Dear Piece of Trash ~ Cleveland Councilman Sounds Off Against a Drug Dealer

[DSTRen13]

Originally Posted by ARTISTKNOWNASBE

Because they didn't get letters sent to them.
Because they weren't told that the best place for them is prison or a funeral home.
Because they are NOT black and poor.
Personally, I think it's because they didn't tell him to kiss thier black azz.

Again, I applaud him for getting drug dealers off the streets.
But if you are going to refer to him as trash,
then you need to see the bigger trash.
Or does he only see the black poor ones?

Poor drug dealers don't pass unfair laws.
Poor drug dealers don't send thousands of people to die.
Poor drug dealers don't make millions of dollars importing drugs
and then point the finger at drug dealers.
Poor drug dealers don't falsely accuse and then imprison blacks.
But why are they the only ones who get to be called "trash"?

The councilmen felt BOLD enough to call him that and sent him a letter, because poor people have few to zero rights in this country.

There is absolutely nothing funny or dignified about that letter.
Still, as someone pointed out earlier, this double standard will never be resolved in GreekChat.com. So on that note...

I understand what you're saying - but that letter wasn't sent to him because he was poor. It was sent to him because he was a drug dealer. And somebody may be poor, but they don't have to go out dealing drugs because of it. Yes, I think we can all agree there are other people that the Councilman could have attacked as well. That doesn't necessarily invalidate THIS letter. It may not have been the right way to say it, but what he said
was still right.

[ykimber]

I still live in the Cleveland area and the local news pasted the letter out to residents in Ward 11 and received nothing but positive feedback on the letter. The residents are tired of the thugs taking over the neighborhood. I for one wish more public officials would contact the bad seeds in the neighborhoods and tell them like it is because someone needs to!

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Apples and oranges.

how?

The representation theme remains constant, just substitute fraternity/sorority for ward. How many members of GC would be comfortable with the president of their national org. writing to someone in this format?

Leadership has to set a higher standard ....that's why they're leadership.

[Jody]

Tony06,

FYI, the president of my organization has written a letter that was beneath her office and I haven't been active since. But she wasn't dealing with someone who has made a career out of engaging in illegal acts.

And the mother is as stupid as the kid, she's obviously not familiar with freedom of speech or libel laws, the only defense against libel is the truth.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

how?

The representation theme remains constant, just substitute fraternity/sorority for ward. How many members of GC would be comfortable with the president of their national org. writing to someone in this format?

Leadership has to set a higher standard ....that's why they're leadership.

Come on TonyB, you are stretching it to make your point. The president of my org and my city council member are in two different positions with two different purposes, and two different election modes.

But if you want to compare Darryl Matthews (btw, nice fellow--I met him during the Kappa Klave) to your city council member then go ahead. Personally I wouldn't do that with Soror Rice.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by ladygreek

Come on TonyB, you are stretching it to make your point. The president of my org and my city council member are in two different positions with two different purposes, and two different election modes.

But if you want to compare Darryl Matthews (btw, nice fellow--I met him during the Kappa Klave) to your city council member then go ahead. Personally I wouldn't do that with Soror Rice.

LG,
I'm not stretching at all, because my point is about the standard of representation, not the group of people being represented. Would you ever approve of Ms/Mrs. Rice, in her capacity as sorority president, penning a letter like the councilman's to anyone? For any reason? I doubt it.

My comparison of frat/sorority leadership to councilman is not a comparison of job function, but of representative leadership. Mode of election has nothing to do with anything.

I've met Bro. Matthews several times, most recently a few months ago. He's a good brother. However, I suspect that if he ever wrote a letter like that in his capacity as general president of Alpha Phi Alpha, (which I'd seriously doubt he'd ever do) he'd hear about it. Quickly. And Repeatedly.

[Jody]

Tony06

I don't know what you consider "beneath the leadership" but your President's letter (publicy distributed) directed to the members of the fraternity who produced Stomp the Yard was WAY WORSE than a locally elected politician's rant against someone with whom they obviously have history.

