Raleighwood, NC: Fighting Resegregation

Raleigh Downtowner Magazine Steps Up Its Game!

I don't actually have a big problem with Raleigh Downtowner Magazine. They serve a specific niche that just happens to mostly be about white people with some cash, so I've tended to lump them in with Raleigh's ongoing campaign to "Get White People Downtown," which seems to be going pretty well.

But it's not like they don't care about people of color or poor people per se. In fact, a recent print issue that is also available in .pdf form is a pleasant surprise with a cover story focused on "9 for the Needy" plus stories about some of the cooler businesses around the area.

Oh, snap, it's the return of Peter Eichenberger (as RD's "Senior Writer") who provides the intro to an article by Chris Moutos focused on the following local service organizations:

Alliance Medical Ministry

Pretty in Pink Foundation

Wee Care Children's Enrichment Program

Loaves and Fishes Ministry, Inc.

SAFEchild

Haven House

Raleigh Rescue Mission

Meals on Wheels of Wake County

Warmth for Wake

They also have an additional list of worthy organizations at the end of the article. If you think that's a good thing, as do I, I'd encourage you to contact them in support of creating a dedicated directory page on their website:

Telephone: 919.821.9000
Email: office@raleighdowntowner.com

In addition to 9 for the Needy, this issue promoted a number of businesses which make Raleigh cooler than not, from NoFo Cafe to a Hillsborough assortment to Five Star.

Since I'm focusing quite a bit on racial issues in my writing at Raleighwood, NC, I'd like to make a special note that, beyond what may well be a great restaurant, Five Star has a great nightclub at which I've spent my last two New Year's Eve celebrations. Both times Five Star had the most interesting and comfortable mix of races and ethnicities that I've experienced in Raleigh.

In the past, Five Star has hosted Blacklisted every First Friday with no cover and no dress code. I haven't been on those nights but I imagine it's quite a bit of fun and I've been very impressed by their dj's in the past. Blacklisted's various web points of presence are currently outdated but I imagine the party continues.

Credit where credit's due:
Publisher Crash Gregg interviews Robert Weiss, Artistic Director for the Carolina Ballet. I'm not the biggest fan of ballet but you can't have a real city without a real ballet and they've done pretty darn well for themselves.

Surprise find:
Melissa Santos profiles Krav Maga Raleigh. I don't know Ken Richstad and I never assume a teacher is good based on their own abilities since teaching is an art of it's own but, if he's good, it's well worth a look.  Krav Maga is the real deal, i.e., it's not about the belts, it's about the abilities.

I've been looking for a martial arts teacher and I'll let you know if I take the free intro class. Check his site's links page for some other solid looking local schools. It's always a good sign when people link out.

Cool.  I did not realize Peter had returned to the fray but I'm thinking this might work. RD's approach has the potential to rein in Peter's wilding out tendencies while they get a good writer who has something to say and gives a damn.  Plus, Peter's love of Raleigh and the people of Raleigh is sincere, in case you've wondered in the past.

That might be a surprisingly nice fit and this would be a fine issue even without Peter's contributions. Guess I'll have to break down and go check out some more recent issues of Raleigh Downtowner Magazine since I'm now at least a couple behind!

Kooley High Joins Tanya Morgan for The High Fidelity Tour

High Fidelity Tour with Tanya Morgan & Kooley High

MySpace: Kooley High

I Can't Give This Fight Up, I Rank Too Highly on Google for Terms Related to Resegregation and Resegregationists!

As you can see from the previous two posts, your boy's been under some stress lately that's actually unrelated to this campaign, though it may appear otherwise:

The Resegregationist 5: I May Stand Down

At the end of the day, I recognize that a full rebranding campaign is no small matter and should not be conducted lightly. However, I just discovered I rank quite highly on Google for some pretty nice keywords:

Google: resegregationist

Google: resegregationists

And that's just the beginning of a web game I know how to play.

So I'm definitely going to be working on this at some level, just not necessarily at the level that true rebranding requires.

Watch and learn what I can do in spare moments without dropping the ball on my other projects and then tell me how you like me! These fools are in through 2013 and they're going to trip on what I can do on the side.  It'll be even funnier if I leave Raleigh and show how they can be touched from a distance.

