Tue 13 Mar 2007
Trash Talk: SqueezeThePulp Led Online
Posted by WillR under ChapelHill , Chatham , CitizenWill , Community , Government , LocalPolitics , Media , OrangeCounty[9] Comments
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Hi Will,
Note sure what you mean by “the crappy tit-for-tat by Fred Black and Mark Gill have in the middle of the transfer station discussion,” but I would hope that most people understand that the derogatory term that Mark Gill used to label Moses Carey is not one that black people accept white people using about black people. A lot of that discussion bordered on the self-serving use of racial politics as a front for what should be treated as a community issue. Maybe Mark Gill finds this acceptable out there in California.
Fred, it was a mess that strayed way, way, way off-topic.
And Fred says calling someone on their use of derogatory racial language when one uses this issue in the context of environmental racism is necessary. What is more on topic, as you indicate in your own reporting on this issue?
I’m sorry to hear you brushing aside the racially derogatory name calling, Will. Would you rather that it had been ignored like all the other namecalling on that board?
As for them leading the way on the transfer station, I don’t think it should ignored that one of those who has been so vocal on ‘environmental justice’ is the one who used the racially derogatory term. And then there’s the oh so very enlightening comment “Maybe they will change their minds if they get a whiff of what *we* have been putting up with.” Environmental justice or NIMBYism?
Not brushing anything off Terri, just suggesting that the original thread was getting swamped by what was less and less a constructive conversation on racially charged comments. Pretending “Uncle Tom”, irrespective of the “textbook definition”, doesn’t come with more serious overtones is disingenuous.
Thanks for that concession Will. I also note that you ignored the call to take action:
Katrina R writes: Jan Sassaman and Randy Kabrick are the Chapel representatives to the SWAB.
John K writes: Here are their addresses- 607 Greenwood Rd – 207 Woodleaf Drive.
Show your displeasure with your trash!!!! Maybe they will change their minds if they get a whiff of what we have been putting up with.
As someone who lives at 206 Woodleaf, when I see dumped trash, I hope that the poster and the owner of the site have talked to their lawyers in advance and understand the position that they might find themselves. This is well beyond “snide, nasty and tough at times.”
Where do you stand Will?
OK, I blipped on the address post by JohnK, Fred. I read it twice before I realized the he was suggesting dumping trash on folks lawns – a reference to dumping trash at Townhall?
I’m not going to get into the business of reviewing folks comments in general but I agree that calling on people to trash advisory board members lawns is too much. Was that what JohnK was doing or was it a rhetorical device gone wrong? You’ll have to ask him.
In my experience I’ve observed that most advisory board members are trying their best to get a decent outcome. Of course, folks bring their own POV into the conversation – clashes do occur. You know where I stand on policy discourse – if even heated. Try to keep it in the public arena.
I’ve served on the HWCC with Randy and have seen him in action over the years – he’s the kind of guy that thinks things through… My analysis, after reading a hand full of the SWAB’s notes for the last year, is that Randy selected a site based on a fairly narrow set of criteria – criteria that, I believe, was insufficient.
We need a new “decision matrix” to evaluate the multi-dimensional impacts and solutions to waste management in Orange County. This goes beyond the transfer station.
I will agree that the topic of the thread was being re-directed. But if someone makes a racial slur, don’t you think that’s where it should be called out? If you were walking down the street and heard someone using racial epithets, would you just ignore it? The digital commons is the town commons and behavior shouldn’t be differentiated IMHO.
Hey Will, do you see any link between the Imus uproar and the STP comment? As we as a nation try to sort through this stuff, maybe we will come to realize that words can be unacceptable based on just who uses them. Life, of course, isn’t always rational, just as this issue.
I’m still disappointed that your typical courage was found lacking on this issue right here at home. You sure missed the opportunity to demonstrate where you stand and I bet Mr. Gill doesn’t even see the connection.