Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 4-20-18

Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
The Other Side Of The Game
he murder of Dave
George outside of his auto detailing business two weeks ago was a senseless tragedy. But, what makes it even worse is that, there was a possibility that it could have been prevented.
I came to that conclusion after reading a story on the capture of the man allegedly responsible for the crime, Dwayne McGriff. Accord- ing to the article, someone warned George earlier in the day that the person ru- mored to have killed another auto detailer a year prior, presumably McGriff, was riding a bicycle in the area.
This means that, not only were there people in the neighborhood who were aware of the identity of a killer who had been on the loose for some time but, they also didn’t bother to stop him. And, as a direct result of allowing a person capable of committing such an atrocity to stick around, George had the light snatched from his body prematurely.
Unfortunately, this is the part of the street code no one likes to talk about. The in- evitable consequence that occurs when a person who kills isn’t immediately held
accountable for his or her heinous acts.
Somehow we’ve been conditioned to believe that coddling murderers in our midst is an act of realness. But, the truth of the matter is that, there has never been a moment in the history of civ- ilization when this kind of behavior was deemed re- motely acceptable.
Even in the most primi- tive of cultures individuals who take the lives of other human beings without re- morse are punished severely or banished from the tribal collective. But in our com- munities they’re often left to roam freely, insulated and protected by the silence of the very people on whom they prey.
The irony in all of this is that we never hesitate to de- mand the prosecution of a cop who kills someone in our neighborhoods unjustifiably. Yet, when one of our own is guilty of the exact same thing, we have the curious tendency to look the other way.
What I can never under- stand is why we treat these situations so differently? Is not a heartless killing, a heartless killing regardless of
the uniform on the culprit or the color of his skin?
In fact, I would argue that the man who kills his own brother is an even more de- plorable monstrosity. Some- thing along the lines of a lion who hunts and eats other lions.
Of course, there are those out there who will read this and say that “C. Barr is ad- vocating for snitching.” But that couldn’t be further from the case. All I’m actually doing is holding up a mirror to the madness we think is normal so that we can see the craziness of our actions in this funhouse reflection we view as reality.
The sad thing is that, when Mr. George’s funeral was held, there were people present who could have saved his life by dealing with McGriff when they had a chance (preferably by crush- ing both of his trigger fingers and putting him on a bus to where the hell ever).
Instead they’ll offer fake condolences to George’s family while concealing the role their inaction ultimately played in his death.
But, this is the code that some of us live by, right? We let these vipers, who do our people harm, make it so that they can cause even more damage. We’re just lucky that the blood stains on our hands aren’t as visible as they should be.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
James Comey And The Pulitzer Prize
ecently, writers from The New York Times and the
Washington Post walked off with another in a string of longstanding Pulitzer Prize awards . . . this time, for sto- ries about decades-long Hollywood sex Don, Harvey Wein- stein and, the continued Russian meddling storyline during Donald Trump’s presidential election.
Good stories, good coverage. But, now we wonder why, that of all the candidates and recipients of one of the world’s most prestigious literary-journalistic kudos, one name was missing?
That of former FBI Director James Comey and his new book, A Higher Loyalty.. Truth, Lies And Leadership.
How could this be?
Okay, maybe, Mr. Comey’s writing hand bears little re- semblance to Shakespeare or Hemingway. And even if it did, based on this year’s winners, Mr. Comey’s tell-all should have totally satisfied the journalistic tastebuds of the Pulitzer Board.
Mr. Comey’s whole truths and nothing but,...possessed it all. Especially from the sensationalism perspective.
And, as journalists, we think his book should have at least landed him an honorable mention in the modern-day literary hall of fame.
Instead, it seems to us that the brutal truth may be ... that Mr. Comey’s former position as FBI director, attacked char- acter and integrity have placed a stigma on him that he may never be able to shake off.
Republicans hate him for his comments about Donald Trump, and Democrats despise him due to his handling of Hillary Clinton.
And, in the midst of it all stands a stubble-faced, Twitter- crazed 45th American president, who probably could care less that Comey has exposed in black and white what everyone al- ready knows: the highest position in our land along with the walls and halls of the White House have been embarrassed, defamed and smeared forever.
So, Pulitzer Board members why not give Jim Comey a Pulitzer Prize?
With that said, we shift our focus and white space to con- gratulate trendsetter rapper, Kendrick Lamar (Duckworth). Mr. Duckworth, 30, is a winner of a 2018 Putlizer Prize for his iconic album, DAMN. The first in the history of the Puti-
lizers.
With DAMN songs titled, HUMBLE, GOD, LOYALTY,
PRIDE, DNA, LOVE, LUST, ELEMENT, FEEL, XXX and DUCKWORTH, Kendrick touches the millennial and gener- ation Z with words they understand and say Amen too.
According to Dana Canedy, the Putlizer board’s adminis- trator who framed the decision to award the rapper as a larger flashpoint: “It shines a light on hip-hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip-hop music, and a big moment for the Pulitzers.”
R
T
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A