The city held another one of its neighborhood meetings, and once again some men showed they don't understand the idea of civil discourse.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Copyright by Adam Gaffin and by content posters.
Advertise | About Universal Hub | Contact | Privacy
Comments
I'd say it's unbelievable, but...
By Malcolm Tucker
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 3:48pm
This is deplorable. And entirely believable, alas.
Have any other "news" outlets reported on this? Are there cameras at these things? A big, ugly scandal might be embarrassing for the city overall, but it would probably be the final nail in the Boston 2024 coffin.
Oddly
By Michael
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:12pm
The Globe article (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/05/19/dorchester-residents-debate-boston-olympic-bid/eBwrnO62JK4oZOKd8CskwO/story.html) didn't mention the hired goons at all.
cripes
By Malcolm Tucker
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:26pm
The Globe is positioning itself to be about as relevant as its much-hated Direct cousin.
Revised comment: Report from the Dorchester Reporter
By Anonymous
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 8:53pm
dotnews:
“The fix is in for this
By Scratchie
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 8:53am
Raise your hand if you're surprised.
not odd at all
By Ishmael Jones
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:26pm
The Globe is in the tank for the Olympics...read Shirley Leung...and it is not going to publish an article that could be damaging to an Olympic bid.
As a Globe reader, I think this this is irrefuatable:
By Anonymous
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 8:39pm
To review, John Henry is a RWG
By moxie
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:39pm
(Rich White Guy)
John Henry owns the Globe. Boston2024 is, by it's very definition, the ultimate RWG circle jerk.
Any further questions?
Leave race out of this...
By MatthewC
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 10:12pm
It's about money.
Boston.com had it too
By anon
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:35pm
http://www.boston.com/business/news/2015/05/20/wit...
Olympics
By Walker
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 3:53pm
It only makes the Boston 2024 people look worse with these bullies/supporters at the meetings. Social media is so helpful in learning about this, I didn't understand the bullies' rage reading the Herald/Globe today.
People Yelling at Olympics Meeting
By PeyoteEatingWat...
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 3:54pm
I am 110% against the Olympics in Boston. It's pretty much the dumbest idea I have ever heard of. How do you deal with rude and bullying people like that chubby little Barney Rubble looking idiot in the pic who looks like he's about two cheeseburgers and a pack of Marlboros away from quadruple bypass surgery? Yell back. Yell louder. Put on your war face like Full Metal Jacket. 9 out of ten times blowhards like this guy and his ilk will back down and leave the room dragging his tail between his legs. The rowdier these community forums get, the more likely Mr. Dominique-Strauss IOC in France or Switzerland or wherever is going to say "Non." to letting us uncivilized Yanks host their party.
Darling fascist bully boy,
By ZachAndTired
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 3:58pm
Darling fascist bully boy,
Give me some more money, you bastard.
May the seed of your loins be fruitful in the belly of your woman,
Neil
Absolutely Disgraceful
By Linda
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:00pm
What is a good course of action to take in the face of this behavior? Any ideas?
civil discourse w/o insult or disrespect, in sprit of olympics
By Anonymous
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 6:49pm
Yes. You tell everyone in the room that the discourse must be civil and decent.
You tell that that you expect them to disagree but to do so civily, without insult or disrespect.
You tell the people in the room that if they cannot conduct themselves by that standard they be asked to leave so let's get the Q&A, discussion and debate.
That's what I'd do. What would you do?
Well...
By Linda
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 2:08am
Given the fact that the bad behavior involves the goddamned people responsible for doing exactly what you suggested, I would probably start by calling all their offices, calling the construction company's offices, and then possibly finding photographs of the jerks in the crowd and seeing if I can identify them for public humiliation. And suggesting that the next time this happens the cops get called so the local news shows up. But I'm reactionary. I was hoping for other suggestions.
Did anyone call 911 to ask
By anon
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:06pm
Did anyone call 911 to ask for someone to come and keep the peace?
Umm......
By Bob Leponge
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 11:43am
Dispatcher: "911 operator, what is your emergency?"
Caller: "People are saying mean things at a meeting."
Dispatcher: "......"
Caller: "In loud voices!"
I take your point, but...
By Malcolm Tucker
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 2:14pm
...a former coworker of mine, who was upset when he looked at his boss's IMs (when she was away from her desk) and saw her saying mean things about him, actually called 911 and got some poor flatfoot to come file a police report. Crazy things happen sometimes.
"a two-person, all-white male panel"
By anon
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:08pm
That's when i stopped reading. Not to mention all of these people are career protesters.
@britnidlc = Occupier, femenizie
McCallister Crowley @Occupocalypse = Obvious Occupier
Robin @caulkthewagon = UHub resident Occupier #BlackLivesMatter
-Her and her friend on twitter were the ones who immediately jump to conclusion when a Boston cop was shot in the face. I want repeat or link any of the comments, their discussing.
