Many in the community feel betrayed by newly elected City Councillor At-Large Michelle Wu. Her recent vote to Elect Bill Linehan to Boston City Council Presidency has been increasingly divisive among the progressive base that largely elected her. Her decision resonates among several groups who would have preferred a different candidate, namely Ayanna Pressley who seemed like an obvious choice. Wu’s vote simultaneously ticked off women, LGBT, young professionals, as well as communities of color who were wooed during the campaign and felt abandoned by this very first vote of 2014. We will see if Wu will be able to recover from this disappointing decision or if this a sign of more to come.
“Me getting ahead/me getting mine is what progress looks like,” is the motto of numerous women/minorities/LGBT people, and they are comfortable stepping on others with a clear conscience because yes, they are achieving that progressive goal, them getting ahead.
I don’t know Michelle Wu well enough to have a sense whether this is her philosophy. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it is. It is a philosophy that all of us foster when we support someone because they look like us, regardless of what they do. What they do often harms the actual group of people they are thought to represent, yet we keep supporting them because of what they look like.
An obvious example: Hillary Clinton being supported by women, regardless of her vote for the Iraq war, her support of pro-corporate and anti-working American policies like free trade agreements, her support of the Keystone XL environmental devastation pipeline. I could list many other prominent and less so politicians who fit the model but won’t, for brevity’s sake.
We need to predicate our support of a politician on that person’s actions, not their identity.
Michelle Wu has acted. “Me getting ahead is what progress looks like.” We’ll see whether her coming actions confirm this to be her motto.
Didn’t you recommend folks vote for Michael Flaherty?
Well said julia!
Wu,
Why are academic transients manipulating locals into believing that change can come from the outside even though they are educated otherwise? Is it because their long-term ego-swelled goals can be propelled by attempting to identify with marginalized individuals in their proximity and siding with deep networks despite their controversy? Does one’s selfish goals and dept to targeted favors outweigh the need to recognize one’s inability to relate to entrench community needs?
Please advise.
-617BornandRaised
entrenched*