Breaking news on a story covered in an earlier post –
After an intense eight-month investigation, six males - aged 14 to 17 - have been charged with first-degree murder in the beating and stabbing of Omar Wellington last summer. “I’m very pleased,” said Wellington’s mother Joy shortly after the charges were announced. All six youths live in Flemingdon Park, the same area where 17-year-old Wellington was stripped to his underwear and beaten in front of dozens of people on July 14. No one called 911 to report the early evening attack, just metres from a busy playground. Wellington’s body was found the following day in a nearby wooded area. He had suffered multiple stab wounds. “This was a revenge killing,” Det. Scott Spratt said at a press conference at police headquarters this morning, announcing the charges. Because the case is now before the courts, Spratt said he could not provide details about the motive of the slaying. He did say the case had “hallmarks of gang activity.” Spratt and his partner Det. Sgt. Dean Burks say they always believed the case could be solved, despite a reluctance in the community to share information with authorities.
While witness tips led to the arrests, it is still safe to say that little credit is due to the residents of Flemingdon Park. As discussed in the previous Omar Wellington post, several residents witnessed the murder and none came forward. The code of the streets discourages such action and so many months had to pass before information leading to arrests was obtained. A post on the “Stop Snitchin†ethic is forthcoming, but suffice it to say the community will likely rediscover its resolve if the police so much as harm a hair on the heads of the assailants. Assuming those arrested are minorities (most likely black since Wellington is black) they could be recast by community activists as civil rights victims of a “racist†system that didn’t gift-wrap a soft existence and thus “forced†the little gangstas to turn into violent criminals.
Excuse me for being cynical, but this drama has played itself out too many times and too many “community leaders†seem content to ignore the writing on the wall (promoting bad culture + coddling bad people = bad environment).
In the meantime, read the comments section in the original Omar Wellington post – it shows gives an interesting look into the mentality of some Flemingdon Park as well as people close to the Wellington affair.
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Who are you to call anyone ‘bad people?’ What was done was absolutly horrifying and definitely bad but for you to speak about the role of community activists and to ever insinuate that anyone is protecting that type of conduct is a prejudgement on your part.
People do not want to protect criminals, they want to ensure that EVERYONE has a fair shot at a good life, that includes Omar and that include his victimizers and that included ALL YOUTH.
For you to think for one second that by being concerned about youth and youth violence and by developing prevention strategies which address REAL ISSUES these communities face DAILY (like FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER, EMPLOYMENT, Family Dynamics and other basic needs as per Masslow’s chart).
If people have NOTHING TO LOOSE they have NOTHING TO LOOSE ok.
Why don’t you dive a little deeper and keep your shallow comments unpublished lest someone believe the un-seasoned un-intellegent boarderline biggetry that you are writing.
I grew up in these areas, I have a College Diploma, a University Degree and decades of experience working with these youth. Everyone has a story, life experiences, and their position - those kids who wrongfully assulted and murdered Omar have parents too, they bleed and feel and though it is scary and horible what they did, and they definitley needed to be caught as they are a public danger - there was a stage at their life where this could have been prevented or turned around.
Let this be a lesson moving forward - if what you call ‘gang’ members can provide higher levels of income, more stability and protection and fill family voids that families and systems are not able to do than our youth WILL turn to ganges.
Poverty breeds crime - ghettos breed disfunction and right now the system of housing clusters (instead of scattered units) cut welfare (instead of allowing people to live with dignity and meet their basic needs when in need) and lack of equitable employment for people who have criminial records, minority and specifically BLACK youth - especially those from ‘at-risk’ areas, and their parents breed this ok.
Police come after the call - who is making sure the call does not need to be made in the first place?
Who is making sure that children in these areas have the luxury that I am sure YOUR CHILD has - to grow up at a normal pace, not worried about bill, or alcohol, rape or sexual abuse, neglect, gangs, Poverty Poverty Poverty, discrimination, do you know what it does to a child’s self-esteem to have 7 police ride through your neighborhood on bikes for rountine checks - but crime never stops…, hear gunshots at night, have no money for ice cream but a nice guy on the corner who will buy it - do you know how far back seeds are planted - How Dare YOU judge anyone - walk a mile or shut the hell up!!!!!
This is written by an educated BLACK woman who knows what she is speaking about - YOU on the otherhand do not!
P.S. The colour of Omar’s killers have nothing to do with this - this is about so much more - get a clue.
Hi there -
My first clue is you bring up race when it is convenient. First you talk about being black as though it somehow boosts your credibility, then say that color has nothing to do with the killing. Well you can’t have it both ways can you (and you’ll lose trying to play that card, regardless).
1) You say “How Dare YOU judge anyone” while spending 90% of the rest of your post judging others who fail to show the usual ‘outrage’ at everyone except the people who commit and condone the crime.
2) You threw out your educational credentials (although college is a broad generalization that could cover anything from account to philosophy) as proof that we should believe everything you say. But what have you said in your post?
-Life is hard
-We want everyone to have a fair shot (re: we’re not going to turn any of the “brothers” in no matter what they’ve done)
-I’m a bigot (no need to thank me for the spelling correction - although many more should have been made on your behalf) and unintelligent for failing to agree with you
Sorry, but that could have been written by any mad 15 year old who wants to set off the revolution from the comfort of his ergonomic keyboard. Where are your statistics? Where is the research? Do you have anything beside a knee-jerk defense and ad-hominem attacks?
3) If you’re happy to dismiss criminal activity in your old neighborhoods because everyone wasn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths then that’s your business - but don’t attempt to claim superiority because you come from the “hood”. The “hood” in one of many places I’ve been and certainly not the only poor place. Because of that, I know you are chatting garbage by laying the explosive violence solely on poverty. There are many impoverished communities in Northern Ontario that have the SAME RATE OF GUN OWNERSHIP IF NOT MORE. Yet shootings are quite rare. The “black” violence you’re worried about is confined largely to immigrants from Jamaica (which has one of the highest murder rates in the world) and those blacks / hispanics / middle easterners who adopt the rudebwoy mentality. Did you consider long-time black residents and Nigerians before you made your sweeping statements?
4) There are over 1 million workers in Toronto making $29,000/year or less. Obviously that’s not enough to make a decent living and inevitably leads to poverty. With so many people trying to make ends meet, our murder rate should be high - at least 15 per 100,000 (on par with some US cities). Instead, our murder rate barely breaks 2 per 100,000. Most of the murders are from domestic violence (ie non-economic) or gang-related shooting. The latter are centered in a few communities that make up far less than the 1 million workers who have a legitimate reason to complain. Think it’s still just poverty?
5) You need to spend some more time in middle class neighborhoods if you think that alcoholism, drugs and violence are solely “poor” issues.
It’s clear that although you may have grown up in a poor neighbourhood and feel free to vent because of it, you truly have no idea about poverty. There are FAR MORE FACTORS that lead to the kind of rot infesting places like Flemingdon Park. One of those factors it that people like you, who are supposed to be role models, set NO STANDARDS for the others by becoming psuedo-defence lawyers for the bad kids (and sorry if offends you, but what they did was simply BAD) and treat them like the proverbial bird with a broken wing. You seem absolutely terrified of criticizing the culture that not only condones but glorifies criminal behaviour where other cultures simply “pulled themselves up”. Sometimes the answer is not a hug and bag of money, but a kick in the ass - something a lot of those homies sorely need. I’m sure you’ll disagree publicly while enjoying the fruits of your discipline-derived college degree. Typical black middle class hypocrisy.