Playing the race card in San Francisco

Randy Shaw with his favorite ethnic group

Randy Shaw at Beyond Chron has called the Bay Guardian racist---again: "But for the primarily white 'Bay Guardian progressives,' Ed Lee will never be 'their' guy."

If Shaw thinks that's true, one wonders why he continues to use the Guardian's recommendation from days of yore---"Best Local Website"---as a banner on its homepage. Was the Bay Guardian's political opposition to Willie Brown also racist? How does Shaw explain their consistent opposition to the very white Mayor Newsom?

Shaw elaborates on the alleged failures of the city's white progressives:

This week is the 10th anniversary of Matt Gonzalez's narrow loss to Gavin Newsom in the 2003 mayor’s race. As a Supervisor, Matt Gonzalez courageously tried to impose more city control over the Housing Authority. This was when the Board of Supervisors had its fabled “progressive majority” after the 2000 elections. But he could barely get any support. I think Chris Daly alone backed Gonzalez when the Housing Authority engineered its mass public march accusing the Latino progressive of being “racist.”

So Shaw is now playing the race card in defense of Gonzalez because the Housing Authority played the race card against the "Latino" Gonzalez! Aside from the fact that Gonzalez is "Latino" the same way I'm British---that is, not at all---Shaw is clearly mired in a retrograde mindset that sees racism everywhere.

Shaw's playing the race card came only a few days before the Chronicle---which Shaw's online publication is supposedly "beyond"---announced in a front-page story the effective end of identity politics in San Francisco.

Shaw made the same accusation against the Guardian back in 2010 when it failed to endorse either the Asian-American Jane Kim or the African-American James Keys in the race for Supervisor in District 6.

Shaw sees illegal immigration as a race issue, but taking jobs away from black Americans is a non-issue.

Talking about Islamic jihad violence too is apparently racist to Shaw, which is presumably why Beyond Chron, like the rest of the local media---except for a wishy-washy editorial in the Chronicle---ignored the successful attempt by Islamic fanatics to bully the country's media during the Danish Mohammed cartoon controversy. And why he later published nothing about the successful censorship of Comedy Central by Muslim fanatics.

Interesting to note that when under stress other local progressives and their allies play the race card:

Rose Pak accused Dennis Herrera and Aaron Peskin in 2011 of being anti-Chinese racists when they opposed the Central Subway.

Supporters of Ed Jew played the race card back in 2007. At the time, Rose Pak called them "morons," only to join the morons herself several years later.

Christina Olague provided a identity politics two-fer by playing both the race and gender cards in 2011.

Cindy Wu did the same in 2012 after being appointed to the Planning Commission:  "I'm proud to bring a person of color's point of view and a female point of view and continue that from Christina." Still waiting to learn exactly what that "point of view" is and how it provides special insight into planning issues.

Then-District 5 Supervisor Matt Gonzalez played the race card against even the ultra-progressive voters of District 5 after they voted against a proposition to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections.

Shaw and other city progs should understand that this nonsense damages the progressive "brand" in San Francisco.