Virtue Signaling in a Lilly White World

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto (in the ghetto)

Elvis Presley

Today's post was stimulated by the confluence of two very different News/Opinion articles in in the WSJ and my good old "Stowe Reporter" that congealed into a single theme.  

(Incidentally, Today's song which starts with "As the snow flies" only serves as a reminder that Stowe is NOT a ghetto, but  rich ski town full of privileged white people.  More on that in a moment.)

First was from The Wall Street Journal which had a very interesting "Opinion" piece about "fake" hate crimes.   Link is here: Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think

A highlight or two if you were paywalled.

"A political scientist found that fewer than 1 in 3 of 346 such allegations was genuine."

When I asked Wilfred Reilly about last week’s appointment of a special prosecutor in Chicago to take up the Jussie Smollett case, he was cautiously optimistic. Mr. Reilly is author of a new book, “Hate Crime Hoax,” in which he details how the initial publicity for supposed hate crimes tends all but to disappear if the allegations are exposed as fake.

Mr. Reilly eventually compiled a database of 346 hate-crime allegations and determined that less than a third were genuine. Turning his attention to the hoaxes, he put together a data set of more than 400 confirmed cases of fake allegations that were reported to authorities between 2010 and 2017. He allows that the exact number of false reports is probably unknowable, but what can be said “with absolute confidence is that the actual number of hate crime hoaxes is indisputably large,” he writes. “We are not speaking here of just a few bad apples.”

If you are paywalled from the WSJ I will be happy to send you the article.

Incidentally a link in the article takes you to a different website that researched a bunch of NY Times weekly "reporting" of "hate crimes as part of their "Trump" reporting.  The majority turned out to be likely "untrue" but the times rarely issued corrections.  

Anyway this has been stirred up by the Jessie Smollett case and I could not help but chuckle at this weeks "Big Article" in my beloved Stowe Reporter, which in my opinion is all due to an unlikely "hate incident" I have underlined a few phrases and provided commentary in bold.

   

Racism coalition struggles with mission statement

• By Caleigh Cross | Stowe Reporter
 
• Jun 13, 2019
• • 
    

A coalition formed in response to incidents of race- and faith-based harassment in Stowe and Morristown floundered when it tried to define its purpose May 26.

The Stowe-Morrisville Coalition met for the first time in April, and for the second time May 26.

It was formed after an incident last summer, in which a driver on Mountain Road hurled racist slurs at children of color at a summer camp at Stowe Golf Park and Stoweflake Mountain Resort at Stowe, including the N-word and the term “monkeys.”

( Now here is my own take on this "incident", widely reported in the Stowe Reporter last summer,which in part caused he initial stir about racism in Stowe. 

You will note the "Monkey's "Term".  First  a Map of Stowe Golf Park which you can click on link to see.

The Stowe Golf Park is located next door to the "Blue Donkey" Hamburger joint.  I would give you 10 to one odds that the weekend visitors -they were parents and kids of an "inter-racial"adoption group- who were playing in the Golf Park heard some one say something like "Hey there is the Blue DONKEY (not to be confused with "Monkey").  I said this to friends in Stowe  last year when we visited Stowe a few weeks after the incident in question.  

In addition   apparently some "kids"over the last year have also carved swastika's in a Moorestown school and on a Stowe playing field.  Numerous Stowe residents decided all this was likely caused by Trump's election, according to the locals.  A reaction from fear that racism was now rampant in a town and state which voted OVERWHELMINGLY against Trump-so  certainly MAGA country this was NOT.  Anyway back to this hard hitting piece....)

Also motivating formation of the coalition were incidents of anti-Semitism in Stowe and Morristown, including swastikas found carved into a desk and painted on a field at Stowe Middle School and Peoples Academy.

At the May meeting, the coalition tried to complete its mission statement, including phrases such as “identify and reduce prejudice and discrimination” and “dismantle systemic oppression.”

