He took the bait...

 
Shredd and Reagan interviewed the South Buffalo resident with the outspoken views on race today. He said neighbors were coming up to him and thanking him for his comments to channel IV. He also said he has received some death threats.


I'm not afraid to touch on controversial topics. We've all heard people talk about the increased number of black people who have moved onto the side streets off of South Park Avenue and Seneca Streets. It has dominated many conversations on porches and at dinner tables. To pretend that it hasn't, is an outright fabrication. Although very politically incorrect, this man was just saying publicly what others have said privately.


I'm not an advocate of any kind of racism. We've all heard the stories about our Irish ancestors being greeted with signs that read "Irish need not apply" when they arrived in this country. It's something every Catholic school teacher in South Buffalo discussed at one point or another.


While this man's opinion might be ugly, it was how he felt. To me, hypocrites are worse than anyone. There are three hypocritical groups/people which need to be pointed out here...

1.)The white resident from the outer lying suburb who is "shocked" by the man's comments: Could you remind us all again why you fled to an all white area?


2.) Reverend Darius Pridgen: Ironically, the racist, blue collar South Buffalo man in question has more in common with the average black person than Pridgen does. He drives fancy cars and lives in an expensive condo on the waterfront. The only time Pridgen is black is when he's preaching from the alter or speaking in front of a TV camera.


3.)The South Buffalo/ 1st Ward racists who turned around and whored themselves to Byron Brown when he ran against a South Buffalo resident: We all know who they are. If you're going to be a racist, it's on you, but don't just do it when it's convenient for you. Practice what you preach. I don't dislike Brown because he's, well... brown. I dislike him because he's an empty suit. These people, who talk out of both sides of their mouths, are an embarrassment to the true racist, idiots everywhere.At least they're not hypocritical.


Attached is the full interview from Shredd and Reagan. No word yet on whether the man plans on tossing his white hood into the ring for City Council. 
You can listen to him on Shredd and Ragan here.

Full interview with Buffalo resident | WIVB.com

Candid interview

 You won't believe this interview. This guy is more outspoken than I am. Channel IV's Ed Dranch went down to the Old 1st Ward to speak with neighbors about some recent arsons. The FBI is exploring the possibility they were racially motivated. You may be shocked by what the man on the back of his pickup truck says (beginning at 1:30). Not shocked by what he says, but shocked by the fact that he says it in front of a news camera. Most people these days will give you the politically correct, carefully worded answer. Not this guy.

I don't agree with what he says, but you can't call him disingenuous. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he is probably not an Obama supporter. Call it a hunch...

Arson fire may have been race-related: wivb.com

Here's a clip from the last time I heard someone as outspoken on the issue of race...

1st Ward arson

Our 1st annual Head Buried Beneath the Sand Award goes to Laura Kelly, Executive Director of the Old 1st Ward Community Center. Kelly had this to say in today's Buffalo News, regarding allegations that someone in the neighborhood burned down an unoccupied house because the owner (from the Republic of Congo) was black...

"It's just opposite to everything I know about my community," said Kelly, director of the Old First Ward Community Center. "It just doesn't seem like my neighborhood."

What neighborhood has she been working in the last several years? Kelly is either the most naive person on the planet or it's second biggest liar (nobody could ever replace Lou "Pinocchio" Petrucci.)

I will say this, however. The people I know down in the Old 1st Ward (I worked at the Community Center for six years) would not condone burning anybody's house down because of their skin color. Now, if the person was dealing drugs or causing problems in the neighborhood, it might be a different story. Unless it is the work of one very ignorant person, my sixth sense tells me there's more at play here. I just don't see a group of people conspiring to do something like this. I hope the FBI looks at all of the facts before jumping to any conclusions.
Fires fueled by hate?

In fact, we have some actual footage from Republic Street down in the Old 1st Ward, proving that everyone gets along down there...

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Windy Day

Good luck Old 1st Ward runners. We'll find your bodies sometime in May by Welfare Beach. Looks like this crackhead wasn't too concerned about the 60MPH winds...

*(Thank you Brittany Robinson for the photo.)


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I haven't seen the video of the US Marines urinating on the corpses of the Taliban soldiers. Nor do I plan to. It's very disappointing to me, but not unexpected. War is no joke. It's not some sort of video game. These are real people on both sides and they are brandishing real weapons.

But we are the United States and should expect better than that from our troops. Remember how outraged everyone here was when the Somalians dragged our dead soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu? This is no different. The end result of this deplorable act is that more American troops could now be put in harm's way...

"They've committed a crime. We don't want them in our country," said Feda Mohammad, a middle-aged man in jeans, a jacket and a woollen hat, when told about the tape.

