The following letter was provided by Jansen Robinson, Chair of the Edgewood Community Council:
Racism is defined as the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another”.
Discrimination is a sociological term that refers to treatment taken toward or against a person of a certain group that is taken in consideration based on class or category.
Several years ago-and prior to any BRAC revelations, the issue on the table was over-crowded high schools north of I- 95. However the high schools south of I-95 had excess capacity. Also it was revealed that at that time total school enrollment had increased slightly. But not enough to warrant a new school.
There were discussions regarding redistricting to make use of existing resources/space in the county to reduce overcrowded in high schools north of I-95. So some children north of I-95 would be attending schools south of I-95.
Many (but not all) of the parents of children north of I-95 were adamantly opposed to having their children redistricted to schools south of I-95. Publicly they cited “housing values” south of I-95 as the reason for not wanting their children to attend schools south of I-95. And as a result of the protests from these parents Patterson Mill Middle/High was built. A reasonable person might ask “What does the value of the homes south of I-95 have to do with filling empty seats in those schools? Could a reasonable person reach the conclusion that the racial make-up of the schools south of I-95 was the reason for their objections and not home values?
It appears that the taxpayers of Harford County paid to build a new school simply to appease the parents of children attending schools north of I-95. And, and at a time when we had more than enough school capacity in the Harford County schools. If this is true is it Racism or Discrimination? And, I do not recall any protests from the Tax Rebellion Crowd then- But why not?
School officials, some political officials and some members of the tax rebellion crowd will attempt to defend the use of taxpayer’s money by using BRAC as a reason to build this new school. But remember this was before BRAC was even on an issue. No one (myself included) said one word about this blatant use of taxpayers’ dollars to fund what appears to be a decision based upon something other than need.
Fast forward to this latest issue regarding President Obama’s speech. And remember the information that was presented by the school system (not the media).
First, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction stated that the school would not air the speech live-but that the speech would be reviewed for instructional content, and then presented to children at a later date.
Then the school leadership said that the reason for not airing the speech live was due to the limited bandwidth. This was followed by an elaborate presentation by the school system to try and justify their actions, and to demonstrate how well their original plan actually worked. Recent information received from a number of sources reveals that Harford County schools were permitted to watch the inauguration-live. There were no bandwidth issues then. If this revelation is correct-then there appears to be a pattern taking shape.
Could a reasonable person ask that if the HCPS’s bandwidth was the real reason for not airing the speech live-then why not say so from the outset? Would a reasonable person deny that race appears to be the primary factor in the above cited issues? I believe Dr. Wheeler to be a reasonable person. He has intimate knowledge of these and other race-related incidents that have occurred in this county that have not received public attention. And remember, how he wrestled with himself over the use of the word. So give Dr. Wheeler a break. Because a reasonable person could have reached the same conclusion as Dr. Wheeler’s. The difference is that Dr. Wheeler was bold enough not continue to hide his head in the sand.
The question now is where do we go from here and more importantly how can we get there together? That is why I believe there is a need for a County-Wide discussion about Race Relations (which some have already rejected). Why-because scripture tell us that a house divided against it self will fall. And because we all loose when good people stand by and let evil persist. Harford County has been blessed with an opportunity that many communities only wish for-that is BRAC.
If we continue to let our skin color us- then we reduce our opportunities to take full advantage of what BRAC could bring to all of our communities. We must not let those with alternative motives prevent this community from moving forward.
Our President has suggested that we talk with those with whom we have differences. The alternative is to bury our heads in the sand (e.g. gangs) and pretend that our differences will go somehow just go away-that is until the next time something happens.
I have suggested that the Human Relations Commission convene a planning meeting so that we may start this conversation to determine how we move forward in spite of any of our perceived differences. And, I would invite others who are sickened by what we do and say to and about one another to join me in saying that enough is enough. Who knows, we might begin to realize that we have far more commonalities than differences.
Jansen Robinson, Chair
Edgewood Community Council
It’s a fact of life, that rental properties and low income housing will lower your property value. If a person does not own something, he/she has no pride of ownership and cannot value it as they would their own. Couple this mindset with section 8 housing, where a person has their rent paid for them, and this community cannot muster the will to help themselves.
We all start out the same, that is to say, we have the same opportunities available to us at birth. Some are raised to be achievers and to depend on their own abilities and hard work, others are taught that the world owes them something and by any means necessary, get what is owed you. Race doesn’t factor into this equation, unless you choose to insert it. I’ve seen white and black rise above their surroundings and expectations and achieve great things, and, I’ve seen white and black refuse to put their families first and clamor for the goverment to keep them.
I’ve seen a black man rise to the most powerful position in the world, at the same time a white man embezelled more money than anyone has ever before.
If we work hard and put our families first, lay the groundwork of a good education that is available to all, become an asset to the company who employs us, we can have the things we desire. If we desire to live in a certain neighborhood because the schools are good and that is important to our childrens development, we are free to. We recognize that it will cost us more to live there, but it’s alright because were used to working for what we desire. Now, if I did just that and you told me that I had to send my child to a school that has lowered performance scores, I would have an issue also. I’ve worked hard and paid extra to have this address and have my children attend a certain school. A school where other kids parents have made the same sacrifice and worked hard to live in the attendance area. Playing field equalized, white and black.
President Obama is the worst leader in the history of the North American Continent, going back to Montezuma. He blew past Carter awhile back, but Carter may catch up because he’s the gift that keeps on giving. He says one thing and does another, then, he says another thing and does still another. Watch what he does and not what he says. He stated that the Cambridge Police acted “stupidly” before he knew the details of the arrest, maligning an honorable cop for doing his job. He sat in Jeremiah Wrights church for twenty years while Pastor Wright preached black nationalism, although he remembers little of it. Pfleger, Van Jones, etc, etc.
Barack Obama has no answers for racial problems in the United States. He is a political animal of the Chicago machine and will sell out any person or group of people who stand between him and his goals.
I live in a Rt 40 town. I’ll tell you how bad the schools stink here and why, but you would say race. It’s beacuse of parents who haven’t wanted to be bothered with their children since they were born, who will show up enmasse to a football game but can’t spare 15 minutes for a parent teacher conference, whose children run the streets and join gangs because there is no supervision. It’s because of parents who tell their children that the color of their skin will work against them and parents who are angry at their lot in life and believe they deserve more “things”, and pass that anger on to their kids like a disease. Poor white parents who revel in being “trash” because it’s easier than trying to rise above it.
Were all Gods children and He sees no colors. How silly is it actually, to judge someone on the color of their skin?
The cry of the social darwinist: we all have the a same opportunities available to us at birth. If you believe a child born into poverty, to a single parent, with an IQ of 100, has the same opportuniies in life as a child born in Monkton, to a two parent family of means, with an IQ of 130, you are as seriously unbalanced as your hero, Ms. Rand. Clearly, life is not fair and some are born with more advantages than others.
John Galt…We all start out the same, that is to say, we have the same opportunities available to us at birth.
If we could get beyond this delusion we could have a genuine conversation about race, socio economics, schools etc. In simplistic, theoretical terms we are all the same and born with the same opportunities. However, in reality, we are not.
We can always compare the poor versus the middle class or rich. However, there are disparities amongst the middle class vs the middle class and the rich vs the rich depending on access, amount of wealth and opportunity.
I was reading an article on the internet the other day about Sasha Obama (hold your hate people she is a child)and what drew my attention to the article was the fact that she is learning to speak Mandarin Chinese at school. Elementary School. Of course she attends private school with many other priviledged children but this is an example of the different opportunites afforded to different people. Life isn’t fair and we are not all equals. I don’t know of a public or private school in HC that teaches Mandarin Chinese. (Not to say one doesn’t exist, I simply don’t know about it). I am not blaming the government, businesses, race or rich people. I don’t buy the we are all “equal” argument. I believe at some point in time an opportunity will arise and one should take the opportunity and build off of it.
FYI, John Carroll has been teaching Chinese for about 4 years.
I cannot believe I am saying this….John Galt that was an awesome response and I could not agree more!…well I agree with the talk about the parenting….not 100% agreement with your Obama rant but that is okay if we agreed on Obama too the world would probably stop turning. HCPS gives every child who wants to learn and be successful a perfectly good chance at it, regardless of the school district. Parents should stop whining that you live below 95 and instead lift your school up if you want your school to be the popular, “desired” one…and you will also see your property values rise.
