TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! THE WORST WHITE PEOPLE IN KANSAS CITY ADVOCATE AGAINST MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS AMID THE REDISTRICTING DEBATE HOT MESS!!!
Last night was nothing more than a shameless display of Kansas City white privilege in the City Hall Council Chambers.
Throughout the process of redistricting TKC has kept readers up to date on all of the twists, turns and developments.
Sadly, last night's political move was one of the most divisive events I've ever seen at City Hall. It's worth noting that the hot mess was launched by a small cadre of angry white people.
We covered most of this last night but what really stays with me is the entitlement mentality of these angry folks.
Here are the highlights that really capture the spirit of what went down last night . . .
THE CROWD OF ANGRY AND IMPATIENT WHITE PEOPLE ATTEMPTED TO SHOUT DOWN ATTORNEY CLINTON ADAMS AS THEY SEEMINGLY EXPRESSED FRUSTRATION WITH THE FACT THAT THEIR NUMBER DWINDLED THROUGH THE MEETING AND THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO SPEAK FIRST!!!
Even more interestingly . . .
MR. ADAMS RESPONDED TO THE ANGRY MOB: "IT'S A SHAME THAT SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE HAVE SHOWN UP HERE TONIGHT IN ORDER TO DENY THE VOTING RIGHTS OF MINORITIES!!!"
Mr. Adams asked me to include that comment that some angry and officious white dude wanted stricken from the record.
And I was thinking . . .
SHAME ON THE CITY COUNCIL FOR GIVING THIS PRIVILEGED MOB A BIT OF EXTRA ATTENTION DURING THE CONCLUSION OF THIS PROCESS!!!
Why?
Well, for starters . . .
WE'VE REPORTED ON THIS PROCESS FOR ALMOST A YEAR AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THIS MOB WAS NEVER INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSION AND ONLY SHOWED UP TO PLAY THE VICTIM!!!
However . . .
THIS ISN'T AN ANTI-WHITE RANT . . . ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST AWESOME TKC TIPSTERS IS A RATHER BRILLIANT WHITE DUDE AND SIMPLY SHOWED UP TO WATCH THE ANGRY MOB MAKE A FUTILE GESTURE!!!
HE REMARKED THAT LAST NIGHT'S DISPLAY WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A POLITICAL PLOY FROM A COUNCIL DUDE THAT HAS BEEN "TOXIC" IN THIS DEBATE!!!
More on that in a bit . . .
What's important . . .
The map currently recommended by the Redistricting Committee was was devised by a diverse group of people from throughout the Kansas City area that included input from The (Great White) Northland.
Last night, leadership from Kansas City minority communities showed up to voice their support of the map currently endorsed by the Redistricting Committee. A couple of white dudes even spoke up in favor of the current plan . . . And I don't just mean Rev. Sam Mann and Steve Glorioso.
So . . . Most of what we witnessed last night was nothing more than an angry political display.
A bit of equal time even though it's not required of TKC . . . KC Urban Planner Gunnar Hand seemed to be the only voice of reason amid the otherwise angst-y collection of newbies to City Hall. He attempted to quiet the crowd and noted his hope for "One KC" through this process.
Finally, near the conclusion of the meeting I was able to speak with Councilman John Sharp who is largely credited/blamed as the organizing force against the current map that has been vetted through the Redistricting Committee. I spoke with him about the divisive nature of the meeting and he pointed out that there were a few people of color who also opposed the current map.
Councilman Sharp also gave some insight into the motivation behind last night's meeting.
"Throughout this process we simply wanted to look for a compromise but so many neighborhood interests in South Kansas City and other places were consistently ignored," Councilman Sharp said. "This isn't an effort to deny anyone voting rights. There just needs to be more consideration for communities of interest in South Kansas City."
Councilman Sharp acknowledged: "While our map isn't perfect, tonight's meeting is about a need for more compromise in this process. Right now that isn't happening."
