Elsmere (El Smear): Making Dreams come true, For Tom Tancredo
I’m going to submit my new town slogan for Elsmere today “Making up laws that only white supremacists could dream up”
The slogan they have now, doesn’t quite send the message I think they are looking to spread. It shouldn’t be…”A wonderful place to live”….It should be “A wonderful place to live if you look like us and act our way and do everything we whitey’s say you should.”
of course I could be wrong in assuming it is a bunch of white people in the town council
Maybe they’re looking for new fine opportunities so they can buy bigger and better fire trucks?
Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of tickytacky
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same
There’s a
greenbrown one and apinkbrown one and abluebrown one and ayellowbrown oneAnd they’re all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.
….no doubt this is racially motivated.
Would it be OK for the Patriot diner to be painted red, white and blue? I’m guessing it probably would be.
Golly Von Cracker, I haven’t thought of that song for a long time. I must have a Pete Seeger recording somewhere.
But you reminded me that I used to love Tom Lehrer — are you old enough to remember him? And “That Was The Week That Was” aka TW3. What great television that was.
Sad that these things are still timely after forty
years.
Given that the restaurant in question is immune (ex post facto law, you know), such an ordinance would only effect new businesses or businesses, or businesses that wanted a fresh coat of paint.
When I lived in Hockessin, my daughters went to Corpus Christi School in Elsmere, and I really didn’t see anything attractive in the city. At least someone is trying to do something to spruce it up.
Actually Rebecca, I know the song mostly from the show “Weeds”. But I do remember listening to it as a child…along with me moms Dan Fogelberg, Steely Dan, and 10cc vinyl albums… 😉
I thought it would be appropriate given the non-threatening, carbon-copy wishes of the SmellsHere town council member(s)…..
To put this issue in perspective, if Jimmy Buffet owned that joint, I’m sure this guy wouldn’t be bitchin’. He’d more likely say that it’s great to have some caribbean/latin pastel colors….
I’m not a constitutional lawyer or anything, but how does a municipality legislate against paint?
Good point, Tommy. I’ve heard of neighborhood associations doing this type of thing, but I wonder if this tripe will pass Constitutional muster. I wonder if Elsmere even has even consulted with a lawyer…
Since some were referring to music in this thread, I am thinking (and I wholeheartedly apologize in advance) of Styx: “Too Much Time on My Hands.” This council obviously has way too much.
I wonder if that color combination still offends them when they drive a couple of miles north, into the Italian section of Wilmington?
Jaremchuk’s on your side, Smitty. Maybe you should ask him?
Mr Matthews wrote:
One would hope that the town wouldn’t be taking such all the way to the Supreme Court to find out, but local governments have all sorts of regulatory power concerning signage, awnings and overhangs, sidewalk width and maintenance, whether a restaurant can put tables out front, just all sorts of little things. You might think that paint schemes would be treated differently somehow, but I wouldn’t bet the mortgage payment on it.
I’m sure Elsmere can legally do this. The point is that it’s no coincidence that the building in questions is some sort of Mexican supermarket or restaurant. With Elsmere’s history of taking the Dobbsian position on immigrants. It is tacit racism veiled in quasi-patriotism. I grew up literally two minutes from Elsmere just on the other side of Richardson Park. Elsmere has always been teeming with trashy white folks, but no one seemed to care. But if those same beer swilling working-class people drink Tecate rather than Budweiser, now we have a problem. It’s joke, and Elsmere is a joke.
How many people can we pack into this place for the next Drinking Liberally?
We call the town “El Smear” It is a name that they are living up to in everyway.
Dana,
The statement was meant more as an abstract. No, this obviously won’t go nearly as high to the Supreme Court. But, someone on my blog makes a great point; had this red, green, and white been on an Italian joint, I’m doubtful anyone would have crowed nearly as much about it.
Mr Matthews: Why?
After all, the ordinance doesn’t affect the restaurant in question. The linked story doesn’t give the owner’s name or ethnicity; it simply tells us that the cuisine is Mexican. The owner could easily be a Texan!
I think they hate Texans in El Smear also.
Anon – Sweet idea. we should hit this spot for the next DE Lib drinkfest.
Dana – I fear you’re being a bit credulous. This particular place is grandfathered in, but it is the impetus behind the effort. If it was painted lily-white my guess is there would have been no compliant. No compliant… no issue.
Sheesh, Mike (Matthews). Because I am an ‘R,’ he’s on my side? Bush is an ‘R’ and I think he’s a jackass. I consider Jemerechuk (sp?) where I consider Schaeffer…as far away from me as possible. They represent nothing of me. If we have anything in common, it’s accidental, but I can tell you, this crap ain’t it! I also guess you missed my comment about how’d they feel about it being Italian above. Then again, you got hung up on the ‘R’. Not very typical of you, what gives?