July 8, 2007
SFist Photo: Jesse Jackson "Keeps Hope Alive"
The Rev. Jackson at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center on McAllister in the Fillmore, shown here flanked by former and current San Francisco Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, Carole Migden, and Rev. Amos Brown
Today, as promised, Baptist minister Rev. Jesse Jackson came to the Western Addition to speak against the recent violence in San Francisco. The RainbowPUSH Coalition founder was greeted warmly by the crowd of over 200. His address would sound familiar to those who only have heard him on a Crystal Method track. Today, part of it went:
"Jobs/ and schools/ not drugs/ and guns." Repeat x2 "Hope/ alive/ keep hope/ alive. Let me hear your scream!"
CLAER Project representative and SFSU student Kevin Bard was on hand to remind people that during one recent weekend there were more people killed in the Bay Area than coalition servicemembers killed in all of Iraq. The stepped up SFPD patrols called for by District 5 Supervisor Mirkarimi seem to have cooled things down for now. How long will this relative calm last?
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How can we "keep hope alive" when a hypocrite like Jesse Jackson campaigned for Gavin Newsom over Matt Gonzalez?
To say nothing of sharing the stage with a scumbag like Amos Brown.
Welcome my friends, to the machine.
It's interesting about that "schools" rhetoric. I just found out that 50% of black families in SF don't even fill out a school choice form (i.e. pick up to seven schools where they want their kids to go) during enrollment. The kids end up being randomly assigned, often to less popular schools.
How is Amos Brown undesirable (honestly, I have no idea who the guy is.. and just curious)
Amos Brown was on the Board of Supvrs.
He is or was a pastor of a mostly black church [baptist?? Bayview??]
more on brown [not written by me, so no hate letters please]:
From 1996 to 2000, Amos Brown served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. As the Bay Guardian once described it, “nobody can offer a better example of the pro-developer, anti-neighborhood board than Amos Brown,” and that’s putting it lightly. His tenure was replete with contempt for the poor, a maniacal and disturbing hatred of the homeless, and a ravenous desire to rid the city of rent control. Only after he evicted an elderly lady and her disabled son in order to carpet-bag into District 11 for his re-election campaign did Brown lose his seat to Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, who cleverly ran with the slogan “Evict Amos.”
After Condoleeza Rice and Willie Brown, Amos Brown is the biggest Uncle Tom in the universe.
Also, Amos Brown loves to say that any white person who disagrees with him is racist.
A few responses to the posts above:
Post #1 - Matt Gonzales is a dilettante. He's a rich kid from Texas who moves on as soon as things stop going his way. Sound Familiar? Review the past 7 years of his now-defunct political career. He didn't do any more about violence in his district than Gavin or anyone else. And don't think I'm pleased having to defend Gavin, even this slightly.
Post #2 - Why is Amos Brown a scumbag? Please be specific. I'm sure he's done more for this city than you have.
Post #3 - Please share the link that points to the statistic you just shared with us. And explain what it has to do with Mr. Jackson's visit.
Post #4 - Was answered by Post #5. Better to ask questions out of ignorance than to make statements out of ignorance.
Signed,
SF Native (no bridge, no tunnel)
I can never figure out why people blame politicians for gang violence it's not like they can do anything about it (the kids selling crack are not going to play midnight basketball or come to Jesse's feel the love meetings).
P.S. Didn't Amos Brown have something to do with those "Famous Amos" Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Although he's supposedly a liberal democrat, Amos Brown was on the fucking Governator's campaign pay roll. the guy is the biggest sellout ever.
source
Mr. Jackson was the one who brought up the schools issue.
Gregg Fortner didn't show, correct?
I find it amazing that non of the previous comments fail to even talk about the reason why Jesse Jackson was in SF. There are kids dieing in our streets, but all anyone can say is Jesse is bad becuase he campaigned for Gavin instead of Gonz. That is really so petty. Jesse was there to bring awareness to an issue that many of you folk either don't know about, don't care about, nor show up to support...and that is the mass economic injustice of folks-of-color in SF. We live in the richest city, in the richest state, in the richest nation on the face of the earth, yet we have folks that live in areas with a 25% unemployment rate and a 50% drop-out rate. That should be unacceptable in a city that claims it's progressive, and honestly, there are cities in the deep south that have less economic stratification . There's a reason that San Francisco has seen the largest decline in its African American population since 1990 than any other large city in America...and it isn't because of the weather. So instead of finding of ways to take cheap shots at others, I urge and challenge everyone who has commented to step up and come up with positive solution to this CITY-WIDE problem.
