Whos the master now?

Doesn't Al Sharpton say black people cannot be racist? (barring the inherent prejudice of the statement)

Separate but Equal.

Did he order the white people out of the courtroom or did he simply order the lawyers out of the courtroom, all of whom happened to be white?

He ordered everyone out who wasn't black.

How refreshing, a person who thinks it's ever appropriate to tell someone "Your race is your defining characteristic."

Here's the simple rule folks: if you think race is the defining characteristic of someone you're talking to, then you're racist.

It's not racist to acknowledge race, any more than it's sexist to acknowledge sex, but it's racist to make your decisions based on race just as its sexist to make your decisions based on sex.

This judge - however well-intentioned - did something racist to both the blacks and non-blacks, and he's unapologetic.

Still, everyone makes mistakes. Let it go.

1:03, that's actually a good, legit question, but unfortunately the answer is the former - he ordered everyone who was not black (dunno if there were any asians, native americans, etc., in the courtroom to be ordered out) out of the court room.

1:12, actually the report does not say that he ordered everyone who was not black out, it says he ordered the laywers out of the court room, some of whom were white

I have no issue with what this judge did - in fact, I think it was admirable - but that is from a common sense perspective. Unfortunately, common sense no longer has a place in the world when talking about race issues.

Atlanta is the most segregated city I've ever lived in...and I've moved 15 times (military kid). The white neighborhoods are entirely staffed by black employees and the black neighborhoods are entirely staffed by...black employees. Although everyone is super nice to each other, its clear that the racial divide is alive and well. The Judge had good intentions, but the NAACP/Sharpton/Jackson would have massacred a white judge for the same intentions.

I would have been grateful to the judge for excusing me from his monologue.

Lat,
you missed this judge of the day. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/12/na-judge-stripper-at-odds-over-shared-accounts/
Respected judge buys house in hawaii for stripper, hides stripper's money from creditors, etc.

1:17(1) - Then you've never been to STL. We're pretty messed up here.

1:17(3) - Previously covered. Type "Yamanaka" into the site search box on the left and you will pull up the post from the ATL archives.

This is crazy. How about me (a white guy) telling all the blacks to get out. Would I still be a judge? Or would I have to apologize for my terrible remarks? I bet I would. Does he have to apologize? Doubt it.

The "black guy on the street" CNN interviewed said that the judge was showing "nepotism" to a certain race of people. Maybe Arrington should have an aside with him about vocabulary.

This is barely news....

This is why people make fun of the blacks.

Judging by the fact that the judge went on CNN and told the entire nation about the content of his speech, it probably would not have been a problem to allow everyone to stay in the courtroom while delivered it

Regarding 1:10's statement: "It's not racist to acknowledge race, any more than it's sexist to acknowledge sex, but it's racist to make your decisions based on race just as its sexist to make your decisions based on sex."

Does that mean if I am exclusively heterosexual or exclusively homosexual, that I'm a sexist?

1:33 - yes it does.

"This is crazy. How about me (a white guy) telling all the blacks to get out. Would I still be a judge? Or would I have to apologize for my terrible remarks? I bet I would. Does he have to apologize? Doubt it."

If your purpose was to rid the court of blacks so you could tell white people how f'ed up they are, you likely wouldn't get into that much trouble. While I'm not justifying his behavior, I think we need to keep it in context.

Just imagine if it was the other way around. The white judge would be off the bench faster than Al Sharpton can buy a new tracksuit.

This is most unfortunate.

1:10/1:36 - curious as to where you stand on Trent Lott...were you willing to let it go...did you keep it in context?

Seriously, I'm with 1:17: the next time a judge starts on one of those kicks, whether he is white, black, or whatever, I'm going to beg him to throw my white ass out of the courtroom. Dear Lord, if only!

If this were a white judge (or a conservative judge who was black), we would have presidential candidates attacking him and every Republican would be asked, "Do you denounce this decision?"