It’s been through six drafts already, said Nathan Suter, a member of the coalition’s steering committee.

The coalition spent about 15 minutes talking about how to talk about racism — “Well-meaning white folks can do a fair bit of harm,” said coalition member Kate Donnally, a therapist based in Lamoille County.

Coalition members agreed it’s uncomfortable to discuss issues of racism and bias, but Suter urged people present to push through and “step up. This is our work. I’ve been benefiting from racism in this history of this country for centuries.

“I’ve got a debt to pay, and if discomfort is part of that payment,” Suter said he’s prepared to roll up his sleeves.

About 20 minutes into the meeting, Saudia LaMont, a woman who spoke at April’s meeting — pointing out that the coalition didn’t include many people of color —(Uhmm you think??????? see Stowe demographics below) alleged that it was racist of the newspaper to include her race when quoting her May 2

“I was outed as a black woman,” she said. “That was highly offensive.”  (The Stowe Reporter nust be racist?)

The Rev. Barbara Miller, who identified herself as black, acknowledged it’s tough to know how to help.

“It’s hard if a person hasn’t dealt with racism and prejudice,” she said. “You have to go through the experience to be able to vocalize” what it’s like.

Tough issues, tough conversation

Media coverage of racial issues was the topic of much of the rest of the meeting.

“As a Muslim man, particularly, obviously, since 9/11, there’s an incredible disparity in how events are reported in the news,” one man said. “I’m sure it’s not news to anybody here, but if it’s a Muslim man, it’s automatically terrorism,” but non-Muslims are described as “deranged” or “crazy” instead, he said.

“That has a serious impact. It’s a miseducation of the public. It further solidifies the otherness. … I’ve been in this community for over 20 years and I still, going to the store, when my beard was a little bit longer, take a store that I walk into every day, I get this look from somebody in the store. Why do I deserve that look that you just gave me?”

The man said the national news media, in particular, is partly to blame for what he sees as discrimination against his race  (Muslim "Race"??) and faith.

Other coalition members took issue with the local media.

The Stowe-Morristown Coalition has received financial support from the town of Stowe and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development — $3,000 to fund a professional facilitator — and the Stowe Reporter has been invited to both meetings of the coalition.

However, some don’t think the newspaper should cover the meetings at all.

“On the one hand, I understand the need to educate the community about what we’re doing here,” Rachel Vandenberg said, “but it’s almost like we can’t even start the conversation about these tough issues because it’s all about first creating that safe space, and I don’t feel safe” with a reporter in the room.

“There are times when the media report on their own incidents within the media, like when (Matt Lauer) got thrown off for sexual harassment,” Vandenberg said. “I would challenge the reporter to represent everything at the meeting.”

A date and location for the coalition’s next meeting has not been announced.

END OF ARTICLE

Now let's take a jaundiced eye to all this, after all my real estate taxes contributed to the $3,000 funding of this "committee" of babbling snowflakes.  Heck nobody should even be able to report on a publically funded meeting. 
 First some facts about this richly diverse community we call Stowe (Note: Morrisville is about the same demographic profile, I think I once bloged about my first meeting as A United Way Board member when I took issue with the group who cited "diversity" as a local "strength" by saying "Diverse are you kidding me", this without knowing the following profile at the time.)

This From Wikipedia a profile of Stowe's "Diversity":

Estimated Population in 2014 was 4411 down slightly from 2013. The racial makeup of the town was 97.51% White, 0.28% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

For the math challenged:   From my own quick"calculator"

Total Stowe Population =4,441

White =4,301, African=12, Native American=16, Asian=20, "other"=10, Mixed=52

If you look at school age out of about 600 school students in Stowe probably 2 kids are African American, and a total of 15 kids are "Non White" in some fashion.  That is like 1 or 2 per grade in the school system.

Now to my own Observations on the article,  which documents concerns about racism in Stowe by this committee,  and the need to "eradicate racism", and "white privilege" (white guilt?) in their community.

