You HAVE?

On 9/24/10 3:04 PM, "Lalevic, Darco" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Bullshit.
>  
> I understand all too well the rise of corporatism, the failings of society,
> the consequences of war, hate, racism, and distrust. I have experienced it and
> seen it first hand.
>  
> I also don¹t want you to speak for me. I can do it myself. I was born in this
> neighborhood and have lived here almost all of my life. I too am often
> offended by the bias and misinformation that is often propagated as marketing
> for ³University City². As for happening ³right here, right now² I can tell you
> it¹s been happening ³right here² for as long as I can remember, and I¹m pretty
> sure for longer than that.
>  
> What I¹m offended by is that you choose Clark Park as the focal representation
> of societal horrors. Sure, I disagree with UCD and FOCP on many issues, but
> I¹m willing to bet after they blow all that money, the park will be used by
> the same people as it is now. Yes, I disagree with (what I perceive as) the
> push to disenfranchise certain people from the park (I¹m not accusing anyone
> directly of doing so, I¹m reflecting on the selective enforcement of what I
> consider stupid laws). And yes, what is happening is representative of our
> society in general.
>  
> But to equate what is happening with Clark Park in any way with the death of
> millions is disrespectful. Additionally, it puts your argument into the
> irrational category for most people. Your yelling that the world is going to
> end, rather than providing detailed facts to your argument, inevitably causes
> fewer people to become involved. As you yourself have pointed out, how many
> others have publicly fought against the Clark Park changes? The fact is, by
> not engaging the argument in a logical, academic way, you¹ve pushed the
> relevance of your argument to the wayside.
>  
> And really, 5 years of planning? I remember seeing a plan for ³revitalizing²
> Clark Park 10 years ago! If someone didn¹t know this was coming then they
> clearly have not been paying attention.
>  
> Darco
>  
> PS: I have one for you:
> ³A shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out the
> villagers three or four times by crying out, "Wolf! Wolf!" and when his
> neighbors came to help him, laughed at them for their pains. The Wolf,
> however, did truly come at last. The Shepherd-boy, now really alarmed, shouted
> in an agony of terror: "Pray, do come and help me; the Wolf is killing the
> sheep"; but no one paid any heed to his cries, nor rendered any assistance.
> The Wolf, having no cause of fear, at his leisure lacerated or destroyed the
> whole flock.² ­ Aesop
>  
>  
> 
> From: Glenn [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 12:36 PM
> To: Lalevic, Darco
> Cc: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [UC] Clark Park: Power and secrecy was the goal, UCR
>  
> Darco,
> 
> I would normally wish to ignore the ambiguous injury you suffered in your one
> line tweet.  These tweets solely to intimidate speakers or chill speech of
> others should not ordinarily receive a serious response.
> 
> 
> But the code of silence which you invoke is so severely dangerous that I must
> respond publicly!
> 
>  Many of us, who have learned from the WW II holocaust and all the other
> holocausts, also stand firmly behind the knowledge that the lessons from the
> history must never be forgotten or silenced. Otherwise, they will always
> repeat.
> 
> A million people died in the Iran Iraq war when we armed Saddam Hussein to
> kill Persians.  How many died in Vietnam and Cambodia as they were called
> gooks?  How many died in Iraq from US sanctions?  An estimated million more
> Iraqis died in the recent war and there are millions of refugees destabilizing
> the entire region.  Those dead people were called ragheads in military
> recruitment video games.   This blood offends me and those dead millions can't
> tell their stories!
> 
> 
> Darco, this blood and much more has been spilled since 1945.  I won't be
> silenced while the main cause this blood was spilled is because too much of
> middle class America has indeed forgotten the reasons why Neimoller's quote is
> carved in granite on holocaust memorials around the world.    I think those
> words should be studied and discussed by every high school student in America.
> (I copied the famous quote by hand because I wanted it burned into my mind.)
> Those who wish to mystify the holocausts and deny the study of these frighten
> me! 
> 
> 
> A main lesson of that quote has to do with the inevitable course history will
> take when good people stay silent when "the other" is first defined and
> dehumanized.
> 
> 
> For many years, the people from Clark Park and West Philly have been actively
> portrayed as criminals, prostitutes, gangs, etc. My inner city neighbors and
> poor people have similarly been categorized and caged afterward.  Less than a
> year ago, a UCD executive was quoted in a city wide paper claiming that
> "people" did not go West of 43rd St before the UCD takeover.  I was OFFENDED!
> 
> To those of us who understand the messages in Neimoller's words, this
> intensive dehumanizing propaganda campaign against my neighbors has been
> alarming.  This process that WE MUST NEVER FORGET is happening right here,
> RIGHT NOW!
