A Madison alder told us so
One of the more stupid, only-in-Madison proposals was an alder’s motion to jigger ordinances governing the height of buildings in order to preserve the view of Lake Mendota from a privately owned dwelling.
That would be the Lamp House, located two blocks NE of the Capitol. It was designed in 1903 by Frank Lloyd Wright for a man named Lamp. (In Madison WI, there are bronze plaques on the street wherever the great architect expelled a loogie.) It’s an odd house, in that no one can see it. No street presence. Completely surrounded by other buildings. Even stranger, the owner of the building did not want the special consideration.
The motion, advanced by Ald. Patrick Heck (Progressive Dane), was ignominiously defeated by a vote of 14-4 Tuesday 07-20-21. (More here.)
Who was that rich white man? And why is he dead?
Does race explain everything?
We focus on the remarks of Ald. Juliana Bennett (Progressive Dane), a young black woman three months into her first term. The college student is correct on the issue but Woke on the Reasoning. For all that, Bennett is “savvy” (John Nichols gets a royalty of 5 cents for each use of the word). Savvy enough to throw down the race, gender, and classism cards to get her way. In Madison, identity politics is the lingua franca of government. No wonder she was endorsed by The Capital Times!
“I have a lot of opinions and this is one of them,” Bennett warned during Common Council deliberations, sounding very much like Frank Costanza at Festivus:
Tonight, let’s recognize what we’re voting on: preserving the view of a dead, rich white man because, I guess, preserving the view of a dead rich white man so he could see his lake house which has since been demolished anyway … that is the priority … not the lack of housing affordability. …
Very few people cared about the Lamp House … (except) to stifle development in the surrounding area. Preserving the view of the Lamp House …. so that the ghost of some dead rich white man can look at the lake reeks of white elitism, white privilege, and an overall hyper-preservation that blights our city. The majority of historic preservation benefits the white elite. And preserving the view of the Lamp House is no exception. …
Because a few white elite preservationists who have the privilege and the means to make a fuss have made preserving the view a paramount issue. It is hypocritical for us who pushed zoning changes to sell out needs of the community for the needs of a dead white man’s view [she forget “rich”] of a since-demolished cabin by the lake, two miles away. … Preserving the view of a dead rich white man would not benefit downtown residents. This is just white elitism.
The world is their oyster
Apparently, there is no limit on the categories on which progressives can play identity politics. It’s like Silly Putty, malleable and (ultimately), useless. Mathematics is (are?) sexist. Punctuality is said to be white privileged. Hard work and delayed gratification are racist. (More here.) Even Glaciers (!) are sexist! The Wall Street Journal’s “Weekend Interview” discloses that a scientific paper was published five years ago with the title “Glaciers, gender, and science: a feminist glaciology framework for global environmental change research.”
Blaska’s Bottom Line: We could say Ald. Bennett is racist, ageist and sexist but then the Head Groundskeeper is white, old, and male — but not rich! No one can accuse us of that! Not even Ald. Juliana Bennett!
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
At what point, if ever, do these people come to see they are satirizing themselves?
LikeLiked by 2 people
You have to have good self awareness and humility in order for that to happen. Not with this group.
LikeLike
Quite right, Liberty, Lefties are beyond parody or self-awareness.
“The word ‘racism’ is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything,
… and demanding evidence makes you a ‘racist.’“ — Dr. Thomas Sowell.
Without a clue, Lefties lament, “Judging someone by their race, sex, class or age is just wrong. What can’t you old, rich, white men understand about it?”
Voofda!
Race-baiting blacks in Pro-Regressive Dane have a new slogan, …
“Keep Hate Alive.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re both missing the point.
Was Lamp straight or gay?
Once I know that I can formulate an opinion on this controversy.
LikeLike
Who is writing this crap for that idiot? Progressive Dane? No they’re too conservative for her. Greg G? Well, it sure smells like a rich, white, woke liberal wrote it for her.
LikeLike
Well, if we are talking about stuff in Madison that was bought and paid for by rich white men then we should consider the state of Wisconsin Capitol and the University of Wisconsin Madison as the same “white elitism, white privilege, and an overall hyper-preservation that blights our city.”
Also to include the U.W. Hospital and most medical institutions in Madison that have helped many people of all races, colors, genders, creeds and religions over the course of my 50+ years of living in this fair city.
Why can’t we all agree to make a positive difference in our community by helping one another? The people I help serve are of all colors, races, creeds, genders and religions. I am proud to serve them all equally in the job that I as a “white guy” do.