No way the let the Trent Lott thing go. This is bullshit. I don't care why they (whites) were asked to leave. If you are asked to leave because of your race that seems wrong. Lets make all the blacks leave because I want to tell all........wait a minute!!! It doesn't matter what I want to tell them....its wrong!

So, lets just let it go because he is black....we owe it to them right? Ha.

OMFG WHITE PEOPLE ARE SO DISCRIMINATED AGAINST OMFG OMFG I AM SO UPSET WHAT CAN WE DO???

STOP TRYING TO KEEP THE WHITE MAN DOWN!!!

WHY DOESN'T ANYONE CARE ABOUT THE TERRIBLE THINGS BEING DONE TO WHITE PEOPLE???

"1:10/1:36 - curious as to where you stand on Trent Lott...were you willing to let it go...did you keep it in context?"

You mean that Trent Lott suggested that if a segregationist presidental candidate (who by the way had a secret child with a black woman) had won , that we wouldn't be having all this trouble we have today. What exactly was out of context?

1:28: Oh, that is priceless.

At an old man's birthday party, Trent Lott politely said that had the old man become president, the country would have been better off. Nobody mentioned race until the media latched onto the story.

Race was the subtext of Lott's comment, and everyone knew it. No one mentioned it, because they all knew each other's views on the matter.

I'm the 1:10 poster, and I'll tell you that yes, they're both racist comments, made by racists. Yes, they both did wrong. Yes, neither should have their life ruined because of one comment.

However, forgiveness for one mistake doesn't mean forgiveness for every mistake: at a certain point, your pattern of behavior is unacceptable, and you need to be removed. Has this judge done anything else racist that anyone ever noticed? Had Trent Lott?

I don't know about the judge, but I know Lott had a long history of such comments and behavior. This distinction - pattern v. individual event - is important.

Poor 1:28(1).

Settle down, settle down.

No one would actually do anything this racist.

It was obviously an April Fools' joke. Go ahead, Judge Arrington, you can come clean now.

"At an old man's birthday party, Trent Lott politely said that had the old man become president, the country would have been better off. Nobody mentioned race until the media latched onto the story. "

Now that's revisionist history. Let's be clear, when Strom Thurmond ran for president, his platform was segregation. In fact, Truman had just integrated the armed forces. When Lott said that the country would be better off by electing a person committed to segregation as president at the time when some of the most significant civil rights activity occurred (Montgomery Bus Boycott, Brown v. Board, etc.), what was he saying?

Guys used to kick white people out of my high school all the time. It was no big deal.

Only in America - the land of the free - can someone's career be ruined as a result of something they say (or think).

What Lott said was wrong, but so what? It should be left at that, but liberal fascists (or conservative nutjobs) just can't pass by an opportunity to impose more restriction (either by regulation, social coercion, or the like) on free speech, free thought, or the ability to associate.

Where have all the freedoms gone?

Another race-baiting Lat post. You should be proud.

I hope that I never say anything favorable about Senator Robert Byrd, because all the Trent Lott-haters would then think I'm tacitly supporting Byrd's former membership in the KKK.

Did anybody actually read the story? 90% of prison inmates are black males and 1 out of 10 black men from 18-34 are in jail or in prison. The judge, who is respected in the African American community, wanted to make a point to these young guys, and he thought it would be better if he spoke to a black only audience. What is wrong with that? After all the evil that whites have done to blacks, what is wrong with a black man taking a minute to speak only to black people? This is a serious problem, and the judge was doing the best he could to do something about it, something that very little people, whites or blacks, are doing. The intention of this act wasn't to offend whites at all. This is way different than denying blacks a chance to get an education at a white school.

Everybody who acts "offended" by this nonsense is either lying or in need of therapy. Put aside your politics for once and use your common sense.

This is where the Obama-Reverend Wright race "dialog" has brought us.

3:15, as 48% of the US prison population is white, one would think that white people, who sometimes might go to prison, would also get some benefit from the judge's speech.

