...that the Twin Cities gets to the be symbolic good guy and bad guy in the culture wars this month - all at the same time!
First, we elected Keith Ellison as the first Muslim representative to Congress, and then a US Air flight out of the MSP airport returned & removed 6 Muslim imams because they made other passengers nervous. Sheesh.
On the radio yesterday, they made it sound like the imams were standing up on the plane when they shouldn't have been, but that was not the case. Apparently they made other passengers nervous simply because they were praying and speaking in Arabic.
Then, to add insult to injury, US Air refunded their money but wouldn't sell them new tickets to get home, so they had to go to Northwest. Not sure what that's about, though the NY Times article about the incident notes that US Air has had more complaints from Muslims than other airlines in recent years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/22/us/22muslim.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
At least the media didn't call Keith Ellison to comment on the story!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Perfect!
I wish I could just reproduce this here! Please check out this link!
http://www.gocomics.com/boondocks/2006/11/13/
It's a Boondocks cartoon that totally speaks to the issue of different perspectives. Perfect fit for the whole Lee/Stuart controversy.
http://www.gocomics.com/boondocks/2006/11/13/
It's a Boondocks cartoon that totally speaks to the issue of different perspectives. Perfect fit for the whole Lee/Stuart controversy.
And So It Goes...
I am so disappointed that the Strib came out calling for Chris Stewart's head over this Tammy Lee website thing!
http://www.startribune.com/561/story/808634.html
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised! Comfortable white folks miss the point - almost intentionally. The spoof site points at the ugly truth beneath the surface - or at the least the truth as it's perceived by some in communities of color!
It's fine to maintain that Lee's campaign was about more than offering a safe alternative to the muslim black guy - I'm sure it was to Lee! - but we cannot deny that it offered safe harbor to folks who couldn't bring themselves to vote for either Ellison or Fine.
A friend told me today that she voted for Ellison precisely because he's muslim and black - overlooking the parking tickets, et al. I think that's totally appropriate, and told her so. There are plenty of folks in Congress who look & think like us. We can afford to elect one person who's a little different.
http://www.startribune.com/561/story/808634.html
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised! Comfortable white folks miss the point - almost intentionally. The spoof site points at the ugly truth beneath the surface - or at the least the truth as it's perceived by some in communities of color!
It's fine to maintain that Lee's campaign was about more than offering a safe alternative to the muslim black guy - I'm sure it was to Lee! - but we cannot deny that it offered safe harbor to folks who couldn't bring themselves to vote for either Ellison or Fine.
A friend told me today that she voted for Ellison precisely because he's muslim and black - overlooking the parking tickets, et al. I think that's totally appropriate, and told her so. There are plenty of folks in Congress who look & think like us. We can afford to elect one person who's a little different.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
What Is Racism?
The following link - the spoof site of Tammy Lee's congressional campaign site, created, apparently, by (or with help from) newly elected MPS school board member Chris Stewart - was forwarded to me with the note that it shows "racism in the black community." I disagree.
http://www.trailblz.info/leetammy/hatesite/hatesite.htm
(In case it goes down soon, here's a quote: "Tammy Lee is the Best Choice to Replace Congressman Martin Sabo. After all, she's white - just like us, and that means we can trust her. We should all agree that a Negro should never replace a great statesman like Martin Sabo.")
I think it points a satirical finger at the real racism that's still out there! Throughout the 5th district Congressional campaign (Keith Ellison/Tammy Lee/Alan Fine) I couldn't shake the feeling that there were a significant number of well-meaning folks who would never vote for the really conservative guy, but just couldn't bring themselves to support the black/muslim guy. Tammy Lee's campaign offered an out (a female, so see, we're not just going for another white guy) but not much else.
The spoof site shares what a lot of folks were thinking, if not saying. It's not that the black folks are racist and wouldn't vote for her because she's white. It's that the black folks could tell that there were really people out there who were more comfortable with a 36-year-old white candidate with little experience than a talented, experienced black candidate with baggage. And the spoof site points that up - with humor.
Minnesota has prided itself on being progressive and open-armed, but I think the old saying about Minnesota nice still holds: a Minnesotan will give you directions to anywhere - except their own home.
We've come a long way, sure, but there are miles to go...
http://www.trailblz.info/leetammy/hatesite/hatesite.htm
(In case it goes down soon, here's a quote: "Tammy Lee is the Best Choice to Replace Congressman Martin Sabo. After all, she's white - just like us, and that means we can trust her. We should all agree that a Negro should never replace a great statesman like Martin Sabo.")
I think it points a satirical finger at the real racism that's still out there! Throughout the 5th district Congressional campaign (Keith Ellison/Tammy Lee/Alan Fine) I couldn't shake the feeling that there were a significant number of well-meaning folks who would never vote for the really conservative guy, but just couldn't bring themselves to support the black/muslim guy. Tammy Lee's campaign offered an out (a female, so see, we're not just going for another white guy) but not much else.
The spoof site shares what a lot of folks were thinking, if not saying. It's not that the black folks are racist and wouldn't vote for her because she's white. It's that the black folks could tell that there were really people out there who were more comfortable with a 36-year-old white candidate with little experience than a talented, experienced black candidate with baggage. And the spoof site points that up - with humor.
Minnesota has prided itself on being progressive and open-armed, but I think the old saying about Minnesota nice still holds: a Minnesotan will give you directions to anywhere - except their own home.
We've come a long way, sure, but there are miles to go...
Finally!!!
Keith Ellison won! For the first time in history, we have:
* a muslim elected to US Congress
* a black representative from the state of MN
http://www.keithellison.org/
And for some Americans, it's about time!!! Beyond the ignorant & racist "fox in the henhouse" rhetoric from some corners, I think it's OUTSTANDING that there is someone of color representing Minnesota, and a muslim person representing all of us.
Progress!
* a muslim elected to US Congress
* a black representative from the state of MN
http://www.keithellison.org/
And for some Americans, it's about time!!! Beyond the ignorant & racist "fox in the henhouse" rhetoric from some corners, I think it's OUTSTANDING that there is someone of color representing Minnesota, and a muslim person representing all of us.
Progress!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Tick... Tick... Tick...
The countdown to the election promises to be nothing but interesting! Replacing the scary pedophile senator scandal with Kerry's bad joke scandal... what's next? Can't wait to see!
It's sad that the days of office-holders running on their record - "here's what I've done that you can be proud of" - are so over. Every time I see/hear a negative ad, all I can think is how pathetic it is that incumbents don't seem to have much to run on. And even sadder - negative ads are used because they work! America is not, apparently, a land of geniuses...
One very cool thing is that most of the big-office candidates in MN this year are younger! Quite a few are in their 40's: Pawlenty 46, Klobuchar 46, Kennedy 49, Ellison 43, and Tammy Lee is only 35! Gotta love it. (And Bill Clinton, who used to be Mr. Young Guy, is now 60!) Only Ellison & Lee are really Gen X, but the others are still early career, and I think that's awesome.
It's sad that the days of office-holders running on their record - "here's what I've done that you can be proud of" - are so over. Every time I see/hear a negative ad, all I can think is how pathetic it is that incumbents don't seem to have much to run on. And even sadder - negative ads are used because they work! America is not, apparently, a land of geniuses...
One very cool thing is that most of the big-office candidates in MN this year are younger! Quite a few are in their 40's: Pawlenty 46, Klobuchar 46, Kennedy 49, Ellison 43, and Tammy Lee is only 35! Gotta love it. (And Bill Clinton, who used to be Mr. Young Guy, is now 60!) Only Ellison & Lee are really Gen X, but the others are still early career, and I think that's awesome.
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