Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

RIP marion barry


ixcuincle

Recommended Posts

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/us/marion-barry-death/index.html?c=homepage-t

 

 Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry is dead, a hospital spokeswoman said early Sunday. He was 78.

Barry was elected four times as the city's chief executive and was a council member for Washington's 8th ward at the time of his death.

His death was disclosed by Natalie Williams, a spokeswoman for United Medical Center, a public hospital in Washington.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The national media lampooned him over his drug jokes and "**** set me up" line, but when it came to politics, he helped turn the epidemic of DC crime around and make DC a respectable town again. You have to remember back in the 80's, DC was a crime and drug haven. It was not safe to walk the streets up in DC. Marion Barry made serious moves to change this culture. For that he should be thanked and respected. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was a crackhead at one point, and still the best mayor the city has ever known. He actually cared about DC citizens.

 

RIP.

 

Maybe now that he's gone his legacy can now be focused on his accomplishments, rather than personal demons.  He did a lot of good things for a lot of people too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People who don't remember his first term should probably be forgiven for thinking of Marion Barry as a punchline in history, but in his heyday he was an ambitious, effective administrator with a mind like a steel trap. He could've become one of America's great mayors.

It's a shame what addictions can do to a man.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The national media lampooned him over his drug jokes and "**** set me up" line, but when it came to politics, he helped turn the epidemic of DC crime around and make DC a respectable town again. You have to remember back in the 80's, DC was a crime and drug haven. It was not safe to walk the streets up in DC. Marion Barry made serious moves to change this culture. For that he should be thanked and respected.

I wouldn't go that far. He was mayor all through the rise of the DC crack epidemic in the mid- to late 1980's and the spasm of violence that came with it. It was too huge of a problem for any mayor to turn the tide against, so you can't really lay the blame at his feet. It swept other cities too. So it's a stretch to give him credit with turning the city around. DC's homicide record was broken in 1988, 1989, and again in 1990...DC had the highest murder rate in the nation in 1990. Barry's arrest happened in January 1990, he was convicted in August, and by the end of the year decided against reelection.

He can be credited for much, including giving a voice to those living east of the Anacostia and helping out youth with his summer jobs program but I don't think a crime reduction is on his list of accomplishments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A man that, at points of his life, represented the best and worst of Washington.

 

"**** set me up"

 

RIP Mr. Barry.

 

He was a crackhead at one point, and still the best mayor the city has ever known. He actually cared about DC citizens.

 

I wouldn't go that far. As far as actually taking steps to improve the safety and status of Washington, Anthony Williams would be my pick. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Marion Barry had stayed in power the Redskins might have never left DC 

 

Marion Barry Vents About Washington Redskins On Twitter ... 
washington.cbslocal.com/.../marion-barry-on-rgiiis-return-this-is-painful/
Sep 9, 2013 - Like all Washington Redskins fans, Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry had a hard time dealing with an abysmal first game of the year for Mike
 
:lol:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1silrfe


 


From David Aldridge:


 


As a lifelong Washingtonian, I know the impact, for good and ill, that Marion Barry had on the District and its residents, starting with me. I got my first paycheck from the D.C. Summer Youth Jobs Program when I was a teenager—a program begun by Mayor Barry. Marion Barry was a very smart man (he got his Masters' in Chemistry from Fisk University in 1960) and a hard-nosed member of the civil rights movement who came to power in D.C. in 1978 and soon demanded that local businesses employ residents of the city, and that affordable housing be built for them.


 


Everyone I knew had a summer job in the early '80s, and there is no describing the pride I felt learning I could make my own money if I worked hard. The re-development of downtown D.C. began on his watch. Marion Barry's personal demons with substance abuse and corruption during his terms as Mayor have been well documented. He ultimately ran afoul of the law and he let power corrupt him, and he paid a price for that. But he was loved in this city, my city, because he loved it back. You can dismiss him as the Crackhead Mayor if you like, or use some other shorthand. But he meant, and did, so much more for Washington, D.C. Truly, he was Mayor for Life. Rest in Peace, Mayor Barry.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

the DC summer jobs program is enough for people to look at dude as a legend in the area. Generations of people learned government and have jobs in the DC government now because of that program.