LikeLike
Professors, administrators, and students (those that have been sufficiently brainwashed) at UW-Madison would be the first to proclaim that the university is a shameful bastion of white elitism, white privilege, white patriarchy, and institutional racism–all the while basking in the endless privileges that institution affords them. Not for a minute would they consider DOING anything that might endanger that privilege.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Strong evidence that olde splitfoot has a firm grip on Juliana Bennett and in a broader sense much of the current dem party, reminiscent of when they were lynching black people and enforcing Jim Crow laws.
I bet she graduates from UW-Madison with a degree in grievance studies specializing in hate and resentment but devoid of any constructive marketable skills beyond deconstruction of everything that has afforded her a soft comfortable lifestyle thereby confining her employment to teaching the same toxic sludge at some woke University too clueless to realize what a complete waste the entire process is unless they champion Big Brother being in control of every aspect of one’s life.
P.S. why are so many of the loudmouth SJWs overweight and frequently obese?
If they genuinely cared about the plight of the common man, they would stop consuming so much more than their *fair share* unless they await the dawn of their imagined commie paradise where food will be rationed and they will finally shed those conspicuous discrediting extra pounds along with nearly all the basic freedoms they presently take for granted.
And that’s a wrap!
LikeLiked by 2 people
“I bet she graduates from UW-Madison with a degree in grievance studies specializing in hate and resentment but devoid of any constructive marketable skills beyond deconstruction of everything that has afforded her a soft comfortable lifestyle.”
That’s all Socialists, Marxists, and Progressives have. My theory? They’re so miserable and resentful because they can’t make it in the real world. Instead of looking inward, taking responsibility, and trying to figure out why their lives are lacking, they attempt to bring down the rest of us.
“why are so many of the loudmouth SJWs overweight and frequently obese?”
While I’ve never belittled someone for being fat, I also think it’s wrong to normalize & glorify it. It’s not about appearances either. Obesity is linked to myriad of health problems.
There’s an epidemic of obesity in young kids, putting them at risk for diabetes & heart disease. Their parents have helped set these kids up for a lifetime of health issues. Instead of helping people live healthy lives, universities are actually creating “fat studies” majors.
LikeLike
Liberty,
Wish you had included my entire quote regarding SJWs and obesity.
Thought I made it clear their obesity symbolizes their over indulgence and hypocrisy while enjoying our capitalist society.
Notice how the SJWs never leave to live in socialist/commie countries they love to glorify. They can go to Venezuela and live off toilet paper if they can find any but they won’t because their entire crusade is disingenuous, just like they are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I DID understand what you were trying to say. I strayed from the topic a bit. Sorry.
Your second paragraph is SPOT ON. They’re all talk, all pretend virtue, all BS. They wouldn’t last a week in a communist country, and they’d find that there would be much less tolerance for their POV.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is to their constitutional advantage to be sure that if the law did not favor their freedom of speech to the degree that it does, the chances would be far greater that when imposing it upon someone who may disagree, they get smacked in the mouth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So much for the party of diversity and inclusion. Tolerate everyone, unless they’re white or old.
She wants to talk about privilege? She insulted an entire group of people based on their ethnicity and will probably face zero consequences for it. Imagine if the roles had been reversed. Woke progressives are either too stupid and/or arrogant to see that they are the epitome of what they constantly accuse the rest of us as being.
Read Mark Levin’s new book, “American Marxism.” It will help make sense of the insanity we’re seeing in this country.
I can’t wait to leave Madison. I don’t see this city rebounding. This is the new normal.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I wonder if she realizes that maybe just maybe she is racist? Oh no, can’t be, she isn’t white, but she isn’t totally that black either. But, she could care less about the part of white somewhere in her gene pool. She hates the percentage, it shows.
LikeLike
Such is the wailing of the under-educated member of the pathological underclass.
And by comparison, to what non-white civilization does she suggest is an example for others to follow? Is there even one on the entire continent of Africa?
LikeLiked by 1 person
And to what purpose is this significant historical jewel being devoted? Student housing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bennet’s tirade should surprise no one–it’s a prime example of the mindset that encourages ripping down statues of abolitionists and female emblems of progress at the State Capitol. Those who lack the talent and imagination to produce anything (tangible or intangible) will always fume and sputter when the works of talent and imagination–or genius, in the case of Frank Lloyd Wright–are celebrated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good post, Gary.
LikeLiked by 1 person