Bruce Wagner
05-21-2004, 08:19 PM
COMMENTARY
If activist turns silent, so will our conscience
5/21/2004
By DONN ESMONDE
Criticize him, call him a wacko, concede that he is obsessive. Just don't try to shut him up. If Dick Kern goes quiet, we all lose a conscience.
We lose the part of ourselves that is more concerned with causes than a career, more about convictions than commitments. Dick Kern has enough conviction for all of us.
He is a zealot who is maddening in his methods - and to some critics, simply mad. He's self-righteous, but usually right.
That's why we should care that he has been in court for three years on a harassment charge that commonly would've died long ago. Or that he hasn't been convicted of any of more than a dozen charges over the past decade. Or that the persistent prosecution, including refiling of dismissed charges, has partly muffled his voice.
Kern's cause is housing for the poor. He loathes a housing authority often criticized for being slow on its feet, stuffed with patronage jobs and partial to the politically connected.
What for others is a frustration is for Kern a crusade. At worst, it spills into personal attacks and unsubstantiated charges in his Internet newsletter. One can defend him even while sympathizing with his targets.
With his haunted eyes and high cheekbones, the silver-haired Kern looks the part of disciple for the downtrodden. He once broke into vacant public housing apartments and invited the homeless to move in. He can't fathom why the BMHA's political appointees don't share his passion for the poor.
Now the afflicter is the afflicted. Kern was in court Tuesday for an order of protection violation related to the moldy, once-dismissed harassment case. Given the turnstile justice common in City Court, the prosecution's persistence is curious. Indeed, Judge Tim Franczyk called it "the Rasputin (case) - you can't kill it, it keeps coming back."
Kern charges that District Attorney Frank Clark is an attack dog for the public officials whom Kern afflicts. Clark denies any persecution in the prosecution.
"Unless I feel there's a reason to question the allegations," said Clark, "the case goes through the system."
But the doggedness of the pursuit invites speculation that there's more to this than due diligence. The chilling thought is aggressive prosecution is being used to silence a tactless activist who annoys public officials. Kern is barred from the BMHA meetings he once haunted and feels beaten down.
"This is destroying what's left of my faith in the system," Kern said. "I studied to be Lutheran minister. I need to believe that things are reformable."
Kern is charged with harassing Charlie Flynn, a BMHA board member and former head of the local Independence Party. Flynn said Kern three years ago came to his private office, constantly phoned and once showed up at his house.
"He (harasses) anybody who doesn't agree with him," said Flynn. "He needs mental counseling."
Kern, in a sworn affidavit, denied going to Flynn's house. He justified the phone calls and office visit, saying Flynn failed to enforce the housing agency's city residency policy.
Former BMHA head Mike Clarke was a frequent Kern target, yet defends him.
"He's annoying, but public officials aren't supposed to get a free ride," said Clarke. "In terms of pointing out problems, he's correct most of the time."
Kern is back in court next week for the next round in the "Rasputin" case.
The longer it drags on, the more you have to wonder if the aim is justice, or silence.
FAQ | Help | Site Map | Subscribe to the News
Copyright 1999 - 2004 - The Buffalo News
This is a case I have been working on for some time. I would be interested if others have had similar situations where public figures who have been criticized in the press have filed bogus charges against the author and had the charges pursued by the DA. Let me know.
Bruce Wagner, LPI
Omnscient Investigations
If activist turns silent, so will our conscience
5/21/2004
By DONN ESMONDE
Criticize him, call him a wacko, concede that he is obsessive. Just don't try to shut him up. If Dick Kern goes quiet, we all lose a conscience.
We lose the part of ourselves that is more concerned with causes than a career, more about convictions than commitments. Dick Kern has enough conviction for all of us.
He is a zealot who is maddening in his methods - and to some critics, simply mad. He's self-righteous, but usually right.
That's why we should care that he has been in court for three years on a harassment charge that commonly would've died long ago. Or that he hasn't been convicted of any of more than a dozen charges over the past decade. Or that the persistent prosecution, including refiling of dismissed charges, has partly muffled his voice.
Kern's cause is housing for the poor. He loathes a housing authority often criticized for being slow on its feet, stuffed with patronage jobs and partial to the politically connected.
What for others is a frustration is for Kern a crusade. At worst, it spills into personal attacks and unsubstantiated charges in his Internet newsletter. One can defend him even while sympathizing with his targets.
With his haunted eyes and high cheekbones, the silver-haired Kern looks the part of disciple for the downtrodden. He once broke into vacant public housing apartments and invited the homeless to move in. He can't fathom why the BMHA's political appointees don't share his passion for the poor.
Now the afflicter is the afflicted. Kern was in court Tuesday for an order of protection violation related to the moldy, once-dismissed harassment case. Given the turnstile justice common in City Court, the prosecution's persistence is curious. Indeed, Judge Tim Franczyk called it "the Rasputin (case) - you can't kill it, it keeps coming back."
Kern charges that District Attorney Frank Clark is an attack dog for the public officials whom Kern afflicts. Clark denies any persecution in the prosecution.
"Unless I feel there's a reason to question the allegations," said Clark, "the case goes through the system."
But the doggedness of the pursuit invites speculation that there's more to this than due diligence. The chilling thought is aggressive prosecution is being used to silence a tactless activist who annoys public officials. Kern is barred from the BMHA meetings he once haunted and feels beaten down.
"This is destroying what's left of my faith in the system," Kern said. "I studied to be Lutheran minister. I need to believe that things are reformable."
Kern is charged with harassing Charlie Flynn, a BMHA board member and former head of the local Independence Party. Flynn said Kern three years ago came to his private office, constantly phoned and once showed up at his house.
"He (harasses) anybody who doesn't agree with him," said Flynn. "He needs mental counseling."
Kern, in a sworn affidavit, denied going to Flynn's house. He justified the phone calls and office visit, saying Flynn failed to enforce the housing agency's city residency policy.
Former BMHA head Mike Clarke was a frequent Kern target, yet defends him.
"He's annoying, but public officials aren't supposed to get a free ride," said Clarke. "In terms of pointing out problems, he's correct most of the time."
Kern is back in court next week for the next round in the "Rasputin" case.
The longer it drags on, the more you have to wonder if the aim is justice, or silence.
FAQ | Help | Site Map | Subscribe to the News
Copyright 1999 - 2004 - The Buffalo News
This is a case I have been working on for some time. I would be interested if others have had similar situations where public figures who have been criticized in the press have filed bogus charges against the author and had the charges pursued by the DA. Let me know.
Bruce Wagner, LPI
Omnscient Investigations