Race Baiting in Ashland Oregon: Get Your Crackers and Your Accusations Correct — Or Better Call Saul

Toni Buckley Dockter – Founder; Publisher; Editor-in-Chief; Distribution Manager; Intrepid Reporter; IT Guy; Coffee Girl

email: fwepub@aol.com

MOTTO: When telling the truth is a revolutionary act. 

All editorial     All social commentary    All for the common good

 Issue Number 35  –  August 23, 2020

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Rich Rosenthal, City Councilperson for Ashland, Oregon, sent an email (to a bunch of Ashlanders?) and stated that a previous issue of the Outlandia Gazette was a racial attack on another City Councilperson (running for Mayor).

Like Dennis Slattery (another councilperson who sent an email–which will be addressed in a subsequent article), Rosenthal doesn’t know what satire is.

An an excellent book about this subject matter is The Cambridge Introduction to Satire, by Jonathan Greenberg (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

The author states:

“In satire, evil, folly, and weaknesses are held up to ridicule — to the delight of some and the outrage of others. Satire may claim the higher purpose of social critique or moral reform… It exposes frauds, debunks ideals, binds communities, starts arguments… It has been a central literary genre since ancient times, and has become especially popular and provocative in recent decades.”

I call it the wise-ass way to achieve the greater good. Or as the late Congressman John Lewis said many times, “Get in good trouble.”

Like Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian comedian/satirist–whose style is compared to Jon Stewart–was jailed and fined in 2013 for ridiculing President Morsi. Youssef had to flee to the U.S. to avoid more severe consequences.

Writing satire can get you killed. Like what happened in Paris in 2015 when crazed gunmen burst into the offices of a weekly satire magazine called Charlie Hebdo and murdered 12 people.

In the U.S., satire is a constitutionally-protected form of speech under the First Amendment.

Satire is a vital form of expressions in our society today as it is one of the most effective ways for people to speak truth to power.

From a New York Times essay in 2019 titled: Is Satire Possible in the Age of Trump?

Author Ben Greenman states:

“It’s a time of crisis…America is at odds…susceptible to manipulation by its adversaries…mired in endless infighting… We need the glint of satire, not as the light at the end of the tunnel…but as the light in the tunnel.”

Author Sally Ferguson said in a book review in the San Francisco Chronicle (July 2020):

“A society’s tolerance for satire is directly related to the health of its democracy. That’s why censorship and authoritarianism go hand in hand.”

The Gazette engages in the satire genre in every issue. We’re experts at it, thanks to the tutelage of Thomas R. Burke of the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, San Francisco. He’s one of the nation’s preeminent First Amendment attorneys. He’s a fierce defender of free speech and the author of the go-to manual on SLAPP Lawsuits: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

Rosenthal read the Gazette article incorrectly–either an honest mistake or to to serve as a way to bash me? The Gazette article does not criticize “Graham Crackers” based on skin color–but in this particular scenario, for political and/or social  actions.

So let’s get our crackers straight, shall we? Here’s what a Graham Cracker looks like. Notice they are brown.

 

Here’s what a saltine cracker looks like. Notice they are white.

 

These are not the same snack foods.

Consequently, when you call someone a “Graham Cracker” — it is NOT synonymous with calling someone a “cracker.”

In today’s lexicon, the term “Graham Cracker” has no derogatory connotation. It has no meaning in the real dictionary whatsoever other than as a snack food.

It is not a racial slur.

There are no “racial undertones” as Rich Rosenthal claims.

There are plenty of Graham Crackers in City Hall. They all have white skin. Again, it makes no sense to call them a Graham Cracker if this term were a commentary on skin color because Graham Crackers are brown.

Important point: Satire is not defamation. Because the difference between what I write and what Rosenthal wrote is “satire is not to be believed by the audience.” No average rational person thinks there is a Professor Ima SmartyPants who invented a scientific term called Graham Cracker Syndrome.

Conversely, Rosenthal wants his audience to believe what he said about me.

Big difference. One will get you in big trouble. The other will not.

In a funny aside, there is however a meaning for “Lindsey Graham Cracker”:

1. (Verb) To give an misogynistic, borderline-hysterical political performance for the benefit of a legislative body and/or a well-connected sexual predator.

