Tough Questions Demand Tough Answers
For the city of Indianapolis and Indiana Black Expo, the hard work is about to begin. What to do about that second Saturday night of Expo. While I don’t believe for a moment that Expo should be canceled or the event is more trouble than it’s worth, I do believe Expo’s Saturday night problem is a lot like the one that would face a popular bar. Although there aren’t any problems in the bar or on the bar’s property every once in a while a fight breaks out across the street. The bar did not cause the fight, but it false within the “zone of culpability.” So what’s an Expo to do?
I think there are several things Expo can do in both the long and short-term. In the short run Expo is going to have to revamp it’s Saturday night agenda. There are too many unsupervised teenagers running around. Expo should look at either canceling the Saturday night events or make it a family-oriented event (Saturday night praise and worship or other showcase shows at multiple locations) so that parents are there with their children. I still have the image of the 10-year old burned in my mind who was on the phone trying to tell his parent(s) where he was but didn’t know so I had to help him out.
My personal preference is for the family-oriented events at multiple locations throughout the city so you don’t have such a mass congregation of people all in one place and you can mitigate the problems caused by unsupervised children.
Speaking of unsupervised children, we are going to have to have a long talk about parenting in this town real soon. Because it wasn’t just the shooting that was disturbing but seeing 12 and 13-year old girls dressed like hookers on payday and listening to young men use “be” in its infinitive form is not a good sign.
Exactly how we fix it, I’m not sure yet, but we need to start having that conversation now. These problems won’t be fixed overnight, but we have until July 16, 2011. That’s when the next second Saturday night comes rolling around.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:32 am
[...] weekend. Ten children were shot (fortunately with, apparently, minor wounds) on Saturday. (Also see Indiana Barrister). The episode, marring what was described as an otherwise successful, 11-day Summer Celebration [...]
July 19th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Well, good luck with that.
July 19th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
We've heard this same “second Saturday post-mortem-gnashing-of-teeth” now for the last forty years…it is laughable and now past predictable.
July 19th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
So, where are the really tough questions? As analysis, this stuff is false. The attractive nuisance analogy really doesn't work, does it? The behaviour complained of has long existed even if the tavern did not exist. The behaviour did and the complaint is that the behaviour has risen to the public eye in a public place. It is apparently attracted to Black Expo for reasons tough questions would address but, then again, so was Mike Tyson.
I'd make up a long list of tough questions but anyone who does so gains the racist label and so, it isn't worth my time. Not that the label means anything anymore other than a bunch of folks are peeved and peevish and lack vocabulary.
The short list would begin with “To Whom Should this List of questions be addressed, that is, to what authority?”
July 19th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
You can always start your own blog and then you can insanely rant to your heart's content. It's real easy to do.
July 19th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I usually disagree with most of what you say, Abdul. We appear to be in close agreement on this one. It is too important and valuable to lose but something MUST be done about the “Second Saturday Night”. IBE cannot just shrug their shoulders and say that it didn't happen at our event and look the other way. I, too, was horrified while looking at tv reports of the dress of young girls…..how could any parent allow a young teenager leave the house dressed as some of these young girls were…….they certainly looked like hookers on the job……….
July 19th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
“One shooting victim was found with a .32-caliber handgun. Weapons confiscated separately from the shootings included a .22-caliber handgun, a 9 mm handgun and a loaded AK-47 assault rifle.”
- from the Indianapolis Star article
AK-47?! Seriously?!
Do we have to have metal detectors at IBE & Circle Center? Good grief. No one should have an AK-47..
July 19th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Elizabeth, Abdul reported on Saturday night that the AK-47 was found in a trunk. Remember, these shootings happened on the street. It's very possible that these people never went into a Black Expo event and were just hanging around downtown.
July 19th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Possibly. If that was the case, though, I'm surprised there aren't more shootings downtown. My brother was there at the time of the shooting (luckily wasn't hurt) and he was an IBE attendee, along with a lot of his friends.
Plain and simple, people certainly don't need AK-47s or any sort of weapon on them or in their car, regardless of whether they are shopping at the mall or going to IBE. There are many days that I read the news and I feel like there should be a Grand Theft Auto: Indianapolis because of how the city gets overloaded with crime.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Amos is now pandering for research grants for the IUPUI “Black Studies” Professors to study “the problem”.
Here are the people who have done the research and have proposed specific solutions FREE of Charge:
Collin Powell
Bill Cosby
Juan Williams
Karen Hunter
All of them have written books and conducted extensive focus groups and town hall meetings.
No need to reinvent the wheel.
July 19th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Elizabeth, I'm asking for some clarification…
1. Did the AK-47 fire continuously when the trigger is held back, or must you depress the trigger each and every time to fire it?
2. “Plain and simple, people certainly don't need AK-47s or any sort of weapon on them or in their car…” Do you support a total ban on firearms, and the so-called right to defend yourself?
July 20th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Sirrusly?
July 20th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
at the end of the day……
July 20th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
I think there is an excellent point buried here in that it is almost impossible for all people to engage in an honest and open dialog on some subjects because the “racist” tag is sure to be thrown out even to people who are earnestly trying to understand the issues and communicate their feelings.
Heck, if memory serves, even Bill Cosby wasn't immune from vicious attacks when he attempted to convey his own thoughts and perspectives.
July 20th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
While I may agree that nobody needs to be carting their AK-47 down to the Expo I would also add that any individual citizen should have a right to own and carry any weapon that might otherwise be found in the hands of any regular military personnel.
In fact, I believe on the of the Federalist Papers speaks to this effect that the last line of defense of our freedoms is this right. In fact, it speaks to how there wasn't supposed to be a “national army” and that any individual state (at that time) should be able to raise a volunteer force more than sufficient to repel any aggression by an out-of-control centralized government authority.
So, yes, any individual should have a right to own an AK-47 or even a tank but not biological or nuclear (or other WMD) weaponry.
July 20th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Color me underwhelmed. “We are announcing today we are going to form a task force…”
Really? :rollseyes: