Fighting Words

Last weekend, the Merc’s Internal Affairs blog pretended to call for compromise in the Little Saigon battle, while in fact bashing both sides of the debate. The piece began by reporting that “hunger-striker Ly Tong flashed the crowd to reveal his bare chest as security guards hustled him away from the speaker’s podium”—a word choice that shows a touch of disdain for the former war hero and internationally respected human rights activist.

To frame the piece, the Merc called on South Bay Labor Council boss Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, who mock-innocently claimed that she had implored Madison Nguyen to support the Little Saigon name change “because I thought it was politically pragmatic, not because I thought it was right.” From the piece: “Just save your behind,” Ellis-Lamkins admitted she had told Nguyen.

Witnessing such community spiritedness just gives you shivers, doesn’t it?

The piece concludes by suggesting that Nguyen could help build a consensus between the council faction backed by Ellis-Lamkins and the (quote-unquote) “anti-union” Mayor Chuck Reed. It’s a textbook example of barely-disguised bias. Bravo, IA!

Eric Johnson is the executive editor at Boulevards.com and will be a regular columnist on San Jose Inside.

8 Comments

  1. I deeply admire Ly Tong, Madison Nguyen and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins (one man, two women).

    To me they are San Jose’s version of Tony Orlando, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson (Tony Orlando and Dawn).

    Thank you for filling my life with beauty.

  2. Eric describes Ly Tong as :“the former war hero and internationally respected human rights activist.”  Please give me a few names of the international folk who respect Ly Tong as a human rights activist.  I must have been asleep at the switch, since before a month ago, I’d never heard of this person.

    Eric, did you forget about the 2 airplane hijackings, at least one with innocent civilians on board, when describing Mr. Ly Tong?  Guess so, Eric.  So, that sets the stage for your editorial bias. Convicted airplane hijacker didn’t make Eric’s list of Ly Tong’s “accomplishments”.

    What human right does Mr. Ly Tong protect by hijacking a civilian airliner with 160+ civilians on board to pass out leaflets from the air, Eric?

    Kethleen Flynn and Julie Nguyen have not convinced me of the importance of this man who wants to starve himself to death (well, sort of) over the naming of a small strip of businesses in SJ, so perhaps you can do better.

    I await enlightenment on this important public figure.  Help me out here, Eric.

  3. What happened to Mr. Sunshine Reed and his sidekick Sam?  They voted against Little Saigon on March 4th based on a fraudulent petition but today we read of a back room deal to name the district Little Saigon.

  4. Funny thing is, now that there is a compromise the Merc’s Internal Affairs item doesn’t seem so far off the mark.

  5. #2 Glad you are on the same page I am regarding Mr. Tong who in my view used intimidation and coercion to achieve his goal.  The starvation tactic worked and embarrassed the city into giving in to his demand.  Maybe some of us can learn a lesson from this.  Who knows perhaps if we’d fasted, the Fallon Statue could have been placed in it’s rightful location.
    My main concern about this decision is the precedent it sets for other future official multicultural divisions within our city.

  6. Reed has ushered in a new era in San Jose. Government by intimidation. How foolish those of us who have tried to affect change by working within the system have been. All we had to do was yell, scream, insult, and stop eating and we’d get our way. And they call this democracy.
    It’s a sad day in San Jose. At least this nonsense is over—- for the moment.

  7. #6 DS, trust me—it’s not over.  They are still pursuing a recall of Nguyen.  Barry can never get too much time in the spotlight, you know.

    I am on board with JMO and WW re: Ly Tong.  He is a foolish grandstander who would rather die than live to see the name he supposedly wanted so badly to be applied to one of SJ’s trashiest commercial districts.  Where is the sense in that?

    WW really nailed it on why there is so much disgust among the vast majority of SJ citizens, including those of Vietnamese descent, over the methods that were used to cause the Council to cave in.

    Should we be surprised with the outcome?  NO!  We have a history of spineless Councils that is being securely upheld by the current one.  I personally hope future Vietnamese candidates for local political offices are soundly defeated.  It appears they have not learned a thing about how democracy truly works.  They only know intimidation and tactics to wear their opposition down.  Hardly a democratic approach to resolving any issue, and a truly disgusting and alienating display of utter ignorance.

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