Last week I was incorrect in regards to the Anthony Sowell case. I wrote that part of the reason county prosecutor Bill Mason would not accept a guilty plea in the case was due to the fact that as long as he didn’t, the families could not sue for wrongful death; if found guilty at trial, the appeals would drag on for decades and the suits would have to await the final outcome. I was wrong.
What the lawyer friend of mine meant to say was that it would be difficult for such suits to prevail until the appeals were exhausted… not that they could not be filed. My bad.
While I’m on the subject of mistakes, please allow me to make one thing perfectly clear: I’m fully awake and in possession of my senses when I write the sentences that criticize Mason. Evidently some folks think such criticism is out of order.
Now, I don’t mind the folk who disagree with me… that’s what democracy is all about. Nor do I mind the slimy little cowards that send me threatening messages in an effort to dissuade me — they too go with the territory.
But the folk I increasingly detest are my so-called friends who breathlessly ask me: “Are you really going to write that?” or “Aren’t you afraid to say what you did last week in your column?” What are they afraid of… that someone in the Prosecutor’s Office will trump up some charges against me? Nah, that could never happen… could it?
Where are we, in America… or are we in some third-rate banana republic, or Middle East theocracy? When citizens begin to fear speaking out, writing their opinions of the government — good, bad or ugly — then our country is in deep doo-doo.
There’s the pesky little thing called the First Amendment and all of our other liberties spring from it; indeed, without it, there would be no America as we know it; that’s why it has to be protected, and used. Without use they’re only hollow words on a piece of paper.
The Statute of Liberty was given to us by the French people… not the French government, and I certainly don’t want them to ask for it back because we failed to defend the liberties its torch reflects.
In France the government is afraid of the people… in America, increasingly, the people are afraid of the government. Folks, we better check ourselves, and when necessary, strap our nuts on.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.
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15 Responses to “MANSFIELD: My Bad”
Hank Wait
It’s true. People are afraid of speaking out which is sad. While this didn’t start with 9/11 it certainly escalated from then on. The Bush administration did their best to intimidate and smear anyone who disagreed with them. The accusations that people who questioned the government were unpatriotic was just one of the methods used. The most patriotic are the ones who question their government because they are the ones who are keeping an eye on them to make sure they do what is right. Blind obedience is not patirotic, it is pathetic. The government ought to be fearful of their people after all are not “we the people” who is in charge?
Andrew Samtoy
Amen.
Steve
I fully support your right to speak, write and otherwise express your opinions, even when I disagree with them. As a society, I think two of the most popular reasons that people use to try to suppress speach and ideas are patriotism and political correctness.
As an example, in our politically correct society, do you think a white writer could write an column analogous to your column from last week drawing a conclusion about black people based on the actions of one individual with without the writer and publication facing significant public criticism?
As much as some people may have objected to your analysis and/or conclusions, you identified an interesting topic. Further exploration of the cultural differences as it relates to “compassion” would be very interesting, particular if you use a broader definition of commpassion that includes more than foregiveness, but also looks at treatment of the young, old, sick, poor, etc. . . I suspect that there will be significant cultural differences among races, religions and economic status.
bob w.
Name..bob w…NO not the councilperson,baseball player,etc. ASIDE FROM THAT….Sowell…**@$*…DUE HIS day in court…IF ANY good comes OUT OF THAT HOPEFULLY SOME kind of NOW or womens abuse museum or SCARE THE *$*@ out of little girls so NOT hooking up w/or SOMETHING…..
STAND back…LOOK AT THE $*@… semi sad when OUT of town newbie whutever biz n persons who did subrpime Countrywade loans in just a few yrs comes to Cleveland n able to do X in X time while rest twiddled n whutever forever in a day….YES CERTAIN big $%s certainly helped bring bout the ’10 Revolution….n SURE THEY are wundering bout it alll..historic tax cred or not…HOW viable IS THIS place… FINALLY..HOW smart ARE ALL THESE guyz…seriously…REMEMBER ALLL THE *$*@ bout THIS developer doin X in Warehouse Dist or whutever…WTF is THATtt…wha contingency greenmail fee fine or what…HOW MUCH MT or underutilized space…HOW MANY SMALL FUNKY SPECIALIZED whutever w/HOW FEW employees coming at odd times,hrs, doin X w/duties,offices,etc.elsewhere…IT NEVER JIVED….the proverbial webhead kiddie w/proverbial pizza box doin X….
REMEMBER PORT AUTH.mess….GRANDE talk OF….CANT even cough up $ FOR… DEAR WHAZ his name…EASIER TO BUY OUT X …LEVEL X floors w/Bobcat on X floors n done w/it n get TheView…THIS *$*@….
