The jumping off discussion area for the rest of the Deck. All things Lakewood.
Please check out our other sections. As we refile many discussions from the past into
their proper sections please check them out and offer suggestions.
Bryan Schwegler wrote:"influx of low income minorities", I think that's code for being a racist. It's pretty easy to figure out by the way you choose your words. And I agree with Esther, your thread is reprehensible.
Agreed! The "influx of low income minorities" are not moving to Lakewood to commit crimes. They are moving to Lakewood to give their families a better life and opportunity. I did a lot of walking around Lakewood last year (after my knee surgery). I would often encounter large groups of teens (usually boys). I would always say hi to them and they would always say hi back.. and we usually ended up talking about something. It is amazing what a little eye contact and positive attitude can do..
You were saying in an earlier post in this thread that you hated to edit anything, but the fact is that posting a link that "outs" Lakewood residents who have Section 8 housing by listing their individual names and addresses, is an irresponsible use of forum like this. You posted that you had EDITED it immediately, and why, and still allowed Mr. Fecser to make the statements he insists on making.
He seems to be implying with his signature that you take out anything that strikes your fancy on the Deck, and that couldn't be further from the truth. This Deck belongs to the community to such a degree that even this subject, the way the Deck is run, is open to public debate.
Steve Fecser has been given a chance to think about some of the things he promised not to do when signing on to be a participant on the Deck, but insisted on doing.
This thread has some very relevant material. How do we feel about our neighbors. Is Section 8 good or bad, or just different. How does a city protect itself, and what are the rights if any of people posting in this forum or any forum. However it would be unfair to Mr. Fecser to post statements or questions he cannot answer directly and for the time being he has been suspended.
To my knowledge this has happened 6 times, all for the same reason and all six are now back on board, after the briefest of conversations.
Years ago we launched this project using the hip-term "open source journalism" and we thought it was cutting edge. Very early on we learned that was not the way we wanted to go and we came up with the term "civic journalism." This was for people with a civic stake in the community, who would be given pretty free reign of discussions and conversation, but some simple rules needed to be put into place. Those are in the document we all agreed to when signing in the first time. Even me.
Nothing pains me more than losing a participant in a conversation.
I'm posting this so that members of the Deck to understand why Mr. Fecser is not here right now answering and defending his statements.
I hope that changes in the near future.
.
Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident
"The very act of observing disturbs the system." Werner Heisenberg
"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it." His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Though I'm loathe keep this thread going a moment longer, FYI, that Carroll's Place blog link in Steve's 2nd post of this thread (Fri Aug 28, 2009 2:43 pm), showing the dispersion of Section 8 housing in Lakewood, has gone dead sometime between last night and now.
That address now returns: "Page not found. Sorry, the page you were looking for in the blog Carroll's Place does not exist."
