My grandson lives near Bucky Boyle Park, which is along the Lehigh River. I sometimes take him and other neighborhood kids there so they can hit fly balls. It is a last resort because the baseball fields are in terrible condition. Four-wheelers leave gashes in the field, and kids concentrating on a baseball can easily twist ankles.
I can understand why Allentown City Council member Michael Donovan confronted some kids using the park as a go-cart trail. They ruin it for everyone. I am horrified and saddened to learn one of them punched him in the face.
Ironically, I saluted Michael and his son, Ned, earlier this week. I hope he makes a speedy and complete recovery. I am relieved to see he has posted a blog telling us he is fine.
40 comments:
Dog bites man is not a story. Allentown is a very dangerous place. He should have called police. Best wishes for a full recovery. I'm sure a little rehabilitation will fix the miscreants. Perhaps hockey?
My people, my people...look, there are many different ways to look at this incident but only one right way to judge it. I've heard some say, he should've let the police handle it; minded his own business and kept it moving; etc but there still is no rational reason for him to get "clocked" as he did.
I don't know how he approached the fella's or what he said to them and in what manner, but, my boy, Alfonso Todd a.k.a Fonzo, told me that Michael Donovan, from his experience, wasn't the kind of man that would "come out of his neck" or say anything rude to anyone in this situation. I do know that some A-town youth do have a problem with authority and discipline. This younger generation is not impressed by age, status, or persona. There is definitely an "us versus them" mentality, on both sides of the spectrum in the community, which has only been widened with this occurence.
But, in all reality, incidents like this, happen everyday. It's an assault which became widespread news because it happened to a city official.
I hope Michael D. gets better soon and uses this experience to enhance his point of view when it comes to Allentown's dilemma...
Keep up the good fight,
-J. Black
" ... but there still is no rational reason for him to get "clocked" as he did.
I don't know how he approached the fella's or what he said to them and in what manner ... "
I believe you speculated; then answered in consecutive sentences.
Casually explaining it as something that happens every day is more disturbing than the incident itself.
To suggest his view should be "enhanced" by the experience is patronizing and insulting. It's also indicative of a Stockholm Syndrome where some have begun to identify with the animals who hold them hostage in their own city.
No "enhancement" wanted or needed here.
Knowing the parties involved in this situation, the outcome is no surprise.
The confluence of two different standards and cultures here. Each dealt with the situation in their own unique way.
At some point, one of them needs to appreciate where the other is coming from and be mature enough to change their approach.
From the comments in the article it does not sound as if anything was learned.
Rule #1 - Never challenge inner city youth from the seat of your car, in their neighborhood, with the window open and conclude by telling them you are going to call the police.
ANON 7:14,
My opinion was not made to insult and patronize; and in reference to the "Stockholm Syndrome", as a man of color, I DO identify with the whole situation and with all people involved. By you referring to the boys as "animals" only lets me know where you are coming from. Mr. Dononvan didn't deserve that treatment and the guys should be punished, but I say let's look deeper into the situation and ask ourselves, as a society, "where were the teachings of their parents?" "where was the respect?" "where was the discipline?" and "where was the plain, ordinary, sense of common decency when it comes to normal interaction between civilized individuals?" THIS is what I was referring to. The enhancement or experience I was writing, in regards to Mr. Donovan, about is what I hope he takes away from this criminal act. I am hoping he doesn't "cut and run" like many do. He has experienced the exact reason why people like him and other local community leaders, who are actually in "the trenches", are needed to bring A-town back to its' glory.
And as far as incidents like this happening everyday, it IS what it IS...
-J. Black
We all wish Mr. Donovan a speedy recovery, but he is really lucky
he wasn't shot.
Bottom Line, the kids were illegally destroying a public park, a nice one on top of it, and someone called them on it. The kids were obviously not used to this and their feelings were hurt. Boo hooo.
Donovan was doing them a favor. If their culture could not recognize or appreciate this then I guess that is the price of refusing to assimilate.
They all need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law, period.
