Jaycee Lee Dugard photographed as a child 18 years ago.
If America hasn't woken up to the realities of crime, rape, murder, and kidnapping, the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard by Phillip Garrido in Antioch, California proves this even more.
In 1998, I bought a brand new house in Antioch, California. Not much was in Antioch at the time. Antioch, California was an old Delta River community in California. Nothing went on there. When we moved there as African-Americans, we weren't quite sure what to expect.
The area that Phillip Garrido lived in and kept Jaycee Lee Dugard hostage in was considered old Antioch and was pretty much low income. All the people with money came to Antioch and bought big homes. Everyone had a large mini-mansion, two or three luxury cars and was considered the new money of Antioch.
Most of us on the new side of Antioch didn't really venture out to the old side of Antioch. And, when people did go to the old side of Antioch on Lone Tree Way to A Street, the people looked different, talked different, and would even say that they did not like the way Antioch was changing and growing and all the money that was coming into Antioch. We were young, wealthy black folks living in a predominately old school white community that was rapidly changing and definitely new Antioch.
While the new mini-mansion was being finished by the Richland Development Corporation, a kid a block down from my home got shot and killed by another next door neighbor with a shotgun. It was a tragic death and made me realize that murder was not just happening in Oakland, California. This is a very unfortunate case for all of Contra Costa County and Supervisor Federal Glover who is under scrutiny for letting this pass by county officials. But being a resident of Antioch, CA for years, I can see how it happened.
Antioch, CA is considered a bedroom community. A quiet, quaint place where most of the residents have boats, work two jobs, work hard, and every weekend head out on the Delta and go boating. People are nice and friendly there and you would never suspect anyone of foul play. It is easy to fly under the radar in Antioch. It's not surprising that Phillip Garrido got away with this in this particular town. It was easy to do and in someplaces in California, neighbors rarely ever speak to each other. It is good to see Jaycee Lee Dugard re-united with her family after all these years. God bless her.
Comments
Just my opinion, but this is a horrible piece. Is it an article regarding Ms. Dugard? No. Is it a story about the Antioch Area? Not really. Is it telling us about development patterns in an old Bay Area town? Not quite. Does it provide any useful statistics? NO! Does it make many assumptions based on class and wealth, old area vs. new neighborhoods? Yes! The author is full of himself. A true journalist would not include his or her own experience and feelings in an article. They would gather facts such as crime statistics for an area, interview other members of the community, compile data on incomes and development patterns for the town, etc. Utterly useless. If you want to educate readers on the reality of rising crime rates for your area, show the numbers. Want to prove the old part of town has more crime, include the stats and don't just imply. Data not assumptions. Extremely poor journalism, unless you were attempting to point out your own worldly status.
I don't see what skin colour has to do with any of this - "We were young, wealthy black folks living in a predominately old school white community ". Can we just re-arrange this statement to say "We were young, wealthy folks living in a predominately old school, less wealthy community". I am neither white nor black and feel it is irrelevant.
Even - Lots of irrelevance in this essay or whatever you would call it. It seems to have the premise that awful crimes can happen anywhere, but the author doesn't back it up with data.
Mr. Spinks appears to have some other unsupported agenda centered around economic status, class, and as you pointed out race. But, I cannot prove my assertion as I do not have the data to support it nor do I have a statement from the author. Hey, at least I'm aware of the difference between opinion and fact.
What did any of that have to do with this tragic incident. This is exactly why we don't watch the news anymore, my !2 year old give give a better more accurate news story.
This commentary DOES NOT belong in the Business and Finance section. Examiner, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Taken from Gerard Spinks bio at the examiner:
<i>"His writings are all about business success, money, and how money is made specifically in the African-American community first and then to a broader audience."</i>
This commentary DOES NOT belong in the Business and Finance section. Examiner, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Taken from Gerard Spinks bio at the examiner:
<i>"His writings are all about business success, money, and how money is made specifically in the African-American community first and then to a broader audience."</i>
It does not matter if your male or female you can get raped!!!
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