A recent PD editorial that 45 local powerbrokers lent their names to — in spite of the fact only one (or perhaps two) of them live in Cleveland — called for continued support of Mayor Frank Jackson, who is staring down the barrel of a recall effort. The interesting thing is, when the wealthy stick their collective nose into Cleveland’s business affairs they’re “public-spirited citizens,” but when community activists of less financial means speak out they’re labeled as “outside agitators.”
One knowledgeable financial expert estimates the collective wealth of the signers of the editorial to be in excess of $1 trillion dollars (a figure I deem to be a bit high, but whose quibbling over a few hundred million dollars more or less?), which clearly puts them in the plutocrat class. To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The rich are different.” To which I say, “Yeah, they have more money.”
As a group, these folks have more combined wealth than some of the smaller nations of the world … yet our city, in terms of income disparity (especially when you factor in the predominantly black Eastside) remains at or near the bottom nationally, with wide swaths of the city mired in poverty, crime, low goals, and even lower outcomes.
The editorial goes on to enumerate the accomplishments of Frank Jackson (most of which I agree with) while studiously ignoring his shortcomings, which are few but glaring — and glowing brighter day by day. Still, no one can doubt his love of, and commitment to, the City of Cleveland. But his level of dedication is not the real question, is it?
This comes down to dead bodies and disrespect … dead bodies of poor people, and a form of disrespect that these elites (no matter their skin color) are insulated from by virtue of their wealth and position. If indeed they do happen to get pulled over by a Cleveland cop on the way home to their exclusive enclaves they’re going to be accorded the respect every citizen deserves, but many — especially if they are poor — don’t receive.
They don’t live in the neighborhoods that cops ride through like members of an army of occupation … where police precincts have signs on the wall designating as a “Forward Operating Base” … a military term for a war zone.
I recognize some of the names on the list, and even personally know a few of them; and they are not necessarily mean-spirited people, just, as a group, woefully out of touch with the trials and travails of everyday folk, who make up the vast majority of the voters in Cleveland. It means little to them if Public Square is being redesigned, or that the Republican National Convention is coming to town, or that downtown is booming, if some off-the-chain cop is strangling, body-slamming or killing some person whose only “crime” is being black.
The problem the elites don’t understand is when and if a recall vote is held (and I sincerely hopes it never comes to that) virtually every person of color entering the voting booth has a cop horror story to tell. There truly is something wrong in how policing is carried out, not just in Cleveland, but in the country … and when it comes down to it the black citizens of Cleveland are not going to want to be seen as not doing their part in solving the problem … even if it means recalling the mayor.
Still, at this point in time we have the real opportunity to heal the distrust that currently exists between cops and the citizenry here in Cleveland, but to do so the consent decree the Justice Department is attempting to negotiate with the city needs to more forward, and the one huge stumbling block that’s impeding such movement is Mayor Jackson’s stubborn refusal to fire his Special Assistant Marty Flask, and Safety Director Michael McGrath.
The healing process simply cannot commence as long as they remain in their positions, and the more Frank Jackson attempts to shove them down the collective throat of Cleveland residents the more they are going to gag. He must understand that he cannot rule by fiat, nor can he put toothpaste back in the tube. Rightly or wrongly, his two top cops are damaged beyond repair in the eyes of the public. For reform to work we simply have to start with a new, clean slate.
Now, if the good citizens that signed the editorial really want to derail talk of recall — which I completely agree will do more damage to the city that good — then why don’t they use their collective influence and voice with Mayor Jackson and ask him to do the right thing? That would stop the recall effort dead in its tracks and allow us to move forward towards that brighter tomorrow we all are desirous of.
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From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: The Elite One-Percent Speak”
Angie Schmitt
Well said. I was sort of floored by the editorial as well. My favorite part was their unsupported suggestion that poverty has declined during jackson’s tenure. A simple Google search will tell you it has risen more than 5%. Do they really not know what the trends are with poverty in the city? Or is just suggesting it’s declining a sort of propaganda tactic for maintaining the status quo? I’m not sure, but either way I’m horrified by it. Goes to show how seriously our civic elite take that issue and does a lot to explain why it’s headed the direction its headed in, IMO.