People PLEASE... We are not in the 80's and 90's, this NOT New Jack City, NYC, Philly, or Jersey. This is not lessening the incident that occurred, but this situation has happened before and it, more than likely, will happen again; but I can feel the hateful, ignorant, and biased commentary coming on, so let us begin.....
-J. Black
Greetings:
I am reading these comments, and I appreciate what J.Black and Alfonso are saying.
Starting with ruining the park, there is a deeper issue here. I would do what I did again. I do not cut and run.
Am I bothered by what happened? Yes. In fact, as I mentioned to someone yesterday, it is a challenge to balance anger with optimism; frustration with understanding; feelings of revenge with feelings of knowing that its a few who are violent in society -- otherwise we would be in deep trouble.
Who to blame? Well certainly, the kids, first. However, I can find lots of other causes that contribute to their behavior.
I have a responsibility as a teacher and a policy maker to keep working at developing the next generation. That is what I set out to 15 years ago when I left the corporate world and begin life as an educator. It is also one of the reasons I decided to run for office.
I'm sure that I'll get some pushback on this. Nevertheless, it is how I feel about our world and ultimately, as long as I respect the positions of others, that is what counts for me.
Best regards, and thank you Mr. O'Hare for your thoughts.
Michael Donovan
J Black,
A city council person does not get assaulted everyday. Like it or not it is not the same thing as when one kid in the hood punches another for stealing his girlfriend of smoking his pot.
An assault on an elected official is a direct assault on our democratic system. It does not matter if they knew who they were hitting or not, although I do believe they did have an idea.
Knowledge of the incident is now in the public realm and a message must be sent to remove any doubt law and order is in effect in the city of Allentown.
In addition, I believe the perpetrator should be charged with a Federal crime for attempting to "coerce or influence government policy through force", i.e. Terrorism. The definition fits.
M.D.
You sound like LBJ during the Viet Nam War.
You need to understand your opposition and their culture.
You might start by Googling - Sudhir Venkatesh for literature on the subject.
Glad you are well, I understand your intent, but man it was a dumb move.
How dare you J. Black. You have no idea what color or ethnicity I am, let alone my background. My use of the term "animals" is inclusive of ALL two-legged creatures of any background who would visit physical violence upon another. i had no idea what color you are and could not possibly care less. Wrong is wrong. Rationalize any way you like to explain away your own ennui. Until you call what is evil and wrong by its name, you are enabling the problem and race mongering where no reference was made until you jumped into your comfortable rhetorical bunker. Try not to be a stereotype. The issue is human who prey upon other humans. Good grief.
I can only hope that Donovan has a full and speedy recovery from what must have been truly terrifying.
It's important to remember that the kids who beat him up are the ones to blame. And only them. No matter what Donovan's "attitude" was at the time of this confrontation, nothing justifies violence. So, I have no sympathy for the offenders here.
If this incident brings City Council more in touch with the real dangers of this city, then maybe the final outcome of this incident will benefit us all.
This incident was a complete outrage! As BO reports, this public athletic field was being trashed by mindless thugs for some time. Is this area patrolled by the APD? Has anyone been fined? It is outrageous to think that neighbors sit idly by while noisy go-karts are speeding around BB park. Donovan has my complete respect for confronting the punks. It was a shame that the cops didn't get there sooner to arrest the whole bunch.
If I may step in for a moment and respond to some of the opinions directed toward, J. Black:
South Side Sam, I agree with you to a certain extent. It may not SEEM as if it is the same, but I BELIEVE the incident should be handled the same. In my eyes, ANY person who is assaulted, in ANY way deserves, swift and direct action from our law enforcement whether they are on city council or not. I,also, believe the boys should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law , but why wait until NOW, (because an elected official was assaulted), to start "kicking butt and taking names?"
ANON 8:49
How DARE he ? How DARE you !
