Frankel’s revenge
U of M prof serves up hilarious but poignant end to the Winnipeg Community Round Table
Marlo Campbell
It’s hard to stay focused on anything for 11 hours straight.
The Winnipeg Community Round Table on Sept. 27 started off strong
as over 140 people brainstormed innovative ideas, networked over
lunch and listened attentively to the day’s speakers.
The evening event was a panel discussion featuring Mary Scott
of the Provincial Council of Women; Dave Angus, president of the
Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce; and Sid Frankel, a professor of
social work at the U of M and past president of the Social Planning
Council of Winnipeg.
By the time the discussion got rolling, only about 40 people were
left, many of whom were fresh-blooded individuals who had not
participated in the day’s earlier events. Of course most
of the media types were long gone — deadlines really are
a bitch sometimes.
The small attendance was a shame because Frankel’s nine-point
plan to create unhealthy citizens and an unsustainable city was
one of the highlights of the entire event.
Frankel started by suggesting the city should continue cutting
property and business taxes and then deny that the cuts have anything
to do with failing infrastructure.
Ouch!
He continued with a crime strategy, and his deadpan delivery made
the subversive presentation even more hilarious.
Put as many resources as possible into punishment and as little
as possible into social programs, he argued.
“Social
programs confuse people,” Frankel said. “We all know
that wealthy people are born good and poor people are born criminals.”
That woke us up. People started laughing and pounding on tables
as Frankel went on to recommend massive programming cuts, no investment
in inner-city housing and lots of support for urban sprawl.
He suggested limiting public green space and encouraging the private
sector to manage our parks. Of course, he worked in a dig about
condos.
After all, said Frankel, parks are dangerous.
“If we’re
not careful, even the poorest citizen will exercise and get healthy,”
he said.
Frankel’s sixth plank — to keep as many low-wage earners
around as possible — received some uncomfortable laughter
mixed in with supportive applause. It seemed he crossed a line
when he insisted the province maintain a low minimum wage and
advocate for less unions and no benefits for employees.
He quickly won us back when he asked for avoidance of quality
transit at all costs.
Plank eight was about behind-the-scenes council politics: Frankel
suggested the city create as much conflict as possible.
“Distinguish
friends from enemies on council and cut your enemies out,”
he said.
I snuck a peek at the faces of the politicians in the room. There
were some wry smiles, but most maintained their composure —
consummate professionals, each and every one.
Last up — limit citizen access to City Hall.
“If
we’re not careful, democracy can derail our plans for unhealthy
citizens,” Frankel warned.
His sarcastic presentation, which took all of five minutes, managed
to engage a roomful of tired, hungry people.
But it also made a salient point — if we abdicate responsibility
for Winnipeg’s future, his joke could be on us. |
Uptown
Magazine - Winnipeg's Online Source for Arts, Entertainment & News
