Shawn Nelson Apologizes--Sort of

• I have found some of the most awesome link building tips

• hey shawn you are a waste of time !

• I left out that I meant that Shawn Nelson has the eraser tip head, so make sure to turn him up side down and erase all the mistakes he has ever made. I forgive him and you should too. But after you are done erasing all of Shawn Nelsons mistakes, make sure to walk Dr. Dick Jones across the street by holding his hand and stopping traffic, I worry about that guy. I will make sure to address this blog and my thoughts at the next city council meeting. You will be able to find me in the front wearing an expensive blazer jacket that I got on sale for only about $20 bucks. But whos in the hot seat, not me, it could be, but I am not at this time. I plan on running next election.

• My friend, Shawn Nelson, is a fine smart man. He is a human being and will make a mistake every once in a while. We all do and that is what the eraser is at the other end of the pencil for. I can find it in my heart to forgive him for that. Respectfully, Ralph G. Baker Jr.

• no offense, gangs or gang members that are latino will not sit there and listen to a non latino about how "to make it out of the hood". SO unless latinos will be doing these anti gang programs, dont bother. reason being, latino youth can relate to a latino roll model and WILL listen to what they have to say about how they got out or what they can do to stay out or what. you ask your self why, because they know that they have lived in something like they do most likely. bottom line, they can relate to them and the youth knows that. trust me, when i was young, i would laugh at the teachers face when they would try to be "urban" with me and told them never to disrespect me again and that they need to go back to ucla or usc and actually walk off the campus at night a couple of blocks and then tell me whats up. One teacher even tried to use the, " you probably think that this old white lady doesn't know whats up" and i told her," your right, i do think that, cuz you told me where you came from and what schools you went to. you have never lived in a varrio so please no sermons please." I know i shouldnt have done that cuz they where most likely trying to help, however, it seemed like they where in a movie. SO LATINO LEADERS FOR OUR LATINO YOUTH TO STOP GANG VOILENCE.

• Mrs. Kennedy, The rise of Asian and Hispanic gang activity in Fullerton will remain as long as Hispanic and Asian parents remain working class, which is what largely the population of Hispanic and Asian families in Fullerton is made up of. Because fathers or father figures are working in their attempts to maintain the middle class lifestyle that is fastly erroding in this country, they are not around their sons to present an alternative hope. Teens cling for an identity and gangs are an easy fix at giving them something they can claim with pride. There are no stripes in high school social circles for being an 'A' student but "respect" is given to gang members and so teens gravitate towards such memberships. The solution lies with what community outreach programs have managed to accomplish with limited success in South Central Los Angeles with black gangs. While those same solutions have had nominal impact on gangs in East Los Angeles Hispanic neighborhoods, they have had success in Compton and Carson. Perhaps the city government needs to invite those community leaders into a meeting and get ideas from them on how to begin turning the tide. That is my two cents anyway Mrs. Kennedy, whatever it is worth...and may I say again, great paper. Lastly, Baxter, you write how you have no ax to grind in regards to Shawn Nelson, but you are taking the things he says to others very personally. And remarking about them in a very personal manner, so you do have somewhat of a bone to pick (however, legit) with the Councilman. You mention developer cronies, and I am not certain what you mean by that, but you seem to throw that out there as some sort of knock on Nelson that he appreciates development. I am not certain if you noticed my friend, but Fullerton has grown exponentially since I was in my youth. You cannot sustain that kind of population growth, which started long before Nelson was on the city council, without active development. Nelson being pro-business and not pro-more home building is a pretty good thing as far as I am concerned as a resident sitting in traffic on Harbor, or Commonwealth, or Bastanchury, or Malvern. But you are a good man Baxter for pointing out the puzzling behavior of Don Bankhead, who really has lost his sense of public opinion and has no pulse on governing a diverse community like Fullerton. Even Mrs. Kennedy's great paper rarely does that. PS Fullerton with Pride

• Gustavo - thought you would be interested in case you haven't heard, there will be a public meeting about the murals at the Maple Community Center in Lemon Park on Lemon just south of the murals. May 27 at 7pm.

• I coached my children and helped out in their classrooms and attended PTA meetings, etc. But now they are over 35 with kids of their own. I think most of us, whatever stage of life we are in, have not done enough to change the conditions that cause gangs. We, who fit in that category, can all start now. Of course, as has been pointed out, this has nothing to do with the murals. Renovating them seems like the best idea. Maybe hire local neighborhood kids to do the work like in the original project when they were created.

