Tag: thought police

Jackson City Council rejects civil rights ordinance in 5-2 vote

George Brown, a member of the Human Relations Commission was disappointed.

“It appears to me, the majority of the council doesn’t believe certain citizens in the community deserve to be protected. I think they showed that with their vote. I strongly believe they trivialized the process.”

I’ve got news for you, Mr. Brown. It was not the City Council who trivialized this; they showed common sense.

In May, TOC noted that the Jackson, Michigan, Human Relations Commission (appointed by the City Council) under the leadership of one Kathleen Conley, was lobbying Council to pass a bylaw to ensure that:

…no person shall be denied equal protection of the law, their civil or political rights or be discriminated against because of “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregnancy, marital status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities or status, educational association, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or HIV status.”

TOC was derisive regarding a law outlawing perceptions, calling Jackson City Council’s establishment of an HRC an “invitation to squishy mindedness they have extended to themselves by appointing a useless collective of neo-puritans with too much time on their hands.” Here are some recent developments:

Jackson Human Relations Commission plans petition drive for civil rights ordinance

Members of the Jackson Human Relations Commission plan to collect signatures from citizens in favor of a proposed civil rights ordinance.

Commission members and ordinance supporters will meet at Bella Notte Ristorante at 1 p.m. Aug. 1 and go door to door till 5 p.m. Citizens will be asked to sign a petition saying they are in favor of the proposed ordinance, and the signatures will be presented to the Jackson City Council at its Aug. 11 meeting.

I must say I’m excited to hear that Council will be voting tonight, the suspense has been killing me. The result of the HRC petition drive is “…a list of 151 people who support its proposed civil rights ordinance.” Human Relations Commission gathers support for city civil rights ordinance

Perhaps Council will have the backbone to resist this onslaught. After all, there are only about 33,000 residents in Jackson who did not sign the petition. We must keep in mind, however, that in 2007 almost 12 percent of eligible voters participated in electing their Mayor. Incumbent Jerry Ludwig defeated City Councilman Carl L. Breeding, 1,919 to 1,028 votes. 151 of the community organized can have a disproportionate impact. We can only hope common sense will override electoral angst.

As I checked on this teapot tempest, I did find some amusement. Last November a complaint alleging race, age and sex discrimination was filed against the Jackson Human Relations Commission and the Mayor.

…Frances Reeves, principal of McCulloch Academy of Arts and Technology, filed complaints with the state Department of Civil Rights — one against the Human Relations Commission, which is charged with bringing people together to resolve conflicts, promoting harmony and combating discrimination.

…[HRC Chairwoman Kathleen] Conley said then that part of the reason Reeves was not chosen was that she already had a lot on her plate as a principal.

The cost to the City of settling this is not disclosed, but even if there was no payment to Ms Reeves, a lot of time was wasted by lawyers and City staff. But the best part is that Ms Conley claims Ms Reeves was turned down because, in Ms Conley’s judgment, Ms Reeves didn’t have enough time on her hands.

Obvious message to Jackson City Council: get rid of the HRC. If you need political cover, go out and get 152 signatures.

The Jackson Human Relations Commission would like to categorize most Jacksonians as thought criminals.

[T]he Jackson Human Relations Commission, says no person shall be denied equal protection of the law, their civil or political rights or be discriminated against because of “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregnancy, marital status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities or status, educational association, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or HIV status.”

HRC Chairwoman Kathleen Conley said if the City Council approves the ordinance it would send a message that Jackson is an open, inclusive community.

And, doubt not, it does send a message that the city has used taxpayer funds to deputize a snarl of moral relativists who are dedicated to making sure everybody else’s brain perceives precisely as does theirs. And I mean that collectively.

I will be sure to keep a handle on my perceptions while in the vicinity of Jackson, an occurrence now likely to be less frequent. One never knows if a frown directed at a dope dealer might be construed as expressing the perception that the man’s source of income deserves approbation, or that a sniff of irritation directed at a pedophile might be taken as disapproval of the woman’s sexual orientation, or that outright criticism of a person I perceive to be a Papist might invite Ms Conley’s moral indignation. I mean, “What was I thinking!?”

If this is too subtle, think of it this way. When Perez Hilton went all moonbat about Carrie Prejean’s answer to the question of how she felt about gay marriage, which of them would be charged under the Jackson Human Relations Commission’s proposed ordinance? Hint, While Ms Prejean’s civil answer was exactly the same as our President’s answer, Hilton called her names. Carrie Prejean is perceived as the offender by people like Kathleen Conley. We can’t even ask, without risking charges under the proposed ordinance, what business this dissipated poofter has judging female pulchritude in the first place. See? There I go perceiving again, and I’m quite sure I perceive Ms Prejean differently than does Mr. Hilton.

This is precisely the kind of ordinance one might expect to win government approval in Berkeley, California. Let us hope that the city where the Republican party was founded can resist the invitation to squishy mindedness they have extended to themselves by appointing a useless collective of neo-puritans with too much time on their hands.

Kathleen Conley says she is “.. kind of excited. I’m just waiting to see what happens next.”

Me too.

H/T J. Taranto