The
Tinderbox - An SPLC Intelligence Report
Late last night my computer "chirped" at me, indicating an
email message had arrived. When I retrieved it, I found myself
staring at a link to the Southern Poverty Law Center's online
publication, Intelligence Report, which contains a feature
article entitled "The Tinderbox". The entire article, and a
companion piece about a local activist who closely resembles my
theoretical character, Your Neighbor, can be found at the
following link: http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp. You'll have
to copy and paste this link into your browser.
The article, the work product of author Susy Buchanan, is a result of an investigation she conducted here over a couple weeks in the spring of this year shortly after Mayor Allan Mansoor announced his plan to convert some Costa Mesa police officers into immigration screeners. She did extensive interviews with several people in Costa Mesa, including some city officials and other Orange County residents closely involved on both sides of the illegal immigration issue. Even your lowly correspondent spent some time with her.
The upshot of that groundwork is a distressingly accurate description of what's been happening in this city for the past several years. It's not possible, in my view, to read this article without becoming angry - not at her for what she's saying, but at the circumstances and people that have produced such a divisive, pernicious atmosphere in this city and have permitted it to become the tip of the spear in the immigration battles going on in this country right now.
Buchanan appropriately points the spotlight on the activist mentioned above, referring to him as "Racism's Rudder" - a perfect description for his activities in this city for nearly a decade. She quotes extensively from his racist internet essays, which leave no doubt about how he feels about non-white human beings.
Although the interviews which form the core of her article were conducted several months ago, current events remind us that nothing has changed since then - except that our young jailer/mayor has become even more bold in his anti-immigrant maneuverings. We only have to recall his callous comments following the recent drive-by shootings last week to realize that he continues to show his true colors.
I'm not happy that Buchanan found Costa Mesa in such a sorry state of affairs. However, that's the way it is. Denying it doesn't change that fact. We cannot deny that some of our elected leaders have taken direction from an overt racist for several years. We cannot deny that the unrest and turmoil in this city is directly the result of that association, nor that the majority on the council is dancing to that racist's tune.
Buchanan has described for us what many other reporters have attempted to portray for several years - the undeniable relationship with some of our current leaders and the activist mentioned above. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, over the past week or so a major Orange County-oriented blog, Orange Juice, has taken up this baton, too.
I encourage each of you to read The Tinderbox. It's a painfully accurate piece of reporting that every voter in this city should read before they enter the voting booth in November.
1:14 am pdt
The article, the work product of author Susy Buchanan, is a result of an investigation she conducted here over a couple weeks in the spring of this year shortly after Mayor Allan Mansoor announced his plan to convert some Costa Mesa police officers into immigration screeners. She did extensive interviews with several people in Costa Mesa, including some city officials and other Orange County residents closely involved on both sides of the illegal immigration issue. Even your lowly correspondent spent some time with her.
The upshot of that groundwork is a distressingly accurate description of what's been happening in this city for the past several years. It's not possible, in my view, to read this article without becoming angry - not at her for what she's saying, but at the circumstances and people that have produced such a divisive, pernicious atmosphere in this city and have permitted it to become the tip of the spear in the immigration battles going on in this country right now.
Buchanan appropriately points the spotlight on the activist mentioned above, referring to him as "Racism's Rudder" - a perfect description for his activities in this city for nearly a decade. She quotes extensively from his racist internet essays, which leave no doubt about how he feels about non-white human beings.
Although the interviews which form the core of her article were conducted several months ago, current events remind us that nothing has changed since then - except that our young jailer/mayor has become even more bold in his anti-immigrant maneuverings. We only have to recall his callous comments following the recent drive-by shootings last week to realize that he continues to show his true colors.
I'm not happy that Buchanan found Costa Mesa in such a sorry state of affairs. However, that's the way it is. Denying it doesn't change that fact. We cannot deny that some of our elected leaders have taken direction from an overt racist for several years. We cannot deny that the unrest and turmoil in this city is directly the result of that association, nor that the majority on the council is dancing to that racist's tune.
Buchanan has described for us what many other reporters have attempted to portray for several years - the undeniable relationship with some of our current leaders and the activist mentioned above. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, over the past week or so a major Orange County-oriented blog, Orange Juice, has taken up this baton, too.
I encourage each of you to read The Tinderbox. It's a painfully accurate piece of reporting that every voter in this city should read before they enter the voting booth in November.
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