South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

racism

1st Amendment Mayor TenHaken racism Sioux Falls

Mayor TenHaken and the SFPD handled the situation well last night

l3wis 19Comments

I agree with Paul that the protest in the afternoon had very little to do with the one at night. If the SFPD, Mayor and National Guard made any missteps, they should have broken up the walking crowd before it got to the Mall (and before it got dark). Many in attendance in the march towards the Mall agreed. I also think when you are telling people in the morning five hours before the protest even started that there will be violence, you are kind of inviting it. As I suspected police chief Burns admitted today that this supposed bus load of hoodlums from Fargo never arrived, it was just empty threats on FB, which I pointed out yesterday. Most of the rioters were local latch key kids that should have been home while their parents are working 2nd or 3rd jobs. This is one of my fears about the pools being closed this summer, a lot of these kids will be up to ‘other’ things besides swimming.

Sioux Falls really hasn’t had this kind of violence since the scabs broke the union lines at John Morrells several years ago. From what I could tell it was just a bunch of young kids and hoodlums looking for something to do and very little to do with George Floyd’s death.

I still think that some of this was overblown, but the reaction by the SFPD and Mayor was legitimate and they handled the situation pretty good, especially the swat department to calm the situation ASAP. I think people freaking out about BS on Facebook, especially elected officials, should really do some investigation before telling the citizens there will violence in the streets. Sure, kids throwing rocks at cops isn’t cool, but it certainly wasn’t a combat zone. Some times our local elected officials need to just be cool headed about these things instead of saying the sky is falling.

I commend our National Guard, police force and Mayor’s office for calming the situation quickly. But next time, before you warn about potential violence in the streets, gather all your facts first. As I tell people all the time, Democracy dies in darkness, be truthful with the citizens and they will respond better next time. If anything I hope there was some lessons learned, and thank God no one was seriously hurt.

Mayor TenHaken Paul Ten Haken racism SF City Council Sioux Falls

TenHaken says, ‘No Haters’!

l3wis 19Comments

I first want to say that I think this resolution is a good idea;

Mayor Paul TenHaken next week will introduce a resolution to the city council condemning hate, a move endorsed by the city’s Human Relations Commission.

“Hate has no place in Sioux Falls,” TenHaken said in a news release Thursday afternoon. “I’m proud to stand with the Human Relations Commission and condemn bias, discrimination and hate in Sioux Falls.

“With this resolution we reaffirm our belief that hate has no place in Sioux Falls and remind the public of ways to report discrimination to the City,” he added.

We should all disavow hate. I am actually embarrassed that in 2020 we have to pass resolutions to tell people to stop being racist jerks.

But this resolution has many procedural and intent problems. It’s nothing but some feel good reach around more than anything else. I also find it ironic that this resolution is being proposed right after the human relations attorney with the city announced he is running for State’s Attorney.

Kawinky-Dink? I think not.

So what are the issues;

1) It has no teeth. It just basically says that the city doesn’t like people being racist. Well Lah-De-Dah. I guess I am unaware of ANY city official, whether elected or employed who thinks it is a good idea to be racist. And in my personal life I ‘try’ to stay away from these people. So basically this is just a ‘memo’ or ‘sticky note’ from the mayor’s office.

2) The mayor should not be legislating. As I have told you fine folks in the past, according to charter, the city council is responsible for legislating and the mayor should run the city. As I mentioned above, this is just a campaign hat trick for the city’s human relations attorney, Daniel Haggar.

3) The mayor avoids gay pride events. I can’t tell you if PTH thinks gay peeps are ‘Icky’. Many have suspected that he does, but I have never seen him say anything publicly about it except at Dem Forum when he was running for office in which he stated that he was not ‘homophobic’. But what I find interesting about this resolution is that it did not include the LGBTQ community, or many other minority groups, like people of Muslim or Jewish faith that are discriminated against consistently. If we are going to pass a resolution disavowing hate, shouldn’t it cover all the bases?

This isn’t a Paul TenHaken issue, it is a bigger issue with politics in general starting with the top down, it’s all about ‘image’ instead of ‘substance’. If we really want to take a stand we need to pass ordinances that has teeth, otherwise this isn’t worth the paper it is written on. On top of that, hate speech is protected by the 1st Amendment, so is this a violation of our constitution?