You can try to rationalize YOUR use of the derogatory term "animal" all that you want but the fact IS that it was used; supposedly, according to you, in an "all-inclusive" way, does not make it any better or worse in MY opinion. J. doesn't care about race either. READ his previous posts he continuously states that the boys were wrong and should be punished There are NO excuses made for them, or explanations or justifications. And you are right, wrong IS wrong. But now I see you are calling the boys EVIL. Hmmm... misdirected, misguided, undisciplined, in need of punishment - corporal or otherwise, definitely, but EVIL is a very strong word. And "preying" on other humans? The guys were playing with a go-cart in a restricted area.... Please see J.'s previous comments regarding New Jack City and Jersey.
-Alfonso Todd
I understand that the person who called these perpetrators "animals" was referring to their violent behavior. J Black, I do not think it was intended as a slur. I can understand referring to people who always resort to violkence as animals. Few would considder the expression, "You brute!" as bigoted. but that is really calling someone an animal.
But I would not use that word.
I can see how this really bothers Alfonso bc so many Topix commenters use that term to refer to minorities. I don't think the commenter intended to disparage an entire group with a bigoted remark, I would refrain from using that word. Also, if a person of color tells me I am saying or doing something insensitive to his race, I need to listen.
The important thing, at least to me, is to be able to read Donovan's remarks. I am glad he is doing well enough to not miss a beat.
They hit a guy Alfonso. They hit a guy. It's unacceptable, animalistic behavior, whether it's white punks in Nazareth and Shenendoah, or punks of color in Allentown. Stop making excuses. It has nothing to do with race. Many who use the park are non-whites who've been victimized by the same thugs. No wonder we can't make progress. We're afraid to discuss any issue without a racial component. As long as we watch the racial razzle-dazzle of the the excuse-makers, we avoid discussing the core issue of VIOLENCE that victimizes all of us. "Enhancement," my ass.
na·ive or na·ïve
1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially:
a. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm.
b. Unsuspecting or credulous:
All the potential social vigilantes in the blog world need to understand what they are dealing with.
Attack on Democracy! Are you kidding me. They did not see Donovan in the same way he saw them.
People are different. Different experiences and different perceptions. One of the ways of acting out in the urban culture is through violence.
As much as I do not agree with it, I need to respect it and learn to work with it, if I want to make a difference.
Before you all go down and start waving sanctimonious fingers at the "uneducated masses" (not my perception) living near BB park, make sure your Kevlar undies are on.
P.S. - A city councilor should not have any issue mobilizing the police if he sees something THEY should deal with in the city.
Should the police be heading up the finance committee on city council?
I stated this over at MD's & Pam's site as well:
No matter where you go you're still here"
This kind of stuff is not exclusive to Allentown. It was reported on Monday April 6th Teens on ATVs damage Pleasant Valley sports fields. In their case as well, it was 16-19 year olds.
ATV's may not seem like a big deal, but actually there can be $100's if not $1,000's of damage done to the ball fields. Bucky Boyle Park received major expensive upgrading under Mayor Heydt. It is the headquarters to 'Weed & Seed'. Somehow, someway punks who screw this place up must be apprehended and the juvey courts should force them to labor manually to restore any damages they caused. I don't want their money. I want restoration. "Idle hands are the devil's tools"... I can easily solve the idle hands problem.
Blame society, the parents.. whatever! It still comes back to my old Central Jr. HS's motto: "Personal Responsibility". If these kids weren't provided that in the education system (how could they, they skipped school obviously).. perhaps the court system could provide for their education in regards to taking responsibility for their actions by providing rakes & shovels! Let that be their punishment. One which provides a lesson based outcome as well. Perhaps Mr. Donovan could over see that the project is done correctly. At the end of which they apologize to the councilman in the park with the presence of TMC & WFMZ. They may not think that's too 'cool'... but I DO!
I respect J. Black for his position. In many ways this is a generational thing. Those of us who were raised under "old school" values respected our elders and those in society. We did some crazy stuff as teens too, but didn't confront adults or hit them when caught- we ran away and prayed that our parents didn't find out! There are many societal explanations for today's youth culture, fueled by glamorization of violence in music, videos, and the movie industry. The arrogence and disrespect of a (growing) minority of teens and young adults transcends race or ethnicity. As responsible adults working for the betterment of our community we need to unify to build a more civil society, not divide along racial innuendos.
