The new chuzpah
Normally, I applaud political leaders who actually try to lead the community. But in this case, I have to take exception:
It’s time for the fathers in the 31st District to start acting like “daddies.”That’s the message that Assemblyman Charles Mainor want to get across tomorrow at a 6 p.m. meeting at his Jersey City office “for the men of the community — black, white purple and green.”
Sounds good so far.
Mainor is calling the men of the community together in the wake of the double-murder on Woodlawn Avenue early Tuesday morning, where 17-year-old Mileak Richardson and 26-year-old Lester Thompson were both shot in the head.
Ok, first of all, this is suspected of being a gang murder. There are some indications that boys seek out gangs, in part, to surround themselves with surrogate male role-models. The key thing to remember is “in part.” Gang membership is just not so simplistic. If it were, surely someone would have already hit upon this solution. But the problem goes beyond a simplistic attempt to dupe voters into believing that a politician cares.
Mainor is just not believable when he talks about responsibility, because he just has the wrong track record. You see, in 1999, Mainor bought a house for $1 and then turned around and sold it to his sister in 2002 for $203K. Nice profit. Three years later, he bought it back for $353K. When the house caught fire and burned, he “didn’t have the heart” to rebuild and to continue paying the mortgage and taxes…and one has to wonder where the insurance company came in on all of this. This guy wants to talk about responsibilities?
Yes, and Charles Manson wants to discuss the sanctity of human life.
Then we get down to this bit of wisdom:
Working with the police is another aspect of Mainor’s plan, and he’s well aware that there has been a lack of cooperation with law enforcement.“Once we organize, I want to work with the police to find out what we should do,” said Mainor, a Jersey City Police detective. “I believe the police department has a grip on situation, but we have to become a part of the solution.
Okay…is it just me or is Mainor saying he can help because he is part of the problem. You see, Mainor is a cop, and he wants to get the cops involved because the cops don’t care…but Mainor is a cop… Tilt! Tilt!
Look, Mainor is a police detective. To get the police involved, all he has to do is…well, show up. Unless he is really telling us that, from his perspective, the Jersey City cops just really don’t care if gang members get killed. Is that what he’s saying? And what does he mean that the cops “have a grip on [sic] solution” but the cops need to “become a part of the solution?”
And then there’s this:
Mainor knows a meeting won’t solve all the crime problems in the city, so he’s also planning “our own version of the Million Man March” and says he is creating a “community-on-the-go” program and wants to institute an annual family day.
Uh…I don’t think one day a year of…well, anything is actually going to stop the problem of gangs. I don’t have any idea what a “community on the go” program is.
Finally:
“I believe a lot of things start at home,” he said. “There are certain areas of Hudson County where we are losing a lot more of our babies.”
Look, the two men that were killed were 25 and 17. They’re young – one was even technically a child. But they aren’t babies. Babies don’t shoot guns and drive away to leave bodies in the street. Adults do that. Until you target your approach properly, you aren’t going to get anywhere.
If this were a serious effort to organize and support the community, I’d support it wholeheartedly. But this guy can’t even talk straight about what he wants to do. And it’s hard to take any talk of responsibility serious when it comes from a Hudson County Democrat. Especially this one.
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