The diary submitted below was written entirely by my husband, Brian. He feels very strongly about the subject matter and was inspired to share this with you.
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The debate over art is as long and heated as the debates over religion and politics. In modern day Vallejo, the three have recently intertwined.
On a recent trip downtown to visit our local favorite eatery for lunch, we noticed a sign in the quirky, Barbie art project themed store next door:
"Barbie's Doctor told her that the climate in Vallejo is not good for her health. If she stays in Vallejo she will certainly die. She will move in January to a climate where she can thrive."
Our first thought: What a shame! Another downtown Vallejo business is closing . . . and we're starting to run out of them.
Our waitress at the cafe, however, explained that the owner had recently been the victim of vandalism and threats over her art. It seems that some citizens of Vallejo don't approve of her work or it's display. On our visit downtown today, we saw some examples posted in the window:
"Barbie Lady,
You are sick with Demons! Your Dead Barbie is twisted. How dare you put it in the street for children to see! I hope you are put out of business in Vallejo, faster than you can blink your eyes. I will be going to City Hall to push the fact, of closing you down.
A Long time resident of Vallejo -"
I'll grant our long time resident his/her
opinion. This IS some quirky art, with Barbies and other toys arranged in various dioramas and tableaux with names like "Four Horseman of the Apocalypse" and "Resurrection Barbie". Not all of the pieces are macabre in theme - some are playful and carefree. I'm of the mind that good art strikes a chord in the viewer and resonates. Apparently, "Resurrection Barbie" resonated so strongly, a least one viewer was compelled to shatter windows in the storefront.
This I cannot grant to our long time resident nor any other citizen of Vallejo.
Vallejo has been struggling for some time. Beginning with the closure of Mare Island Naval Base in 1996, the city suffered economically - turning a once booming town into a bankrupt ghost of its former self. When we relocated here in 2004, Vallejo touted it's diversity in a "Faces of Vallejo" campaign - showing and naming a diverse cross-section of the city's constituents on banners attached to street lamps downtown. Vallejo was courting new businesses to set up shop and repopulate a nearly vacant downtown. Old homes in the city's "Heritage District" were being bought up and renovated. Mare Island was undergoing toxic waste abatement and ready for redevelopment. A plan for redevelopment of the waterfront was in development. There was an air of rebirth and excitement that the city's fortunes were turning around.
In the 8 years since, however, Vallejo has gone bankrupt and restructured itself. Re-development of Mare Island stalled in it's tracks. Businesses have regularly turned over in the downtown area - resulting in even more unoccupied spaces downtown. Foreclosures abound without the bounce back that other counties in the SF Bay Area have seen as the economy slowly recovers. And the waterfront development plans - well, we have a new parking garage downtown that the city built but cannot staff or maintain without charging for parking that was once free.
During those 8 years, another face of Vallejo has also emerged. A contentious election in 2007 pitted Gary Cloutier against Osby Davis. Mr. Cloutier was initially declared the winner, but then lost to Mr. Davis by only two votes. (If you think your vote doesn't matter - this case would have proven you wrong.) In 2008, mailers were sent out to Vallejo residents informing them that Barack Obama did not support gay marriage (yet failing to complete the quote indicating his LACK of support for a constitutional ban of it) in advance of the vote on California's Prop 8, which eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples in the state. Solano County, which includes Vallejo, was the ONLY bay area county to vote in support of it.
And in 2009, Mayor Davis used the opportunity of a New York Time's interview to condemn gays as 'sinners' and declare Vallejo a "City of God". During the resulting protest and backlash, citizens were prevented from entering the city council chambers and registering their dissatisfaction due to "lack of seating". In fact, seating in the city council chambers had already been occupied before any public access by the mayor's prayer group.
The day after Barack Obama was elected, we walked through our community wondering which of the faces we saw was the face of a person that voted to strip us of our right to marry? Which of the faces in our community claims our city in the name of their God? And how far will they go in their crusade?
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-Martin Niemoller
TOP COMMENTS
September 16, 2012
Thanks to tonight's Top Comments contributors! Let us hear from YOU
when you find that proficient comment.
From Old Lefty:
Submitting this comment by bkamr and the whole thread and the diary by Linda in Ohio as well provide a series of very poignant and revealing snapshots of the reality not captured by polling.
From BeninSC:
I liked this comment from Nowhere Man. It highlights the narrow-mindedness conservatives display when clamoring to indiscriminately attack those they deem our enemies (which, in reality, is nearly everyone who isn't them).
From Dave in Northridge:
Liberal Protestant and docterry had perfect replies to HoundDog's diary on unleashing Paul Ryan by taking the bag off his head.
Sorry that your diarist failed to submit any comments, but Brian was hogging my computer all afternoon writing this diary. |
TOP PHOTOS
September 15, 2012
Enjoy jotter's wonderful PictureQuilt™ below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
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