Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan responded to the dine-and-dash incident at the IHOP in Clayton by asking, “What were the cops supposed to do?” McClellan talked about a stabbing in the mall and a friend of his who wouldn’t stay in this nice hotel with good food and a nice gym, all because of “black kids.”
I am a senior citizen, and I don’t read your articles, Mr. McClellan. My daughter, who worked security and hospitality during her college years, brought your article to my attention. She knows how all races of people act in hotels. There is no racial distinction in how people act.
The one thing that got me stirred up was your emphasis on the words “black kids.” Everything out of your mouth, everything that goes wrong: “black kids.”
What if it had been white youth? Please don’t tell me restaurant owners don’t have white youth dine and dash. You stated there were 40 dine-and-dash incidents at the IHOP. Were they all “black kids”?
In this case, the black youth were innocent. The store manager said they were innocent, but you, Mr. McClellan, felt the need to question the why of it. The outcry of people who called out the injustice of the police picking these kids up and bringing them back to the IHOP, only to be told that they were not the suspects, seemed to be over the top for you. And so the question for you: “What were the cops supposed to do?”
You are an older white man who needs to understand the plight of a black person in its entirety before you write stuff like this in the newspaper. A black youth is just one wrong move away from death in any given situation with the police.
This is not just something that just happens like some made-up story. Some had their receipts; some didn’t. If they had been white youth, more than likely, end of story. You would not have had anything to write about.
What world are you living in that you do not know what is going on around you?
We have a dysfunctional president, and we are living in an ungodly world. The dysfunction in this region is its racism and bigotry.
I am sick and tired of the news painting black people in such a negative light. If a white person commits a horrific crime, you hear all about the crime before you learn about the color of their skin – and that is what offends me about your article, Mr. McClellan.
We have many outstanding black youth, and you do a disservice to them when you write articles such as this.