1.  When you "feel guilty" about your whiteness living in the most "white community" in what has been termed the whitest state in America, maybe you should move to a more inclusive community.   Speaking of incusion :

For two years the residents of Stowe have battled against combining their school district with Morrisville, a poorer white community, because it fears diluting the benefits of having the "richest most privileged", and the least economically diverse school district in the state.

Or try this, The Stowe Land Trust is one of the biggest recipients of local charity dollars.  It's purpose is to buy up tracts of land to prevent residential building development.  It keeps out low income housing for deplorables.  We would not want this in our community.

Talk about maintaining privilege!


2.  Having a committee that cannot even define its' mission to combat racism might show your "virtue"  but will really do nothing to solve a problem that does not exist. The "problem" in  Stowe was  (in my own reading over the last year) created to demonstrate your political distaste of a national election.  It is virtue signaling with no other real purpose, or outcome.  The real problem is "economic" privilege that you do systemically  maintain.

3.  A few  privileged kids do stupid things like carving swastikas in desks or painting them on fields...to get a sick laugh.  They succeeded.  They should be persecuted for their defacement but it is likely not from anti-semitism.

4.  Like so many "reported" hate crimes someone shouting "monkey" (most likely "donkey") is not a sign that your entire community is filled with MAGA loving race baiters.  The community is 85% "Rich White Liberals", looking for a cause and political validation.  If someone did use the "N" word (I doubt that as well) my own bet is they were likely a a lost out of state motorist who took a wrong turn on route 100 and were perplexed to see some black faces in Stowe's lilly white world.

Look I understand that racism exists in the hearts of a small number of our population but frankly the fixation on rooting it out is not advanced by ridiculous efforts of "involved" community activists, combating "racism" in Stowe.  Talk about fake news.......

So ends my Observation for today.

With that I bid you adieu.

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Father's Day 2019

Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone
Papa was a rolling stone (my son, yeah)
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died, all he left us was alone


The Temptations





Last year I published my first Father's Day Post- frankly a grim  lamentation on the "State of Fatherhood"  in the world today.  Unfortunately I could not help but continue that "Theme" with this year's post.  A post inspired by Blog Follower Lester Wurfel.  So, before launching into my "Father's Day Observation" a quick digression about Lester.

Lester, and his wife Joan, just spent several wonderful days with my "Faithful and Obedient Companion" and I here in Colorado.  During his visit we not only explored several beautiful places in Colorado, but also spent hours talking about our families, grandkids and old times.  He painfully reminded me we have been friends now for almost 50 years, ever since we first met at Lafayette in the Fall of 1969.  We were in each other's weddings, our kids spent some time together etc.  When he first graduated from Lafayette he moved across the street from where I grew up, befriending my parents and neighbors in the process.  Yes he knew my old Frankford neighborhood well.

This morning he shared a sad(?) piece about my old High School and it's football team that appeared in the mornings "Philadelphia Inquirer".  Given that I played on that team, and that we have 5 (In graduating order, Maria Fehnel, Susan Hodnot (My sister), Myself, my "Faithful and Obedient Companion' and Ethel Corley (My sister) Alumni who follow this blog I felt compelled to share it with all of you. 

Rather than "cut and paste" (I tried) I suggest you read it by clicking the link shown, then come back to my own "Observations".  You all of course will form your own opinion's on the piece.  Mine will relate to Father's Day.

First the piece
Frankford football coach Bill Sytsma opens his locker room on Friday nights so his players are safe from Philadelphia gun violence


The story is moving and for some obvious reasons very disturbing yet it portrays a coach faced with some very different problems than we had back in the late 1960's.  My Faithful and Obedient Companion did remind me that one guy I played with was stabbed a year or so after I graduated.  Even back then Frankford was an interesting mix of  "tough"working class kids ( both white and black).  Our Quarterback, Micheal Ray, was the first Black Quarterback in Frankford's history and in my senior year about 30% of my team was black.  However, I well remember that virtually all of us came from intact families which included interested and engaged father's. 

