Forgive and forget? Not this time, Mr. Barry

The Washington Times ^ | 1-5-06 | TOM KNOTT

[JZelle]

Marion Barry is in a forgiving mood after being robbed at gunpoint by two men in his Southeast apartment Monday night, which is an abdication of his responsibilities as a public servant. Although one of the men cocked a handgun and pointed it at Mr. Barry's head, he professes to "love" both men and urges authorities not to prosecute them if they are apprehended. This should be taken as reassuring news to those constituents Mr. Barry represents in his Ward 8 neighborhood. If the two hoodlums think nothing of sticking a cocked gun to the head of the former mayor -- now an elected council member whom they called "B" -- how might they respond to an ordinary citizen? Perhaps they would have been inclined to pull the trigger. Of course, social engineer that he is, Mr. Barry wants to change the societal conditions that produce thugs. His is a mostly idyllic dream. Government is not in the business of raising children, of making certain they are properly fed, clothed and educated. That is the responsibility of parents or, more and more in America, a single parent who is often overwhelmed and undereducated. If government really could be the parental nurturer in the vision of Mr. Barry, he would be the toast of the city instead of a star-crossed political figure. His man-of-the-people appeal, though useful in his four terms as mayor, only resulted in a bureaucratic bloat that still haunts the city. The D.C. public school system is as ill-serving as ever, despite the tons of money that have been thrown in its direction. Mr. Barry was first elected mayor in 1978, and at no time in his political life has he been able to put a dent in the criminal pathologies of the city.

[Doogle]

...drug deal gone bad



Doogle

[perez24]

Of course he want's to forgive them. I'm sure this is not an original thought...but the first time I read about this the word DOPE DEAL GONE BAD jumped in my head.

[jdm]

[kalee]

The first thought I had was drug deal, too.

[magslinger]

I thought business deal gone bad, might be drugs, might be something else(free lance social directors, influence peddling, etc.) either way former business associates he doesn't want talking to the media.

[Sonny M]

From todays opinion journal.

"There is a sort of an unwritten code in Washington, among the underworld and the hustlers and these other guys, that I am their friend. I don't advocate what they do. I advocate conditions to change what they do. I was a little hurt that this betrayal did happen"

-- former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, on being robbed at gunpoint in his D.C. neighborhood.

[jjmcgo]

The "You settin' me up, bitch?" video was one of the greatest moments ever on TV.
He knew he was being set up but his addiction was so bad he went ahead anyway.

[Sonny M]

Note the above quote was from Opinion Journals Political Diary.

[Chode]

he's not upset cause they only got his money and he can always steal more, now if they stole his CRACK... he'd be yelling for their heads on a stick!!!

[stop_fascism]

Or rolled by a pimp. With MB it's so hard to tell.

[Ruth A.]

Dope deal gone bad and there might be more to that "love" than meets the eye.

[Redleg Duke]

I doubt this actually happened. He is just trying to get some media attention and keep all of the blacks in Washington DC on his plantation.

[billhilly]

Your thoughts and mine are running on the same track. He is capable of that.

[sandbar]

>>>...drug deal gone bad

Yep.

[sgtbono2002]

Barry sent them out for drugs and they came back and robbed him.

Of course he doesnt want them found or questioned.

[Stashiu]

Hey, he needs the votes.

[GaltMeister]

Wow, I hope they didn't steal his crackpipe collection.

[freespirited]

Of course, social engineer that he is, Mr. Barry wants to change the societal conditions that produce thugs.

If societal conditions produce thugs, how is it that so many thugs come from families that are thug-free except for themselves?

I don't buy the idea that poverty causes crime--that the same individual would not have done it he only had a few more bucks in his pocket. A lot of us had parents who grew up during the Depression. They were far poorer than today's poor can imagine. I doubt there was a racket in those days that consisted of young kids robbing the elderly and having demagogues excuse their conduct because of "poverty."

Jesse Lee Peterson talks about the difference between poverty and moral poverty, with the latter being a cause of crime. Now that makes sense to me.

[45Auto]

Marion Barry is the poster boy (oops! no racial slur intended!) for the failure of liberalism. The scum sucker was elected to office four times (once after his bust) beginning in 1978. During his tenure, D.C. was the murder capitol of the country. So, he wants to pardon the little bastards that held him up at gunpoint; yet, if a law abiding D.C. resident is caught with a gun in his home that person will go to the can for merely wanting to protect his family. What a world. Socialism is a progressive disease.