COMMENTARY
Rod Watson: If our leaders are biased, what are we?
I’ve always found it curious that one of the most segregated areas in the country would dub its hub the City of Good Neighbors.
Perhaps it’s time to mothball the title, lest we be accused not only of bigotry, but hypocrisy.
If you’re Jewish, black, of moderate income or from the wrong side of the map, there’s nothing neighborly in the comments of Erie County Executive Chris Collins, those attributed to County Legislator Michele Iannello or those from Orchard Park officials afraid of “outsiders” invading their white, wealthy suburb.
Western New York has had its share of isolated incidents over the years. But rarely have so many examples in so short a time forced us to confront bigotry on so many fronts.
Collins’ dinner-speech “joke” last weekend comparing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver—an orthodox Jew—to Adolf Hitler and an Antichrist was just the most astounding of the outrages.
But as insulting as Collins’ slur was, it also raises a larger question about the insular, suburbanite businessman: If his sense of humor is so out of touch, can his sense of what’s right and wrong for a diverse community be any more on target?
His disregard for the sensibilities of those different from himself makes it all the more understandable why the millionaire would pull the county out of health, nutrition and day care initiatives for Buffalo’s poor and generally give the city the back of his hand.
His “joke” hurt feelings and hurt any aspirations Collins has for statewide office. But the insularity and arrogance that characterize the mind-set behind the joke also characterize policies that could hurt real people every day, far from Collins’ Spaulding Lake enclave.
Iannello, a Kenmore Democrat running for re-election, denies she didn’t want blacks campaigning for her in the largely white district. But Philip Rumore, the politically active teachers union president, stands by the accusation and is backed by a fellow Working Families Party official. Putting principle before party, Rumore asked his Buffalo Teachers Federation to withdraw its support of Iannello.
The fact that the color of election volunteers in Western New York would even be an issue in 2009 speaks volumes about where we are.
So does what happened in Orchard Park, where a housing project for senior citizens on fixed incomes was nixed because some of the residents might not be from the town. Town officials even asked the project’s sponsor for ZIP codes of those living in its other Orchard Park complex—a red flag for fair-housing experts.
Part of the criticism of Orchard Park officials seems to be that their objections are misguided because the people moving in would be gray-haired grandmothers from the same area, or at least the same background.
But the real issue is: What if the newcomers weren’t? What would be wrong with that?
No one wants to live next door to lowlifes, but income and race do not equate with class and good values. If they did, the wealthy, white county executive would not have said what he said. Nor would any of our other “leaders.”
And that’s what’s really unsettling: These folks represent us. They aren’t shock jocks whose job is to be outrageous.
These are elected officials, demonstrably in touch with the sensibilities of large swaths of the population, as evidenced by their victories at the polls.
If the people we vote for feel free to express such sentiments, the rest of us can’t glide blithely past the mirror without taking a long look and wondering just who, as a community, we really are.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments
Learn more about our moderation system.