Cathedral of Hope does a bait and switch. Privileged district for a few and not the general security of the LGBT. Plz no state troopers.
Dallas City Council member Paula Blackmon talks about state troopers doing "triage" for the area around The Strip on Cedar Springs. Excuses made about Human Rights Commission.
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The whole meeting was uploaded and a time line was prepared for the whole meeting. However, alot of it was just going on and rambling and so I do have the entire meeting online, and at the end of this report, but I am going to supply short segments of the critical portions.
Cathedral of Hope does a bait and switch.
This was the notice by Rev. Thomas of the Cathedral of Hope. He opens up with the statement
Town Hall to be held for the LGBTQ+ Community to express their concerns with the current situation in the City of Dallas.
But it isn’t about the City of Dallas, it is about a small immediate area near The Strip.
Reading it, you come away with the idea that the venues, bars, gayborhood are going to be made safer with “solutions that lead to a safer LGBTQ+ Community.” However, it isn’t that having Dallas safer for the LGBTQ+ makes our bars, venues, and gayborhood safer, it is actually about making a very small district safer.
It wasn’t about threats against us as members of the LGBT community, it was about patrons of The Strip on Cedar Springs. There is nothing wrong with making the immediate area around The Strip safer, but the meeting wasn’t about the increasingly unsafe situation for the Dallas LGBT community the protests of Pride Events and drag shows, with the increasing rhetoric of hostility by anti-LGBT politicians.
This was the Dallas Voice article announcing the meeting. I will be looking to see if they do an article about the meeting. The title is “Town Hall set to address hate groups in the Gayborhood.” You might have thought this is about the general climate of increasing hate towards the LGBT resulting in these groups coming to The Strip, but you would be wrong. From the meeting you realize that the “Gayborhood” is the immediate area around The Strip on Cedar Springs. The Gayborhood in Oak Cliff can drop dead evidently.
https://dallasvoice.com/town-hall-set-to-address-hate-groups-in-the-gayborhood
The Dallas Voice needs to make it clear whether they were misled or were they part of this bait and switch.
Mike Hendrix opens with describing the Nazi Protest
It turns out that even with the threat of armed Nazis spoiling to get into a conflict and shot people, it took 40 minutes for one patrol office to show up and then 20 minutes to get police backup.
Do you think if Nazis showed up at a local synagogue in Dallas they would take an hour? I don’t think so. I think they would be there in force as fast as they could.
During the whole hour there was talk about priorities etc., but when you have armed Nazis protesting trying to incite conflict so they can shoot people, that seems to me a high priority, and not 60 minutes total to respond.
Also, later in another video you will see Mike Hendrix dismiss the need for a Dallas Police Dept. Hate Crimes Unit. If we had had one, they would have showed up before or when the Nazis showed up. When I have been part of African Americans protesting or protests of Confederate monuments the police are always there to watch us, but when it is Nazis blocking a driveway to a LGBT popular church, they take 60 minutes.
Again, the organizers of this meeting saw it entirely acceptable that it took 60 minutes to respond. The meeting was conducted by those who are allergic to criticizing the establishment.
Were the Nazis cited for their infractions of the law?
So my favorite trouble maker asked a question. The answer to this is extremely important. The question is asked 1:10 into this video.
Mike Hendrix doesn’t know if they were cited. He does a diversion by making it a question for the Dallas Police Chief who wasn’t there. Do we think that the Dallas Police Chief knows all the citations that made in the City of Dallas. The police chief would have to say he would have to check and get back to us.
Knowing whether the Nazis were cited and on what grounds would be critical information and would be something you would find out without waiting for a future meeting and the chance visit of the Dallas Police Chief. Maybe Hendrix doesn’t know because it isn’t relevant to getting a special distric.
Texas State Rep.Anchia suggest State Troopers for The Strip on Cedar Springs.
