Post by bennyp81 on Jun 22, 2005 6:45:08 GMT -8
Numan Parada
User ID: 2170744 Nov 13th [2002] 8:51 PM
What's this business about a BRU rally being held in downtown tomorrow (11/14/02)? I was reading one of their flyers while waiting for the bus. It was "praising" Mayor Hahn for opposing the court appeals, but also criticizing him for not buying more buses, saying Hahn feels that "Blacks and Latinos already have too many buses" or something to that respect.
James Fujita
User ID: 1049474 Nov 13th 9:11 PM
sheesh. can anybody here say "race baiting"?
when did Hahn ever say anything that could be twisted to even remotely suggest that "Blacks and Latinos already have too many buses"?
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 13th 9:13 PM
That is nauseating that they always try to throw the race card in there to anger people that don't know the whole story. I am sure Hahn said nothing of the sort, but it doesn't stop the BRU from lying outright.
The East L.A. Latinos "got it" because they were well-informed by Gloria Molina and they stood up to the BRU. We have to inform more people from within the minority communities, so that other areas don't continue to be duped by the BRU's lies.
cool_studio_man
User ID: 0875014 Nov 14th 9:57 PM
When will they stop with maddens.
Bus Protest
By ALEX DOBUZINSKIS
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Bus Riders Union, the group that forced the MTA into a federal consent decree, demonstrated outside City Hall today to demand that Mayor Jim Hahn use his influence to get the agency to buy more buses.
As mayor, Hahn sits on the 13-member board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and appoints three members.
Martin Hernandez of the BRU suggested that Hahn was working at odds with the consent decree, "bolstering policies that foster and sustain ... structural racism."
When the BRU sued the MTA years ago, it alleged that the transit agency, by putting most of its resources into rail construction instead of buses, was effectively discriminating against non-whites, because most bus riders are not white. To settle the lawsuit, the MTA agreed to a consent decree -- a court- monitored agreement for reducing crowding on buses and righting other perceived wrongs.
About 200 people participated in the demonstration, according to Eric Mann of the BRU.
Hahn aide Brian Williams said the mayor was not at odds with the BRU.
"We have in the past and continue and will in the future urge the board and the staff at the MTA to abide by the consent decree," he said. "We believe that there are additional buses that need to be purchased."
Hahn hasn't determined how many new buses the MTA would need to buy to comply with the consent decree, Williams said. The BRU wants the MTA to buy 850 buses.
Hahn and his appointees were on the losing end of a vote in January to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in what MTA staffers described as an attempt to get clarification on the consent decree.
The court declined to hear the case in March.
At today's protest, BRU members, wearing bright yellow T-shirts and beating on drums, buckets and water-cooler bottles, chanted: "Mayor Hahn, Take a Stand. Full Civil Rights is Our Demand."
A cardboard bus had the words "Fight Transit Racism" written on it. CNS-11-14-2002 18:44
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 15th 12:18 AM
Guess what ... most rail passengers are not white either.
Are there any available stats on the demographics of Metro Rail passengers? If not, would anybody be willing to help launch such a study? We need solid numbers to counter the BRU's arguments. Since the MTA doesn't respond with any, I suspect that there might not be any reliable studies that have been done.
The times that I did the gender and race breakdowns on the Metro Rail lines, my stats showed an average of only 3-7% white passengers. So saying that "rail construction favors white people" is totally ludicrous. At this point, rail passengers are almost exclusively Latino and Black. If constructing rail lines discriminates against anyone, it is probably white people, since they tend to shy away from public transportation.
Also, I think we need to get a solid, outspoken group of minority rail advocates ready to publicly counter the claims of racism by the BRU. I would be willing to be part of that group. Just like Augusta (the all-male golf club) always sends out a female representative to counter the claims of sexism, we need a highly visible group of minority rail advocates to quash the perception that rail advocacy groups are run by all white people.
Was the above article published? I'd like to counter their claims. If anybody sees any of those kinds of articles in the papers, please post them here and let me know how to respond ... I will definitely do it.
Bart Reed
User ID: 1606604 Nov 15th 10:08 PM
MTA has lots of stats to show that the BRU charge that most rail riders are only white is not close to true. But repeat a lie many times and it becomes true for some segments of the audience.
But the MTA numbers are in big, thick books. I might ask if MTA has posted these stats. If yes, we will put up a link at the www.BRUtruth.com website.
If the stats aren't posted, perhaps someone here might want to scan and put up a PDF file. And we can host the data for all to see.
QUESTION? Did any newspaper post the City News Service story? The L.A. Times and the Daily News choose not to run the story. So, did it run anywhere in print? Was it on any television or radio outlet?
The numbers that attended the rally were closer to 100. Alex has a counting problem from what I heard. How many of the protestors were students that were getting government credit? That is how BRU usually gets it protestors. It appears that the major news outlets no longer consider BRU protests to be news worthy!
Þ--Þ--Þ
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 15th 10:51 PM
Thanks for the info Bart!
Yes, somebody please post the race breakdown stats to show people that the BRU is lying. And yes, I think everybody knows that protest leaders always greatly inflate the number of people present at rallies, so that's to be expected.