And while you’re at it vote down any politician who supports a continuation of Section 8. With that money we could fund a rapid transit system from APG directly to the depressed areas along 40/95, tear down the section 8 housing and replace it with Habitat for Humanity-style homes which could be built by volunteers through Americorps or we could put the unemployed to work at a fair wage building the homes, then they could purchase the homes they build at an affordable rate and TAKE PRIDE IN THEIR NEW COMMUNITY! But most of the politically connected in the county own rental property along these areas or take donations from people who do….and so there is no willpower to change it and demolish Section 8.
I’am not against low income houseing, for the Handicapped & elderly other than that it is a breeding ground for drug’s and crime.& able bodyed people who are able to work.
Being someone staunchly advocating removal of section 8, I mean in the sense of removing it for people who are not elderly or truly disabled. Places such as catholic charities, shelter group, etc. where it is restricted to only edlderly people and it is a well maintained, appealing retirement home kind of facility, I would be okay with keeping.
But the problems of section 8 stem from the other rental properties which have section 8, not the facilities for the elderly and disabled.
Shelter Group has it’s share of ”problem’s” they bought Baldwin Manor apartment’s. made some improvement’s. No change in drug’s crime etc.
Section 8 wouldn’t face such a stigma and be opposed by so many people if landlords were willing to throw those problem renters on the program out.
The most serious issue with Section 8 renters, according to some of the apartment complexes in Harford County, isn’t drugs or crime, but renters (usually women) who let their boyfriends, relatives and friends stay at their place without informing management. But since Section 8 is guaranteed money, most landlords who allow it turn a blind eye.
As for the continuing Route 40 saga, I’ve lived in Havre de Grace all my life, attended HDG Elementary, HDG Middle, graduated from HDG High and I think those schools are pretty darn good. Just because the population in this area is poorer doesn’t mean it’s any worse. The poor are not just dwelling from HDG to Edgewood, they are all over the county these days, and apathetic parents come from all walks of life.
But to my understanding that is not a seniors-only but rather a “low-income” complex. I say get rid of all “low-income” section 8 and leave a program for “low-income edlderly or disabled”. And by disabled I mean people who basically need a nursing home kind of facility. Truly disabled, not collecting disability “disabled”.
thanks HDGreader,
but you offer no solution….I say of course bad apples appear from all parts of the county and all socio-economic groups. But do not tell those of us who also lived here our whole lives and also think our route 40 schools are pretty good if the child tries hard, that we cannot have the option to get rid of the section 8. Every part of Baltimore which hemmoraged population and declined and has failed to rebound at all is a concentration of public housing or section 8.
Every neighborhood in the 21014 and 21015 ZIPs that is struggling to atleast hold some of the property value increases that occured in the 90’s is situated next to a section 8 apartment complex. I too lived here my whole life and have seen it. And I pay a lot of attention to property values and sales and neighborhood stability. Section 8 does alter the neighborhood or town surrounding it for the worse.
We do not think getting rid of it automatically rids the world of bad apples, but if they have the choice to get a job to pay the real unsubsidized rent, or to be homeless, or get a job to pay for a newly built or renovated home that is made through a new Public Works program to bring down the unemployment, that things would be pressured to change from the status quo.
Section 8 housing is doable. It would take making some of the state and federal money that goes to the property owners, earmarked for security measures which include cameras and 24 hour security personnel to monitor the cameras and provide door to door checks. Require that the tenents work, making several of the single moms with children daycare providers for the ones with jobs. It would have to be a no-mans land for men, women and children only, and it would have to have an expiration date.
We aren’t willing to do this though. There’s too much freedom given with the money for section 8 and it always ends up being a place not fit for raising children. I lived in Tranquility Townhomes in the 90s and the owner, Stanley Lewis, had a pretty good system. No section 8, any drug arrests or convictions, you and your family were on the street. The homes were kinda rough but the neighborhood was tolerable and the rent was affordable. Havre de Grace schools are good also.
I don’t think any form of public works project is an answer either. Government is the problem, not the solution. People like to make money and if they are given the freedom to grow business, unencumbered by heavy tax burden and over regulation, jobs are created and the business grows. Market based soultions have been the only answers since America was founded. Roosevelts New Deal actually prolonged the depression and WW II is what brought us out from under. The spending in DC has reached new levels and the National debt additions are unsustainable, and all this before including health care. The world has started walking back from our dollar. We are heading for a reckoning at some point in the future and it’s going to cost us all a lot of heartache.
Where is Section 8 housing near Patterson Mill Middle High School? I don’t think so.
Brenda…. Section 8 housing can be anywhere… any property owner could participate in the Sect 8 voucher program as long as the property passes an inspection and other limited obstacles
Correct, it could be and is in many places in Harford County. It does become a problem when a large number of Section 8 housing is grouped together in one location.
lets think about imposing penalties against nuisance dwellings like in other counties like
Baltimore County, this goes along with the registering of rental properties
The housing choice voucher program can be used anywhere in the county if the landlord’s unit passes an inspection. The county has units in all areas of the county, including Abingdon and Bel Air. In addition, Quadel Inc, a company hired by HUD to move people to the county by a judicial consent rents many properties in Bel Air, Belcamp, Fallston and many other parts west of Rte 40. It kind of easy for everyone to blame Section 8 for all the ills of Edgewood, but in fact the county does not rent in blighted areas and HUD prohibits using the program in some census tracks due to concentration of program participants. Apartment complexes that have their own program, that is project based housing can be found also in Bel Air (Season’s) and senior living units which are found all over the county.
Randian Objectivist
“We all start out the same , that is to say, we have the same opportunities available to us at birth”. Your whole argument is based on this false premise. Do you actually believe that there are not inherent benefits in intellect, looks, social class, family make-up, and genetic health predispositions? Can you claim that a child born into poverty has as much of a chance to become successful as one born to wealth? Or that a child born with an IQ of 85 has as much chance of succeeding in life as one born with anu IQ of 120? Or that being born with a predisposition to organic mental illness does not change your chances of success?
he just doesn’t care because he obviously had a good lot in life and doesn’t want any sliver of it possibly used to promote the general welfare through ending the slums and encouraging the pride in ownership which he espouses to desire from people?
People want to have their cake and eat it too. They don’t want to fund any public works project to lower unemployment, but they also think those unemployed don’t deserve welfare or assistance for until the wonderful private sector creates jobs for them. Well, until more people become employed and start spending money to boost the economy, the private sector won’t want to start to hire again.
You can’t put the cart before the horse, and a public works project to invest in homeownership and at the same time give people a living wage to work, would be like creating the horse, which then could pull the cart (private sector/economy overall) out of this mess.
But the people who are happy with their specific circumstance and can live in a bubble with no concern about the majority of the country would not want this. Who cares that this would be a good shot to encourage a change in attitude amongst the part of society which wants but cannot have. It might cause people to have to use some extra restraint with their money earned at “private sector” jobs at many of those “defense contractors” at APG. And they’re the ones who rail against growth of government spending.
Sheesh.
well, he may not have always had a “good lot in life” but he obviously does not care currently about finding what could do the most good. Yet another “conservative” who is actually saying to keep this socialist rental program which favors only landlords receiving a government check in place, “with some changes.” He does not want to take that money and put it to a different use. Why? I am not sure.
People who see things through an ideological prism are not being objective to what is best for positive change in our society, whether liberal or conservative ideology. I think true communism and socialism are wrong, and I think that true capitalism with no taxation would be wrong. Usually somewhere in the middle lies the truth.
Tami & AmazedDem – You subscribe to the bankrupt ideology of the dominant liberal/progressives that rule the Democrat Party.
And while you may despise Ayn Rand; how do you fee about Mr. Churchill?
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” -Winston Churchill
Joe
yes, that socialist liberal ideology i subscribe to…..by advocating that we stop having subsidized rental programs??? You are too good Joe. Tood good.
Umm…. Old Winston was as racist as racist can be!
“I do not admit… that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia… by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race… has come in and taken its place.” -Churchill to Palestine Royal Commission, 1937
I don’t think I would use his quotes.
ACK – So I guess you don’t care for Churchill in spite of the fact that he deserves credit for standing up against Hitler in WWII and helped bring the U.S. into the war. You must be a Neville Chamberlain fan?
In any event since you have Churchill concerns I give you a replacement quote…
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually,
run out of other people’s money.” – Margaret Thatcher
Joe
You don’t know what I subscribe to. Don’t assume you do. And I don’t hate Rand, anymore than I do Walt Disney. Both proffer simple, uncomplicated views of life as held by children and one dimensional folk.