Since almost all white-collar crime is committed by white people, then I guess it's ok if I as a judge kick all the blacks out of a courtroom and lecture the remaining white audience on the evils of white-collar crime.

i strongly disagree with 1:17, atlanta may be segregated in housing but so are all american cities. having lived other places i find race relations in atlanta remarkably good.

3:22, are you really offended that the judge didn't lecture white people on reasons to not commit crime? Save me your crocodile tears, you pathetic whiner.

Obviously, whites do commit crimes, but there is a serious problem in the African American community, which can (this will offend many) be termed a "black" problem. It is a whole "gangsta" culture, that encourages violence and discourages cooperation with police. which is almost by definition black. It is the result of hundreds of years of whites trying to force blacks to think they are inferior and discouraging education and self-improvement in the black community. This is certainly a "black" problem, one that is motivated by racial fear, and many blacks don't respond to white authority figures because they feel racial animosity towards a "white" system which is viewed in the black community as hostile. This was the only way to get this message through. Grow up.

Again, if you actually read the original article, it says he asked the lawyers to leave, some of whom were white. He didn't say, "will all the white people please step out."

"(at least from a PR standpoint)"

He was not attempting to appeal to the public, really.

3:15, you have about as much credibility as Jeremiah "black Jesus" Wright when you try to claim that 90% of prison inmates are black males.

3:31 is absolutely right. Helps to read carefully, if you want to be, for instance, a lawyer.
The article is not fully clear, but I take it to mean that he wanted to speak to the defendants outside of the presence of their attorneys.

From the article:
"Arrington said he thought his message might have more power if it was delivered to a blacks-only audience."

There are a couple of issues here:

1) Courtroom demeanor. The judge has embarassed the dignity of his office, and has opened himself up to charges of racial favoritism toward black defendants.

2) The rights of the white attorneys. I. for one, would not be comfortable practicing in front of this judge again. His action was demeaning. It wasn't a big deal, but demeaning it was. And the white attorneys' right to be free from a demeaning courtroom trumps this turkey's right to be a judge. It's that simple.

3) Trent Lott got what he f'in deserved.

Again, I read the article to mean that all the attorneys were asked to leave, so that the judge could talk to defendants alone (that in itself may be problematic, regardless of racial implications). Because "99.9%" of the defendants were black, the judge then had an all black audience.

If the judge did in fact exclude only white attorneys, the problem is not so much the rights of the white attorneys as it is the rights of the (black or otherwise) defendants to have an attorney present.

"Everybody who acts "offended" by this nonsense is either lying or in need of therapy. Put aside your politics for once and use your common sense."

I am by no means offended (and I'm guessing the same is true for many others.)

I merely enjoy pointing out the double standard all of you left-wing nut-jobs live by, and then sit back and watch you defend it.

It's actually kind of funny watching all of you get pissed

"1) Courtroom demeanor. The judge has embarassed the dignity of his office, and has opened himself up to charges of racial favoritism toward black defendants."

Everyone who practices here knows that he's already an embarassment to his office.

"2) The rights of the white attorneys. I. for one, would not be comfortable practicing in front of this judge again. His action was demeaning. It wasn't a big deal, but demeaning it was. And the white attorneys' right to be free from a demeaning courtroom trumps this turkey's right to be a judge. It's that simple."

Reputable attorneys are already not comfortable practicing in front of this judge.

3:45, he might have said that, but that doesn't mean he asked all of the white people to leave. The fact that the article says he asked "the lawyers to leave, some of whom were white," suggests that some of the lawyers were black. Thus, black and white people were asked to leave

3:31 -

The CNN vid says "he excused everyone who was not black". The intent is fairly clear that he wanted to reprimand the black defendants before him in front of a black only audience.

Finally - someone who thinks...
Liked your post 3:15. Sadly, common sense is no longer a barometer of what is "appropriate" to say.

Since it was the White Man who created AIDS to infect and kill black people, it makes sense that Judge Arrington would not want them in his courtroom. What we really need is change and hope.