As I read the article I was struck by several comments which I will simply let speak for themselves. However I bolded some comments that stood out to me.

“It makes the weight of the job feel real,” Sytsma said of the deaths. “We’re talking about a kid, a teenager who has his whole life in front of him, and in a second it’s just snuffed out.

“You feel the weight of this job when you realize what these kids are going into when they leave your presence.”

Soon after he was hired in March, Sytsma — who works in the school as a student climate specialist — his staff, players, and others cleaned and rehabbed the locker room, he said, “to make it a home.”

My job as a coach is not just to build them as football players but to build them as men and making sure they’re out of trouble,” he said. “Making sure that they have a full life is part of my job.”

Jahaam Mungen has toughness. Perhaps it comes from his mother.

His mother, Tarra Mungen, put him in karate until he was old enough to play football.

Mungen said he might also join the military or become a firefighter like his mother

I have highlighted enough, I have no reason to belittle motherhood whatsoever but sadly to me this entire article never mentions a father.  Where are they?  Well I covered that in last year's Father's Day Blog.  Fatherless families are endemic and in our "culture wars", particularly black families.  As a society we have failed to emphasis the biological and social need that "Father's" provide even in articles like this.  Statistically over and over again the social cost of fatherless homes never gets mentioned. Only "noble" mothers. Yet fatherless homes are killing our young men, directly or indirectly.  Coaches and Karate School may help but nothing can replace a loving and mentoring Father.  

I will always think of that each and every  Father's Day.!

With that I bid you adieu.

Some Thoughts from Argentina

Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance

Andrew Lloyd Webber



I have had a chance to reflect on our wonderful trip to Argentina and decided to put together some random Observations regarding a few of the people we met, places we visited, and things that I found interesting on our trip.  So here goes!


Our first night we had dinner at Las Nazarenas a "Steakhouse" across the street from our hotel.  Dinner including wine was about 75 bucks.   This incidentally was "ex" tip. (Side Note: Tips everywhere were welcomed  especially if given in "cash".  We first observed this on our cab ride into the city from the airport and it was first hint on the pervasive effect of inflation.  Everywhere a tip of 10% especially  in dollars was very well received).   Our waiter that evening was a recent emigre from Venezuela.  He told us that he and his brother left Venezuela during the last year because of the dire economic situation that country has been in.  He told us his brother moved to New Zealand and they communicate frequently about efforts to get his sister and mother out of Venezuela as well.  So in fewer than 8 hours we were already briefed on South American politics and economics.   We chatted with him about inflation, both in Venezuela and Argentina, and the political situation in his home country.  This he would only described as "complicated".  You could sense he loved his home country but things there were desperate for so many.  This pattern of friendly openiness followed us throughout our trip.

On our second night we ate at a restaurant recommended to us by our concierge called "Fervor" (Barb was looking for "fish").  It was located about 20 minutes away by cab in a\the Buenos sires neighborhood  of Palermo (Think SOHO NY). We had a couple of cocktails, a bottle of great wine, two appetizers and two entrees. Cost - 82 Bucks - we were certainly benefitting from Argentina's "inflation" issues  and we found this almost everywhere in Argentina.  But enough on dinner costs.

