Stone Stunt Backfires

Willow9 asked for my perspective on Ald. Stone's receiving of what I would call hate-mail:

I believe in Occum's Razor. The simplest solution is probably the best. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Berny Stone, or one of his cronies, are behind the letter that he used for publicity purposes yesterday. We see some of that here, on this blog. All of the references to hate-mongering and Nazis have come from Stone supporters. Given the heated rhetoric of this race, it is surprising, shocking even, that none of this has come from Stone opponents. The anti-Jewish rhetoric, or illusions to such, have all come from Stone's people.

It's worse if you saw the postings that have been moderated.

Stone and his supporters have been trying to create a spector of anti-Jewish fervor to distract from the fact that this race is all about Stone's record. If Stone was serving all the people in all the neighborhoods in the 50th Ward, he'd barely have any competition. Those candidates who are running against Berny Stone all take issue with Stone's job performance, not Stone's ethnicity.

The second piece of evidence here is the zip code where this letter was mailed. 60659. This is a MAJOR Jewish section of the ward. It is also the home of Stone's aldermanic office. It's inconceivable to me that a Nazi sympathizer would be living in the midst of a significant orthodox Jewish community. It is much more likely that Berny Stone or one of his cronies sent this piece of mail.

The final piece of the puzzle is the fact that Stone refused to give this to the police. In the very least, Stone should have had it examined for fingerprints. I would want to know if there was someone so crazy in our midst. You'd expect Stone would want to know, too.

Stone used this stunt for publicity, in the attempt to solidify the Jewish community behind him. Plain and simple, Stone ramped up the tensions in the ward for his own purposes. That's sick.

Does this fit the pattern of Stone and his cronies, Willow asks? Yes, it does. Stone has manipulated ethnic politics from the beginning. He is capable of manipulating our emotions and increasing the tensions in our neighborhoods, and he has repeatedly done that.

That's a shame. Me, I'm voting for Greg Brewer to end 30-odd years of racial politics. Only Brewer will be able to unite us under a common vision for the future of our community. We need someone who refuses to employ ethnic or racial politics so that we can see ourselves as more than our religion, ethnicity, or race. Only Greg Brewer offers us that possibility. Only Greg Brewer can united us. I hope you will join me in supporting Greg. Let the healing begin.