What article are you people reading with the phrase asking "the lawyers to leave, some of whom were white"??

I just don't understand the term "reverse racism".

It seems to be a pretty narrow view of the world that creates and reinforces terms which singularly ascribe the ability to feel discriminated against on the basis of race to a particular group of people and the sole ability to perform such discrimination to another group.

Wouldn't it just be racism?

I'm surprised no one has even mentioned the flip side to this -

1) exclude whitey -- apparently people want to argue that's fine.

2) exclude attorneys representing defendants -- apparently some of you have no problem with this either.

3) keep the black people in the courtroom to lecture them on how they should act and that they should not commit crimes -- fine... if the people he is lecturing are all criminals. If the black attorneys are sitting through this lecture too - merely because the color of their skin - I cannot see how people can claim there isn't racism there.

April Fools! No one could do something this stupid. Certainly Lat will be posting an update letting us know that this absurd post is a joke! Hahaha, thanks, Lat!

4:44, I would also add that, according to the article, he was speaking to defendants, not convicted criminals.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in GA, 3rd Graders plot to assassinate their teacher - http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15761842/detail.html.

Gotta love the South.

4:47 - fair point, and that brings up another question. It would seem that Judge Arrington has already arrived at some conclusion regarding the defendants' guilt and, while he isn't the trier of fact and so it's not as bad as if the jury presumed them guilty, it still could raise concerns regarding a fair trial.

defendants are criminals - why else would they be in court?

His method is fine by me and his goal seemed proper.

But liberals could never tolerate anything like this if the skin colors were reversed so they are forced to concoct excuses to convince everyone (themselves?) they don't have a double standard, but of course they do.

4:44: I was thinking that I'd be pretty pissed-off were I a black attorney in that situation.

libertarian - you are still free to vote for Lott - I suggest that you vote for him as a write-in vote in your next election. If you vote Lott for president, you don't have to worry that you are not in his state.

hmm...one would think attorneys of all people have a sense of context.

1:10 "racist" is not thinking race is a defining characteristics. Me thinks race is umm..hating someone because of their race, no?

The legal issue of sending out certain people is certainly not a minor one...but racist??? That's dumb. Now, misguided. Very much so. Certainly, there is a patent difference between exlcuding people because they are deemed undeserving, bad, dumb whatever...and sending them out without judgment.

Someone mentioned favoritism. Ha! I would have gladly offered you my seat for that crap. This guy would appear to be a prominent guy in Atlanta political circles. As equally offensive as anything here is the notion that "black people" (who is this enigmatic, monolithic group anyway?) need to be sat down and lectured by the dude. That's what people write books for. But this guy's lumping people is what we should be complaining about.

But then CNN was paraphrasing what he said so who knows given the racial projections of MSM

The judge seems like a decent man trying in an old and folksy kind of way to help his people. Who cares? Good people do good things, and sometimes those goods things are kind of politically incorrect and all that.

Leave this guy alone.

Robert KKK Byrd once thought he was trying to help his people, you know, in a folksy kind of way

Guys, it doesnt matter whether this judge had good motives or bad or whether the white attorneys were upset or not. This judge stepped way over a line. As imperious as some of these judges get, it cannot be forgotten that they are, at the end of the day, public officials, and public officials simply cannot get rid of people from a place of official business on the basis of race. It's that simple. He needs to go, and now.

The other issue is racial favoritism. He quite clearly is upset about black people throwing their lives away. Well, theoretically anyway, shouldn't we be equally upset that anyone, regardless of race, throws his life away. I know that's probably an unattainable goal, but a judge cannot show this feeling in his official acts. Would we accept a black teacher who cajoled only his or her black students to do better? No, and for obvious reasons. So why in the hell should we accept a judge doing the same thing?

6:42 - you write real bad

"Me thinks" is one word

If only Robert Byrd were president (he is currently third in succession), we wouldn't have many of the problems we have today.

Oh rats, I think I just outed myself as a KKK supporter.