The restaurant was on two floors and we were seated on the upper floor (two flights up).  It struck me as being as nice as any restaurant we found in the year we lived in NYC.  It seemed full of locals, I detected no tourists.  Our waiter spoke little english (but still better than our spanish), was friendly and attentive.  He quickly brought us my white wine, and a cocktail that Barbara had ordered  a "Pisco" sour.   (On a "sour" note our favorite bartender in Winter Park had suggested this drink.  "Pisco" is a South American Liqueur, not available in the US, and so he asked us to bring a bottle back for him.).  Of course my "Faithful and Obedient Companion" promptly asked the waiter where she could buy some Pisco, and he had difficulty with her question.  The waiter suggested we ask the wine steward.  A minute or two later the wine steward appeared, a young lady who asked Barbara to repeat her question about "Pisco".  After hearing Barbara restate the question she said that she would have to ask the bartender, and so two flights down she trekked.  Faster than you can say "Pisco" the bartender hiked up the steps and described to "my Faithful and Obedient companion" everything you wanted to know about this fine liqueur.  Unfortunately he also explained that it was a "Peruvian/ Chilean" concoction and could not be purchased at a regular local liquor store in Argentina.  Through all this I "observed" that I could not recall a restaurant in NY where the staff would likely expend that much energy to tell some tourist from Argentina about "Jack Daniels".  During our trip  we found this to be very much the "personality" of typical Argentinians. 

After Buenos Aires we flew to Salta .   Continuing on the "friendly" and "chatty" theme we discovered the joy of renting a car from "Hertz Argentina".  The rental car customer service guy spoke english quite well and was quick to strike up the usual pleasantries one would find at a rental car counter anywhere.  But to our surprise before handing us the keys he took us out to our car (A Chevy "stick shift" by the way every car in Argentina, even cabs are "stick shifts").  First he walked around the car pointing out dings etc. and suggested we take pictures-so we would not "get dinged" any upon our return.  Next he explained that you must drive with your lights on in Argentina-all day.  He then showed us how the car locks worked (unlike American vehicles no wireless button), how to open the trunk, where the jack and spare were etc. He also gave us his personal phone number if we had any problems after hours!   My Observation-I have rented many cars in my time an no US or European agency ever took that kind of time to explain all that stuff.  By the way, the rental counter was busy.  We found him  again when we returned the car and he checked us out in minutes....including an A-OK inspection-ao "ding issues"

Speaking of  people observations.  Our first few days in Salta we stayed at a Beautiful "Chalet?" outside of town called the "House of Jasmines".  Here we met an interesting American couple (more on them shortly) and a couple from Paraguay.  But  I also had an interesting "Observation"  about "modern" social conventions one evening while dancing with some local ladies. 

On Saturday night the House of Jasmines had a "special" dinner- a traditional "banquet" of grilled meats and sausages.  Before dinner we were entertained with some folk dancing by 4 local "gauchos" and 4 'senioritas" .  After the gauchos danced some traditional male only folk dances, the senioritas joined them for a number or two.  Of course up next was the typical ritual of pulling quests up to dance (Yours truly  was the first selected and needless to say I did an improvised "Bristol Stomp "that was ludicrous).  After my debacle the dancers each grabbed a partner-except two obviously  gay male guests.  Which leads me to this" Observation".  Argentina was one of the first countries in the world to recognize gay marriage, years before the US, yet traditional folk dance protocols still have not been figured out.  When faced with a gay couple how do they select partners?  Do they both join a traditional "male only" dance and "who" do they dance with in a traditional  male female partner dance"?    Readers might see this as silly, but frankly I noticed the awkwardness at this social setting.  Neither of the gay man were asked to join in and their demeanor signaled this discomfort (or they were just grouchy?).

The American couple referenced above were "Claudia and Todd" and they had two young boys (7 and 10 years old)  Marlon and Maverick,  They had traveled from Patagonia and were on a mini-vacation.  Todd attended the University of Colorado-Boulder and Claudia (we later learned) was a financial "advisor.  We never really figured out what he did for a living except that he had sold his "business" last year.  They had been living in California but decided to "take a year" in South America to "ski" (Todd said loved skiing Winter Park when he attended U of C) and to "immerse" the two boys in spanish language and culture at a Patagonian International School. Oddly the whole family quickly become "our shadows".  Examples- when we went to Cafayate for 3 days (a three hour drive) they bumped into us at a Winery where we were having lunch.  We thought we said our final goodbyes there as they were flying back to Patagonia,  but  when we returned to Salta for one more night at the House of Jasmines  who was waiting for us?   Yes Todd and Claudia, due to a cancelled flight back to Patagonia.  That evening over a drink we chatted about our families and Claudia mentioned the boys had a half brother in his late 30's. Claudia was wife  number two-and Todd was actually close to our age.  My "Faithful and Obedient" and I tried to imagine raising two young boys over again-at our age.  Yikes.