2. (Noun) A sniveling, closeted Republican hack from South Carolina.

Rich Rosenthal is not thinking clearly or intelligently by calling the Gazette article a racial attack on Tonya Graham, her family, her background. This accusation makes no sense.

In Rich Rosenthal’s convoluted reasoning he is connecting the dots to conclude: Tonya Graham = Cracker = Racial Insult.

This equation is incorrect. Is Rosenthal a graduate from the Cathy Shaw School of Non-Sequiturs? (That’s satire.)

The correct premise is: Any person can = Graham Cracker which = a classification  (as dumb or nutty or ethically challenged or social rejects).

I believe the real purpose of Rosenthal’s email was to inflame anger, fear, and prejudice among Ashlanders for fund-raising purposes–to “play the race card” in order to benefit his candidate of choice.

Plus throw in the fact that my pal, Susan B. Anthony, told me recently that Rosenthal fears strong, articulate women the way a cat fears a bubble bath. In City Hall affairs, there’s nothing that rankles him more than an uppity woman demanding her rights–especially if they’re at the expense of the male gender.

That’s why he wrote a letter to The Tidings saying the recall election–of the three Parks & Rec Dept. men involved in the bogus firing of five women at the Senior Center–was “one of the darkest days in Ashland’s history.”

Rosenthal forgot to mention what are really dark moments, like a twelve-year-old stabbing his mother to death and the sexual assault of a young female actress and her subsequent suicide.

Rosenthal urged Ashlanders to Vote No on the recall. So did Stromberg, Seffinger, and Slattery. (One of the reasons they’re classified as Graham Crackers.)

A lawsuit over the bogus firing cost the City of Ashland over $500,000 in damages to the Plaintiff; legal fees; loss of good will among citizens; and wasted time and energy that should have been spent making Ashland better.

The Senior Center lost seventy-two years of experience among the operating staff as well as one of its most consequential functions: the Outreach Program. That makes the replacement Senior Center inferior to the previous one. And even more so because the replacement Senior Center is significantly more costly to taxpayers.

In other words, the firing was a bad decision. Parks & Rec head honchoMichael Black was forced to write a letter of apology. Of course the three Parks & Rec commissioners should have been recalled.

To Ashlander readers: If you get the chance, check out the taped depositions that City Hall employees and elected officials gave during this litigation. You will not be proud of your City’s performance. In fact, it might even make you sick.

What do you suppose makes Rosenthal make bad decisions?

Or make a false claim that a person used a racial slur and portrays that person as racist?

*We have a theory. The influence of his evil twin brother. Whispering in his ear.

 

Rich Rosenthal and Stephen  “I hate immigrants” Miller: Separated at birth? You be the judge.

Stephen Miller, a Villain of Doom in the Trump Administration–and the most beseeched person on Twitter to “Please don’t procreate!”

Sometimes listening to the “dark side” is not advantageous.

(*All of the above: satire.)

Let’s chat about racism — since that is the crime to which the Gazette (and me as the article writer) is accused of.

Racism is a belief system. As such, it affects a person’s thinking, speaking, intentions, actions. If you hold racist beliefs, they will present themselves in one form or the other — sooner or later — some or all of the time — throughout a person’s entire life.

Now it is my time to do the beseeching. I beseech any of you readers out there to read all 34 previous issues of the Gazette. Read all of my other writing–books, plays, animation screenplays, and prior to the Gazette articles, over 400 blogs. Check out the many thousand tweets on my Twitter feed: @tonidockter. Many of which support the Black Lives Matter Movement and women’s issues.

You will not find one molecule of racist anything anywhere.

I beseech you to do a thorough investigation of my life — both personal and professional. Leave no stone unturned.

Maybe you can find someone to verify that I scolded the neighborhood kid for calling his Black cleaning lady a bad name. (I was eight years old.)

Or verify that in High School, every time I ran into the one and only Black girl (Vickie), I made to sure to give her the most friendly “Hi” I could. (She’s now a backup singer for Emma’s Revolution. How cool is that!)