"We don't like foreigners in our country and they have to leave."

I think the US should take his advice. Democracy isn't for everyone and you can't force it down people's throats. The Communists tried to force their way of life onto the people of Afghanistan in the 1980's and that didn't work either. I'm not going to lie and pretend I know a great deal about foreign policy, because I don't. However, I think most people would agree it's time to get out of these foreign lands and start taking care of our own problems here at home.

'Dismayed' US identifies urinating Marines - ABC Melbourne - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Listening to ultra liberals or ultra conservatives is akin to listening to someone scratch a chalkboard with their fingernails (when we used to have chalkboards).

Here's conservative wacko Dana Loesch, a CNN contributor nonetheless, expressing her approval on the actions of the US Marines with regards to this incident...

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Buffallo's history takes a back seat to greed

The city's history took a back seat to one man's greed this week, as Buffalo's most infamous residency violator allowed a few historic grain elevators to be permanently dismantled...

James Comerford, the city’s permit and inspections commissioner, had ordered the demolition at 339 Ganson St. earlier this month, claiming that the Wheeler elevator, the complex’s oldest building, and an adjacent feed mill posed a threat to public safety.

The company’s intentions fueled skepticism among Buffalo Preservation Board members about whether the buildings needed to be torn down. The board voted unanimously March 3 to oppose demolition after a request to schedule a site visit for the board and possibly an engineer was rebuffed.

I'm not going to publicly accuse "East Aurora" Jim of accepting a bribe from the company to tear down the grain elevators. However, if you see any drastic improvements on his East Aurora home this summer, well, you draw your own conclusions. Buffalo: a great place to siphon money and get all your family members public sector jobs. But I wouldn't want to live there. Very sad, residency violator!...

You hustle, you deal, you steal from us all
Come on, come on, love me for the money
Come on, come on, listen to the moneytalks
Come on, come on, love me for the money
Come on, come on, listen to the moneytalks
Moneytalks, yeah, yeah
Money talks, B.S. walks...


Razing of grain elevator begins - City of Buffalo - The Buffalo News

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Neighborhood parade

Fat people, drunk people, guys wearing skirts. All with one thing in common: A desire to be seen. Rah, rah, rah. All being viewed by onlookers who moved out of the neighborhood years ago. Happy effin St. Patrick's Day...



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Grain elevator politics

Pictured here at some ridiculous shovel breaking ceremony by the Buffalo River: (left to right) Tim "Hortons" Kennedy, Dave "Bohunk" Franczyk, my good friend Mark Schroeder, Brian "I used to represent South Buffalo at one time" Higgins, Bill "I couldn't find Kaisertown on a map" Stachowski, and the Valley Community Center's Peg Overdorf, listed at #12 on our list of shameless local self-promotors.

Spaulding, Get your foot off the boat!

Old 1st Ward Nicknames

For a few years back in the 90s, I worked at the Old 1st Ward Community Center on Republic St. Some people say it's where the seeds of my insanity were first planted. Actually, I was able to meet many terrific kids and families down there. Some are still doing remarkably well. Others show up periodically on my weekly crime stats report.

One of the things I'll never forget were the crazy nicknames the kids gave each other. There were certain kids whose actual first names were unknown to even their own friends. Some of the names I remember were "Mooch" Felschow (not to be confused with my fellow staff member "Mooch" Cullen), "Bubba" Conway, "Louie" LaRusch, "Bizzy" Sumbrum, "Yoda" Brill, "Wack" Bannister, Brian "Smitty" Smith (incidently, Smitty's dad was known to everyone as "Bughead"), The Heidenger's uncle Tom (known as "Hot Wire" Heidinger because he was a skilled electrician), there was a kid known simply as "Dirtball", and another kid who came up from Pennysylvania. He had pure blonde hair like the wrestler Ric Flair so they called him "Pa. Flair". There were many more that I can't remember.

One of my favorite stories involves the Heidinger's ficticious uncle Cecil. There were about 10 Heidingers in the phone book. All except one were the Heidingers from the 1st Ward. The other one was a Cecil Heidinger who was listed with an East side address. For those that don't know, the Old 1st Ward is one of the whitest neighborhoods in the city. Whenever there was a big event at the center, there might only be only a few blacks in attendance. Nick and Andrew Heidinger and myself would always try to be the first to spot their crazy ficticious "uncle Cecil". It wasn't meant to be racist, just an ongoing inside joke. We had some great times back then. I miss the Old 1st Ward and the people I met down there. Here is an article from today's Buffalo News that made me think of those days.
List of nicknames is big hit at reunion*