We've been tilting at "root cause" windmills for years, and, given the increasing violence, much to our detriment. It's remarkable that few are willing to say, unequivocally, that violence in any instance is unacceptable. That's the only starting point from which things will get better. And we can't even get started without qualifying and mitigating that which is objectively wrong.
While I think Politically Neutral 8:49 correctly suggests there are culturally systemic issues here (Venkatesh), I think a combo of Anon 10:58 and LVCI nails it pretty good.
"It's unacceptable, [ ] behavior, whether it's white punks in Nazareth and Shenendoah, or punks of color in Allentown. Stop making excuses. It has nothing to do with race."
and
"Blame society, the parents.. whatever! It still comes back to ... "Personal Responsibility". If these kids weren't provided that in the education system (how could they, they skipped school obviously) [NOR, I would add, most importantly at HOME].. perhaps the court system could provide for their education in regards to taking responsibility for their actions by providing rakes & shovels!"
But I am cynical that will matter. Too much in the subcultureS (plural, not specific) (that is now glorified in main culture through mass media) reinforces behavior that is counter-productive to a healthy society. And too much of the larger society finds it easier to "just not go there" and pretend it doesn't happen.
We can build all the treatment centers in Lehigh or Northampton Counties you want. You can house them in all the prisons you want. You can even bring back "Cool Hand Luke". All is for naught until we stop trying to "understand" each other, and demand some conformity to social standards.
Easier said than done, though....or would have already been done.
ANON 10:58,
I KNOW he hit a guy. I KNOW the guy and have had several lengthy conversations WITH the guy. Look, we can agree to disagree about the term used toward the people but I do believe we can come together when it comes to our thoughts about the enormous tragedy of the situation. I do believe the only thing that will stop these instances is the collaboration of people, organizations, and leaders. Just like we cannot continue to quibble about names and blames, we cannot afford to NOT focus on the true problems in Allentown...
Alfonso Todd
Best wishes to Mike as he truly is a great guy and an outstanding public servant. For all here ... the first commandment of the 4 times nationally recognized Coplay Town Watch founded 1995 is never confront anyone, particularly teenagers. Pull out your cell phone and call the police. What was a punch could have easily been a knife or a gun. I was at the outside of the East Side gym a couple years ago at a basketball game when a bunch of teenagers were throwing stones into the parking lot to randomly hit parked cars. I pulled out my cell phone and pretended to call the police. They saw me and scattered like cockroaches when the lights are turned on. Be safe, be smart ... call, do not confront.
I have to critique my own comments, and point out that my reference to "What we have here is failure to communicate"--Cool Hand Luke--is rather ironic. I was thinking of: even if you brought back the chain gangs, etc....yet forgetting that the whole premise of the movie was a man refusing to conform, no matter how much society tried to beat it into him.
Actually, maybe it is not ironic. Society HAS tried the continuum from throwing money at liberal education solutions through conservative prisons solutions. Some people simply won't conform. Do we just have to accept that? Thats rather defeatist.
Who out there is going to save the world?
Kind of funny I should ask that today of all days!! Maybe there is your solution.
Still waiting for someone else besides Bernie and one anonymous poster to objectively denounce this kind of violence without any conditions. Until then, the central issue remains ignored and nothing will be solved. Running away indicates those who did this knew they'd done wrong vs. right. It's curious that many posters can't seem to make the same objective distinction.
ANON 2:20
Unsure what blog you're reading but I believe everyone collectively denounced this violence and didn't give any excuses for the boys who committed the crime. I am unsure what "conditions" you are speaking of, but I don't believe anyone is saying to "go easy on them " or
" they're just children."
They did the crime so they should do the time...
Alfonso Todd
It was wonderful to see Michael out last night in Allentown. Most people, I would presume, would stay home after something like this happened. Instead, he and his wife went out to be the good people of this city (and judging by the crowd, there are a lot of good people in this city).
What was particularly great was what Michael said to me when he came over to my table: people are still good. It's that unflappable optimism that gives me some hope that we have a good citizen leader in Michael.