• Shame on you Shawn for using your own children for political gain: " I have stepped forward, volunteered, filled a need and sought no credit other than the true satisfaction of helping the kids. Please spell out exactly what ACTION you have engaged in to actually help our youth for once" If that is true why do you bring it up in this conversation. You are a father and it is you duty as a father to help coach you own children's team. You have now shown your true motives for coaching your own children and that is to get some political mileage from it and one up Ms. Kennedy.

• ... but kanani, I think you are forgetting that the team he coaches is fully integrated and that some of the parents are not married. :) If this were the 1950�s it would be right scandalous. The main thing here, however, is that Shawn Nelson and any other council members that may have prejudged the murals are now given the opportunity to understand that they represent different things to different people, all of us calling Fullerton home. The murals are much more than just a canvas for gangs. It seems clear Nelson did not expect this kind of public response, but to his credit he has agreed to meet with members of the neighbored and to break bread with Chris. Out of these meetings, and if public pressure continues, hopefully in the end reason will prevail and the murals will be refurbished.

• Shawn, Don't bring out the non-sequiturs, or your quibbling with others with whom you have long standing disagreements. I don't care about how many hours a day you coach, nor do I care about how much you've done for public transit, the Republican parties or for the image of beer bellied DILFS at the Thursday market. Oh yuck. That just makes me feel like spewing my organic produce. The total removal of the mural will only lead to more tagging of the white space. Best to get the neighborhood involved in an organized effort to restore the murals, and add more across the archway and down the stairs. Make it a project, involve many, and work for positive change. As for your choice of words, well, those are your words. Best just to own up to your trash and pick it up.

• I think "Remember The Norton Simon" should be a rallying cry in regards to the pitiful way art has been shucked through this city's history. Click my url to find out.

• Looks like we know what to do about keeping kids out of gangs. The ideas brought up are so simple. Are we doing any of those things in our city? If we aren't why aren't we?

• And he coaches football. That adds a few dozen fantasies. WOOOF!!

• Councilman Nelson, Your proposal to paint over the Murals is to say lets paint over a part of history that has been in the City of Fullerton since 1979. Murals are the "cultural fabric" of barrios in Fullerton and across the nation and for you to suggest to paint over them is to say that you do not care about a communities pride when they see the murals and the stories they tell on a daily basis. Muralist painters take pride in the murals they paint and the stories that are told from them. I understand your concern about the gang affiliation but seriously murals DO NOT have any affiliation with gangs it is the "tagging" and "graffiti". You really need to educate yourself more on the background and the meaning of murals Councilman. Your proposal could construde as in some peoples eyes a "racial action" and could cost you dearly in the next election. If it's the gangs you are worried about then you need to take the following steps, 1)Have more city funded job training or after school programs to keep kids off the streets between the hours of 3 to 5 pm. Also key is to get the parents involved. 2) The City and School Districts should join together and come up with a comprehensive plan to address the needs of "at risk" youth. 3) The city should approach local businesses and create jobs for students that want to work and learn new skills. 4) Give more funding to the Police Department to address the need of gang activity and deal with it swiftly and appropriately. Once again councilman do your homework, read about the history of the importance of murals. Take a field trip to "Chicano Park" in San Diego and visit the murals they have there and the history behind that park before you consider making a politically costly one as you propose.

• Mr. Nelson The real problem here is the gang activity in Fullerton. Painting over murals is not going to solve the problem. Instead why don't you and your cronies that have amassed a fortune over the years pumping cocktails into the 909er's open up a restaurant downtown. That restaurant would only employ at risk teens, ex gang members and gang members. In this establishment you can train these residents to become chef, servers, bartenders and learn all aspects of the restaurant industry. Then instead of hanging around the streets all day tagging and selling drugs they can learn a skill that will pay them a living wage someday. I am sure you can get a some money from the redevelopment agency to start this endeavor. Since we want to call Fullerton the "Education City" why not get the High School District and Fullerton College involved too. If these at risks kids have opportunities to learn a trade I am sure this will do more to ease the gang problem than painting over murals.

• So it's settled. Sancho: gracias for volunteering--keep the vigilance. Shawn: Gracias for being open to criticism, although no need to bash Sharon and Baxter for her own type of community activism. I'll await the YouTube question...

• Sure, David- thanks for the definitions. What I was asking is what do you mean by the comment?