The president of your fraternity boo hoo ing to the public about a movie was a &^*ch move if I've ever seen one.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by Jody

Tony06

I don't know what you consider "beneath the leadership" but your President's letter (publicy distributed) directed to the members of the fraternity who produced Stomp the Yard was WAY WORSE than a locally elected politician's rant against someone with whom they obviously have history.

The president of your fraternity boo hoo ing to the public about a movie was a &^*ch move if I've ever seen one.

I see. If that's your comparative opinion between the letter our president wrote and what the councilman authored, then we're too far apart to need any further dialogue on this topic.

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

LG,
I'm not stretching at all, because my point is about the standard of representation, not the group of people being represented. Would you ever approve of Ms/Mrs. Rice, in her capacity as sorority president, penning a letter like the councilman's to anyone? For any reason? I doubt it.

My comparison of frat/sorority leadership to councilman is not a comparison of job function, but of representative leadership. Mode of election has nothing to do with anything.

I've met Bro. Matthews several times, most recently a few months ago. He's a good brother. However, I suspect that if he ever wrote a letter like that in his capacity as general president of Alpha Phi Alpha, (which I'd seriously doubt he'd ever do) he'd hear about it. Quickly. And Repeatedly.

I do understand what you're saying Tony. I didn't think the letter was 'professional', but I also think that's what that person needed to hear in this situation.

I'm interested to know too though, how would we feel if one of our leaders addressed us this way? I'm really asking, why shouldn't our councilmen be held to the same standards as our organizational leaders?

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

LG,
I'm not stretching at all, because my point is about the standard of representation, not the group of people being represented. Would you ever approve of Ms/Mrs. Rice, in her capacity as sorority president, penning a letter like the councilman's to anyone? For any reason? I doubt it.

My comparison of frat/sorority leadership to councilman is not a comparison of job function, but of representative leadership. Mode of election has nothing to do with anything.

I've met Bro. Matthews several times, most recently a few months ago. He's a good brother. However, I suspect that if he ever wrote a letter like that in his capacity as general president of Alpha Phi Alpha, (which I'd seriously doubt he'd ever do) he'd hear about it. Quickly. And Repeatedly.

Again, sorority/fraternity leadership is different than city council leadership. And it IS all about the group being represented. That is their constituency.

Job function and mode of election has everything to do with your comparison which is why it is apples to oranges. I will vote for a grassroots city council member over a bureaucrat any day--I am radical like that. But then like I said that is the way it is here in the Twin Cities. Heck we elected Jesse Ventura as governor.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

I see. If that's your comparative opinion between the letter our president wrote and what the councilman authored, then we're too far apart to need any further dialogue on this topic.

As are we.

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by mulattogyrl

I do understand what you're saying Tony. I didn't think the letter was 'professional', but I also think that's what that person needed to hear in this situation.

I'm interested to know too though, how would we feel if one of our leaders addressed us this way? I'm really asking, why shouldn't our councilmen be held to the same standards as our organizational leaders?

Because it is two different animals. And we must admit that there is a certain amount of superficiality in the election of our organizational leaders, and I am not just talking about sororities and fraternities. We would not elect a "rabble rouser" as a national president of our orgs but we would/should as a city council member so they could take on the "system." It's a totally different ball game.

But again, the Twin Cities is not for the faint of heart politician.

[Honeykiss1974]

Originally Posted by 1908Revelations

If we leave it up to my granny there will be drive-by a$$ whoopins!

...and my granny would be riding shotgun. She believed that discipline (bka a$$ whoopins) to be the cure to society's problems.


But back to that letter....

In the words of Saaphyri from CS...."whoa, you mad huh?"

He was pretty "charged" as they say...

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by mulattogyrl

I do understand what you're saying Tony. I didn't think the letter was 'professional', but I also think that's what that person needed to hear in this situation.

I'm interested to know too though, how would we feel if one of our leaders addressed us this way? I'm really asking, why shouldn't our councilmen be held to the same standards as our organizational leaders?

M,
Point blank. If your national president wrote a letter like that, on sorortity letterhead, to whomever, for whatever reason, would you think it appropriate?

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

M,
Point blank. If your national president wrote a letter like that, on sorortity letterhead, to whomever, for whatever reason, would you think it appropriate?

Most likely, no.