Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 December 2003 — Page 6

PAGE A6

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2003

EDITORIAL

It seems like the world has gone mad By SHANNON WILLIAMS Recorder Editor

As I watdu'd the news the other morning, the top three stories were about honheiiles. kidnapping, and alleged police brutality. All the while, I was thinking to myself "what the heck is going on in this

world?"

In listening to the anchorwoman provide the latest information on the Laci Peterson murder case, whose husband Scott is currently behind bars as tin- prime suspect, my

stomach began to turn.

Then before I could even get over the thought of the woman and her unborn child being murdered, I was hearing the news about a Minnesota man who was recently apprehended for allegedly kidnapping a woman shopping in a mall, who still hasn’t been found, late last month. As if that wasn’t enough 1 was reminded of the brutal beating of Nathaniel Jones, the 350-pound Black Cincinnati

man who was allegedly

beaten by police officers as

they tried to apprehend him. Moments after the fight, Jones was dead. Although I fully understand how strange this world can be, something

overcame me during that

news broadcast. My

thoughts were sad ones as I saw what a disastrous place

this world has become.

What I don’t understand

is how can things be the way that they are? What

makes a person want to not only hurt another person, but kill them? Who gives any individual the right to take another human being against their will? And whydo people who are supposed to protect the community

sometimes lose sight of C 99 their job objective and -

make inappropriate deci-

sions?

What has the world we live in become? Still in my 20s, I’m fully aware that I haven't lived the lives and experienced the things that those older than 1 have; yet I have seen a significant change in today’s society compared to when I was growing up. 1 wonder what’s in the hearts of these individuals that do obvious wrong. I wonder what goes through their minds each day knowing they have caused another person and their loved ones harm. Jn my opinion, these individuals that commit such heinous acts simply have no regard for human life. They don't feel normal emotions that would make a sane person overwhelmed with sadness or grief. They just simply don’t

care.

It is my hope that one day the crime in this world decrease significantly. I don't consider myself unrealistic, but I do hope that our society improves. I don’t know exactly how this can be done - perhaps prayer, more parental involvement. stricter laws, increased supervision, or maybe a combination of all of these things. The saddest part about the current state of this world is the children that have to be raised in it. If things don’t improve, what type of hope do we have for our kids? What type of life will they live in the next decade or so? I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. Feel free to e-mail me at shannonw(</ indyrecorder.com and tell me what you think. I ll be more than happy to publish your responses.

“Individuals

that

commit

such

heinous

acts simply

have no

regard for

human

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JUST TELLIIT IT President shows compassion to troops, callous conservatism to seniors

By AMOS BROWN III

President (ieorge W. ¥ I Bush'sphilosophy ■J p a s s i o n conservatism" was unveiled in M Indianapolis fa in the heart of our AfricanAmerican community in July 1999. I mention that because last week we saw the good and bad of compassionate conservatism. The good occurred during the president’s top secret, Air Force One lands in darkness, visit to our troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. Those who’ve worked with the president uniformly tell me that he’s a truly compassionate, caring man. And that’s the man I saw on C-Span’s unedited coverage of the president’s Thanksgiving sojourn. You wouldn’t know President Bush’s unpopular with African Americans as the president spoke with, joked with and was friendly with AfricanAmerican soldiers; shaking their hands, laughing with them, taking photos with them, even kissing a couple of our sistah soldiers. Bush seemed genuinely moved by the service of our service personnel; a man deeply caring about those he’s sent into harm’s way in Iraq. In his landmark speech unveiling compassionate conservatism, then Gov. Bush said at the Metro Church on the Northeastside, “We will carry a message of hope and renewal to every community in this country. We will tell every American, The dream is for you.” President Bush may personally have those compassionate qualities, but his administration and his party’s leadership continue to demonstrate the opposite of those warm words

