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July 21, 2006
No comparison
Daily News reporter Naush Boghossian covers the flap over LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer's "State of the Schools" address on Thursday.
Romer compared Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's statements about the school district to the propaganda put out by the United States against Japanese citizens during World War II. The mayor pounced on the attack, and demanded an apology to Japanese-Americans.
I must confess, I don't know a thing about Roy Romer (he seems to lack a MySpace page), but I do know that he needs an editor.
While what he said was offensive, it was also downright bizarre. Chances are, if you're not Japanese, you don't know much about the propaganda techniques used to turn people against them over a half century ago.
Was Romer picking events out of a hat? A little to the left and we'd be talking about the Spanish-American War? At least then he could have closed with a rousing, "Remember the Maine!" The kids always love that.
Japanese-Americans should have responded with a simple, "Don't bring us into your spitting contest," and Villaraigosa could have exclaimed, "You're talking crazy, man!"
I could understand it if this were something said off the cuff, but this was a big speech for Romer. He should have written it out on index cards and read it to a friend for some constructive criticism. Anyone with a P.C. barometer would have sensed it wasn't a good line.
All of this acrimony could be put to rest if Romer would just give Mayor Villaraigosa what he wants: the power to name lots of schools after himself. Maybe even be the inspiration for a new mascot ("The Fightin' Antonios?").
This is almost as bad as the time I compared my laundry pile to the Hindenburg disaster, but now I'm talking crazy.
Posted by Greg Sidor at July 21, 2006 02:17 AM