Paul Blackmon suggest that the State Troopers do “triage”
She make reference to Rep. Anchia’s recommendation and ads that they could do “triage.” This comes up when she rejects the idea of having a Dallas Police Department Hate Crimes Unit.
Cathedral of Hope Mike Hendrix rejects having a Dallas Police Hate Crimes Unit
Paula Blackmon’s “triage” comment is at 1:40 she talks about “state presence to triage the area” pointing to at Rep. Anchia in reference to his suggestion of Texas state troopers.
Dallas City Council members give excuses for their not being a Dallas human rights commission.
Paula Blackmon surprised me with the claim that Dallas did have a human rights commission at some point. I don’t think is true. It is an issue I have been following since the late 1980s, but I might have missed something. She doesn’t explain when it was in effect or what happened. Omar Narvaez states that he had asked Jaynie Schultze to get a human rights commission, because she is on a committee that would be in charge of it. What committee that is, Narvaez didn’t mention. I will be writing Paula Blackmon for information about the supposed human rights commission that existed, and ask Jaynie Schultze if she knew that she was the hold up on getting a human rights commission. What the Dallas City Council people know, is that none of the “leadership” of the LGBT will be asking for it, and they can tell Ed Sebesta any random thing that comes to their head.
Paula Blackmon gives a Segregation Era argument against a human rights commission.
I hadn’t heard this type of argument since I was in high school in the 1960s. Or maybe I read about it in history books. Any Dallas City Council member who actually believes this should be asked to resign or be recalled or at the very least defeated in the next election. She is telling this to me.
The following article at the Boston University School of Law, “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ‘Legislating Morality’: On Conscience, Prejudice, and Whether ‘Stateways” Can Change ‘Folkways,” is available for download or you can read it online.
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/235/
The abstract for the article summarizes it.
Abstract
Influential studies, from the 1940s and 1950s, of the problem of prejudice and how to remedy it challenged the famous assertion of nineteenth-century sociologist William Graham Sumner that “stateways don’t change folkways,” and its modern counterparts, “you cannot legislate against prejudice” or “you cannot legislate morality.” Social scientists countered that, although people might initially protest, they would welcome a federal antidiscrimination law that aligned with conscience and closed the gap between American ideals and prejudice, creating new “folkways.” Using examples from the contexts of public accommodations, education, and employment, this Article examines similar arguments made about conscience and “legislating morality” in debates about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the “CRA”). Proponents argued that the national conscience demanded such a law because discrimination posed a moral crisis. Proponents and opponents of the CRA differed sharply on the role of federal law in addressing prejudice and discrimination. While proponents recognized the limits of what law could achieve, they argued that the CRA would remove artificial barriers created by segregation that constrained normal or natural human interaction. Opponents defended segregation as natural, Biblical, and part of the created order and warned that the CRA would usher in a dangerous and forced racial intermingling and line-crossing, particularly in marriage. Similar to the social scientists of the late 1940s and 1950s, supporters or the CRA appealed to experience with local and state antidiscrimination law and the World War II-era Fair Employment Practice Committee. The Article concludes with reflections on the present-day implications of this earlier “legislating morality” debate for controversies over LGBT rights and the evident clash between conscience, or religious liberty, on the one hand, and antidiscrimination law and marriage equality, on the other. [Boldface added.]
This is an extract from Martin Luther King’s speech at the 1966 Convocation, on page 4 at this link. I quote a part of it.
