« Notes from July 16, MHNA Meeting | Main | Another Point of View »
Lily White Asses
It’s all here, verbatim.
I believe the July 16, MHNA Meeting was an eye-opener for all who attended.
We already received a great, general recap of the meeting which is quite accurate, but I’m hoping that many people who attended have vivid recollections that they will be able to share in detail on this website.
I want to list a few of the moments that stood out for me.
Lilly White Asses
I recall vividly the moment when Cheryl Taylor, MHNA Board Member, referred to all the Mt. Hope residents in the audience who are Caucasian as “your lily white asses”, and told everyone that the drug dealers aren’t going anywhere, that in fact the drug dealers will keep plying their trade, essentially, in hope that it will drive the new (read, white) residents out of Mt. Hope. This was a sad moment. But what an eye-opener it must have been for many at the meeting.
Actually, I admire Cheryl for her brutal honesty. She told us how she feels. She said what many think but would hesitate to say for reasons of political correctness. When asked if she appreciated the many good things the new residents have brought to Mt. Hope, cleaner streets, renovated houses, less crime, she basically replied that she didn’t care about that, that she was fine with the neighborhood the way it was, drug dealing and all, that she did not want change.
But can you imagine the repercussions if during the meeting a Caucasian had referred to African American residents of Mt. Hope as “your black asses” or even “your brown bottoms”? I think we all know what would have ensued.
A young girl from the Center for Non-violence Scolding and Reprimanding Craig
I witnessed a conversation after the meeting where a young woman from Teny Gross’s Center for Non-Violence attempted to alternately scold, rebuke, reprimand, and criticize Craig for his exchange with Cheryl Taylor when he asked her exactly how she felt about the neighborhood and the changes that are happening.
These people from Teny Gross’s organization (and Mr. Gross himself) are so full of themselves that it makes me ill. I consider them nothing but outside agitators, ill informed about the history of Mt. Hope and ill informed about what is going on in Mt. Hope today. And in the height of arrogance, attempting to push their ultra-liberal agenda down our throats. How condescending!
I won’t soon forget the gasp that issued from the Teny Gross disciples from his cult when I had the audacity to say that his comment about how neighborhoods change based on the presence of drug dealers which was based on a quote from an anonymous real estate agent in Boston was not even valid. They actually gasped, turned around and looked at me with mouths wide open. Talk about brainwashing.
I won’t soon forget how at the previous meeting Mr. Gross dropped the fact that he was in the Israeli Army, that he studied at Harvard, and that he condescendingly lectured someone who dared to put forth an idea that did not jive with his ultra-liberal agenda.
It’s just an opinion, my opinion, that non-violence is a great thing, a superb goal, but that in this day and age it’s kind of like pissing into a strong wind.
Here’s a suggestion: since Mr. Gross is an Israeli army veteran, and superbly educated at Harvard, maybe he should take his non-violent philosophy over to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has raged for years – compared to that working in Mt. Hope is simply child’s play. That is where he is needed. But he's not there.
Liberal Welfare
I resent just a little having the liberal agenda shoved down my throat by liberal welfare recipients like the Ann-Marie Redys of the Learning Center, the MHNA, and the Teny Grosses of the world. Understand that they are in the business of collecting grant money from the federal government to run their organizations and to pay their salaries. It is in their self-interest to perpetuate the liberal myth of the poor-victim that needs the great white father figure to ride to the rescue. They are in business, self-employed, but paid with my tax dollars. They are self gratifiers with huge egos who have only their own self-interest at heart. Deep down inside, for them, I believe it is all about them. Suffice it to say, I don't like them.
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
Content Rich Meeting
So much content from this meeting, text and sub-text. If anyone wishes to share their thoughts, recollections, and impressions from the meeting click on this link: July 16, Meeting or use the comments tab below.
I did record the meeting on a digital recorder which I downloaded to my computer hoping to be able to upload it to the site or download it to CDs for anyone to access. Unfortunately, I nearly crashed the site trying. The only way to share it is to provide the recorder to anyone who wishes to download it to their computer, and I can make arrangements for anyone who wishes to do this. Just get in touch through the website.
John Twomey
Posted at July 18, 2007 11:44 PM
I have to disagree with Lisa's post. Although I was not able to attend the meeting I have been told diretly to my face, by a very reliable civil servant, that Mr. Jackson tells/ has told the police to "GO EASY ON THE DRUG DEALERS, AND LEAVE THEM ALONE".
This is UNACCEPTABLE of any political leader and/or civil servant! How can Mt. Hope ever get cleaned up if the drug dealers are ALLOWED to operate in the open. Also just as a reminder selling illegal narcotics, is AGAINST THE LAW!!
DID we forget that 3 letter word called The "LAW"? I know I and most of my neighbors obide by it... Why are the drug dealers allowed to disregard it?????
Posted by: Dennis Cregg at July 24, 2007 11:41 AM
It is interesting to me to read that some of the people at this meeting heard what Cheryl said differently than I did. What I heard her say was that she talks to some people that we don't. My understanding was that some of these people have the opinion that the conditions in Mt. Hope help to keep the neighborhood affordable for their families by scaring away some of the more affluent. My understanding was that she was sharing another point of view with the attendees. My understanding of Kevin Jackson nodding in agreement was that he has heard the same things himself. I do not for one minute believe that either Kevin Jackson or Cheryl Taylor promote illegal activities. One of the important principals of nonviolence is to attack the forces of evil not the people doing evil. It is clear to me that there are some issues that do need to be addressed in Mt. Hope. I am glad that we are talking about the city council money that comes into our neighborhood and where it goes. We need affordable housing for all and gainful employment for our neighbors. Perhaps if we devote some energy in that direction we will all be rewarded with a community that is pleased with all its neighbors. -Lisa Niebels
Posted by: Lisa Niebels at July 21, 2007 08:58 PM
I’m not often the voice of moderation, well sometimes I am, but I wonder in this case if shock and emotion get the better of one it could cloud ones judgment. I doubt that Ms. Taylor meant the term she used as a racial slur. I think she meant it as cute-ism, if that’s a word, or even a term of endearment, one that she’s allowed to use, but if the shoe was on the other foot, there’d be nothing cute about the charges and repercussions. Still I wouldn’t throw the term “racist” around lightly, it being such a charged term. I think Ms. Taylor was just expressing a gut feeling and was unaware how her comment and the term would be received. This kind of talk has been around Mt. Hope for many years. Many times African American people in Mt. Hope have called me Cracker”, “Honky”, or “White Trash” or a combination of the above. Now those are unmistakably racial slurs. But they were mostly drug dealers or trouble makers that I was running off my property, and the slurs were merely a weak expression of their frustration.
One point being that racial slurs directed toward Caucasian people in Mt. Hope are nothing new.
Posted by: John at July 19, 2007 02:13 PM
John,
You are so right!
If a Caucasian ever muttered anything regarding the skin color of another race we would AUTOMATICALLY be coined as racists.
"Ms Cheryl Taylor" is a racist!!!
Racism can happen in many forms, and this is a perfect example.
Posted by: Dennis at July 19, 2007 12:32 PM