I Want Eugene Kane to be Happy

I want Eugene Kane to be happy.

He's a tortured soul, poor guy. So much of his pain seems to be race-related.

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kane writes about the Simon City Royals.

Actually, he's not really writing about that gang. He's writing about the non-reaction of a small group of people. He's writing about their lack of communication with him in regard to the gang.

Something seemed strange in my world last week.

Days after law enforcement officials announced multiple charges against members of a violent local gang with ties to drug-dealing, battery, loan-sharking and delivering contraband to inmates, there was a baffling silence from some of my regular readers.

These are the folks who make it a habit to shoot off an e-mail or leave a phone message (after hours, of course) time and time again after similar news of nefarious activity breaks. These are the folks in town who never tire of reminding me, once again, that “your people” have proven why so many Milwaukeeans do their best to keep a safe distance from black neighborhoods and black folks in general.

I braced myself for the usual torrent of commentary from those people who send messages whenever stories like the “chicken grease trial” of black drug dealers or the assorted crackdowns on violent street gangs by Milwaukee police or any random act of violence by black people hit the headlines.

But after hearing about the culmination of a 20-month investigation by Milwaukee police, state and federal agents that resulted in numerous charges against 16 people affiliated with the so-called (name deleted) gang, I wondered why my usual suspects were missing in action.

As it turned out, it was only after the media printed photos of the suspects that it all started to make sense. Most of the members of this gang were white.

This particular gang (I don’t put the names of gangs in the newspaper; they don’t deserve the publicity) was reportedly run by a group of convicted criminals with longtime roots in Chicago during a time when white street gangs were just as violent as any black or Hispanic gang.

In fact, notorious white gangs that deal drugs and intimidate with violence have existed in major cities for decades, but their public relations must be sorely lacking.

Some people apparently don’t believe there are any white gangs, other than “The Sopranos.”

Thugs are thugs. Race is utterly beside the point. Getting the bad guys off the streets is a victory for the good guys and the community.

I don't want to be a victim of crime. If I were, I wouldn't feel better about it if the assailant had white skin. Who would?

I really think it would help Kane if he learned to let go of this group of "regular readers."

Why address them? Why listen to their phone messages or read their e-mails?

They don't deserve his attention.

Kane doesn't put the names of gangs in his columns. He says they don't deserve the publicity.

I don't think Kane's harassers deserve the publicity either. Enough already.

I agree with Kane's assertion that the "fact remains that judging an entire group of people based simply on guilt by association is clearly wrong."

For example, all priests are not child molesters. The overwhelming majority are good men, but that doesn't stop many from equating all priests as dangerous.

I don't hang on to the hate spewed by those people attacking my Church.

The fact is there will always be haters, but there will also be good people to counter that hate.

Kane shouldn't keep feeding the beast.

Surely, he can use his column for something better than bickering with the haters.

There's a time for dealing with racial issues, but this constant battling with his harassers is pointless.

It's not healthy for him to wallow in the hate and it's not helpful to the community for Kane to stoke the flames of divisiveness and create an impression of rampant racism.

Kane should bury his harassers in the unmarked grave of discarded phone and e-mail messages.

Enough.