The Truth: Harlem Children’s Zone, Musical chairs, I say Amen and more
I normally write about what I found of interest in the Sojourner’s Truth on the weekend, but this morning, I had the chance to read two of the articles, I didn’t want to wait. As I sat down to share those, I found another one I recommend. First, This Strikes Us broaches the topic of looking at creating something similar to the Harlem Children’s Zone here in Toledo. If you haven’t heard about HCZ, check it out.
Fletcher Word’s Politics as Usual – The Musical Chairs of Term Limits covers Council and the General Assembly races, it is another recommended read. While we’ve talked about McNamara, Ujvagi and Brown a bit, we haven’t gone into Mike Craig being the current front runner for Council President next year or Teresa Fedor running for Ujvagi’s former rep spot and the speculation into who’s going to run for Brown’s former spot has not gotten the attention that 47 has.
Then where I say Amen. I’d say it more than once if it would help. Betrayal by Reverend Donald Perryman. Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting an uphill battle, that there are too many that focus on the mundane and the petty, that there are too many who revel in trying to play some warped game of insults and one upmanship rather than to care. Then I read things like this:
After weeks of public criticism for allegedly euthanizing too many dogs, Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon resigned effective December 31, according to recent media reports. One local television station had 335 broadcast mentions of the “dog controversy” according to its website. The Toledo Blade newspaper posted 53 separate mentions or articles – from Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop’s call for an investigation into the death of a dog after it was tranquilized by a deputy warden and demands for Skeldon’s ouster to then Toledo mayoral candidate Mike Bell’s expression of outrage over the “high number” of dogs killed at the County pound.
Yet by comparison, there were only 19 mentions of the savage December 2007 beating death of Tayvon Evans, a local 23-month-old toddler and victim of child abuse.
While the national media coverage of the murder of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who was recently found abandoned in a wooded area of North Carolina might be considered an exception, unresolved cases such as Asha Degree, a missing then nine-year-old girl near Charlotte, last seen by a truck driver (who failed to stop or inquire) walking down the road at 4 a.m. on February 14, 2000; or Finlea Mitchell, a pregnant 15-year-old missing in Springfield, Ohio since Sunday, November 22 and scores of other underpublicized missing and abused black children continue to endure needless suffering or even death because their victimization is allowed to continue without protest.Child fatalities are the tragic consequence of maltreatment, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which estimates 1,760 child fatality victims nationally, in their latest report – three quarters of which were younger than four years of age. Ohio, has the eighth highest rate in the nation of 3.27 fatalities per 100,000 children.
Yet there have been no cries for the removal of any public administrator or official, no marches or press conferences by the religious community and no mass meeting, photo ops or public pronouncements in Toledo by local or national civil rights leaders or groups.
As I wrote back on November 10th, Dogs appear to matter more than employees or clients of the Connecting Point, I could have included abused children, murdered children, the unhoused and the poor, it’s just as true and as long as that is true? What does that say about us as a community…
To all of the Skeldon apologists out there: Both of these stories deserve coverage. It’s not an either/or.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:39 pm“As I wrote back on November 10th, Dogs appear to matter more than employees or clients of the Connecting Point, I could have included abused children, murdered children, the unhoused and the poor, it’s just as true and as long as that is true? What does that say about us as a community…”
This is the progressive movement to a tee, Lisa, classic. Progressives are more interested in animals being allowed legal representation and frightening the public about fraudulent global warming in order to rape the county and distribute our riches to the world, rather than the things that really matter. It is about total control, and a few kids make no difference in the scheme of things.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:07 pmNot Again, the majority of residents in this area are not progressive so that is not an excuse, even if what you wrote was true, which it’s not.
December 5th, 2009 at 5:30 pmI think it is
December 5th, 2009 at 6:08 pmI’m interested in the numbers you have that demonstrate that this area is occupied by a progressive majority and that progressives are the only ones ignoring the abuse and murder of children.
December 5th, 2009 at 7:13 pmLisaRenee,
I hate to seem to lay the blame for this in one place, but in watching the local media it still appears that much of it is led by the coverage of the Blade. The Sunday (12/6) paper contained over 2-1/2 pages of dog stories, most of which was in the primary A-section news. The TV and radio stations often base their own news stories on those listed in the headlines of the Blade.
Rather than to blame a political philosophy or group of citizens, I think far more of the blame lies with the agenda (Progressive or otherwise) of the Publisher and editors at the daily newspaper in Toledo.
Unless or until someone is able to garner the attention and interest of the Block family on issues in this city, many of these important ones will never properly reach the public attention.
December 6th, 2009 at 8:53 pmValid point Tim, though it would also be possible for television and radio stations to step up to do more as well rather than to wait, I know the time constraints of tv especially but they could lead by example.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:05 pmLisaRenee,
You are right of course. I should have added to my comment on the Blade that unless the TV and radio stations step out of the Blade’s shadow (something that I know their limited news budgets make difficult) or some other source of daily mainstream media news presents itself locally, little of this will change.
December 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pmLets put the blame for this where it belongs. Yes, the blade should give more coverage to actual news stories rather than their take down of the dog warden (insert blade victim of the week here) but isn’t it as much the fault of those who purchase the blade? After all, if the readers vote with their $$ the blade cannot print and things may actually change for the better around here.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:31 amI believe when the voters finally realize that JR Block is not very good at running a community and folks leave the daily paper we may actually have hope and change in the Metro Toledo area. Until then, same poo different day!