https://www.iwu.edu/mlk/page-4.html
Quoting Martn Luther King Jr.:
In order to develop massive action programs, we’ve got to get rid of one or two myths that are quite prevalent and that we hear a great deal around various communities. One is what I often speak of as the myth of time. I’m sure that you’ve heard this. This is the argument that only time can solve the problem of racial injustice. Only time can bring integration into being. And so those who set forth this argument tend to say to the Negro and his allies in the white community, just be nice and just be patient and wait 100 or 200 years and the problem will work itself out. I think there is an answer to that myth. That is that time is neutral, it can be used either constructively or destructively. And I’m absolutely convinced that in so many instances the forces of ill will in our nation, the extreme righteous of our nation have used time much more effectively than the forces of good will. And it may well be that we will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people who would bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say wait on time. Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God. And without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. And so it is necessary to help time and to realize that the time is always right to do right. Now the other myth that we hear a great deal is a myth that says in substance that legislation can’t solve the problem that we face in race relations because you can’t change the heart. And so we must rely on education to solve the problem and not even look to any legislation. Now I guess there is some truth in this, at least a half-truth. We realize that if the problem is to be solved ultimately, if we are to have a truly integrated society, men and women must rise to the majestic heights of being obedient to the unenforceable. And I would be the first to acknowledge that. So it may be true that you can’t legislate integration, but you can legislate desegregation. It may be true that morality cannot be legislated but behavior can be regulated. It maybe true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, religion and education will have to do that, but it can restrain him from lynching me. And I think that’s pretty important also. And so that while legislation may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men. And we see this every day. And certainly there is need for continuing legislative proposals to deal with many problems that we face in the housing area, in the job area, in the school area and all of the other areas where we face the continuation of segregation and discrimination. And so a strong action program will recognize the need for legislation to deal with many of the ills that we still face. And along with this, is the need for nonviolent direct action.
The fact that Dallas City Council Paula Blackmon would advance her argument in 2023 shows what type of City Dallas is. She is disgusting for saying this. It also shows why we need a human rights commission since they might educate, it isn’t an entirely impossible project, Paula Blackmon on the utility of civil rights legislation. Paula Blackmon needs to apologize or resign or if possible, Dallas City Council should expell her.
What about the safety of the LGBT outside the proposed microdistrict around The Strip?
They have just random thoughts and no real answer. Got to the neighborhood crime watch is one solution. There is no support for a Hate Crimes Unit and there is no support for a human rights commission.
Question about the Dallas Police raid on The Club baths in 2010. Could it happen again?
I was congested and I had to explain it twice. The plans they were proposing were assuming that when the police show up it is a solution to the problem, rather than a new problem. But there has been no published policy changes that would preclude another raid on a Gay establishment like one that happened on Oct. 8, 2010.
I think it is very unlikely that the Dallas Police would raid a Gay bar or bathhouse in 2024, but it was thought very unlikely in 2010 when they did raid a Gay bathhouse and arrest eleven men. This is one of the 30 most notorious raids on Gay establishment in a global list by The Advocate going back to 1903.
https://www.advocate.com/politics/2018/2/02/30-infamous-police-raids-gay-bars-and-bathhouses
I have Freedom of Information Act requests to get more information and I mailed in a check for the fee and I paid it online. Update: City of Dallas is refusing to release the records.
The LGBTQ+ Liaison told me to email them and direct my inquiry to them. I got an email from them Friday Jan. 19, 2024, and I responded back that evening. I am going to give a seperate report on this, since my email of inquiry is long. When I publish it, I will put a link here. Update: Liaison gave a nothing response, and when I pointed that out, she threw a tantrum. I will be doing a post about that.
I was confused about which of my historical records support my concern, but I have three records which support my concern that the possibility of another raid isn’t hasn’t been eliminated.
Summary
The serious concerns of the LGBT about hate crimes and the rising tide of hostility which has shutdown drag shows and had armed people protesting the Pride event at Fair Park was exploited to justify a small special district to have police focused on property crimes and the usual types of urban crime. Though this small district might be justified, and would very likely be beneficial, but hopefully without “triage” or “state troopers,” it does nothing for the security of the LGBT outside the small microdistrict.
It could be a useful part of a larger plan that addresses the needs of of the Dallas LGBT as a whole, but it should be represented as more than it is or as a solution to the general problem.
Further without a hate crimes unit to monitor hate groups, these special district police will likely be only responding when a massacre is underway.
Elected officials which are indifferent to the need for a human rights commission are not elected officials who really care about the quickly worsening environment the LGBT in Dallas and Texas find themselves in.
