Trayon White: Identity politics MUST stop in DC. Stop elevating black men who

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:haven't demonstrated success and do not have the credentials to manage one fast food location let alone a city or Ward like Brandon Todd, Trayon White, City Manager Rashad Young, new chancellor Antwan Wilson, etc. There are several more incompetent black men city officials and people in high level roles that are horrific and don't have to do anything. Those roles that do not have as much spotlight so they get to use tax dollars to do what they want. As a black woman I know there are competent successful black men in DC but people keep setting our people up for failure by hiring uncle toms. It's embarrassing and inaccurate of the black story.

Here we go again with another joke of a human who was given a high level of responsibility. Trayon White posted bail for an ANC member who assaulted his girlfriend (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20864492/cm-trayon-white-posts-bail-for-anc-commissioner-charged-with-assault). Trayon claims he spoke with the girlfriend and the story didn't line up. Really? Being a council member makes him an investigator? It isn't the fact it's a friend and another black man? Or the fact that Trayon also has a history of being abusive toward black women (I know this because I grew up in his neighborhood). This is disturbing. I continue to not be surprised by the abuse of power and atrocities committed by DC public officials because this is how it has always been and it's our mayors like Bowser who make sure it remains this way. A black woman who could be a leader for change but instead throws her own under the bus, lifts disgusting black men to power, and panders to white rich people.

I'm trying to make sense of your complaint and the issue you feel needs to be addressed. Is it:

- black men
- DC government officials
- black men who are DC government officials
- friends of black men who are DC government officials
- Trayon White
- Brandon Todd
- black men who are abusive toward black women
- neighborhoods where black men are abusive toward black women
- black women
- black women who are DC government officials
- Muriel Bowser
- anyone hired by Muriel Bowser

For reference, I'm a black woman and a 30 year resident of DC. Didn't vote for Bowser. What I find disturbing is your lack of awareness that most people reading your rant will pick one or all from the list, note it's credibility as coming from a black woman, and use that as a reason to discredit any black person stepping up in the future, no matter their credentials. And, instead of looking at a dearth of opportunity and upward mobility for the majority of residents as the city's greatest scourge, they'll say the biggest thing holding us back is a government run by black people.

In other words, it's this kind of race-focused bullshit that makes these positions appealing only to those who run on race-focused bullshit. You gotta play the game to be in the game.

How about we shut the game down?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. Not to mention that at a time when they are literally knocking statues of Confederate racists off their pedestals in places like New Orleans and Richmond, along come DC local politicians who are falling all over themselves to commemorate a modern-day racist and crook, Marion Barry. This is someone who, aside from his crack use, serial disrespect of women, tax evasion and corruption, repeatedly disparaged with his public racist statements groups like Asian-American shopkeepers, Filipino-American nurses, etc.

Now they want, at taxpayer expense no less, to erect statues, name UDC buildings, rename Ballou HS, all to celebrate DC's Great Leader and Mayor-for-Life. (On Ballou, please, please don't do this to a storied high school. A John Lovitz film already made a national joke of "Marion Barry High.")

As bad as Barry was on his worst days, he never came close to comparing to Confederate leaders. Making such a comparison is ridiculous. Barry never owned another human being, never advocated slavery, and certainly did not go to war with the United States. As for his faults, you will be hard pressed to find any perfect individual represented by a statue.

NP thanks Jeff, I thought the attempt at comparing Barry acts with southern traitors was quite bizarre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the tens of thousands of young people from east of the river who through the summer jobs program got their first exposure to a real job and a glimpse of what kind of life they could make for themselves outside of the block they grew up on IF they applied themselves?

Or the thousands of families who had thanksgiving turkeys when they couldn't afford to buy their own?

Minority business owners and contractors who got their first chance at big budget jobs and a chance to grow their businesses, after being shut out of such opportunities by the all white old boy contractor network?

And lest you forget, Barry was SHOT while trying to get other DC council staff to safety during the Hanafi Muslim attacks in DC.


