The most important thing that happened this week in Kansas City: The Killing season has officially started.
Five people were killed over the holiday weekend in Kansas City.
Sadly, this fact isn’t really blasted at the top of local headlines. In fact, a bit of resentment always surfaces over constant candlelight vigils on the Eastside of Kansas City. Seriously, it’s a cruel reality that people don’t like it when the residents of the urban core complain about constant violence.
And then, in a hypocritical about face, the world comes to an end when somebody dies violently in Johnson County. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look:
Whether it’s a missing kid turned up dead or a woman hit by a stray bullet. Johnson County residents are giving prime time news coverage when one of their own dies. Meanwhile, the murders keep adding up in Kansas City and there probably won’t be a major news event directed at stopping homicides until August. Normally, it’s not until the murder count (mostly from The Eastside) hits 100 that people and politicos start to panic. I’ve always believed that the their concern amounts mostly to fear of collateral damage but maybe I should be more optimistic.
The bottom line is: For some horrible reason (probably racism) the value of life on The Eastside of Kansas City does not equal that in Johnson County if mainstream media coverage is to be believed. It doesn’t really matter because the high local murder rate makes this town dangerous for EVERYONE no matter their race or demographic background. But that’s a fact not often reported nightly on TV News.
Tony Botello
Tony
I know that you’re slow so let me spell this out for you.
News : Murders occurring in a part of the metro that is historically known for being a pretty peaceful place.
Not News : Yet another murder in the historically violent and crime infested east side.
After people hear the same terrible news about the same part of town over and over again you start to get a little numb to it, or at least come to expect it.
Try a little exercise : Take the race factor away for a minute (if that’s possible for you). Then step back and just look at the neighborhoods and their respective histories for violence. One is very violent and one is not. Isn’t it inherently more ‘newsworthy’ when violence breaks out in areas that are largely nonviolent? On the flip side, if the bad part of town suddenly got their collective shit together and stopped shooting each other for a year and their murder rates came down, wouldn’t that also be pretty newsworthy?
So once again your weak logic leads you to yet another flawed conclusion.
mojhawk
Several points I don’t think Kansas City wants it reported on that much because they want people from all suburbs to come into the city and spend money and move downtown.They wnat them to feel safe.
Second most of the people involved in the shooting have a motto don’t snitch hard to feel to sorry for a lot of the vitims not all but a lot of them. If that is your life style (gangs) it comes with the territory they don’t have a great retirement plan.
Last Tony you have no credibility on this subjesct your hatred of Johnson county makes you not a real reliable or impartial journalist on this subject. And I know even a clock that is broke is right twice a day but this isn’t really on of those times.
craig glazer
Tony as usual you make a great point, one people hate to look at…when I watch the news, I call the end of the local news ‘yellow tape’ always four or five killings, east side, black, and you are right not much concern…unless its a shootout with KCMO cops and one is hurt…this is nationwide, and yep if a white person is killed in Johnson County, its top of the news, and so on…there is a higher value on life in the upper scale areas all over the nation. You are right. Just the way it is….ask Michael Vick.
John
Tony, you still haven’t made a comment on that white, 12-year-old boy from Independence who was killed on Bruce R. Watkins by that fat peice of shit who had a rap sheet longer when his arm.
I guess if the kid was black and the peice of shot driver was white you’d be all over it.
Tony
Craig, Tony doesn’t, nor has he ever, made a good point. He’s a race baiting blow hard who’s here to stir up the pot and bitch about whitey. Ugh.
mojhawk
Hey Craig you gonna run for mayor again?
another point dog bites man no news there
man bites dog now were talking thats news
smartman
Forget reparations, let’s just pay the brothers fair market value fo dey stuff and give ’em a one way back to Africa.
While I agree blacks have been fucked by the white man they’ve been fucked harder by their own.
Sending some thug ass homeboys from the US back to Africa would be good for them. They would tell DeBeers and the other WHITE diamond cartel members to get the fuck out da way and control all the bling globally. That would give the brothers more power than they ever had.
Then, IF, the price of bling gets too high we can invade, kill em all, problem solved.
Bob
No, it’s not that we don’t care about the death of somebody on the east side of town. But I do watch the news every nite and we get pretty good about guessing where when the say “another homicide today”. It’s terrible, and there is nothing I personally can do about it, except wonder when the black community will decide they are tired of killing each other.
When it does happen in JOCO we do pay attention, we want to know if some white dude went crazy or if a black guy decided to stray across the city.
And even over the fourth holiday they had it on the news and the police said they couldn’t get residents to talk to them. AGAIN. so sad.
MandDShagger
Sticks and stones may break your bones but black folks, they will shoot you!
JoHawk
Tony, your feelings of guilt are a big problem. Get some help. You are the White Whitlock sometimes with your race baiting.
Tim
Tony, you are right, value of life on the east side is less than that on the west. It’s not racism, it’s classism. Higher class people are worth more and their deaths mean more to more people. Sorry dude, it’s a fact.
Ernie
that’s why I live in JOCO.
Leigh
Must be a slow news day if you’re pulling the race card. Totally lame, and just adds to the poor journalism of this website. As if you don’t discredit yourselves enough by having Glazer as a contributor, then you have to go off spouting crap like this. Oh, and I don’t live in JOCO or anywhere near it.