Correction:
In earlier letters to Ark Valley Voice I indicated that Hannah Hannah was wearing Doc Martens style boots and red laces laced in a ladder fashion specific to white supremacists. A newly provided higher resolution photograph clearly shows Ms. Hannah’s boots are not laced in that ladder fashion.
I was mistaken and apologize to Ms. Hannah for my error.
Sincerely,
Rob Dubin
The earlier letter is below:
Dear Editor,
Alison Brown recently responded to my letter about Hannah Hannah’s lack of qualifications for the job of County Commissioner.
I pointed out that Ms. Hannah circulated a photo of herself wearing doc Martens type boots with red boot laces laced in a certain ladder fashion rather than the traditional X pattern most people use. This is quite specifically a White Power insignia; I linked my comments to articles by both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League which unambiguously confirm that boots and red laces done this way are a White Power insignia.
Allison Brown attempted to write this off as a “fashion choice” and paint me as an anti-feminist for calling out women’s “fashion choices” aligning Hannah with suffragettes in the 19th century and aligning me with the men who fought against them. This of course is total hogwash. I’m all for women in government and have both campaigned and voted for many of them. Further calling a White Supremacist insignia a “fashion choice” is no different than saying a KKK white hood is a fashion choice.
In my opinion, the fact that Ms. Hannah has removed the offensive photo from her website also says volumes.
I also pointed out that Hannah has no experience in public policy and should be spending her time gaining experience in less important and less critical public board and public policy positions before asking us to pay her $75,000 a year to learn on the job in the most senior position in the county. Ms. Brown defends Hannah by saying she is a busy working mother and does not have free time to dedicate to working on lower-level boards for no money.
To be clear, I am making no judgments whatsoever of Ms. Hannah’s past work with her family’s cattle ranch or her adult choices to be a professional mountain bike racer, fashion designer or jewelry designer.
I admire her decision to put her family first and spend time with her kids rather than work on low or no pay public policy boards.
Whether she has never served on a public board because it did not interest her, or because she is a busy mom, is moot. The fact remains that she has not worked in the types of positions that give one the skills to tackle the larger countywide issues. She lacks the experience the job requires and saying it’s because she is a busy single mom does not change that fact.
Rob Dubin
Salida
Editor’s Note: For those interested in the Women’s Forum, the video of the event is available here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1in8wuG8cS5XqWzy7z4JELcGrdkiEFIoB?usp=sharing
Bravo, Mr. Dubin: I’ve been SUPER busy all my life, and still found time to volunteer in community programs. I have seen Hannah’s video for a “Thigh Holster” (don’t know if it is still available for the public to view). But I can say that making that video and others that I have seen on-line that she posted took time, and there have been many, many times in the past that her two boys have been with their father; I know b/c I know the father and second wife. People are allowed to dress however they please in America. With that said, the way we present ourselves DOES matter. If you should up with filthy clothes, dirty teeth, thongs on your feet, and disheveled hair at the Capitol to meet with state legislators, the “first impression” isn’t good and people probably feel they cannot take you seriously. [NOTE: this is NOT a description of lovely Hannah Steffens, just an example.] I believe most male legislators will be happy to meet with Hannah, but will be far less interested in her views on issues and more in the way she presents herself. Female legislators may just shake their heads and not take her seriously. Again, one can dress however they please but must know that “first impressions” are hugely important. Supporting Ron Dubin’s views again, ANY-one can make time to volunteer a couple of hours a week in their community. I’ve been volunteering since I was 15 yrs old.
Hear! Hear! Great letter Mr. Dubin.