He wasn't perfect. Everyone knew that. But those flaws made him relatable to the people who voted for him. Everyone has a family member who had a problem with booze or drugs, or went to jail. It's a reality for them. And they saw in Barry someone who had the same flaws as someone they loved, and he went to bat for them.

You don't need to tell me how bad DC schools were, I know. I was Cardozo class of '88. I was here. A white kid growing up in Columbia Heights, at the height of the crack wars, before a bunch of out of town assholes moved in and converted it to pricey condos. No recently arrived gentrifier dipshits from someplace else need bother to educate me about DC politics, I was here.

The covert racism in some of these posts is sickening, but it's also exactly what I expect from the "new" DC residents.

And YOU call yourselves "progressives".

While we should have understanding and empathy, normally one wouldn't want to make the person CEO of an enterprise employing 45,000 people, providing crucial services with a $10 billion budget. Otherwise, there's the risk of disastrous results, which is pretty much what the people of DC got.

Aside from Barry's corruption, incompetence, racism, drug use, etc., what really stands out was the way he evaded paying taxes for years. The guy was basically a career criminal.

You must be talking about the current White House occupant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:haven't demonstrated success and do not have the credentials to manage one fast food location let alone a city or Ward like Brandon Todd, Trayon White, City Manager Rashad Young, new chancellor Antwan Wilson, etc. There are several more incompetent black men city officials and people in high level roles that are horrific and don't have to do anything. Those roles that do not have as much spotlight so they get to use tax dollars to do what they want. As a black woman I know there are competent successful black men in DC but people keep setting our people up for failure by hiring uncle toms. It's embarrassing and inaccurate of the black story.

Here we go again with another joke of a human who was given a high level of responsibility. Trayon White posted bail for an ANC member who assaulted his girlfriend (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20864492/cm-trayon-white-posts-bail-for-anc-commissioner-charged-with-assault). Trayon claims he spoke with the girlfriend and the story didn't line up. Really? Being a council member makes him an investigator? It isn't the fact it's a friend and another black man? Or the fact that Trayon also has a history of being abusive toward black women (I know this because I grew up in his neighborhood). This is disturbing. I continue to not be surprised by the abuse of power and atrocities committed by DC public officials because this is how it has always been and it's our mayors like Bowser who make sure it remains this way. A black woman who could be a leader for change but instead throws her own under the bus, lifts disgusting black men to power, and panders to white rich people.

I read this again and think you're a troll who is neither black nor a woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:haven't demonstrated success and do not have the credentials to manage one fast food location let alone a city or Ward like Brandon Todd, Trayon White, City Manager Rashad Young, new chancellor Antwan Wilson, etc. There are several more incompetent black men city officials and people in high level roles that are horrific and don't have to do anything. Those roles that do not have as much spotlight so they get to use tax dollars to do what they want. As a black woman I know there are competent successful black men in DC but people keep setting our people up for failure by hiring uncle toms. It's embarrassing and inaccurate of the black story.

Here we go again with another joke of a human who was given a high level of responsibility. Trayon White posted bail for an ANC member who assaulted his girlfriend (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20864492/cm-trayon-white-posts-bail-for-anc-commissioner-charged-with-assault). Trayon claims he spoke with the girlfriend and the story didn't line up. Really? Being a council member makes him an investigator? It isn't the fact it's a friend and another black man? Or the fact that Trayon also has a history of being abusive toward black women (I know this because I grew up in his neighborhood). This is disturbing. I continue to not be surprised by the abuse of power and atrocities committed by DC public officials because this is how it has always been and it's our mayors like Bowser who make sure it remains this way. A black woman who could be a leader for change but instead throws her own under the bus, lifts disgusting black men to power, and panders to white rich people.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:haven't demonstrated success and do not have the credentials to manage one fast food location let alone a city or Ward like Brandon Todd, Trayon White, City Manager Rashad Young, new chancellor Antwan Wilson, etc. There are several more incompetent black men city officials and people in high level roles that are horrific and don't have to do anything. Those roles that do not have as much spotlight so they get to use tax dollars to do what they want. As a black woman I know there are competent successful black men in DC but people keep setting our people up for failure by hiring uncle toms. It's embarrassing and inaccurate of the black story.

