Kansas City has problems. It is an old city and old cities have problems. This year, Kansas City is going to log the highest murder rate we have ever seen. This is a tragedy, and it is mostly affecting minorities and poor people.
Leawood is fifty years old and gerrymandered their city lines at it's inception to keep pre-existing homes occupied by Jewish families out of their city limits. When a pretty white girl from Leawood was murdered two years ago, the entire community pulled together, and the murderer is in jail and the trial process is underway.
Two generations later, and they still have their prejudices over there. Eight Leawood city employees have been disciplined for running an office pool. That isn't the outrage, the outrage is what the pool is about...They were betting on how many murders total KC will experience this year. Crude. Callous. Insensitive. Brutish. Disgusting. Those employees need to be fired, and publicly exposed. Anything less, and as far as I'm concerned, it is a cover-up.
Update, Saturday November 12; From The Kansas City Star (reg. req.):
Leawood to apologize for bets on homicides
By Henry C. Jackson
The Kansas City Star
"Leawood plans to issuw a formal apology for a "Dead Pool" organized by employees of the city.
"Reached by phone on Friday, Mayor Peggy Dunn called the incident, which involved public works employees betting on the final homicide total in Kansas City this year, "tremendously disappointing." Dunn, who was out of town, said she had spoken to City Administrator Scott Lambers about plans to issue a formal appology next week."
Thus far eight employees have been disciplined. Six received one-week suspensions, and two others, a supervisor who was aware of the pool but allowed it to go on, and the person who organized it, received two week suspensions.
I don't think it goes far enough, but we are used to JoCo's scorn and snobbery. I can only assume that they figure since most of the victims are minorities it's not entirely a bad thing, I guess. I mean, I hate to ascribe motives to anyone, but what are you supposed to think when a record murder rate in the city across the street is a joke?
You can bet that if Leawood was facing a record homicide rate, the hue and cry would be long and loud, and they would be demanding the heads of any Missouri public employees who callously started a betting pool about it. Of course, in Leawood the victims would be white and affluent, so what am I thinking? Of course it would be a much bigger deal!
