56 Comments - Boone's is Back - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:49 am: Didn’t they learn anything from the IPI cartoon debacle? This just doesn’t help their cause… - Dutch - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:51 am: This is messed up. - Paddyrollingstone - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:53 am: Good Lord, that is incredibly stupid. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:54 am: CTU, as a whole and including this unmistakable racist tweet, has truly lost the focus of their advocacy and existence. This is a bad look at the minimum of cordial discussion and a signal of a much broader and deeper problem within their own interpreted mission at the moment. A disgusting tweet, picture/cartoon, and position framed in racism. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:56 am: Pretty terrible by the CTU. That’s not the way to win allies. Lightfoot trounced Preckwinkle, the CTU candidate. Biden trounced Sanders, the darling of the far left. A lot of people are not down with the far left, many of whom loathe mainstream Democrats—the people they need to help them win elections. Lightfoot is probably in good or real good shape, politically. - efudd - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 9:56 am: Have no idea how much the CTU president makes; I’ll go out on a limb and say much more than me. Whatever the amount, apparently it does not buy sense, or taste. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:03 am: Going after a Mayor who beat your backed candidate badly and has a mid-70’s approval is a bold strategy. They always seem to opt for doubling down rather than being conciliatory and perhaps making progress. One thing CTU does have in common with FOP that they won’t ever acknowledge? They both adamantly defend the worst of the worst in their ranks. - Donnie Elgin - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:05 am: identity politics is full of traps - Zim - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:07 am: What a ridiculous, tone deaf tweet. As if I needed further evidence that on the whole, social media advances ignorance and contributes little of value to public discourse. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:08 am: First time in a while I’ve agreed with Mayor Lightfoot. - Blue Beard - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:08 am: The radical left has lost their collective minds. Along with the radical members of the union, this is all being amped by a handful of radical aldermen. These are kids who want power, but don’t know what to do when they get it. Pathetic people, every one of them. Hope their constituents rise up and vote them all out in 2023! As for the union, it’s cracking. Look for dues paying members to withdraw. In the words of the Sandernistas, “you love to see it.” - HCMCB - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:09 am: There’s a simple rule for effective unions; Everything you communicate should help you advocate for your members. This tweet fails the test. Badly. - Very Concerned - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:11 am: Unbelievable. With all the talk about defunding police and that their union is part of the problem, CTU fails time recognize that they are part of the problem with improving the schools. Let’s see if they would agree to reform like they want the cops to do. - Perrid - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:12 am: What is racist about it? I’m not trolling, I just don’t see it. The cartoon mocks Lightfoot for “being a cop.” Which isn’t fair, but that’s a difference of opinion on her policies, not a racist insult. Is her being tied up, like all Scooby villains, the bad part? Is her wearing a white mans mask the bad part? A disproportionate amount of cops are white men, so I don’t see why. It’s an incendiary and stupid cartoon, but again, what is the racism here? - Can’t Believe - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:14 am: Is CTU willing to be subjected to the same scrutiny that they want on CPD ? - HUJDR - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:18 am: Let’s subject CTU and it’s members to the same scrutiny that they want on CPD. No fan of Lightfoot but this is disgusting. Had CPD done this the media would be exploding right now. - Hot Taeks - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:20 am: These folks don’t speak on behalf of the left or Bernie Sanders. They are merely failed comedians who are jealous of other leftists success in media so they make awful jokes to stand out. I ask them to please keep the words ’socialism’, ‘leftism’, or ‘Bernie Sanders’ out of their mouths. - Anon E Moose - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:25 am: That is so bad. C’mon CTU. - R A T - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:26 am: “Don’t worry Chicago teachers, we’ll be there when needed” — signed by no cop working in those schools - ChrisB - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:27 am: Mayor Lightfoot should blow this up on a posterboard and frame it behind her during the next contract negotiation. Just quietly point to it whenever CTU makes a new demand. - NIU