"The Great Bus Hate Crime"

Once again, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane exposes himself to be part of the problem rather than the solution.

I've previously commented on some of his especially offensive columns and remarks.

His column appearing in Thursday's Journal Sentinel, "Bus story cries out for some perspective," cries out for me to pick it apart.

I first read it in the wee small hours of Thursday morning when it was posted online. It was so outrageous that I thought it warranted a post.

I didn't get to it before sleep got to me. I decided not to waste my time.

Kane acting as an apologist for utterly unacceptable behavior, deflecting attention from the real issue and the real problem, playing the race card -- same old, same old.

Anyway, I don't really want to give Kane attention. I get the feeling he loves getting under people's skin. I think he relishes the thought of getting people riled up.

That makes his columns in Wisconsin's largest newspaper even more disgusting. I don't like taking part in the sick game he plays.

So usually I ignore him. But his most recent column is so irresponsible that I want to make a few comments because the issue of crime in Milwaukee is so serious and Kane's attitude about it is so detrimental to the city.

The way Kane mocks the beating of a white man by a group of blacks on a Milwaukee County bus exemplifies an attitude that is at the root of Milwaukee's crime crisis.

Kane dismisses the bus incident as not worth mentioning when compared to the brutal beating of Frank Jude Jr. by off duty Milwaukee police officers.

The cases are in completely different leagues, no question about it; but that doesn't mean that the beating of "a 20-year-old student at Milwaukee Area Technical College" by "a bunch of black teenagers on their way from Mayfair Mall back to the central city of Milwaukee" should be dismissed.

Kane writes:

This story cries out for some perspective, particularly in a community where sensational crimes involving homicide, gang rape and outrageous child abuse emerge from both the black and white communities. Given the level of violence in some areas of town, it's hard to muster up any outrage over a fight on a bus.

No, it's not.

It shouldn't be hard for Milwaukee County residents, black or white or any race, to "muster up" outrage at violence.

Why should people not care about what he mockingly calls the "Great Bus Hate Crime"?

Does it pale in comparison to other acts of shocking brutality committed in the dying city of Milwaukee?

Yes.

Does that mean the bus incident doesn't warrant concern?

No.

However, for Kane, the relatively minor beating of a white man by a group of black teens isn't worth getting upset about; and that's a problem.

Why NOT sweat the small stuff?

Why excuse any level of violence?

Why should any hate crime be brushed off as inconsequential?

Why promote desensitization to thuggery?

Yes, Kane is definitely part of the problem.

He should be ashamed.