Cassie Hurd @Classymscassie - Self described "Activist" aka i protest everything
Stacey @runningfierce - Self described "Activist"
These people (all of which aren't from Boston) represent a small, but very loud and persistent (and utterly annoying) voice in almost every protestable topic in the Boston area. They're on the fringe of rational though and are not a fair representation of Boston's citizenry.
They're all friends and this is what they do for "fun" i guess.
PS Adam, you literally found the most biased article and posted it.
What is "femenizie" ?
By Ron Newman
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 11:14pm
Neither my dictionary nor Google has heard of this word. What does it mean?
Femenize: n. dittohead, misogynist
By Chris Lynch
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 11:50pm
It means anon (non verified) hates the women he lists because of the causes they advocate for and he listens to Rush Limbaugh.
You might have it backwards
By lbb
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 11:19am
I'd say it means anon automatically hates the causes because undesirable people like women and black people advocate for them. We all know that if Those People are in favor of something, it must be icky/wrong/bad.
For the record, I was not an
By Britni
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 11:33pm
For the record, I was not an occupier. I *am* a founding member of Safe Hub Collective, though. You also spelled "feminazi" wrong. You should try to be better at Google. ;)
-@britnidlc
From the Safe Hub mission statement...
By Bob Leponge
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 3:32pm
I feel harassed when you post here. My personal experience is valid, and not up for discussion. Please refrain from intruding upon my experience of the world again.
You are being a troll here
By Michael Kerpan
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 4:11pm
... and you seem to be4 doing this more and more often recently. Why?
Bob's Safe Hub critque seems like a critique of its founder
By Nancy L
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 5:10pm
Michael, thanks for asking Bob this question. I'm all for asking question.
I'd prefer if Bob wrote a blog post about Safe Hub and then people interested in his critique could join in -- it seems like it's a topic that deserves it own thread.
I have an extremely low tolerance for hypocrisy
By Bob Leponge
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 5:33pm
I have an extremely low tolerance for hypocrisy, and I guess I've been encountering more of it than usual lately?
Oh, it's your superior virtuousness...
By Michael Kerpan
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 5:40pm
...that explains your current posting behavior.
Okay....
Honestly?
By Bob Leponge
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 5:45pm
I just looked through my last month or so of posts, and the one in this thread about the safe space thing is the only one that I would personally describe as anywhere close to trolling, and I'd defend even that post (above) as making a legitimate point rather than trolling.
MK I take your comment seriously
By Bob Leponge
Fri, 05/22/2015 - 12:32am
You are one of the people that adds a lot of value to this site. If you seriously think I'm being a putz, I take that seriously as cause for a little self-examination.
I've been surprised at the tone...
By Michael Kerpan
Fri, 05/22/2015 - 9:30am
... of a number of your recent comments.
My method for _trying_ to stay civil here (and elsewhere) -- write the the most biting thing that first comes into mind -- and then erase it -- and write something more measured. -- or decide not to respond at all (Hoping I don't accidentally hit send before "fixing" that first draft).
;-)
Your Safe Hub mission statement...
By MatthewC
Sat, 05/23/2015 - 9:47am
...is anti-first amendment. You cannot limit free speech, as much as you and your far left ilk want to. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution against people like you. You will not silence anyone.
femenizie
By LInda
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 2:54am
That's when I stopped reading. That's probably when you should have stopped writing.
Femenizie? Is that a new
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 8:15am
Femenizie? Is that a new dance routine or are you just showing you misogynistic ways? Go back to your mommy's cave and get out a dictionary so you can learn to spell.
Guys who call women 'femenzis' don't seem to understand occupy
By Nancy L
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 12:55pm
Wonder why Occupy Wall Street is so angry with Bank of America and its brethren?
So funny that a "queer" white
By lmao
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 4:06pm
So funny that a "queer" white woman with purple hair (does this give me a personality yet?!) is apparently an expert on diversity but any white male who exists is a beacon of oppression an intolerance. I mean I hate white guys too, just laughable how completely obliviously hypocritical it is. We get it, your struggle "more authentic" than everyone else and we are all tacit cogs in your ongoing victimization...
But guys, ITS NOT OKAY. SOMEONE WAS YELLING AT A POLITICAL MEETING OVER A MATTER WORTH BILLIONS I DIDNT FEEL SAFE AND ITS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GUARD MY FEELINGS.
NOT OKAY.
Bring an airhorn
By ChrisInEastie
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:25pm
to the next meeting, blast it in the guy's face if he gets in the way.
In all seriousness, this is just more evidence that the city can't handle the Olympics-people can't even sit in a room and talk about them.
