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Should Boston's next police chief be black?
By adamg on Tue, 05/09/2006 - 1:36pm
The Rev. Bruce Wall thinks so, arguing only a black chief can stop inner-city violence:
... The kids who are dying look like me. They need a competent person of color strategizing about how to keep kids safe on the street. ...
Carpundit says Bruce Wall is a fool:
... And the people paying for the police department look like me. Neither is relevant. We need a competent person strategizing about how to keep the city safe. ...
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Comments
The also-ran
If memory serves, when O'Toole was picked, she bested a high-ranking African American member of the BPD who rose through the ranks. I remember thinking at the time that a female commissioner was a strong social statement, but appointing a qualified black commissioner would have more traction within the rank and file, and on the streets.
CarPundit is right that the next commissioner must be the best qualified person for the job. If O'Toole's runner-up was such a candidate, then the search should be short, and the city will take a symbolic step towards having its department heads more represenative of the population it serves.
Whoah!!
And the people paying for the police department look like me.
And just what is that supposed to mean? When wall says that those dying look like him, he means that kids of color are dying. Does Carpundit mean to turn that around by saying that white people pay for the department? Sorry, buddy, but there's a majority people of color in this city, and that adds up to a lot of tax money to pay for that police department!
I could argue Carpundit's point--I think it's absurd for him to imply that Wall doesn't want the most qualified person--but his off-hand comment still has me shaking my head.
the least Reverend Wall was
the least Reverend Wall was also the one who stated that white Boston cops looked like Aryan Nation. that is incredibly offensive to every Boston Police Officer who cares about the communities they police. I dont really think his opinion should be taken with as much weight as that of the most Reverends Dickerson and Rivers.
I didn't think it was all that confusing, really.
Mister Goat is wrong on two points:
1. I feel quite certain that most of the tax money coming into Boston coffers comes from white people. Not all, but most. Call it a legacy of racism if it makes you feel better, but the whites earn more and own more. Note that I do not think that entitles them to any special privileges. I was pointing it out to demonstrate the idiocy of basing police-related decisions on race.
2. Wall was not saying we should get the best qualified police chief. He was saying we should get the most qualified black police chief.
In that case...
Carpundit, once you clarify that you don't in fact think it means whites are entitled to special privileges, it's a really good point. It needed the extra sentence though.
I think it's important that one of the qualifications for the police chief IS an understanding of issues pertaining to people from different cultural backgrounds, having working relationships with leaders of communites of color and/or immigrants, and so forth. The color of the chief shouldn't matter. An officer who's a person of color and lives holed up in a McMansion and knows nothing about the various cultures of our city is not going to be an effective community leader just on the basis of being a person of color. Likewise, someone who's white can be quite aware of varying cultural norms and communication styles and can be very skilled at working with diverse people.
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