Abandoning The City You Don't Understand? Good Riddance!

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 12, 2017 7:21PM

Getty Images / Scott Olsen

The Tribune generally does excellent and essential work, especially in terms of reporting, so it's never a joyful feeling when we feel compelled to rebuke their more head-scratching, groaner editorial choices—turd stomps such as John Kass' "feral boys" column or the editorial board's anti-bike screeds or look-at-me presidential endorsement stunts, or the unforgettably bad attempt to see the upsides of Hurricane Katrina's devastation. On Wednesday the Trib published an inflammatory, trolling letter to the editor that sadly took that common denominator—ill-formed provocation—to extremes.

The letter, I'm leaving Chicago and I'm never coming back, comes courtesy of one Brandon Vezmar, president of The Messaging Company, a Texas-based media consultancy firm that, according to its site, translates “communication into pursuasion" (sic)—a claim that might require several thousands of grains of salt.

Vezmar—who also penned a pseudo-provocative, word-salad essay against the "grievance industry" (hi!) in 2015 at Medium— begins by illustrating his not entirely deep ties to Chicago: growing outside of the city proper, in Hammond; attending college downtown; living here "off and on" for the extended length of three whole years; and recently returning for most of a year's time in part to attend to his sick mother. All of that time leaves Vezmar convinced that Chicago has "become hell on Earth for any thinking person with a modicum of self-respect."

In fairness, that's long enough to have developed some thoughts about your place of residence—or at least the corners in which you traffic—even if it doesn't scream robust commitment.

The kicker is what follows, emphases ours:

"The caustic combination of corrupt politicians with nothing but contempt for the public; a police force so broken down in spirit it visibly resents interaction with even law-abiding citizens; a criminal underclass empowered by the incessant drone of liberal rhetoric wandering the streets posing clear and present danger to everyone around them; and the enablers, who are everywhere, to say nothing of the ugly, decaying infrastructure, poor economy and joyless entertainment and leisure opportunities — it is for these reasons I have made the decision to disconnect forever."

It's all empty, familiar talking points alongside a few genuinely novel trolls. I mean, we've all heard the Ferguson effect routine and the newsflash that Chicago has a reputation for corrupt politicians, but no entertainment options? That's news to us. And while we're the first to admit that local government shares much culpability in the city's ills, this ignores good-faith attempts to combat blight and says nothing of the extra-governmental, social organizations that do yeoman's work each day to help improve—rather than abandon—our city.

Vezmar goes on to say he's been a victim of property crime, street harassment and "one brazen Michigan Avenue assault." He seems to be referencing this episode, which, according to the YouTube description, begins with a black man "telling us a story about rap music or a basketball team." Perhaps not surprisingly, Vezmar doesn't go much for de-escalation techniques, like those pesky police reformers advocate.

There's more queasy racial subtext to the letter—sorry if that's more "incessant drone of liberal rhetoric," Brandon. Vezmar mentions being on the receiving end of a "white privilege" lecture from Toni Preckwinkle, then identifies racism as one of the city's defining ills only after referencing the admittedly gut-wrenching Facebook Live torture video. This as the Department of Justice prepares to release its reported determination that the Chicago Police Department exhibited a pattern of constitutional abuses in relation to use of deadly force and race. The righteous indignation against an "insane," "soul-destroying" place only extends so far.

"I’m leaving Chicago, and I’m never coming back," he closes. So long, we say. We'll trade you for someone who can see the great and grasp, and work to fight, what is bad.