Posting a podcast at 2 a.m.—that’s the kind of week it’s been.
The episode ends up being more or less a mutual talk therapy session on how to process the profoundly dehumanizing, deceptive and malicious attack that Candy Mero-Carlson and Joe Petty have launched against Thu Nguyen this week. We pick apart their statements, dismantle their thin arguments about attendance, and talk about what to do with who they showed themselves to be. Then a visit from Dr. Fingers.
(This podcast is now available on all the major podcast players: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Pocket Casts (idk what that is) and you can add it to any other sort of player with this RSS link.)
Etel’s statement on Candy calling her a liar
Worcester Havurah’s statement in support of Thu
The Dr. Fingers image from St. V’s
Usually I’d have a written post up by now but this week we’re trying podcast first then a written piece on the same subject matter. It’s going to be a nice experiment seeing how I can play off an already-released podcast in my writing. Anyway. Listeners rejoice, readers hang tight! —Bill
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Congrats to Bill on managing to keep it to a low level of mad throughout the show.
lol it was a constant struggle thank you thank you
As the only one who could see his face while recording, Bill was close to the edge like Grandmaster Flash in "The Message"
I talked to Jenny yesterday, she said a statement in support of Thu is forthcoming. Just waiting for that to come into fruition
Great! Looking forward to it
I'm glad to hear. People who are in Jenny's district should do what you did and ask her about it.
She also just announced she’s not running again
Just circling back to say that almost nine days in, literally the only City Councilor who has not said ANYTHING, not a single fucking word, is Jenny Pacillo. No press release, and not a solitary word in hours of discussion at Council.
I frankly don't care about how she voted, we didn't need her vote and couldn't have anticipated it anyway because she's not said a word as she apparently promised people she would. If you can't in over a week form an opinion that you can publicly articulate, politics just isn't for you.
I've tried to be patient, but I'm done.
She posted on Facebook on Saturday. It wasn’t posted anywhere else so I imagine a lot of folks didn’t see it. I don’t think it was enough, but she did say something
Yeah this was my error, I missed it because I don't follow her Facebook page. I also agree that it was a very weak statement.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/194Fp7PRYa/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Hi Bill, long-time subscriber, first time commenting,
I really appreciate all the hard work that you and your colleagues do at Worcester Sucks. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know anything about what's happening in this city. However, sometimes I feel that the "investigative" aspect of Worcester Sucks is left behind. For example, did Joe Petty really just make a mistake a few years ago when he misgendered Councilor Nguyen or is the misgendering a deliberate show of disrespect? I can only speak for myself when I say that several years ago when pronoun uses first became an issue, I also sometimes stumbled and fell, never through maliciousness, but just because it was a new way of addressing people. I would never want anyone to think I'm transphobic because I made a mistake. This is where the investigative part comes in. Can you find out? Can you talk to people at city hall and find out what the heck is actually going on there beyond the he said, she said? It seems like city hall is a very toxic environment, and as I bump along the terrible city roads, my heart breaking at the sight of homeless people in doorways and lying on pavements, it seems to me that all of them, Councillors Nguyen, Petty, Mero-Carlson and Haxjia need to put their big pants on and do the job they were elected to do, not engaging in gossip and backstabbing.
Hey tess thanks for writing! Appreciate the kind words. In this episode you can find my thoughts on incidental and accidental misgendering at the 15 minute mark. I say what you're saying I'm not saying. The transphobic part is calling someone "it" on purpose, not letting a he or a she slip by accident. I wouldnt be worried about it if you approach the world with an open heart. No one is coming for you with pitchforks just catch yourself say sorry move on.
On the investigation front, I do plenty, thank you very much. What you're asking me to do isn't investigation. Check Thu's instagram for a clip of petty. Going beyond 'the he said she said' and figuring out the root causes is something this episode does, I think.
I think to conflate Petty and Mero-Carlson's behavior with the pattern of harassment Nguyen and Etel have experienced since arriving at city hall is reductive and insulting. One camp holds all the levers of power over the city with the potholes and the visible homelessness, the other is trying to make small changes for the better, and they're being made to eat constant shit for it, as is manifest in this assessment.
Anyway hope that helps thanks for writing