David Finke made some comments yesterday. >Why does she seem to be trying to drive a wedge between the DFL-endorsed >incumbent in the 8th Ward and his GLBT constituents? I try not to >question people's motives, especially old friends like Eva's. I like >to work under the assumption that Eva is doing her best as a good >Republican, in the same sense that I am a good Democrat. I'd still like to know some specifics -- and haven't heard them about how Brian Herron has been right out front on issues relating to Gay African Americans. Matthea Little Smith had suggested that he has taken some leadership in this area. If he has, I'd really like to hear what he has done. >That is, as a good Democrat I have seen that my party of choice (the >DFL) is a good fit for me as a lefty urban gay white male health care >worker, I can do good work as a citizen to make things better for >myself and my neighbors, and yes, at times that involves promoting >the partisan interests of my political party. So what are the partisan >interests of a lesbian Republican activist in South Mpls, where >about 2/3 of the residents are people of color and we have the highest >concentration of GLBT folks in the state? In neighborhoods that have >a history within the DFL of working together in harmony as Dems? > >Could a Republican activist's job be to try to split that long-time >coalition? > >One of the things that I love about the DFL is that it is an environment >where people who have been born with different skin colors, etc. and have >been socialized to be racist or homophobic by institutions to which they >are mainly blind, can come together and work on common problems, get to >know one another as *people* and allies rather than as preconceived >notions, and have some successes together. In my opinion that is the best >prescription against racism, although it takes a lot of time and repeated >experiences. The DFL in Minneapolis is not a place where diversity of thought is welcomed -- at least that was the case when I was active -- which was quite a while ago -- 10 years or so ago. In Minneapolis, you can say the same about the Republican party -- people from different backgrounds can come together and work together on common problems. 10 years ago when I was active in the DFL, it was rather segregated -- there were the different caucuses, and there wasn't enough really working together. In the Republican Party, the focus is more on the content of one's character and less on the color of one's skin. The other thing I like about the Republican party, is it's a place where people can disagree on issues, and it's ok to disagree. >The destructive thing about what would be natural to be the Republican >Party's agenda in such neighborhoods is that it tries to sew divisions >among folks who have come a long way in overcoming them. I think it >would be a lot more constructive for Eva to be supporting Republican >candidates, black, white, gay, or otherwise, rather than acting like >she is such a good friend to self-described Dems who lost their >endorsement battles. I'm supporting Robert Lilligren despite the fact that he's a Democrat -- not because of it. I'm supporting Robert because I want to have a full time, accessible city council member. There's no Republican candidate in the 8th ward. I have also been volunteering on the Shirley Carlson campaign in the 10th ward. >Robert Lilligren hasn't been an active DFLer long enough to be that aware >of the party history on this and you can't really hold him culpable. With regard to Loki's question about what do Neva Walker and Brian Herron have in common? The answer: Both of them are elected representatives in an area in which I reside. I assume the answer that Loki was looking for is they are both African American. And yes, that's also true. A few years back when I was supporting Peter Bell, and most of the DFLers were supporting Gail Dorfman for County Commissioner, I never suggested that the reason that the DFLers were not supporting Peter Bell was because they were racist. And at that time, a friend of mine was called by friends of his who were gay who told him that Peter Bell was a far right anti-gay wacko. I wasn't supporting Peter because he was African American, and I wanted to show folks that I'm inclusive. I was supporting Peter because I've read his commentaries, seen him on Almanac, and after having met him, was very impressed by his thoughtful and independent approach to government. Peter also was willing to talk about some harsh realities that many people just try to avoid talking about. Why am I not supporting a Republican candidate for ward 8? There isn't a Republican running that I know of. Eva Eva Young Central _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
