By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
Author’s Note: Grace Under Pressure is an ongoing series of posts honoring everyday people who courageously make positive differences in their own lives and consequently in the lives of others. It is my own personal affirmation that unexpected heroes live among us and that their service is quiet but unshakable proof that virtue really is its own reward – and ours, too.
They buried little eight-year-old Martin Cobb, Jr. here in Richmond (Va.) on Friday afternoon. Rev. Theodore L. Hughey, pastor of Abundant Life Church, praised the youngster for his courage and then went on to condemn the community and the bureaucrats who oversee it for letting crime fester and forgetting about the children who suffer from it. A handmade sign above the tiny coffin read “Pound for pound, year for year, few greater heroes … if any.”
And little Martin, as his neighbors in the Mosby Court public housing project knew him, was a hero. A small stature caused by an open heart surgery while he was just three-months-old hid a fighting spirit. Many neighbors thought he was only three or four years old. One of them, Harry Hunter, recalled that “He was so small, I used to carry him in my book bag.”
But no one “carried” Little Martin on Thursday evening a week ago when he died defending his sister from a sexual attack at the hands of an alleged 16-year-old sexual predator who, at his young age, had already been charged with viciously assaulting another young boy and has suffered mental health issues.
Marty and his eleven-year-old sister were devoted to each other. Growing up without a father figure and living with a mother who worked to sustain them, they stuck together. Local proprietors recalled the two stopping by in the afternoon to indulge Marty’s rather modest vice for “Hot Fries,” a fast-food snack with a kick of Tabasco. Mosby Court is one of Richmond’s toughest neighborhoods plagued with crime and drugs so the two were always together out of love for each other and fear of the surroundings.
On Thursday evening last, love and fear would intersect at the children’s home on Brandon Road with horrific consequences. Then, according to press accounts, 16-year-old Mairese Jershon Washington, burst into the residence allegedly intent on sexually assaulting Marty’s sister. Confronted with the invasion, Little Martin fought back with all that his four-foot frame would muster. It took a brick to the head and a strangler’s hold to stop the young boy. His assailant retreated, but not before dumping Martin’s little body on the railroad tracks behind his home.
Mourners here Friday were sad and proud. “As soon as he could talk, I told (him) he’s the man of the house. That’s what he did. He’s a hero,” his mother said. “I’m proud of him. I’m proud that he stuck up for his sister. He did what he was taught,” family friend Geraline Pitchford added. Another neighbor Sudan Aunu said, “To have the courage to defend his sister as if he was a grown man. His sister is alive today because of him.”
Rev. Hughey’s words struck some as off the point Friday or a disservice to the heroism of the victim. But were they really? How can a community allow a crime infested neighborhood to wallow decade after decade and do little if anything to address the real problems of poverty, lack of father figures, and unaddressed mental health issues. Virginia has been sorely lacking in answers for all three and it took a highly publicized case of State Senator Cree Deeds’ maiming at the hands of his mentally ill son to even raise the issue of shoddy mental health treatment. Poverty and unstable homes bear hardly a mention in this southern city where conservative policies rule and “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is deemed an article of faith yet only a historical reality for the second and third generation monetized elite who run the town. Rev. Hughey was calling that out and trying make Marty’s death mean more than an icon of family fidelity and intrepidity. He wanted the second grader’s death to bring change. But change for the benefit of the city’s children, it seems, takes more courage than even Martin’s selfless act can accomplish. It takes a community’s courage not just one small person’s. At least, the community has a blueprint for that change now.
A memorial fund has been established in Little Martin’s name at the Wells Fargo Bank called the “Keys For Marty” fund here in Richmond. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo branch.
Source: Richmond Times Dispatch
~Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor
Paul:
“What have you done for the Marty’s of Richmond?”
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Gee, Paul, tail-feathers in a ruffle ’cause I skewered your logic. Ad Hominem looks good on you. We get to see your true colors, you know.
By the way throwing money at it is all that will help and those tight-fisted conservatives know that and despise it.
Here’s Joe Califano (quoted in wiki):
“[F]rom 1963 when Lyndon Johnson took office until 1970 as the impact of his Great Society programs were felt, the portion of Americans living below the poverty line dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 percent, the most dramatic decline over such a brief period in this century.”The percentage of African Americans below the poverty line dropped from 55 percent in 1960 to 27 percent in 1968. From 1964 through 1967, federal expenditures on education rose from $4 billion to $12 billion, while spending on health rose from $5 billion to $16 billion. By that time, the federal government was spending $4,000 per annum on each poor family of four, four times as much as in 1961.”
Lousy Great Society Program. All it did was work.
mespo – still waiting to hear what you have done for the Martys of Richmond. And you did not skewer my logic. BTW, how is the War on Poverty working under Obama?
Mespo:
“We have a new plan through the Exchange and every doctor we use here in Richmond is on it save one.”