We make change through education, and teaching people how not to hate. A more fitting resolution would be for the city to set up a grant program that funds seminars on teaching people about different cultures, creeds and sexual preferences. I have often told people that moving to a suburb of Seattle from a farm in South Dakota when I was 16 to live with my dad was the best cultural education of my life. I will sum it up really quickly, everybody has the same hopes and dreams as you do, no matter their color or creed. The city needs to educate people about cultures instead of handing out back rubs, sticky notes, lapel pins and pens.

illegal Aliens Immigration racism

A race war in Worthington, MN?

l3wis 5Comments

I stumbled on this article this morning from the Washington Post. I was astonished by what is going on only 50 minutes away from Sioux Falls, our current mayor’s hometown;

Those children, some of whom crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone, have fueled a bitter debate about immigration in Worthington, a community of 13,000 that has received more unaccompanied minors per capita than almost anywhere in the country, according to data from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

So how does this happen? In the article it says that 2/3rds of Worthington is minorities.

Since the fall of 2013, more than 270,000 unaccompanied minors have been released to relatives around the country as they wait for immigration hearings. Many have ended up in large cities: 16,000 in Los Angeles; 18,000 in Houston; 20,000 in the Washington, D.C., area.

Thousands more, however, have ended up in small towns like Worthington, where their impact is dramatic.

In those six years, more than 400 unaccompanied minors have been placed in Nobles County — the second most per capita in the country, according to ORR data.

I have often argued that many undocumented workers wouldn’t come to the United States if there weren’t job opportunities for them, most likely from employers who are probably not following employment laws. The employers are really the root of the problem and why there is this massive population growth in one town;

“I wish they would have another ICE raid,” he said. “They need to get rid of the illegals.”

“Half the town is illegal,” added her 80-year-old husband, an oxygen tube in his nose.

While these statements are obviously prejudice and likely not accurate, you wonder what would happen if there was an ICE raid in Worthington? You wonder with so much anger and frustration from the white community in the town their hasn’t been a major ICE bust? I don’t have an issue with immigrants coming here for opportunities, my distant relatives came here from all over, Ireland, France, Germany (Switzerland/Austria) and Czechoslavakia. I have close relatives that are of African American, Hispanic and Native American descent on both sides of my family. Our country is a melting pot. But with that big of an influx in one small community in the Midwest, you have to ask yourself if our immigration system is completely broken. There is no reason why these people couldn’t be properly channeled all over the US. But this would take a president who actually wanted to accept immigrants and give them an opportunity to become legal thru the proper channels and give them the freedom to find a home in the US that suits them. I have been to Worthington several times, I had two art exhibits at the community college there. The student body is extremely diverse, coming from all over the US and some immigrating from other countries. We truly are a land of opportunity, but we must afford people these opportunities, so we don’t see a melt down like we are seeing in Worthington.

racism Sioux Falls

Want to reduce racism in Sioux Falls & SD? Stop voting for White, Male, Republicans

l3wis 7Comments

Just look at what our legislature does each year to encourage racism and less tolerance. Anti-choice laws, little access to affordable healthcare, open carry, bathroom bills, resisting other languages for driver’s licenses, etc. This is what happens when you have one-party rule, and that party SUCKS!

It takes more than an attitude or culture change, it takes a LEADERSHIP change, and until that happens in Pierre and in the City Halls and County Commission chambers across this state, we will continue to legislate hate instead of tolerance.

I find it a little ironic that our mayor said he scaled back a compassion program in the city because he wants others to chip in. What he fails to mention is he supposedly fired the person in charge of the program.

Make no mistake, those in power are quite happy with our Lilly-White community, and they want it to stay that way . . . at least in their minds.

Downtown Sioux Falls racism Sioux Falls

Man yells racial slurs at teens and tells them he has a firearm in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls

l3wis 19Comments

I will warn you, the video is NOT work safe or kid safe. I saw this earlier today and was glad to see KSFY had time in between petting pigs and eating chislic stories to do a story on this. It is a very sad day in our community when three minorities get treated this way, especially since they never even provoked the guy. What is even sadder is they haven’t even arrested the man. While the slurs are protected by the 1st Amendment, threatening people with a firearm is NOT. We have a long way to go folks, and our current situation in DC is NOT helping.

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