MASON…IS a politico…QUITE FRANKLY…HE does NOT have to do anything…MIXED emotions bout him..I DO BELIEVE HE IS TRYING TO be a good whutever…THIS STUFF “FINDS” HIM n REST OF US….GUESS ALWAYS WAS X out there BUT SOMEHOW IT SEEMS TO HAVE REALllllllllllly *$*@*…yeah had the TED BUNDY’s,etc. *$*&@&^%$#@!~ KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES,skincolor,etc. A FEW GALS along the way HAVE DONE *$*@ tooo….ANYHOOTS…mason…
SIT back…MAYBE ecogreen wind turbine thing MIGHT work out…HAVE to Reaaaaaaaaaally read those “studies”, talk to a ENGINEER,etc. I read,hear,see X…PROJECTS alll over the place…for ALL THE “JUICE” being proposed could POWER THE WHOLE NE USA…NOT just a DIFFERENT less energy consuming LESS intensive OLD style mfg NEOhio…UNLESS I AM misconstruing something here…NO idea wha the H 1st Energy gonna do w/2 nukie deals…or other…MAYBE VISIONS OF folks pulling into those electric eco ‘stations’ (U can pretty much guess from web WHO is out there….HANDFUL soo FAR…ARE big Names looking into ThAT…BE A FOO to not think THAT..)…
BUT WHO wants to be AN EXPERIMENT? Nooooooooooo ‘explanation’ far as FIVE W’s….WHO,what,were,when,why..or HOW MUCH…. TRY N SELL THAT… A *$*@ way to **@ a BLaCK PRESIDENT…”OURS”…INDirectly…poo poo eco thing…yeah SOME of THAT…BUT…
FORrr allll the changes being done in Detroit TO whutever far as engineering to whutever….WONT be instantaneous…IF WANT a paradigm here….
HOW long talkin bout ALLLL THIS?! SERIouusly… MAYBE MIGHT have been done but w/POLITICO CORRUPTION, nepotism thing (ok soo THAT is semi nickel dime…wellll…NOT so but happens…or HAD happened..), ISSUE 6, KASICH n alll the rest of it I JUST dont see.. U KNOW WHICH HUGE firms w/tentacles here trying to get X… BUT GONNA HAVE to FIND ANOTHER WAY OF DOING THAT…. atmosphere JUST tooo poisoned…n FEARS OF AUDITORS to…MOOD NOT there…..
U See Cityhall, Citycouncil or a NEOSA or ANYone jumping up n down doin a rah rah lets bring it HERE type deal….CASINO yes…MedicalMart? “tthhhhhhhhhhhhat” was ABOVE ALL ELSE A REAL PR *$*@&&^%^$$# fiasco…TIME will tell…MAY have legs.. T H R E E years thou TIL OPEN DOORS….LOT can happen in THAT meantime…SPACE would still have value,etc. I AM NOT a convention biz dude or ANY of THAT…FIRST to admit… but “THAT” HELPED BRING ABOUT Issue 6 n rest of it….THAT IS A REAL CHICKEN,egg thing….SUSPECT a THIRD OF THAT crew gonna trudge on dooown to casinocentral n fling a few or play a few hands….INITIALLY SHOULD be a BUMP UP for local econ.. A MUCH MORE NUANCED whutever POLITICALLY…try TRY n peddle THAT to anyone outside of downtown….
LOCAL BIZ CREW…SHOULD BE DOWN ON KNEES SAYING THANK U GOD for getttin us X n call it quits…
FOLKS FEAR STUCK w/X…whether nickel,dime other LET ALONE public pensions,sewer rate hikes n all the rest of it….
I KNOW SOUND LIKE A OLD crab BUT IT Alll comes across AS….
bob w.
I APPROVE THIS message….
bob w.
LOOK AT IT….LOOK WHO IS SITTING IN GOVERNORS office…Ok LOT of stuff LED to…A LOT GOT DONE “TO” Cleveland,etc.LOT was DONE FOR..but finally…WHOLE bunch of whutever…FINalllyt CMSDs are FINALLy getting INTO THE STEM 2 schools n all THAT…AFTER the horse fled the barn….
NO idea if THAT techie webhead is gonna save us all or not…NUANCED deal…sad need deaths,quits,transfers,basement biz,retirements,PT jobs piecemealed together n all the rest of it to FINALLY SORTA get it going…n EVERY OTHER gal wants,IS a healthcare worker or nursie w/30% OF THAT crew trudging TO univ.circle land….
bob w.
Mason..wha LOOK SANE COMPARED TO *$*@* gerbilheaded MANMADE BIRDWATCHER ISLAND proposals or OTHER…WHA just flung OUT there…GRAB THE POLITICO PAC $ or what… NOT a BradyBacker but THAT was SUCH A *$*@…suspect semi fears of MORE *$*@ or ‘payback’ for Medmart or fears of Univ.C taking over REST of CleveLAND or…
HATE sayin THIS BUT EVErrrrrrrrrrrry time SOMEONE LIFTS A PEN OR SHOVEL its this *$*@…SOME IS OK…BUT…
RUNNING OUT OF CLEVELANDERS w/$ willing to pay X…noveau richie Yup crew…GOT HOW MANY abatements TO….WHA or WHO ‘exactly’ doin work for…
WE LOST HOW many FORTUNE 500s,600s n every other whutever…DOWNSCALED,merged,outsourced,globalized,etc. IT DONT jive….maybe its me..but… TEXASLAND n rest…SNAGGED HOW much…n GOLF COURSE LOOKS HOW ENTICING… THAT battle…
TIMES WHEN REALLY HAVE TO WUNDER if not for X if NOT better to JUST PACK IT UP N…A GUESS A BALANCE IS REACHED…sorta…ONLY thing keeping THAT from gettin to THAT level…wha go to La or whutever n get som $*@* in some **$@ warehouse or factory doin **$@ for $7/hr PT?? I GUESS IFMAKE *$*@ enough CATCH religion,get the degree n move on…TOUGH road…
bob w.