> 
> 
> The code of silence required to avoid offending you is extremely dangerous.  I
> also want people to see the body bags and feel uncomfortable with the global
> horror caused because they refuse to speak up against racism and all the
> forces to define "others" and strip them of their rights and lives.  I don't
> give a damn who is offended or uncomfortable.
> 
> Now Darco, I can tell you to take your silly ambiguous tweet and stuff it.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Glenn 
> 
> For emphasis:
> ³They came first for the Communists,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
> 
> Then they came for the trade unionists,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
> 
> Then they came for the Jews,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
> 
> Then they came for me
> and by that time no one was left to speak up.²
> 
> Pastor Martin Neimoller
>  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> On 9/23/2010 2:14 PM, Lalevic, Darco wrote:
> Glenn,
>  
> While I appreciate your futile intentions to wrest control of Clark Park from
> the UCD/Penn/FOCP/everyone-else conspiracy, I find it extremely offensive that
> you use a Holocaust reference for effect.
>  
> Darco
>  
>  
> 
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
> On Behalf Of Glenn
> Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 9:18 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [UC] Clark Park: Power and secrecy was the goal, UCR
>  
> Citizens,
>  Here is the UC Review coverage of the Clark park closure.  Like always, the
> local residents are supposed to feel stupid while they are wondering how they
> missed ³nearly five years of planning and nearly countless public meetings
> geared toward receiving community feedback on revitalizing Park "AŠ"  (UC
> Review)
>  
> http://ucreview.com/tree-removal-in-clark-park-a-elicits-surprise-from-some-lo
> cal-residents-p2341-1.htm?twindow=default&smenu=1&mad=no
> <http://ucreview.com/tree-removal-in-clark-park-a-elicits-surprise-from-some-l
> ocal-residents-p2341-1.htm?twindow=default&amp;smenu=1&amp;mad=no>
>  
>  
> If you looked closely at the announcements of Friends of Clark Park meetings
> over the past few years, a few mentioned ³updates² about ³maintenance.²
> Almost no one from the community, other than the anointed FOCP leaders
> themselves, bore the pain of these gatherings as I did.
>  
>  
> Fact:  There was no portion at FOCP board meetings that was ever geared toward
> receiving PUBLIC feedback about Penn¹s plan to redesign the park!
>  
>  
> Eyewitness account:  A few minutes (4 or 5) were left at the end of each show,
> in case anyone wanted to thank and applaud the FOCP leaders.  For three
> consecutive years, I attempted to make a one minute statement to voice
> opposition to the closed, secretive and exclusive process which was driving
> Penn¹s redesign.  Each time I was silenced (Snyder, Snyder, Melmen)!  That is
> what FOCP claims were countless public meetings for feedback.
>  
>  
> As indicated in the UCR article, the other "public process" was to find out
> about Siano and West frightening people PRIVATELY at the farmer¹s market.
> Everyone is to believe that while Siano and West demanded 20 dollars from
> people with false promises of inclusion, that citizens had a legitimate
> process for providing ³feedback² to the closed and secret Clark Park
> Partnership.  It¹s as silly and dishonest as melani¹s private ³in-box² survey
> for BID supporters.  (I wish more people understood the very basic principles
> involved!) 
>  
> It looks like the big lie has now become part of the history of West
> Philadelphia as advanced by UCD.
>  
> Reality:  The years between the rejection of Penn¹s plan to redesign Clark
> Park as well as these FOCP ³updates² were always designed to keep the public
> confused and excluded from the UNPOPULAR plan.  They kept saying the community
> wants this destruction and kept telling the public that there were public
> meetings.  They never allowed park user groups to participate or observe the
> planning meetings since Penn first hand picked the ³master plan steering
> committee.²  Only FOCP leaders were allowed and all others were banned.
>  
>  When Aaron told the reporter that 100 people, he knew, were surprised by the
> slaughter of trees, we are all supposed to believe that they just didn¹t pay
> enough attention while the FOCP patiently begged for community feedback in
> public meetings!  Are the people going to stay silent against this lie?????
>  
> Wake up:  The three stooges, West, Siano, and Chance, helped Penn privatize
> Clark Park and give absolute control of Clark Park to UCD, masked as the
> closed  "Clark Park Partnership."  It wasn¹t public feedback meetings that
> everyone missed.  It was the loss of our rights, as local residents and as
> citizens, that we failed to see and stand up against with these deceptions!
>  
>  Today, it is the park users whose culture and rights are being destroyed.  I
> copied this from the Holocaust memorial in downtown Boston for the silent ones
> to consider:  
>  
> ³They came first for the Communists,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
> 
> Then they came for the trade unionists,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
> 
> Then they came for the Jews,
> and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
> 
> Then they came for me
> and by that time no one was left to speak up.²
> 
> Pastor Martin Neimoller
>  
>  
>  
>  
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com>
> Version: 9.0.856 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3154 - Release Date: 09/23/10
> 02:34:00
>  
>   
> 


Reply via email to