Tami – I think it is clear you do not subscribe to a conservative or libertarian ideology and you don’t care for Rand’s point of view.
So it begs the question what do you believe in and what do you stand for?
Joe
” So I guess you don’t care for Churchill in spite of the fact that he deserves credit for standing up against Hitler in WWII and helped bring the U.S. into the war. You must be a Neville Chamberlain fan?”
Really??? Is that what I said? No. Did I quote a known racist on an article about racism??? No.
As for Margaret Thatcher try her other quote from her election slogan in 1983:
“the National Health Care is safe with US” US of course means the UK government….
AmazedDem –
Your Democrat Party certainly is dominated by liberal/progressives and the policies promoted by Democrats are wealth re-distributive.
Joe
All policies involving the economy redistribute wealth to some extent. The difference is who they redistribute it to.
Cdev –
Actually from whom the money is taken more to the point. When you punish producers of wealth with confiscatory taxation you get less productivity, less growth and fewer jobs.
Joe
Yes but who produces the wealth, the rich guy who opens the buisness or the blue collar guys working the job. What about flat taxes? What’s your opinion on this?
CDEV – Why is it the “Rich Guy” that opens the business? Were Bill Gates or Steve Jobs rich when they started?
Maybe he wasn’t rich when he (or she) opened it. Maybe the wealth was realized after that.
Maybe Cdev? Come on. Wealth is the product of the trade of goods and services. We use the dollar to measure the wealth. Just about every successful business began because some clever, adventurous person took the risk and laid his or her hard earned wealth and.or credit on the line. When the business began to grow he or she hired people and bought/leased more property and machinery to make the thing grow. The people who work for the company took absolutely no risk. Why then is the business owner obligated to pay anything more than a FAIR wage to that person?
Cdev,
I think you’ll find that most small business owners aren’t even close to being rich. For the most part they make more than the average person does, but that hardly means they are rich.
CDEV – What is your position – who creates the wealth – the smart guy/girl that works 70 hours, takes the risk, and hires the workers Or the workers?
I’d say its a combination with the larger percentage of the credit going to the smart guy/girl that has the presence of mind to hire the right employees.
But love to read your take.
Ed I agree with you but to deny that the wealth is created by the workers who actually do the work, beside the smart person, is assinine. I never said small buisness either.
Joe
The Republicans :
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) has sponsored a bill that would allow pet owners to deduct animal care expenses — up to $3,500 a year — from their taxes.
Tell me how they are better?
Why are many of the comments avoiding the issue addressed in Mr. Robinson’s letter? His letter did not speak of the pros and cons of Section 8 housing, communism, socialism, Winston Churchill, or Rep. McCotter. It did speak of an open discussion on racism.
Because the vast majority of people are so terrified of being labeled racist that they just avoid the topic altogether. I’ve had victims of crimes hesitate to describe the suspect as a particular ethnicity (usually black, but not always) because they don’t want to appear racist and I have to practically drag that particular bit of information out of them. It’s ridiculous.
In any case, I think that it’s more an issue of socio-economic status rather than race that makes people living above I-95 reluctant to have their children attend JHS, EHS, AHS, or HdGHS (though I think people are more concerned with EHS and to a lesser extent JHS than the others.)
Patterson Mill was built to relieve overcrowding at BHS and nearby middle schools. it had nothing to do with race, discrimination or any built in bias. Most of children that were already attending the Bel Air school district and remain, even though parts of Abingdon do go to Edgewood.
A new high school was built at EHS to replace a not so old building compared to BHS. The school district line is not I95 either, so the writer is somewhat missinformed, but all the same it fit his conspiracy theory.
PMHS is already nearing full capacity and a middle school is being planned in the not so distant future. The infrastructure can’t really keep up with the construction in the Abingdon area, and now some want to reduce the impact fee to make matters even worse, but that’s for another forum I supposse.
Most of Abingdon goes to Edgewood. The dividing line on the one side of 24 is Singer road north of that goes to Bel Air and south to Edgewood. On the other side of the road it gets very interesting. If you live on Singer you seem to go to Edgewood but segments south of that go to Bel air and other segments go to Patterson Mill. I am not saying the it was racial motivated but the boundary for Patterson Mill seems to be very interesting on the right side of 24 as you go north. Enough so to ask the question why. I am not aware of a MS plan for PPM either. Edgewood HS will have surplus capacity even with the IB program and JOP has plenty of space as well. Why they shifted some kids to Fallston from Joppatowne is beyond me. If anything they should have moved some kids from Fallston to Joppatowne! Aberdeen as we all know is full but Havre de Grace has lots of space and maybe a move of Aberdeen kids north would have allowed some kids from the other side to go to Aberdeen?
Cdev, they couldn’t move any AHS kids to JHS because it would have jeopardized state reimbursement for the new wing just built. It’s all a game. Try this one. My kids started at Fallston. There was a small group of us (4) who tried to reasonably talk to the upper management, Dr. Haas, and the BOE. It was obvious. They were moving too many kids out of Fallston (enrollment is now in the low 80 something %) into BAHS. Then they were moving too many kids out of BAHS (enrollment in the 90 something%) to PMMHS which is now over capacity. Why uproot all these kids just to overcrowd another school? That’s a pretty traumatic thing. My son got moved in 8th grade. And then one day it hit me why I couldn’t get an answer. They were building EHS, which is way under capacity, bigger. Why would they do that? So they can move some of the PMMHS kids to EHS. Maybe some AHS kids too, but look for a big group to move from PMMHS to EHS. Building a Patterson Mill Middle School is no where on the capital budget yet and it is planned out many years. Supposed to happen one day, but it isn’t even on the extended budget.
I never said move ABE kids to JOP. Move FAL kids to JOP and ABE kids to HDG and BAR kids to EDG.
Racism does exist in Harford County, its everywhere in Harford County, including the police force. In an independent study of the arrests made by Sean Marston of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force in 2010, a stunning 65% of the arrests were African American. In the course of the same study it was determined that all his cases were prosecuted by Christopher Tabone of the Harford County State’s Attorney Office, who accompanied them in all the raids, wearing a Harford County Narcotics Task Force police badge. During the same study, Mr. Tabone’s recommended bail bond amounts to the Harford County Circuit Court, were 75% higher than the recommended bonds for caucasion offenders of the same offenses. The Honorable Judge Angela Eaves, kept these bonds the same even though she is african american herself, as she was the bail review judge for each of these cases. Even more stunning is the fact that a Maryland State Police Officer who was named in a 2005 Racial Profiling Lawsuit by the ACLU, a Mr. Paul J. Quill, accompanied the raid team on each expedition. Even though the outcome for some of these cases have yet to be finalized, the majority of the sentences handed down to black offenders are greater than the white offenders. This is racism disguised as justice and can only be described as persecution of African Americans in Harford County. Harford County’s Narcotics Task Force Team is simply nothing more than a legalized white supremacist organization that is bent on the destruction of the black community of Harford County. I am very depressed that one of our own, Angela Eaves, seems to be helping them persecute African Americans on her watch. I guess she forgot where she came from somewhere in between her switch from District Court to Circuit Court. This is a total travesty! Everything can be verified using the Maryland Judiciary Case Search web site for anyone that wants to say,”Here they go claiming racism again.” The entire governing body is racist, the schools are racist, the police are racist and the judicial system is racist. What more do you want to know? Harford County is racist against blacks, hispanics, orientals and most of all arabs. I can do this all day long!
Were each of those charged guilty? Should the police and court turn a blind eye to those who are guilty of crime because they happen to be black just to keep the numbers even?
Yes, Racism Proof I must agree with your point of racism!! You have proved that racism does indeed still stand in our country. I must commend you to bring the point of Judge “Mrs. Tom” Eaves to the attention of the Dagger. Justice is blind, it doesn’t see color, it sees a crime and bail is based on the distruction of society. Crime crosses all in society and is not limited to race alone. People like Robinson and Simpson like to blame the criminal justice system as being bias. It is not whites killing young blackmales in our cities or evern EDGEWOOD. It is black on black crime that is killing young blackmales. Who killed the cab driver and who killed Sammy Horn? There are some stats for you. Peoples biggest investment is there home and they moved to areas for value and for the schools. Once you drop a family into a lower economic school district, the value of that home drops. Can we say vouchers. Just stop the race baiting and for god sake when a African American make the bench;let them do there job without insulting there integrate.
