I ask all people of good conscience to join me in demanding that former School Board member Karlo Silbiger publicly apologize to my good friend Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin. He made disturbing, hurtful remarks to her in a public forum.
These remarks have caused her severe emotional anguish.
Referring to Ms. Wisnosky Stehlin, Mr. Silbiger stated:
“I am sure that there were people like you in Topeka, KS, trying to stop the Brown family from attaining their civil rights back in 1954. But I thought that we had gotten past vilifying minority groups trying to attain equality. My bad.
“People like you… vilifying minority groups.”
Oh, my.
What triggered this sad, bizarre accusation that Ms. Wisnosky Stehlin is a racist?
Jeannine asked a simple question. She was trying to understand statements Mr. Silbiger had made in a Facebook conversation about the merits of at-large vs. district-based elections for a community like Culver City.
She asked: “Are you planning to sue the city, Karlo? Is that what you’re saying?”
That was her first and only comment in that conversational thread.
I challenge anyone — anyone — to find any basis for Mr. Silbiger’s ugly remark in anything that Jeannine ever has said or written. His statement is false, uncalled for, and out of line.
It also is extremely hurtful.
There can be no question about the context of these remarks, I have provided a screenshot of this conversation.
The Culver City Facebook page, which has more than 2,500 members, is generally a forum in which people interested in our great community discuss everything from Little League games to pet adoptions to new restaurants.
In the course of the last election, many heated conversations took place there as well.
This bullying statement by Mr. Silbiger has crossed a line that never should have been crossed. It has caused emotional harm to one of the most thoughtful, helpful and open-minded individuals in our community.
I can not let Mr. Silbiger’s statement go unchallenged.
I feel compelled to ask for his public retraction and apology.
That is the absolute least he owes to her.
In closing, I am not interested in engaging in any debate about this issue.
I believe attempts to distract attention from the heart of the matter will be seen for what they are.
This has nothing to do with our recent election, in the course of which my good friends Thomas Small and Göran Eriksson won seats on the City Council.
I am sure that the two of them would likewise condemn Mr. Silbiger’s remarks. This has nothing to do with the unfortunate factionalism that has infested our civic dialogue.
This is about a hurtful remark that has deeply shaken a friend of mine.
Mr. Malsin, a former member of the City Council and currently a deputy to state Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City/Crenshaw District), may be contacted at scott.malsin@gmail.com
Here’s the thing. Lots of people on both ‘sides’ have said insulting and unpleasant things.
Most people in Culver City don’t care (as shown by the recent low poll turn out).
The 20 of you who are all doing this silly ‘he said she said’ need to take it elsewhere and away from this horrendous racist ‘rag’.
Ari Noonan has lately in his ‘articles’ told us all to arm ourselves against local Muslims and called respected and serving female Senators ‘whores’.
See http://www.thefrontpageonline.com/op-ed/pay-all-1000-hourly
So as long as you all keep publishing here and local candidates buy advertising space here and also invite Mr Noonan to your local shindigs, you all continue to feed his foul racist and misogynist agenda.
Take it to Starbucks and have a civil conversation for god’s sake.
There are way more important things happening in the world.
I have had many a good conversation, including ones on controversial topics, over a coffee. Let there be no mistake that political discourse in Culver City has likely reached a tipping point in negativity from which it may not recover. It’s remarkable when an individual who has been an elected official, and often operates as a campaign manager, offers up such remarks in an online forum including more than 2,600 of our residents. It is not okay. It is important that it cease.
I was a participant in the online dialogue in which these shockingly unfounded remarks from Karlo Silbiger were written. In the sentence before he made these remarks, he commented that he didn’t know how to respond to Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin without swearing. We all would have been better off had he sweared. Mr. Silbiger doesn’t need to just walk back these remarks. He needs to make a public apology to Ms. Wisnosky Stehlin that is equally as passionate as his accusation.
Dear PBeale: This statement is from a man who holds himself out as a pillar of the community:
“I am sure that there were people like you in Topeka, KS, trying to stop the Brown family from attaining their civil rights back in 1954. But I thought that we had gotten past vilifying minority groups trying to attain equality. My bad.
“People like you… vilifying minority groups.”
This should bother you. It should bother the entire community. Many things have been said, but calling an involved amazing community member a racist is way over the line. Jeannine deserves an apology. Plain and simple.
In your rabidness, you’re both missing the point.
Stay calm.
Read what I wrote and think before you put fingertips to keyboard.
If you both seriously want to stand against racism or accusations of such, this is the wrong place because this is a racist blog.
You either have principles or you don’t.
P Beale: Does Jeannine deserve an apology or not?
Laura you are tiresomely fond of trying to force an issue.