The ranting and raving of City Hall newbies didn't interest me much so I took off because the last thing I need to hear is more white people hollering about how they feel persecuted or disenfranchised . . . A word that nobody who currently owns a home should ever apply to themselves.
While leaving the building I had a brief but really nice chat with Eslun Tucker who was the only member of the Redistricting Committee to oppose the map that was ultimately approved. She wondered about the opportunity for compromise in this sometimes tense situation and then concluded . . .
"In the end, it's just nice to see so many people taking an interest in their neighborhoods and communities. I wish more people were so involved."
LINKS:
Kansas City residents argue about redrawn City Council boundaries
Redistricting hearing becomes heated
This post needs more red, bold type.
ReplyDeleteWow, Tony. If you were a tabloid I could laugh at the obvious joke this posting was. But you appear to be sincere in your effort to report facts and the ineptitude you've displayed in basically every facet of this story goes beyond ignorance into willful stupidity. It's not that you've gotten things wrong, it's that you simply can't even grasp the concept of what truth is anymore.
ReplyDeletePoor deprived black people.
ReplyDeletePeople like Clinton Adams, Gwen Grant, the revs, Al Brooks, and all the rest of the "leaders" have done so much for the east side. Just drive around and see all of their success.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same gang who now want to be appointed to "run" the school district. They just haven't caused it to fail enough for the last two decades!
Maybe one day the good folks in the black community will finally figure out that they've been gamed by these grifters for decades and get behind some new folks who actually want to help them build a cohesive successful community. Of course, then again, maybe they won't.
The status quo has brought nothing but disaster and heartache to the east side. In fac, it's a big part of the reason for the vilence, mayhem, and homicides.
Why anyone would want to keep doing the same thing with the same deadbeat people is hard to understand.
But the ball's clearly in the east side court, so stop complaining and start changing things.
All the black councilmembers care about is MBE/WBE goals on projects. Which cost the tax payers more on projects.
ReplyDeleteWait for the n-word guy.
ReplyDeleteTony got this mess exactly right. It was nothing more than a political ploy to hold onto a power base. Of course Councilman Sharp is going to play his usual poor me I'm only trying to do what's right. The question is, what's right for whom?
ReplyDeleteAnd don't be fooled by Eslun Tucker. She can come across as being very sweet but she's one of Sharp's minions. Not even half of those people would have been there last night if Sharp hadn't gotten them stirred up and held regular meetings to choreograph everything.
Ms.Tucker.is Sharps exs girlfriend that still enjoys benefits.
ReplyDeleteewwwwwwwwwww
ReplyDeleteA haut mess if they had been better dressed.
ReplyDeleteWhite people suck.
ReplyDeleteIf it were not for Theresa Garza Ruiz at the county, and Genaro Ruiz at the city, this entire area would sink into a swamp of corruption and White hatred.
all red print and gross out mind images of Sharp's friends with benefits (YUCK) aside the proposed map does indeed jack up the area around Bannister Mall. So? 6Th District would include some pretty tone-y properties in the silk stocking district. That area tends to richly fund the campaigns of it's residents. That area would enjoy 2 council districts. The new districts would prove very difficult for individuals unwilling to set aside personal prejudices and work for the good of their district and for the health of the city.
ReplyDeleteMy only objection to the proposed map is that Clinton Adams agrees with me.
From where I sat in the back of the chamber, after the blacks and hispanic said their piece they left. At the end of the night there was only a handfull of Clinton Adams supporters left. Maybe you should have surveyed the scene a little better.
ReplyDeleteENTRA EN RAZON, ANTONIO!!!!
I didn't know Clinton Adams was a controversial figure, gosh. He sounds like a real lightning rod who hacks a lot of people off, except for Tony. Golly.
ReplyDeleteThis is 100% about John Sharp. NONE of this would have happened without him stirring things up. He just can't stand to see his Hickman Mills area be in two council districts.
