After the 2007 Juneteenth Day festival, Pat Kasthurirangaian became Milwaukee's Reginald Denny.
One year after Kasthurirangaian was savagely attacked by Marcus Chisolm and others, Eugene Kane interviewed this nationally known victim of Milwaukee's 2007 Juneteenth Day aftermath.
Kane writes that Kasthurirangaian "is doing quite well, thank you."
That's great to hear. Given the viciousness of the attack, it's a blessing that Kasthurirangaian survived and appears to be free of debilitating permanent injuries.
According to Kane, "It was a matter of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Yeah... No.
I think such a statement minimizes what happened to Kasthurirangaian. In a civilized society, there should be no such wrong place or wrong time.
No one should be driving a car, be surrounded by a group of thugs who bust the windshield, and then be brutally beaten.
Kasthurirangaian, a 44-year-old native of India who became a U.S. citizen after attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suddenly became the face of random violence. And for a short time, it wasn’t a pretty face; the attack left this husband and father of three children with an orbital fracture, a chipped tooth and other injuries, and he had to have surgery.
Still, his resolve to remain in the area didn’t waver. When I interviewed him just days after the attack, it was surprising — and admirable — to hear him refuse to express bitterness against Juneteenth Day organizers and not try to blame anyone other than the individuals who actually did the deed.
Last Thursday, I stopped by to visit Kasthurirangaian at his Riverwest store, the Burleigh Market at E. Burleigh and N. Buffum streets. I found him in strikingly good condition, healed from his injuries and in great shape due to an increased exercise schedule.
His attitude was just as strong, too.
“I’m still heavily invested in this neighborhood,” he said, speaking about more than just money but also his desire to have an impact on the lives of his surrounding neighbors. “Everybody who works in my store lives within a block from here.”
Along with running his store, Kasthurirangaian — not surprisingly, most folks just call him “Pat” — is involved in an ambitious project to open a commercial development at N. 6th and W. Vine streets. with grants from the Small Business Administration and the state. With his partners, he’s determined to bring economic prosperity to the area while practicing a personal doctrine of diversity in employment practices.
Since last year, the publicity over his beating has receded. For a while, the videotape of his beating was broadcast so often on local television that it seemed like he had a new nickname: “The guy who got beat up at Juneteenth Day.”
Kasthurirangaian remains thankful for the outpouring of support from the community after his ordeal, including several fund-raisers that helped pay for his surgery. The court system also helped keep him abreast of the whereabouts of his primary attacker, Marcus Chisolm, who is serving time in the House of Correction after pleading guilty to aggravated battery.
Although many pointed to the incident as a sign of eroding safety in the central city, Kasthurirangaian never seemed to think of the Juneteenth incident as anything more than a random event. He does acknowledge an increased police presence in his Riverwest neighborhood since last year’s troubles, for which he’s grateful.
Kasthurirangaian has a remarkable attitude. More power to him.
But that's not Kane's point. His column isn't so much about Kasthurirangaian being a determined, strong-willed man as it is about the white people who were horrified by the scenes of his beating and the white people who harass Kane with racist comments.
Had the video of the attack not been shown on local TV so much, had Kasthurirangaian not become such a well known victim, there would not have been such concern in the wider community about what was happening in the central city.
The images told a story and it wasn't the story of a random event.
It was a tale of a city on the brink. Police Chief Nan Hegerty needed to be replaced, and she was.
Ed Flynn came in and, in effect, declared war on the disorder that was taking hold.
He brought extremely heavy security to Juneteenth Day. Police on top of buildings? A helicopter? Police in riot gear on horseback and motorcycles? That's dramatic by any assessment.
That's not the way to respond to a random event. Yes, Kasthurirangaian was randomly chosen to be attacked; but the culture of violence that permeates too much of too many areas of the city isn't random. It's an ugly slice of everyday life in Milwaukee.
Kane goes on to frame the 2008 Juneteenth Day festival as a test for Flynn and other leaders.
...The success of last week’s Juneteenth Day was partly attributed to the increased police presence. Frankly, if the Milwaukee police had not been able to ensure a peaceful celebration this year, it would have been an abject failure for new Chief Edward Flynn and any of the various community leaders who vowed there would be no problems.
If the thugs had managed to take over Juneteenth Day again, that would have been a sure sign the urban terrorists were winning.
I give Kane credit for calling the thugs "urban terrorists." That's strong language and it fits.
I don't like that he puts the responsibility for a peaceful celebration on the Milwaukee police. Instead, he should focus on the failure of those in the community to cooperate with police and show zero tolerance toward the thugs. He should address those giving cover to the urban terrorists and the urban terrorists themselves.
Kane ends his column with a racial slam:
It was disappointing to get the impression that many Milwaukeeans seemed almost hopeful there would be problems at Juneteenth Day to validate their negative opinions about black people. But they had to save their phone calls and e-mails for another time, possibly African World Festival later this summer.
First, people harassing Kane with racist phone calls and e-mails are thugs of a different sort, but thugs nonetheless.
Such behavior is absolutely inexcusable. Rather than demeaning blacks, they demean themselves with their slime. INEXCUSABLE.
That said, I wonder how many Milwaukeeans Kane actually believes hoped for problems at Juneteenth Day this year.
How many Milwaukeeans does he believe are hoping that violence erupts at African World Festival?
There is no question that Kane is trashing "many Milwaukeeans."
The ones calling and e-mailing him with racist comments deserve to be trashed, but they are a small, small group. They may be persistent in their harassment, but they aren't a reflection of "many Milwaukeeans."
The way Kane paints white Milwaukeeans as racist is no different than whites painting black Milwaukeeans as violent thugs.
I'm sick of it. It's not fair. It's not reality.
Kane needs to get off of his one-way street and become part of the solution.
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