"At today’s meeting, African-American plan commission member Michael Davis made an angry, crazy, rambling attack on the Latino citizens who had spoken in favor of the Cesar Chavez name change. How times have changed. In its offensiveness and petulance, Davis’s speech was at least the equal to any of the old white-guy bigot speeches I used to hear at City Hall decades ago."Seriously? Who the heck is he kidding?
Anybody that thinks that what I said today was racist in any way was not listening. After the vote, people catcalled our committee this morning and called us racists this morning and I let it go. But when similar attacks surfaced at our main commission I felt the need to address it.
I said that people of any race shouldn’t be allowed to attack and judge each other without cause.
What I did say was that you can't judge a person and call them racist based on an outcome of a vote, and I was offended by those allegations. I also said that I am one of the first people at our commission that addresses any citizen that makes offensive or racial statements at our meetings. Maybe I rambled a bit, but in no way was anything that I said racist or anything close to it.
The people that were on the Cesar Chavez side, that called me personally, know what I am about. They knew how I would vote in advance. I probably have more friends in that group than I had on the other side. But it’s not about a “how many friends do I have” contest.
The bigger issue, as I have written before, is that some irresponsible writers in this town want to fan the flames and absolutely hate the fact that different groups that were once at odds are working together.
Maybe Schutze is still mad because I exposed him some time ago. He wants payback in his pathetic mind. For some people, they will try to ruin or play games with people's lives for a little ink and attention.
Keep in mind, the Dallas Observer is the same newspaper that gave me their Best Political Blogger Award in 2006.
Anybody that knows me knows that I am not racist in any way.
My family help built this city, as did others of many races. Again, I'm not trying to prove anything, but just making a point.
Jim Schutze is a flat-out liar and a hatemonger. If he was even at our meeting, he was hiding somewhere. Controversy still sells huh?
As some of the comments show on Schutze's hateful post indicate, he’s wrong. Here are a few:
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“Jim, you obviously were not at the Subdivision Plan Review meeting earlier this morning where they recommended denial of changing the name of Ross Avenue to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.”
The lack of orderliness and professional conduct on the side for the name change was interesting to say the least. … I believe that was what Commissioner Davis was so upset about. “
and...
(they are quoting me here) "I have been coming down here for a long time. I have been thrown out of here more than once, but never did I stand up with my one vote here and try to judge the character or how they feel based on one vote."
Pretty easy to understand from here.. It's rather obvious he is referring to yourself and others characterizing anyone who disagrees with you on this issue as racists.
And I would say if anyone comes off as racist it's Schutze and the other people trying to turn this into a racial issue.
One more...
“Wait a minute... is this the same Michael Davis who has his own blog and has generally spoken with tolerance and reason in the past about other race-related issues in Dallas?”
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I’m still the same. I haven’t changed one bit.
He can't demonize me. But I wanted to respond to his charge once and only once.
This is why things like Blogger.com, twitter, wordpress and other publishing tools are so great. We are not held hostage by newspapers and writers with an obvious grudge; we can respond. Thanks for the love that I have received on that post, and in general from my readers who read from time to time. You know my true spirit, and one liar can’t change that.
3 comments:
I read that on the Unfair Park blog and it did not seem right to me. Thanks for clearing it up. It's a shame this has to go on.
It was great to meet you at the CDM book club a few weeks ago. Thanks for all the work you do for Dallas.
Mike, I think the work you're doing for the community is quite impressive, I agree that schutze is a old nutjob that cant find work outside the observer. Dont let that fool get you down and keep on doing what ya do...
I used to have more respect for Jim Schutze, but now he's just an angry old fart wallowing in his increasing irrelevance.
If I'm reading it right, all you did was say it was wrong for people to call you (or anyone else) racist based on one vote.
For that, Jim accuses you of trying to put minorities in their place like the old white boys network from Dallas' (forgive the word) darker days.
Good lord. What a dick.
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