Here we go again with another joke of a human who was given a high level of responsibility. Trayon White posted bail for an ANC member who assaulted his girlfriend (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20864492/cm-trayon-white-posts-bail-for-anc-commissioner-charged-with-assault). Trayon claims he spoke with the girlfriend and the story didn't line up. Really? Being a council member makes him an investigator? It isn't the fact it's a friend and another black man? Or the fact that Trayon also has a history of being abusive toward black women (I know this because I grew up in his neighborhood). This is disturbing. I continue to not be surprised by the abuse of power and atrocities committed by DC public officials because this is how it has always been and it's our mayors like Bowser who make sure it remains this way. A black woman who could be a leader for change but instead throws her own under the bus, lifts disgusting black men to power, and panders to white rich people.

I read this again and think you're a troll who is neither black nor a woman.

-1, it seems legit to me. I get rants in my inbox multiple times a day that read exactly like this. DCPS doesn't teach composition or business writing. I've even seen drafts for official documents that have had text-speak in them!

Nah, it's real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:haven't demonstrated success and do not have the credentials to manage one fast food location let alone a city or Ward like Brandon Todd, Trayon White, City Manager Rashad Young, new chancellor Antwan Wilson, etc. There are several more incompetent black men city officials and people in high level roles that are horrific and don't have to do anything. Those roles that do not have as much spotlight so they get to use tax dollars to do what they want. As a black woman I know there are competent successful black men in DC but people keep setting our people up for failure by hiring uncle toms. It's embarrassing and inaccurate of the black story.

Here we go again with another joke of a human who was given a high level of responsibility. Trayon White posted bail for an ANC member who assaulted his girlfriend (http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/20864492/cm-trayon-white-posts-bail-for-anc-commissioner-charged-with-assault). Trayon claims he spoke with the girlfriend and the story didn't line up. Really? Being a council member makes him an investigator? It isn't the fact it's a friend and another black man? Or the fact that Trayon also has a history of being abusive toward black women (I know this because I grew up in his neighborhood). This is disturbing. I continue to not be surprised by the abuse of power and atrocities committed by DC public officials because this is how it has always been and it's our mayors like Bowser who make sure it remains this way. A black woman who could be a leader for change but instead throws her own under the bus, lifts disgusting black men to power, and panders to white rich people.

I read this again and think you're a troll who is neither black nor a woman.

-1, it seems legit to me. I get rants in my inbox multiple times a day that read exactly like this. DCPS doesn't teach composition or business writing. I've even seen drafts for official documents that have had text-speak in them!

Nah, it's real.

And yet, someone who feels this strongly hasn't come back to support their position, even when it was challenged.

I posted above and I'm still not sure what the position is, because the OP's rant is so disjointed. Maybe we're two different types of black women, but the ones I know with this much anger are pretty focused and wouldn't waste so much space with an incoherent argument.

It's not even an argument. It reads like someone trying to stoke discord. We've got enough of that.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. Not to mention that at a time when they are literally knocking statues of Confederate racists off their pedestals in places like New Orleans and Richmond, along come DC local politicians who are falling all over themselves to commemorate a modern-day racist and crook, Marion Barry. This is someone who, aside from his crack use, serial disrespect of women, tax evasion and corruption, repeatedly disparaged with his public racist statements groups like Asian-American shopkeepers, Filipino-American nurses, etc.

Now they want, at taxpayer expense no less, to erect statues, name UDC buildings, rename Ballou HS, all to celebrate DC's Great Leader and Mayor-for-Life. (On Ballou, please, please don't do this to a storied high school. A John Lovitz film already made a national joke of "Marion Barry High.")