Edit: Boston.com has a fun take on this:
What a charming way
By IceKid
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:16pm
To encourage people to "sit in a room and talk"
Funny ommision from the Storify article
By spin o rama
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:37pm
Must not have fit the narrative.
I agree
By ChrisInEastie
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:54pm
But it still doesn't excuse the random audience member who physically got between the speaker and the mic or the meeting's organizers for not stepping in at that point. Or the canned response to the initial question.
Then there's the whole thing with the guy pictured in the initial story calling a woman a "fucking piece of shit" and how BDC (and meeting organizers) completely ignored that.
Yeah but thats the thing
By spin o rama
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 5:18pm
What other elements were exaggerated or omitted because they didn't fit the narrative?
City of Boston employee whose salary we're paying
By anon
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 6:58pm
John FitzGerald shouldn't be telling people to sit down.
It'd fine if asked Hanson to go to the end of the line to ask another question or told him that they'll come back to it after others have a chance.
Lunkhead just made it worse.
i'm totally & utterly against the olympics BUT...
By bibliotequetres...
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 11:11pm
...you're right. I wasn't at the Dot meeting, have been at a few others. A handful of NoBostonOlympics people-- not many, certainly not most, but it doesn't have to be-- have monopolized the mike, repeated the same points ad nauseum, and basically gamed the system so that a lot of other people give up & leave before they have a chance to speak. The inane part of that is that this small handful of NBO people are preventing Olympic opponents who have fresh points to make from speaking. That's too bad, because most NBO volunteers are good people, but people who should be allied are getting irritated.
When someone has already paid for two hours of babysitting, is waiting patiently to ask a question/make a comment, sees a guy get the mike a second time because because someone "gave" him their slot and he rants for longer than the allotted time over a point that has already been made, it feels less like free expression and more like her chance to speak is being sabotaged.
Well said.
By Sally
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 9:05am
Has no one thought to videotape these meetings? I'm also 100% against the Olympics happening here (and I am shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, to hear that union goons were being rude and aggressive at a meeting--sorry, but was anyone here for the mayoral campaign?) But the minute I saw who was tweeting this whole thing--ie the exact same professional-"activist" crowd who fanned the worst of the BLM hysteria after the cop got shot in the face--the credibility of the story just crumbled. Not that it didn't happen but it's very easy to imagine that there was rudeness and hostility on both sides, as Dot News reported. Next time, film it--unedited--so that we can get a clearer picture of what went down.
The city films all the meetings
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 1:34pm
and posts them on their website. It should be up in a couple days and should definitely show the crowd being aggressive and the man who stood up to block the microphone.
This isn't accurate
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 1:32pm
Many of the same faces are at the meetings, yes, but the NoBoston2024 and NBO folks are there to document what happens and update social media, as well as network with new people they meet who also oppose. It's how you organize. They ALWAYS wait until the end of the meeting when all new faces and/or residents have spoken before taking the mic.
It is accurate
By bibliotequetress
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 11:38pm
...and I have chosen not to name on UHub one of the two people I've witnessed do this-- I don't know the name of the second person. I'll think about doing it, though, if people continue to say it's not happening.
I contacted NBO after the first meeting I saw him do it in. Since that time, I have seen him speak in two other meetings but as I was not there for the full meeting, I cannot say how many times he spoke those nights. Also, he was one of the first five speakers in one of those meetings, and did not wait until the end.
+1 to the airhorn
By Malcolm Tucker
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:45pm
If any other ladies (or anyone, really) want to go into Boudica mode at the next meeting (or, if that's too arcane of a reference, Furiosa mode), we could do that.
If the description is
By Refugee
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 5:30pm
If the description is accurate, then Hanson should have returned to his seat (or to the back of the line) when Fitzgerald asked him to. That's the difference between a panel and roundtable discussion.
I honestly think that
By tape
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:53pm
I honestly think that responding to willfully rude and uncivil people would go so much better if there was always an airhorn involved.
Right
By IceKid
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:14pm
It's only "bullying" when they disagree with your opinion.
I'm not here to advocate for or against anything a decade from now but this discourse is run on this forum is embarrassing.
That's no bully, that's the mayor's cousin
By anonymouth
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:30pm
Also named Martin Walsh and head of the Local 223. Funny how that works, isn't it?
Ten points for proper identification
By Sock_Puppet
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 6:01pm
Third picture from the top here:
http://www.aflcio-hit.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=3057
Mr. Mayor, your cousin, Martin Walsh, the Business Manager of Local 223, called a local woman a "fucking piece of shit" for opposing the olympics bid, which would personally benefit him and the construction industry in Boston, at the expense of other residents. What is your response to his behavior?
I have a follow-up: Mr. Mayor, are you planning to run for a second term?
