watch our backs! crazy right? Nobody will understand KC unless they were born and raised there. thanks
ReplyDelete-- K.C. Breeze
I wish I could have read this post when it came out in Jan..but while doing some research I came across this..and I tell you White people are a tripp..How dare you idiots who have no clue what "Urban" life is like..run your mouth on it...Try taking a look at why these things are happening instead of the who's...instead of pointing your racist fingers and saying it's a culture thing..the audacity you have..the a mitigated gal to say suburbanites are not on corners doing drugs and toting guns..no they do there expensive drugs in their homes, contemplating on how to blow up things...get on the humanitarian tip people...and please for goodness sake dont think that crime is limited to the Urban areas..you'll find yourself with a rude awakening.
ReplyDeleteITS HARD BEEN A MAJORITY PEOPLE FROM A DIFFERENT CULTURE WOUNLDNT UNDERSTAND WE GROW UP IN SEPERATE AREAS WITH SEPERATE MEANS OF RESPONSIBILITES THE LACK OF JOBS IS THE REASON WHY THING ARE THE WAY THEY ARE FOR EXAMPLE IM GOING TO SCHOOL BUT I ALSO HAVE TO WORK TO PROVIDE AND HELP MY MOTHER THAT WAS LAID OFF AND ON TOP OF THAT STAY LOYAL TO THE AREA IM IN EVEN IF NOT GANG BANGING ITS JUS THE POINT OF BEING SAFE..THATS MY POINT OF VIEW NOW TAKE LITTLE JOHN THATS NEVER SEEN A CRIME OR HEARD A GUN SHOOT HIS MOTHER WORKS NEVER SEEN STRESS BESIDES HIS MOTHER BURNING MUFFINS HE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO SUCCEED NO STRESS NO DESTRACTION NO PROBLEMS
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly at a loss of words right now. Ummm I'm African American and I live in the heart of what's going on. I've been to at least 40 funerals since like 2004. It's pretty sad, pathetic and shameful. And honestly I can say that it's no ones fault but our owns.
ReplyDeleteThere are so MANY reasons as to why this is going on in my community. We could start from economic strife, fatherless homes, music, young and very promiscous mothers, etc.. There are many factors if you want to go historical we can date back to the Willie Lynch theory, the introduction of crack cocaine in the 80's, the move of industrial jobs out of urban cities in the 70's. We can go on and on.
But my question to the African American community is when will we stop blaming and start taking actions to fix our OWN problems. White's are not our solution. Like Nas so perfectly noted in 'NIGGER' '' They say we are N.I.doubleG.E.R WE ARE much more but still we choose to ignore the obvious, we are the slave and the master, what you looking for we are the slave AND the master.''
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x479tmee0HA
I'm in the process of doing something that I'm hoping will be so powerful and hit the hearts and minds of all but most importantly my black brothers and sisters. You know this whole Power and Light district racism issue should not even be the issue right now. RIGHT NOW we need to focus on our own problems within our own race. HOW CAN WE EXPECT ANOTHER RACE TO RESPECT US WHEN WE DON'T EVEN RESPECT OURSELVES. We are sitting in our homes with open eyes SHUT to the sight of murder, drugs being sold on our blocks, liqour stores on every corner and loan merchants on every main intersection in our city. WE are the cause and WE are the solution.
ReplyDeleteYou know black funerals kill me. We go out get our hair done, nails done, get t-shirts made, you know how we do it black people.
How about we do this why don't we take all that money we put into funerals and use it as funds to create memorials or orginizations to stop violence in our communities. How about we use some TIFF money and create our OWN businesses in the community.
We go to Italian owned liqour stores and Chinese hair stores and most of them won't or don't hire us. Folks it's time to wake up and stop blaming others and get some self interventions going on. WE WASTE SO MUCH MONEY ON USELESS THINGS! Folks going out and buying JOrdans and expensive fits for themselves but don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. I could go on and on....but yeah you get my point. I love my black men and women and I too have been here that's why I'm so passionate about this. WE need to fix our own issues. Trust that I'm working on my cause in the community. You will know Kilo Sade before the end of 2010. You will feel or object my mission but you will hear it. We need REAL leaders in our community. Not those who are out for political or financial gain. We need those we truly and honestly want to see change in our community. Those who are not afraid to stand up against the gang members AND the police who depend on gang money to feed their families. There is corrupt forces behind those badges too. But yeah I've already wrote my own blog lol Sorry Tony.
And what about the black businesses that are already in our community....why don't we support them?
There are plenty of ways to curb violence in our city, starting with improving the economic disparity of the people that inhabit it. It is a proven fact that if you improve the economic situation of people, the effects ripple through the community in the form of less crime and better schools (better schools obviously lead to better critical decision making for people). Class is our great American issue these days, as will become more apparent soon enough (I hope the effects of this recession will reveal that the wealthy are responsible for our current situation (look to the new countries that now house some of "our" great American enterprises as to why we are going into massive debt), not white people as some would like us to believe (it just so happens that a lot of the wealthy in this country are white due to their head start in capitalism). Minorities consequently seem to be the hardest hit in terms of poverty in our cities, therefore we are disproportionately represented in crime (please note that we are not evil or crazy. Just tired, hopeless, and desperate (but whats new?))… As for drugs causing all this crime, do a little research into the Nicaraguan Contras and our governments involvement with not only allowing cocaine to be trafficked into America, but how investigations were often impeded by our own government. That should give you a clearer picture of the lengths our government goes to in maintaining our current class structure. Lastly, if you haven't lived in the inner-city, please don't make any assumptions as to what you would or wouldn't allow to happen. You more than likely don't know what its like to be constantly deemed a problem by your surrounding society. You more than likely don't know what its like to go hungry, or for your children to go hungry and be faced with some pretty terrible options and odds. The best advice I can leave you with is take a Sociology class at your local university or community college and see for yourself. Thanks, and I am currently a resident of Kansas City's east side ;)
ReplyDelete"In both the suburbs and Latino Community ..."
ReplyDeleteJust that phrase shows what a fucking ignoramus you are, Tony. Hello, there are a lot more Latinos in the suburbs than there are in your little hipster enclave. I know you don't speak Spanish and never leave your home, but if you did you might learn a thing or two.