Anyone been here since the 80s / early 90s? How did smart locals react to Marion Barry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m black, moved to DC recently, and also wonder about this. I recall him being seen as a joke in national news growing up. Also don’t understand his appeal among DC natives, and their willingness to excuse his major indiscretions.

When he was first elected, black people had no power. He finally gave black people a voice here. He had his demons, but was a really smart guy. As time went on, the power got to him. This is not unlike many other cities. If the feds had not gone after him, I don't think he would have been re-elected. I think it was a protest vote.

It was a protest vote. People who had soured on Barry at that time would have never reelected him for a fourth time, but for the police entrapment. Yes, he smoked the coke. However, if you look at the video, Barry wanted putane and not coke. He kept pushing the drugs away, reaching for her. She kept offering the drugs first until he acquiesced. Bam, the FBI breaks in through the door as soon as he says "ok, give it to me", and takes the drugs. Yes, his fourth election was a protest vote. And, from that protest vote, over objection, Barry insisted on placing the Reeves Center on 14th and U to begin the revitalization of U Street. He increased the hiring of MPD and FEMS. And he hired the guy who replaced him when he decided not to run for a fifth term, Anthony Williams. Barry could have been like so many of our politicians and became filthy rich, but he was not in it for the money. He really was in it for the people. Other people around him got rich, but not him. Like many on DCUM, Barry had his demons. However, because of his public position, his demons were splashed all across the Washington Post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Been here since late 70s. Not too many whites in DC back then and people generally considered DC as a ghetto. I don't think whites really cared much about DC/Barry.

Might? Everyone west of 16th street was white.

I thought they were hookers. I miss old 14th street ladies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's something that has gone right over the heads of all of you here clucking about how much Barry sucked: the people who put him in office don't give the slightest damn what you think. You're white people. Most of you moved here within the last decade or so. Barry was never your Mayor. Your experience and your opinion, when it comes to Marion Barry, is invalid and completely without merit. What you say....it just doesn't matter. Not to us. We were here. We remember Barry. And we were never embarrassed of him. Newly arrived white people don't get to rewrite history, and don't get to give us our own opinions. So call him all the names you want. It just helps us identify you as a racist. Not that we needed any more help, but still.

DP. This includes newly arrived of any race, color, or national origin.

[Anonymous]

The size of the city workforce tripled during his reign, and he had his fingers on all the levers.

There's not enough emphasis on this in this thread - obviously there are negatives to this budget-wise, but by doing this, Barry hugely enlarged the black middle class in DC.

[Anonymous]

Is he the mayor that basically told the MPD to hire any black person off the street regardless of record? Yeah that worked out well for the MPD, the class of 89 and its large number of problem children is still a joke told by officers in the area today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's something that has gone right over the heads of all of you here clucking about how much Barry sucked: the people who put him in office don't give the slightest damn what you think. You're white people. Most of you moved here within the last decade or so. Barry was never your Mayor. Your experience and your opinion, when it comes to Marion Barry, is invalid and completely without merit. What you say....it just doesn't matter. Not to us. We were here. We remember Barry. And we were never embarrassed of him. Newly arrived white people don't get to rewrite history, and don't get to give us our own opinions. So call him all the names you want. It just helps us identify you as a racist. Not that we needed any more help, but still.

DP. This includes newly arrived of any race, color, or national origin.

But oddly, most of the the people talking about how bad Barry was ARE almost exclusively newly arrived white people who either aren't old enough to remember Barry or didn't live in DC at the time.

It's not older Asian people moving here and mouthing off about Barry. Or younger people from west Africa. Or anyone from Central America.

Nope. It's mostly all younger, know it all white people.

[Anonymous]

I'm a native Washingtonian, born in 1958, and have seen a lot. Barry was an embarrassment, and the fact that the city re-elected him that last time made DC residents a laughing stock. But I'm one of the white people whom a previous PP said doesn't count, so oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a native Washingtonian, born in 1958, and have seen a lot. Barry was an embarrassment, and the fact that the city re-elected him that last time made DC residents a laughing stock. But I'm one of the white people whom a previous PP said doesn't count, so oh well.