"Walsh way"
By Boston voter
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:55pm
So is this tactic the "Walsh way" referred to in the email here:
http://wgbhnews.org/post/mayor-marty-walshs-politi...
Curious if you sent that to
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 8:19am
Curious if you sent that to the Mayor? I would be interested if he or his office would respond. If people flood him (and news organizations and social media)with videos/ pics of these ppl doing this type of stuff he will have to eventually respond.
Put it on Citizens Connect
By tofu
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 11:51am
Put it on Citizens Connect
OMG, he's a chubby version of the mayor
By Klaus
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 6:06pm
Can totally see the familial resemblance.
Boston2024 -- a civil debate requires a couple of apologies
By Anonymous
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:34pm
Assuming I have the identification correct (and I'm nor sure of that,) it wouldn't hurt Mayor Martin Walsh if Martin Walsh, Sr. makes a public apology to the women he berated and the audience, and John FitzGerald apologizes to Hanson and learns from his mistake.
[IMG]http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk143/nfsagan/B...
So the implication here is
By noodle
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 4:14pm
So the implication here is that he was sexist? Or is this just more name calling under the false guise of justice?
The guy seems like a piece of shit, but even the article mentions he did this to every dissenting voice male or female... So why the emphasis over and over and over again on gender?
Oh right because of equality LOL
inferring sexism
By Nancy L
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 11:39pm
I think his behavior speaks for itself whether he was addressing men or women or both. But if he's just calling women "fucking piece of shit" and not addressing men with the offensive dehumanizing speech, I think your inference that he's sexist is the smart take.
The only people who support
By Kinopio
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:36pm
The only people who support the Olympics are ignorant people or those who are paid to support it. These low lifes appear to be both of those things.
Putting the Civil in Civil Discourse
By IceKid
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:52pm
The smartest way to encourage "civil discourse" is to generalize and remind people that they are both ignorant & low life thugs.
Is anyone recording video of this?
By FredQuimby
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 4:48pm
Surely there is somebody who can attend these meetings and record them. I can't imagine it is too difficult to find out who these people interrupting the meeting are and find out what their real motive($) are.
I bet Fox News would love to run with the lede. "Union Thugs harass at Olympics Q&A."
Time to play hardball.
Someone was broadcasting it
By tape
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 7:55pm
Someone was broadcasting it last night via Periscope. I have no idea if there's an archive of that available.
It's grassroots astroturf.
By anon
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 5:26pm
I spotted the meeting schedule last week when I was looking for the bid documents.
https://www.2024boston.org/process
They have a road show going too hoping for leverage beyond the urban core. This play seems to be another fake it til you make it effort to maintain the appearance of community consultation.
statewide Boston 2024 meetings
By Ron Newman
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 11:17pm
Since there's going to be a statewide referendum, and the whole state may end up having to pay for some of this, I'm fine with having meetings all over the state.
BUT, I see no meeting scheduled for Somerville -- a city where Boston 2024 has proposed siting a large temporary venue (velodrome) and a possibly more permanent one (BMX track). They do have a meeting scheduled for Arlington, a town which to my knowledge has no venues proposed.
Mayor Curtatone is said to oppose the velo mess.
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 5:43am
He's being a fairly smart negotiator.
But 2024 wants ankle grabbers, not hagglers.
It is another example of how 2024 acts like Raglan at Balaclava, ordering a charge from a yacht in the harbor while looking at the wrong map. They want that strip of open space behind Assembly.
One way to tell if these 'community engagement' kabuki fests really are just astroturf is by these meeting location selections. Somerville and Cambridge are fairly hostile places without a mayor cousin to serve as sergeant at arms for quelling the opponents.
Hand wringing about civility is probably like waiting for the bright elusive butterfly of love. It sounds good, upright and faux progressive but falls apart when you jam a bunch of bickering monkeys together to argue about some high stakes thing.
Marcuse did a good short work called "A Critique of Pure Tolerance", that may be a useful angle on the subject.
Cambridge had a meeting on March 18
By Ron Newman
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 8:34am
according to Boston 2024's schedule. I didn't go to it. Did anyone here? I'd be interested in what happened there, because the proposed Olympic bid has a lot more impact on Cambridge (MIT, Magazine Beach, and lots of Harvard venues just across the river in Allston) than it does on Somerville.
Here's an article, Ron.
By anon
Thu, 05/21/2015 - 8:32am
It's reasonably thoughtful.
The opening sentence sums it up well.
"Most of the comments and questions coming Wednesday to a four-person panel representing the Boston2024 Olympics bid were hostile, with at least one speaker accusing the panel of lying and another refusing to even look in the officials’ direction."
http://www.cambridgeday.com/2015/03/19/four-ways-a...
Pages
Add comment