Comments

"I do not believe the author, Kyle West, meant to offend anyone in the OU community or beyond, but it was nonetheless insensitive"

How would you know if he was or not? Why hasn't he stepped up and made an apology?

"The Life & Arts editor should not have overlooked the potentially offensive subtext, but again, that’s what happened"

And where is this person and why is he not offering an apology?

"We will try our hardest, as we always do, to avoid making any mistakes we have in the past"

Seems to me that a place where higher learning is supposed to happen just the opposite is happening when you offend a whole community of people. I'm ashamed to say that I attended a place where things like this still can happen.
Malcolm Forbes said it perfectly with this quote
"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one". We know there is at least one empty mind at the University of Oklahoma.

Look, they issued an apology so let it be. It was an accident and not intended to be racially charged. OU isn't a racist university and The Daily isn't a racist publication.

Don't lose your lid.

I am one person who complained, and I personally accept the editor's apology. But please OUguy, the article was not an "accident." An accident is typing the same word twice twice or letting your finger remain on one computer key "ssssssssssss" for three seconds and forgetting to delete. To write an entire article describing the fear of visiting a fast food place because Black gangstas might kill you required thought and time (though lacking insight about racial dynamics). Certainly a senior could have been more insightful. The readers of this university paper have some justification to feel irritated or angry. No one has "lost the lid", the article opened the container. With the apology it will close again in time.

Again, Thank you Jamie for responding to this matter with necessary haste.
Dr. Pellebon

Come on now, even though it is a column and not an article, it didn't just pass through the hands of the L&A editor and the author, it would've gone through copy editors as well and possibly even the hands of another editor.

To the author:
-So you're scared to go to this place that is surrounded by "gangsters and thugs" and yet you choose to go at 2 a.m.? Not exactly the safest time if you're trying to avoid trouble.

-In the article you say that the greatest danger at OU is "probably getting run over by a bike"... Does Virginia Tech ring a bell?

-And the comment about how it seemed like every "gangster and wannabe gangster had been drawn here like iron fillings to a magnet." Wow. First off, you're in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, not Compton. Secondly you're a senior, about to be released into the real world, and you're still profiling people into racial stereotypes. I hate to tell you, but there's a whole different world out there than what you see in Oklahoma (even Lawton) and I dare you to step into it with an open mind. College isn't just for an academic education, it's for personal growth. Anyone can choose to learn from people that they're different from, maybe even scared of, if they just try. I went to a high school where I was a minority and I only wish that everyone could have the same experiences I did.

Please, don't leave college without broadening your horizons culturally.

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. If anyone has been to Bobo's, they know what it is like. It is a scary place, but great. Kyle West is being made out to be a bad guy, but he nailed this down to the T. sooner09, relax. If you actually read the column, you'd know there was no racial comments made. This is all about being politically correct, and it is unbelievable that people get upset about it. Just because you're scared when you go there, it makes you a racist? It sounds to me like sooner09 and zqnupe5 and everyone else that are getting upset is trying to find something to speak out against. Grow up people. Or go there, and see that Kyle was right. I have friends that live in that area that are black, (or should it be African-American so I don't offend you ponces) who have read this and saw nothing wrong with it. Shame on the editor for issuing an apology and taking this column down.

People are way too damn sensitive.

Especially when the columnist provides evidence that the area -- "the site of a drive-by where six people were injured" -- is known for gang activity and violence.

Those are facts, not racism.

I think everyone agrees that Bobo's is in a sketchy area of OKC, but he lives 5 minutes away from there and he still writes as if he's never been in that area? That's ridiculous.

I don't know who Kyle is or anything, but like someone said if he's a SENIOR and he's still holding onto these perceived stereotypes he's got a ways to go, especially considering he's a PW major. really? He's gotten through all of the courses and not run into something about diversity how to write about yet?

Yea. It's a sketchy place and again, if he's so worried why go there at 2 am? His pictures do not paint the picture that his words try to create. His article/column or whatever does NOT even hit on Bobo's food at all, it's all his dribble about him being some sheltered white kid.

No one is saying OU is racist or even that what Kyle wrote was really racist. He didn't say anything completely demeaning, but his attitude that he writes with is what sets it apart.