Ok so where an I going with this bit??  Well I was most enlightened by Claudia's story on Argentinian "Socialized Medicine".  

She was recovering from a severe ankle fracture that she incurred on a hike in a remote section of a Patagonian National Park.  They had hiked to the summit of a high peak and she fell hiking down. The family struggled to get her down to a remote "police" station where she was advised they would have to chopper her out the next day to get to a hospital.  Todd and the boys left her there to "camp in a tent" with the local rangers ....by herself.  The next day she was choppered to what she described as a "public" hospital where the attending "physician" looked at her X-rays and pronounced her as "just fine".  Unfortunately she went home and continued to be in severe pain for several days.  Finally a local friend, a radiologist at a "Private Hospital" suggested she visit there for a second opinion since public hospitals apparently were known to have a somewhat suspicious habit of misdiagnoses.  Sure enough she had a very severe fracture.  Now my "Observations" on "socialized" medicine in general.  Those with resources can find ways to get "better" care everywhere, including Argentina. Oh and it reminded me of the reason me why we bought coverage for "Out of US Medical" travel with our medicare supplement. You never know.

While walking around Salta one afternoon, we stopped to partake of my "Faithful and Obedient's" favorite Argentinian snack food, empanadas, along with a few Salta Brewing Company lagers at a sidewalk cafe on the Town Square. While enjoying the sunshine an Argentinian retiree from Buenos Aires, who was sipping coffee at the table next to us struck up a casual conversation .  We asked if he wanted to join us while we snacked.   The usual chit chat ensued and he told us he was visiting his son in Salta for a few days.  Of course the conversation turned toward our mutual retirement years etc.  He told us he also had retired after years of work,  but now his pension, due to inflation, had been decimated.  Therefore he had gone back to work setting up a business in "trash" and said he was doing pretty well- for example he could still afford regular flights to visit his son.  We talked about how lovely Buenos Aires was and he suggested if we ever go back to look him up and he would have us to his house for dinner!  He even gave Barbara his phone number, which I am not sure she kept...but I thought he might be looking for an attractive Tango partner???

My final Observation was stimulated by our last night in Argentina and it is about the advantages of technology in modern travel.  We used Google (yes I have a love hate relationship with Google) extensively during our trip.  We navigated using Waze, found places to visit, used translate to communicate to cab drivers etc.  For our last dinner I used google to find a "unique" restaurant in Palermo called Proper.  No reservations accepted, and you had to line up outside to be seated in an old warehouse.  Reading past diner's reviews and comments enticed me to give it a try.  Comments included, "seating was on benches at old warehouse tables" and it was "family style", 'food was served on various small plates that you selected from a menu', and  'the wine list was excellent'.  I checked with the concierge and he had heard of the place but could not attest to its' "suitability".  We decided to give it a shot, and planned on arriving when it opened at seven PM.  At 6:30 I showed the doorman my phone with the address who then hailed us a cab and gave instructions to the cab driver, who spoke no english.  The driver  then navigated through heavy traffic for our arrival right at seven sharp.  We were able to join a fairly long  line for the first seating.  The hostess intuitively sat us with english speaking guests- 4 US law students (from NYU) and a gay female couple from London.  Great conversation and a GREAT meal with two bottlers of wonderful Malbec from Mendoza to boot.  when we left the line to get in was a block long! A fitting final dinner to our great adventure!  




With that my friends I bid you ,

Adieu.