2015 was almost exactly like 2014. I don't see any important changes occurring in 2016.
Politics:
The November elections left both the Republicans and the Demagogues in the county legislature in exactly the same configuration as they were in December, 2014. A Republican county executive, and the Republicans outnumbering the Demagogues 19 - 10. Nothing new will be coming out of that political body.
Since Republicans have abandoned active involvement in the City of Rochester, the Black Demagogues and Establishment Demagogues fought themselves to a standstill. Despite sometimes humorous attempts, neither made inroads into the other's territories. The only interesting result of Election 2015 in Rochester was that two Establishment Demagogues were propelled into positions where they can easily challenge Mayor Warren for her office in 2017.
City Hall remains minister-ridden and devoted to promoting the interests of the black community,
perpetuating the tale of 'Two Rochesters." It could hardly be otherwise. The black community is the mayor's only secure power base. She can honestly argue that the black community needs her help more than anyone else, but it makes one wonder what Affirmative Action has accomplished in the last fifty years. The bitter truth is that Affirmative Action created job quotas based on race, social promotion, political correctness and a sense of undeserved entitlement.
Poverty:
Rochester remains one of the poorest cities in America for its size. That is because technology eliminated low skilled, high paying industrial jobs that were Rochester's mainstay. Photonics is being hailed as Rochester's latest economic savior. Previous saviors were High Falls, the Fast Ferry, Renaissance Square, Paetech Tower and a new downtown theater, all of which bit the dust after costing Rochester's taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars with nothing to show for them.
And how do you attract business developers to an area where their potential employees are unqualified for the positions they might offer? And why would any serious developers choose to locate in an area that is perceived as dangerous and violent, because the excuse given is that people commit crimes only because they are poor?
Education:
The Rochester City School District remains a national joke and the worst performing school system in the state. The parade of inept superintendents of schools, hired by the near moronic and repeatedly popularly elected school board has produced this lump of shit. Equally to blame are parents who are unconcerned that fifty percent of the students are absent from school any day of the week, and that less than fifty percent of the student body graduates. They are also unconcerned that fifty percent of those who do graduate are functionally illiterate and unqualified for any high skilled, high paying jobs. That is not going to change in 2016.
Crime:
Rochester is perceived as a dangerous, violent place. That is true enough in certain areas of the city: the ghetto. Most of Rochester's violence and murders take place there. The violence is usually black on black. Sometimes it is black on Asian refugees, who are easy marks for street-smart thugs that roam our streets at will. The rest of us are usually safe from that kind of violence, except for burglaries, robberies and home invasions. The black community is largely unconcerned with black on black violence, unless it is spectacular, like the mass shooting at the Boys and Girls Club on Genesee Street last summer. They prefer not to notice that teenage thugs blossom into full grown criminals because that's whitey's fault. They are more concerned with black deaths resulting from altercations with white cops. Then all Hell breaks loose.
Crime, like charity, starts at home. The trite phrase "It takes a village" is bullshit. It takes a family to raise decent, law abiding and responsible children. Families consisting of teenage baby mamas, absentee baby daddies and overworked and frazzled grandmothers aren't much of a family, and certainly are incapable of providing much of a moral compass for their children. That, too, isn't going to change in 2016.
Of course, there are many people who honestly seek to improve Rochester. There are all sorts of voluntary organizations and neighborhood groups who want to help others and devote their time, money and efforts hoping to make a difference: the Kiwanis, the Rotary, the literacy volunteers. How successful have their efforts been?
In conclusion: Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. 2016 will bring no great changes to the lives of most of us. It will go on the same as most years in the past have. We will continue to remain apathetic, cynical and untrusting because there is really not a lot happening in this city to get excited about or to believe in. Our politicians are liars, because they cannot make things better despite their election promises; our elected officials and their hangers-on want us to do their work for them because they want to get re elected and can't admit they are incapable of changing anything; our fears of crime and violence only serve to reinforce long held prejudices and stereotypes.
So pop the cork, make merry and go on with your lives, knowing that everything that currently goes on in Rochester will continue if we are here or not.