ReplyDeleteThere is no right or wrong in this debate but there are winners and losers. the redistricting is nothing more than a power play. My problem with the current plan is that it is not balanced. It adds strong and stable areas to districts that quite frankly are deteriorating but does not add any weak areas to strong and stable areas. Much like our current national policies we allow the rich to get richer and allow the middle to be pulled own in the idealistic but not realistic goal of trying to pull the poor up. I don't think this City can afford any risk of losing more neighborhoods. Those that are healthy need to be protected. Those that are not healthy need to be contained and targeted with solutions. Beyond that I think a good rule of thumb is to automatically oppose anything the involves Glorioso. You'll be right more than you are wrong.
ReplyDelete12/1/11 10:10 AM
ReplyDeleteI am pretty tired of the Garza-Ruiz faction playing the race card and pretending to hold the moral high-ground. As far as I am concerned you two are nothing more than puppets of a racist thug named Chris Medina who is every bit as corrupt as any figure in the history of KC politics.
@10:56 AM
ReplyDeleteStrange. My rule of thumb is to oppose anything that involves John Sharp.
What am I to do but dump this burg for warmer climes?
It's high time that white people got mad! We're all tired of bending down and saluting each and everything the blacks insist upon. Last I checked, white people are STILL the majority and they always taught in school that majority rules. Hey, all of this and without the dreaded N-word. Too bad...
ReplyDeleteHere's the deal:
ReplyDeleteThe Northland was annexed decades ago to gain revenue, but with no thought of providing city services.
Folks in Platte County paid taxes for years and years (virtually my entire adult life), and have only recently gotten any benefit.
Now the Northland has grown in population, and folks up there are flexing their muscle. Good for them.
Without the Northland, Kansas City is a rat-infested ghetto.
Clinton Adams is part of the problem, not part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteWhere is the tax base in Kansas City? It has been the 4th district forever. They pay the most taxes then anyone in the City. So if they want to slow the process they should be able too. Last time I check there are no public pools or community centers in the 4th. Talking about no services where has all that been built the 5th and 3rd.
ReplyDeleteI am about to stop reading this racist crap. Grow Up Kansas City! 1st off nobody picks the color of their skin, NOBODY! Just because your skin is white has no bearing on your consciousness or awareness. Likewise if your skin is not white. The separatist thinking on the part of the blacks and hispanics last night was oppressive and disgraceful. Where does this seperation of colors leave bi-lingual white woman who are mothering African American children like me? Sorry but all you people saying negative racial statments are simple minded, ignorant and distructive. For Gods sakes doesn't having a black President, black Mayor, and black Police Chief point us into the right direction. I WAS THERE LAST NIGHT, WATCH CHANNEL 2 IF YOU WEREN'T. TKC VAYA, LARGO DE AQUI!
ReplyDeleteClinton Adams and his sister Gwen Grant are both world-class, craven self-promoters who really do not give a shit about black people or anyone but themselves.
ReplyDelete@12:24 - Very good point.
ReplyDeleteI CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT CLINTON ADAMS IS SAYING!!!!!!!! DOES HE HAVE A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT OR DOES HE JUST PRODUCE AN UNFORTUNATE AMOUNT OF SLOBBER??????
ReplyDeleteFree Gilbert Guerrero!
ReplyDeleteWith my family having a house in the 6th District we've watched as Kansas City seems to find new ways to make life a living hell. Bannister Mall used to be a vibrant area, now it's the land of broken promises and dead dreams. We've watched as streets crumble, storm drains fail causing basement damage, we've seen racist code inspectors single out older white families while letting black owned drug houses flourish, and meanwhile the area continues to fall apart.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone went to that meeting last night and gave them hell. It's been a long time coming.