We have a serious situation and we have “leadership” and elected officials who are clowning around.
If a massacre does happen I have no doubt they will be the loudest voices wailing about it, despite oppositing even basic measures against it.
The Entire Meeting.
Timeline.
Time line of Cathedral of Hope meeting video 20240118
Meeting was held at the Cathedral of Hope, Jan. 18, 2024, 6pm, 5910 Cedar Springs Road.
Identified on the panel is left to right is unknown person, Texas State Rep. Rafael Anchia, Mike Hendrix, Dallas City Council Paula Blackmon, Dallas City Council Paul Ridley, and Dallas City Council Omar Narvaez.
Though the meeting was billed as a meeting about the general concern about LGBT safety when there is a rising tide of hostility, it really was about pushing for a special improvement district to hire police for a narrow area about the clubs on The Strip on Cedar Springs so patrons aren’t victimized by regular crime. It really wasn’t about hate crimes. PID means Public Improvement District, MUD means Municipal Utility District.
00:00 Dr. Neil G. Thomas. Pastor speaking already introducing the meeting. States that Mike Hendrix is moderator of the meeting.
02:00 Mike Hendrix speaks. States that the Round Up owner is there, Caven Enterprise is there, Mike Hendrix is filling in for the Hidden Door.
02:55 Mike Hendrix discusses the Nazi protest of the Cathedral of Hope on Jan. 7, 2024. That it was fearful. Afraid for their lives. That the police took 40 minutes to respond, and they responded with one police officer, and it was another 20 minutes to then have a sufficient number of police to show up and handle the Nazi protest. If Nazis were picketing a synagogue how long would you think it would take?
04:54 Sees protest as the anti-LGBT rhetoric boiling over. Hendrix asks about what will protect the LGBT community. (Later it becomes clear that they are just talking about reducing crime near the bars.)
06:10 Hendrix proposes a MUD (Municipal Utility District) to support security around the Cedar Springs strip. They would hire police and have them ready to respond right away to security needs. At this point it becomes clear that this meeting isn’t about the LGBT security for the Dallas in general, but the needs for a small district around the Strip for extra security.
06:55 Ed Sebesta Raises the issue that we need a human rights commission. Paul Blackmon goes on digressions away from the topic. Claims that at one time Dallas had a human rights commission, but not what happened to it. [See Paula Blackmon classic anti-civil rights statement, right out of the Segregation Era, against it at 1:00:30]
08:50 Omar Narvaez says that he had asked Jaynie Schultz to take care of it, who is supposed to be the head of a committee, which wasn’t named, to get a human rights commission.
Both of them make the issue of a human rights commission oppositional to getting a MUD as if one would preclude the other.
10:25 A person in the audience asks if a permit was required for a protest by the Nazis. First Amendment rights are explained to this person.
11:34 Lynette Sharp asks “Were they cited? Hendrix doesn’t know and then frames it as an issue that he had invited the Dallas Police Chief to come, that it was something to ask the police chief about, and since the Police Chief isn’t there they don’t know. After Hendrix’s dramatic description of the Nazi protest at their church, you would think he would know. You think they would have made inquiries prior to the meeting.
12:17 Mike Nguyen, who is the head of Caven Enterprises speaks and discusses the problem of crime in the immediate neighborhood of the strip.
14:15 Unidentified woman makes excuses for the slow response of the Dallas Police. But this is for regular type crimes of car break-ins. You would think a protest by armed Nazis should be a priority, but this person is making excuses for them and sees that a protest by armed Nazis isn’t a priority.
15:10 Hendrix meet with police officials for the local area and they said they didn’t have the “manpower.” They need a MUD.
15:45 Mike Nguyen describes crime issues.
After this Paula Blackmon, Paul Ridley and Omar Narvaez discuss the issues of crime in general.
17:30 Paula Blackmon
17:45 Paul Ridley. Violent crime is down 10%. This is supposed to be a big accomplishment and not a statistical fluctuation.