• Sancho, Deal! Happy to splurge for the De Anda also but those burritos are too big. Gotta go with the tacos myself. E-mail me if you would. I believe my personal e-mail was posted on the original blog. Thanks for the offer. Ms. Kennedy, I realize you don't want to believe this could be true but I am the head coach of our 10 and 11 year old pop warner football team. Its a minor commitment consisting of 2 and 1/2 hours a day, every day except Sunday starting August first until the last Saturday in October. Who do you think is on my team? Seventy five percent are hispanic and many of them are from single mother households. Feel free to ask Jesus Silva as he was invited as one of our weekly inspirational community leaders to come speak to the team. You are welcome to come volunteer for our team and I will accept you with open arms despite the fact that you wouldn't say a kind word about me if I saved your house from burning down. I am very curious what exactly you have done in the last few years to help the youth in Fullerton other than whine and sound bitter. Pointing out the obvious need for solutions does nothing. I have stepped forward, volunteered, filled a need and sought no credit other than the true satisfaction of helping the kids. Please spell out exactly what ACTION you have engaged in to actually help our youth for once. Remember, Gustavo has no size limit so feel free to give plenty of detail. By the way, I failed to notice your presence at the Boys and Girls Club golf tournament (you could have volunteered if not paid to play) two Mondays ago. I'm always at these event but I never run in to you. Why is that? After all, their core mission is to provide an alternative to gangs.

• (Sharon Kennedy can join to help her assuage some of her bourgeois guilt) Zenger - what does this mean? Assuage means to lessen or make less severe; bourgeois means of, or pertaining to the middle class.

• Ok ok, here it goes boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, dudes and chics, bros and babes, homies and homegirls, cholos and hynas, as you can read above my name is Chris Sanchez and YES, that is my YOUTUBE video that was posted up there, and don't you worry, I have patted myself on the back many of times. I reposted the youtube video after a few adjustments i had to make. here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UwR810Ne8 and if you would like to read why i reposted, go to the place for friends that we call myspace, link is here: www.myspace.com/thetownilive I know corny right, but hey, it works. Its in a blog I posted why I reposted the video. but what I am commenting on right now is the comment that Council member Shawn Nelson wrote up earlier to Baxter and Gustavo. -Shawn, after seeing your comment to these gentlemen I thought I might as well as step in now. After all, the blog started off because of MY GREAT WORK/youtube video. So Mr. Nelson I am offering you this, 1.To MEET ME AT THE MURAL SITE ON LEMON ST. AND WE CAN DISCUSS THE MURALS 2. I WILL VIDEO TAPE YOUR QUESTION TO GUSTAVO SO WE CAN GET YOU ON "ASK A MEXICAN YOUTUBE" 3.I AM OFFERING TO EDIT THE VIDEO ANY WHICH WAY YOU WANT IT ON THE TOPIC THAT YOU WILL BE ASKING GUSTAVO AND I WILL NOT POST IT UP UNTIL IT IS UP TO YOUR STANDARDS NOR WILL I USE ANY OF THAT FOOTAGE AGAINST YOU IN ANY OTHER VIDEO I POST (because i am sure there are more to come) 4.I AM ONLY WILLING TO EDIT THE VIDEO FOR YOU ON YOUR QUESTION TO GUSTAVO IF ME AND YOU WALK TO TAQUEARIA DE ANDA LOCATED ON HIGHLAND AND VALENCIA AND YOU BUY ME A BURRITO AND MAYBE A TACO AS WELL (nothing is free any more and those are my rates) AND A HORCHATA (mexican drink made up of rice milk) So Mr. Nelson, that is my offer to you. The video that we record can ONLY a video on asking a question to Gustavo and asking him/a Mexican only, nothing else. We will record the video at the mural site. And on my part, I will be the only one attending this along with my brother(thats a maybe). You may bring as may people as you want to this video session because this is going to be a history in the making, so i am sure someone is going to want a kodak moment or something. If you agree to meet with me, I WILL NOT TELL ANY ONE WHEN WE WILL MEET NOR WHAT DAY. please email me that way we may make arrangements. I can tell you right now that I am not available this sun-tuesday. other then that, I WILL MAKE TIME FOR YOU SR. A PROUD FULLERTON CITIZEN, Chris Sanchez aka Sancho

• (Sharon Kennedy can join to help her assuage some of her bourgeois guilt) Zenger - what does this mean? I wish there could be such a hearty discussion about what we can offer kids as an alternative to gang membership. Anyone interested in the often disgraceful and pompus way Mr. Nelson speaks to people who come before the council with a request can tune into the city council streaming video at www.cityoffullerton.com

• Just so Nelson does not feel like he is being picked on, lets start another blog called "Don Bankhead is a moron". At the same meeting Bankhead said something to the effect of "librarians should not read to kids they are there to keep people quiet" ... then two weeks later at the next council meeting a librarian was named "educator of the year". You can't make stuff like this up.