And I'd like to address Jamie claiming that she is a "minority" journalist. I guess it depends on what you define as a minority. In my humble opinion, I feel like she is a person who all of a sudden became a "minority" (read: Native American) when college rolled around because claiming this status got her all kinds of cash monies for college, right? And then it looks good on a resume or an application to have been involved in all of this different minority groups to show that she is well rounded or diverse.

If she were a "minority" as she claims, she'd have seen the problems with the way Kyle wrote his column. It would not have "slipped through the cracks."

I think it's a poor excuse to try and qualify what was released by claiming you're a minority. Jamie Hughes sure sounds ethnic to me.

Here are a few facts for all of you. My uncle Bobo, Mr. Ozell Pope, was laid to rest on April 12, 2009. Several of his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews are graduates of the University of Oklahoma and there will be many more to follow. We are a proud family of scholars, athletes, and now business professionals who strive to be honest, open minded, hard working, tax-paying, law abiding, productive members of our communities. We welcome the exchange of ideas and the free flow of information all the while recognizing that some folks just weren't raised right! Mr. West is certainly entitled to his own opinion, however wrong he might be. I can assure you that my Uncle Bobo would tell you that if you're scared, then you should probably stay home. We regret that there happened to be a drive by shooting at this location. We also regret that Roger Dale Stafford went on a rampage in the steakhouse so many years ago and that Phillip and Nancy Garrido kidnapped young Jaycee Lee Dugard and held her hostage as a sex slave in a backyard shed for 18 years. Sadly, and far too often, people hurt others with their actions. I hardly think that anyone should hold an entire community responsible for the actions of a few or worse make an ignorant assumption about who people are based on where they live. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Mr. West and thank you for opening the door for more open communication on this topic. Rest in Peace Uncle and thank you for being such an incredible human being that from beyond you are still able to motivate us. I guess Grandma must have raised you right!!!! Now, enough of all this jaw jacking … let’s focus on some football! BOOMER SOONER!!!

Just another example of why the daily is a terrible student paper. The news is all AP stories; anything that is actually from a student is filled with incorrect facts, spelling mistakes, and false quotes. This paper is a joke, maybe with the mega millions that the Gaylord family has pumped into that building, we can get a little better quality.

Quoting Bootscallahan:

"Just because you're scared when you go there, it makes you a racist?"

If you are scared because of the racial makeup of the stand patrons, then yes, that is textbook racism. The Daily is sinking to new lows here, and that is saying something.

Why is it that no one sees the trash until it lands in their yard? Everyone is to quick to defend their position that no learning is taking place, which this is a learning moment. The University of Oklahoma is supposed to be a place where learning occurs which should really apply to both sides of this argument. The sad part is that most people defending the author only further discriminatory and offensive behaviors and stereotypes. Sure that side of town maybe viewed by some as dangerous due,in part, to the mentioned drive-by. But as a true sooner I realize that our dear campus has had its own share of tragedies, most recently when a student some how blew himself up during a nationaly televised football game. Yet as a University we don't want to be defined by that singular moment. Neither should a location be singularly identified due to foolishness of a few.Second, there is no place on this Earth that is immune to violence.
The author goes on to further display questionable judgment, going @ 2 am, though you apparently knew you could've gone earlier, apparently writing your article under the influence of something (must've been to think it was okay to say those things), seemingly writing a food article but not really talking about the food,and living 5 min away and that being your first time to go to BoBos, that's a crime in itself. But hopefully this can be an opportunity for everyone to truly take this as a greater learning experience of being mindful of the perceptions we have versus the realities that exist. There are places we perceive as dangerous that are safe and places we perceive as safe that aren't. Mom always said never judge a book by its cover.
P.S. Kyle those u saw weren't gangstas...real gangstas move in silence.
JTD
OU class of 03 & 06

I do believe issuing an apology was the correct thing for the Daily to do. With that said, anyone who read that article and found it offensive did it rightly so. No one was being too "sensitive". The point of the article had little to do with chicken and a lot to do with racial stereotyping. As for Bobo's being a "scary" place at 2am, well maybe so. But why is it a scary place? The article in question implied (and did so by saying everything but the word "black") that it was scary simply because black "gangstas" hung around there. So people should be upset about this, but an apology has been made as it should. As for the attack on Jamie, that is simply not called for. Jamie has the right to claim what ethnicity she desires, and no person has a right to judge and criticize her choice of ethnicity (because ethnicity is a personal choice).

