Oh man, the whole damn city is buzzing over Herb Wesson’s latest attempt to use the U.S. and the California Constitutions as so much toilet paper just in order to score an ephemeral point or two against his nemeses Armando Herman and Wayne Spindler. Noted civil rights lawyer Stephen Rohde, who’s grown rich and fat from our City Council’s previous transgressions against freedom and decency, even had a piece in City Watch about it.
Kerry Morrison of the Hollywood Property Owners’ Alliance, who never met a fascist she didn’t worship the walking-on-ground of,1 predictably wrote an intensely stupid letter to the Times supporting Wesson. And the interim executive of the Salvadoran-American Leadership and Educational Fund, Jocelyn Duarte, famously had to cover her kid’s ears to keep out Armando Herman’s admittedly foul language and then she wrote this letter to Mitch O’Farrell begging him to think of the damn children.2
Herb Wesson famously solicited the letter from Duarte, just as this master of astroturfing famously solicits letters of support for all manner of his crackpot ideas.3 But this letter from Jocelyn Duarte is astroturfed in a whole different dimension. Take another look at the actual letter. See the board of directors on the left. Notice Mitch O’Freaking Farrell’s legislative director David Giron listed there. Note that Jocelyn Duarte is the interim executive director. And who else but David Giron and his board cronies is going to be filling the permanent position? Oh, of course, Mitch O’Farrell, who also never met a fascist he didn’t adore, seconded Wesson’s motion.
In one sense there’s nothing that shocking here. Our City’s council files are, it turns out, just full to the very rim with this kind of stage-managed illusion of popular support for every random whim of every random Council repster, submitted on demand in the hope of currying favor for God knows what sinister purposes. In another sense, it really is shocking, or at least interesting enough for me to keep writing about! Of course there’s a transcription of the letter after the break.
Before that, though, watch this video of a bunch of angry rich white anti-homeless people screaming at David Ryu last night to the point where he could no longer speak. See the cops standing around watching? No one’s getting clubbed, tased, banned from future meetings, arrested, or even ejected, which is amazing because, unlike saying “fuck” at a Council meeting, this kind of thing is actually a freaking crime.4 But of course these rich angry white people don’t bother Herb Wesson and the rest of them at all. No need to pass new laws against them or even to enforce existing ones. These angry rich white people make freaking campaign contributions!
Transcription of Jocelyn Duarte’s letter to Mitch O’Farrell:
The Salvaboran-American Leadership and Educational Fund
Fondo Salvadoreno-Americano Para El Liderazgo y La Educacion
Honorable Mitch O’Farrell
200 N. Spring Street, Room 480
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dear Honorable Mitch O’Farrell,
This letter is to express my concern with the events that took place on September 5, 2018 in Council Chambers. I attended on behalf of my organization, as the Interim Executive Director of SALEF. Councilmember Rodriguez was honoring my organization for our work in the Latino Community. Carlos H. Vaquerano, Board President and SALEF staff including my 10-year-old daughter accompanied me to participate in the event.
As a representative of my organization, I have been in chambers on a numerous occasions and I have been exposed to public comments. It is concerning to witness the increasing violent and threaten speech from Armando Herman in particular. In this recent instance, Armando Herman utilized profanity, racial slurs referencing African Americans, misogynistic and homophobic language. As Herman spoke, he become progressively more threatening. I had to cover my daughter’s ears in an attempt to shield her from his hateful speech. I felt threatened by his speech and was fearful that he could harm my daughter. I would also like to thank you for your comforting words.
In the past when we have taken youth cohorts to attend meetings in chambers, we’ve had to warn them about Herman and others that use hateful speech. This occurrence on the abovementioned date supersedes the limit of freedom of speech and rather creates a hostile environment that is not conducive for others to exercise their right to freedom of speech.
As a mother, community member and advocate I urge you to find a remedy to the threatening and hostile environment that Herman creates with his hateful speech. I request that you please take steps to ensure that children like my daughter are afforded the same protections under the first amendment and your council rules as all others, including Armando Herman.
Sincerely,
Jocelyn Duarte
Interim Executive Director
Image of David Giron is ©2018 MichaelKohlhaas.Org and is tangentially related to this lil David Giron right here.
- Of course every woman adores a fascist, but some have the good goddamn sense not to revel in it quite so openly as Kerry Morrison. Note to my readers — I’m quoting a famous poem here, well worth your time to read if you have not — sexist? Probably not keeping in mind it’s as true of men.
- Rather than, I suppose, the damn adults, who rely on the first amendment to keep the universe functioning.
- Not that he’s the only one of that criminal crew at 200 N. Spring Street that does this kind of thing. That little man behind the curtain is also famous for it.
- See California Penal Code §403, which states that Every person who, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or breaks up any assembly or meeting that is not unlawful in its character, other than an assembly or meeting referred to in Section 302 of the Penal Code or Section 18340 of the Elections Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
