I rarely get writer’s block. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it. I have so many opinions on so many different things that my biggest dilemma is always deciding on what to write about, as opposed to not finding the words I need.
So in times like this, I have to rant:
Really, City Council Black Caucus? Renaming Lakeshore Drive to Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lakeshore Drive has to be the biggest waste of time, energy and money that those folks could come up with. Yes, I think the man who originally settled here should be honored. But why not do something of true significance? Like renaming Daley Center as DuSable Center? Nobody will be using the full renamed street unless something terrible happens. I can see the news media now: DuSable Lakeshore Drive closed because of a shooting; DuSable Lakeshore Drive had a horrific car accident because of speeding.
Speaking of shootings. The media, along with the moronic Black folks out here shooting, has managed to change the face of mass shooters from a young white male to a Black one. Lord help us! The end of days truly is occurring.
It’s amazing how shootings can happen and then disappear from the forefront of the news. Like the case of Jaslyn Adams. She was the 7-year-old child executed by some lowlifes at a McDonald’s drive-thru. People were upset. They gathered, held a vigil, and even included the new mourning ritual of a balloon release. Yet her actual funeral? No mention of it. I find that interesting. Or the murder of that couple in Humboldt Park following the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Some folks jumped all over social media claiming that it was Black people who did it. Even dumber was the notion being propagated that Black people had mistaken the Puerto Rican flag for the confederate one. That is why social media cannot be trusted.
Some accuracy. When Alderman Jeanette Taylor, 20th Ward, and Mayor Lightfoot’s disagreement was caught on film, although we don’t know the words spoken, Taylor’s finger-pointing in Lightfoot’s face was among the worst optics from our elected officials. If, as adults, they can’t resolve differences in a better manner, then how are they going to tell these young people to stop shooting when shootings have become young people’s preferred method of conflict resolution?
No class. I have to agree with comedian Monique that it’s time for black women to stop wearing those stupid hair bonnets out in public. They look like Poppin’ Fresh deflated.
Some good news. With three celebrations (Juneteenth, Puerto Rican parade, Fathers’ Day) rolled into one, many of the fears of civil unrest did not come to fruition. Thank God!
Death comes in threes. I lost three wonderful people this past week. First was Dolores Dupree. She volunteered with me at LaFollette Park with the Seniors on the Move group. Her death was followed by George McKinley, the former BEAT 2532 facilitator who was always involved in politics. He was the original Uber, working as a livery driver for many people. Lastly, my friend Victor Cochran. He was a character among characters. Give him a beer and a cigarette, and he was the happiest man in the world.
May all three rest in peace.
