Title: Re: [NewPacifica] FWD: SUPPORT LISA
DAVIS
It is not stupid, it is a cleverly organized political campaign,
manipulating the most volatile of issues into a vendetta against the
one person responsible for keeping WBAI from having been destroyed in
1999 and thereafter. This is, as Patty rightly points out, not
about race: it is about undermining the rule of democracy in a
Pacifica station. Listeners who do not decry this ugly, ugly
exercise are part of what is beginning to look like a fascist takeover
of the station by the same people who failed in their efforts to
destroy the bylaws and to undermine the search for fiscal
accountability. These same people are now destroying the
foremost activist in the front lines of the effort to keep WBAI true
to its mission, and they are using the dirtiest game in the
book.
I wonder how many people signing this letter really investigated
what happened, and understand how this incident is being used to
destroy what Pacifica stands for. Those who have been
involved with the struggle to save Pacifica know that Patty Heffley
has been in the forefront of that struggle long before some of the
current actors in this drama were around, much less participating in
the movement to keep the soul of Pacifica alive.
The people behind this campaign are the allies of WBAI's biggest
problems: by trying to drive off those members of the LSB who were
elected by progressive members of the station, they are creating a
board that will serve to cover up the corruption and and sickness that
has crept into the station and even onto the air. This campaign
is not about racism; it is about racial politics in the service of
self-serving power.
So far on the board of WBAI and on the Pacifica National Board,
Lisa Davis has served only to distract the board from any real
anti-war work; she has in fact proven that her interest is not in
furthering the work of Pacifica or WBAI, but in keeping us from
addressing any issues that affect the nation and, indeed, the world.
She has found a vehicle from which to address the very real issue of
racism - and in the process is subverting and undermining that
vehicle, all under the guise of fighting racism. I only
hope that people jumping on this bandwagon will see what is happening
before the station, and the Foundation, is taken over by today's
equivalent of Bradbury's firemen in Fahrenheit 451, whose
job it was not to put out fires but to set them, especially in places
where transparency and accountability were struggling to survive.
Wake up, people: this is not about racism. If it were, Lisa
Davis would have been working to implement the mission of Pacifica,
especially the part that enjoins Pacifica to address the causes
of discord. " In radio
broadcasting operations to engage in any activity that shall
contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the
individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; to gather and
disseminate information on the causes of conflict between any and all
of such groups; and through any and all means compatible with the
purposes of this corporation to promote the study of political and
economic problems and of the causes of religious, philosophical and
racial antagonisms."
How does this orchestrated campaign of hate and vilification
against a fellow board-member, based on lies about what Patty Heffley
really said and using smear tactics against her that would make Big
Brother envious, comply with the mission of Pacifica?
Answer: it doesn't. This campaign of Lisa Davis is
effectively burning the village down to save it. I don't know
that Pacifica can survive with such witch-hunting campaigns in the
arsenal of its elected officials.
If you are inclined to write to the PNB, before you sign a letter
about an issue you have not personally investigated, please be sure to
listen to the audio and compare it to what Lisa Davis is claiming
Patty Heffley said.
Carolyn Birden
At 9:22 PM -0800 3/10/06, Kevin White
wrote:
This is stupid.
Jim Murray <jimmurra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Note to rocklandfriendsofwbai list subscribers: the
following is an
announcement of a letter writing campaign. If you wish to comment
on
it, pro or can, rather than clogging this list, please sign up for,
and
send your comments to our discussion listserv,
rocklandfriendsofwbaiforum. Enter a search for the name at
http://groups.yahoo.com/. Thank you.
FYI Lisa Davis is an active member of one of the most dynamic
African
American-led organizations in the Tri-State area, the People's
Organization for Progress. Cornell West, who gets over 50 requests
for
speaking engagements per day, speaks to POP at no charge. He and
other
community leaders belong to this great group. Check out POP at
http://www.njpop.org/
Dear WBAI Listeners.
One of our most dedicated, outspoken WBAI Local Station Board
members,
LIsa Davis, needs our help. Lisa was shamefully insulted by
another
board member, Patti Heffley, in a manner most people of color
would
instantly recognize as racist. Heffley, who is white, said that
Davis
wanted to be a member of Pacifica's National Board (PNB) to get
free
food and hotel lodging at PNB meetings. Lisa is African American.
Imagine if this exchange had happened on the floor of the U.S.
Congress, if a white Senator said that a Black Senator was working
for
free food. Unthinkable in 2006, isn't it? However, Heffley's
supporters
at WBAI are boldly mocking Lisa Davis. Why? Because they can get
away
with it. Rather than simply getting the apology she deserves from
Heffley, Lisa Davis has been put on the defensive. It is a classic
case
of blame the victim. It is well known that racism in the North does
not
take the overt form that it takes in the South. Despite the fact
that
Heffley did not use the "n" word, her meaning was
appallingly clear.
Lisa Davis, a tireless worker and a highly regarded member of the
dynamic People's Organization for Progress in New Jersey, deserves
better than this.
Please, by tomorrow night, send emails of support to board@...
Tell them that there is no place for racist verbal assaults on
board
members who work long hours to serve the community with no
compensation. And that white people who imply that people of
color run
for the board to get free meals and hotel rooms should not be
representing any of us.
Thank you,
Sheila Hamanaka
Rockland Friends of WBAI
Member, Justice and Unity Campaign of WBAI
Member, Rockland Coalition for Undoing Racism
Producer, Women's Collective, East Asia Radio
Collective of WBAI
--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Carolyn Birden
Listener Member, WBAI Local Station Board
Chair, PNB Elections Committee
212.932.2422
917.520.1268
mailto:cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New Pacifica Working Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica
'Save Our Stations!'
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