Letter - Jonathan Wenn

For a guy who walks around town with a wooden cross and wearing a

button advertising “Free Hugs,” Joe Mandoky has done a fine job of

spreading the message of empathy, brotherly love and cross-cultural

understanding. May I suggest Mr. Mandoky carry around another symbol --

an iron wedge. Drop the other symbols that have created a smoke screen

for his real agenda -- stoking the fires of intolerance against all

ethnic communities and driving a wedge into the heart of our city.

Who can believe the outcry is rooted in patriotism? Why not stop

pretending we are talking about the flag? The real issue is the more than

a few intolerant people who are using the “Stars ‘n’ Strips” to take

potshots at the Armenian-American community in our city and undermine the

political gains of Glendale’s Latino voters by recalling the mayor. Read

the same inscription my grandfather read upon his arrival to Ellis Island

in 1913 from the Azore Islands of Portugal, there at the base of another

American symbol, the Statue of Liberty, is Emma Lazarus’ The New

Colossus, and then ask yourself who is being un-American?

I am American-born citizen of Portuguese, Italian, Mexican and Native

American ancestry and a middle school teacher of the students from the

exact communities you target. I have realized that if I do not speak out

for my “brothers and sisters, sons and daughters” when they are being

ruthlessly attacked under the thin guise of patriotism, then who will

speak out on my behalf when Mr. Mandoky turns on me? I suggest he read

the work of German-Protestant theologian Martin Niemoller who wrote the

poem, “And They Came For..” Niemoller was a German Protestant minister

who was sent to the concentration camp for speaking out against racist

rhetoric and policies of Nazi Germany. He is a Christian minister with a

message I can support.

Or maybe Mr. Mandoky is proud of his work for “justice.” Powerful as

it is, the symbol of the flag can not hide his real agenda. While

unsuccessfully running for the school board, he was quoted in the

Glendale News-Press with the brilliant solution to get “rid of race and

ethnic conflict” in our schools. Requiring, had it been deemed

Constitutional, “English only for all students and staff during school

hours.” With solutions like that, no wonder only one person received

fewer votes. I am sure violating people’s Constitutional Rights was not

an issue for him as long as he was erasing people’s native language.

Hey, we could all start becoming a little more “American” by removing

the Spanish words that have “infiltrated” the American-English

vocabulary. What about saying “The Angels” when referring to Los Angeles,

not to mention “Yellow,” Texas instead of Amarillo or even “Rat Mouth,”

Florida for Boca Raton. Thankfully, the voters of Glendale sent the

message that his solutions were not needed in Glendale. One thing for

sure, a solution like his would silence my classroom, as the children I

work with are just learning English. Just remember, a few votes in a

recent run for school board is not a public mandate for Mr. Mandoky to

become the advocate of intolerance!

Glendale, don’t let a few xenophobes who are wrapping themselves in

the flag while spewing their hatred and fear of the ethnic communities in

our city, manipulate us. Is it a coincidence that only when the

proclamation is signed by a Latino mayor is there a recall effort. It is

time for the conscientious people of Glendale to take a stand against

race baiting by speaking out, registering to vote and defeating any

attempt to recall our mayor.

This has nothing to do with the flag. Call this controversy what it

is: a not-so-sophisticated attempt to disenfranchise the

Armenian-American, Latino-American and other minority communities in

Glendale by recalling our city’s mayor. This “flag controversy” is rooted

in nothing but fear, prejudice, and loathing of all ethnic communities in

Glendale, all of which have contributed positively to this jewel of a

city.

Jonathan R. Wenn

Glendale