Or verify that in my college experience during the week-long sorority rush my sophomore year, I fought to try to pledge the one and only Black girl going through the process. Which was incredibly courageous of her because at my college there were NO Black girls in the entire sorority system. That effort was a no-go from the start. Although I never forgot the awful things that were said to get her excluded.

So then I fought for a Jewish girl (Ilene). The sorority powers that be (PTB) said our house of 60 girls already had one Jewish girl (Gayle) and one was enough. I fought for an Asian girl (Kathy). The PTB said we already had one Asian girl (Bonnie) and one was enough. But I pushed hard for these two girls. And they were both pledged. (BTW, no Hispanic girls in my sorority at the time.)

Again, I could not get out of my head the things that were said about girls who were not your standard white-types. So I refused to go through Rush held beginning of my junior year. All hell broke loose. I was fined and dinged and demoted and shamed. I didn’t care.  And I never paid the fines.

I realized I couldn’t take the racist, sexist, elitist nature of the entire Greek System anymore. So at the beginning of my senior year I quit my sorority. Holy crap that was a whole new level of purgatory of what happened to me!

When you attend a privileged, affluent college like the University of Southern California, where the majority of student life revolves around Fraternity Row, football games, and party-party-parties–and you choose to opt out–you are committing social suicide.

So be it.

Because I couldn’t live in that yucky environment any more, I moved out of the colonial-style mansion (with white pillars on the portico)–where Black cooks made my meals and Black housekeepers vacuumed my room and washed my sheets–into a dumpy little apartment.

Welcome to the real world, baby!

My real friends from the sorority were still my friends. Which is why I’m so pro-Sisterhood and cherish all women who have each other’s backs.

I could recite more stories from my non-racist life. Like a young women I mentored (Pat) at a company in San Jose. Even though she was not under my supervision, I taught her work skills and life skills. I gave her some of my clothes. (Women in the corporate world are unfairly judged by the way they look and dress.)

But maybe one of the best examples of my non-racist life is to check in with my immediate family. Which by the way, were the role models William Shakespeare used when he wrote King Lear. (I am Cordelia.)

One particular family member, as he got up there in years, started spouting racial stuff. I would not allow it in my presence. (Or any misogynistic or homophobic crap either.)

This really pissed off said offender.  My ne’er-do-well siblings never said a word. They were too busy salivating thinking about their inheritance from this relative. My refusal to listen to racial stuff did cost me financially in the inheritance department. Didn’t care.

Lastly, in particular as another example of my non-racist life, read the following–Outlandia Gazette Issue Number 32 from June 30, 2020. Then ask yourself: Does this sound like the writing of someone with racism in her bones? With racist views in her head? Racial slurs on her tongue?

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Rosebud Media: You Are Part of the Problem

Hey Rosebud Media Peeps! Have you not been paying attention?

Let’s recap:

On May 25th a Black man named George Floyd was killed by racist white cops in Minneapolis. His death by asphyxiation (soulless cop kneeling on his neck while laying face-down on the pavement begging for his life) was filmed by a young woman. The video went viral. Mass demonstrations launched world-wide. Sound familiar?

There have been protests in over 2000 cities in the U.S. Protestors include Americans of every shade on the color spectrum and every age group.

It finally matters to people to understand what Black Lives Matter means and do something about the inequality, injustice, and inhumanity suffered by the Black community for the last 400 years.

Many things have happened which have helped usher in  white America’s new-found wokeness and facilitate Black America’s courage:

*Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. has been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

* Addressing police brutality and #DefundThePolice have become top political issues.

* Congressional members knelt in the Capitol to honor Mr. Floyd and bring awareness to racism and slavery.

* Confederate statues are tumbling faster than President Pinesol’s approval ratings.

* The State of Mississippi has decided to remove a confederate emblem from its flag.

* Aunt Jemima was retired.

* Corporate America has pledged $1.678 billion so far to support the Black Lives Matter Movement.

* The NFL has reversed its position on taking a knee during the national anthem.

* NASCAR has ditched the confederate flag.

* The Dixie Chicks have ditched the “Dixie” part of their name. Likewise, Lady Antebelum has deleted the “ntebelum” portion of theirs.