That's Why white people move to the northland. To get away from all the ghetto violence. Why is it that there is no shopping centers in the southland? Because many (not all) black folks ruin the businesses with crime. They steal, pillage and violate people who are hard working and want a better place to live. Look at the statistics at the Wal-Marts in the northland. 78% of crimes, mainly shoplifting, is from colored people. It's not targeting if they are actually breaking the law. I get sick of black people saying," you only stopped me cause I'm black!". No, you got stopped because you are a thief! I say build another shopping center mainly for black people and watch it fold within a year due to crime. Me, I'll stay up north and have a better life for my family.
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for the core population out South that helped pay for the services to be expanded to the Northland you wouldn't have nothing up there but cornfields.
ReplyDeleteMy taxes helped pay for the services you currently enjoy. But now that you have them, you're like screw those people, we don't need them. Fine. You'll need my grandkids in 50 years to pay for reconstruction...I hope they come back with the same attitude: screw the Northland. Karma's a beotch.
All I saw was white people this, and white people that so im not wasting my time to read it.
ReplyDeleteFolks, could we stop with the north-of-the-river, south-of-the-river bull? Can't you see we're all getting screwed by a city government that's more interested in greasing developers palms (new airport, indeed) than in providing basic services?
ReplyDeleteDon't let them divide and conquer.
Even though I've had an interest, I didn't go. The train left the station a month ago. The momentum behind the favored plan would be as easy to stop as a UP freight with 3 locomotives pulling it.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that the law meant to give rights to minorities to vote is now used to enforce segregation and insure that the same old preachers of victimization and milkers of the system keep getting paid.
The divisions will insure that the government will not be held to account for providing good basic services.
No one is being held accountable for the failure of the 3rd council district.
There may be people who feel that this is a "win" for them. The City of Kansas City is NOT the winner here.
This is one of those things that when you object you look petty like John Sharp does. I wish there was another way. Like just drawing the districts straight and let the best man/woman win.
Maybe the reason the south is in such bad shape has something to do with its representation. We all know that Chuck Eddy did nothing for 8 years. Now we have John Sharp who has done nothing. During his re-election campaign he touted a new gas station (which wasn't needed) on Blue Ridge Blvd., but that has yet to appear. As for Bannister Mall, it's been sitting there his whole term and the mess still isn't cleaned up. It certainly didn't take long for something to happen at Blue Ridge Mall so I say it's a matter of representation on the council.
ReplyDeleteJUST CURIOUS SINCE ITS ALL BLACK AND WHITE WITH YOU. WHAT COLOR DO YOU WANT TO BE?
ReplyDeleteTony wants to be vertical stripes. They are slimming.
ReplyDeleteLOL, 5:25! Nice one!
ReplyDeleteTony, you are telling a lie when you say that Adam's responded to being shouted at with "IT'S A SHAME THAT SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE HAVE SHOWN UP HERE TONIGHT IN ORDER TO DENY THE VOTING RIGHTS OF MINORITIES!!!" He was yelled at as a result of his racist accusation.
ReplyDeleteIf you would have stayed past the race baiting you would have heard the reasons from a diverse group of people, and NONE mentioned race except to respond to Adams. Your entire column smacks of racism, so I guess you don't care what "the white folks" have to say. Obviously you are agenda driven and not fact driven, if you were you would have stayed and listened.
Ironically you say that second group was mad that we didn't get to "go first". Again that is another lie, but you probably already know that.
It is people like you Tony, and Clinton Adams, that incite racial hatred and promote segregation in this city. You are both leeches that are bleeding the minority communities in the city for your own personal gain.
Tony, since I know what last night's meeting was all about, and now that I have read your crap, you are nothing higher than the lowest racist scum. Go somewhere else to try to create racist garbage. There isn't any here. Only the crap you continue to make up.
ReplyDeleteHey Tony, I read here that your like minded people say things like....white people suck.
ReplyDeleteBoy, that puts you in great company, or rather, great racist company.
We are trying to move on from a racist past, but idiots like you keep holding the process back.
Clinton Adams has a mouth full of marbles, he mumbles, and he was incoherent at the meeting.
ReplyDeleteThis whole post and topic is a race bating piece of shit. This town is fucked.