We should all be thankful that Robinson did not win a school board seat.
What is integrate?
Obviously you are not seeing clearly, must be those White goggles you are wearing. Justice isn’t Blind and Harford County Justice is put the black man in jail and let him rot! Thats why all the sentences for BLACKS were larger than that of whites. Thats it, refute that or haven’t you cared to look at the stats? Its plain as day, Harford County’s police, State’s Attorneys and judges have a screw the black man agenda. I guess its pointless sharing the truth with the almighty whitey!
Sheriff Bane got almost all of the black vote in the November election. Marston is one of his boys. Ya put Bane back in so he could continue to do it to you. When will you ever learn!!
Well…if someone works in an area that is predominantly black, there is a lot of crime in that area, and most of the drug dealers and gangs are black then it stands to reason that someone is going to be arresting a high percentage of black people.
You don’t like it, then clean up your neighborhood.
Yep, 65% of the arrests were African American. If you can show me that less than 65% of the crimes were committed by African Americans, then I’ll see racism.
And as long as you and others refer to some Americans with goegraphic qualifiers such as “African”, but refer to others by color (“white offenders”), you are reinforcing the differences between Americans rather than encouraging those who wish to simply be Americans.
Hmmm – grouping folks by the color of their skin, not the content of their character. Shameful, especially at this time of the year. Shameful.
Another little statistic for you, ALL MEMBERS of the Sean Marston Hate Squad are white! Theres an interesting fact for you. What do you want? Harford County has already grouped us based on our skin! Thats why Marston singled out BLACK offenders, instead of WHITE offenders. Thats why Christopher Tabone recommended higher bails for the BLACK offenders and not the WHITE offenders. Thats why the Disgraced ANGELA EAVES kept more BLACK OFFENDERS behind bars than the WHITE offenders. The bottom line is BLACK OFFENDERS SERVE LONGER SENTENCES THAN WHITE OFFENDERS! If you can’t see racism there then maybe you should join SEAN MARSTONS hate squad and you two can both get the BLACK OFFENDERS instead of the WHITE OFFENDERS.
Sheriff Bane intends to keep it that way.
“One of our own”?
Self-segregation is a terrible thing. Your writing proves that you think that people need to stick together just because of the color of their skin, rather than their beliefs.
Angela Eaves is an elected judge, and she is serving the constituents that elected her.
Self Segregation huh, I do beleive it was Harford County that bunched us up in Edgewood and Aberdeen, so we could live in their decaying old post World War II homes made for the beloved armed services that didn’t want to live there anymore. Harford County said this is where you live for Section 8 housing, they didn’t tell us to go to BEL AIR did they? Harford County segregated us from the beginning and now you want the Black community to not look at it like its US versus THEM. Get real PONTIFICATOR, we were discriminated against the minute we stepped foot in Harford County and all we wanted was to get our kids someplace better than the ghetto to grow up in. Then Harford’s finest decide lets go get some dark meat throw em in jail and pad the statistics so we can get rid of that city trash and focus on fixing our section 8 mistakes. The facts are right in front you, take off your white goggles and maybe you racists will see a more grey issue!
I guess I missed the memo that said all black people must live in Edgewood or Aberdeen.
It sounds like you’re saying that if you’re black then you have to be living in Section 8 housing. How about you go get a job and get your own place instead of leeching off hard working taxpayers and slinging dope in the ghetto.
I missed that memo too. I am white and live in Edgewood, my friend is black and lives in Bel Air – I will call her immediately to inform her of this error…
Racism Proof – stop blaming the world for your issues. Grow up, do something positive with your irrational anger and be a better person. At a minimum, seek mental health help, your rants, thoughts and delusions show you need it.
I checked the statitics myself. It took about 10 minutes of my time. Everything is correctly stated by Racism Proof. He does have a dark way of expressing his displeasure, but I don’t think that means he has mental issues. How come everytime somebody speaks their mind on the DAGGER about the shameful law enforcement in Harford County, someone always chats about mental problems or do something positive. It is because police officers are getting on here and trying to limit damage control. Racism Proof has provided facts that show our entire system up here works against African Americans. There is no Delusion. The public knows the truth.
I guess i missed that memo as well… that comment actually made me laugh. I’m black was raised in Bel Air all my life majority of my entire family still lives there… what are you talking about…. I’m annoyed with all the people that moved into the Edgewood (rt40) areas that dont respect the community, and what about Sect 8 i wasnt aware that being black meant you were born with a Sect 8 voucher in your hand!
Just ignore this race-baiting clown. All he’s doing is getting off by trying to stir up racial arguments by using very selective stats that are 5 years old.
Henry, Paul Quill and the entire list of MSP officers named on the ACLU lawsuit for racial profiling were found to be incorrect about their practice of stopping out of state motorists that were of African American descent for no cause. So much was their wrong doing, that the MSP has had to make payments to offended parties at a huge expense to taxpayers. These men discriminated against the African American motorists and a civil court of law has ordered our illustrious Maryland State Police to pay for the damages. I don’t like paying for mistakes made by law enforcement, do you?
How much did it cost us? None of us likes to pay for the mistakes of public employees.
http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/landmark-settlement-reached-maryland-state-police-driving-while-black-case
This is the article you requested involving the racial profiling settlement. It seems it was around $400,000.00 with $300,000.00 going to the victims and another $100,000.00 in hiring staffing to prevent any more abuse.
There was a friend I had years ago who was black (no, not my only black friend). He had a bad habit of speeding everywhere he went. I had been with him in his car on more than one occasion where he was drivng at 100mph on I-95. Anywhere he drove he was going between 25-40mph above the spead limit. He used to tell everyone that he only was being stopped by police because he was black, not because he was speeding like crazy. I grew tired of his implied racism that he always claimed. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he took th sleezy way out and cried racism. I lost all respect for him over time.
The only thing your anecdote proves is that you have frends who are jerks.
Billy Jack, you have completely missed the point of the story. Please go back and read it again with an open mind, and you might understand the point I was trying to make.
Are you trying to imply that all African-Americans are like your “friend”? Anecdotal evidence does not equal data.
Another one who misses the point. The point is that there are those who claim racism for their troubles instead of taking responsibility for their actions. My ex-friend believed he was being stopped because of his skin color, not because of his poor driving. Although it was funny that the one time I was with him and he was pulled over, he started referring to the state trooper as a racist before the officer even walked up to the car. I wish I had a camera with he so I could have had a picture of the expression on his face when he saw the officer was also black!
Hello,
Another fine web thread I see.
My family and I used to live in HdG downtown. The public E.S. was fine there. When we moved away, my kids were accepted into the GT and Honors programs @ their new MS and HS. Speaking from that experience, the HdG ES is good. My children also became good friends with kids of all ethnicities and socio-economic situations, as well as single-parent families.
When we moved, I made it a point to get my kids in what I felt was the best school district, where I could afford a home. I did not buy a home in Joppa off of Old Joppa Rd b/c I was worried about redistricting from Fallston to JHS or EHS. For me, it was clearly an issue of where the best education for my kids were. I wanted nothing to do with lesser quality schools, regardless of what race the students were. I can see why many homeowners are concerned about redistricting. I don’t think anyone needs to jump to the “racial” issue simply b/c they want the best education for their kids.
With respect to Section 8 Housing, it is a necessary social program whether I like it or not. I had several Section 8 homes on my former street in HdG. Some of these homes were occupied by wonderful people who were down on their luck. These are the kinds of people you enjoy having as neighbors regardless of their situation, they good people. It is wrong to state that Section 8 is a bad idea.
I agree with one of the writers above that “the most serious issue with Section 8 renters, according to some of the apartment complexes in Harford County, isn’t drugs or crime, but renters (usually women) who let their boyfriends, relatives and friends stay at their place without informing management. But since Section 8 is guaranteed money, most landlords who allow it turn a blind eye.”
Section 8 has rules that forbid,FELONS from residing there. However, many of the occupants who have children with these (usually) men, let their children’s fathers (a/k/a Baby Daddy’s) or friends who don’t care about the neighborhood lay their heads there. This usually results in the Daddy or friend feeling comfortable and seeing that an opportunity exists for making $ via drug dealing since there isn’t lots o’ competition. That’s where the S#@t hits the fan. The potential penalty if these ladies are caught is that they are removed from the housing complex and can be banned from receiving Section 8 benefits.
