True Colors

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

Got a note from a colleague saying, in effect, “You know real estate law, you’d be an asset to the group, why don’t you participate in more bar association stuff?”   I’d respond but I can predict how the conversation will go:

I’m not in The Liberal Lawyer’s Club because I’m not a Liberal lawyer.

It’s not a Liberal Lawyer’s club, it’s for all lawyers, but even if it were, you should be a Liberal;  all lawyers should be Liberal lawyers because we’re so welcoming and tolerant of diversity.

No, you’re only tolerant of things that don’t matter.  For things that do matter, you’re shunning and intolerant.  For example, a case comes to court, the Plaintiff is White and the Defendant is Black, who wins?

The color of the parties doesn’t matter, only the facts and law matter.

Okay, second example, the Plaintiff’s lawyer is a Straight man, the Defendant’s lawyer is a Lesbian, who wins?

Again, the gender and sexual orientation of the lawyers doesn’t matter, only the facts and law matter.

Yet the bar association is obsessed with color, gender and sexual orientation.  You have committees and outreach programs for every one of the Things That You Say Don’t Matter.  But half the state voted for Conservative Norm Coleman over Liberal Al Franken so half the lawyers in the state ought to lean Conservative, too.  But there are no programs for Conservative lawyers, no committees, no outreach to the half the lawyers in the state who are not bar association members, perhaps because you’re not open and tolerant of diversity of opinion, perhaps because Conservatives are not welcome?

Well, of course we don’t welcome haters, sexists, bigots and homophobes.  If that’s the kind of horrid person you are, we wouldn’t want you to participate in bar association stuff.

Exactly . . . .

It also works for Saint Paul community council groups.

One thought on “True Colors

  1. We had a Center-Right takeover of the Highland Park District Council back in 2009. The problem with that is the council was, at best, an “advisory” board. In other words, we had no power.
    Too often we held public meetings so the City Council didn’t have to host or listen. My favorite was several meetings with people complaining that Big Bad Corporate (nationwide) Walgreens wanted to muscle out the small, neighborhood (multinational) Snyder’s.

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