I am not African American but I would be completely offended at this. Not at the article itself, but that the entire school reads an article about someone being scared of gangsters, and everyone automatically thinks that that word can only refer to African Americans.
The only way you can possibly see this article as racist is if you draw from your own stereotypes to support your argument. If you are quite sure that by "gangstas" and "shady cars" and "rap music" that he meant black people, then aren't YOU the one using stereotypes? People of ALL races can join a gang. As someone who is not part of a gang, coming in contact with any gang member, regardless of color, is scary.
Think about what a gang is about. It's a lot of violence to protect members of the gang. So if anything, he was stereotyping all gang members here, or even all people who dress like gang members, not just ones of a particular race.
Also, there are white people, mexicans, etc who listen to rap music and drive "shady cars." To think that those words are obviously referring to African Americans, and are therefore racist seems pretty racist.
And if a drive-by happened involving a gang that injured people, a person has every right to be scared. By calling this article racist, we are implying that anytime anyone says "gang" or "shady" or "bad neighborhood" that it automatically means black people, which is stereotyping. Maybe the author WAS thinking of a particular race, or maybe he doesn't play into the stereotypes and didn't think of those words as racist. He obvisouly is scared of "gangstas." Do you honestly think that if someone asked him to go hang out with a gang he would decline, but then if they said "it's a white gang" he'd be ok with it? Probably not. But it isn't our place to analyze what he writes using our own stereotypes. Let us not turn into the school who cried "racist" when we really should be re-evaluating our own stereotypes. Just something to think about.

"Boots" because you don't perceive it as racial insensitive is unfortunate and things like this will continue to happen or written that is nothing more than sterotype. An apology was appropriate and I don't recall anyone other than you saying it was racism and you are being insensitive to many many people who saw it and were offended. You are in the minority in thinking it was a great story but in fact it was poorly written story about going for some fried chicken.
Oh, by the way, I go to the Eastside every time I'm in OKC and I'm never afraid to be there nor do I feel threatened by being there. Good people over there, I don't know any "thugs" and "gangstas" but I surely will look for them on my next visit!

OUstudent2013, I have to disagree with you - the assumption that the mentioned "thugs and gangsters" were African American were not based on his superficial descriptions alone. West did not use the word "black," but 23rd and MLK is an area of town where mostly African Americans reside, though it is true that people of other races visit Bobo's too. Actually, I've heard that nurses who work at the hospital also frequent the joint (though more likely at lunch than at 2am).

For me, the sentence that was the most offensive, largely because of the logical structure, was the one at the end of the opening paragraph in which he said that he feared death by drive-by shooting because, being white and naive, he assumed he'd be a prime target for gangsters and thugs.

In this sentence, he draws a distinction between himself - person type A, defined as white and naive - and another type of person, let's call it a type B - who are made up of gangsters and thugs - and who are, by logical extension, non-white.

West is somewhat aware that the subject matter of his opinion piece is not so much the fried chicken as it is the lingering racial tensions and inequities that still exist in our society, and he gives several clues to this awareness - referring to himself as naive, using overly dramatic language to describe a simple fast food run, etc. I think this article was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek. But West never quite reaches the level of self awareness that our generation has mastered - the politically correct discussion of things not as they are, but as we wish they were.

This passage struck me as both particularly honest and offensive:

"Before arriving, I’d imagined my faithful friends and me walking quietly yet purposefully up to the trailer, getting our food and stealing away like phantoms into the night before the inevitable gangs descended upon our soft, suburban underbellies. But thankfully, things didn’t turn out that way. It seemed like every gangster and wannabe gangster had been drawn here like iron filings to a magnet. I probably unfairly thought most of the honest people there were gangsters. Not that long ago Bobo’s was the site of a drive-by where six people were injured."

It is this sentence where West openly recognizes his own prejudice:
"I probably unfairly thought most of the honest people were gangsters."
For some reason this recognition did not cause him to pause and reevaluate whether the style he chose for his story would cause the kind of reaction it did, and he now will spend his fifteen minutes of fame as the whipping boy for the naive and racially insensitive among us - all for the delivery, however uncouth, of his story of crossing social boundaries that do, in fact, still exist, intangible as they may be.