The second big problem is that many landlords don’t give a rat’s a## about what happens in their housing. As long as the Eagle s##@’s in their bank accounts every 2 weeks, that’s all they want. Many landlords are the cause of the problem. They refuse to keep their house in good shape from the exterior. Just drive down HdG and see places on the corner of Market and Bourbon Streets. The local governments are afraid to enforce condemnation on these housing units for fear of a lawsuit. Thus, good taxpayers start hating Section 8 for obvious reasons.
Racism sucks and I am glad to see that it is far less from when I was a kids. Racial jokes and comments at the office or even in social settings are less frequent for good reason, they are wrong.
Nice post.
In regards to Section 8, I don’t believe that we need to terminate the entire program but improvements can be made. I support Section for the elderly and the disabled. I support Section 8 for a young adult/woman with children who may need the services for a specific period of time but not indefinitely. The other issue is the heavy concentration of section 8 or low income housing in certain areas (Edgewood). Section 8 housing strategically located and diversified within a community will have less of an impact on the community versus entire neighborhoods or apartment complexes (Edgewater Village)of Section 8/low income housing.
Marston arrested 65% black, Tabones recommended bonds where 75% higher for blacks for the same offenses, Eaves held them all the same even though she knew the blacks couldn’t afford freedom yet the whites could, Marston had his buddy racist Paul Quill along for the ride so he could knock that dark chip off his shoulder and I am done proving my point to a bunch of racist hillbilly republicans that want to send us all back to baltimore so they can get armed forces personnel from BRAC to replace the community that exists. What are you fools gonna say when you find out that the majority of BRAC personnel coming are minorities. Guess you’ll have to get Cassilly to use his pull with the military to send only white people to Edgewood/Aberdeen. Funny, Cassillys injuries, not wounds in vietnam, were caused by his own misjudgement. The same misjudgement which he still uses to provide false wiretap charges on innocent motorcycle riders while his own office is using illegal wiretaps to prosecute more blacks. He don’t want you to talk about that! And just because there is less racial jokes at the office doesn’t mean there is more black employees at the office. I think I covered all your snide comments, RACISTS!
@ Racism Proof. It sounds like you were one of those that Marston arrested. I think that Harford County will welcome people of any color who want to obey the law and contribute to the community. If the majority of persons who arrive in Harford County as a result of BRAC are other than white, contribute to the community and obey the law, then who cares. Harford County, nor any other County that I know of would welcome people who engage in criminal activity!!
Maybe Humbolt County in California….
WOW! Very interesting stats indeed. RP, I am curious where you obtained these “facts?” Please share your source of knowledge with cites.
As you may know, the officer you discussed works on a specific mission, narcotics investigations. Thus, his investigations focus on illegal drug dealers, who, regardless of race, need to be arrested and prosecuted. Marston does not conduct traffic stops. He works off of leads that take him in the direction of drug crimes. Perhaps you may be a bit “trigger happy” using the term “racist” when describing him??? Maybe you should consider this, that the worst violators of state and federal drug laws in this county at the time of his investigations, happened to be African Americans?
For Consciencious Observer, you stated “As far as the Marston guy is concerned though, he did lie to a United States Grand Jury about facts in a case involving a former teacher of mine and he got away with it.” What are you basing this on, facts or a hunch? If factual, please state how you know that he lied during GJ, which in Federal court is a secret proceeding. Have you read the GJ transcripts and know exactly what he said? If so, how did you acquire them? If not, you really should shut your mouth because it makes you sound stupid. If you actually have facts that he or anyone else lied during federal GJ, what have you done as a result? Let me tell you, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Federal Judges do not, repeat, DO NOT, take this lightly. They would make sure this person is prosecuted for perjury and more. So unless you wish to invite yourself to be called a liar and/or be sued, you need to back what you say with facts or not say it the way you did.
Sorry for ranting. Racism sucks no matter how people justify it. Calling people a racist is serious and no one should do that unless you can prove it. FYI, most police are not racists, they have a difficult job and get treated like crap b/c they are out on the street dealing with some bad folks. Not all residents of the Edgewood area are bad, but way too many that I have seen refuse to assist the police and even hide relatives from the police despite knowing they committed crimes.
Just food for thought…stay civil and enjoy your freedom of speech.
Marston lied to a Federal Grand Jury about facts involving marijuana and quantities of usable product from a harvested plant. In his testamony he stated that each marijuana plant yields up to a pound. Then he went off on some rant about how many joints that would produce and that this amount could not possibly be for personal use. Mysources come directly off the internet and are easily found by searching for information about Marston on GOOGLE. Plus, the defendant in this case told me personally how Mr. Marston and the state wanted his farm so they concocted this story. End of discussion.
Marston lied to a Federal Grand Jury about facts involving marijuana and quantities of usable product from a harvested plant. In his testamony he stated that each marijuana plant yields up to a pound. Then he went off on some rant about how many joints that would produce and that this amount could not possibly be for personal use. Mysources come directly off the internet and are easily found by searching for information about Marston on GOOGLE. Plus, the defendant in this case told me personally how Mr. Marston and the state wanted his farm so they concocted this story. End of discussion.
Marston lied to a Federal Grand Jury about facts involving marijuana and quantities of usable product from a harvested plant. In his testamony he stated that each marijuana plant yields up to a pound. Then he went off on some rant about how many joints that would produce and that this amount could not possibly be for personal use. Mysources come directly off the internet and are easily found by searching for information about Marston on GOOGLE. Plus, the defendant in this case told me personally how Mr. Marston and the state wanted his farm so they concocted this story. End of discussion.
If you google Marston and marijuana you get a bunch of unrelated links, a link to a thread on some pothead website started by “BlazedinBA” which is probably you, and another link to 123people.com that references the same thing again posted by “BlazedinBA.” That’s hardly what I’d call reliable sources. Nice try at trying to smear a good officer’s name, douche.
I f you google: Sean Marston Marijuana, you get the results others are seeing.
Perhaps your friend could have avoided the issue all together by not growing marijuana… I believe it’s illegal…
Man, I didn’t know Bel Air had a race of homohalflings living there. I thought the only homohalflings in bel air were with the police department…..
@Racism Proof: It’s a shame to see someone like yourself who could do good things for the community consumed by the racial hatred beast. I have found that skin color is not the real indicator of whether a person is an a**hole or not. That seems to transcend race, religion, social and economic position. I have many dear friends that are African Americans and Asians but the key difference is that they aren’t a**holes tied up in racial hatred. For racism to end it must end for everyone. You call yourself “Racism Proof” and you’re correct… all you need do is look in the mirror for your proof.
And ho hum disbelievers, don’t forget that the sentences for whites were less than that for blacks for the same offenses. Thats the bottom line, racists……..
you can talk about racism all you want. that misses the facts of the situation at hand. I’m a lifelong resident of Harford. I graduated from Edgewood High School back in the late 70s. Back then Beth Steel, GM, and Edgewood Arsenal/APG were still going strong. People in the Edgewood/Joppa areas were making decent livings and we enjoyed a pretty decent/safe place to live. Jobs changed over the years, APG moved a lot of functions, Edgewood/Joppa saw economic decline, somewhat. Add to that mix the expansion of move to opportunity and section 8 housing. Our neighborhood became more violent and less secure. I used to visit an elderly lady who lived in Edgewater Village Apartments, until I had to start climbing over people passed out on the stairs. She had to be relocated after a neighbor lady and her boyfriend broke down her door and punched her out and robbed her. I don’t care what color you are. There are “common” people of all hues. Character has no skin color. But you cannont tell me that things in South Harford County haven’t gone down hill for the past 20 years,-all you have to do is compare crime statistics on record. In my life I’ve seen people jump to the defense of whites just because they were white. I’ve seen Presidents jump to quick conclusions about police indcidents just because of skin color, ala the recent Gates incident. Nobody can afford to throw stones when we all live in glass houses. But what it boils down to me is an issue of safety and South county is not as safe as other areas of the county and not as safe as it used to be.
You know, probably everyone who has posted comme
I think that all the residents in Harford County have valid points being concerned for their property values and their neighborhoods. When an area is affected negatively by the infusion of Low Income Housing it seems like everyone loses out in the long run. I agree with Retiredawhile when he says no one would welcome criminals in any county in Maryland. I also agree that the past 20 years has been a long downhill slope in certain areas of Harford County due to crime, Section 8 and gangs. But, you have to admit that the statistics that Racism Proof has displayed are very interesting none the least. If something is going on that I consider wrong, especially if it involves police or elected officials, then those same elected representatives should act accordingly and I hope they are not racially motivated. If they are racially motivated then those elected officials did not do such with my permission and I would want them to stop. As far as the Marston guy is concerned though, he did lie to a United States Grand Jury about facts in a case involving a former teacher of mine and he got away with it. Things do come back to haunt you and you should treat people with the respect that they treat you with or vice versa. I never really liked Marston anyway, I never could believe he became a cop. So in a nutshell, you are all right, and Marston will forever be an ass.
