Secrets of the City

I just added myself as a fan of James Llanas on my Facebook profile. Because you know, that means votes!

Llanas should just meet this head-on by saying “Unlike the author of this flier, I’ll tell you who exactlly who I am, and what I can do for my fellow citizens of Maplewood.”

justpbob FTW!

‘non-native’ is now a racist term?
Did I miss something in that flier?

Considering the other candidates apparently aren’t “native” Maplewoodians, Baker.

How can one tell if they’re a native Maplewoodian? Do they live in teepees? Do they have a properly notarized birth certificate from a Maplewood hospital? Is Maplewoodese their first language?

Ah I believe the correct nomenclature is “Woodies”

I think it is a PR stunt. Something is to canned about this, I just don’t trust it. He was stating earlier that something was going to happen and now it does, hummm. Seems weird to me. The “progressive” group calls it racist and homophobic but is it. Is it true and if it is true who cares. Most people don’t care if someone is gay. I think if you make that an issue in an election you do that at your own peril. I just don’t buy this one.

You seem to be suggesting that Llanas himself was responsible for the flier, Baker. If that was your suggestion, I would ask that you refrain from tossing around such accusations unless you can present something resembling evidence.

Oh, Max. Don’t you know evidence is so … 1990s? Nowadays, you just have to repeat a lie often enough for it to become the “truth.”

Max,
I suggest if you reprimand someone on this board, that it be the right person…

“Considering the other candidates apparently aren’t “native” Maplewoodians, Baker.”

But did the flier mention any of the other candidates? And if you look at the PDf of the publication, it looks as if the context in which ‘non-native’ is used is referring to the fact that he does work with gay politicians in minneapolis–like he’s too ‘big-city liberal’ to be good for little ol’ Maplewood..–It’s a stretch to call this a racist publication. But that’s no surprise, this term is used very loosely these days by the hypersensitive crowd. This is no different from any other political flyer.

I don’t even think it’s homophobic. It does make a point to mention his work with the gay organizations several times, which could be a bit over the top for sure. It’s definately trying to get people to think of him as the ‘gay’ candidate. Political stunt. But still, if he has dedicated a disproportionate amount of his work to gay rights, this is still something the residents should be aware of. Some people may want a candidate that focuses the majority of his or her efforts in different areas. Although a Maplewood city human rights council may be important, ecomnomic development,urban planning, etc. may be more important to some.

All in all, a pretty lousy post by MinnIndependent.

Oh come on. Like using the phrase “non-native” to describe the brown guy isn’t supposed to conjure enforce the image of him as an outsider with respect to his race. And the phrase “supporting gay politicians” is being used clearly as a negative; only a homophobe is going to respond to such a thing with “oh, my! How terrible! He’s working with teh homosexuals!”, which is clearly the intended response.

I think it takes pretty willful eye-closing and ear-covering to pretend this is just hyper-sensitive liberal overreaction.

Because the context it is used. Did you read it?

“Llanas, a non-native of maplewood,apparently spends much of his time in Minneapolis supporting gay politicians. How does this qualify him to run for the Maplewood city council?”

It is obvious that they are trying to make him seem like a ‘big-city’ politician, that doesn’t have Maplewood’s bests interests at heart. It is a slam on the guy, no doubt, but I would not call it a racist slam.

Ok, I see a distinct difference.
To call a document homophobic and racist, it must be that. You can’t label something because of the emotions it may elicit from people. Emotions are subjective. If the document said something outright racist, like ‘Hispanics shouldn’t be in leadership positions’, or outright homophobic, like ‘gays are not fit to serve the citizens of Maplewood’, this is one thing. There is not room for interpretation there. But the way ‘non-native’ was interpreted was very much up to the reader in this case. The document may be interpreted to be racist by some, but not others.

The motive is really pretty obvious–the flier is trying to create aversion to this candidate by eliciting emotions. It’s politics. It mentions the candidate’s involvment with gay groups over and over, hoping to create a negative association for the readers that may have some aversion to homosexuality. But it is not in itself a homophobic publication. I see a difference.

You seem to be suggesting that Llanas himself was responsible for the flier, Baker. If that was your suggestion, I would ask that you refrain from tossing around such accusations unless you can present something resembling evidence.

It was me, swandog. I am suggesting that the article itself lacks evidence. What do they have a piece of paper with blue tape. A little who, what, were and how would be beneficial.

Apologies, Baker; this InterWeb can be confusing sometimes.

“A little who, what, were and how would be beneficial.”

Well the who is a bit tough because they’re anonymous fliers. But the what, where and how is all there.

baker, by limiting your definition of “homophobic” and “racist” to having be absolutely literal statements of dislike of certain groups, you’re making the words fairly useless. Homophobia and racism are subtle and can be just as harmful that way. I’m not suggesting you base the definitions on how they make people *feel*; I’m suggesting you read between the obvious lines and take note of the strange word choice and strange choices of issues to emphasize.

but empathy is evil jeff.

All I have to say is “what jeffk said.”

I think that by slinging these words around loosely without scrutiny, YOU are making the words useless.