[Mintwood-place] [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System

[koltwills at aol.com]

Mr. Boggs,

Nowhere did I use the term "racist."  That is your word.
 
I merely read what you wrote and responded to your language.  "How could they not be involved...?"  "How could they not care enough...?"  
 
It seems to me you've already assumed that African-American parents are not involved and don't give a damn.  One need not be particularly insightful to understand where such off-the-wall/erroneous assumptions come from, but that you seem to have internalized them is, it seems to me, your issue, regardless of your color -- not an issue of my presumptive "thin skin."
 
What you wrote is what you wrote.  And not only is it grotesquely off-the-mark, it is way out of line.

Apologies for the repeat e-mails to you, Mr. Boggs, but I thought when I hit "Reply all," my response was going to the group; it wasn't.
 
Kathleen


-----Original Message-----
From: nathan boggs <nathanmboggs at yahoo.com>
To: koltwills at aol.com
Sent: Mon, Apr 5, 2010 3:36 pm
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System




"Implicit in Nathan Boggs' language below is an assumption that Black parents do not care about their children -"

Really?  Show we where I implied that.  My mother and father are black.  So are all of my grandparents.    I suggest you grow some thicker skin before calling me a racist.
  

--- On Mon, 4/5/10, koltwills at aol.com <koltwills at aol.com> wrote:


From: koltwills at aol.com <koltwills at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System
To: ahhjlh at verizon.net, Jim at grahamwone.com, Lee.Satterfield at dcsc.gov, WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com, nathanmboggs at yahoo.com
Cc: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org, AdamsMorgan at yahoogroups.com, jdetaeye at dccouncil.us, twells at dccouncil.us, pmendelson at dccouncil.us, cathy.lanier at dc.gov, Leah.Gurowitz at dcsc.gov, jevans at dccouncil.us, ustreetnews at yahoogroups.com, mpd-3d at yahoogroups.com, jacob.kishter at dc.gov
Date: Monday, April 5, 2010, 2:44 PM


Just coming to the discussion...
 
Implicit in Nathan Boggs' language below is an assumption that Black parents do not care about their children -- something that is so counterintuitive, so contrary to any fundamental understanding of our shared humanity, that it causes me to assume the worst of the writer -- that he believes something about African-Americans, generally, that leads him to question if there's something about us that makes us unlike every other member of the human family -- that we care about, for, fiercly protect our children, and want the best for them.

Such discussions are happening every day in Black communities all across this nation.  There are advocacy groups, affected families, clergy, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, attorneys, criminal justice and corrections professionals and other service providers who grapple with such issues daily -- many of whom are themselves African-American. The relevant and more rational/respectful question is not the preposterously insulting ones raised by Mr. Boggs; but two very simple ones:  
 
Has there been effective outreach to the Black community in this matter?  If not, why not?
 
And let me add Latinos to the mix.  After all, it is Black and Brown people who disproportionately comprise this nation's incarcerated and those otherwise caught up in the criminal justice system.
 
Mr. Boggs' e-mail disgusts me -- but, frankly, it does not surprise.
 
Kathleen
-------

What do the parents have to say?  How could they not be involved at all in this process?  How could they not care enough to show interest in how the system, as advocated by the people on this board, will deal with their children?

One thing is for sure: if you don't care enough to solve the problems that affect you, others will step in and attempt to solve them for you.  Only thing is they will have little interest in how the solutions affect you.  

Let's be honest.  This legislation will primarily affect black kids.  If the black people don't show enough interest to care, they can't expect anyone else to have their best interests at heart. 

-----Original Message-----
From: ahhjlh at verizon.net <ahhjlh at verizon.net>
To: Jim at grahamwone.com; Lee.Satterfield at dcsc.gov; WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com; nathan boggs <nathanmboggs at yahoo.com>
Cc: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org; AdamsMorgan at yahoogroups.com; jdetaeye at dccouncil.us; WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com; twells at dccouncil.us; pmendelson at dccouncil.us; cathy.lanier at dc.gov; Leah.Gurowitz at dcsc.gov; jevans at dccouncil.us; ustreetnews at yahoogroups.com; mpd-3d at yahoogroups.com; jacob.kishter at dc.gov
Sent: Thu, Apr 1, 2010 10:48 am
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System






Just concentrating on parents or on one racial segment of our society is an oversimplification and a dead end.  It will not lead to needed change in our generally violent society. Let's try to think constructively and holistically about what can be done, including the separate role and interactions of our public institutions, private groups, and families. We have a national problem with varied manifestations--bullying youth (as recently exemplified by the incident in Massachusetts that may be related to a teenage suicide), gangs (extreme violence and murders), individual troubled youths (those who kill or attempt to kill peers, school  officials, and family members), enormous and increasing school dropout rates from troubled school systems, rising rates of juvenile drug and alcohol dependency, family problems (joblessness, poverty, addictions and dissolution), media and web depictions of no-holds-barred violence all around, and certain ideological groups and even persons in public office (or public office wannabes) spewing hate language to impede the functioning of government or at worst incite to actual violence.  

