Michael says: The list has seemed to hold a lot of criticism of Mayor
Rybak for a lot of things, but I wonder if his leadership and the
relationship between the Mayor's office and the Police Dept. haven't done
a lot to make these events more positive for everyone. Remember how the
last Mayor let the police handle Critical Mass rides and the conference
of genetic manipulators?
Peter says: You are absolutely right, Michael!!! Still, I have a
different take on our current mayor's motives. Antiwar protesters and
Critical Mass riders generally come from white middle and upper middle
class families. Therefore, R.T. is going to make darn sure that his
buddies in blue keep their clubs off them, otherwise he'll jeopardize
funding sources for future campaigns. (To be fair, Rybak did run a
successful campaign on a shoestring budget. But if he wants a political
future he'll need to raise a lot more money.) On the other hand, homeless
people, Native Americans and African Americans continue to suffer abuse
at the hands of our police force, mainly because less money means less
political clout, and therefore less protection from rogue cops. At
least Sharon Sayles Belton, when it came to the police force, was an
equal opportunity offender.-----Peter Schmitz CARAG
"Most of the evil we see is the result of little faults--of stupidity or
vanity." E.M. Forster, "The Eternal Moment"
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