Drink Their Coffee, Then the Kool-Aid

Joe Fitzgerald

The fourth book is the only book I remember from Howard Fast’s Lovett family story. LegacyA pragmatic left-wing organizer enrolls black Mississippi voters into two tear-eyed liberals, and an older couple invites the three into their home. They drink coffee and two liberals talk about the lofty principles behind what they do and what great things they want to do for the black community in the South.

The pragmatic left thinks two things are wrong. First, the couple is already registered. The organizer should move to someone else. Second, they’ve been getting a week’s worth of coffee from a couple who are proud to say nothing.

Fast may take his writing rough, but he made a good point. People who thought they liked the couple didn’t get it.

Consideration. The planning commission chair dismissed, almost as an aside, neighbors’ concerns about the planned development, saying they didn’t understand what it was like to need housing. Obvious question: how does he know? No. Somehow he knows what they are doing and don’t understand.

Another planning commissioner said the opponents came from privileged places. Same question. How the hell does she know? Her two of the project’s deadliest foes were brought up in the trailer. Our privileged place is the one where we worked.

Finally, an apparently randomly selected city dweller. daily news record Opponents of the project say they don’t understand the need. How the hell does she know? The question is “[Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority] City officials can do things right while addressing reasonable concerns. ”

Of course you can. It’s worth noting that the concerns raised by his two scientists at JMU, Eric Pyle in geology and Jeremy Akers in airborne poultry contaminants, came as a surprise to HRHA and EquityPlus. The HRHA director addressed the health concern by saying he grew up near the chicken farm and never got sick. good for him Geological concerns were not addressed.

A former HRHA chairman and current city councilor, he is pushing the project to provide housing for teachers and police officers. Members of both groups have privately said they don’t necessarily want to live in the areas they serve. To, both groups could be given a $12,000 annual salary increase.

Monica Robinson, another new city council member, said she would reach out to voters who allegedly needed affordable housing. This is the first time.

Finally someone gets it. And those who guide based on their own ideology are those who don’t really understand the problem.
Let’s hope they don’t drink a week’s worth of coffee as part of their service.

Joe Fitzgerald is the former mayor of Harrisonburg. This column is a follow-up to my previous column posted on January 16th. Republished with permission from his blog, Still Not Sleeping.

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