List manager: Our last few unsubscribers have written to express displeasure with the belligerent, one-on-one tone of many posts that do little to build community, propose solutions, or sincerely and respectfully debate differences.
snip Peter: Hear here. I'd like to address the part about "build community, propose solutions, or sincerely and respectfully debate differences" that have "Minneapolis specificity." As most of you know, Ron Edwards' web page, www.TheMinneapolisStory.com addresses Minneapolis specificity. He offers several approaches for "building community" through a framework that "proposes solutions," and has papers which directly and "respectfully debates differences" as they relate to understanding racism in Minneapolis and how addressing the seven areas he lists would help resolve many of the problems facing Minneapolis (and all inner cities of America): (1) education, (2) jobs, (3)housing, (4) public safety, (5) safe environment, (6) governing, and (7) ethics. These seven areas are covered in his book (see the book's solution summary in Chapter 17) and in his "7 Solutions" piece at http://www.theminneapolisstory.com/pages/actualize.html. He addresses the problem of racism, and how it is used to hold back the descendents of America's slaves, to the detriment of them and the rest of us, for in community, exclude or hold back any and you hurt all, as he addresses this in his recently posted "Restorative Affirmative Action," at http://www.theminneapolisstory.com/pages/restore.html. In his daily web log entries, especially the recent ones of #190 - #204, he (1) addresses the different sides of the debate, including (2)why the NAACP has expelled him for five years and how (3) the NAACP stands in the way of reconciliation with the White community as well as with important segments of the Black community, (4) his calls for reconciliation between the various groups, and finally, (5) he invites interested parties to call a Minneapolis "family meeting" to discuss the recommendations in his "7 Solutions" piece. Thus, in #194 he discusses Whites, Blacks and the Strib, and presents this invitation: "I challenge all who would be "voices for the community," be they White or Black, elected or appointed officials, government or nonprofit or church agency staffers, and residents and taxpayers anywhere, to discuss the seven solutions paper in the Occasional Papers section of my web site as well as the YESes and NOs common ground approach in my book as summarized in Chapter 17. My editor will be in town for a week in mid or late November. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these with the Strib columnists and editors, local radio and TV talk shows, city council, Mpls.Forum issues list, and anyone else from Governor to Mayor to neighborhood resident. Any who would like to host us, in either the Black or White communities or jointly, in the broadcast, print or face to face communities, we welcome the opportunity to come to discuss these seven areas and proposed solutions, from pulpit to board room, from neighborhood to lunch room, from mainstream papers to Black papers to alternative papers, from Editors and writers to Executives and managers to teachers and preachers to any and all interested in closing the gaps in the seven areas of the 7 Solutions piece. Any place, any time." I will be in Minneapolis Nov 14-24, and would be delighted to join Ron in any forum sponored by any person or organization or agency to engage in any format desired: open discussion, presentation first followed by Q&A, Q&A only, presentation followed by discussions, seminar or workshop on the 7 solutions, or any other format desired. And because the Strib has refused to recognize the work Ron has done in his book and papers, we would also welcome a meeting with the Strib's board of editors to discuss why they have "shelved" the book and seek a way of working together in order to give a fair hearing to his seven solutions. Ditto any other paper: Spokesman-Recorder, City Pages, Insight, One Nation News, Pulse of the Twin Cities, Skyway News, SW Journal, The Rake, etc., and so forth, and so on. Ditto TV and radio talk shows. Any and all. How about the Urban League? NAACP? Black Churches Coaltion? Baptist Churches? Lutheran Churches? Seminaries? Roman Catholic Churches? Synogogues? Mosques? Colleges? Universities? Leadership Forum? KMOJ Forum? City Council? Governor? Legislature? Pilot City? African American Men's Project? We would love to meet in the spirit of "ubuntu" or reconciliation that Archbiship Desmund Tutu introduced to South Africa as he and Nelson Mandela sought to reconcile the oppressed Blacks with the oppressor Whites (see Ron's web log entries 163, 164, and 172 on the "ubuntu" reconciliation process), which is a far better approach than racism, reverse racism, or any other ism. Any who will schedule such an event who does not have a copy of Ron's book, let me know and I'll send a copy, free. If you want books brought to the event for those who may wish to buy them (this is not a condition; strictly an option for those who want it), let us know and we will make them available for $10 each, at the events only. Peter Jessen, Portland -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of List Manager Sent: Monday, October 27, 2003 5:14 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: re: [Mpls] Unions Hi everyone -- The debate has moved beyond Minneapolis' borders, and Minneapolis specificity. snip If you have a general, ideological beef with a list member, best discuss it offlist, please. David Brauer List manager REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
