ceived notion of some people; it was a disconnect [between] two tribes that don't know each other. I was the only Jew these guys have seen in the last 20 years, since the Koreans took over the corner groceries. There's no connection. [Jews] don't exist for them." Ironically, Simon has been accused of anti-Semitism. There are two regular characters on The Wire with Jewish names. Rhonda Pearlman, a conscien- tious assistant state's attorney, is one of a handful of generally positive char- acters in the show. The other, Maurice Levy, is a venal, amoral drug lawyer. "Why did we make this guy Jewish? Because when I was covering the drug trade for 13 years for the Sun, most of the major drug lawyers were Jewish. Some of them are now disbarred and others are not but came pretty close. Anyone who is anyone in law enforce- ment in Baltimore knows the three or four guys Maury Levy is patterned on. "If I have people from every other tribe in Baltimore portrayed negatively, [if] everyone is maligned in some way, how can I not do that to the Jewish guy? How can I pull that punch? At that point, I'm just being hypocritical. Here are good people from my own tribe who say, `How can you do that, and my answer is, `How can I not?"' Serious Message That's not to say that he hasn't had his own ethnic problems, but those were directed at him because he was white, not Jewish. Some people resented the fact it was a white man telling this black story. For example, in 1997 when The Corner was released in hardcover, Simon arranged to have one of the kids whose story he tells accompany him on a promotional tour. On a West Coast call-in radio show, Ishmael Reed, the black author and activist, called in and yelled at the kid. Reed, says Simon, was "furious" and accused the teenager "of being manipu- lated and led around by this white writ- er who was using him to foster a nega- tive image of African Americans. [The young man], to his great credit, said it wasn't like there was a . black writer on the corner waiting to tell this story." Later, when the book was being filmed for HBO, there were tensions between Charles Dutton, the African- American director, and Simon. "I think he struggled with the fact that I'm white," Simon remembers. "In the end we did work together, and I'd work with him again. But I think he would have preferred it if I was black." On the other hand, Spike Lee, who once argued that only a black man could direct X, the biography of Malcolm X, loves The Wire and came "this close" to directing an episode this season. But the timing was bad. Perhaps next season, if HBO renews the series. Certainly, The Wire is one of the few shows on the air that is both entertain- ing and has a serious message: in this case, that something must be done about the drug trade. Simon favors legalizing it and using the money spent fighting drugs and imprisoning dealers to provide educa- tion and social welfare programs. Of course, he understands it's not going to happen. The political system, he says, "is paralyzed by ideology and partisan rancor." And that is why David Simon isn't smiling. 7 Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30-6:00 Closed Sunday 265 248-642-2555 Enjoy gracious dining amid a beautiful atmosphere of casual elegance BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER MON.- SAT. 7 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. SUN. 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. Bloomfield Plaza • 6638 Telegraph Road and Maple • 248-851-0313 OPEN 7 DAYS: 153040 OPEN The Class premieres 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18, on CBS. 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He prefers the audience not be pre- conditioned to laugh by an actor's past performances but to grow to understand and hopefully love the characters. He feels one of the reasons he is so successful is that he breaks down traditional sitcom walls that place paramount importance on where the cameras are. Instead, he reverts to his old Broadway days, directing stage plays and then worrying about the cameras. "I think the actor and writers respect me for that," he said. 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