LIBERTIES…hear U..its tough…THEY are TRYING TO DO THEIR thing…MOST times NOT A *$*@…THEY FEAR for OWN safety…IT can get X…X HAPPENS..it ‘feeds’…IS part of the job…
PHRASE IT THIS way…RUSHVILLE IND… AOL weird news or one of those…Senior…prank time..gigglegaggle..package..put on hoodie n gloves..GALS bathroom…in past would have been a **$@ ok put the SEX BLOWUP doll in the corner the HS office staff make comments n ‘decorate said’….[it sunglasses to a shirt on said…BUT w/in a POST 911 COLUMBINE world n all the rest of it…YUP… dogs, WallyE bomb remover robo n semi army of cops show up….NO idea…ASSUme worst…SAD…OTHER SCHOOLS..how many times ‘threats’…on internet TO…PROBABLY just **$*@… think BRUCE IVANS…HIM…THAT was a *$*@…THIS 60 or NEAR 60sh type NIH bio whutever who…SADDER part is NOW I COULD get tracked JUST for typing IN a few… in REALITY NEAR impossible to make let alone send THAT kind of ‘stuff’….BUT ITS ALL THE *$*@* …..
THAT I CAN SEE HOW IT STARTS gettin to cops n others…SAD…
SAD IS WHEN REMEMBER WAY world was…used to be Ok this is kinda kool n funky n no issues,etc. NOW idea wha gonna run into….GUESS IF ANY silver lining…GALS take ONE look n say *$*@* this… EXPLAINS THE INSANE ENROLLMENT LEVELS AT ANYTHING…Nooo wunder WHY sooo MANY DOWN AT ANY ed institution….
bob w.
LINE between sayin X n ….. DEPENDS ON WHICH gov WERE n all THAT…burbia…LOT hardER to do…n LITTLE backing…gets into THAT….OWN birdcage if want to get into THATttt….n STUCK MOWING n painting n *$*@ rest OF THAT birdcage toooo….
bob w.
Its TUFF….if *$*@ w/cop…A RECORD…turned into a sextoy DOWNnnn at n ALLL THAT jazz..SPIRALS… WEBWORLD…the BELIZE parakeet KNOWS your record…. MAYBE SHOULD be THANKFUL…ENOUGH DO stand up n….BETTER BE SURE THE RIGHT battlefield….
bob w.
SOME politicos…HARD standing BEHIND…RIGHT IN A SENSE..BUT….SOME ARE JUST sooo *$*&@*… waiting for Kucinich luv letters FROM SEATTLE….
bob w.
Flit thru a Plain Dealer…Yeahhh..good paper…STILLlll…SOME sense of beacon OF… yeah *$82 sells… cant peddle *$2 all the time…. THINK OF THE RIBBING POLITICOS gonna get FOR doin or sayin X…while folks AVOIDING chuckholes TO…. THINK Voinivich park bridge..FOR HANDFUL of times a GoodTimie2 gonna slide thru THERE…. I like greenspace n all THAT tooooo BUT…But…A WHAT were HOW MECHANICALLY $*@*…THINK OF OUR “OTHER NONlifting bridges”…. the ONE cables were cut tooo short?! S happens..still…. COULDNT have this simpler ‘deal’….gotta be ALL THAT?! $4 MIL for WHAT were in a CITY W/WHAT KIND OF BUDGET deficits? ??
bob w.
n WUNDER WHY THE *$* at ballot box….wha few hundred handful Faithful sho wup to punch chadclogging ballot box deals…
bob w.
PUT THIS ANOTHER way….flit thru web..TYPE IN ANYTHING…see wha mean…and if IF WE STIlll look like *$*@*…NEVER mind WHA already OUT there,etc. I cant even describe it…wha WE look tame go w/OUR deal type hopeful Moment?! PUT ANOTHER way….AND HALF THE WEB SURFING WORLD OUT there or here CANT deal w/it…MINDBLOWING is idea SOMEONE CAN USE computers,etc. USE X,etc. n yet GET ALL *$*@ out of shape when Y suggested or X techie is out there to be used..or could be…. OLD YESTERYEAR world DIES hard….
SADDER IS REST OF *$82 STILlllllllllllllll THAT way toooo…. I FEEL FOR X for TRYING n getting kicked in teeth for it n feel like a Foo FOR trying to…
Jack McGuane
Sometimes it’s good to be wrong, even better to admit it. Your bad is almost always my good. There are no losers in God’s chess game, are there Mansfield?