Should we just sit back and let the police federation engage in political demoguery and disrespect the democratic process because they had a tough week? It was their decision to turn the tragedy into a chance to advance their political agenda. It is one thing to criticize a public official's statement which is undoubtedly their right. THe outrage is that the police federation has attempted to turn the sympathy they have right now to try to depose an elected official who does not tow their political line. It just so happens that part of the reason that Natalie Johnson Lee was elected was so that Minneapolis residents could have a representative who was independent of powerful entrenched interests, including specifically the police. She is doing what her constituents elected her for, and the police federation wants to prevent that. They are the ones who decided the fan the flames, and it is productive to send a message in any way possible that the police federation will not succeed. The proposal to call up police federation officials to complain is therefor a good one.
Jordan Kushner powderhorn Barbara Lickness wrote: > > I think placing calls to the police federation or > Natalie Johnson Lee by people on this list only serves > to fan the flames and make a bad situation worse. I > certainly don't feel like it's my job to take the > police federation to task on behalf of Natalie Johnson > Lee. She hasn't asked us to help defend her. She is > perfectly capable of defending herself if she feels > the need. > > This has been a tough week on a lot of people. The > police, the mayor, the city council, the police > federation, the residents of horn towers, the family > and friends of Melissa Schmidt, the family and friends > of Martha Donald, and any or all of us who care about > any of these people. > > Can we agree that emotions are heightened right now? > Can we forgive that someone may have overreacted > because they are grieving and their sensitivities are > heightened? More importantly, can we recognize they > are human? > > I think the conjecture on this list about what really > happened that awful night, what kind of person Martha > Donald really was, what Natalie Johnson Lee really > meant in her e-mail, and what the response by the > police federation to the e-mail should have been or > not been is serving to make a bad situation even > worse. > > Barb Lickness > Whittier > > > > ===== > "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the >world. Indeed, > it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs > http://www.hotjobs.com > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