I don’t know if Marston is a racists, however I am in agreement with you that he is definitely an ass. But that said, Marston is an ass with everyone!!
For ConscientiousObserver:
First, Please learn how to spell your own name. Look up conscientious. You lost much credibility for that.
Second,
You make some serious allegations about Marston allegedly lying under oath in the U.S. District Court. Again, have you personally seen the Grand Jury transcript? If so, how did you acquire it? These are secret proceedings which the general public may attend, nor obtain copies of transcripts taken during. If you have a copy, please disclose the details so those who gave them to you can be prosecuted.
Third, with respect to the yield of usable product form a MJ plant, Marston had no reason to lie. If he said anything that wasn’t within an acceptable standard, I guarantee that the Defense Attorney would have challenged this. Defense Attorney’s in Fed Court are usually top ranked and know technical details such as this. Prosecutors would also not tolerate BS on the stand.
Fourth, your alleged sources are questionable when you state they came from the Internet. Please cite them. I am skeptical.
Fifth, you must know the Defendant well if he personally told you about the case. Thus, you may be biased and don’t even realize this. With respect to your allegation about the State wanting the Defendant’s farm, please articulate…was this valuable property needed for a road, school, athletic field, etc….? Or, are you confused that the state wanted to SEIZE this ASSET, which they could be entitled to do. It is very common for prosecutors to move for Judicial Forfeiture of ASSETS obtained/utilized in connection with narcotics manufacturing/trafficking.
I have tried to be polite, professional and courteous when stating my points. Bottom line, you really do not seem to know what you are talking about. Why are you so bitter and angry about this case? Has Marston done something to you personally? While I know who he is, I am not close to him, however, I dispute your comments completely. FYI, there is NO WAY a law enforcement officer would get away with what you allege. There is so much review of what an officer writes, says and does – multiple layers including supervisors, prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses including other cops who would tolerate lies, expert witnesses, and best of all, an impartial Judge who is by the book.
Please appologize for your trash talk.
Heres an interesting, relevent, artical from the WSJ weekend edition titled The State against Blacks
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094221050061598.html
What are you bunch of hosebags cops talkin about. First I tried to look up :SEAN MARSTON MARIJUANA ; on Google. Many threads about a case involving a Bob Chance came up. When U read the thread it plainly states that Deputy Sean Marston made the comments alluded to. Who Cares anyway? You bunch of morons are crowdin up the Dagger with some old case and all the man wants is to be left alone. The old guy got away with it anyway so Marston’s comments must not have been taken seriously and the defense attorney must have proved some sort of discrepancy. I thought this post was about racism anyway?
Sean Marston is such a punk, I broke his jaw in a bar fight and he actually cried……..
Oh Yeah, I remember that guy. He had bunch of Deputies taser me while I laid face down on the ground, after that they just gave each other high 5’s and stuff. He held a gun on my 11 yr. old child and then botched up some tracking device on my SUV. Yeah, I’ll never forget him……Marston
BOB CHANCE IS A GOOD MAN AND AN OUTSTANDING CITIZEN. EVERY COP THAT WAS OUT TO GET HIM SHOULD BE ASHAMED. EVERY STATES ATTORNEY THAT WAS OUT TO GET HIM SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I’M JUST GLAD EVERYTHING WORKED OUT FOR HIM IN THE END.
Outstanding citizens have a stash of hallucinogenic mushrooms and a freezer full of pot? No wonder he saw Bigfoot!
Really, the question that should be asked is why did someone with an obvious racist agenda decide to bring back an article that was posted almost a year and a half ago and all of a sudden there are a couple of people with a grudge against Marston who decide to use it as an excuse to attack him in particular and all police, lawyers, judges, etc in general?
http://www.topix.com/county/harford-md/2011/01/md-has-paid-500k-in-police-settlements-since-06
This article appeared on January 11th, 2011. It makes reference to the MSP I-95 Racial Profiling Blunder. It came from WBOC-TV news on the Eastern Shore. It also mentions how MSP have paid over half a million dollars in lawsuits from bad arrests. It doesn’t matter when it happened, it happened and any cop that got my tax dollars wasted for being an idiot, well, he probably shouldn’t be allowed to be in a situation where he is obviuosly profiling again. I’m making reference to Paul Quill, not Marston. I really don’t know who Marston is, but it sounds like he isn’t very smart either.
Who would want to smear the name of a racial profiler? I mean, what a ridiculous comment.
Boy did this place go off on a rant rave. Please lets stick to the article everyone, this is getting a little off topic.
GrammerStud, I apologize for spelling this word wrong. My point was CO spelled his name wrong, how pathetic.
Just because an officer has a higher arrest ratio of one race over another, does not make him a racist. Again, you must examine what types of cases that officer is working and what goes into making the decisions about where to execute search warrants, etc…. None of us know all the details of Marston’s cases. You could pull every case he was on from the court records and study them to see if there is any data which would result in a different conclusion. Of course this would take years.
Officers do not set bails…In Maryland state courts, the Court Commissioner is the first court officer to make that decision, then a Judge can hear a bail review. The police officer is out of this decision. State’s Attorneys can factor in during a bail review. As far as sentencing goes, the officer has no involvement in this phase. Arguments are made by ASA’s and Defense Attorneys, with the final word from Judges.
I agree with some of the posters, this case is an older one that really does not need to resurface for any good reason.
As far as racism goes, it sucks. Treating people differently b/c of age, sex, race, religion etc… is wrong.
I just hope people such as CO, Flounder and the others stop making ridiculous statements about the court system and law enforcement. You are entitled to your opinions. If you really hate the system, join it if you can and make changes. Please don’t hate the entire system due to questionable practices of a select few. Most of us would never do anything close to what has been alleged here.
Thanks, I am deep fried and done on this matter.
Now if a black person commits a crime, and the police arrest a black person fitting the description, how is that racist? I would agree it would be racist if a white person commited the crime and a black person was arrested. Everyone seems to be overlooking who commited the crime in these cases. The sad truth is that black people are arrested more because they are commiting more crimes. If the balck community wants this to change, then stop commiting the crimes! PROBLEM SOLVED!
If there is no truth to what I say, then how come all data involving Marston has been removed involving arrests that have occurred between 12/01/2010 – 01/25/2011. Two weeks ago he was listed as a cop in a cecil county case. Where did it go? Suppression of evidence from the public is practically an admittion of guilt. Lets see how far that racist goes this year!
I was reading this blog and was skepticle of all the different accusations involving police and members of the court system. I changed my mind though, when I checked the recent arrest statistics for MARSTON. You know, all entries about MARSTON have been deleted since 11/16/2010. I find it hard to believe that a cop making this many arrests just up and disappeared since November, we are in February now. If you see smoke there is normally fire and I see alot of smoke involving the subjects talked about on here lately. I’m sure something is not right here…….
I believe the original article was a post about the hidden racism that pervades Harford County. Speaking as a member of the White Upper Middle Class from Bel Air, working in the Department of Defense, supporting gun ownership, the death penalty as well as the right for a woman to choose what she does with her own body, Yes, there is racism in Harford County. There is also elitism, classism and almost any other ism you can imagine having to do with people being willfully ignorant to the troubles and needs of others while furthering their own narcissistic myopic agenda. God forbid the President of the United States should want to talk about education to students attending public schools in a live broadcast. The people of Bel Air do not want kids from Edgewood coming to their school… and the administrators will work feverishly to prevent it from happening. And two parents I know from Edgewood spoke about how they feared for their daughters safety and educational opportunities in the equal education offered in Edgewood. We all have a responsibility to question our motivations when thinking about another people. It’s called introspection and it is not practiced in this county as much as it should be.
Hello, I am new to the Dagger as a friend said “you must see this to believe it.” This is truly a diverse thread, racism, grammar, police bashing, section 8 critiques, and more. I am definitely amused by all your input.
