Anonymous wrote:I guess that makes up for all his bigotry, corruption, criminal conduct, tax evasion, xenophobic statements, and racism, doesn't it?
Sounds more like hipocracy to me.
jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
There is a lot more to Barry than this caricature. For better or worse, his history and DC's history are intricately linked. While Barry is certainly worthy of criticism, there is a lot in his life deserving of praise. I think it is important to get beyond a single dimension in how he is viewed.
What has Barry done that is deserving of praise? And far from a "single dimension" his sorry record of criminal and ethical misconduct stretches across decades. The infamous crack arrest was the tip of the iceberg, but then he did everything from bring a prostitute into a jail, get stopped by the police for drugs in his car, repeatedly fail to pay his federal taxes (even after having been given the benefit of a plea agreement to avoid more jail time), arrange city contracts for a girlfriend, get involved in altercations with girlfirends in DC and other cities in which the police got involved, racially slur Asians, Philippinos, whites, you name it. All the while, what has he done, other than mismanaging the city and bloating its bureaucracy while mayor, which required a federal board to seize control? What major legislation has he passed on the council? What has he really done to improve life in his ward? What did he do for the city, other than turn DC into the butt of jokes and grow a political culture of cronyism and corruption that sadly continues to this day?
I do agree with you that Barry's history and DC's history are inextricably linked -- just not at all in a good way.
Everything you cite occurred in the last 24 years of the life of a 78 year old man. Do you have any idea what happened during the first 54?
At least take the time to read his Wikipedia page.
Also, I assume you have no understanding of the absolute racist situation faced by DC's black residents prior to home rule. Those were the circumstances in which Barry rose to power. Certainly not an easy achievement.
Anonymous wrote:jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
There is a lot more to Barry than this caricature. For better or worse, his history and DC's history are intricately linked. While Barry is certainly worthy of criticism, there is a lot in his life deserving of praise. I think it is important to get beyond a single dimension in how he is viewed.
What has Barry done that is deserving of praise? And far from a "single dimension" his sorry record of criminal and ethical misconduct stretches across decades. The infamous crack arrest was the tip of the iceberg, but then he did everything from bring a prostitute into a jail, get stopped by the police for drugs in his car, repeatedly fail to pay his federal taxes (even after having been given the benefit of a plea agreement to avoid more jail time), arrange city contracts for a girlfriend, get involved in altercations with girlfirends in DC and other cities in which the police got involved, racially slur Asians, Philippinos, whites, you name it. All the while, what has he done, other than mismanaging the city and bloating its bureaucracy while mayor, which required a federal board to seize control? What major legislation has he passed on the council? What has he really done to improve life in his ward? What did he do for the city, other than turn DC into the butt of jokes and grow a political culture of cronyism and corruption that sadly continues to this day?
I do agree with you that Barry's history and DC's history are inextricably linked -- just not at all in a good way.
jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
There is a lot more to Barry than this caricature. For better or worse, his history and DC's history are intricately linked. While Barry is certainly worthy of criticism, there is a lot in his life deserving of praise. I think it is important to get beyond a single dimension in how he is viewed.
Anonymous wrote:D.C. has laws against saying or writing anything racist.
What in the what now?
jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
There is a lot more to Barry than this caricature. For better or worse, his history and DC's history are intricately linked. While Barry is certainly worthy of criticism, there is a lot in his life deserving of praise. I think it is important to get beyond a single dimension in how he is viewed.
D.C. has laws against saying or writing anything racist.
Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
jsteele wrote:Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
There is a lot more to Barry than this caricature. For better or worse, his history and DC's history are intricately linked. While Barry is certainly worthy of criticism, there is a lot in his life deserving of praise. I think it is important to get beyond a single dimension in how he is viewed.
Anonymous wrote:Marion Barry is a loony old racist embarrassment to Washington DC. They booted Sterling from the NBA. It's high time that the Council censured and removed Barry from office. Lord knows all of Barry's criminal conduct, tax fraud, corrupt conduct and repeated racist rants.
jsteele wrote:Marion Barry just launched an epic tirade on Twitter against Tom Sherwood as a result of Sherwood's being a consultant on an HBO film about Barry. Barry apparently doesn't like the film, which is directed by Spike Lee:
https://twitter.com/marionbarryjr/