As bad as Barry was on his worst days, he never came close to comparing to Confederate leaders. Making such a comparison is ridiculous. Barry never owned another human being, never advocated slavery, and certainly did not go to war with the United States. As for his faults, you will be hard pressed to find any perfect individual represented by a statue.

200 years ago vs. modern day. Yeah, that's a great comparison Unless you are saying that Barry never did evolve...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the tens of thousands of young people from east of the river who through the summer jobs program got their first exposure to a real job and a glimpse of what kind of life they could make for themselves outside of the block they grew up on IF they applied themselves?

Or the thousands of families who had thanksgiving turkeys when they couldn't afford to buy their own?

Minority business owners and contractors who got their first chance at big budget jobs and a chance to grow their businesses, after being shut out of such opportunities by the all white old boy contractor network?

And lest you forget, Barry was SHOT while trying to get other DC council staff to safety during the Hanafi Muslim attacks in DC.


He wasn't perfect. Everyone knew that. But those flaws made him relatable to the people who voted for him. Everyone has a family member who had a problem with booze or drugs, or went to jail. It's a reality for them. And they saw in Barry someone who had the same flaws as someone they loved, and he went to bat for them.

You don't need to tell me how bad DC schools were, I know. I was Cardozo class of '88. I was here. A white kid growing up in Columbia Heights, at the height of the crack wars, before a bunch of out of town assholes moved in and converted it to pricey condos. No recently arrived gentrifier dipshits from someplace else need bother to educate me about DC politics, I was here.

The covert racism in some of these posts is sickening, but it's also exactly what I expect from the "new" DC residents.

And YOU call yourselves "progressives".

You sound angry about something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. Not to mention that at a time when they are literally knocking statues of Confederate racists off their pedestals in places like New Orleans and Richmond, along come DC local politicians who are falling all over themselves to commemorate a modern-day racist and crook, Marion Barry. This is someone who, aside from his crack use, serial disrespect of women, tax evasion and corruption, repeatedly disparaged with his public racist statements groups like Asian-American shopkeepers, Filipino-American nurses, etc.

Now they want, at taxpayer expense no less, to erect statues, name UDC buildings, rename Ballou HS, all to celebrate DC's Great Leader and Mayor-for-Life. (On Ballou, please, please don't do this to a storied high school. A John Lovitz film already made a national joke of "Marion Barry High.")

As bad as Barry was on his worst days, he never came close to comparing to Confederate leaders. Making such a comparison is ridiculous. Barry never owned another human being, never advocated slavery, and certainly did not go to war with the United States. As for his faults, you will be hard pressed to find any perfect individual represented by a statue.

200 years ago vs. modern day. Yeah, that's a great comparison Unless you are saying that Barry never did evolve...

It's bad enough that there are still statues in public squares (vs. museums) of old-timey racists. Why would today's taxpayers then fund a new statute of a modern-day racist? Let Barry's monument simply be his tombstone -- and the resolve for DC finally to move beyond the icky public ethics he represented.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. Not to mention that at a time when they are literally knocking statues of Confederate racists off their pedestals in places like New Orleans and Richmond, along come DC local politicians who are falling all over themselves to commemorate a modern-day racist and crook, Marion Barry. This is someone who, aside from his crack use, serial disrespect of women, tax evasion and corruption, repeatedly disparaged with his public racist statements groups like Asian-American shopkeepers, Filipino-American nurses, etc.

Now they want, at taxpayer expense no less, to erect statues, name UDC buildings, rename Ballou HS, all to celebrate DC's Great Leader and Mayor-for-Life. (On Ballou, please, please don't do this to a storied high school. A John Lovitz film already made a national joke of "Marion Barry High.")

As bad as Barry was on his worst days, he never came close to comparing to Confederate leaders. Making such a comparison is ridiculous. Barry never owned another human being, never advocated slavery, and certainly did not go to war with the United States. As for his faults, you will be hard pressed to find any perfect individual represented by a statue.