Can we all agree on a few basic things:
1. That living outside of Edgewood does not make you a racist, nor does wanting the best education for your child.
2. Section 8 is a necessary social program that has been abused by some but not all participants including landlords.
3. Most police are by the book with some exhibiting questionable actions (same goes for Priests, Lawyers, Doctors, Financial Traders, etc.)
4. Some people use the “race card” too often and for the wrong reasons.
Unfortunately, there still is racism everywhere, not just Harford. It will take time to rid the racism problem from our society. That said, parents have every right to chose where they can afford to live, and where to send their kids to school. I do not see the benefit of busing kids from a well-performing school to a poor-performing school, unless you want to participate in a social science experiment. Poor-performing schools must be improved. We who are well-off cannot afford to let another generation of children in less advantageous areas become the victims of crappy public schools! Education is the key to improving one’s economic and social status. This cannot be taken too lightly.
If you have kids who attend the top ranked schools in Harford, you should contact your elected officials and demand that they do something about the poor-performing schools. A potential side-effect of burying your head in the sand is to bus kids from those schools to the top schools which will result in overcrowding and an overall decline in education. Take your pic, do something positive to improve the poor-performing schools or we all suffer.
I particularly like your final paragraph. I don’t know who you are, but you sound like someone I could support in a run for the school board of this county.
I was invited to share in this article by a group of “friends” that said “You have to see this one.” I have seen alot of racial rhetoric by both sides of the fence. I find it hard to justify Mr. Marston as a racist. A police officer of a Narcotics Task Force normally acts on tips or information of confidential informants, if this information relates to African Americans then he is following leads, not race. However, the statistics show that there is a problem in the current State’s Attorney Office. Christopher Tabone is definately recommending higher bonds for African Americans than he is for Caucasians, this is racial discrimination if I have ever seen it. Joseph Cassilly should be more careful monitoring the actions of prosecutors in his office. The larger sentences for the African American criminals does lead me to believe some sort of racism exists in Harford County’s courts, this must be corrected if we all wish to stamp out racism in our county.
Statistics are just numbers and often times don’t tell the whole story. I would agree that a problem exists in the States Attorney Office if all factors of each arrestee were the same and higher bonds were being requested for one category of persons. More often than not the factors for which bail is set are not the same (prior criminal history being a prime consideration) thus bail could very well be different and appropriate.
I practice law, not in the criminal field, but I do have a understanding of the bail system. Bail is supposed to guarantee court appearance, not to be used as a punishment. I’ll agree with your point of existing record, but only if a defendant has prior record of failing to appear in court should bail be higher. Very good point though…..
Legalese,
As an attorney who does not practice criminal law, it is expected that you are not an expert on the bail system. Yet, you mentioned “statistics show that there is a problem in the current State’s Attorney Office. Christopher Tabone is definitely recommending higher bonds for African Americans than he is for Caucasians, this is racial discrimination if I have ever seen it.”
How did you derive your conclusion? Did you conduct a study with at least 1000 cases in which defendants were charged with similar crimes, yet received completely different bails? Variables in this study would be race, prior criminal history, present offense details, etc…
My hunch is you did not conduct a study, but rather jumped on the band wagon on this posting. I expect more from an attorney. While you may be correct in your assumptions, you have not presented anything to support your premise. It is evident that many of the race baiters on this posting get off by having serious folks resopond to their drivel.
Your posting goes from bail right into sentencing. Again, you speak in terms of generalities without articulations. As an attorney, you know that while the Office of the State’s Atty can make arguments for increased sentences, Defense Attys can argue equally and often more vigorously for a senttence reduction. The JUDGES have the final say. Are you saying JUDGES are racists for weighing in all factors and striving to achieve a balance of fairness while maintaining a concern for the public’s safety?
Race baiting is also a serious problem that needs to be stopped.
Instead of crying race baiting, why don’t you look at the problem yourself using the court record as I did. Once again, I stated the facts as I viewed them online using the Maryland Judiciary website. There is no race baiting, just a simple examination of the cases of Sean Marston of the Harford County Sheriff’s Department. Everything else just falls into place while you are viewing the affiant’s cases. Hey, its not my fault that everything stated is true, just look for yourself. And by the way, I am caucasian and readily admit I don’t practice criminal law, but even I know that bail is supposed to guarantee court appearance and not to be used as a deterrent or punishment. If it wasn’t Mr. Tabone that recommended for higher bonds, was it Cassilly? Did the State’s Attorney Office anonymously ask for the higher bails? Did the State’s Attorney Office ask for the sentences that were handed out? Did the Judge even use one ounce of their own discretion or did they readily agree with the State’s Attorney Office? There are many questions that can be asked, but the information I viewed was about 32 cases conducted by Sean Marston and prosecuted by Christopher Tabone. That is all I can say. I apologize to anyone who has misconstrued my comments as racial baiting or racial discrimination. I will stand by my previous analysis of the situation by the facts given to me.
Ok, so you didn’t look at any of the defendants’ prior criminal history, facts of any of the cases, FTA history, etc. Right there pretty much destroys any argument you’re trying to make unless you’re making an assumption that none of these defendants have criminal histories, have ever skipped a court date, and the facts of the cases are identical…which are completely ridiculous assumptions to make.
That also applies to all the other people on here claiming every police officer (specifically Sean Marston), State’s Attorney (specifically Chris Tabone), judge (specifically Judge Eaves), etc is racist and is out to persecute the black man.
blue-eyed above. Not blue haired. Oh dear!
Well gosh, Brenda. If you are bored with the subject of racism that must surely mean it is time for all of us to just “move on”. Thanks for your great insights.
It boils down to lack of economic opportunity for many black men in particular. I frequent many businesses in the county and one can hardly find any black men working in them, this goes from tow trucks, mechanics, landscaping and many other non-technical jobs. Statistics also show that a white man with a high school diploma will probably make more $$$ than a black man with a college degree. We whites tend to believe that we are all born with the same priviliges, but the facts are that being white does bring me more opportunities, chances, contacts and less prejudice when looking for a job. Still, economic inequality remains one of the biggest obstacles facing minorities in climbing the opportunity ladder in our country. But it has been proven again and again..football coaches, quaterbacks to name one have shown tha blacks can do these jobs as well as whites if given the opportunity to do so. The same goes for many jobs in which a business will gladly hire a white high school graduate, but would have reservations about doing that for other minorities. The national unemployment rate for blacks is closer to 20%, more than double of whites.
I see black employees in almost all of the stores that I give my business. Stands to reason that I would see them, after all 80% of them are employed.
If the unemployment rate for blacks is double that of whites, don’t you think that lack of opportunity for blacks is more apparent than for whites? At least give me that..instead of babbling about 80% being employed. You are a freaking moron.
@Frankly Speaking. The organization from which I retired along with many other public safety organizations have no “lack of opportunity” for minorities, only a lack of qualified applicants. Many opportunities exists in many places for minorities for which they are given special consideration and in many cases the bar is lowered for them so they can be employed, promoted, given certain position assignments, and entered into school/training. Don’t pretend that you don’t know this.
The problem, if there is one, is a lack of qualified/interested applicants, not a lack of opportunity. Most people that I know would hire a black person over a white if the factors under consideration for the position were equal or almost equal. It’s considered good business.
Lastly, I do not engage in name calling. Doing so only detracts from what you have to say.
When you can’t beat the facts, detract from them and use emotion to diminish those facts. Fact, unemployment for blacks is DOUBLE that of whites. Fact, blacks have been economically held back from getting jobs and climbing the economic ladder. Fact, affirmative action is only practiced within the confines of public enterprise, not private. Fact, your arrogant attitude which ignores any of these facts does not diminish their reality even if you choose to pick apart parts which you do not agree to contemplate because doing so would be an admission that what I said is true. Fact, You are still a moron.
@Frankly Speaking. I guess you think Harvard and Yale, as two examples, are public schools, since you believe affirmative action is only practiced at public institutions. There are many more examples but it would do no good to break it down for you.
Grow up!
@ Legalese:
“There are many questions that can be asked, but the information I viewed was about 32 cases conducted by Sean Marston and prosecuted by Christopher Tabone. That is all I can say.”
It is apparent that you speak in paradigms on the racism matter in question, which means you have a perspective based on a set of assumptions, concepts, and values that are not always accurate.
You claimed to have viewed (32) cases on MD Judiciary Case Search (MDJC) in which Marston and Tabone’s names matched. This is your sample size, which is very small. These are your constants, which we can agree do not vary for purposes of your research. Then there are multiple variables, which take on different values or categories, that you cannot obtain from MDJC.