in Indianapolis four and a half years ago. The Medicare reform bill, rammed through a sharply divided Congress, will harm millions of seniors and potentially bankrupt the country. So desperate were the Republicans to approve their dangerous plan that they conspired to cheat - again. When the House first voted, Republicans had lost by two votes. But chief GOP congressional Neanderthal Tom DeLay rigged the voting, just as Republicans did in Florida three years ago. DeLay delayed, keeping the congressional voting machines open three additional hours in the dead of night, while DeLay’s boyz twisted arms' legs and congressional morality. It wasn’t Democrats that had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support this radical Republican Medicare scheme - it was Republicans. It wasn’t just the J ulia Carsons who opposed the Bush/DeLay plan; it was rock-ribbed Republican conservatives like Indiana Congressmen Mike Pence and Dan Burton. They were among 25 Republicans who crossed Delay (at their peril) to stand up and say the Bush/DeLay Medicare plan isn’t compassionate conservatism, or good government. Congresswoman Carson said Monday on our WDNITV/Channel 65 program that the Medicare plan won’t provide true prescription drug savings to seniors. Carson says ■many seniors, who have health coverage through their pension plans, could see that coverage disappear under the new plan. One Hoosier who supported the president’s Medicare fiasco was Congressman Steve “no help for Wishard Hospital” Buyer. Congressman Buyer represents Indiana’s Fourth District, which includes parts of western Marion County. Buyer went against the entire Indiana congressional delegation, including Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan

Bayh, and defeated the effort to help WishareteHospital close its budget gap. I guess Buyer (pronounced BOO-yer) feels that a hospital like Wishard that provides top quality medical care to the poor and indigent should close. Maybe Buyer thinks poor patients can get medical care at those fancy specialty hospitals that have sprouted up like weeds on the city’s fringes the past few years. Hospitals wh ich exist only to serve the medical indulgences of Central Indiana’s rich and upper middle class. These new hospitals which specialize in ailments like cardiology, ingrown toenails and other non-emergency, non-trauma specialties aren’t obligated by law, or religious conviction, to accept poor patients. If you don’t have insurance, these trendy hospitals will literally throw you out the door and ship you to Wishard. But, if Buyer has his way, and Wishard closes, those patients will literally die in the streets, like in third world countries. DeLay and Buyer’s rabid Republican radicalism demonstrate to our community that President Bush’s description of compassionate conservatism, uttered here, are words without meaning; words without works. What I’m hearing in the streets I was privileged to share part of the centennial celebration of Indiana high school athletics Sunday. The Indiana High School Athletic Association (I HSAA) invited me to moderate a conversation with legendary Coach John Wooden, who coached those championship UCLA teams and celebrated athletes Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Walt Hazzard, Bill Walton, Michael Warren and scores more. The 93-year-old “Wizard of Westwood’s” mind is sharp, and his insights into life and sports remain insightful and penetrating. Born in the southern Indiana hamlet of Centerville, coach

Wooden grew up in Martinsville, but he always stood up for what’s right. During our conversation at Hinkle Fieldhouse, I learned that in 1947 he refused to take his Indiana State team to the championship game because they didn’t permit African Americans to play. John Wooden is a quality educator and human being, described by one of his African-American players as a coach who “doesn t see color, he just sees ballplayers.” It was an honor to share an afternoon as coach Wooden shared his wisdom to nearly 2,000 Indiana high school athletes. ***** Elected officials were scarce at this year’s 30th Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner effort. State Rep. Bill Crawford and state Sen. Glenn Howard were there helping as they’ve done for many years. But Mayor Bart Peterson and his top staffers were absent as were Gov. Joe Kernan and Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis. Top members of the Kernan/Davis administration were also absent. But Judy O’Bannon was there. From their first year as lieutenant governor, Frank and Judy O’Bannon spent part of their Thanksgiving Day volunteering at the Mozel Dinner. It would’ve been understood if Jutty O’Bannon skipped this year. [ But, that’s not Judy’s style. Instead, Mrs. O’Bannon came, donned her apron, gloves and cap, and helped on the serving line for over an hour. It was good to see her there. ■ ***** David Lewis was sworn in as Indiana clerk of the courts last week, the fourth African American ever to hold a statewide office. Unfortunately, the pride of Gannett, our city’s morning newspaper, refused to cover this milestone in Hoosier history. See ‘ya next week. Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of Th^e Indianapolis Recorder. You can con tact him at (317)221-0915 or e-mail him at [email protected].