200 years ago vs. modern day. Yeah, that's a great comparison Unless you are saying that Barry never did evolve...

I didn't make the comparison, the poster to whom I replied did. So, if you don't think the comparison is valid, then you must agree with me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the tens of thousands of young people from east of the river who through the summer jobs program got their first exposure to a real job and a glimpse of what kind of life they could make for themselves outside of the block they grew up on IF they applied themselves?

Or the thousands of families who had thanksgiving turkeys when they couldn't afford to buy their own?

Minority business owners and contractors who got their first chance at big budget jobs and a chance to grow their businesses, after being shut out of such opportunities by the all white old boy contractor network?

And lest you forget, Barry was SHOT while trying to get other DC council staff to safety during the Hanafi Muslim attacks in DC.


He wasn't perfect. Everyone knew that. But those flaws made him relatable to the people who voted for him. Everyone has a family member who had a problem with booze or drugs, or went to jail. It's a reality for them. And they saw in Barry someone who had the same flaws as someone they loved, and he went to bat for them.

You don't need to tell me how bad DC schools were, I know. I was Cardozo class of '88. I was here. A white kid growing up in Columbia Heights, at the height of the crack wars, before a bunch of out of town assholes moved in and converted it to pricey condos. No recently arrived gentrifier dipshits from someplace else need bother to educate me about DC politics, I was here.

The covert racism in some of these posts is sickening, but it's also exactly what I expect from the "new" DC residents.

And YOU call yourselves "progressives".

While we should have understanding and empathy, normally one wouldn't want to make the person CEO of an enterprise employing 45,000 people, providing crucial services with a $10 billion budget. Otherwise, there's the risk of disastrous results, which is pretty much what the people of DC got.

Aside from Barry's corruption, incompetence, racism, drug use, etc., what really stands out was the way he evaded paying taxes for years. The guy was basically a career criminal.

+1.

Anyways, that's the past.

Can't wait for the first non-black Mayor to represent Hope, Change and current DC voter demographics.

(Nope, didn't vote for Catania, want a candidate who actually deserves it)

[Anonymous]

I loved Barry. But how in the world did he get away without paying taxes for so long and so blatantly? He just flat out didn't pay. They told him they were going to put him in jail if he didnt pay and he never paid and never did any time for not paying. And he never disputed that he didnt pay- he just said he disnt have the money.It was absolutely baffling how he got away with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This. Not to mention that at a time when they are literally knocking statues of Confederate racists off their pedestals in places like New Orleans and Richmond, along come DC local politicians who are falling all over themselves to commemorate a modern-day racist and crook, Marion Barry. This is someone who, aside from his crack use, serial disrespect of women, tax evasion and corruption, repeatedly disparaged with his public racist statements groups like Asian-American shopkeepers, Filipino-American nurses, etc.

Now they want, at taxpayer expense no less, to erect statues, name UDC buildings, rename Ballou HS, all to celebrate DC's Great Leader and Mayor-for-Life. (On Ballou, please, please don't do this to a storied high school. A John Lovitz film already made a national joke of "Marion Barry High.")

As bad as Barry was on his worst days, he never came close to comparing to Confederate leaders. Making such a comparison is ridiculous. Barry never owned another human being, never advocated slavery, and certainly did not go to war with the United States. As for his faults, you will be hard pressed to find any perfect individual represented by a statue.

It's, uh, high time for DC to move on from the Barry era. Barry became a national joke and nearly turned the District of Columbia into one, as he was running DC into the ground. Why would anyone want to perpetuate all that and honor such a dishonorable character?

Slight clarification: Not only was he a national joke, he was an INTERNATIONAL embarrassment. I was traveling at the time, and people everywhere were in complete disbelief.

[Anonymous]

Barry is a divisive figure. The whites (generally speaking) hated him bc he appeared on tv smoking crack with a prostitute. The blacks (generally speaking) loved him bc he was smart and charismatic, and bc the whites hated him.