Eva and Listers:
What I find wearing on my last nerve in Eva's attacks on Urban Ventures
and other issues in Central Neighborhood, is the third hand, ten years
later use of back fence chatter with the implication that it is somehow
definitive. Ten years after the fact an article in the City Pages, which
itself wasn't the clearest journalism, is worthless as a measure of much
of anything. Certainly, to use it as a ploy in an attempt to tank Urban
Ventures and the Colin Powell Center is not only less than helpful, but
intrusive in the process of reweaving community after the Great Debacle.
Yes, Eva, you lived here ten years; but during those ten years you never
took part in one committee, board meeting, NRP meeting,
annual-whoopee-for-us-day. What you have is the ten year old memories of
people who still carry a chip on their shoulders because they perceive
that they lost something in the Great Debacle that was more important to
them than a peaceful community with their neighbors.
The only thing which can contribute to healing the wounds created over
time is for those of us who live here to tolerate each other and to set
some clear priorities about what we will defend and what we will let go of.
Personally, I don't particularly care for Art Erickson of UV, though I
think Ralph's a honey. I don't much care for their brand of religion;
course I don't much care for any other brand of religion, so that's a
toss up anyway. They're creating little republican entrepreneurs, so I
don't know that your beef serves you well either.
It's foolish to blame Art for the Soul Lib Festival. He was not top dog
at Park Av. The whole church, leadership and congregant alike, created
Soul Lib. So don't pick out one, the focus is behavior by Park Av.
Methodist the institution. Art was one of thousands who allowed that to
go on. He was one of more than a dozen leaders who agreed to Soul Lib
without asking by your leave from the neighborhood. Churches operate
that way overall.
What Art and I agree on as neighbors and as people who work in and for
the neighborhood, is that the kids here need tons more support and much
more supportive space than they presently have. What Art's cronies and
he can produce is kids who are much less likely to wind up shooting
someone or getting shot, kids who will be prepared to get and hold a
job, marry in due time if that's their bag, and produce and rear
children who will do likewise. That is the A number one priority here.
Part of that priority is that those who were once bad actors and bad
parents who commit to changing their behavior are given resources and
encouragement to change.
Whether Colin Powell and Urban Ventures pray with Michelle Bachman over
an amendment that will specifically prohibit me from marrying another
woman is a distant second or third place issue. Your insistent
commentary on this fuels a myth created by the Central AfAm community
due to the behavior of a few bad actors in the GLBT community. The myth,
repeated by people I thought had more sense, is that "gays" are taking
over Central neighborhood and want to push out all the AfAm families.
Thanks a toad ton, Eva. I live here and you stand a chance of making
life more difficult for GLBT people in Central with your screeds.
I think if we allow Michelle Bachman to keep talking she will dig her
own grave with her teeth. At some point the populace overall will see
how daft her notions are. That means, to get rid of Michelle Bachman as
a political figure one puts the lever where it will do some good without
doing any harm. Urban Ventures and Colin Powell are neither one of them
the proper place to put the lever. Among her constituency is where you
cut off the hydra's head.
WizardMarks, Central
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