Note: I don't have any time for dialogue with resegregationist school board members on this. I'll just watch your actions, rather than exchange emails, and respond accordingly.

And, if you don't like it, you can thank Ann Arkey for the inspiration!

Update: If the board members want dialogue, they should talk to the members of the community who have been politely attending their meetings like the Coalition Of Concerned Citizens For African American Children and local chapters of the NAACP.  And I don't just mean pretending to listen and doing what they want to do anyway.  I mean democratic dialogue without hidden agendas.

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage: Resegregationist 5

The Resegregationist 5: I May Stand Down

I'm facing a lot of challenges right now with unrelated but more pressing concerns and, though I feel like the rebranding process would be a powerful tool against The Resegregationist 5, I have to focus on my own needs rather than the needs of others whom I don't know.  I wish I was walking away from a struggle that had a chance of winning but this situation is part of a larger movement by conservative forces that I think will win in the end as they retake America.

I don't feel the need to apologize to anybody but the poor kids I'm letting down since it's the people who know them and the political forces who support them that let them down in the first place.  Sorry kids.  Your supporters dropped the ball and there's no picking it back up.

I don't know any of these people and they don't want my help unless it's on their own limited terms.  And that's not what I'm here for.

Best of luck.  Remember me when the Resegregationists have their way.

PS - I really hope diversity activists prove me wrong.  I really do.

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage:
Resegregationist 5 Category

Resegregationist 5 Campaign: Delay of Game, See You Soon

Looks like I won't be back on this project till Wednesday sometime soon.

Plus, one of the 5 is attempting dialogue so that will add to my workload. But, if they want to talk, I'll talk.

Till then be sure to check out some great work by Bob Geary:
Diversity takes a backseat in Wake schools: Rich kid, poor kid

Update: Man, I'm busy.  Good thing the problem children are here till 2013.  Lots of time to wreak havoc and spread chaos!  Actually, that's not such a good thing but that's the reality we face.  Till soon.

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage: Resegregationist 5

Kevin Collins: The Voice of the People

"KEVIN COLLINS IN YOUR F*CKING FACE"

Via introverted loudmouth.

RE: Comments on News & Disturber Blog Post About Resegregationist 5 Campaign

My evaluation of week one of the campaign against The Resegregationist 5 is still in progress and might have to wait till Monday.

However, I had a friend tell me it must be hard to read through all the comments at the News & Disturber blog post that references the campaign against The Resegregationist 5.

As I told him, I don't read those comments because those people already know what they're going to say before they read anything and what I'm doing is obviously not about a democratic dialogue. The Resegregationist 5 took that off the table by refusing to work in good faith with their opposition and a head fake by Debra Goldman doesn't change anything as long as she's against diversity.

Anyone who supports ending the current diversity policies in the Wake County School System is supporting policies that will inevitably result in damage to poor kids. Therefore, whether you are unable or unwilling to recognize that fact or have safely bundled it up in some neat little rhetorical package, you are an enemy of the poor and therefore my enemy because I stand with the poor.

But, since my friend asked, I decided to take a look and see if they went beyond the expected:

A) "This guy's a nutkase and hez really scaree and sumthing should be dun! Let's form a posse!"

B) "This is not helpful.  He should be begging and pleading like the rest of us in the loyal opposition while the Resegregationist 5 stifle their chuckles behind their fat white fists!"

I read about three and moved on. People are posting links to an online photo and implying whatever so that does introduce the possibility that folks are posting veiled threats.

I personally intend to clarify my work in the future so that it doesn't look quite so threatening in a physical sense because that's not what I do. I have other things in mind which I shall make clear in my upcoming analysis.

At this point, I see two potentially negative consequences that I would not enjoy exploiting but am certainly prepared to exploit.

Legal attacks:
I've been in the media for a long time and have an even longer history as an artist. I'm making some mistakes in my messaging based on the response of people I trust but I'm trying to correct those and make it clear that this is an editorial/artistic venture that simply has real world consequences. I say real world because people imagine that they can't be destroyed by art!

In any case, any legal action against me will make it much easier to turn this into national news. In the absence of such foolishness, taking this fight to a level that gains national media attention is going to be a much more difficult process.