Arrington was completely right in his actions. There is a huge problem with Blacks in the US today. People need to stop complaining or worrying about being politically correct and start taking action. I am black and I am ashamed of the progress that we are making. The gap between whites and blacks needs to be closed but it's the blacks that need to step up and earn their respect. It's terrible that whenever someone makes a move to help the situation they are considered a racist. I'm just sick of the black community complaining and the whites defending them. I didn't come from money but I worked my ass off in life and accomplished a great deal. The biggest obstical to black people is themselves. I hate that I am told by other blacks that I am "white" because I attend a top university. People need to stand up and say what needs to be said. This is no longer a black or white issue in the United States, it is an issue between right and wrong. The fact is that blacks are responsible for a great deal of crime in the US and the have not achieved proper social status. Blacks need to stop pointing fingers and start bettering themselves.

Anyone who says that Arrington had any justification for what he did is just another racist asswipe. Until blacks can take responsibility for their own lives, their own actions and the consequences thereof and quit trying to seperate themselves from the population as a whole, then they will still be enslaved.

Stop making excuses for a culture that encourages incompetence and failure at the expense of the rest of society.

Good for the judge! Talking about the judge being racist?? smarten up people!
You think everytime you hear Bill Cosby talk that he is talking to young white men?? NO! He even admits that his talks are aimed at young African Americans!!
Is Cosby a racist? Refering back to an earlier post... OMFG!!

Give this guy a break! He wants to definitely improve the down in the mud black youth! God bless him.

This might come as a shock to some, but the dominant perception among poor black defendants in Fulton County is that the entire system is white and against them. Judge Arrington was just being mindful of this in a public way, attempting as he said to avoid condescension. Whether successful or not, he admitted it was a mistake to send out the lawyers, some of whom were black. So what, exactly, is the issue? Are we really going to pitch an elitist hissy fit because the judge used a mildly controversial technique to draw attention to the forgotten tragedy that is inner city life? Or would we rather continue to forget?

What have you done for the urban poor lately?

"What have you done for the urban poor lately?"

Paid my taxes.

Does it really matter? The Judge would have been criticized even if he did not send the lawyers out.
If the comments were made in front of the lawyers people would be mad becuase he said it in front of white people. He would have become the next Bill Cosby controversy.

Well, Bill Cosby didn't ask all the whites to leave the auditorium before doing his bit. Anonymous just above summed it all up to me. The judge DID do something admirable, in trying to explain to blacks that ultimately THEY are responsible for their own lives, not the white man. But why ask the whites to leave first? Are white people not allowed to hear blacks talking to each other about their race? Are blacks allowed to hear white people talk about their race? Are whites even ALLOWED to discuss their race?

The days of Jo-bob and Billy-bob holding the black man down (and society at large putting up with it) are over. I'm an ebay entrepreneur who makes over 100k a year. Last year, NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON asked me whether I was black or white before buying from me. So the old "I can't do that because I'm black and the man's holding me down" bit doesn't hold any weight with me. I would be just as successful whether I was black or white. And no, I didn't go to college to learn how to sell on ebay. I clicked on the "sell" button and learned from there, so the old "I couldn't get into college because I'm black" thing, again, holds no weight with me. Yes, I'm white. And yes, I've been turned down for jobs. But I had no excuse to fall back on. All I had were my own wits and will, to carry me forward, no matter WHAT people thought or felt about me. Race has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with it. Make your way, make your life, whether you're black, white, yellow, green, or spotted. If you think you've been passed over for a promotion strictly because you're black, quit your job! Go find another job! Go MAKE another job. Don't succumb to defeatism, blaming society and accepting a life that's less than full. Go get what's yours man!

It's not like you can count the number of black millionaires on your fingers and toes. Ask any black millionaire about racism, and he'll likely tell you that it's not an issue with him (this is excluding blacks who have made their millions by fueling race issues of course. To them, race will ALWAYS be an issue).

And as a white guy, I gotta say, who's dumb idea was it to call it "race" anyway? And as a comedian, I gotta say, everyone knows that blacks are faster than whites!