* Princeton University will be removing Woodrow Wilson’s name from a campus building.

* The University of Oregon vs Oregon State football game will no longer be called the “Civil War.”

* Amazon Prime has added free access to many current and historical quality Black-themed movies.

* “Gone With the Wind” has been pulled from HBO Max and then added back with a disclaimer about its content denying the horrors of slavery.

* A large number of non-profits supporting Black-owned restaurants and businesses and Black social and arts programs have seen their profiles (and bank accounts) raised significantly.

* Anna Wintour has apologized to Black creatives and for the lack of diversity at Vogue magazine.

* Drew Brees has apologized for his idiocy. The wife, too.

* A bookstore in Chicago (Women and Children First, white owned) have encouraged their customers to instead patronize a different Chicago bookshop: Semicolon Bookstore, a female Black-owned business.

And on and on.

All of these efforts are a way to address, process, and change the systemic racism built into American culture since 1619.

And what has Rosebud Media been doing during this intense time of racial scrutiny and unrest?

Two things–one detrimental.

The other a contrived, disingenuous, not well-written, self-serving, logic-lacking, head-scratching, irritability-inducing article–IMHO, of course.

1. Rosebud Media keeps publishing this photo in its newspapers:

 

Over and over again for weeks and now months. Daily. Full page. Sometimes twice in one issue.

It’s imperceptive in light of our country’s situation. Any person who believes that Black Lives Matter would refrain from continually printing this photo as the graphic representation of “family fun” in the Rogue Valley.

Given the State of Oregon’s heinous racist history, this photo perpetuates the shameful legacy of “whites only” upon which the State was founded–including its refusal to ratify the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.

This is how systemic racism starts and why it is so hard to root out.

Note to Rosebud Media:

There are people of color in Southern Oregon–living; working; contributing; being a part of families. Why not a photo of them in your ad?

Or a photo of a mixed race family?

Or, if stubbornly hell bent on giving white people more exposure, how about a photo of this family sitting at a picnic table having fun with a family of color?

Or does a people-of-color family photo make y’all too uncomfortable?

Or is a “whites-only” family photo mandated by your co-sponsor, KTVL News 10, a Sinclair Broadcasting Company?

If you borrowed this photo from your pals at Sinclair, you should give it back. (After accidentally spilling a Caffè Americano on it.) Because this photo blows–in the opposite direction of the zeitgeist permeating our lives now every single day.

We are at a reckoning in our history and I reckon Rosebud Media is stuck in a time-warp.

In our visually-saturated culture, photos matter. After all, a picture tells a thousand words.

Rosebud Media knows this. (Perhaps this is why it is switching emphasis from a printed format to a “visually really pleasing” virtual and video format?)

Idea for Rosebud Media:

Why not show diversity for a change? Be photographically welcoming to all races! America will be the better for it.

2. Tidings Publisher Steven Saslow published a first-person article on June 14, 2020 pretending to champion diversity. In it he claims he has a “continued desire to be an agent of change.” What kind of change was he referring to? That families in Southern Oregon should look like beautiful white folks from a Ralph Lauren ad?

He also stated that “effecting change is the river that has motivated me to do almost everything I have put my mind to.” Oh brother.

But in reality he was plugging his affiliation with a “prestigious” media organization that he “was allowed” membership on the Board of Directors. Oh brother #2.

He states:

“There are those, mostly corporations, that have jumped on the George Floyd bandwagon because it’s the fashionable thing to do.”

“They don’t really mean it or know anything about how to initiate positive change.”

Oh brother #3. (Slight pause. Have to pick up pieces of my brain off the floor. The absurdity made my head explode.)

Let’s dissect these balderdash-infested sentences, shall we?

First and foremost, saying that the supposed “change agents” (or whoever the “those” are in “There are those…” are supposed to be) are “mostly corporations” is not true. Example of lazy journalism or deliberate distortion?

Every institution in the U.S. has been affected by the Black Lives Matter Movement–touched in some way or had its head snapped back in a significant way, not mostly corporations.

As my journalism professor used to say about broad unsubstantiated statements: “That’s just pulling shit out of your ass.” (And I paid a lot of tuition for that nugget of wisdom!)