Even perfectly executed political correctness cannot in itself change the fact that black, brown, red, yellow, female, poor - anyone person type who couldn't vote when our country was founded or for generations thereafter - are statistically more likely to be underprivileged in our society. These inequities don't right themselves overnight, no matter how much we talk about them as if they have.

I also want to bring to light that the column in question was removed from the website. Really classy, guys.

Jamie Hughes is a minority journalist? 1/256th Native American doesn't make you a minority. This is the classic "I am not a racist becuase I have _____ (Black, Hispanic, Asian etc) friends."

bring back the article. i missed it; & maybe a lot of others did, too. have been out of school since may 92 when i graduated with my prized OU BA. BOOMER SOONER, BABY !!! thought maybe the political correctness police would lighten up over the years. obviously not............

That article was the funniest thing I have read in a long time!! I have frequented Bobo's on numerous occassions since I have lived in Oklahoma...and YES that is the BEST chicken I have ever had!! Mr. West, while I do not share your fear of the neighborhood because those are my people, I have been on location during numerous fights, shootings, etc., but as you said the chicken is to die for!! Honey, if black people, in baggy jeans, playing rap music scare you; you are in for a rude awakening!! You be safe, I wish you all the best in your future (hopefully not journalism, but if so...)! OH by the way... our PRESIDENT is black!! And here I thought the views in this country had changed! Silly me!

@kdbp1213 what's your email address? I have a pdf of the column.

Also, I just read the comment from deb05001 about people being able to "choose" their ethnicity.

Now if you could, deb, enlighten me how that works. Because even if she DOES have the blood quantum to qualify for roll in some tribe (I will assume it's a larger tribe with money and one that has low blood quantum levels to get in) then that, in a sense makes her "Native American." But does someone who was not brought up in the traditions and culture really qualify as such? Sam Bradford is, in a sense, native american but he admits himself that he was not brought up in the culture so he kind of disregards it because he doesn't want to seem like he's some big advocate for native americans or something.

There are plenty of people at OU that claim some kind of ethnicity or heritage before they came here so they could reap the benefits of scholarship monies and that's pretty dadgum low.

This is still so ridiculous. He never made any reference to race in this article at all. This sounds like a bunch of liberals, who are OBSESSED with race, trying to find something to speak out against. There was a drive-by shooting in the area, more than once. It is known gang territory in NE OKC. The only reason race was brought up in this whole column is because some people have nothing more to do than complain about something. The chicken is good, going there at night isn't the safest feeling. It was an honest article, and anyone who finds this offensive is way too sensitive, and needs to find something better to make an uproar about. And zqnupe5, go there at three o'clock in the morning. There are questionable people out there..whoops! I don't want to offend anyone!

Glad to see so many people here to let African Americans know how they should and shouldn't feel. Thanks, we all had it so wrong. We sure appreciate you coming to clear things up.
Boots, I have been there at that hour of the night and I'm still here. You never walked a mile in anyone's shoes so how the heck are you to determine what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of people who don't agree with this article?

Even if that part of town is predominantly African American,I still don't see how this is racist. He didn't express fear of the fact that they were black. He expressed fear because of the violence and because they looked like gangsters. Yes, we shouldn't judge people based on appearance, but as a society we depend on those judgements. It's amazing that we finally have an African American president. But do you think he would have been elected (or any of our previous presidents for that matter) if he had presented himself as a thug. If he went around wearing oversized t-shirts and jeans that sag to his knees? He would not have been elected. THAT is the image that people are afraid of. Not necessarily his skin color. If you look like that of a job interview you won't be hired. Everyone's aware of the way "gangstas" usually dress. And if you intentionally dress as such, its sending the message that you want people to consider you a gangster. Just like we all have some sort of idea of what the typical uniform of a prostitute is. So if you walk down the street in such clothing, you're sending a message that you want people to percieve you that way. That's why employers care what you wear to an interview. They want to know that you want them to percieve you as professional. If you go into an interview looking like a redneck, gangster, prostitute, slacker, etc, you probably won't get the job. I don't agree with it, but thats how we distinguish people as a society. If you want people to think your baby is a girl, you dress it in pink. If you want people to think you are in a gang, you'll wear that uniform. Its an unfortunate fact of life. But you can't call someone racist if they think you are what you're dressed up as. Just like you can't really be pissed at someone for calling your baby girl a boy when you've dressed her in blue. If you don't want to be considered a gangster, pull your pants up. If you don't want to be considered a redneck, put some clean pants on, and a shirt. Calling someone racist isn't going to change the way that you are letting others percieve you.

