Sometimes I’m so proud of my profession. No, I don’t mean my profession of “vintner” — I’m talking about the profession of journalism. Various media outlets have taken up the cause of the dirt bike track the city wants to build on the near east side, and they’re doing so for one main reason: It’s a great idea that makes sense.
But akin to other great ideas — like treating opioid addicts and providing them with safe injection sites rather than incarcerating them — there are always going to be law-and-order types around that simply love to yell “lock them up!”
That was the first reaction of some folks when the idea of building a dirt bike track was initially floated: stricter enforcement of the laws. Simply have the cops catch all of the young males who tear-ass down east side streets poppin’ wheelies and sometimes frightening the crap out of little ol’ ladies chuggin’ along in their 1979 Dodge Darts. Send them to prison for 10 years — that’ll teach the little black fuckers.
To these reactionaries, coming up with a sane solution that has many upsides — such as giving inner-city youth something to do in a controlled and relatively safe environment — is too much like coddling them. Never mind that white youth engage in the sport of dirt bike racing in their communities. These are black youth and it’s easier to characterize them as simply thugs.
But what if the proposed dirt bike track could do double duty? What if it could be used as a site to race drones? Yes, drone racing is a huge and growing sport in other cities and in other parts of the world, and it eventually will make it to a cultural backwater like Cleveland, perhaps in a year or so — or as soon as someone builds a racecourse.
When riders aren’t using the dirt bike track, it’s very simple to switch it over to drone racing. The vast majority of the infrastructure is already there. Now, I know what the first question will be: Has anyone done it anywhere else before?
How the hell would I know? But that doesn’t mean that it’s not doable, and doable right here in Cleveland if we can just think outside the box for a change.
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 in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com
One Response to “MANSFIELD: Dirt Bikes and Drone Racing”
glenn murray
Even better, since the First Energy plant Lake Shore plant is going to be demolished and the site filled, why not have them contour the site as a dirt track as part of the demo/ backfill procedure since they have to backfill anyway. It should be a lot cheaper since they are already doing the work, and the plant is well located near Gordon Park, but well removed from residences.