Mayor Aaron's Riversplash Press Release

As Milwaukee’s self-appointed interim mayor (and resident bleeding heart) for the next few minutes, I’ve prepared the following statement regarding the chaos and shooting at Riversplash this past weekend.

These events were disturbing, but not nearly as disturbing as the public reaction to them. This is no time for drastic measures. It was a cry for help by a tragically misunderstood portion of our community. We must learn to live in harmony with the culture, not run in fear of it.

We must be careful not to make anyone feel unwelcome in our city. It will only serve to amplify the fear and alienate a culture that has the same rights and privileges as the rest of us. We may not understand urban slang or the city culture, but who are we to judge them? Why is it so wrong to want to express oneself through random violence and gunplay in the streets?

In order to understand how we can all get along better, this city must open a dialogue. We will reach out to the urban culture, to try and understand what makes them so angry. Only then, can we begin the healing.

Now that I’ve set the bar sufficiently low for the regular mayor, let’s see if he cleared it.

Hint: he didn’t.