Terri Hayden wrote: 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.
Mark Anderson replies: The more quotas we have, the further behind we'll fall. Quotas facilitate racism. I'm sure racism is more covert than previously, but I believe both covert and overt racism has fallen. I don't understand your comment that covert racism is more dangerous. Overt racism sometimes resulted in lynchings. What do we have now that's more dangerous than that? Terri Hayden continues: 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. Mark Anderson replies: I like to think that I lost my innocence many years ago. I don't think any of my comments were innocent. But to imply that they were racist is nuts. Like most other people, I thought Jeff Hayden was the front-runner and would easily survive the primary. I was just guessing as to why he didn't make it. Why in the World would you think racism had anything to do with my suppositions? Maybe you should examine your own attitudes, if you think that every action relates to race. Terri Hayden: 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! Mark Anderson: People are visual creatures. We make constant judgments based on what we see, because that's how we are made. So I certainly do make judgments based on appearance, even when I shouldn't do so. But I try not to, because I know in my heart and brain that most human visual characteristics such as race, height, weight, skin conditions, etc., have little bearing on a person's intelligence or skills. Racism is not trivial, but race is. As long as we treat race as an important characteristic, racism won't go away. I think you need to look within your own heart. Consider the possibility that your words are worsening racism. Mark V Anderson Bancroft 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