MDJC only allows you to search by one name at a time. Thus, you must have reviewed many more than 32 cases to find matches of Marston and Tabone. Next, MDJC does not show anything about prior records of the defendant, quantity or type of CDS involved, Judge, Defense Attorney, and many more variables that can affect outcomes.
You seem to neglect the fact some variables can change because of another variable and thus can affect outcomes. These are known as dependent variables. An example is, the Defendant’s prior criminal history, which would cause a Court Commissioner to set a higher bail, which would also cause a prosecutor to seek a higher bail, and would also cause a Judge to set a higher bail or detain the Defendant until trial.
Additionally, you discounted the value of mediating variables, which are variables that come between other variables, which affect other variables (simplified definition). Prior criminal history, quantity of narcotics and others are examples which could affect the outcome of bail and sentencing processes.
What I can say with an extremely high degree of accuracy is that reviewing a few cases on MDJC is no way to determine if racism exists in the court system of any MD County. Thus, your conclusion is flawed. As for your commment, “that is all I can say,” I doubt you open your mouth in a courtroom at all. Have you passed the MD Bar? Please enlighten the audience as to what type of law you practice? Would you care to share your name, so readers can contact you if they want legal representation in your field of expertise?
Ignore Driamblur. he is an agent fo the Harford County Cyber Crime Unit. He is baiting you….to get your name….and then smear it. You Cops just don’t get it, You guys are trash and you’ll never win the internet! Hey Driamblur go F*CK YOURSELF!
Kops___,
You have freedom of speech, enjoy it. I am a regular citizen such as yourself. Difference is that I question Legalese’s position on this sensitive matter. Whether he/she reveals their name is irrelevant. However, his/her conclusion is based on nothing but opinion despite his alleged research.
Please calm down and allow Legalese to explain him/her self. Perhaps there is more.
The 34 cases I read were from casesearch results searching for Sean Marston from the dates 01/01/2010 thru 12/31/2010 just as Racism Proof specified. The results are for an entire year of this guys investigations, not just for a small number of cases. The resulting conclusions are right there in the court record for you. The bails were recommended higher for african americans, they were upheld by the judge and the sentences were higher for the african americans. If you can’t see discrimination in the results then you are probably not unbiased. How come everyone wants to defend racists?
I HAVE AN IDEA! Why don’t you post your name on here and let legalese contact you!
I have noticed the people who like to play the race card are always more racist than the people they are accusing of racism.
Is this the same Christopher Tabone everyone is talking about?
1. Illegal Wiretapping
http://www.topix.com/forum/county/harford-md/TJOKHOQSJ4FLOT253
2. Illegal Indictments
http://www.topix.com/forum/county/harford-md/T3JBRVJ1M73KMTA02
3. Impersonating Police
http://www.topix.com/forum/county/harford-md/TJGI8GTVV7UEO4VDL
He seems like he is a really nice guy, NOT!
Yeah, I think it’s the same one. So whats your point?
@ REALLY?!?
you really are joking, right? The sites you give links to are simply the rant of some whacko whom no one would give any credibility to. If you think that a State’s Attorney would be able to commit the offenses you allege without being indicted, then you are high. Wake up, stop writing crappy posts and learn to double check what you rant about. Have a nice day.
The posts are factual, the racism is factual and its not a game. After doing further research myself, I looked at every case Sean Marston was involved in for the last 3 years. An outrageous amount of african american arrests at 53.2% for an area thats population demographics are only 12.7% black! How can you do that and not expect someone to pick up on the obvious discrimination?!? As far as Tabone goes, he has broken more laws investigating his suspects than he has cases! This man has used his influence to get his own family members lighter sentences for crimes they have committed, yet he wants to throw an african american in jail for as long as he can. Mark Tabone has really done alot of harm to the reputation of Harford County’s Judicial System, even more than Melissa Lambert! Why do all Mark’s cases end up with indictments, where was the preliminary hearing in district court? Maryland is only 1 of 15 states that still use Grand Jury Indictments because of prosecutorial abuse, and this guy is definately abusing the system.
@ Really
Sounds like you need to do more than just rant on this site. Gather up all of your supporters, make signs of protest, position yourselves between the Court House and Sheriff’s Office and start conducting daily protests until you obtain equal justice. Marston and Tabone work for the Sheriff and States Attorney, who appear to support what they are doing, so go after them.
@ REALLY,
You are so confused, it hurts to read what you scribble. There is no way those posts you refer to are factual, double check which magazine or newspaper allegedly published them. Libel and slander are two concepts you should learn about before you accuse someone of crimes. I will laugh so hard when you the folks you made false accusations against go to court and compel this site to release your true name and IP address. You would be the perfect civil lawsuit. Talk all you want, but research what you say in writing.
You give web posters a bad name. FYI, the ASA you refer to is Chris Tabone, not Mark.
“The posts are factual, the racism is factual and its not a game. After doing further research myself, I looked at every case Sean Marston was involved in for the last 3 years. An outrageous amount of african american arrests at 53.2% for an area thats population demographics are only 12.7% black! How can you do that and not expect someone to pick up on the obvious discrimination?!? As far as Tabone goes, he has broken more laws investigating his suspects than he has cases! This man has used his influence to get his own family members lighter sentences for crimes they have committed, yet he wants to throw an african american in jail for as long as he can. Mark Tabone has really done alot of harm to the reputation of Harford County’s Judicial System, even more than Melissa Lambert! Why do all Mark’s cases end up with indictments, where was the preliminary hearing in district court? Maryland is only 1 of 15 states that still use Grand Jury Indictments because of prosecutorial abuse, and this guy is definately abusing the system.”
Wow, what a great idea! I would love to prove all these facts in a court of law. But, someone else gets that honor in the very near future. Mark is his name, just ask his wife Marcie…….
Are you kidding me? According to Joseph Cassilly, the Harford County State’s Attorney, any action by his office is immune to any retaliation legally. Meaning, his office can break laws, file false charges and manipulate evidence or even fabricate evidence and his office is immune to all actions both criminal and civil. Go ahead and ask him yourself. Cassilly is a relic from the age of the good ole boy network. Check your facts DRIAMBLUR, Cassilly’s office is criminal and committs felonious acts to prosecute anyone they want, for whatever reason they want and its normally to shut someone’s mouth. His office practices open racism in courts and the judges of the Harford County Circuit Court applaud him for his crimes. The entire Judiciary of Harford County is a machine whose mission is to fill the new jail to the max to defraud federal funds for inmates so he, Tabone, the warden of HCDC, etc… can buy new cars and houses for their friends and families. This is a profit filled racist agenda that Cassilly and County Council came up with 15 years ago so they could import criminals from other jurisdictions(Section8)and pad statistics to use in applications for federal & State funding. Joe Cassilly is not an attorney, he is a racist employing other racists with a goal to farm human beings for cash. That is reality! Check your own facts next time before opening your ignorant mouth Driamblur! The Harford County State’s Attorney Office would never present an indictment to a grand jury involving one of their own people! Especially not Tabone, he is Cassilly’s right hand man involving their extortion schemes and seized funds distribution schemes. Ever wonder how a Harford County Deputy can afford a half a million dollar house? Just ask Cassilly and Tabone………
Taht is because HE and Melissa are married to each other and they are keeping it quite.
This is why none of anyone’s comments about the cops, judges and State’s Attorney’s Office will ever amount to anything. Just read the article and you will understand the grim reality of Justice American Style! My hats off to all the judges and lawyers of Harford County. May you all find final judgement before god.
http://faqusajudicialcorruption.blogspot.com/
The next time you or any of the victims of judicial corruption complain just remember, its your fault because your lawyer did not provide enough bribery money to the judge or the State’s Attorney Office to allow the to side with you. If you complain about justice or a fair trial just remember, the more you complain the more corrupt the system will get toward you. Justice is what you pay for and if you complain Justice is you in jail. Remember that corruption in Harford County is no greater than anywhere else in America, but America is built on corruption.
I’ve got news for everyone. After analyzing data from other Assistant State’s Attorney, I have come to a grim conclusion. Its not 1 or 2 bad apples, but the whole bunch. All cases from every member of the State’s Attorney Office here in Harford County seem to show the same patterns of racism. The whole bunch of them are rotten. Not just Tabone.
Why thank you for describing what you are a wad of! I guess no moderation is needed as long as you agree that you are a wad of something! Let everyone else think of what other wads you may be…….