I don't listen to the show either. But it is going around Facebook that he said you live in Ward 7. You deserve the chance to quickly respond. People love to spread stuff without asking the target.

It also bears noting that these weren't just JFP concerns. councilwoman Barrett-Simon voiced them as well.

And Tyler is right: Expect the JFP to be vigilant about delays by the council and the mayor. We are very concerned about a propensity toward tardiness due to Lumumba's very late campaign reports -- one of the reasons we did not endorse him.

Councilman Priester, thx for posting another perspective on the meeting. You're welcome here any time.

While you're here, I wonder if you would address sheriff spokesman Othor Cain's public allegations about your residency as well?

Robin, the JFP has talked about Lumumba's potential socialism, and I am surprised that it has gotten so little attention otherwise. (Maybe not, considering how few folks seem to know what it actually means!) Todd and I are decidedly not socialists and thus the ambiguity of the Jackson Plan on this point gave us serious pause: one of the reasons we didn't endorse him.

And fortunately, younger generations think completely different from you guys over all (with exceptions that are proving more irrelevant by the day). There is so much hope and change on the way that it makes me giddy. We're going to get to the promised land together.

B.S., Darryl. All y'all are presenting are hypothetical arguments. You're not even bothering to delve into facts, either about affirmative action or history. All I'm hearing is white-guy angst over the thought that someone might try to take something about from you and give it to a person of color.

And that's not even what's happening. With due respect, grow up and learn some empathy (not sympathy). That's what envisioning yourself in someone else's shoes (or without shoes or bootstraps) is all about. It's attitudes like all of yours that have us in this terribly unequal place. You're spouting classic privileged white memes, and have no desire to change it. You prove that when you make fun of the basic (and rather biblical) idea of picturing yourself in someone else's shoes. I feel sorry for you and your closed and selfish world views.

Not to mention, scoffing at the idea that you might picture yourself in the shoes of someone unlike yourself is textbook white privilege.

Your story is admirable, but what you're not understanding is that it would have been much harder had you not been white. And the truth is that once you did all that, you are still more likely to go farther in life because of discrimination in hiring, etc.

I urge you you to read through [our package this week on race dialogue][1]. I particularly recommend this piece/quiz: [What Is White Privilege?][2]

[1]: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/20…
[2]: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/20…

James (which I knew already), you made it personal when you backed away from the conversation and accused me of disagreeing with anything you say just because it's you--which is ridiculous and rather self-focused. My arguments never change in order to one-up someone. What a waste of time.

As for "reparations": just like "affirmative action," most white people never bother to research the myriad of things that could be considered "reparations." It is simply a way for the government to repair harm it's done. Many scared whites think it's all about taking their stuff away and giving it to someone, anyone else of another group. No, not when done intelligently.

One way for the government to repair literally centuries of government discrimination against non-whites is to make sure that their children have access to educational and other institutions that they won't otherwise due to long-time effects of institutional racism. No, they does not mean, as some of you wrongly think, that any student of color gets in anywhere regardless of "merit," grades, etc. It means that in situations where a variety of factors are considered, including subjective ones (which is nearly always the case), that it is cool and actually good to consider status such as race as one of the factors. Why? Because for many, many decades, the same institutions and government discriminated against those kids' parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, ensuring that they could not achieve the same "merit," wealth, property, jobs, etc. that white people can. We as whites (yes, even those of us who started out poor benefit from this privilege); as a result, we must be part of the solutions that make the playing field more level. When it's truly level, then these programs will phase out. But we're not there yet by any means.

Reparations also means investing in cities and neighborhoods and schools that the government itself (along with the business community) decimated due to discrimination, redlining, urban "renewal," less investment than in white communities, etc. This is just necessary, and it is the only right thing to do. It's not about writing checks to individual people (duh), or letting anyone into a college or a job no matter what; it's about intelligent leveling of the playing field.

And until our society (including whites like you) have the will to do that, you might as not whine about crime and the other results of this historic unlevel playing field. If you want it fixed for our generation and those that follow, you've got to participate in the solution, which benefits us all. If you were a member of a historically discriminated class, you would be demanding the same thing. I urge you to try to envision yourself in someone else's shoes.

(Sorry, js1976, I shouldn't have picked on your balls; that was rude. But why make it personal to begin with? Just make your arguments and support them. And I could take you more seriously if you used your real name. Same with everyone.)

And when I have a few more minutes, I will explain to you why government-run universities have an obligation to attempt to make up for years of discrimination against non-whites, women, etc., because the discrimination was, in effect, social engineering that has affected entire communities and their ability to achieve parity and wealth. In other words, affirmative action (done in a smart way, such as allowing race, gender, etc., as one factor among others) is very good for our society because it helps level the playing field as well as bring more wealth into communities that were robbed of it by the government. When done well, it doesn't "discriminate" (which this case didn't seem to) because it essentially falls into the more subjective scrutiny zone that affects every application. It is certainly no worse than giving the child of an alumnus preferable treatment, and there are more important reasons to allow it.