Eugene Kane and the Mayfair Mall Brawl

Eugene Kane has NOT made a New Year's resolution to stop acting as an apologist for thugs.

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kane writes, "Black males must be taught to heal themselves."

It was not exactly the best way to kick off a bout of day-after-Christmas shopping. But seeing how this is Milwaukee, a big holiday brawl caught on tape for a nation to see wasn't surprising.

"Did you see the big fight at Mayfair on TV?"

That's what one friend asked after I returned from a recent vacation.

Seeing how this is Milwaukee, he didn't even have to tell me the fight involved a bunch of young black males at Mayfair Mall. It was yet another YouTube moment for our fair city, a raucous scene in a clothing store at the mall the day after Christmas.

It had to be replayed over and over on local and national TV stations for the entertainment of possibly millions.

Call it a brawl, a melee or just a pretty scary scenario for innocent bystanders; thankfully, nobody called it a riot.

That would have been over the top for a fight that apparently left no one injured and didn't require much police response before it was over. But, again, seeing how this is Milwaukee, for some it represented yet another sign of Armageddon.

Young black men, ruining things for everyone.

Kane seems to think that those racist Milwaukeeans overreacted to the after Christmas incident at the Wet Seal in Mayfair Mall.



According to Kane, no big deal. After all, no one was injured and it "didn't require much police response before it was over."

Of course, thanks to the thugs, the store was such a mess that it had to close for over an hour on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But Kane doesn't seem to think that was a problem.

In fact, Kane spins the thugs' behavior as progress.

He writes:

Someone has to teach them how to heal themselves.

In terms of resources, I agree with recommendations to divert some money being spent fighting terrorism overseas and at home to fund the urban warfare against homegrown "insurgents" in the central cities who terrorize their own communities with guns. But just like in the fight against terrorism, it's important not to racially profile every young black male as a troublemaker and instead concentrate on the really bad guys.

After the Mayfair Mall incident, one local TV station interviewed one of the alleged participants, who apologized for his part in the melee but insisted he was just trying to protect a friend from attack. It didn't make the incident any less shocking, but it did suggest some of these fellows actually do recognize their antisocial behavior and can feel remorse.

My friend suggested the Mayfair Mall brawl might be a harbinger of a positive change in terms of a more desirable mentality among young black males.

"At least they were fighting fair with their fists instead of using guns," he offered.

Strange as it may seem, in an age where young black men often end up killing each other, a brawl in a mall with no casualties might qualify as reason to give thanks for small favors. Now, we have to get them to take the next step, which is not wanting to fight at all.

Yes, let's cut back on spending to fight the terrorists that obliterated the World Trade Center and slaughtered nearly 3000 people in a couple of hours. Put those funds into controlling the homegrown "insurgents."

Insurgents?

Kane gets to equate the black male thugs with the likes of al Qaeda terrorists. I doubt Kane would allow a white suburbanite to do the same.

Anyway, forget about the damage and disorder at Mayfair.

There were no guns in this clash. Progress! Baby steps in the right direction!

Kane thinks the lesson here is that the thugs must learn to heal.

I think they need to learn to respect people and property.

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

Basic stuff. That's not difficult to teach. It doesn't cost anything. One simple, easy to remember rule.

It's interesting that Kane notes "some of these fellows actually do recognize their antisocial behavior and can feel remorse."

So if they know they're behaving badly and what they're doing is wrong, shouldn't they be held responsible for committing their antisocial acts rather than being depicted as the helpless victims of an unjust society?

I don't think Kane would know Armageddon if it came up and bit him.

Such blindness is part of the problem.