From: sfsmith@pennsas.upenn.edu (Sandy F. Smith, Jr.)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american
Subject: Re: Barbara Jordan at the Dem's Convention
Date: 27 Jul 92 21:22:06 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

It looks as if this thread went stale before I got to it, but I thought I'd
go ahead, pick a nit or two, and add my piece to the conversation.

In article <1478gvINN1ab@gilligan.East.Sun.COM>, mike@gilligan.East.Sun.COM ( Corp. Net Ops) writes:
> 
[wrt racial favoritism of the DC Gov't, citing residency rule as proof of
such]
> 
> I'm not just talking about cops. I'm talking about emergency services
> personnel, fire fighters, etc., as well. There is strong evidence that
> DC needs more and better qualified EMTs, Firemen, and there are alot of
> them available in the surrounding counties. They don't want to live in
> DC, and really shouldn't be forced to, in order to hold a job there.
> 
> Do you live in the same county you work in? I don't. I can't afford to
> live that close to work (and still eat). I wouldn't like someone telling
> me that I have to quit my job, or move inside some arbitrary line, so
> that I can pay more for my home, higher taxes, and be subject to more
> crime.

And it's good that you work for a private company, so that you don't have to
live in a particular municipality.  But the DC residency rule is not unusual
for large cities, and it's not racially motivated at all, it's politically
motivated.  The City of Philadelphia has a residency requirement written into
its City Charter, which was adopted in 1950 (before the peak era of "white
flight," which even to this day has yet to result in a majority-black city).
I believe New York City has similar rules for its municipal work force.  Even
in cities with no written residency requirements, the leaders often find it
useful politically to require that those who work for the city show their
commitment to it by living there.  While I lived in Boston, for instance, then-
Mayor Kevin White waged a campaign to get members of the city bureaucracy to
"Reside! Or Resign!"  The basic idea is that those who benefit from the city
should in turn commit themselves to it, and it really doesn't matter what
color they are.

> > ..
> > In the past, I have heard about the abuse of bidding contractors,
> > especially during the late regime of Marion Barry. I don't know
> > what's going on now, but I would say that graft and corruption were
> > the leading components of this abuse, along with cronyism, something
> > that is endemic to white leadership as well as black leadership.
> 
> Absolutely true... My point is that we are all capable of it.

Agreed.  You may not consider this a sign of progress, but I sometimes think
one indicator of how far we've come is that we can now rise to positions of
power and influence and then show our ineptitude just like the rest of them.
What troubles me here, and I hope you don't think this way (but fear you do),
is the attitude expressed by some whites that dismisses such incompetence
as part of the "normal" workings of "politicians" when not shown by blacks,
but atributes it to something peculiar to "black culture" or "black society"
when blacks do same.  If that's not racist, I don't know what is.
 

> And I disagree with you... It illustrates to me that black folks in
> power will abuse other races, while showing a preference for their
> own, just like I said before.

And to the extent that that happens, we who practice such behavior -- be we
black, white, brown, yellow, or whatever -- should be sensitive about the
potential for harm to others.  But we should also remember that the practice
of "taking care of one's own" certainly has a long and hoary past, and at times
is necessary if a group is to survive in a hostile or unfamiliar environment.
Developing the skill to determine whether a certain practice falls into the
benign or the malignant form of group favoritism is not easy -- indeed, we
may never fully master it.  But it sure beats tossing brickbats around.

BTW, I note that very little has been said about what _Ms. Jordan_ said at the
DNC.  (i certainly can't add anything here; I missed her speech.)  I imagine,
though, that it probably argued for us coming together, not pulling apart.

___________________
Sandy F. Smith, Jr.
Graduate Division, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
16 College Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6378.  (Opinions mine, not Penn's)
Internet: sfsmith@pennsas.upenn.edu
 
"The God I serve don't make no trash!" -- Rev. Emanuel Cleaver, Mayor, City
of Kansas City, Mo.