It would be a perfect world if we didn't define each other by the color of our skin, but we can't control the thoughts of others. And we can't expect others to stop defining us by skin color, if thats still the way we define ourselves. If someone calls some people who have bad teeth and beat their kids white trash, should I be offended because I'm white? No. Because I'm more than just a white person. Them insulting someone of my skin color isn't a direct attack at me. Nobody wants to be held accountable for everything a person of their skin color does. When an African American gang commits a drive-by and kills someone do you feel like that reflects on you because you are African American? No. Are all white people feeling guilty because of all the people Timothy McVeigh killed? Just because they did something bad it doesn't mean that everyone of that skin color is like that. So then when someone calls a few people gangsters, why then does that reflect on you? It doesn't. That is playing the victim. It seems people only want to be defined by their skin color when they feel that someone of their skin color is being treated unfairly, so that they can be a victim. But nobody wants to link themselves to that skin color when someone of that group has done something wrong. "He called them gangsters and they're black, which means he's calling all black people gangsters" is a perfectly reasonable assumption but "they killed someone and they're black so all black people killed someone" is not? I think Neither one of those statements is reasonable. You can make an assumption about a person of color without it having anything to do with their skin color. You are more than a color. So look past it.

Mr. West visited a predominately black neighborhood, with a documented history of violence and shared his thoughts and fears about his experience. The same can be said for a group of young black men, visiting a biker bar on the West side. The animosity filled atmosphere might well be intimidating to them, as would probably be the case visiting a taco stand on the South side. Unfortunately this is our reality in this day and age. On a recent midday shopping trip to a local mall, I entered a high end women's hand bag store, which shall remain nameless. Immediately, all eyes were on me. I found that ever step I took I was being watched. At least 4 times in 15 minutes I was asked if I had been helped or if I could be assisted with what I was looking for. I assured the multiple clerks that I was just looking. I am sure they failed to notice that I was in fact carrying a hand bag of the same brand but I was equally as certain that even if they had noticed, they might assume that my intentions were not to peruse their wares but rather something much more dishonest. I decided to leave as I overheard one of the clerks say to the other that she needed to go to the bank but that she would wait until all of the shoppers had left the store... Imagine my surprise when I looked up to find that I was the only person in the store. I was deeply offended but could not foresee any acceptable resolution in returning to confront the manager about the way that I had been treated. Instead I chose to walk away with my dignity intact, remembering that these young ladies were simply regurgitating the preconceived notions they were indoctrinated with from birth. I did have to check myself to ensure that I was not just assuming that my ethnicity was an issue for the clerks in the first place. It is my opinion that Mr. West was pointing out that he too had been indoctrinated with the same preconceived notions, indicating that perhaps he has learned something very valuable through this experience. Most assuredly he will again visit Bobo’s as he pointed out in the end that he had overcome his irrational fear. I appreciate his column for all that it was and hope that more contributors in all forms of media will continue to step out of their comfort zone to write something that creates such passion from their readers.

