Kilpatrick Mess In Detroit Is Not A Racial Issue

As a former newspaper man, there are many aspects of a newspaper I find interesting. With respect to online editions of newspapers, I am always curious to read many of the comments to stories posted by readers (cloaked by the comforts of anonymity). One of the posts I recently found disturbing was tagged onto the end of one of the many stories about disgraced Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The individual posted that Kilpatrick (who is black) is giving all black people a bad reputation. This is, of course, nonsense. If we've learned nothing else during the last eight years of the presidency of George W. Bush and vice presidency of Dick Cheney, or even going back through the presidency of Bill Clinton, it is that corruption comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. So, Kilpatrick no more gives black people a bad name than George W. Bush or Cheney give all white people a bad name. Individuals are responsible for their own actions and hopefully Kilpatrick's situation will be sorted out because it certainly casts not only the city of Detoit in a negative light, but it hurts all of Southeast Michigan and the state of Michigan with nationwide coverage of a dirty little secret that suddenly is not so little. It seems less about race and more about greed, a sense of entitlement, the feeling of being untouchable, corruption, etc.