Other questions for Mr. Saslow:

Which companies are you referring to? Can you name one?

Where did you obtain facts/research/articles to make your assertions? Did you speak to any representatives of these companies?

How do you know what these companies’ plans are that you apparently seem to have already evaluated and drawn the conclusion that they don’t know how “to initiate positive change”?

How did you determine that these un-named companies “don’t mean it”?

Do you have a super power that allows you to jump into the hearts and minds of companies and see their true motivations for their actions?

Saslow then states:

“They” (meaning the companies) “are just being exploitive.”

More questions for Mr. Saslow:

Again, what evidence have you provided that makes this a true statement? Describe a program for change that was implemented by any of the companies (that you are referring to) that can be described as “exploitive.”

Here’s the deal about making blatantly preposterous (or just dumb) statements. You lose credibility. Your journalistic integrity becomes jaundiced.

So that when you later say, “Join this terrific group;” or “Read this letter by one of the finest people on the planet” your audience will be skeptical about your veracity (or your I.Q.)

Here’s what I found. The following is a list of corporations that have recently made donations to support the Black Lives Matter Movement. (Source: Black Enterprise website; 6/20/20.)

Bank of America: $1,000,000,000

Nike (Michael Jordan Brand) and regular Nike: $140,000,000

Sony Music Group: $1000,000,000

Walmart: $1000,000,000

Warner Music Group: $100,000,000

Google: $25,000,000

Amazon: $10,000,000

Facebook: $10,000,000

GM: $10,000,000

Goldman Sachs: $10,000,000

Target: $10,000,000

And several others.

Pretty sure these uber-successful companies are smart enough to know how to implement positive change. Pretty sure they are smart enough to know that engaging in any exploitive behavior would be a costly public relations nightmare of grand proportions. Also pretty sure these corporations don’t care what’s fashionable. They just want to make money. Same as you, Mr. Saslow.

And just to be clear, what companies are you referring to?

The asininity continues when Mr. Saslow continues:

“Conversely, there are organizations that are authentic. People who, when they get behind something, mean it and know how to be change agents.”

Then he starts blabbing about an organization called IRTS.

Additional questions for Mr. Saslow:

Since you haven’t established which companies you are referring to and making judgments about, let’s go with my list. It’s rather representative of the U.S. business world.

Do you consider any of the companies I’ve listed to be inauthentic in their desire to do right by the Black Lives Matter Movement? If so, why?

Do you think the Chicago white-owned bookstore was being inauthentic by sending its customers to the Black-owned bookstore?

Do you think these companies don’t mean it when they put their money where their mouths are and say they want our society to change for the better? If so, why?

Who do you think will have more impact on our society to improve race relations: the companies listed or your IRTS org?

For where I sit (and granted it’s in a veil of irritability) it’s Mr. Saslow who seems like the inauthentic element in this story–tooting his own horn to look like a positive change agent by criticizing the actions or perceived actions or yet-to-be-acted upon actions by yet-to-be-named companies.

Yeesh that’s alot to take in!

Even more questions for Mr. Saslow:

You mentioned that you are “less active” in the IRTS group. Why? You’ve been in town for three years. Why haven’t you mentioned this organization before?

You said your “commitment is as strong as ever.” Is that in thoughts, deeds, or lip service?

In the past what have you done professionally to improve race relations? What percentage of people of color do you employ?

Do you plan to report back on your success in persuading “other business leaders in the Rogue Valley” to support IRTS? Will you be divulging the names of these companies?

What did you do prior to Mr. Floyd’s death to show you are a positive change agent? Practicing the high jump in case you had to jump on a bandwagon yourself? Kinda like now?

Here’s an easy way for Rosebud Media to implement a positive change:

Get rid of that “Could we be any whiter?” photo!

 

Replace it with something more inclusive of the various skin colors that comprise the American population.

If you are at a loss over what this type of photo would look like, check out Gov. Kate Brown’s Twitter feed. Read the tweet from 6/30/20 that says: “It’s simple. Wearing a face mask may save a life.” Pay close attention to the illustration. There are 11 people in it wearing stylish face masks. (Maybe they care what’s fashionable?) Only one looks like a white guy. Beautiful!

