It Snows in August: The Fragility of the Bloomington Right

08/29/2019

Do you feel it? There’s been a cold wind blowing as of late at Bloomington City Council meetings. It sounds like a reactionary death cry of the prejudices and ignorance’s from a bygone generation eroding under the winds of time and irrelevancy. It carries the snow of Bloomington’s Right into the warm weather (it’s August, after all) causing a cascading river of tears, triggered geriatrics, and snowflakes to flow into the sewers on Olive Street.

What serious wrong could be have occurred at City Council to inspire such a victimhood complex in our reactionary neighbors?

At the August 19^th Bloomington City Council meeting, Ward 8 Alderperson Jeff Crabill wore a shirt saying, “Keep the Immigrants, Deport the Racists”. Since June, Ward 6 Alderperson Jenn Carrillo has had a Pride flag at her desk along with an American Flag. These certainly seem fairly innocuous things to do, right? Crabill was merely stating that maybe immigrants (including some undocumented) might be preferable to the white nationalists, Klan members, and other assorted fascists that have been cropping up in ever more public ways the passed few years.

Not to Surena Fish. No, this delicate flower was offended because Crabill was condemning racists which is apparently offensive to racists. Fish wasn’t the only reactionary to decry Crabill’s shirt. Former Ward 8 Alderperson Diana Hauman (who Crabill replaced) was shocked–shocked, I say, “Like it or not, you represent all citizens of the City of Bloomington, even the racists.¹” It’s this willingness to cater and validate fascist ideology which has clearanced an insufferable space of violence & hatred towards people of color. Thank goodness Hauman is no longer on the council; it’s sad to know she was tacitly willing to cater to the worst of society (people who truly deserve to be ostracized) while serving elected office.

More perplexing were comments made by another dainty reactionary, Gary Lambert. I can only assume the convoluted logic he spouted was stroke induced or early-onset Alzheimer, because this dude legit equivocated the Pride flag (a flag meant to uplift the LGBTQ+ population) with the Confederate flag (a flag representing traitors, losers, & racists).

Of course, the nexus of this cold front is the ice queen herself, Diane Benjamin. With her own glacial presence on the web, she coagulates the various pitiful and remedial deathly hallows snowing on City Council. Coursing through Diane Benjamin’s ultra-nativist veins is blood colder than a reptile’s, so cold as to be near absolute zero (forming a super-liquid with no viscosity boggling the minds of physicists and decent, empathetic human beings alike.) Her writing is like a varicose vein: unwanted, unsightly, and scattered about haphazardly across the terrain of white fragility.

Diane has developed an almost bizarre obsession with queer, Latinx, Alderperson Carrillo. Carrillo’s very existence seems to cause Diane’s already atomic-sized heart to uncertainly flux in-and-out of existence. Since Carrillo’s inauguration onto the City Council in May of this year, the ice queen has written nearly 20 articles (I lost count after 17)¹ partially or fully infatuated on the young Alderperson. Did I say articles? I mean barely coherent rants bewailing important issues like Jenn texting during meetings, Jenn displaying a Pride flag, Jenn informing people about their rights when interacting with immigration enforcement², and many many more trivialities.

There’s been an insistent attempt by Diane and other conservative snowflakes to de-legitimize Alderperson Carrillo’s status as an American citizen. It’s a sad yet deeply troubling narrative which attempts to undue or ignore the very real accomplishments this millennial alderperson has achieved. Despite coming to this country from Mexico without papers, Carrillo worked to become a naturalized citizen, was the first in her family to graduate college, and become an elected official. Compared to the rather lazy stereotypes of millennials refusing to work or leave their parents homes, here we have Carrillo doing the exact opposite. Yet, the snowflakes aren’t happy with this. One reactionary daisy named Regina Noland showed up to city council with the audacious claim that Carrillo is being unappreciative of the United States and “what it has given her,” implying that Carrillo’s accomplishments are not her own but were actually gifts provided by a “generous” homogeneously white American society.³ Regina was highly offended that Carrillo didn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance with what Regina believed was the correct amount of credulity. Perhaps such petty concerns are required when the success of a individual positioned quite differently in society is clearly much greater than one’s own.

Diane Benjamin, for her part, has insisted in her queer infatuation with Carrillo that not only is Carrillo not a legitimate American, but the Alderperson actually hates the United States. Where is the ice queen’s proof? You see, when Crabill wore his allegedly controversial shirt, Alderperson Carrillo was quick to express her support on Facebook:

In response to this post, one conservative e-mailed Carrillo questioning her support of preferring immigrants to racists. The young Alderperson responded firmly but lovingly.

But, Jenn hates America? Imagine your nativism & xenophobia being so brittle the slightest criticism triggers you into a state of apoplexy. The sheer absurdity of questioning the patriotism of an individual who had to fight as hard as she did to stay permanently in this country is truly flabbergasting. Those who cling helplessly and mindlessly to nativist ideals, refusing to countenance the most obvious of critiques, are the true cowards. These hypocrites who preach personal responsibility abhor actually taking responsibility for the policy decisions of the nation they claim to love so much. Such decadence and decay is precisely the reason the United States is in such decline.

Even Bloomington’s own local capitalists are along for the snowflake parade. Back in May, Alderperson Carrillo called attention to and threatened to boycott a new business opening under the name “The Gypsy Room.” Carrillo pointed out that many Romani people found the word “Gypsy” to be a derogatory term often used against them in centuries old discrimination in Europe. She also posted a website to justify her claim.⁴ The owners of the business immediately responded with an apology and eventually chose to change the name to “The Mystic Kitchen & Tasting Room.”⁵ At least one local capitalist, Reuben Granados, co-owner of the downtown business Bloomington Spice Works, was almost in tears at a City Council meeting calling Carrillo’s actions oppressive.

Both Granados & the ice queen condemned Carrillo for Political Correctness. Yet, it seems they’ve missed what actually occurred here, and it’s kind of surprising considering how much they both fetishize the free market. Carrillo used her voice and power as a consumer to express dissatisfaction with the name of a restaurant. The owners, realizing the market was unlikely to be supportive of this name, chose to change it to appease consumers. Free market at work!

So dress warm next time you visit a Bloomington City Council meeting. Cause conservative snowflakes be crying.

1. I’ll give Diane credit: she consistently gets material out, even if it is largely nonsensical drivel (I guess it’s easier to publish more when it is so bad to begin with).
2. See Carrillo’s video post here.
3. This resentment stems from a Savior ideology. See my critique on the Savior mentality here:
4. To her credit, Carrillo did later apologize about the way she addressed this issue (you know, actually taking personal responsibility for her decision)
5. You can learn more about this new bistro on Facebook or their website.