Does Deval Patrick realize just how much he is embarrassing black people with his recent actions?
Think about it. The first African-American governor of the state of Massachusetts--a man who should be conducting himself with the class and dignity many believe he exhibited during his campaign--has instead acted like an arrogant jerk during his first two months in office. This supposed trailblazer isn't really blazing that much of a trail, is he?
It's hard to think of any another person considered a civil rights hero acting in such a profoundly irresponsible fashion. Did Jackie Robinson act like a self-righteous twit during his rookie year in Brooklyn? Did Bill Russell behave like a stuck-up egomaniac during his tenure with the Boston Celtics? Did Martin Luther King conduct himself in an obnoxious manner when he was tearing down the barriers of Jim Crow segregation?
Patrick is spitting on the graves of civil rights icons by acting in such an abhorrent fashion. Those who confronted dogs, hoses and slurs back in the 1950s and 1960s didn't do so in order that those who came after them would behave like spoiled punks in high office.
Does Patrick ever stop to think about the black people who proudly elected him last fall? These voters legitimately thought he would go to the State House to make a difference. What is he giving them? More of the same. These voters wanted someone that their children and grandchildren would look up to. These voters saw Patrick as the realization of the Dream. Patrick has consciously chosen to give these voters a nightmare.
It's a betrayal. These voters supported Patrick with the implicit understanding that he would govern with humility, with courage, with conscience. They did not vote for him with the expectation that, once in office, he would act like some low-class NBA star.
Patrick is hurting black Bay Staters with his conduct. These voters have been ill-served by their political leaders over the years. They've had to put up with ineffective, showboating Boston city councilors, scandal-scarred state senators, and candidates who deliver empty rhetoric and empty promises.
When Patrick came on the scene, these voters said to themselves, "Finally, he's someone legitimate, someone who's actually going to change this broken system of ours." Now, these voters get up every morning and read stories about how Patrick is making this broken system even worse. It's an embarrassment, a shame, a disgrace. Patrick's behavior disrespects these voters--and he doesn't even seem to care.
Shouldn't you care, Deval? Shouldn't you think about the "community" that embraced you, that wished you well, that expected you to be something better? Shouldn't you think about them, instead of yourself?
Brother, wake up!
UPDATE: More from the AP, the Boston Phoenix, Big Bish, Peter Porcupine and Scott Allen Miller.
SECOND UPDATE: More from Casey Ross , Margery Eagan , Virginia Buckingham and Lisa Wangsness.