Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Cheap grace for politicians

From the Omaha World-Herald (free registration required):

The Omaha City Council voted 4-2 today to pass Councilman Frank Brown's resolution asking radio station KFAB to apologize for a 30-second parody that
satirizes violence in north Omaha.

Talk show host Tom Becka had produced the spot, which no longer is running.

Voting to pass the resolution were city councilmen Franklin Thompson, Jim Vokal, Frank Brown and Chuck Sigerson. Voting against it were Garry Gernandt and Dan Welch. Gernandt had been a sponsor of the resolution. Councilman Jim Suttle was absent.

The council debated for nearly an hour over whether it was proper for the council to ask a private business to apologize. A number of north Omaha residents spoke out against the apology and in support of KFAB.

Tom Becka's spot, the chief mau-mau'ers say, was "insensitive" and in "poor taste." It showed the North O community "in a bad light."

Hmmmmmmm . . . let's examine what the parody said:

Discover miles of mayhem. Discover drive-bys. Discover gang violence.

Discover North Omaha.

We've got a real sense of community here. When there's a shooting, we all stick together and don't rat on the suspects.

I'm a police officer and north Omaha was nice enough to give me plenty of extra overtime.

Arson, abductions, assaults. Everything that makes a community exciting.

Discover North Omaha. After all, it's safer than Baghdad.


Gang violence. Check.

Drive-by shootings. Check.

Arson. Check. Abductions. Check. Assaults. Check.

And it IS safer than Baghdad.

Councilman Frank Brown sponsored the resolution. From KETV:

Brown said he introduced the resolution because the spoof paints all residents
of north Omaha as criminals. He said the parody hurt the good people of north
Omaha. He also said the council was already working with police to crack down on
violence in north Omaha.

"This shed a light on nothing new. One month ago, the council went to Chief (Tom) Warren and asked for something to happen, and it did. Violence occurs everywhere, but you don't hear parodies on other parts of the city," Brown said.

So Brown admits the substance of the parody is true. Becka's crime was just in the saying, then.

And the "good people" of North O spoke in favor of Becka at the council meeting. They seemed to be happy that the talk-show host was capable of getting the city's attention, when years of anguished pleas from the "good people" had gotten scant results from city fathers.

But finally aroused from their slumber, the leaders of fair Omaha have stood tall to defend the honor of our brothers and sisters in the 'hood. Tom Becka must repent!

And now that that's done, we can return to our regularly scheduled program of throwing Omaha Public Schools to the wolves and making it as easy as possible for well-to-do white Omahans to become well-to-do white Extreme West Omahans, well-to-do white Elkhorn residents and upper-crust white Gretnans.

We can continue not providing effective job-training programs. We can keep on "doing a heckuva job" (in the full Brownie sense of the word) providing cheap and accessible mass transit to the north side.

We can continue letting the cops blow off inner-city parents when they report their kids missing. And we can continue to go all Tabloid TV when the next Amber Harris never does come home . . . at least come home alive, that is.

We can rest easy in our self-satisfaction as folks on the near north side continue to lack decent grocery stores with fresh produce and reasonable prices. Let them eat Cheetos. Or walk to West Omaha.

And hope the cops don't harrass them too much for Walking While Black While in White Area.

We can continue not doing all kinds of stuff, because we have proven our righteousness. We have spoken. We have forever, and forcefully, labeled Tom Becka a mean, nasty, insensitive, racist smart-ass.

Hallelujah! Praise Warren Buffett! Condomania be thy name!

Cheap. Effing. Grace. For everyone except the suffering souls in North Omaha.


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