Deep gratitude to Northwest Citizen for covering this... otherwise, I would still be none the wiser. (Link HERE.)
I don't know who decided to place a rock on Steve Oliver's windshield that has "Lummi Out" scrawled on it...
But I do know this.
If something like this had happened to Kelli Linville or Dan Pike, the Herald would have made sure you knew about it and not buried it at the bottom of a story about some unsubstantiated rumor.
But this was about Steve Oliver, a member of the Lummi Nation, so it unfolded as follows.
In a Herald story from October 22, 2011, bearing the headline "Whatcom County Treasurer denies rumors about relationship with employee" (Link HERE.) the Herald goes into detail about an allegation against Mr. Oliver:
...and at the end of the article is this tiny statement...
Take a look at this rock...
Jesus Tap-DANCING Christ.
That is a pretty substantial rock.
That isn't some rock that you would pick up and skip across a lake. That is a rock that would have to be picked up with two hands and placed every so gingerly on that windshield in order to not crack the windshield. In Dungeons and Dragons parlance, that "rock" qualifies as a... boulder.
And having racist words written on it, just makes it all the more ominous.
This is the sort of thing that escalates to the point where someone gets hurt. I mean "Gabby Gifford shot in the back of the head in Tuscon" hurt.
It may or may not be a hate crime, but it certainly qualifies for a standing invitation to the Annual Hate Crime Family Picnic and Restraining Order Renewal Brunch.
Now, someone get on the comment thread and lie to me and tell me that this "incident" would have been handled the same if it had been directed towards a white candidate this year.
Don't everyone comment all at once now.
Whoever did this, needs help.
This act needed to be denounced, loudly, by Steve Oliver's opponent. I have been unable to find any public comment from Brian Smith on this "incident". That tells me all I need to know about him.
I don't intend to lose Steve Oliver as Treasurer because of some anonymous racist douchebag, so I hope that you will rally around him and overwhelmingly vote to re-elect him. We deserve a solid treasurer, and we deserve better, and more mature political discourse than is in evidence here.
We also deserve better press coverage of when someone crosses a line that should never be crossed, as did the bad actor who took this action against Mr. Oliver at his goddam HOME.
Shame on the Herald for their coverage of this story.
Kudos to Northwest Citizen for doing the job that the Herald couldn't be bothered to do.
I don't know who decided to place a rock on Steve Oliver's windshield that has "Lummi Out" scrawled on it...
But I do know this.
If something like this had happened to Kelli Linville or Dan Pike, the Herald would have made sure you knew about it and not buried it at the bottom of a story about some unsubstantiated rumor.
But this was about Steve Oliver, a member of the Lummi Nation, so it unfolded as follows.
In a Herald story from October 22, 2011, bearing the headline "Whatcom County Treasurer denies rumors about relationship with employee" (Link HERE.) the Herald goes into detail about an allegation against Mr. Oliver:
At a Birch Bay candidate forum Thursday, Oct. 13, Luanne Van Werven, chairwoman of the Whatcom Republicans, asked Oliver about any inappropriate relationship and how it may have affected his ability to do his job. While Oliver responded to the question, his denial wasn't worded strongly enough to squash the rumor.
...and at the end of the article is this tiny statement...
Oliver said the false rumors are particularly upsetting coming on the heels of a racist incident against him. Earlier this month, Oliver, who is Lummi, found a rock with the words "Lummi out" written on it placed on the windshield of his car while it was parked at his home.
Take a look at this rock...
Jesus Tap-DANCING Christ.
That is a pretty substantial rock.
That isn't some rock that you would pick up and skip across a lake. That is a rock that would have to be picked up with two hands and placed every so gingerly on that windshield in order to not crack the windshield. In Dungeons and Dragons parlance, that "rock" qualifies as a... boulder.
And having racist words written on it, just makes it all the more ominous.
This is the sort of thing that escalates to the point where someone gets hurt. I mean "Gabby Gifford shot in the back of the head in Tuscon" hurt.
It may or may not be a hate crime, but it certainly qualifies for a standing invitation to the Annual Hate Crime Family Picnic and Restraining Order Renewal Brunch.
Now, someone get on the comment thread and lie to me and tell me that this "incident" would have been handled the same if it had been directed towards a white candidate this year.
Don't everyone comment all at once now.
Whoever did this, needs help.
This act needed to be denounced, loudly, by Steve Oliver's opponent. I have been unable to find any public comment from Brian Smith on this "incident". That tells me all I need to know about him.
I don't intend to lose Steve Oliver as Treasurer because of some anonymous racist douchebag, so I hope that you will rally around him and overwhelmingly vote to re-elect him. We deserve a solid treasurer, and we deserve better, and more mature political discourse than is in evidence here.
We also deserve better press coverage of when someone crosses a line that should never be crossed, as did the bad actor who took this action against Mr. Oliver at his goddam HOME.
Shame on the Herald for their coverage of this story.
Kudos to Northwest Citizen for doing the job that the Herald couldn't be bothered to do.
The headline on the Herald article debunking the Swiftboat attack on Steve Oliver should have read "Smear Campaign Launched Against Treasurer" rather than repeating the unsubstantiated nonsense that was shown in the body of the article to be false.
ReplyDeleteI like your headline...