Kirk: People drive faster through Black Neighborhoods

[Landslide Lyndon]

...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/mark-kirk-black-neighborhoods_n_7056612.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

In a little-noticed interview last week, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) described African-American neighborhoods as areas that people in his state try to avoid.

The comment, with its racial undertones, came during a sit-down interview with the Peoria Journal Star and followed a question about how to encourage business development in Kirk's home state.

“I want to make sure we have elected people constantly looking at helping the African-American community,” Kirk said. “With this state and all of its resources, we could sponsor a whole new class of potential innovators like George Washington Carver and eventually have a class of African-American billionaires. That would really adjust income differentials and make the diversity and outcome of the state much better so that the black community is not the one we drive faster through."

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Even without prejudicial fears of the neighborhood that is often the case given speed limit / residential patterns.

[All Along The Watchtower]

He's not saying it's a good thing that people drive faster through black neighborhoods, though the "we" part is troubling.

And I kinda understand his overall point, but it's wishful thinking (at best) that having a new class of black billionaires will have a significant impact on poverty, unemployment, crime, poor educational outcomes, etc. in black communities.

[Ebsy]

Yeah, he's not getting reelected.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

There is little to nothing wrong with this statement, and I am leaning Duckworth at the moment.

[King]

Rare case when the attention grabbing title is actually better than the quote. "We drive faster through black neighborhoods." We?

Geezus

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

The statement isn't meant to be racist, but it could easily be taken that way. Kirk should really be more careful about what he says.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

I'm pretty sure I drive the same speed.

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

I certainly drive faster through black neighborhoods when I'm blitzing down Normandie to get around traffic on Vermont.

[All Along The Watchtower]

From the HuffPo article:

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[Lief 🗽]

From the HuffPo article:

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guys do you think Bushie's new "call center job" is actually working as kirk's press secretary?!

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He was damaged by the GOP unprecedented filibuster of the Loretta Lynch nomination. Now, he is going further out on limb on this. Tammy Duckworth, will be nxt senator.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Republican logic: black people tend to be a lot poorer than white people.  Therefore, more black people should become billionaires-because clearly, having more rich black people is going to help solve both poverty and inequality (racial and class).

Kirk is just pitching his party's fantasy that we are a nation of "haves" and "soon to haves" to the black community. Because obviously anyone can become a billionaire (just like anyone can win the lottery!), so therefore everyone can (and should) work toward the noble goal of becoming rich.

Or, to put it another way: instead of just having a growing divide between rich whites (mostly) and poors of all races, let's diversify the economic elite of America, change nothing else,  and call that a solution!

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

He was damaged by the GOP unprecedented filibuster of the Loretta Lynch nomination. Now, he is going further out on limb on this. Tammy Duckworth, will be nxt senator.

The general public has no idea who Loretta Lynch is, or who the current AG is.

[Flake]

Lolkirk

[smoltchanov]

Well, my personal experience (about 20 years ago) - visit to Harlem:

Puerto Rican driver insisted that we kept closed doors in our car and never get out while being in neighbourhood. And i still remember faces of at least some people there - not because they were black, but because they were mob-type (i had absolutely no problems speking and communicating with black people in less dilapidated parts of the city). And so on. You could easily shoot a film about WWII there using broken and abandoned homes as an antourage. And so on...

So, it's probably a stereotype, but it has it reasons..

[Ebsy]

If Kirk is so committed to Illinois' black community, maybe he should campaign more in East St. Louis. You know, the place that the rest of Illinois studiously ignores at all times, which is considered by Reddit to be the scariest place in the United States.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

If Kirk is so committed to Illinois' black community, maybe he should campaign more in East St. Louis. You know, the place that the rest of Illinois studiously ignores at all times, which is considered by Reddit to be the scariest place in the United States.

Like Kirk ever reads reddit

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If Kirk is so committed to Illinois' black community, maybe he should campaign more in East St. Louis. You know, the place that the rest of Illinois studiously ignores at all times, which is considered by Reddit to be the scariest place in the United States.

North Richmond, California might be worse.

[Ebsy]

If Kirk is so committed to Illinois' black community, maybe he should campaign more in East St. Louis. You know, the place that the rest of Illinois studiously ignores at all times, which is considered by Reddit to be the scariest place in the United States.

Like Kirk ever reads reddit

Downtown East St. Louis.

Probably not, but let me say this:

During the midterms last year, St. Louis County had an election for its County Executive. The incumbent, Charlie Dooley, the first black County Executive in the history of St. Louis County, was ousted in the Democratic Primary in August by County Councilman Steve Stenger after a series of revelations about the corruption and incompetence in Dooley's County Government. During the primary, Stenger received the endorsement of one Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCullough, who had previously supported Dooley, and this caused a mass exodus of white support from Dooley. After the primary, Michael Brown was killed in the north St. Louis County suburb of Ferguson, and the County Executive race was thrown into chaos. The Republican nominee, Rick Stream, who most people had written off due to Stenger's popularity immediately after the primary, started campaigning in the "bombed out" majority black neighborhoods and municipalities in north St. Louis County. When election day rolled around, Stream lead most of the night, though narrowly lost when North County's results came in. However, what was most interesting was that Stream did up to 20 points better in some overwhelmingly black North County townships than Republicans historically have. Had North County voted traditionally, the election wouldn't have been even close, but had Stream spent more time there, African American votes might have made the difference for him. The places Stream visited in North County can be pretty scary; they're inhabited poor and middle class black people, crime ridden and economically depressed. But they didn't owe their votes to Steve Stenger just because he was a Democrat and North County typically elects Democrats. And black voters in East St. Louis don't owe their vote to Tammy Duckworth just because she's challenging Kirk.  Maybe if Republicans started seriously campaigning for the black vote, blacks might vote for them, and maybe the inclusion of some black voters in the Republican coalition could help bring the party back to reality and away from it's current reactionary path.

[Mr. Illini]

I am a solid Duckworth voter and I don't find anything wrong with this once reading the direct quote rather than the headline.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I am a solid Duckworth voter and I don't find anything wrong with this once reading the direct quote rather than the headline.

Why would the headline be offensive?

[publicunofficial]

I am a solid Duckworth voter and I don't find anything wrong with this once reading the direct quote rather than the headline.

Why would the headline be offensive?

If you have to ask, ect. 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I am a solid Duckworth voter and I don't find anything wrong with this once reading the direct quote rather than the headline.

Why would the headline be offensive?

If you have to ask, ect. 

I mean, I realize it may bring up the existence of racism and some things people would prefer don't exist...

[publicunofficial]

Damn, Kirk.

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