Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Politics of Fear & Happy Milestones
During the summer of 2004, a year before I launched this web
log, I wrote a commentary that appeared in the Daily Pilot, our
excellent community newspaper, that talked about four-letter
words in our society. One of those words was "fear". Today there
is reason to consider that word further.
Allan Mansoor, our young jailer/mayor, has used fear as his primary tool of governance in Costa Mesa. He has interpreted the fear some long-time residents have of the Latinos among us, and the impact on our community and society as a whole, as marching orders to expunge the Latinos from our city.
He's been joined in this campaign of fear by Jim Gilchrist and his Minuteman Project cronies to carry his message to a broader audience. In the past three months Mayor Mansoor has become a media darling, appearing on radio, television and in print profiles as he continues to chant his mantra, "I just want to get dangerous criminals off our streets." Gilchrist, doing his part, has spoken before our City Council and dispatched platoons of his minions to each council meeting to sing Mansoor's praises and generally keep the gain turned up on the rhetoric. Gilchrist also led teams of demonstrators to picket and harass customers at a local restaurant owned by a local Latina activist in retaliation to the demonstrations being conducted at Councilman Gary Monahan's pub.
The plan the majority on the City Council approved last December, which is less draconian than the original proposal Mansoor tried to ram through, has cast a huge shadow of fear and uncertainty over this city even though it has yet to be codified or implemented. Despite a community outreach by the police chief and his senior staff, frightened Latinos have withdrawn into their homes, unwilling to take a chance on being accosted by overzealous police simply because of the color of their skin. Businesses on the Westside which cater to a Latino customer base have seen a decline in volume of 40-50% in the last couple of months.
Outside agitators on both sides of the issue have used their rhetoric to inflame the situation further, playing on the fear that our young jailer/mayor has initiated. I don't like to see people stand before our City Council and refer to our mayor as a Nazi, but it's hard not to see the parallel between the actions of that group in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and our current situation. Mansoor is pandering to a vocal few in our community, disregarding the views of law enforcement officials throughout our county, and stubbornly pursues his ill-conceived plan.
The immigration issue is being debated at the highest level of our federal government as I type these words. That's the appropriate venue for resolution of the issue - not the streets of Costa Mesa. In response to this national debate hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have marched around the country within the past week. School children have ditched school and walked on the infamous southern California freeways to draw attention to the issue.
In the meantime, our young jailer/mayor continues to fan the flames of discontent and keep Costa Mesa at the eye of the storm. November can't come too soon for me.
***
On a much, much happier note.... Happy Birthday to my wonderful, patient wife of nearly 39 years. Today the love of my life hits a major milestone with the same grace and style that she's used to pamper me all these years. She's been the solid anchor in my life as we bounced around this country early in our marriage and has been my biggest cheerleader as I attempt to solve the problems of the world with comments on these pages. If you don't like what you read here, blame me. If you do, give her the credit.
Happy Birthday, Honey.
1:08 pm pst
Allan Mansoor, our young jailer/mayor, has used fear as his primary tool of governance in Costa Mesa. He has interpreted the fear some long-time residents have of the Latinos among us, and the impact on our community and society as a whole, as marching orders to expunge the Latinos from our city.
He's been joined in this campaign of fear by Jim Gilchrist and his Minuteman Project cronies to carry his message to a broader audience. In the past three months Mayor Mansoor has become a media darling, appearing on radio, television and in print profiles as he continues to chant his mantra, "I just want to get dangerous criminals off our streets." Gilchrist, doing his part, has spoken before our City Council and dispatched platoons of his minions to each council meeting to sing Mansoor's praises and generally keep the gain turned up on the rhetoric. Gilchrist also led teams of demonstrators to picket and harass customers at a local restaurant owned by a local Latina activist in retaliation to the demonstrations being conducted at Councilman Gary Monahan's pub.
The plan the majority on the City Council approved last December, which is less draconian than the original proposal Mansoor tried to ram through, has cast a huge shadow of fear and uncertainty over this city even though it has yet to be codified or implemented. Despite a community outreach by the police chief and his senior staff, frightened Latinos have withdrawn into their homes, unwilling to take a chance on being accosted by overzealous police simply because of the color of their skin. Businesses on the Westside which cater to a Latino customer base have seen a decline in volume of 40-50% in the last couple of months.
Outside agitators on both sides of the issue have used their rhetoric to inflame the situation further, playing on the fear that our young jailer/mayor has initiated. I don't like to see people stand before our City Council and refer to our mayor as a Nazi, but it's hard not to see the parallel between the actions of that group in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and our current situation. Mansoor is pandering to a vocal few in our community, disregarding the views of law enforcement officials throughout our county, and stubbornly pursues his ill-conceived plan.
The immigration issue is being debated at the highest level of our federal government as I type these words. That's the appropriate venue for resolution of the issue - not the streets of Costa Mesa. In response to this national debate hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have marched around the country within the past week. School children have ditched school and walked on the infamous southern California freeways to draw attention to the issue.
In the meantime, our young jailer/mayor continues to fan the flames of discontent and keep Costa Mesa at the eye of the storm. November can't come too soon for me.
***
On a much, much happier note.... Happy Birthday to my wonderful, patient wife of nearly 39 years. Today the love of my life hits a major milestone with the same grace and style that she's used to pamper me all these years. She's been the solid anchor in my life as we bounced around this country early in our marriage and has been my biggest cheerleader as I attempt to solve the problems of the world with comments on these pages. If you don't like what you read here, blame me. If you do, give her the credit.
Happy Birthday, Honey.
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