My black friends would have laughed at the above joke. Why? Because they know I'm not being "racist", but just being silly. If Chris Rock told the joke, EVERYONE (black AND white) would laugh at it.

I too live in Atlanta and can agree with the person way up above who mentioned Atlanta being a segregated town. But you know what, it's not "because of the whites".

Typically, segregation is a mutual thing. You think all black people WANT to be hanging out with nothing but whites? Hell no! I wouldn't if I were black. Why? Well, if I were black, there's a pretty damn good chance that my family would be black. Also likely that most of my friends would be black. It wouldn't be because "I don't like white people". It would more likely be because I grew up around blacks, I lived with blacks, I played with all my black family members growing up, I'm intimately familiar with black culture, etc, etc, etc.

History shows that people of like cultures congregate together. A Chinese guy may dream of coming to America to live the dream (nightmare, if you talk to alot of the mortgage crisis people these days, black OR white). Anyway, he's wanting the dream. It's not that he has an overwhelming desire to come over here simply to immerse himself in "white culture" and have all white friends. Chances are, the first thing he's gonna do when he gets over here is find a group of Chinese people who are like him. It doesn't mean he's "racist".

The white person is the only person in this country who's persecuted for congregating with his own race. You get a group of white men together, with little or few of another race in the group, and they are "racist". You get a group of black men together, with absolutely NO other race respresented, and suddenly you have "an organization" that's likely celebrated.

Unofficially, how many "All white" bars are there in this country? How many "All black" bars are there in this country? If a black man walks into a white bar, will he feel threatened? If a white man walks into a black bar, will he?

Talk about your double standards! This one's one of my favorites of all time. It's ok to have Black Entertainment Television. I wonder how long White Entertainment Television would be on the air? Not very long I'd say. MOST people would find it offensive, WHITES INCLUDED! The only whites that wouldn't find it offensive are whites that I personally wouldn't want to be around. But however sickening the thought, to me, if it's fair game to have BET, then it should be fair game to have WET. Although I don't know how long I'd be able to handle All in the Family and Dukes of Hazzard re-runs.....

Then, of course, we have the whole nigger (excuse me, nigga) issue that's currently going on. Yes, I typed the word, doesn't make me racist. I'm talking about a word here people, not a person. I don't use the word to describe a person, because I was taught that it's wrong to call ANYONE ANYTHING that belittles them. But I do think it's ridiculous that some of the younger blacks have decided that the word is now "theirs" and that only blacks are now allowed to say the word. That's ridiculous to me, because it sounds just as bad and brings up just as many negative feelings as it does when a white man uses it. Ya know, I don't like being referred to as a "white folk". If I went out and started screaming "Stop calling me a white folk" and people did, I highly doubt that I'd start referring to MYSELF as a "white folk" just to put it in the face of my neighbor. "Oh, I'm sorry, didn't anyone tell you? Blacks are not allowed to call us white folks anymore. Whites are the only ones allowed to use that phrase." That's simply laughable and ridiculous. I wouldn't want to be a part of it.

We're all in this together people. We live in the most opportunistic country in the world. Whether you're black, or white, YOU have the greatest opportunities of any other person on the planet. If you're a black man that lives in a hillbilly infested town, and you're feeling racism, my advice to you would be, save your money, and do everything you can to get the hell outta there and MAKE YOUR OWN PLACE in the world. It is no-one elses responsibility to do it for you, no matter what injustices your forefathers had to endure. We're not living in the day of the slavetrader anymore. And these days, the slavetraders wouldn't care what color you are. They'd just as soon whip a white man into slave labor as they would a black man. You know who the boss of this country is? Ben Franklin. And the more you know Ben, the better off you'll be, no matter what color you are. Ask any wealthy black man, he'll tell ya.