Michael Jackson's mess is no 'Thriller'

By GEORGE E. CURRY NNPA

Unlike many of my col- . '’•'j leagues, I had planned to abstain from writing djre' about Michael Jackson's latest troubles. I wanted to just say no. And I was wBSb "I f' incunt 'lJermaine Jackson asserted that his ™ brother was being lynched. The problem is that when we take cases that have only a tangential relationship to race and characterize them as “racism” or a “lynching,’’weeheapen the instances where that is actually the case. Getting justice or even media attention in a legitimate discrimination case is hard enough without the distraction of throwing irrelevant analogies into the mix. We don’t like to admit it, but there are some African Americans who see a conspiracy in everything negative that involves a Black person. I suspect that when it rains, some Black people believe that a white person is disturbing the clouds to make African Americans wet. It’s time to get a grip. The latest case is the result of the alleged victim of child molestation confiding to a professional counselor who, as required by law, shared that information with law enforcement authorities. A search was made of “Neverland,” Jackson’s sprawling California estate in Santa Barbara County, and the singer was subsequently charged with multiple counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, booked and released on a $3 million bond. Jackson has steadfastly maintained that he’s not guilty. This would have been a major story if such accusations had been filed against Captain Kangaroo. Jackson’s race is not the issue. It’s even more of a story because a decade ago, Jackson reached an out-of-court settlement to resolve a similar complaint. Unfortunately for Jackson, these charges came in November, a sweeps period in which many television stations measure their audience. The larger the audience, the more a station or network can charge for commercials. Coverage is also expanded because we live in a world of around-the-clock cable television networks that need stories to fill all that airtime. The media deserves criticism, but for a different reason.

The name and the photograph of the boy making the allegation against Jackson have been widely circulated in foreign newspapers and on Web sites. An Australian site, newscom.au, has reproduced a picture of Jackson with the boy, now 14 years old, and disclosed his name. South Africa’s Sunday Mail ran the headline, “The boy who outed Jacko.” A headline in the Sydney, Australia, Sunday Telegraph read, “Jackson’s accuser - Revealed: The boy who brought down superstar Michael Jackson." While professing not to stoop to such low levels, U.S. newspapers have not used the name of Jackson’s accuser. Anyone who saw a British documentary by Martin Bashir on Michael Jackson, the one in which he admits to having slept in the bed with young boys but sees nothing wrong with the practice, can easily identify the boy. The Los Afi^eles Times, under the headline“Hard Life for Jackson’s Alleged Victim,” quotes the boy in the documentary: “There was one night I asked him if I could stay in the bedroom. And he let me stay in the bedroom.” Jackson quickly added at the time that he had slept on the floor that night. The Times further identifies the kid by writing, “The boy had leukemia and received treatment at Childrens Hospital in I^os Angeles.” The New York’s Daily News struck a selfcongratulatory tone: “And the boy - who has not been identified by police, and whose name is being withheld by the Daily News - is

caught in a tug-of-war between his estranged parents.” Considering the amount of details the Daily News provided about the boy, they did not need to publish his name ip order to identify him. The paper’s story began, “Be careful what you wish for.” It continued, “The cancerstricken boy said to be at the center of the Michael Jackson kiddie sex scandal was introduced to ( the pop star by a soft-hearted businessman who wanted to make theyouthjs dream come true ... His wish was to medt Adam Sandler, Chris Tucker or Michael Jackson. “The child got his wish - forever altering his life and Jackson’s.” Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. put it best: “He is a 45-year-old man wearing lipstick and eyeliner on a surgically altered face that could give Charles Manson nightmares. He is 10 years removed from a child molestation scandal. His home is a monument to arrested development.” And the boy’s parents are not without fault. M ichael gave everyone a clue when he named his larger-than-life playground. “Neverland.” It should have sent all parents a clear message: Never let your son land in this place., George E. Curry is editor-in-chief of the NNPA News Service and BlackPressUSA.com. He can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com.

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I also BELIEVE THAT LBJ HAP OFK KILLEP m THAT THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH KIPS SLEEPING OVER AT MICHAEL OACKSoN’S,,,

NEVERLANP