January 4, 2006
Marion Barry's Not Holding Grudges
When word broke yesterday that Marion Barry had been robbed at gunpoint in his Anacostia apartment, we scratched our head and wondered, "What were they thinking? Marion Barry? On his home turf? For only $200?" But fear not, fearless perpetrators, Barry's not one to hold grudges. Said he in a press conference, as relayed by the Post:
I have no animosities. I don't even want you prosecuted, really. I love you. Give yourself up. Call the police...I will do all I can to advocate non-prosecution.While this isn't nearly as fun as sending out a torch-wielding mob to dig up these hoodlums, we appreciate Barry's understanding that committing a crime doesn't necessarily merit punishment. Barry could well have ended the press conference there, on a relatively high note, but he continued:
There is a sort of an unwritten code in Washington, among the underworld and the hustlers and these other guys, that I am their friend.This is where his aides started thinking of ways to run interference and put a quick end to what was fast becoming a conference gone awry. But Barry saved the day, kind of:
I don't advocate what they do. I advocate conditions to change what they do. I was a little hurt that this betrayal did happen.There we have it, folks: Marion Barry, friend of the down-trodden, the underworld, the hustlers. A man with a big heart.
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thank goodness typekey is gone.
i can't help but think this all seems very convenient for mr. barry. didn't he just get a lot of play in the press before the holidays claiming credit for pushing off the council lease vote? giving him a little "hero to the masses" clout.
and now, he's the magnanimous victim of an unwitnessed crime. coming out smelling prettier than a rose. hey, if it's true, more power to him and his forgiveness. but it sure does whiff of a set up to me.
I'd share your sentiment, sa, but it doesn't strike me as Hizonna's style. Subtlety has nevery been Marion's stong suit.
Made me google Barry - this is what I found:
These are actual quotes taken from Mayor Marion Barry, of Washington, D.C.
"The contagious people of Washington have stood firm against diversity during this long period of increment weather." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I promise you a police car on every sidewalk." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very very low crime rate." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"First, it was not a strip bar, it was an erotic club. And second, what can I say? I'm a night owl." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"Bitch set me up." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am clearly more popular than Reagan. I am in my third term. Where's Reagan? Gone after two! Defeated by George Bush and Michael Dukakis no less." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"The laws in this city are clearly racist. All laws are racist. The law of gravity is racist." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"People have criticized me because my security detail is larger than the president's. But you must ask yourself: are there more people who want to kill me than who want to kill the president? I can assure you there are." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"The brave men who died in Vietnam, more than 100% of which were black, were the ultimate sacrifice." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I read a funny story about how the Republicans freed the slaves. The Republicans are the ones who created slavery by law in the 1600's. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and he was not a Republican." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"People blame me because these water mains break, but I ask you, if the water mains didn't break, would it be my responsibility to fix them then? WOULD IT!?!" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian man; I am an intelligent man; I am a deeply educated man; I am a humble man." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
Made me google Barry - this is what I found:
These are actual quotes taken from Mayor Marion Barry, of Washington, D.C.
"The contagious people of Washington have stood firm against diversity during this long period of increment weather." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I promise you a police car on every sidewalk." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very very low crime rate." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"First, it was not a strip bar, it was an erotic club. And second, what can I say? I'm a night owl." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"Bitch set me up." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am clearly more popular than Reagan. I am in my third term. Where's Reagan? Gone after two! Defeated by George Bush and Michael Dukakis no less." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"The laws in this city are clearly racist. All laws are racist. The law of gravity is racist." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"People have criticized me because my security detail is larger than the president's. But you must ask yourself: are there more people who want to kill me than who want to kill the president? I can assure you there are." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"The brave men who died in Vietnam, more than 100% of which were black, were the ultimate sacrifice." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I read a funny story about how the Republicans freed the slaves. The Republicans are the ones who created slavery by law in the 1600's. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and he was not a Republican." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"People blame me because these water mains break, but I ask you, if the water mains didn't break, would it be my responsibility to fix them then? WOULD IT!?!" -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
"I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian man; I am an intelligent man; I am a deeply educated man; I am a humble man." -- M. Barry, Mayor of Washington, DC
Um, on behalf of the *other* 559,999 citizens of DC, I ask that the legal system actually arrest and prosecute anyone using a loaded gun to rob people in their own homes. Mr. Barry may not have to worry about getting robbed by these punks again, but the rest of us do.
Um -- do a Google search for one of those Barry "quotes" -- like "I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian"
and the page that pops up is a page from Urban Legends: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/barry.htm
From the site...
Although many of these quotes are somewhat related to things Marion Barry has said or done during his long tenure in public service, only a few are authentic: During a 23 March 1989 speech to the National Press Club, Barry did claim that, aside from the increase in homicides, the District of Columbia actually had a low crime rate; talking to reporters after his 1988 traffic accident, Barry did aver that he was a "night owl,"; and after being nabbed by FBI agents for smoking crack with a female companion, Barry did protest: "Goddamn setup . . . I'll be goddamn . . . bitch set me up." Barry has been criticized for the size of his security detail, and a 1997 recall movement was prompted in part by the city's slow response to broken water mains, but there is no record of Barry's having made the ridiculous statements cited above in response to these controversies.
Marion Barry is a smooth dresser and a great mayor....
MPM
The Guide to Getting More Out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com