 

So, while all these issues and more are related, the discussion that Bryan and the Councilmember have opened up is related to one important bill and should concentrate on all aspects of a better system regarding juveniles, such as better organizational framework (as per Colby King's question), improved and increased resources and staff, larger facilities, improved programs for juvenile offenders, and, very importantly, a focus on special juvenile problems early on before things get out of hand. 

  

Ann   

  



--- On Wed, 3/31/10, nathan boggs <nathanmboggs at yahoo.com> wrote:


From: nathan boggs <nathanmboggs at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System
To: Jim at grahamwone.com, Lee.Satterfield at dcsc.gov, WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com
Cc: cathy.lanier at dc.gov, AdamsMorgan at yahoogroups.com, jdetaeye at dccouncil.us, WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com, twells at dccouncil.us, pmendelson at dccouncil.us, mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org, Leah.Gurowitz at dcsc.gov, jevans at dccouncil.us, ustreetnews at yahoogroups.com, mpd-3d at yahoogroups.com, jacob.kishter at dc.gov
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 8:17 PM




Have we capitulated on trying to SOLVE the problem?  All I hear is more beds, more probation officers.  That doesn't solve the problem.  In all the emails going back and forth, I have not seen much mention of the parents.  These are YOUTH as we love to call them.  What do the parents have to say?  How could they not be involved at all in this process?  How could they not care enough to show interest in how the system, as advocated by the people on this board, will deal with their children?

One thing is for sure: if you don't care enough to solve the problems that affect you, others will step in and attempt to solve them for you.  Only thing is they will have little interest in how the solutions affect you.  

Let's be honest.  This legislation will primarily affect black kids.  If the black people don't show enough interest to care, they can't expect anyone else to have their best interests at heart.  

Nathan Boggs 

--- On Wed, 3/31/10, Bryan Weaver <WeaverANC at aol.com> wrote:


From: Bryan Weaver <WeaverANC at aol.com>
Subject: [WardOneDC] Judges, Youth Violence, The System
To: Jim at grahamwone.com, Lee.Satterfield at dcsc.gov
Cc: Leah.Gurowitz at dcsc.gov, mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org, AdamsMorgan at yahoogroups.com, ustreetnews at yahoogroups.com, WardOneDC at yahoogroups.com, jdetaeye at dccouncil.us, pmendelson at dccouncil.us, twells at dccouncil.us, cathy.lanier at dc.gov, jacob.kishter at dc.gov, mpd-3d at yahoogroups.com, jevans at dccouncil.us
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 5:45 PM


 

I feel like a I am in a monster game of "Three Card Monte".... the 
obfuscation here has taken us far away from the issue at hand: how does 
Council Bill 18-595 stem youth violence?

Not one thing in Council Bill 18-595--for which you are currently 
seeking support--adds more beds for youth offenders, adds more 
probation officers, alters the system in which we adjudicate our young 
people...not one thing.

So, once again we blame our lowly state on our federal overlords.

But at the end of the day DYRS --- D.C.’s juvenile crime agency --- 
has around 740 kids under its control; there are only 60 beds in the 
New Beginnings campus/detention center. So only the worst of the worst 
60 spend any time in secure custody.

So what happens to the other 680 youth offenders who have fired a gun, 
robbed someone, sold drugs? At best they will end up in a group home 
close to their home on the outside.

That part of the story is 100% in DC Government's control.

So why place the blame on Federally appointed judges and Court Social 
Services probation officers who are handling over a 1500 youth on 
probation. Until DC has more than 60 beds in a secure facility and a 
better system of adjudicating and rehabilitating youth a judges options 
are limited.

By the way the DC youth probation officer to probationer ratio in of 20 
to 1 is much better than other jurisdictions, in comparison to NYC 36 
to 1, Baltimore 50 to 1, Dallas 30 to 1 and Philadelphia 25 to 1.

Bryan



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