• Shawn, more often than not your votes are on the wrong side of the issues and you bully, interrupt and belittle citizens that come before the Council for public comment. If there is a fantasy in this mix it�s you thinking you are a man of the people. I do not know you personally, I do not own a business in Fullerton, I do not compete with you or your developer cronies in any way, and you have not done me any personal injustice. I assure you I do not have an ax to grind. I simply dislike your brand of politics and your lack of empathy. You have terrible political instincts and your knee jerk reaction is always to side with business interest over the private citizen. But let�s not forget what this blog is all about. You lashed out a few weeks ago without doing your homework and YOU referred to a culturally significant mural, with which more than just gang members identify, as �THAT CRAP�. I think your best move at this point is to be humble, keep your plans to meet with local citizens, allow yourself to be educated and to go from there. I�m quite certain that �ground zero� as you call it, and gang rivalry are more than capable of adapting if the murals are removed. You are only pretending to address the problem. Happy almost Earth Day, -bax

• "The mural with the clasped hands and the Mexican flag facing west under the walk area descending into the park has historically read "Fullerton" above and "Tokers Town" below the hands" Just goes to show how bad my memory is. Although I've lived in Anaheim a number of years I've driven up Lemon countless times, and my recollection was that there were only initials - although your description sounds right - in gothic-type script(?). "You have as much familiarity as I do with prior councils in Fullerton so your suspicion is as good as mine." The issue of the propriety of the imagery was brought up several years ago by Barbara Marr. Don Bankhead said that he thought Fullerton Tokers Town was a "car club."

• Truth here not fantasy. Baxter is no fan of mine and has an ax to grind regardless of the details surrounding the current issue. If he looks at the facts he will see I have done more to open our city to public participation (other than the old who's who in Fullerton) than any predecessor I am aware of. More often my efforts have been to the benefit of my critics and have been opposed by the traditional Republicans (my party). I want the issues discussed and, in case you missed it Baxter, I kept this discussion going by responding to the blog yesterday. I dare say if my motive was to distance myself from a potentially heated discussion it would have been easier/wiser to stay quiet and let things die down. As far as the murals go I would be happy to meet Baxter at the site and we can discuss how West Anaheim sees this site as ground zero for laying down the challenge to FTT. These murals are tagged multiple times each week by both West Anaheim (or some working on their marketing efforts) and then ad hoc repairs are made by FTT usually with spray paint. Our maintenance service department is busy with graffiti in general but this area provides additional challenge due to they fact they just cant bust out the roller. Time to stop the sniping and lets work on a solution. Baxter fails to address the fact the the NEIGHBORS (lead by a hispanic female resident of 43 years) came to the city asking us to get rid of some of the murals. Maybe those neighbors see that I treat their neighborhood as I would treat my own. Zenger: The mural with the clasped hands and the Mexican flag facing west under the walk area descending into the park has historically read "Fullerton" above and "Tokers Town" below the hands. Someone pointed this out in the blog the other day as you can see it in the You Tube video. The "Tokers Town" portion is regularly painted over and "Anaheim" added with that crossed out and FTT or some other nonsense spray painted over it. How the city ever allowed "Tokers Town" on an mural in the first place is beyond reason. You have as much familiarity as I do with prior councils in Fullerton so your suspicion is as good as mine.

• BTW - Didn't you come up with SOCO Shawn? No, that dubious distinction belongs to Chris Norby.

• Shawn: It's not that difficult--ask your kid or something. Dave: Agree on all points Baxter: Let's see if Shawn responds!

• Shawn is a bully and is now just doing damage control ... he had no idea these stupid arrogant comments would strike a nerve with the community and now he is trying to be all jokey and fun guy trying stop what could be a big issue during an election year. Shawn has seen what the Weekly can do when they want to expose a political douche bag and he fears being at the receiving end of it. The only thing Nelson has ever "Asked A Mexican" involved yard work or getting his plate cleared. Certainly not community feedback ... but better late than never. The last thing Nelson wants is for Hispanics in that neighborhood to go out and vote or organize for someone running against him. Lets also keep in mind that the only mural that was in question during the infamous council meeting is the one Shawn referred to as "that crap" the Chevy, and he could not even remember that it said "The Town I Live In". Mr. Nelson has probably driven past these murals hundreds of times, and never thought anything about them except that they are some kind of ethnic (thus gang) eyesore. It's nice that he is now getting educated on the subject, but for a life long Fullerton resident it's pretty pathetic that he was this clueless and it speaks volumes about who he feels he represents on the Council. BTW - Didn't you come up with SOCO Shawn? I've seen more than one dumb ass, Limp Bizkit looking thug in the downtown bars with a SOCO tattoo. Wanna cover that "crap" up too?

