MORE SHOOTINGS AND MURDERS? THEN LET’s PLAY SOME HOOP … PLANET FILMS AGAIN … plus … SENSATIONAL NEWS, UNCONFIRMED, ON FOURTH OF JULY MASSACRE
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, AUG. 4, 2015) — QUESTION: How do you stop five teenagers from going on a shooting rampage in Pittsfield?
ANSWER: Throw them a basketball.
It’s not as simple as that, of course, but as the shootings, stabbings, gang activity, and drug deals make of the city an underdone order of scrambled eggs, that’s basically the level of response from various city and social service officials. Be like Mike.
Just yesterday, there were reports of more gunfire on Tyler Street. Then later came word of mayhem on Plunkett Street, off Tyler. Unconfirmed word on the street called it a murder-suicide. Into last night, police and sheriff’s vehicles massed outside 72 Plunkett. The Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force command vehicle, a.k.a. the RMS Titanic, was also seen there. The street also reports gunfire last night in the Robbins-Dewey area. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Rest assured, though. The mayor of Pittsfield assures you, members of the general public, that you are safe.
Keep repeating after the mayor: You are safe. You are safe You are (ping, ping PING!) safe.
The basketball program is designed to give teens “something to do” between now and back-to-school time. That’s assuming the young scholars even bother. Funny, right? Instead of catching up on their summer reading, brushing up on Beowulf and algebra I, a basketball program is planned by something called The Carlton Foundation of America. The Boring Broadsheet ran a nice puff piece of this latest touch of the Florence Nightingale.
——– 000 ——–
THE PLANET thinks of a C.S. Lewis quote: “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
——– 000 ——–
“A lot of boys are sitting home with nothing to do, and they won’t go to the parks because of the shootings,” said Valerie Hamilton, Carlton CEO. Try finding information on Carlton. It’s hard to come by. For example, if you’re wondering, “Where is Carlton getting the money for this?” maybe you should pull out a mirror.
It’s an amazing statement in that it recognizes, far more than anything the mayor, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., or the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce have admitted about the sad state of a city gone bad. It also astounding because, at the same time, Hamilton said this: “The West Side in Pittsfield isn’t The Bronx or the south side of Chicago. We’re more like a small town.”
Except that in small towns, people play in the parks freely and without care other than to have fun.
So which is it? Is Pittsfield a city where teenage boys, the most fearless and conscience-less of all age groups, are afraid to go to the park, or it is that Mayfield-like “small town”?
Meanwhile, we hear there’s a ground floor opportunity in a new company selling bullet-proof vests and .38 Specials. It’s going to be located in the shops at Hotel On North. THE PLANET hears it will be called Guns on North.
———————————————————————————————
PLANET’s Film Series Continues
THE PLANET’s cameras were spotted around the city yesterday, as we filmed for our next classic. Our third film is titled SANITY MADE SIMPLE. We have editing and post-production work ahead and will have this latest award-winner ready for its premiere on Aug. 13. Details to come. Here, for those who want to view, is a link for our second film, KENTUCKY FRIED PITTSFIELD … or … WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, COL. SANDERS? — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzflpEb_zQQ
—————————————————————————————————-
Did July 4 Killer ‘Escape’ from Hospital on July 6?
One piece of unconfirmed news may explain why there has been no updated information on the July 4 Massacre. No one has been arrested. No suspects named — just the way the mayor likes it, on Lockdown. Sources with connections to Berkshire Medical Center say one of the July 4 shooters, the one who did the killing, was himself shot and was one of the patients at BMC. Sources said two days later, on July 6, the killer “escaped” from the hospital. To repeat, we have not confirmed this information. It provides, however, the most plausible reason to date for the Lockdown.
As we said yesterday, “think it through.”
—————————————————————————————————-
“‘All truth is simple.’ Is that not double a lie?’” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, “Maxims and Arrows,” #4, (1888).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The views expressed in any comment section are not those of PLANET VALENTI or endorsed in any way by PLANET VALENTI; this website reserves the right to remove any comment which violates its Rules of Conduct, and it is not liable for the consequences of any posted comment as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and PLANET VALENTI’s terms of service.
Reminds one of the midnight basketball of 20 years ago. The Carleton Foundation uses its checkbook rather than a gun.
I think any positive activity beats negative activity. it takes a multitude of things to engage not the gang bangers – I believe they are lost, but those in the periphery. the 14 year old who is not in a gang, the kid whose cousin is, but he isn’t.
there is not one magic bullet (pun intended), but 100 little things. we need to make it normal to do normal things again. we need to make it normal to settle scores without guns or beatdowns. we also need to make it normal to go to school.
school was tough for me, but it was through sports, shop and hobbies that I made it through those teenage years.