Rosebud Media’s insensitivity is part of the problem. It has gone off the rails from the right track of recognizing and promoting racial awareness; racial equality; and racial empathy.

If that photo is an extension of Rosebud’s thinking about what families in Oregon should look like, then y’all need your DNA disinfected. Time to call President Pinesol! (And when you’re chatting with the maskless Tweety Bird, tell him the Andy Jackson statue has gotta go, too.)

I am lily-white and not an expert on the Black Lives Matter Movement. But it seems to me this is the time for white peeps to listen and learn. To do what a political website recommends: Remove the white racial frame that valorizes white people and degrades Black people. And more importantly, to take a seat at the back of the bus for once (like sit down and shut up) and let someone racially different be seen and heard; acknowledged and valued.

It’s time to share the place.

Share the privilege.

And yes, share the power.

If Rosebud Media can’t do this, that’s another problem. An even bigger one.

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I have a few thoughts since re-reading this article. I think Rosenthal’s email writing style fits the definition of “pulling crap out of one’s ass.”

To Rich Rosenthal, high-and-mighty expert on racial sins in Ashland:

Did you detect “racial overtones” in the Rosebud article?

Do you think this article constitutes a creation by a “low road operator?” I don’t know what you mean by a “low road operator.” But I do know that my articles are not low in intelligence or wit; not low in compassion or empathy; and not low in humor–if satire is your cup of tea.

Did you complain to The Tidings about the constant barrage of white faces being presented in the newspaper as the standard bearer of what the Rogue Valley looks like?

Probably not. But you erroneously jump all over me for making up a term called a “Graham Cracker.” Your brother Stephen told me you’ve always been a hypocrite. But your role as a race baiter for personal gain is new. Perhaps you think that’s how an old-thinking white male stays relevant? Keeps his power? Gets any attention he can?

Race baiting will be your legacy.

That, and after all the years you’ve been a city councilperson, you’ve left Ashland Oregon worse off than you found it.

In fact, you have now put Ashland in an embarrassing situation to have one of its elected officials in jeopardy of being slapped with a lawsuit. Do you think that might then become the “darkest day in Ashland’s history”?

You stole my intellectual property when you emailed the entirety of a Gazette issue without my permission.

Did you check with City Attorney David Lohman about copyright laws before you decided to violate 17 U.S. Code 106? Probably not. (We at the Gazette have established in numerous article his understanding of the law is sketchy.)

From The First Amendment Encyclopedia website:

“Satirical works may be subject to the fair use guidelines of copyright law…that can substantially limit the amount of copyrighted material allowed to be used…”

That stuff you wrote about a “racial slur” and “racial overtones” is defamation. Also illegal.

Perhaps it’s time to lawyer up?

I know who I’m calling.

###

UPDATE on the white family photo saga:  I sent The Tidings the Gazette article. I received no response. I continued to check the newspaper everyday.

Ten days later this photo appeared in the ad (with new text):

 

It’s possible the photo swap was a result of my article. I was pleased to see it–but also bugged that a photo of sorta people of color appeared in black and white. Oh well. It was a start.

I continued watching the newspaper every day. The photo appeared once more in black and white and one time in full color. However, none of the three ads were full-page ads like with the white family.

Then the white family came back to town for awhile!

Then the white family disappeared again!

Then this ad appeared!

This one continued for awhile.

My tally of the number of family pix printed:

White family – over 100 times.

Sorta people of color family – 3 times.

I think my article to Saslow and The Tidings had an effect–however small–in improving race relations–making not only Ashland but all of America better for it.

Rich Rosenthal: I know how you have inflamed race relations? What have you done to improve them?

When can I expect your response? And oh yeah, the list of the people you emailed illegally by including the entire Gazette article. Which was both a bad decision and a dumb decision.

And that folks, is the very definition of a Graham Cracker.

***************

P.S. Next up: My response to Dennis Slattery’s email and another theory that the evil twin brother whispering in his ear is The King of Dirty Tricks himself, Karl Rove.

Stay tuned…..