I’m always down for a fight against racism! I always have been. However, I'm a Black 39 yr old male and I don’t find anything racist about this article. The article is indeed overwhelmingly prejudice or an exposure to it and is clearly exposing a commonly shared prejudice about venturing to the Black side of town by non-black people. There’s a great deal of spooky sensationalism, or artistic freedom, in the article too. Many will want to assume racism because the writer is white or non-black, but if you read it again and consider that there are black folk that feel the same way. I'm no stranger to Bobo's chicken and in my twenties, and even since then, I've had no problem with standing in that line among my people waiting to order. When all is said and done, these are my people, our people. There are students in that line. Future doctors, lawyers, architects and politicians as well as present day lawyers, doctors, architects and politicians. Thugs are there too, but they are not the sole representative of black people in America. Non-black folk have always visited Bobo's chicken. I have never witnessed any harm to non-black visitors. The idea that black folk wish to harm non-black folk for being in predominately black areas of town is ridiculous. The writer admits throughout the article that the fears experienced are pre-judged. Why do white folk go to China-town to patronize asian-american business? Because they have no reason to fear Asians. This article is a perfect opportunity to challenge a writer, a black writer perhaps, to write an associated article defining the difference between racism (racial superiority) and prejudice (pre-judging) because that’s where the real issue is on both sides of the racial divide. Logic tells me that the kind of white folks going to MLK & 23rd on a Saturday night at 2:30 am probably match the kind of white folk that voted for Obama and want to put the racial divide behind us just as black folk do. We do, don’t we?
We need this level of honesty to dissolve racism and a perfect understanding of the definition of racism and prejudice. Let’s talk to one another without accusations. Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good!
Boomer Sooner!

I too read the article and found it rather amusing. "In my opinion" there is something that is not right about the author's recollection of his venture into the african american community. First of all if the author was as smart as he tries to appear, especially if he is as "naive" as he says he is, why was he in the forbidden hood at 2am. Violence doesn't just happen on the NE side of OKC and all thugs and gangsta's aren't black. I imagine that the author is searching for a certain audience to help poke fun at the community, it didn't work, it makes him appear to be really stupid (future OU grad - go Sooners!!!!). His story really isn't about race, it's proclaiming one's own self inflicted ignorance. I personally don't believe this is his first trip over to Bobo's. Perhaps there is some jealousy, could it be those fancy rides that the so called black gangsta's and their beautifuly african princes' are riding in, could it be something that these kids have that Mr. Author doesn't? Perhaps so.

Hey Mr. Author, "curiousity killed the cat" not the gangstas, be careful where you let jealousy and ignorance lead you. Don't be a hater!!!!

This author has his own issues. He must have had to ingest quite a bit of cocaine, oxycontin and meth, after downing a keg of Bud, in order to muster up the nerve to take his naive, lily white self, into the scary black community. He and his buddies must have been floating real high, because not only did they muster up the balls to go into the blackhole of a gangsta hood, but the author even had the balls to boast about him and his buddies going onto the oklahoma state capitol steps to wolf down their ethnic ghetto treats at 2am. If any african young man or woman is caught on the capitol steps at this time of morning, claiming to be eating Bobo's chicken with their pals, they'll be talking about it behind the bars at the county jail. Lastly, this article landed in the community and spread like wildfire, let's pray that this author's self proclaimed ignorance of an african american community and culture doesn't make it difficult for future visits of non african american patrons. I've visited Bobo's myself (AA female), I'm not a thug or a gangsta and I don't have thug/gangsta friends but I've seen many white young men and women patronizing Bobo's (afterhours) without a problem, more or less without the look of fear on their faces, unlike the author and his buddies. Again, this author is a wannabe, gangsta fake and this ain't his first time to da hood!

See, this is what an IDIOT sound like trying to be dramatic. When you don't know what the hell you're talking about then don't freakin say anything at all. His/Her comments should solely be on the "fried chicken" and not the driveby's, gangs, etc... that he/she has not experienced first hand nor has she even shopped on NE 23rd St.

NE. 23rd Street is a vibrant neighborhood and culturally diverse community. Oklahoma City would not really exist without NE 23rd Street. You can't even imagine not having some type of experience on 23rd St., like "do you remember when..."

He/She claims to live five minutes away from NE 23rd St., how is it that she has NEVER been to or know of NE 23rd Street. If he/she was involved in HIS/HER community, HE/she would have known that there is an elementary school down the street on MLK, a Library on the corner of 23rd & MLK, DMV North on MLK, Hell the Race track further down! Who says that the "state capitol" is safe? You couldn't catch me there after hours anytime of the night!

He/She is an IDIOT!

I love Bobo's, I'm black, I live on the eastside, grew up on the eastside, hung out on 23rd as a youth, witnessed many “street” related incidents... Now, several yrs (and several college degrees) later, as well as being a business owner... I would love to see a Bobo's transformation! Transformed into a thriving, successful franchise!! I’m ready to invest!!

