Blogger Dan Damon's July 7 post comparing First Ward Councilwoman Diane Toliver to Donald Trump had already come in for criticism on the Plainfield Latino blog and it caught more at Monday's City Council meeting.
The meeting was recorded for viewing on local cable channels and I will not try to include every detail here. Suffice it to say that activist Norman Johnson called the blog post "yellow journalism" and Councilwoman Gloria Taylor said she would not call it journalism, but just "somebody writing."
Flor Gonzalez, the 2015 Grand Marshal for the July 4th parade, said Monday, "I didn't care about the car, I cared about the action."
She walked the parade route and indicated by doing so, she could interact with people instead of being inside a car.
Damon had hinted at a diss by Diane Toliver to Latinos and offered her some unsolicited advice about dealing with the Latino community. Perhaps predictably, it led some to point out Damon's own unfortunate interaction with a young Latino male.
On the Plainfield Latino blog, Diane Toliver responded to Damon's insinuations of insensitivity to Latinos by describing how she helped a Latina to become a legal resident and gain job skills.
However instructive or clever Damon intended his post to be, it fell flat. He portrayed the perceived missteps as the only thing that marred an otherwise pleasant event, but his officious fault-finding has cast a pall of its own.
--Bernice
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Bernice correction, I'm the one who called it yellow journalism. Because of its attempt to produce a division amongst the African American and latino community in Plainfield.And those who don't think blogging is a form of journalism I say to them the fifth estate has arrived. Community Activist First Ward. Mr. Norman X Johnson
ReplyDeleteThe other half of "too clever" being that Councilwoman Toliver admits hiring an illegal immigrant.
ReplyDeleteNot sure of the timeline on that.
DeleteHave I missed something? I believe that the quote was attributed to Norman Johnson. Maybe Norman should pay a little more attention to his reading and writing skills.
ReplyDeleteNorman was right. I initially attributed it to the wrong person and fixed it after Norman pointed out the error.
DeleteTaking a car that was not meant for her is only a problem if she did it without talking to Flor first and being considerate. Walking was a better choice for Flor and the rest of us who walked the parade route and were able to interact with people. It was a real joy to walk.
ReplyDeleteI think since Dan is in such a thin glass house, he should lay off the needling for a while. Stick to the positive events going on in the city. Unfortunately his missteps get attributed to the mayor.
ReplyDeleteI can’t believe you all are arguing over who treats the Latinos the best. Diane Toliver sounds just like master (in my best southern drawl), “just look at all I do for you people”. LMAO.
ReplyDeleteI hope they march in the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade to represent the City there as well. [It is actually a fun day to end summer with]
ReplyDeleteDan needs to keep his mouth shut and his pants zipped.
ReplyDeleteWhen can we look forward to seeing this? None of the meetings or budget hearings have been shown.
ReplyDeleteDan is all right. He just puts it out there raw and unfiltered. Plainfield's own Charles Bukowski.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight - we are talking about who said what about maybe driving in a car instead of walking? And the car maybe was assigned to one person, and then another person drove in it?
ReplyDeleteThis goes hand in hand with the 26K car discussion during the budget.
Doesn't anyone think we have more important things to expend our energy? Like getting ratable businesses in Plainfield and making homeowners (landlords and owners) make sure their property is well maintained?
What comes to mind is "And when was the last time you were in high school"?
Well Said
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