Grad - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:28 am: Politically, Lori’s greatest advantage in the next election is that the CTU has been consistently the core base of her opposition, and they haven’t learned that at their best they were only able to get 30% of the vote last time. The “Lori is a cop” messaging excites Twitter users with a red rose in their username…but most Chicagoans are looking for real solutions, for better or for worse. - JS Mill - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:29 am: Totally unsurprising which is sad. Between the CTU Chicago Police Union it is no wonder many have a poor view of unions. These folks are bad news. - NIU Grad - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:31 am: “Everything you communicate should help you advocate for your members.” They’ve gone off the rails, believing that their objective is advancing a wide range of socialist policies. As with FOP, their most radical members have an impossible-to-break strong voice and guide the leadership and message. It’s no longer about the classrooms. - Arock - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:33 am: An organization that needs as much reform as the Chicago Police Department should be laying low right now. The same measures that need passed to help clean up and rid of us bad police officers by cleaning up disciplinary language in Police Union contracts also need to be applied to teachers contracts and other Public workers unions. A bad teacher can do quite a bit of damage. All workers need to be held to high and ethical standards not just Police. - A Guy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:35 am: Too cute by way more than half. Despicable. Making her completely gray-haired adds to the nastiness. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:40 am: ===identity politics is full of traps=== And you’re full of something that rhymes with trap. - Just Me 2 - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 10:44 am: The ridiculous amount of money the CTU President gets paid really is offensive, especially since he gets paid from having two full-time jobs. - Amalia - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:21 am: so she’s a black person under a white mask they pull off? or at least that’s how I see it. wow. not helpful. here’s one problem…..there are only extremes, there is no positive dialogue. the commission put together to review use of force does not have representation from across the City. Craig Futterman, commentary on records destruction, is on the committee. white people who are not from the liberal lakefront do not appear to be included in the discussion. Maybe they have not volunteered. People who support police but want reform need to speak up. it’s not easy to speak up, but you have to do it. - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:32 am: I am clearly in the minority here. This is a Scooby Doo meme about CPD and MLL. This (very boring imo) cartoon always solves a mystery. They capture the villain and take off the mask. This meme clearly says Lori Lightfoot is behind the cops. It’s been her all along and her leadership decides what they can and cannot do. They tied up the bad guy, the cop. Who turned out to be MLL all along. Is it poor taste with a circle of white kids tying up a black woman? Yes. Is CTU social media insufferable because it’s all political anti-MLL messaging? Yes. Is it racist? Not in my opinion, but I’m not a Black woman so I cannot rightfully say so. I’m less interested what white people on Cap Fax and Twitter (especially the Klonsky family) in the political bubble with predisposed opinions about CTU think and more curious to know what Black women (Stacy Davis included) think. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:37 am: === Is it racist? Not in my opinion, but I’m not a Black woman so I cannot rightfully say so.=== This sounds like a Diana Rickert type parsing. In this time in America, during the hope for a changing of systemic and institutional racism, the benefit of doubt is one may not know something is racist? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:49 am: ===but I’m not a Black woman so I cannot rightfully say so=== And Mayor Lightfoot is. - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:54 am: @OW I appreciate this prodding, but I also wonder if this means Scooby Doo can only have white villains? Otherwise it’s racist? Also, my focus is on the meme. Many of these comments are focused in anti-CTU vitriol beyond this meme. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:57 am: === I also wonder if this means Scooby Doo can only have white villains? Otherwise it’s racist?=== Are you ignoring Lightfoot’s thoughts? Thanks. - @misterjayem - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 11:59 am: I landed where Perrid did. – MrJM - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:00 pm: @OW. No, I’m not. I responded to Rich about Mayor Lightfoot. Are you ignoring my question about if this means that all villains in Scooby Doo should be white? - Roadrager - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:05 pm: As a fairly hefty lefty and two-time Sanders primary voter, the “Lori Lightfoot is a cop” meme made no sense to me last year, and makes even less sense to me now. Yes, Lori Lightfoot is the retrograde establishment candidate in comparison to… Toni Preckwinkle? You… You do know why she didn’t run for mayor in 2015 despite a popular groundswell, right? Karen Lewis knew how to pop off for the benefit of her members. This lot comes off more like some Reddit bleep-posters. Lodge 7, but put a rose emoji next to it. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:06 pm: === if this means that all villains in Scooby Doo should be white?=== That’s a question for Hanna-Barbera studios. Are you saying Lightfoot is wrong? - revvedup - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:16 pm: Like, zoinks, Scoob, you unmasked reverse racism by discovering the racist white male cop is actually a black female Mayor. What a colossal FAIL for the CTU, and slap in the face to CPD. - All This - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:19 pm: Meh, so Lightfoot is pro police. I’m pro police too so what’s the problem? I don’t get the mask though. Lightfoot never ever presented herself as being anything but pro police. No mask was ever on. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:20 pm: I’m not a Black woman either, far from it, but I know it’s never a good idea to show a caricature of a black person tied up by white people. To tie that into some petty (and strange) political point seems well beyond the bounds of what is fair. And yes, it’s important to call it out when a left/progressive group does it and not only when IPI or other right wingers do it. Wrong is wrong. Out of bounds is always out of bounds. This is that. - Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:21 pm: Where is the verb in your statement, CTU? Syntax matters. - Muddy trail - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:41 pm: == Where is the verb in your statement, CTU? Syntax matters.== It’s a dialect. The verb “are” is implied. If you didn’t cut so many classes your teachers might have taught you something about writing natural sounding dialogue. - CatAttack - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:43 pm: If you need a lot of “context” to explain how your racist meme isn’t actually racist, you’re endorsing racism. I’ve been very disappointed at the silence from CTU allies on this - silence is complicity. If we refuse to call out people we may usually agree with on policy when they say something racist or bigoted, then we are not doing anti-racism right. - City Zen - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 12:56 pm: CTU’s van is called the Misery Machine. - Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 1:20 pm: @Muddy Trails It’s hyperbole. - Muddy trail - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 1:51 pm: Rudy’s teeth, why such concern about a missing verb in a “hyperbolic” message. Hmmm. Seems strange. - Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 2:37 pm: Ruh roh. - Rahm's Parking Meter - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 2:55 pm: ADL even condemned CTU on their Twitter handle. CTU went over the acceptable line here. https://twitter.com/ADLMidwest - Shytown - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 3:31 pm: No matter the blowback, CTU leadership will continue to operate like this without any accountability for their choices. In fact, they’re doubling down. - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 3:40 pm: Also a little #tbt: https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoMayorsOffice/photos/a.354163658637276/575743973145909/?type=3 https://www.facebook.com/1256923815/posts/10217300721010836/?d=n https://www.facebook.com/unitedworkingfamilies/photos/a.457896374358618/1649581105190133/?type=3 Preachy white Twitter and white media were pretty quiet on this one. MLL denied knowing anything about this during her press conference and said she didn’t believe it came from her team. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 3:43 pm: ===Preachy white Twitter=== Yeah, I stopped reading after that. It was a racist tweet, Lightfoot called them on it, CTU has lost sight of the goals and missions of its union. Good luck. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 3:45 pm: La Dictadora, enough with the whataboutism. - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 4:00 pm: @OW I’m not wrong and you know it. ✌🏽 @rich miller opposing views and thorough points make for healthy discussion. Thank you for welcoming them. At the end of the day it’s your blog, so ok point taken. ✌🏽 - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 4:03 pm: === I’m not wrong and you know it.=== lol, I know… “you know”… For someone who wrote… === Is it racist? Not in my opinion, but I’m not a Black woman so I cannot rightfully say so.=== … how can you be right about anything on this post? Again, good luck. - La Dictadora - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 4:14 pm: @ow thank you, good luck to you too. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Jun 18, 20 @ 8:19 pm: There’ll be no Scooby Snacks in the next CTU contract! /s Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.