He also helped the revitalizing process in many parts of DC that were forgotten.

His drug addictions ultimately lead to his downfall, but the good of Marion Barry outweighs the bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as actually taking steps to improve the safety and status of Washington, Anthony Williams would be my pick. 

 

I don't think it's really comparable, as they were in two completely different situations.  Williams benefitted from a great economy, national decline in crime, federal bailout, great relationship with Congress, and abolishment of the Control Board.  He prioritized balancing the budget, while Barry valued his constituency. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it's really comparable, as they were in two completely different situations.  Williams benefitted from a great economy, national decline in crime, federal bailout, great relationship with Congress, and abolishment of the Control Board.  He prioritized balancing the budget, while Barry valued his constituency. 

I'm out of likes but +1000000000000000000000000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it's really comparable, as they were in two completely different situations.  Williams benefitted from a great economy, national decline in crime, federal bailout, great relationship with Congress, and abolishment of the Control Board.  He prioritized balancing the budget, while Barry valued his constituency. 

Fair enough. As I said before, you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Barry. My family had a rabid loathing for the man and saw his as partially responsible for the city's prolonged slump through the 80s and 90s, both with crime and the city's economy. 

 

I know little about the man's impact, but I see him as I see most controversial political icons: he's not the angel his supporters says he was, but he's not the demon his critics make him out to be. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair enough. As I said before, you have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Barry. My family had a rabid loathing for the man and saw his as partially responsible for the city's prolonged slump through the 80s and 90s, both with crime and the city's economy. 

 

I know little about the man's impact, but I see him as I see most controversial political icons: he's not the angel his supporters says he was, but he's not the demon his critics make him out to be. 

 

I forgot where I heard it, but someone made a comparison between Marion Barry and Bill Clinton, saying in essence that they were both brilliant men, great politicians, but lacked personal discipline.  And I'd agree with that. 

 

No one props Barry up as being an angel, but his contributions to the city outweigh his shortcomings.  I can name relatives whose first experience working was through the youth summer program started by Barry.  He faced a DC that was decimated by civil rights riots, declining population, decreasing tax base, and later the emergence of crack cocaine (which ravaged many urban areas).  

 

I think all things considered, there won't be another like him.  He did things his way, and valued people over policies.  Found it more important to employ people over worrying about surpluses and deficits.  And he loved DC.       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And maybe that's why so many people in my family didn't like the guy. We sort of skipped a generation with my folks, straight from the boomers to my generation, so by the time he reached office, the previous generation already had steady jobs with the federal government, were too go to school or not born yet. We didn't really reap those benefits because we didn't need to (and for that I am very thankful). What I think saw was a city still decaying, people getting shot every night and neighborhoods still in disarray 20 years after the riots. 

 

Interesting article on Barry from '98 after he announced he wouldn't run for another term.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/dc/barry/barryyears0522a.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This man took any talent or charisma he had and flushed it down the ****ter. Corrupt and his reign was a sign of the times. Nice to know he's somehow respected now.

 

two things - one, i'm not a native DC or marylander. i transplanted in the late 80s, which coincides with his decline, so i wasnt a party to the 'good' barry. 

 

second, i have a generally negative opinion of politicians, and see them as used car salesmen with college degrees. they are lying when their lips are moving- democrat, republican, doesnt matter. 

 

because of these two things, i share a similar view of barry. 

 

that said, i'll be interested in hearing more about his accomplishments over the next few days as he's canonized by his supporters (which is a human response when a larger than life public figure dies).

 

i'll probably come away from all of this with a more positive view of the man, when its all written. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This man took any talent or charisma he had and flushed it down the ****ter. Corrupt and his reign was a sign of the times. Nice to know he's somehow respected now.

 

I agree 100% with this. He was one of the 1st major civil-rights activists to be elected mayor of a large US city. He had the opportunity to show the nation (a very skeptical nation) that he had the ideas & integrity to rebuild a city that was in serious disarray. The city was still a mess from the early '70s riots. He had a chance to prove everyone wrong & lead DC forward. He failed, be it because of drugs, corruption, addiction, or incompetency. He failed.

 

I was so hoping he would succeed, but ultimately the promise of a new DC never materialized during his reign. 

 

RIP Marion. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...