BET reports (click here for full story):
Three years ago, critics charged that the 34-year-old Kilpatrick held wild parties in the mayor’s mansion at taxpayers’ expense, complete with strippers, prostitutes and plenty of liquor. Kilpatrick and many close to the mayor called the claims a racist attempt to discredit him. As the charges simmered – rising to the level of urban legend – a state attorney launched a major probe into the allegations. The investigation found no wrongdoing on behalf of Kilpatrick and his staff.
“When you’re a young African American man with an earring, it’s hard for people to believe you’re a good husband and father,†Kilpatrick told The Associated Press.
Personally, I hope that there is nothing serious discovered beyond the Lincoln Navigator he leased for his family with city funds (you have to read the whole story for all the details). I prefer to let the investigation to play itself out (trust me, I’m not holding my breath–the story is not that interesting to me). What I did notice was the question that BET posed to its readers:
Is Kilpatrick giving Black politicians a bad name or is his a case of racial stereotyping?
It is the first part of this question that caught my attention. My answer is simply “NO”. Mayor Kilpatrick is his own man that makes his own decisions. The way he chooses to live his life has no bearing on mine or any other black person I know. Suggesting that Kilpatrick is giving ALL other black politicians a bad name is like saying that Mussolini gave all Italians a bad name. Once again, we play right into our own stereotypes by suggesting such mess.
I also go into detail of this “one person represents the whole race” ideology in my posting: On the whole “Black Leader†thing
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January 25th, 2005 at 2:53 pm
“Is Kilpatrick giving Black politicians a bad name …”
That was the argument thrown out less than three weeks ago by black conservatives regarding the Armstong Williams scandal (Barber, Lartigue, et al.). Unfortunately, both liberal and conservatives fall into the ‘leader’ trap nonsense.
January 25th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
As an outsider (non-American) who has read about Mayor Kilpatrick’s excesses, I was somewhat disappointed. Though I agree with you that the “one person represents the whole race†ideology is fatally flawed, negative displays by Kilpatrick reflect on the entire African-American community.
BTW: Nice blog you’ve got here. Very informative.
January 25th, 2005 at 6:01 pm
I still don’t know about that. If a Asian person (let’s say) was to break into my house and steal my valuables, I would not conclude that all Asians are crooks. To assume that would make me a racist.
I just checked out your site. I am looking forward on becoming a regular to your site. A definite link on this end!