Why don’t you have this conversation with Karlo instead of trying to incite fevor in a racist forum?
Have your people call his people.
Pbeale: Again, I ask – does she deserve an apology or not?
Let SHE who is without sin…. etc etc
And me an atheist.
Pbeale: Again, I ask – does Jeannine deserve an apology or not?
Laura – like you, I am just one small insignificant person.
Unlike you, I am not involved in these petty 4th grade scraps.
It is not for me to pass judgement on what has happened because:
A. I have more important things to be doing
B. Like most people in Culver City I don’t know who any of you are
C: I DON’T CARE
I also think you have missed the point on my ‘she who is without sin’ comment.
You might want to give that some thought.
Think.
Think.
“Lightbulb!”
Now you’ve got it.
PBeale: Again, I think you miss the point, as you have felt it is so important to comment here on any and everything you don’t like (with great big nasty comments) and now you now dodge answering this question by blowing smoke up everyone’s you know what – the question is: does she deserve an apology?
So to reiterate your response:
A. I have more important things to be doing – Answer: that doesn’t appear to be the truth.
B. Like most people in Culver City I don’t know who any of you are – Answer: again, I am sure you do.
C: I DON’T CARE – Answer: then why are you responding on this page anyway at all ever?
My conscience is clear, is yours? Because so far you have made this issue about me as if I wrote the letter. I know smoke and mirrors when I see it.
This letter is about Karlo Silbiger’s public defamation of Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin. You seem to gleefully post about anything but the core question – and when asked the core question – you denigrate another person – me. Good job. Hope your clients like how you work.
Your answer is your evasion of the question.
You’re still not getting it are you?
Neither are you. Checkmate.
Laura, why does it matter so deeply whether PBeale thinks Karlo Silbiger (who for all that is good-and-holy you have insulted repeatedly) should apologize? Why did you have to keep asking?
Is it because if she says “no,” then you can jump up HER posterior? What business is it of anyones?
It’s LAUGHABLE given the kind of vitriolic diatribe you’ve enthusiastically contributed to, that you are all fixated on something you’ve taken out of context.
If you had to apologize for the nasty things you’ve said, there might not be enough space on the Internet. Believe me, as a resident of the Farragut, we’ve wiped the spewing spittle you and your friends directed towards our street a long time ago.
And so I’m not making an unsupported statement, see our street’s webpage. And yes, I know none of you are ashamed for your bullying. But the hypocrisy of this outcry is certifiable.
In all of the years I’ve lived in this city, I’ve never seen anything quite so ridiculous. Sometimes enough is enough. Ms. PB is right – we’ve all formed our opinions and chosen to move on from Karlo’s unfortunate tantrum online.Facebook tantrum. Laura, two wrongs do not make a right. Your tirade has no place outside of kindergarten.
I ask the question again. Doe Jeannine deserve an apology from Karlo? That is the question all of you try to avoid by attacking me. Check yourselves. I didn’t write the letter. Your tactics are transparent – to avoid responding to the letter and real issue here and by insulting me. Usual tactics.
There’s a larger battle here, Ms. UPCC is no progressive democrat. Karlo is. Republicans always play dirty while we play by the “rules.” Karlo is our Karl Rove. Not afraid to play dirty. Polly Beale is our Goebbels. She may not have a clue about what she writes (G-d Bless her!), but she is our attack dog– foaming mouth & rabies-infected brain included. The left is left-out of power (I should copywrite that) because we let right-wing Roves and Goebbels run a muck and we don’t fight fire with fire. Karlo & Polly change that for us. With just one progressive on the school board we got rid of a wallflower Superintendent (thank you Dr. Kelly Kent!). We have 2 progressives on the Council now and it’s time to blitzkrieg the do-nothingism of the proto Chamber-types. No to racists. No to Republicans. No to billboards. No to Nazis. Yes to Karlo/Beale/Kent– our own Masters of Propaganda, finally.
Er… OK. Thank you(?) unidentified person for this somewhat over-blown reaction.
I am not part of any organization or campaign here in Culver.
I do not like any of these Nazi references.
My main issue is with this shitty racist blog and the people on the right AND the left who promote themselves on it.
My ‘weapon’ is sarcasm.
There is nothing rabid about me other than when confronted by a poorly made cup of tea.
May I suggest a nice pot of Earl Grey – very calming
……annnnd I think its time to walk away from this thread…. : /
Well said PB. The Nazi references are meant to be inflammatory. Perhaps to promote divisiveness, or just to stir the pot. (no pun intended)
In response to Mr Levy’s comment about our “wallflower superintendent.” Is this the same superintendent that as a member of the school board, Karlo Silbiger helped hire in the first place?