Anne McCandless wrote: > I am not sure that this question was first asked by Rybak, > the Strib or even white people in general. For many years, > it seems everyone just figured that Moss, Staten, Edwards > and McAfee spoke for the African American Community because > they were the only ones who were speaking up loudly and > frequently. When something happened, they were in the front > row. When the cameras went on, they were in front of them.
It's an interesting question who speaks for a given community. I think that the answer is simple: it's who the news media reports on. Which is often whoever speaks the loudest (or in some cases, who the media wants you to hear). Whether these individuals actually represent shared sentiments is debatable. Take neighborhood associations for example. They are often tapped by the media to speak for communities, but they represent only the voices of a few, often atypical, individuals. As in the case of minority communities, those quoted are often only those who "show up" and "speak out." Maybe we should stop worrying about who's speaking and pay more attention to the veracity of their statements. Without a valid and unbiased poll I don't think that anyone should be claiming to speak for anyone other than themselves. That's the beauty of representative government: elected officials don't need to speak for anyone but themselves. Michael Atherton Prospect Park 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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
