Chickenshit politics

Photo by Deanne Fitzmaurice

Below in italics is my response to H. Brown's anti-Newsom interpretation of the juvenile attempt to disrupt last Saturday's community meeting. PROSF of course promptly posted Brown's piece but still hasn't posted mine, which, like most of my communications, has to be okayed by PROSF's PC Committee.

Comrades:

I saw one of the TV news shows, and I suppose your interpretation of the pictures depended on your political perspective. I of course thought it was just another fringe-left political stunt. The thing about some city progressives is that they seem to think they are cute and witty, though there's little evidence for that. What the mayor should have done, of course, is put his arm around one of the chickens and asked if it was 18: "What's a chick like you doing in a place like this," etc. Then give it a peck on its feathered cheek. This would have both turned the tables on those trying to be disruptive and been a good photo-op. 

One of the chickens was Ted Strawser, who took off his chicken head and talked to the TV cameras outside the meeting. Strawser is the Party Party guy. Funny thing about Strawser's anti-Newsom Party Party website (http://www.sfpartyparty.com/?page_id=860, there's nothing at all on the site about the homeless issue.

This is typical of Mayor Newsom's fringe-left critics: They really have nothing to say about what is still the most important issue facing the city, the issue that got Newsom elected mayor in the first place. He's keeping faith with the people who voted for him in 2003 by following through on the issue. 

Still waiting for a substantive discussion of homelessness in the Guardian, BeyondChron, Left in SF, the SF Weekly, and other so-called alternative media venues. Kevin Fagan's series in the SF Chronicle is still easily the best account of the city's homeless problem. 

If the city's left thinks this kind of thing is going to defeat Mayor Newsom in November, they are kidding themselves. Sooner or later they and their candidates are going to have to deal with homelessness. They can't chicken out indefinitely.

Regards,
Rob Anderson

To PROSF home@prosf.org

From: h. brown h@ludd.net

Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007

Subject: Mayor in chicken yard

boys and girls,

Coverage of today's Townhall meeting on the tube: Channel #5 hurt Gavin the worst. They caught him going out of the meeting and he paused but when they asked something, he told them he wouldn't answer because the meeting was only about Homelessness and that's all he'd talk about. While he's saying this, there's a 7 foot bright yellow chicken standing behind him. He was starting to walk away in anger when I guess he realized he wouldn't have anyone to talk to if he cut off the Hearsts.

Channel #2 Were[sic] much more interested in the chickens. As Gavin droned on, they panned the crowd and concentrated on finding chickens. Particularly amusing was watching a big chicken sitting in the front row taking notes as fast as they[sic] could. I wondered if it was Ken Garcia. Channel #7 Had to talk to the chickens. Gavin's frozen them out. Pretty soon he'll only be talking to himself. One big chicken followed Gavin to his limo flapping his wings and calling out: "Gavin go get drinkee! Gavin go get drinkeee!!" I stayed in and drank the rest of the vermouth.

h.