Judge Arrington said he was tired of seeing the same faces in his courtroom. His irritation is understandable. As a nation, we're guilty of coddling repeat-offenders and not having an expectation that eventually they'll clean up their acts. I imagine that most of us would react in the same vein if we were in the same position and saw the same faces over and over again. I call it "stuck on stupid", and after awhile it becomes OUR responsibility, not just the courts or the police. WE taxpayers pay for stuck-on-stupid. Who do you think young (or old) black offenders will listen to? People lambasted Bill Cosby for speaking the truth, but somebody's got to say it otherwise there is no progress. Black Americans need to know that there is something better for them, but they need to disspell the notion that they can get something for nothing. No one reaches a level of self-respect by victimizing their community. The good Judge used his esteemed position and took the opportunity to impart a message: A good, decent life lived productively and not at the expense of others takes hard work. The most valuable type of respect is self-respect. None of us are immune from these immutable facts. Young people today, whether white, black, asian, hispanic, indian or others suffer from twisted views of reality propagated by our mass media. Time to inject some reality into the minds of those who seem hell-bent on self-destruction, or living at the expense of others. They must be held accountable like everyone else. The afterlife is not the only time we will be called to account, better get used to it.

Judges simply cannot do this sort of thing. Period. Full stop.

Judges simply cannot do this sort of thing. Period. Full stop.

I'm a white, and I approve of the judge's actions. He wanted to deliver an important message, and he wanted it received correctly, guessing that delivering it to blacks in the presence of whites would generate resistance to its message...

Gee, it is really terrible that a judge actually cares about young offenders who appear in his courtroom. How dare him for trying to knock some sense into them in a manor that he, as a black man, feels might reach them. Dumb move? Okay, but really only if seen through the prism of reactionary race-centered "anti-racism." God forbid there is a judge who places reason over appearance, lives over public opinion.

I'm white, and I agree with Harry. I approve with and salute the Judge.

This is absurd and anyone whom says otherwise is racist. If this was turned around and a white judge did it , how would that have been percieved ? This man should be removed from the bench in short order.

I sat on one of Judge Arrington's jurys where we sent two under 20 year old to prison for black on black murder. I was fortunate to see a man that loves his community and is sick and tired of seeing it destryed from the inside. I am extremely happy with what the Judge did and would like him to do it again if it makes these kids listen and obey.

By the way...I'm white. And this did not insult me in the slightest because I know who this man truly is.

A Message To My People
Written By: Kenneth Brown

Bill Cosby seems to be the only prominent black person that’s talking to us about what we need to do for ourselves, instead of at us about what others are doing to us. And we have criticized him for it. There’s no doubt that racism is alive and well in America however our problems are also within.
When a black person is shot or stabbed, nine times out of ten, they were shot or stabbed by one of us.
When one of us buys crack or some other illegal drug, nine times out of ten, they are buying that crack and those drugs from one of us.
When we see gangs terrorizing our neighborhoods, we also see that 99% of those gangs membership are us.
Throughout our communities there are single teen-aged mothers, who were made single teen-aged mothers by one of us.
Everyday, somewhere in America, at least one black person’s home is broken into and 99% of those brake-ins were done by one of us.
To many of our children’s mothers are being forced to raise them by themselves. And the person leaving these mothers with no alternative, but to raise our children by themselves, is one of us.
We take the time to go to our children’s ballgame; however we don’t make the time to attend our children’s open school week or PTA meetings. And as a result, we have children who can score 20 points, run for touchdowns and hit a curveball out of the park; but couldn’t write a sentence if you spotted them a noun, a verb and a period to end that sentence with.
When we begin to take responsibility for the environment in which we live we will also begin to realize that what others are doing to us is nothing compared to what we are doing to ourselves. Because we are not powerful enough to overrule ourselves, we quit our jobs because our boss didn’t like us, we’ve dropped out of school because our teaches couldn’t teach us, we left home because our parents didn’t love us and we’ve left the mother of our children because she didn’t understand us. We use these excuses in an attempt to appear mature and on top of the situation. But it’s really a cope out. One day we as a people have got to realize “the objective world mirrors the subjective world.”