Well, that is really fabulous that one city in the United States is doing so well on the Exchanges. Have you called doctors to ensure they are accepting Exchange policies?
In the rest of the US, which you can ascertain quite easily, the vast majority of doctors and hospitals simply cannot afford to accept Exchange policies.
Medicaid and Medicare do not pay enough to cover the cost of care. Historically, doctors could either A) accept a high volume of these patients and conduct a factory, high-volume model, spending very, very little time with each patient. Many were caught over-billing to make up expenses or B) limit the amount of these patients, and make up the difference with patients with private insurance or employer plans.
Now that Exchange policies pay the same as Medicaid (around $27 per visit here in CA), that option is simply not available. The CA Medical Association has written about the majority of doctors in CA simply being unable to afford to keep their doors open on these plans. I have posted links multiple times from various medical associations.
When I went to my doctor’s office yesterday, I told the receptionists that Harry Reid thinks these things just aren’t happening. She said, “Shall I show him this stack of copied insurance cards for people whose Obamacare insurance we can’t afford to accept? Maybe I should fax them to him!” We were all talking about how Obamacare provides a useless insurance card, and how there is no way the middle class can afford insurance anymore. I know I am paying $900 a month for a family of 3, with a $6,000/person deductible, where I was paying a few hundred before with a $500 deductible.
We all agreed that Obama has acted like an enemy to the middle class.
I have the SAME conversation at every doctor’s office.
Don’t believe me? Pick up the phone, and a directory of doctors with good reviews in CA, and start calling. And then move on to other states. And then take a good, long look in the mirror and think about what this means to millions of people – insurance few doctors or hospitals will take, insurance that has become completely unaffordable to the middle class . . . a middle class who used to be able to afford insurance now faced with $6,000 deductibles, tight formularies that won’t cover their prescriptions. What did Democrats just do to millions of people?
If you ignore the problem, then it is willful blindness.
Paul,
Yes, I could, so could you, I would but I doubt you would. You pat yourself on the back for teaching these children, ok I pat myself on the back for working in free clinics. Now aren’t we good people? Or could we do more?
Annie – I don’t ‘pat myself on the back’ for working with those students. It was my honor to work with them. I keep in touch with many of them still. Briefly chatted with one today another one yesterday. I am very proud of what they have accomplished. I was just there to help.
The more people in the exchanges the lower the premiums will go, the clinics and hospitals who don’t accept the exchange plans, shame on them and IMO they should be forced to accept the patients on these plans. When profit is the bottom line, it’s always the patient who suffers. Let’s put the blame where it lies, with the insurance companies and the mega billion dollar health care industry… And greed.
Annie – you could always offer to babysit.
What does it have to do with Marty? What it has to do with him is that his mother was out working, more than likely longer hours, because of very low pay and he and his sister were left alone too much, too long. If all the women who had abortions were FORCED to go through with the pregnancy and had to have AFDC for the first couple of years, the Tea Party people should be out in the streets with placards reading “Taxed Enough Already! NO More AFDC!”, while trying to take away abortion rights at the same time. The hypocrisy is rich, while the mothers and children stay poor.
Paul:
“Mespo – so if I understand you correctly, Marty was killed because of the Tea Party?</italics?"
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No, of course not, there Paul. That's the simple reasoning I usually get from the Tea Party. Marty was killed by his assailant. The Tea Party crowd cares little if at all for kids like Marty and provides political cover for politicians who feel similarly or who harbor this "up by your bootstraps" mentality. Somehow they think kids have bootstraps. Compassion for people like this is an afterthought and they blithely tolerate the conditions like those existing in Mosby Court because it's cheaper to do so. It would take money and programs to clean up Mosby Court but doing nothing seems a lot better to people who react instinctively that taxes are bad; government is bad; Ayn Rand is good.
BTW I saw a fun bumper sticker the other day about the Neanderthals that tend to gravitate to the Tea Party.
"The Tea Party Formerly known as: The Ku Klux Klan"
That made me chuckle.
mespo – I spent years teaching kids like Marty and his sister, making sure they got a good education and making sure they got into college if that is what they wanted. What have you done for the Marty’s of Richmond? I see you talking the talk, but I don’t see you walking the walk. BTW, throwing money at it is not really going to make it better.
mespo – I thought Marty was killed because he was protecting his older sister from a rapist while his mother was absent. What does the Tea Party have to do with that?
Karen S:
We have a new plan through the Exchange and every doctor we use here in Richmond is on it save one. Since we know where the bones are buried we tend to use a qualified bunch. We also have every hospital on it except the Bon Secours crowd who is tied to the Catholic Church (of course that has nothing to do their decision to tank the plan, of course). I’d say your dermatologist’s ideology is showing if not your own. Eight million signups would make most fair-minded people happy especially the money-mad Repub crowd since they won’t have to pay for these folks via free care at area ERs. But hey that’s logic and anyone driven crazy by their political religion usually isn’t amenable to that.