19:50 Omar Narvaez discusses improvement districts.
21:55 Paula Blackmon
22:20 Paula Blackmon mentions that with a special police force of an improvement district you get a much faster response from the police.
26:50 Mike Nguyen talks about crime on The Strip segment of Cedar Springs.
28:30 Texas Rep. Anchia goes on into a long digression about gun control and other things.
32:00 Anchia mentions the Pulse Massacre in Orlando.
35:25 Anchia talks about having Texas State Troopers if wanted. Discusses the State Troopers in South Dallas as an example.
36:20 Speaker behind me ask what State action can there be to reduce ignorant attitudes. Anchia responds.
37:05 Anchia discusses immigration issues.
38:40 Person with the black mask on asks questions. Statistical questions.
39:25 Person with the black mask asks what is the priority for the police when there are armed protestors who look like they are about to commit violent crimes.
39:38 Paul Ridley answers the priority is 2nd or 3rd which is a priority Ridley thinks is reasonable.
40:05 Hendrix discusses protestors and the protestors tactic to provoke
40:55 Ed Sebesta asks why we don’t have a Police Hate Crimes unit.
41:30 Hendrix says that a police hate crimes unit won’t do any good. Frames it was whether it would deter or not. First, with a hate crimes unit, you would likely have the police show up when before or when the Nazis show up. That such a unit might provide education of the public, detection of plots to commit hate crimes as has been done is removed from consideration by Hendrix’s framing. He just wants police to show up quickly and deal with protestors.
42:00 Paula Blackmon shifts the topic to discuss other things.
42:25 Paula Blackmon suggests that one possibility is to have the state troopers to do “triage” in the district. She puts other actions in opposition to having a hate crimes unit.
43:30 Omar Narvaez. Cameras and street lights. Trees need to be cut back.
44:40 Adam Medrano speaks about the 18 unsolved assaults that had occurred around The Strip in the past. He moves from the audience to up by the panel.
46:50 Dallas Police officer LGBT liaison shows up with another person. They are Megan Sykes, the official liaison person and an officer Leatina Hutchings.
47:20 The Dallas police officers speak.
47:55 My question about the police raid on The Club baths in 2010 and what policy changes have been made to prevent another raid. The premise of the meeting is that the police showing up are the solution, but there does remain the possibility that the police themselves could be a possibility. Working from memory I wrongly quote one source, but I have three sources supporting the potential for a continuing policy of raiding Gay establishments. I was congested with a head cold so it was difficult to speak clearly on my part.
50:20 Liaison asks for my email so we can have an email exchange over my question. (I was contacted yesterday and I did send in my question and supplied documentation.)
50:35 Mike Nguyen discusses improvement district.
56:00 Omar Narvaez explains that there are a lot of steps. (When he was speaking about a human rights commission he said it takes time as a reason not to pursue it versus going after an improvement district.) Lots of commentary.
58:12 They are trying to close the meeting. I interrupt and say, “What about the safety of gay people outside your privileged district?” Lynnette immediately has angry statement.
Rambling responses.
58:38 Paula Blackmond talks about neighborhood associations and having them talk to their police liaisons.
59:20 Discussion back to improvement districts.
1:00:00 Anchia speaks.
1:00:30 Paula Blackmon gives classic anti-Civil rights argument right out of the 1950s segregation era, “you can’t legislate societal change,” in opposition to a human rights commission. No one else sees that as inimical to the rights of the LGBT. [See discussion of human rights commission at 06:55]
1:01:50 Ridley and Narvaez say stuff.
1:03:00 Lynette Sharp says get your body cam.
1:03:15 Dallas Police LGBT liaison says attend crime watch meetings.
1:04:32 Hendrix says he just got contacted by Lupe Valdez who expresses her regret for not attending the meeting. Valdez is a candidate for Dallas County Sheriff.
End of meeting.
I have also asked Dallas County to have a human rights commission.
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