KRAMER’S NOTE: In Kramer’s musings, posted March 25, 2014, I wrote how Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) labelled Rep. Paul Ryan with a charge of thinly veiled racism for using the words “inner city” and “culture,” both of which she says are code words for “blacks.” I wonder how Lee will interpret the statements by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. in his op-ed.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. (communityjournal.net photo)
“What these race provocateurs do not want to admit is the reason we are seeing more disruptive behavior in schools is because of poor and ineffective parenting, manifested by liberal policies,” said Clarke. “There is a government program today for everything in the black community that used to be the responsibility of the individual, such as parenting. Because of this system, many parents have abdicated what is their most important responsibility and turned it over to the government.”
Writing in an op-ed for the Washington Times, Clarke says, “Uncle Sam is now raising their kids. We take kids out of the home with early childhood education programs, and the government feeds them breakfast, lunch and dinner, and provides after-school programs. Who needs parents in the black community anymore?”
While explaining that every attempt liberals have made to help black people with their reliance on government-centered public policy ideas have worsened their lot in life, “the family structure, once a foundation of the black community pre-1960, is in shambles,” said Clarke
I highly recommend that you read the full op-ed. The fact that Clarke is black won’t save him from Representative Lee’s wrath. Blacks with conservative leanings are automatically labelled “Uncle Toms.”
Columnist Eugene Robinson (nbcnews photo)
Spouting the same tired liberal line, however, was black columnist Eugene Robinson. “Blaming poverty on the mysterious influence of ‘culture’ is a convenient excuse for doing nothing to address the problem,” said Robinson, who seems to forget the billions of dollars that have been “invested” in the so-called “war on poverty” and the ill-conceived Great Society. “If we had universal pre-kindergarten that fed all children into high quality high schools, if we had affordable higher education, if we incentivized industry to invest in troubled communities, if people had options for which they were prepared – culture would take care of itself,” Robinson wrote.
“But all of that is expensive,” Robinson went on. Yes, Mr. Robinson, it is, but more money isn’t the answer.