Paul:
The money for social welfare is a melange of federal and state funding sources. Each locality participates differently but the mandates apply equally. Some surrounding and remote localities use Richmond as a dumping ground for their problem cases when they don’t want to pay the freight which burdens the system here in Richmond. The problems are complex due to the overlapping federal and state regulation. The money is also problematic due to the recent recession and dips in state revenue. The federal money is also dicey due to the Republican insistence on budget cuts aimed at the poor. Richmond has been plagued by poor management of its social services department but I find most of the work force caring and competent. It’s a problem of complexity (which humans don’t handle well) and unpredictability (which is preventable). Add to that the constant carping from uninformed ideologues on both sides of the political spectrum ( but mostly the Tea Party know-nothings) and you get a system where stories like Marty’s occur.
Mespo – so if I understand you correctly, Marty was killed because of the Tea Party?</italics?
mesp – exactly how does the money trail work in Richmond? I can tell how it works in my state, but VA is like a foreign country to me.
Tom:
Thanks for the conservative talking points that have nothing to do with your argument on this topic. Once you get around to correcting your foolish assertion that the city sets welfare policy, we can have the time to discuss your half-truths spouted in you latest comment. Misdirection only works well in football. In life it paints you as an ideologue.
Good point Karen?
Speaking of compassionate Democrats, I made a copy of a sign posted at my dermatologist office today:
“The (name of medical group) will NOT be participating in the new insurance exchanges that start 1/1/14. These plans are also known as:
1. Affordable Care Act
2. ACA
3. Obamacare
4. New exchange
5. Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum
6. coveredca.com
Unfortunately, the reimbursements with these new plans are below what we feel is necessary to operate our business. Current polls indicate that 75% of private medical offices will not be accepting these plans.”
That Democratic “compassion” just wrecked the health care system. It gave worthless insurance cards not accepted at most doctors’ offices and hospitals, and it made insurance unaffordable for the middle class.
I sure wish Democrats were less “compassionate,” because they have done great and lasting harm to many Americans.
If only Obama had not illegally delayed the employer mandate. Then all Americans would be in the same nightmare, there would be protests and riots in the street, and this debacle of a law would have been struck down promptly.
Karen – Governor Moonbeam will find you a good doctor right?
Good point, Tom!
mespo, I’m not so sure how the state general assembly is responsible for Richmond’s public schools that fail to provide a decent education at $15,000 per student per year. The general assembly also has little to do with the high property taxes and business taxes that chase jobs out to the surrounding counties. The general assembly also has little to do with federal grants the city goes after for housing and special programs.
I don’t recall things being much better before the last grifter left the governor’s mansion and the new world class grifter moved in. Before McDonnell, we had 8 years of enlightened Democrats with veto power over the evil Republican hacks.
But, I’m not so sure bigger welfare checks is the answer to kids that can’t read and a stagnant local economy made worse by various local policies ranging from taxes and zoning to licensing and an illiterate workforce.
It seems the only answer that the enlightened Black Democrat progressive politicians can do is demand more money to build things like training facilities for the Redskins that used a few weeks per year or a new baseball stadium that nobody wants.
It must be a tough gig being a shill for either one of these two corrupt and intellectually bankrupt cults. One more thing mespo, if you live in Richmond and care so deeply about the poor, maybe you could explain why these wise progressives seek to criminalize poverty through various code enforcement actions. It would seem one of Richmond’s strategies to reduce poverty is to chase poor people away by making it too expensive to live in Richmond. How damn compassionate of them.
Prejudiced people typically are in denial as to the extent of their prejudice. They come up with myriad ways in which to explain it as a “virtue.” It’s the same pattern throughout history.
Paul S:
“mespo – you have a lot of conservative friends, is that like saying I cannot be racist, I have a lot of black friends?”
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Yeah but racism is bad and being antithetical to most of the wild-eyed conservatives of today seems a moral imperative. Excessive tolerance is as great a sin as excessive intolerance.
mespo – after ‘racism is bad’ your whole comment seems to fall apart. I just am not sure what morals has to do with it. And I am now wondering how much of this intolerance for conservatives you pass on to your ‘conservative’ friends?
Mr Keebler – Alaska is not a socialist state by any definition. You are likely aware of this fact yourself and attempting to be droll.
Sarah Palin renegotiated with Big Oil. She was urged to spend the additional cash (such as the Democratic strategy), but instead she infused it back into the state, cutting property taxes by 75%.
It is quite amusing that Democrats view a refusal to increase spending to match added revenue “socialism.”
Paul, I had some FBI friends who were transferred to Alaska. The State used to allow you to take free airline tix in lieu of the dividends. Since virtually no one is an Alaska native people are always flying to visit folks in the lower 48. They always took the tix.
Ok, that’s your definition.