The current city counsel wants to build a monument to celebrate Barry:

http://wjla.com/news/local/dc-council-takes-step-towards-placing-statue-of-marion-barry-in-front-of-wilson-building

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a native Washingtonian, born in 1958, and have seen a lot. Barry was an embarrassment, and the fact that the city re-elected him that last time made DC residents a laughing stock. But I'm one of the white people whom a previous PP said doesn't count, so oh well.

People said newcomers don't count. Pay more attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he the mayor that basically told the MPD to hire any black person off the street regardless of record? Yeah that worked out well for the MPD, the class of 89 and its large number of problem children is still a joke told by officers in the area today.

Except it wasn't a joke. It was real, and a disaster for the District.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a native Washingtonian, born in 1958, and have seen a lot. Barry was an embarrassment, and the fact that the city re-elected him that last time made DC residents a laughing stock. But I'm one of the white people whom a previous PP said doesn't count, so oh well.

The current city counsel wants to build a monument to celebrate Barry:

http://wjla.com/news/local/dc-council-takes-step-towards-placing-statue-of-marion-barry-in-front-of-wilson-building

Ironic, no, at the same time that people elsewhere are pulling down statues of law-breaking old racists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's something that has gone right over the heads of all of you here clucking about how much Barry sucked: the people who put him in office don't give the slightest damn what you think. You're white people. Most of you moved here within the last decade or so. Barry was never your Mayor. Your experience and your opinion, when it comes to Marion Barry, is invalid and completely without merit. What you say....it just doesn't matter. Not to us. We were here. We remember Barry. And we were never embarrassed of him. Newly arrived white people don't get to rewrite history, and don't get to give us our own opinions. So call him all the names you want. It just helps us identify you as a racist. Not that we needed any more help, but still.

DP. This includes newly arrived of any race, color, or national origin.

But oddly, most of the the people talking about how bad Barry was ARE almost exclusively newly arrived white people who either aren't old enough to remember Barry or didn't live in DC at the time.

It's not older Asian people moving here and mouthing off about Barry. Or younger people from west Africa. Or anyone from Central America.

Nope. It's mostly all younger, know it all white people.

I lived in DC at the time, when the city had 5 or 6 working snowplows. When our public schools had few textbooks and no toilet paper. When the DC government didn't even know how many people were on the payroll. When most of the DC departments were in receivership or under Federal court ordered-control. When the DC government was completely dysfunctional. Yup, that was the Barry era.

[Anonymous]

It seems that DC is building a monument to Marion Barry.

At least it will give our dogs a bigger target than a fire hydrant to aim at!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/washington-dcs-next-monument-could-honor-former-mayor-marion-barry/2017/11/07/472aad86-c3f8-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html?tid=hybrid_collaborative_2_na&utm_term=.4610cfadda99

[Anonymous]

The ignorance of continued devotion to Marion Barry honestly makes me so mad. What he did to people of color is disgusting. Barry sentenced an entire generation to a high chance of poverty by failing to provide quality public education. He also literally sentenced to death so many young men and women by not getting the crime in our city under control.

Barry saw his role as using the city's coffers and power to build a black middle class. He bloated every city office and agency to ridiculous proportions, often creating unnecessary and redundant jobs, and there were often no qualifications needed for hiring beyond skin color and, at the higher levels, the right connections. Public services here were a total joke. You think they're bad now? Multiply that by 50, and that was the District in 1990. The irony is that a huge number of those lazy, incompetent city employees moved out of the city to Maryland because even they were fed up with the schools and the crime!

But, he created a summer jobs program, which you know was so daring and original.

Thank God we were blessed enough to have Anthony Williams save our butts. He laid the foundation to turn this city around and I will forever be grateful for his leadership, which I feel has sadly been unsung.

[Anonymous]

Yawn