Mayfair Mall and the Race Card

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there is an absolutely idiotic editorial about the situation at Mayfair Mall.

It appears that many people in the region think it's time to crack down on the behavior of some young people at Mayfair Mall and other public places. The urge is understandable. The policies being put in place seem reasonable. The region cannot afford another Northridge, the shopping mall that fell prey to the perception that it was not a safe place to shop.

But let's remember: Mayfair is nowhere near that stage. It is arguably the area's premier shopping mall, drawing 17 million visitors a year, according to mall officials. Yes, among those visitors is a small group of young people who - on certain days and after certain hours - make shopping an uncomfortable experience for others. There have been a few incidents of violence and crime that could bode ill for the mall's future if authorities fail to respond.

A few incidents?

I guess it's not a surprise that The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board would minimize the problems.

The Board has a history of showing tolerance for violence, whether it's perpetrated by city of Milwaukee thugs or al Qaeda terrorists or Saddam Hussein's henchmen.

Maybe a few teens don't have a good idea of how to behave in a public place. And maybe the perception of some shoppers has a lot to do with race and class.

Perception does matter. It matters a lot.

I perceive the Editorial Board to be playing the race card -- AGAIN.

The Board is accusing Mayfair officials and its clientele of wanting to keep their mall populated with the white and the rich.

How lame!

Is it possible that some shoppers and store owners at Mayfair are racists?

Absolutely.

Is it fair to assert that Mayfair's new policies to control violence and crime there are racially motivated?

Absolutely not.

That's a huge and completely unsubstantiated leap to make.

Has any Mayfair official said, "Keep out the blacks and Hispanics"?

Are shoppers asking for Mayfair to be a Minority Free Zone?

I haven't seen any indication of that anywhere.

So where did the Editorial Board come up with their theory that the policies are grounded in race and class issues?

I think it came out of their little liberal heads. It's their creation.

It's the same old, same old crap.