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| Does Neil say "Tax me Goose?" |
Gene Goss: I am pleased to announce that SierraMadreNews.net has endorsed me for City Council. I am very honored to receive their support!
This claim of endorsement, which includes a link to the actual SierraMadreNews.net website, was made back on February 26. Being a curious fellow with a burning need to know, I clicked on that link. And after having looked over the entire SMNews.net page quite carefully, I could find no endorsement there of Mr. Goss. Or any other City Council candidate for that matter.
There was a press release about twenty Sierra Madre couples renewing their marriage vows at a Valentine's Day Rotary Club function. As you certainly must know, nothing says enduring love more than a room filled with Rotarians. Dress up in appropriate business attire and try it sometime. But I digress.
Now perhaps the normally phlegmatic Gene Goss was very excited by this possible SMNews.net endorsement, and wanted everyone to know all about so prestigious a political coup, even before it actually occurred. We have all fallen prey to overeagerness at times. But Gene's claim was posted to his Facebook page a full week ago. You'd think this endorsement would have occurred by now.
It also must be pointed out that while Gene states that he is proud to have received "their endorsement," as far as I know SierraMadreNews.net is still just Bill "Rooster" Coburn. And unless Bill has added some new personalities to the rather grumpy one he has had for a while now, we are talking about a single person here. Hopefully Bill only votes once.
However, a potentially far more influential endorsement is also claimed by Professor Goss, this one allegedly coming from Sierra Madre's most widely beloved four legged creature, the celebrated Neil the Pig.
Now I can understand why a candidate whose tax crazy campaign is not exactly lighting up anyone's life might feel the need to turn to the animal kingdom for support. But this particular endorsement does raise a question or two, at least in my mind.
The first deals with the issue of overweening anthropomorphic assumptions and the possibly detrimental denial by Mr. Goss of Neil's sense of pigness. Here is how WikiFur (Wikipedia for animals) defines it (link):
Anthropomorphic is a word which literally means "human shaped" (from the Greek anthrōpos (human being) + morphē (shape). It is used to describe a concept called anthropomorphism, or ascribing human characteristics to non-human beings or objects. Typically, this is used in reference to deities, which are usually given the form of humans. However, the word can apply to any non-human thing, including animals, plants, and inanimate objects … In a literary sense, there is a difference between ascribing human traits to an object (anthropomorphism), or to an abstract concept (personification).
We all like to imagine that our animal friends have certain human characteristics. I mean, who among us hasn't asked a cat or dog for their opinion about something. But is this really appropriate in an election? Can we really say that a pig has made a choice in a City Council election? That is without interfering with the right of that pig to be who he is, and all that he has ever hoped to be?
Now you might think I am attempting some form of dry humor here, but really I'm not. Because by claiming that Neil the Pig has endorsed Gene Goss for City Council, you have put him into the unfortunate position of working against his own interests. Something he unable to do anything about.
Last November the Sierra Madre Weekly printed an excellent article titled "Portly pot belly pig prevails over politics - Neil the Pig stays in Sierra Madre" (link). As you review this piece note the role played by major Gene Goss political backer Mayor Nancy Walsh. As anyone can clearly see, Mayor Walsh is no friend to Neil the Pig.
Some likened it to Charlotte's Web, but a Sierra Madre porcine's predicament went far and beyond anything E.B. White could have written or imagined.
The whole episode actually started out as a simple request from resident Dr. Katherine Emerson about a rather noisy rooster in a neighbor's yard that had been disturbing the peace for some time and waking people up at all hours apparently.
According to Emerson, she had contacted the city several times and got no results two months ago when she complained about the rooster's existence ... which is a violation of city ordinance.
Emerson, who 'phoned the city on Tuesday last week was told by City Manager Elaine Aguilar that the situation was "being handled."
Within 2 hours of that phone conversation, the Pasadena Humane Society was at Emerson's door complete with a citation to have her pet pot belly pig Neil removed from the City of Sierra Madre limits due to a "code violation." Emerson told Beacon Media, "that would have killed Neil ... a modern day Charlotte's Web indeed."
Emerson said this wasn't a mere coincidence. "The City had never before contacted me about Neil, or any code violation." Emerson also stated that she feels Elaine Aguilar is "not doing her job," and believes the decision to target Neil was politically motivated due to upcoming elections. "Even the Mayor (Nancy Walsh) was not on Neil's side," Emerson said.
Now if you were Neil the Pig, would you endorse a candidate who is strongly supported by a Mayor that, just a few months back, was perfectly willing to see you heartlessly deported from what had been your happy home for 17 years?
Something that, as Neil's caretaker Dr. Katherine Emerson asserts, could have sent him to an untimely death? I certainly hope not.
Politics is just not clean enough for the likes of Neil to be involved.
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