Disappointed in
Disappointed in Birmingham By Michael Sarafa thugs R us? Does Birmingham have ‘a Chaldean problem?’ By Joyce Wiswell “ Thugs” are not welcome – regardless of race or creed. That, said Editor Lisa Brody, is what she meant in her “Endnote” article that decried some problems with rowdy club-goers in Birmingham as “demographics.” She was not, she said, inferring that Chaldeans are to blame. The piece, which ran in Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield’s April issue, addressed the recent approval of two liquor license renewals at bars that critics say have more than their fair share of police runs: South and the Hamilton Room. The latter attracts a large Chaldean clientele. “During the commission meeting, city commissioners and club owners euphemistically referred to the club patrons and accompanying problems in terms of ‘demographics.’ The reality is both places pull clientele from out of the area and at times have become gathering places for a problem segment of one particular cultural group,” said the article in part. “While the majority of patrons pose no problem, the ‘thug’ element is another story and somehow must be removed from the downtown nightlife scene. Let them strut their stuff in some other community.” That wording led to a spirited response from attorney Steven S. Samona, a Birmingham resident. “It was clear you were equating the problems to Chaldean American customers who you thought were thugs,” he said in a letter to Brody. “As a Chaldean American, I was disgusted at the negative and ignorant stereotype being perpetuated.” Brody said her piece, “Impact from Nightclubs’ Problems,” was not directed at any race or ethnic group. “We are talking about anyone who acts in a non-appropriate way. We are not talking about Chaldeans,” she said. “The last thing we want to do is castigate any particular group.” Brody told the Chaldean News she has received “a lot of response thanking us for putting it on the line” and that Samona’s voice was the only objection she has heard. “It doesn’t matter if you are green – if you are not behaving appropriately it causes a problem,” she said. “We value everyone’s business and are very proud to be part of the community. We do not cast aspersions on any ethnic group in particular, and not Chaldeans as an ethnic group.” Donald A. Studt, Birmingham’s chief of police, said no particular group is responsible for problems in Birmingham’s bars. “You get enough people together and they get drunk, they are going to do stupid things,” he said. “I don’t want to play it off on Chaldeans anymore than Birmingham’s City Hall yuppies, or whoever you want to call them. There is a significant Chaldean presence in some of the bars downtown but I don’t think I can say it’s a Chaldean problem. It’s a problem of people with a lot of cash being idiots when they are drunk.” Jason Hegedus, co-owner of the Hamilton Room, declined to comment to the Chaldean News. He told commissions at the March 22 meeting that of the 50,000 people who have visited his club, there were only five incidents involving assaultive behavior. Disruptive patrons are not welcome, Hegedus said at the meeting: “Stay away, stay home. We don’t want you.” Samona said Chaldeans are unfairly pegged. “Chaldean Americans are still dogged by the negative stereotype you so willingly spread as thugs,” he wrote in his letter to Brody. “This opinion is the same sort of bigotry that some of the other cultural, religious and ethnic groups have been fighting against since the dawn of time.” The word “demographic” was repeatedly used at the commission meeting when addressing problem customers, but no one ever specified exactly what that meant, Studt noted. “Dennis Archer Jr. was there,” he said of the son of the former Detroit mayor, “and he thought they were talking about African Americans.” Nothing roils my blood more than thinly veiled attacks on ethnic or minority groups whether against blacks, Jews, Chaldeans or any other subset of American society. The coded language used at the recent Birmingham City Commission meeting regarding so-called “unwanted demographics” is a sad reminder that we are still a long way away from a bigot-free society. The discussion at the Birmingham City Commission meeting regarding the renewal of liquor licenses for South and the Hamilton Room was a frontal assault on Chaldeans, though the word was never used. But even if we wanted to give the commissioners Michael G. Sarafa SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS the benefit of the doubt, Editor Lisa Brody of the Downtown Birmingham magazine removed that possibility when she wrote that “both places … have become gathering places for a problem segment of one particular cultural group.” Ouch. Well, maybe Lisa Brody needs to “strut her stuff” and her editorial skills in some other place — possibly somewhere more homogenous than suburban Detroit would be to her liking. Though narrow minded, shallow and nasty, Lisa Brody is not our problem. Our problem is that we don’t do more to counteract the negative stereotypes about our community and, in fact, sometimes contribute to them. We all know that from downtown Detroit to West Bloomfield and Birmingham, the Chaldean nightclub scene has resulted in some ugly events. Recently, at one local hall a shooting took place, allegedly over a girl. A local bar/eatery opened with much fanfare and success in 2010, only to see its business dwindle after several out-of-control fights and mob scenes. Oftentimes these so-called “places to be seen” become places to avoid. That is bad for business, bad for our community and bad for the notion of a safe, fun and viable nightlife in Metro Detroit. Still, we never heard complaints from Birmingham fathers when Chaldeans were developing office buildings, designing restaurants and lofts or building out retail centers. We don’t hear too many complaints from the various boutiques, salons, law firms and others that depend on their Chaldean patrons for survival and success. And we certainly don’t hear from the City of Birmingham’s finance office when they receive tax payments from Chaldean homeowners and businesses. Elected officials and opinion leaders have a “due care” duty when it comes to the sensitive issues of race and ethnicity. Some in Birmingham have failed to live up to this standard. This is more of a disappointment then an outrage, more their problem than ours. But to the young people of our community, let’s break down these stereotypes, not build them up. You know what I mean. Michael Sarafa is president of the Bank of Michigan and a co-publisher of the Chaldean News. 30 CHALDEAN NEWS MAY 2011
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