Hmm... I was notified of this column today, and had it forwarded to me. I read it, and I was not offended at all. Mind you, I am a young African American, and I assume this is the race we are talking about.

Why do I have to assume? Well, the column Mr. West wrote, never once mentioned race. Sure, he said "thugs and gangsters," but how is that racist?

I personally have been to Bobo's several times in my life, and I can confirm that it is in fact a DANGEROUS place to be. Period.

This has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with crime. Unfortunately, an area that is plagued with crime also happens to be an area that is predominantly African American. These are the facts. This does not make someone racist.

I personally don't prefer to be in any area that is crime ridden, for the sake of my own safety. I could care less if it is predominantly Black, White or Hispanic. Crime is crime.

So for those of you who got upset and said that this was a "racist" column, you fueled the stereotype when you took it personal.

Bravo CC. As for zqnupe5, you ponce, I've been there too many times, probably more than you. So please save all the 'walk in mile in shoes' talk for someone else.

"Boots" I doubt you've been there more than me since I was raised over there. So please don't try and tell me what I should or shouldn't be offended by especially from someone who has no clue what the plight of African Americans has been throughout time. You have your opinion, I have mine and I was offended that the paper would allow this to go to print and for the record I never said he was a racist.
Far more people were offended than not and they are here to voice their opinion about the article. You were the first to inject the race issue.
We can agree to disagree but SAVE you formulated opinion for something you know about not things you have very little knowedge.

Okay, some people need to get with REALITY. I keep reading the phrases "crime ridden" and "sketchy" and "dangerous" used to describe the eastside. Let get with the facts. Do your research and you will find that the crime rate on the eastside is comparable to the crime rate in literally EVERY other area in Oklahoma city. The are actually many areas (Bricktown, Southside, Classen area, Paseo, Downtown) that have higher concentrations of crime than the area where Bobo's is located. However, I don't see articles describing Bricktown as "sketchy" or "dangerous" or saying that they are "going to die".

So the fact that people are fearful of the Eastside has NOTHING to do with it being more dangerous than anywhere else, but EVERYTHING to do with the racial and economic makeup of the community and the sterotypes of that group.

With that said, I will not go as far as to say that this article was racist. It was definately prejudice, definately ignorant, and definately offensive. I mean, he acts like he took a trip to BOSNIA or BAGDAD for chicken. This character needs to stay in his house if he is that scary.

I have been to BOBOs many times and I have seen white people patron there and I have brought friends of all races there; they all have left there with their lives (and maybe heartburn), lol.

This article says nothing to me about the area or BONOs, but it say plenty about the person writing the piece and I feel that he just needs to grow a pair.

This was absolutely one of the worst columns that has ever run in the Daily, and that is saying a lot. Not only was the writing incredibly stilted,but the author clearly wrote with neither a proper sense of self(as I'm sure no one cared enough about him to wish him harm or act upon it) nor any sense at all. It's one thing for writers to express their opinions, but when these opinions reinforce negative stereotypes and are blatantly false you do a great disservice to journalism and your readers.
Good job A&E editor and Editor-in-Chief for showing how early in the semester the Daily can be outrageous.

"Tbrown23" - What kind of crime do the statistics show in these areas that you've detailed? While numbers may be the same, or higher as you've mentioned, they don't reflect the same types of crime.

For example, Bricktown may have a high rate of petty theft, but a low rate of violent crime. What is the rate of violent crime for the area in question: Bobo's? You tell me.

Also, I agree that there are several other unsafe areas in OKC, but to say that that part of NE OKC isn't one of them is just foolish.

Let's be real.

Mr. West's opinion certainly is not unique. He was scooped by the Lost Ogle blog in June. Review "Joey's Top Ten Ways to Die in Oklahoma" posted June 3, 2009. What do yo think is Joey's number one way to die? You guessed it, to eat at Bobo's! Cut and paste the following link to get to the site. http://www.thelostogle.com/2009/06/03/jo... Looks like everyone's politically correct indignation is about three months late!

Several have speculated why Mr. West was at Bobo's at 2:00 AM. Perhaps he was completing an assignment given him by The Daily?