Physical attacks:
That would suck if you take me by surprise or confront me with a weapon or group of thugs or have your cop friends do your dirty work. If I am convinced you're a cop, you'll temporarily have the upper hand until I see you in court and you'll then get to enjoy national media attention while you're home on leave.

If I'm not convinced, I'll give it all I got and, if I figure out who you are, you're done. If I can take you in the moment, you're done.

Just want to make it clear that I will exploit all attacks via the media and I am committed to hardcore self-defense if it comes to that.

And isn't that what freedom's all about?

ROFLMAO!!!

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage: Resegregationist 5

The Resegregationist 5 Campaign: 1st Week Evaluation in Process

In the next day or so I want to break down what's happened over the last week, talk about what worked and what didn't and then clarify where things are going given what I've learned.

For the moment, I'll say it was a rich, action packed week in which I successfully began the process of rebranding the Wake County School Board members attempting to undo diversity with a so-called "Neighborhood Schools" agenda as "The Resegregationist 5" and that's definitely going to be an important focus moving forward.

However, I "jumped the shark" a bit along the way, made some missteps and have to clear those up.  No apologies will be forthcoming since my opponents have shown themselves unwilling to engage in democratic processes or to bargain in good faith.

They've got their dirty tricks.  I've got mine.  The experiments will continue!

Nevertheless, though I have been and will continue to use psychological probes to evaluate my opponents, I have communicated a more threatening message than I intended which has the potential to undermine my work, though it's hard to feel too bad about upsetting people whose actions will be so damaging to so many poor kids.

So, back soon with more behind the scenes analysis in preparation for week two of The Resegregationist 5 campaign.

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage: Resegregationist 5

N&O Covers Resegregationist 5 Campaign w/Some Inadvertent Disinformation

N&O blogger T. Keung Hui writes about the Resegregationist 5: Wanted for Crimes Against Wake County School Children campaign but inadvertently, I hope, uses a classic disinformation technique of the juxtaposition of unrelated facts in a manner that might discredit me (at least among those who aren't already totally appalled, lol!).

After discussing my post on Monday and an interchange with a blogger who couldn't be bothered to read the whole post, he states:

"Regardless, tensions are definitely higher at school board meetings now. Even though the crowd was smaller, more security was present on Tuesday. A sign at the public comment signup table told people to show proper behavior during the meeting."

"After the meeting ended, security escorted the board members to their cars."

Now, having discussed such things with reporters before, my best guess is that he'll say the term "regardless" separates the two which technically it does. However, the average reader won't necessarily process such details but only note the narrative flow: Monday Clyde did this, Tuesday security was heightened.

I don't think he intended to create that opportunity for misinterpretation but that's one of the problems with journalism as a practice, a reliance on stylebooks and professional practices that are increasingly disconnected from the readers themselves.

You can simply ask whoever called for increased security what was up and why they made that move.  That should confirm my statements in a responsible, journalistic manner and possibly even avoid stirring up the real nutcases that already seem to be crawling out of the woodwork in response to my project.

Besides, if I was planning violence, I wouldn't have a blog and you would never hear my name.  Instead, I've decided to make each stage of this campaign public so I will be posting about whatever I do.  Think open source brand destruction rather than nutcase telegraphing his every move. Lol!

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage: Resegregationist 5

Wyclef Jean Fails the People of Haiti

This Haiti disaster is so big that I haven't even had an emotional reaction except for getting mad at Wyclef Jean for being so disappointing in his response to revelations that his Yele Haiti Foundation, which is taking in huge sums of money, has a long history of financial mismanagement. The tragedy of Haiti will probably hit me at a later date, as did the horror of 9/11, so I'm focusing on spreading the word about Yele Haiti over at ProHipHop:

Please Don't Text $5 to YELE, TSG Reveals They Are Financially Incompetent
and [Possibly] Self-Serving [Update: TSG Has More, Wyclef Responds]

More Bad News: Gawker Obtains Internal Documents from Wyclef Jean's
Yele Haiti Foundation

Russell Simmons Obfuscates the Yele Haiti Issue While Gawker Has a Better Idea

I'll have to say that John Cook has totally redeemed Gawker in my eyes.