Guarino on the Coliseum

From The Evil Dr. Guarino at The Greensboro Guardian:

Allen Johnson continued his good discussion of the Greensboro Coliseum’s SuperJam event. This is a major annual hip-hop concert that unleashes an epidemic of disorder and crime on the streets of our fair city. A huge portion of the city’s police force is required to work the event; and there were approximately 200 arrests this year.

Guarino not only doesn’t provide a link to Johnson’s column, but doesn’t even acknowledge what paper it’s found in. Because I was late finding this, the link has apparently expired from the N&R‘s e-reader.

Never mind the fact that hip-hop has no redeeming artistic or social value.

Thank God we have Guarino as cultural arbiter. I’m sure he is a student of such things and has researched the subject exhaustively. Even so, as a city with several universities enrolling hundreds of black students, and having a sizable population of young blacks, it seems appropriate that they should have at least one music festival, no matter the cost or consequences. And it is the nature of this community that some commit crimes during the event and are arrested for it. Indeed, among young blacks, criminal prosecution is a rite of passage. And for those of us who choose not to become victims, it is easy enough to stay away.

Activity generated by Coliseum events tend to prop up local commercial real estate by creating a built-in customer base for hotels, restaurants and other retail establishments. (Of course, in the case of SuperJam, these commercial establishments risk having their premises wrecked and trashed if they were to decide to remain open and try to serve the clientele.)

Thank you, Dr. Guarino, for yet another racist view of our young blacks.

[W]hen we witness all the civic boosterism regarding the Greensboro Coliseum complex– including the aquatic center– it is not primarily about people who claim to love Greensboro. And it is not about people who claim to love sports. Instead, it is about a politically connected group of “stakeholders” who continuously seek the appropriation of taxpayers’ money to further their own interests.

Yes, and if Guarino can find another city where political conditions are different, I suggest he move there. Speaking of which, I suspect Guarino came to this area from the Bronx because Reidsville, where he works, is a hotbed of Klan activity. Indeed, KKK members have been present daily in downtown Reidsville handing out literature while hidden by hoods. I would not be at all surprised to learn that The Evil Dr. Guarino is among them.