Or New York City Mayor Rudolph Guliani inviting some Mafia soldiers into his chambers to ask them to please not go knocking off any police officers.
Frankly, I can't. Because our highest elected officials should not legitimize organized crime figures by granting them access to their office.
But there was Mayor Jeremy Harris sitting down with a bunch of admitted gang members in his office recently. The outcome of the meeting is exactly why such meetings are pointless.
The gang members left, accusing the mayor of merely lecturing them. The mayor essentially warned the gang not to retaliate against police for the shooting of a 16-year-old gang member in June.
Allowing these gang members to slouch in their chairs, act out their macho pretensions and demonstrate that they have absolutely no respect for the mayor, police or anyone in authority, was completely insulting the Honolulu residents.
Harris succeeded giving these guys the attention and perceived status as social outlaws that they crave. And it was there on television for all to see.
I'm not saying that any of the young men visiting Harris that day are criminals. But they are all self-described gangsters. And let's face it, gangs don't exist as community improvement groups.
Gangs in Hawaii have been tied to drug dealing, assaults, robberies and murder. Since the killing generally has been limited to other gang members, the public has looked the other way. But when the mayor legitimizes these guys by giving them a personal audience he is, in a sense, saying, "We acknowledge that you exist and are a threat to us. We are scared of you enough to feel this kind of pre-emptive strike is necessary."
And as the gang members swaggered out of Honolulu Hale basking in the glare of television lights, it was clear they had achieved their purpose. The mayor had asked to see THEM. He wouldn't have done that unless they were important. He wouldn't have done that unless the police really were concerned that the gangsters might start shooting at them in retaliation for killing their buddy.
AND who can blame the gang members for feeling that way? They won. They now had officially sanctioned stature from the city's highest office.
Some will say that Harris did the right thing. That meeting the gang members was the best way to avoid future violence.
I disagree. Keeping social order is not a two-way street. We have laws to assure the public's safety. The laws are enforced by the police and prosecuted in the courts. There is nothing to discuss.
If gang members want to dress strangely and hang out together all day, that's fine. When they break the law, either by scrawling graffiti on buildings or by committing drive-by shootings, they should be prosecuted.
If police are breaking the law by beating them up, the police officers should be prosecuted. Criminal cops threaten public safety as much as drive-by shootings.
The fact is that these young men control their own destinies. It is their decision to be in a gang. It is up to them to either abide by laws or break them.
Again, I'm not accusing the young men who met with Harris of having broken the law. But it is part of gang culture to be an outlaw.
If this is the path they choose to walk, then there is no reason to talk to them at all. The only duty the mayor's office has to gangs is to assure that if they break the law, justice will be swift and sure. And he should be talking to us about that, not them.