Violence is wrong but it will only be overcome by people who care enough to step up and show that they care. I see that more clearly today than i did yesterday.
Geoff
Dear Alfonso aka J.Black,
A punch in the face is not a response to words. No sympathy, no understanding. If they don't get that, they need a good ass kicking.
Michael, maybe you are a lover not a fighter.
KFC
did they catch the three thugs?
Donovan for mayor!
You aren't relieved, you are LMYFAO.
They were right about you all along, The Spinners had a great song about you back in 74'
Backstabbers. That's all about you.
After you crapped all over Donovan, now you're buddy/buddy again? Is that how he feels?
I'm keeping a seat warm for you here in jail. Get used to it, the one in hell is extra toasty!
Fuck you O'Hare, and the horse you rode in on.
Boy i guess those street cameras are really working.
Anon 10:17,
1) I was harshly critical of Donovan's stance regarding public participation and will remain critical of any government or government representative who chooses to keep the public in the dark.
2) On Monday, I posted a blog complimenting Donovan and his son on a personal level. I noted I would be unable to have that conversation with any elected official other than him.
3) What you don't get is there is a difference between a criticism on issues and a criticism of the person. The evidence of that is your own pathetic comment. You are precisely the kind of "political knee breaker" who was derided by Ned Donovan. You end up looking foolish and petty.
Mr. Leiner:
Good post about calling the police. You're right, worse things could have hapopened.
The problem is this is Allentown, not Coplay. The police do not come for kids playing with a go-kart in a park.
I've had my house robbed, and the police did not come, they took the report over the phone.
Unless there is something involving imminent danger, no one is coming, and even then you may have to wait.
This is just one reason why many people have fled to suburbia.
Allentown Exposed!! Now elected officials are being assaulted. Sounds Baghdadesque!! Force knows force. Allentown needs to step up and do heavy duty footpatrols this spring, summer and fall. Find the problem areas where the ruffians congregate and stand amongst them. Follow them to their next spot. Dirty Harry techniques I say are now needed. This assault on a nice day in the now not so picturesque Allentown park is a major, major wakeup call. Its only getting worse folks.
After reading these comments I cannot help but add my own two cents.
I'm 22 years old and have walked the streets of Allentown for years. Twice I've been assaulted. The first attack came from some kid who walked up to me said, "What's up" and punched me in the face. I said nothing to him. It was unprovoked. The second time a group of four of five kids approached my friends and I. They demanded our money. We said no and one of my friends got punched in the face. A chase ensued and the kids were eventually arrested.
These instances have nothing to do with race. They have everything to do with the education and experience these kids have gathered. If you thought that a political system couldn't care less about you and watched as your family struggled to pay the rent, would you really care about the law? Would you care about the political institutions rules when it is that same institution that screws you on a daily basis? I think not. And to those who say, "Well, they should get a job already and stop being part of the problem." Again, I say, put yourself in that person's shoes and tell me that you'd want to become a working member of a society that you view as a constant source of strife.
These roaming groups of kids have neither the education nor influence to get themselves out of the rut they are in. It is as simple as that. Race has nothing to do with it. Citing race is an easy excuse to avoid the idea that maybe, just maybe, our educational system is flawed. It is a way to point your finger in the other direction instead of blaming ourselves for continuing to uphold this flawed system.
Bryan, I THANK-YOU for understanding and putting Allentown's dilemma in a way that I hope many will understand and act upon. THIS is why Allentown is the way it is. PERIOD. No excuses, justifications, or biased explanations. This is the whole situation in a nutshell.
And this is why I do what I do with Project R.E.A.L. (www.projectreal.piczo.com)
So for everyone who is angry, pissed off, frightened, or dismayed, please get out into the community, in some way or fashion,
and let's MAKE THINGS HAPPEN ! Get involved !
It can't be done without YOU...
-Alfonso Todd
All of this chest-thumping and testosterone makes me wonder once again: Why do guys get so hung up on out-manning each other when the rest of us need their time and attention directed at real-world problems? Take back the streets for all of us, guys. Join a block watch or some organization that's trying to make life safer in your community.
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