I'm not *too* worried about the race card, since I know that most Latinos, Blacks, and Asians would respond enthusiastically if they hear that Metro Rail might be expanded into their neighborhoods, and that they'd be turned off by the BRU's anti-rail stance. However, it's those that don't yet have Metro Rail service in their areas (and thus don't get to ride it) that are most easily swayed, particularly if they aren't aware of any plans to bring rail service into their neighborhoods.
Oh, and please make sure I'm aware of all cries of racial bias by the BRU that are printed ... I'm probably one of the rail advocates in the best position to publicly counter those claims.
Robert
User ID: 8750183 Nov 16th 1:04 AM
Bart,
I could scan and make a PDF file.
Bob
Bart Reed
User ID: 1606604 Mar 18th [2003] 4:41 AM
Time for the Next Bus Rider Union Protest:
Save the Date - Please forward
Toward a Program of Resistance forum & discussion
Saturday, April 5, 2003 from 1-5pm
2845 W. 7th Street (at CARECEN) a block west of Hoover; Meeting will be in English, Korean & Spanish; Please RSVP for childcare 213.387.2800
What does it mean to situate antiracist organizing
within the larger strategy of building
an international united front against imperialism?
Come join the Program Demand Group* in an afternoon discussion of political program, strategies and tactics...
Topics to be covered:
Why we wrote the document
Components of our Demand Development
U.S. Intervention around the Globe - Government & Corporations
U.S. attack on social welfare within the U.S.
U.S. Responsibility for
-national oppression & racism within the U.S.
-subjugation of women around the globe & within the U.S.
-degradation of the environment & destruction of public health
-denial of rights internationally & domestically
*The Program Demand Group are individual left organizers who have built a substantial amount of unity through struggles and shared practice in mass campaigns initiated by the Labor Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles.
For more information or to get a copy of the document call (213) 387.2800 or download it from www.ahoranow.org
Strategy Center, 3780 Wilshire Blvd #1200, LA 90010; Telephone: 213.387.2800 www.thestrategycenter.org
Þ--Þ--Þ
Daniel Schwartz
User ID: 9488873 Mar 18th 5:31 AM
From ahoranow.org:
"AhoraNow is born out of a multiracial Left culture that asserts a consistent and explicit anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism, promotes internationalism, and engages in bilingualism as a politics of language. AhoraNow is a product of oppositional culture, an ongoing experiment in editorial design."
Just in case anyone was wondering. I was.
Andrew S
User ID: 0269124 Mar 18th 9:50 AM
They have come a long way from riding buses.
User ID: 2170744 Nov 13th [2002] 8:51 PM
What's this business about a BRU rally being held in downtown tomorrow (11/14/02)? I was reading one of their flyers while waiting for the bus. It was "praising" Mayor Hahn for opposing the court appeals, but also criticizing him for not buying more buses, saying Hahn feels that "Blacks and Latinos already have too many buses" or something to that respect.
James Fujita
User ID: 1049474 Nov 13th 9:11 PM
sheesh. can anybody here say "race baiting"?
when did Hahn ever say anything that could be twisted to even remotely suggest that "Blacks and Latinos already have too many buses"?
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 13th 9:13 PM
That is nauseating that they always try to throw the race card in there to anger people that don't know the whole story. I am sure Hahn said nothing of the sort, but it doesn't stop the BRU from lying outright.
The East L.A. Latinos "got it" because they were well-informed by Gloria Molina and they stood up to the BRU. We have to inform more people from within the minority communities, so that other areas don't continue to be duped by the BRU's lies.
cool_studio_man
User ID: 0875014 Nov 14th 9:57 PM
When will they stop with maddens.
Bus Protest
By ALEX DOBUZINSKIS
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Bus Riders Union, the group that forced the MTA into a federal consent decree, demonstrated outside City Hall today to demand that Mayor Jim Hahn use his influence to get the agency to buy more buses.
As mayor, Hahn sits on the 13-member board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and appoints three members.
Martin Hernandez of the BRU suggested that Hahn was working at odds with the consent decree, "bolstering policies that foster and sustain ... structural racism."
When the BRU sued the MTA years ago, it alleged that the transit agency, by putting most of its resources into rail construction instead of buses, was effectively discriminating against non-whites, because most bus riders are not white. To settle the lawsuit, the MTA agreed to a consent decree -- a court- monitored agreement for reducing crowding on buses and righting other perceived wrongs.
About 200 people participated in the demonstration, according to Eric Mann of the BRU.
Hahn aide Brian Williams said the mayor was not at odds with the BRU.
"We have in the past and continue and will in the future urge the board and the staff at the MTA to abide by the consent decree," he said. "We believe that there are additional buses that need to be purchased."
Hahn hasn't determined how many new buses the MTA would need to buy to comply with the consent decree, Williams said. The BRU wants the MTA to buy 850 buses.
Hahn and his appointees were on the losing end of a vote in January to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in what MTA staffers described as an attempt to get clarification on the consent decree.
The court declined to hear the case in March.
At today's protest, BRU members, wearing bright yellow T-shirts and beating on drums, buckets and water-cooler bottles, chanted: "Mayor Hahn, Take a Stand. Full Civil Rights is Our Demand."
