Well, this is a new one for me. The ACLU is now attacking a black man for being racist. Specifically, they are attacking Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, Mississippi.
According to the article in the Las Vegas Sun, Mayor Melton believes the city of Jackson is in a crime crisis. "'We have 26 people that have been killed in Jackson this year. We have 300,000 people killed across America each year. The majority of them are African-American and it's time to do something different..." Factor in to the equation that Mayor Melton is black and the city of Jackson is "nearly 71 percent black, and 23.5 percent live below the poverty level" and one would think that the Mayor might have some idea what he was talking about. Heck, the people of Jackson overwhelmingly voted for Melton's tough on crime approach. So what is the problem here?
Well, in a word, (or more aptly, a bunch of letters) the ACLU is the problem. King Downing, the ACLU's "national racial profiling coordinator" seems to have a problem with some of the mayor's tactics.
Mayor Melton has been known to ride along on police patrols, enact stricter curfews on teens and homeless people and even declared a state of emergency to address the crime problem. Basically, he seems to be in touch with law enforcement, he seems to understand that youth out late in the evenings with nothing to do and homeless people pose crime risks and he is trying to do something about the situation. In a nutshell, he's profiled the problem areas and is attempting to do something to fix the problem...basically, he's doing his job. He's doing his best to do what he was elected to do...stop the crime wave.
Maybe that fact alone has the ACLU up in arms. After all, the ACLU is not used to seeing politicians actually doing what they say. It is a rather alarming thing to witness if it's your first time.
However, according to the ACLU's Downing, the issue is serious. "For me to leave my office and come into one of the states means that there is a very serious problem," said Downing, who is based in New York. "There are problems here that it's going to take the attention of the nation in order to solve."
Downing is investigating accusations of racial profiling by the mayor. Apparently a few people have alleged that they were pulled over and searched on the basis of their race. (The article does not go into more detail than that.) Downing said the mayor's race should make him "more sensitive to the problems this is creating."
Ahh...so being black should help the mayor understand why the majority of the crimes are being committed by blacks in the city? So, let me get this straight. Since the mayor is black, he should understand that while most of the crime is perpetrated by blacks, it's not nice to profile them, even when he has great reason to believe that they are the most likely suspects?
You just have to love the ACLU....NOT!!
Mayor Melton has no love for them either. In a statement he said, ""I want to know what the ACLU wants to do besides criticize." He also said that he has not violated anyone's civil rights and is not interested in the ACLU's accusations.
Good for him. Now, keep up the good work.
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