There was a time, not that long ago, when individuals of high character were encouraged and welcomed to volunteer for various organizations or activities, without being subjected to ridicule by fringe groups or publicity-seeking attention-grabbers. That’s no longer the case.
Who would have guessed that Naperville mayor Steve Chirico nominating someone (former councilman Kevin Coyne) to serve on the library board, and outstanding Naperville resident Shannon Adcock nominated to serve on the SECA commission (Special Events and Cultural Amenities) would cause 20 people to show-up at a city council meeting and express their displeasure about Chirico’s choices during public forum.
Twenty people out of a city of 144,000 residents is hardly a crowd. I’ve seen more adults on a soccer field watching their 5-year olds trying to kick a soccer ball.
Nearly every naysayer began their 3-minute diatribe against Coyne and Adcock, by expressing their narcissist preferred pronouns, as if that made any difference with the content of their message. It’s probable the only council member impressed with the pronoun announcement was council member Theresa Sullivan, aka, The Pronoun Jockey and Gender Wizzard.
Coyne said he found it rather ironic that those wishing to subvert his nomination along with Adcock’s, are being led by people who express the need for diversity, inclusion, and equity. Coyne continued, “clearly they are not sincere. What they really mean is they want to include people as long as those people only agree with their political ideology”.
It’s interesting that the loudest opposition comes from those with the smallest minds.
And as for my personal, favorite pronouns, they would include ” thou, thee, thy, thine, and of course, ye”.
It was shameful. What a bunch of men and women haters
It’s sad that these men and women have so much hate. We’ve met Shannon and Kevin. They are fine people to serve our community.
Then you have Benny White with a fake PhD and his wife Kim running around town telling us how racist we all are too. Just sad. Naperville is going to turn into nut land like Oak Park
First it is worth noting that voting on these nominations was not on the agenda for this city council meeting. Having 20 people show up to express their concerns about something that is not an agenda item is actually a very large group by comparison with such showings at prior council meeting. Rarely do we see more then 2 or 3 people address council on the same issue that is not on the agenda and most meeting there is no one addressing council on something not on the agenda. How many people show up to watch their kid’s soccer game when there is not one scheduled?
The concerns about Shannon center, as the speakers said, on her acceptance and acknowledgement of the legitimacy of gender identification, and support for the rights of members of the LGBT community in Naperville. Concerns for her exclusionary (or segregationist) attitude toward these members of our community is not contrary to the ideas of diversity and inclusion. In fact anyone that thinks adding someone to any part of our local government that believes in excluding or not treating members of our community equally based on their membership in a minority group does not really understand what diversity is about. I have to question, at the very least, the sincerity of anyone that makes a comment claiming keeping people with such prejudicial views and beliefs towards any minority group out of city government is in someway anti-diversity or anti-inclusion.
As to hate. Speaking out against or calling someone out base on your belief that the person in question has prejudicial attitudes towards a minority group is not hate. Hate is treating and entire population in a way that causes them physical or emotional harm simply because you do not consider their rights as equal to yours.
Lets be clear membership in the LGBT community is not a matter of politics or even choice, it is a product of birth. And providing these people with equal rights in not a matter of politics either it is a matter of Constitutional protections. I will reminded everyone that it was not that long ago that the language being used today to marginalize the LBGT community’s rights is the exact same language used not that long ago to justify denying members of the black community their rights.
Finally, as to personal attacks and character assassination, thanks Harold you did a great job of demonstrating this exact type of behavior.
It’s called free speech, get used to it.
Yes, what these people, addressing city council with their concerns about these nominees, were exercising is their right to free speech and look at what you said about them. Your own words say a lot about you and your desire to fling mud behind an anonymous media name.
The lefty city council members are so tolerant they are too afraid to even meet with Ms. Adcock in person.
Adcock campaigned on government and government leadership transparency, so it is realistic for them to expect her to be willing to answer their concerns in a transparent public forum rather then behind closed doors, hidden from the public. You can’t insist on government transparency then when it come to you say, “Oh wait lets do this in private”