Regarding your comment on Oct. 23rd.
There are just a few things that I would like to reply to. The first being the one made about Minnesota not being progressive as in other states and that we still need to have a "quota" for people of color in our State and that we may better without it. I would like to agree with you that Minnesota is behind the times with the number of people of color we have in positions of power, including the City Council. Unfortunately until we have more people of color in these positions we MUST have "quotas". If we don't we will fall even further behind. The racism that you mention has decreased over the past 50 years has actually only changed its face. Instead of being overt it is covert and much more dangerous. When there is a strong, intelligent and experience community leader, that actually has the bonus of being a person of color in a minority lead ward then we would be wise to look at why we chose a candidate that has less qualifications. Could it be that we are just more comfortable with the other choice. Could our long hidden and covert biases be raising their ugly heads and we are just ashamed that we think that way and must find ways and language to persuade ourselves that race doesn't play apart of our daily decisions. Hmmm. That other piece that really helps to remind of us the covert racism that continues in our society is the comment towards the end of your discussion piece. The one that asked if Hayden put in as many hours door knocking as his other opponents. Let us believe that those words and the words of the other person that spoke of this on the issues list meant it innocently. But the truth is that those comments as innocent as they seem perpetuate racism. They "imply" that Jeff didn't work as hard as other candidates. The truth of course -that no one bothered to ask Jeff before they printed their comments -is that Jeff's worked part time during the campaign. He was out every day door knocking. He does have a family and knows well about family values. This piece is so true, but he did not do less then others because of it. His family supported him, walked with him, attended forums with him and this kept the momentum up and did not slow him down. Life and race are complicated. They are anything but trivial, we have a long ways to go before everything is equal, and I would ask you and other readers to examine the covert biases that lie within you and figure out what you might say or do differently to decrease the "real" racism in our City and State! Thoughtfully, Terri Hayden (Bryant Neighborhood) REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