A cardboard bus had the words "Fight Transit Racism" written on it. CNS-11-14-2002 18:44
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 15th 12:18 AM
by putting most of its resources into rail construction instead of buses, was effectively discriminating against non-whites, because most bus riders are not white.
Guess what ... most rail passengers are not white either.
Are there any available stats on the demographics of Metro Rail passengers? If not, would anybody be willing to help launch such a study? We need solid numbers to counter the BRU's arguments. Since the MTA doesn't respond with any, I suspect that there might not be any reliable studies that have been done.
The times that I did the gender and race breakdowns on the Metro Rail lines, my stats showed an average of only 3-7% white passengers. So saying that "rail construction favors white people" is totally ludicrous. At this point, rail passengers are almost exclusively Latino and Black. If constructing rail lines discriminates against anyone, it is probably white people, since they tend to shy away from public transportation.
Also, I think we need to get a solid, outspoken group of minority rail advocates ready to publicly counter the claims of racism by the BRU. I would be willing to be part of that group. Just like Augusta (the all-male golf club) always sends out a female representative to counter the claims of sexism, we need a highly visible group of minority rail advocates to quash the perception that rail advocacy groups are run by all white people.
Was the above article published? I'd like to counter their claims. If anybody sees any of those kinds of articles in the papers, please post them here and let me know how to respond ... I will definitely do it.
Bart Reed
User ID: 1606604 Nov 15th 10:08 PM
MTA has lots of stats to show that the BRU charge that most rail riders are only white is not close to true. But repeat a lie many times and it becomes true for some segments of the audience.
But the MTA numbers are in big, thick books. I might ask if MTA has posted these stats. If yes, we will put up a link at the www.BRUtruth.com website.
If the stats aren't posted, perhaps someone here might want to scan and put up a PDF file. And we can host the data for all to see.
QUESTION? Did any newspaper post the City News Service story? The L.A. Times and the Daily News choose not to run the story. So, did it run anywhere in print? Was it on any television or radio outlet?
The numbers that attended the rally were closer to 100. Alex has a counting problem from what I heard. How many of the protestors were students that were getting government credit? That is how BRU usually gets it protestors. It appears that the major news outlets no longer consider BRU protests to be news worthy!
Þ--Þ--Þ
Roberto
User ID: 8374593 Nov 15th 10:51 PM
Thanks for the info Bart!
Yes, somebody please post the race breakdown stats to show people that the BRU is lying. And yes, I think everybody knows that protest leaders always greatly inflate the number of people present at rallies, so that's to be expected.
I'm not *too* worried about the race card, since I know that most Latinos, Blacks, and Asians would respond enthusiastically if they hear that Metro Rail might be expanded into their neighborhoods, and that they'd be turned off by the BRU's anti-rail stance. However, it's those that don't yet have Metro Rail service in their areas (and thus don't get to ride it) that are most easily swayed, particularly if they aren't aware of any plans to bring rail service into their neighborhoods.
Oh, and please make sure I'm aware of all cries of racial bias by the BRU that are printed ... I'm probably one of the rail advocates in the best position to publicly counter those claims.
Robert
User ID: 8750183 Nov 16th 1:04 AM
Bart,
I could scan and make a PDF file.
Bob
Bart Reed
User ID: 1606604 Mar 18th [2003] 4:41 AM
Time for the Next Bus Rider Union Protest:
Save the Date - Please forward
Toward a Program of Resistance forum & discussion
Saturday, April 5, 2003 from 1-5pm
2845 W. 7th Street (at CARECEN) a block west of Hoover; Meeting will be in English, Korean & Spanish; Please RSVP for childcare 213.387.2800
What does it mean to situate antiracist organizing
within the larger strategy of building
an international united front against imperialism?
Come join the Program Demand Group* in an afternoon discussion of political program, strategies and tactics...
Topics to be covered:
Why we wrote the document
Components of our Demand Development
U.S. Intervention around the Globe - Government & Corporations
U.S. attack on social welfare within the U.S.
U.S. Responsibility for
-national oppression & racism within the U.S.
-subjugation of women around the globe & within the U.S.
-degradation of the environment & destruction of public health
-denial of rights internationally & domestically
*The Program Demand Group are individual left organizers who have built a substantial amount of unity through struggles and shared practice in mass campaigns initiated by the Labor Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles.
For more information or to get a copy of the document call (213) 387.2800 or download it from www.ahoranow.org
Strategy Center, 3780 Wilshire Blvd #1200, LA 90010; Telephone: 213.387.2800 www.thestrategycenter.org
Þ--Þ--Þ
Daniel Schwartz
User ID: 9488873 Mar 18th 5:31 AM
From ahoranow.org:
"AhoraNow is born out of a multiracial Left culture that asserts a consistent and explicit anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism, promotes internationalism, and engages in bilingualism as a politics of language. AhoraNow is a product of oppositional culture, an ongoing experiment in editorial design."
Just in case anyone was wondering. I was.
Andrew S
User ID: 0269124 Mar 18th 9:50 AM
They have come a long way from riding buses.