The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Amen, Mr. "Elected Without Cheating" President

Tired of watching people tear each other apart for not saying things the right way or being aggressive enough about criticising others for their less-than-woke views? Damn that shit's annoying, and yes it happens right here in Flatbush.

Maybe it's just cause I'm (basically) of his generation, but forever-MY-president said this and I hope it takes off. Maybe he has the authority to get the message through the muck:

5 comments:

diak said...

More wisdom and compassion in two minutes than his successor has managed in two plus years.

Duke of Kingsbrook said...

Remember Doc Brown in the final scene of the movie "Back to the Future". He prophetically said, ""no, no, no Marty, both you and Jennifer turn out fine, its your kids I am worried about." Society today, with social media, has lost its individuality, its intellectualism, its rational thought, its logic, its reason. Twitter has created a collective, much like "the Borg in Star Trek" which works to punish individual thought. The twitterverse or the internet mob delights in schadenfreude( pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune) when the opportunity presents itself.
There is a lack of intellectual discussion and this only allows deflection and avoidance of solutions. Here are some manifestations for your readers:

1) Instead of BLM protesting the NYPD for the actions of two individual cops, why not protest gangs and the parents of shooters who are responsible for innocent people getting shot by stray bullets? Here at the statistics: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/year-end-2018-enforcement-report.pdf In 2018, 72.6% of the time the shooting suspect was black, 73.3% of the time, the shooting victim was black. So to tackle this problem, wouldn't increased enforcement like Stop and Frisk be a good idea if one cares about preventing more black shooting victims? Well Rikers will close, and Raise the Age decriminalized many misdemeanors, and the new future local jails will have less cells, so, things are going to get worse. ( Ferguson effect on decreased police response not factored)

2) If so many of the AOC anti police protestors think that the police should not be aggressive in defending themselves, why don't those same protestors, many of whom are white, go out and volunteer and patrol the streets of Brownsville and East Flatbush and do a better job?

2) Former first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday reprimanded white families for fleeing urban areas of Chicago ― during her youth and now. Michelle Obama was not racist for recognizing white flight, but she is crazy to think she can tell people that they can't move out of a neighborhood when the crime goes up. White flight is a reality, as much as black flight is in Brooklyn due to many black property owners retiring and leaving because its cheaper and safer to live some place else with better public schools for the kids. If its ok to talk about white flight, then its ok to talk about black flight, except if you are on Community Board 9, which thinks blogging about black flight is sufficient cause to be kicked off in a Crucible style witch hunt.

3) Should there be a temporal/historical context to past politically incorrect events ? Where are the protests against Eddie Murphy who wore white face on Saturday night live? Should Canadian PM Justin Trudeau be branded a racist for an attempt at humor? Sarah Silverman was recently fired from a film after 2007 blackface comedy skit surfaced. Is it too dangerous to engage in comedy which pokes fun at someone?

4) The Double standard - Why do many on the left (Snoop Dogg, Linda Sarsour of the Women's March, Aretha Franklin Funeral) embrace Farrakhan while claiming to be advocates of social justice?

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Listen, Duke. I don't think you absorbed what #44 said. It's messy out there. There's nuance. I'm allowing your comment because I think it reflects what a lot of whites think, and it's worth remembering that a big part of the electorate still adheres to your talking points.

But your highness, with all due respect...your arguments are at least 30 years old. It's like you sat out all that's been learned by the last few decades. Let me elaborate. On...

1) Stop & Frisk is illegal under the Constitution. It doesn't matter what YOU think would be good for black families and neighborhoods and BLM protesters anyway. Because, frankly, you're not black and you seem incapable of empathising with root causes and the experiences of others.

2) There are quite a few white people who work in or volunteer in neighborhoods like you mention, which, if you hadn't noticed, are gentrifying very quickly. Besides the hundreds and hundreds of teachers and social service workers, there are tons of organizations with the mission of understanding and ending gang violence. Do some homework. Oh, and don't bring AOC into it. It just proves what media you consume. She's one politician, and a damn good one. Dropping her name just makes you seem like a right-wing zealot, which you may be, but in NYC you might want to keep that under wraps.

3) These are complicated times. The people whose name you dropped are public figures, and they're not entitled to the same "due process" as ordinary citizens when it comes to protecting their fame and fortune. Because what you're talking about is a gig here or there. They're not being put in prison. It's the zeitgeist speaking, and if you made money or fame being riding the line of good taste in the past, just don't be surprised if it bites you on the ass some day.

4) Again, it's complicated. Farrakhan is a fucked up dude, but he's been around for a lot longer than you or I, and even those who are devoted to him recognize he's not perfect. If you're looking for a human being without flaws you'll be searching for a long, long time.

And here's the part you'll probably have the hardest time swallowing. No one cares what you think. Nor me, for that matter. You're probably past 50, maybe past 60, and a white conservative male in a brown town. Your opinions don't really matter, and I'm sure that's very hard for a person of your race, gender and politics to understand. If you need to be in the majority, there are huge swaths of the country where you'll fit right in.

You don't matter. That's what oppressed people are finally having the chance to say, and it's time for you and me to get out of the way. Go fishing. Enjoy time with family. Toil without being cranky.

In other words, step aside.

Dan Freed said...

Fine, but let's get back to Alicia Boyd for pete's sake.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

I don't know who Pete is, and I've never drunk his sake, but...

The post was soaked in AB and her friend IH. Perhaps I was being too indirect...