BAN all of the following:
guns
violent videos, music especially gangsta, films, games.
make drugs legal so all the street profit goes away.
get a hs diploma or go into mandatory government service like americorp or peace corp type of service for 5 years after dropping out.
See, easy!
Wasn't going to say anything since most of the wise wise posters covered it but #12 who like everyone else would not spend one minute in the hood from his or her trust fund abode. I like the mandatory service idea but lets start with some basic common sense that most humans already have. Stop killing each other, start snitching, going to school aint an evil white thing, get a job, get off drugs. We have no reason to help them until they even want to help themselves. They live this life because they want to not have to. There are a million restaurants or temp agencies or youth centers or things they could work at. Economy is good right now. They just don't want to. And the lefties will make sure they never have to. Busta busta.
great points by the a few of you above. kwillits, the 50% of blacks not picking a school isn't the only problem as i'm sure you are aware. 50% of whites just go private rather than subject themselves to the fucked up idea of the progressives picking a school for their child on the day before school starts. how long do you think this will last?
progressives would rather spend 186 million a year on the homeless than the people of color in this town. it's a lost cause.
The reason for them not to stop killing each other is that they don't care about another life. It's all about me me me, just like the yuppies. At least yuppies send a check now and then to PETA or UNICEF from their penthouses. They don't get violent unless someone steals their parking space.
The entertainment media have fueled the violent concept that people are just cartoon characters that can have their heads blown off without consequence to the shooter.
It's fun ta kill! It makes your mouth water and your nuts squeeze out more testosterone for offin' the next suka.
Did Jesse ask people to step forward as witnesses? Because that more than anything else is needed.
That and serious police patrols.
The root cause of crime is criminals.
Is there a video game just like this?
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Gunmen in a stolen sport utility vehicle shot and wounded two New York City police officers during a traffic stop early Monday, gravely injuring one of the officers, police said.
A manhunt was under way for the three occupants of the SUV. Police said the shots apparently were fired by two of them.
Re: comment [7]: I don't understand how calling someone an "Uncle Tom" because they don't march in lockstep with the (self-destructive) black "community" is not racist in itself. Check yourself, and know that not all people darker than Tony Orlando think alike.
If these people want to live out a self-destructive culture, then so be it, but they cannot expect someone to dig themselves out of the hole they dig while doing it.
And a decline in African American population? What's wrong with that?
That's right, guest #8.
If Amos Brown lost a coin toss he'd blame it on racism.
Fear for your life is a fairly persuasive reason to not "snitch" along with distrust of authorities (see Hurricane Katrina and government response).
I know of a similar cycle in Appalachia where most of my relatives remain. People aren't necessarily killing each other, but they are certainly robbing from others (mainly old people who can't stop them without shooting them, literally, when caught in the act) and killing themselves slowly and certainly with drugs and alcohol.
I don't have any quick solutions, but I do believe that it would be a big positive for folks to get to know their neighbors, to care about their neighborhoods (don't wait on the City to clean up a bunch of garbage - do it yourself or enlist some neighbors to do it if you're not physically able), and to just invest themselves in their City/County governing. In America, we get all too wrapped up in cycles of going to work, maybe going to a second/third job, going out to let off some steam in some other area of the City where folks don't necessarily know one another, and then going home.
People can be extremely poor from an economic standpoint anywhere in the nation - whether it be Detroit, Kentucky/West Virginia, or San Francisco. I don't believe we can buy ourselves out of this situation though .... you have to CARE about yourselves and others to change things.
Continuing on .... the attitude that "if those people want to keep shooting each other, so be it" is remarkably naive considering any of us can find ourselves stuck in the crossfire or living in fear as a result of the violence carried out in our streets.