I won’t criticize any group that triers to help. this weekend’s Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram, and a few other papers did stories about the rising tide of violence in their communities or nearby. What is happening in Pittsfield is unfortunately, not happening in a vacuum. We have greater societal forces here, and it requires more than foot patrols or any other simple solution. But if we keep ignoring it, like cancer it will not only grow but spread.
As an aside this past weekend, I saw gang activity at a park in Dalton. I see it in Lee when I work there too. so it has spread – all that is next is the guns and violence.
Southeast, which park in Dalton did you see the gang activity so that I can avoid it?
the one on Field St.
SOUTHEAST-Much of what you say above is very true. no one thing like boots on the ground is going to solve the problem . however– boots on the ground is definitely another tool available to the police and they are not using it. can I say that my proposal of boots on the ground would have prevented the recent violence.]? I cant say yes but I cant say no either. after the july 4th shootings — and at the gather in at pitt park last week, I talked to many many many west side residents. as I told you I am a west side boy and still see many of my friends there and asked them what I could do as mayor that would start to address the problems in the west side and morning side area?.. most were at a loss to give an answer. I decided to ask them if police on foot patrol 24/7 might help? almost unanimously –the people said it is a very good idea. I further asked that if the people saw the police on foot might they be more inclined to work with the police? their response–lets see the police on foot. so you see this is what the people on the west side want. to reposition police on foot patrol would take any good police chief 2 minutes to assign. police chief wynn has not instituted any thing new an the violence continues. we need action from this chief and he is a talker and not a doer so I will be firing him when I become mayor, another reason I am going to fire him is the trumped charges against me by the mayor–the fire chief and the fire dept stoole pidgeon– who falsely charged me with threatening to burn her house down and shoot her. I may be a little off the wall some times but to do those things!!! –absolutely not and I will prove it in court beyond any question of doubt. the problems in the west side are predominately caused by this administration and past ones not including the west side people as part of the bigger picture here .when I am mayor they will be included as equals as will everybody else—craig
I have always disliked CS Lewis as a writer andas a philosopher; stylistically and content-wise I have always found him lacking. If the Carleton Foundation is indeed a thinly veiled, tax payer funded public entity, shame on them, the city and the administration for wasting tax payer dollars. But if they are a private group, and Valerie Hamilton is simply a private citizen just trying to do SOMETHING then good on them and shame on you for your cynicism….LOL, if only we knew. I was glad to read that someone decided to try to do something, unlike the feckless city administration.
Researched the Carlton Foundation Of America a little and found It was started/filed Oct. 25, 1990 as a non profit Valerie is the only principal listed. The address given is 95 Berkley St. 6 th floor , Boston Ma 02116. The address comes back to Wilson St. Pittsfield Ma.. File # 043117126 . I’m somewhat skeptical of these non profits but some are in fact legitimate. I do give her credit for trying to help in someway.
The guy killed his wife child and himself. I looked on his fb page…all his pics are of him n daughter…crazy
Give it a year and Adam Hinds will be in charge of Carleton. Non-profit community organizing fucking merry-go-round.
Another “non-profit.” God help us. And what do the kids do when the hour of basketball is over? There are 23 other hours.
God is exactly what these young people need in there lives. Not everyone can play basketball, but anyone can talk to god.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Family:_The_Case_For_National_Action
Is there anything this City could do that would make you happy Dan?? This basketball plan is part of a much larger picture. Some members of this community are doing great things to try and stem the violence and get youth redirected. Why don’t you take a look at the mentoring program that is happening right now. There is no one solution to this issue but many smaller ones.
DV makes a fair point. More basketball will not help these teens. More study and academics will. You miss the point.
FM
There is plenty the city could do to “make me happy” (although, “happiness” per se would never enter the discussion from my end as a measurement of my evaluation of what a city or town would do). All of them stem from one issue: Getting the city’s spending and borrowing problem corrected. That’s the short answer to a complicated question.
And Showing some positive sign for job growth. Not going to happen.
Pittsfield should have it’s own N B A Team..the Toxins. Anyway you would think athletics are before academics….it’s Not, or not supposed to be that way. The new school vote and lack of the right to accept or deny funding by this Council, has to be one of the hardest things for myself since becoming a voter decades ago. Craig for Mayor!!!’