I actually don't think it will help Hakeem's campaign much if the letter does get published.
Why doesn't Hakeem join this list and tell list members directly what she wants to do as Mayor - in other words answer all those un-asked questions by the MWP reporter.
From the letter:
"How do you spell you name?": F-A-R-H-E-E-N H-A-K-E-E-M "How old are you?": 29 years old "Where are you from?" : I'm a native of Chicago and have lived in Minneapolis for 5 years "Where are you originally from?" : Originally from? To this, I responded, "What do you mean?" Kelly responded, "Like your ethnic background." I responded, "Why is that necessary for the story?" Her response was people would be curious to know. I told her that she could write that I am Asian-American.
Let's examine what happened here. First of all, would Kelly have asked me this question if I was white? Would there be a need to discuss my perceived racial background for a story about a mayoral candidate if I was white? And why is my race needed to satisfy the "curiosity" in people. Is it so that people can open up the rolodex of stereotypes in their head and pull it out before they actually read the story?
So the definition of racism that I know is Race, Prejudice and Power. Let's see; race is here because there is a need to know what my supposed race is. Kelly phrases it to be "curiosity" while I think it is more "comfort". I have this ambiguous brown Muslim look, and I like it. I like the fact that people can't guess my racial background right away, and that they have to be uncomfortable about it. It is a growing experience for them. There is never an issue of race, looking different, or being "originally" from somewhere for a white person. Why should it be different for me?
Prejudice: So Kelly sees that racial background is basic information about a person. Why is that? I always associated racial background with family background which is personal information. When voting for white candidates, I don't care if a candidate is part German, and part Irish, and part Czech. So reporting my racial background enables the audience to "pre-judge" me. In addition, it gave Kelly information about how to ask her questions.
EY: Well let's examin what happened here - did Farheen call the MWP to talk to them about the story privately before blasting this email all over the place? Before attributing racist motives to the reporter, it might be useful to get the reporter's side of the story. The Women's Press just promoted her campaign in the paper to many who had not heard she was running. I was one of those who had not heard she was running for Minneapolis Mayor until I read about it in the Women's Press.
This reminds me a bit of the Powerline blog which constantly whines when the press doesn't fawn all over them - and what's interesting, is the trick has actually worked pretty well - there is way too much fawning coverage from both papers of Powerline.
I'll agree that ethnic background isn't a good criteria for figuring out who to vote for.
I still wish Lisa McDonald were running for Mayor. She'd make an excellent mayor - much better than either of the two leading possibilities.
Draft Lisa!
Eva Young
Eva Young Near North Minneapolis [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
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