PorkopolisBecause the Law Is the Law
Among the 623 people arrested for violating the emergency curfew was at least one mentally challenged person, a resident of Tender Mercies. He spent five days in jail before being released without bond. Police might have saved lots of paperwork, cell space and unnecessary anguish by giving the man a ride home instead.
The week's arrests totaled 837 as of April 15.
This has the sound of unanimity. How did Cincinnati get to this place?
"Years of not giving people a proper way to express their frustrations and their grievances," says Rev. Damon Lynch III. "And we have yet to do that at the moment."
"I think we got to this point from people not being heard," says Councilman Chris Monzel.
"No. 1, we (must) listen to our citizens," says Councilman Paul Booth.
The World Is Too Much With Us
This was to be a week of actions in Cincinnati against globalization of corporate power -- and what an opportunity for putting big numbers of protesters on the street. But Coalition for a Humane Economy (CHE) has canceled a Tax Day protest, a march from the World Peace Bell to downtown Cincinnati and a picket at the federal building. The fatal police shooting of Timothy Thomas and concerns about racial equality in Cincinnati must come first, according to Susan Knight of CHE.
"We got a wake-up call, too -- not to forget about our neighbors," Knight says. "We talk about globalization, and yet the inner city is something we haven't focused on. It was a wake-up call for all of us, because there is so much oppression right here in our neighborhood. The city's future is up in the air. Throwing the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) onto Cincinnati citizens right now is not going to help anybody.
"We're shifting our momentum and trying to bring everybody in on the same issues. We need the black community and the white community to work together on the same issues. They need us right now. We can step right up and do what is needed, or we can say no, we've got our own agenda and we're sticking to it."
CHE, which organized the demonstrations against the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue last fall, is keeping only two FTAA teach-ins on its schedule this week. Members have been active in demonstrations in support of Black United Front. In case you needed convincing that racial conflict in Cincinnati goes beyond the police department, 100 black firefighters April 16 resigned their membership in the Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union, saying members aren't served "adequately and equally."
Things That Get Lost in Riots
No one has dropped us as a sister city yet, but the riots have harmed the city's world image, according to Jack Rouse, chair of the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority. "Well, we haven't done ourselves any favors," he says. "It raises questions."
Rouse, who heard about the riots while in Houston, also traveled to Colorado and Europe last week. People asked about the riots in every city he visited -- usually, he says, something on the order of, "Are you all right?"
"I think it's foolish to think it's not going to have some sort of effect," he says.
Why in the name of common sense didn't City Manager John Shirey hustle to the pivotal meeting of the Law and Public Safety Committee on April 9? Shirey didn't appear until Councilwoman Alicia Reece asked him to answer questions about Thomas' death. Shirey's hesitation -- especially when 150 citizens showed up -- can only reinforce council complaints about his handling of information.
The city manager apparently believes, says Councilman Pat DeWine, "if he can manage the information better, everything will be OK."
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