• This issue highlights some of the pitfalls of art in public places, or more specifically, art on public property. The ensuing discussion is always (well, almost always) healthy. Gustavo's reference to the history of the Plummer mural is accurate, although as both an artist and an historian I feel compelled to say that the images on the Lemon St. bridge suffer in comparison to Charles Kassler's fresco - a portrayal of Mexican California; the latter is a masterpiece of great power by a great artist. By contrast, the Lemon Overpass murals are folk art - nonetheless worthy of preservation, but, understandably, not as likely to garner public appreciation. Also, the murals have suffered detrioration over the years and in desuetude are not exactly attractive. Finally, the west abutment was indeed adorned with the letters FTT (I haven't looked lately to see if they are still there) in gothic script - the monogram of Fullerton Tokers Town - the gang of central Fullerton's barrio. I suggest that if the community is eager to preserve these murals that they form a committee and raise funds to restore them - just like we did for the Kassler mural restoration (Sharon Kennedy can join to help her assuage some of her bourgeois guilt). Then the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency can kick in some matching funds - just like they did on the Kassler project. Sharon Quirk - MILF? Eeeeew.

• Get real! Shawn Nelson gets about every tenth issue right. Lucky for Mayor Quirk that he got that vote right (after she voted for him last year). Nelson caves into pressure way too often to be considered effective. His ignorance of the history of Fullerton neighborhoods is not a suprise. The murals depict a time and feelings of his community. They are not disrepectful of the present and should be preserved. ...and MILF/DILF? Just what do you think goes on at Fullerton Council Meetings? Maybe thats why he's called Don #@*&head...

• I just figure out what the deal is with blogs and now I have to know how to upload a question on to YouTube? Way too high tech for me. How about Gustavo meets me at the murals with a cam corder and he figures out the tech part?

• Surprised you agree, Rich. But daddies like Shawn are a dime a dozen at the Thursday Night Farmer's Market Beer Garden. I promise to share with you if you promise the same. LOL

• hey man, its chris, i mean sancho, i mean chris, i mean........just kidding its both.lol. hey I messaged you on this great thing that all the cool kids are doing these days...........its called MYSPACE. check your mail there. i sent you something on there. more to come.

• Publius: he's a total DILF. I'd hit that!

• Gotta upload a question, Shawn--you should ask the Mexican what he thinks of murals!

• <I>When do I get to be on "Ask a Mexican" You Tube edition?</I> Shawn - film your question and post it to Youtube.

• So Gustavo took the easy shot bashing on the 562 stepchild of the rest of OC. La Habra might not have the flashy murals of Fullerton, but we have managed to preserve two of our 3 historic barrios - AltaVista and Campo Colorado remain but Campo Corona was demolished in the late 60s. You should come up to Guadalahabra and take a look. Of course the recent gentrification was a part of the mural issue in Fullerton. The folks buying the lofts in the "SoCo" district and paying exorbitant rents for the new downtown apartments don't want to be reminded they live a few blocks from the barrio on their daily drives from the 91 freeway. But Shawn is a good guy, who I think really keeps the best interests of Fullerton in mind. As tough as it is for me to admit, he's one Republican who understands why local office is non-partisan. A marked improvement from the party hacks he replaced. And Councilman Nelson is something of a DILF himself, don't you think?

• When do I get to be on "Ask a Mexican" You Tube edition?

• Fullerton must have term limits. How tah they know what way to take a city in the future if they know not its colorful past.

• A fan! Aw, Shawn, I expect more from you, in that case! But with your measured comments on this blog, readers at least know you're open to hear complaints, are man enough to admit mistakes, and will respond back, traits sorely lacking in most county politicians. For that, you're to be commended. And seriously: nuke the cholos, but keep those murals--they're better than anything La Habra might have.

• Gustavo, You got me on misquoting the mural for sure. Of note, I agree gentrification may be at work but the most vocal resident asking for change at the community meeting that started all this has been in the area for 43 years. Go figure. By the way, I had never seen this blog prior to today and got a big kick out of the "Ask a Mexican"

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