Does the Little Tokyo Community Council Oppose Suehiro’s Eviction?
In response to the “LTCC Statement on Flyers”
On September 2nd, the Little Tokyo Community Council (LTCC) released a statement in the Rafu Shimpo in opposition to J-Town Action と Solidarity’s (JAS) more than a month old flyering campaign against Anthony Sperl’s illegal eviction of Suehiro Cafe. LTCC accused JAS of having defaced “Omoide no Shotokyo” and other private property, stating that LTCC supports “our small businesses, including Suehiro,” but that LTCC does not “support or condone vandalism in any way, regardless of the intentions.” We in JAS can certainly respect community members who hold such views, but only if we have reason to believe that these views are the truth. In the case of LTCC, we are skeptical on both counts.
Let’s review the facts. To the best of our knowledge, this statement is the first time that LTCC has ever condemned “vandalism” in the Rafu Shimpo. As a matter of fact, it appears that this is the first time that LTCC has ever published a statement in the Rafu’s “Vox Populi” section. Clearly, LTCC has never before felt the need to publicly condemn flyers in Little Tokyo as “vandalism.” LTCC has never even condemned graffiti before—so why, then, did LTCC feel that a flyer exposing Anthony Sperl’s illegal eviction of Suehiro needed to be publicly condemned as “vandalism”? Is LTCC truly opposed to “vandalism,” or does it simply want to discredit JAS’ fight against Anthony Sperl by smearing our organization as “vandals”?
LTCC claims that it supports Suehiro. Why, then, does LTCC’s statement never condemn Anthony Sperl for attempting to illegally evict Suehiro? Why is it that LTCC’s statement never even mentions Anthony Sperl’s name, when the entire point of the flyers was to expose Anthony Sperl as the child-killing, ex-cop landlord responsible for Suehiro’s eviction? Why is it that LTCC has had every opportunity to publicly condemn Anthony Sperl and privately express its concerns about the flyering campaign to JAS, but instead chose to ignore Anthony Sperl’s crimes while publicly smearing JAS for attempting to expose them? In practice, does LTCC support Suehiro, or does it really support Anthony Sperl?
We in JAS believe that LTCC’s statement is more than just a smear against our organization—it strikes us as an insult to all the grief and hardship that Suehiro has suffered at the hands of Anthony Sperl. We believe that LTCC owes our organization an immediate retraction of its statement in the Rafu. But more importantly, we believe that LTCC owes Suehiro an apology for failing to publicly defend them against Anthony Sperl and a commitment to immediately begin exposing Sperl’s crimes to the wider Little Tokyo community. LTCC is welcome to disagree with JAS over the proper tactics for defending Suehiro from Sperl. But LTCC has no right to cover up Sperl’s crimes against Suehiro in the guise of criticizing JAS’s tactics. LTCC will never be capable of “ensuring a vibrant future for Little Tokyo” if it is afraid to confront those who would gentrify Little Tokyo. Our community deserves so much better.
“LTCC Statement on Flyers” in Rafu Shrimpo
More info about Anthony Sperl’s illegal eviction of Suehiro
Original Flyer:
Let’s review the facts. To the best of our knowledge, this statement is the first time that LTCC has ever condemned “vandalism” in the Rafu Shimpo. As a matter of fact, it appears that this is the first time that LTCC has ever published a statement in the Rafu’s “Vox Populi” section. Clearly, LTCC has never before felt the need to publicly condemn flyers in Little Tokyo as “vandalism.” LTCC has never even condemned graffiti before—so why, then, did LTCC feel that a flyer exposing Anthony Sperl’s illegal eviction of Suehiro needed to be publicly condemned as “vandalism”? Is LTCC truly opposed to “vandalism,” or does it simply want to discredit JAS’ fight against Anthony Sperl by smearing our organization as “vandals”?
LTCC claims that it supports Suehiro. Why, then, does LTCC’s statement never condemn Anthony Sperl for attempting to illegally evict Suehiro? Why is it that LTCC’s statement never even mentions Anthony Sperl’s name, when the entire point of the flyers was to expose Anthony Sperl as the child-killing, ex-cop landlord responsible for Suehiro’s eviction? Why is it that LTCC has had every opportunity to publicly condemn Anthony Sperl and privately express its concerns about the flyering campaign to JAS, but instead chose to ignore Anthony Sperl’s crimes while publicly smearing JAS for attempting to expose them? In practice, does LTCC support Suehiro, or does it really support Anthony Sperl?
We in JAS believe that LTCC’s statement is more than just a smear against our organization—it strikes us as an insult to all the grief and hardship that Suehiro has suffered at the hands of Anthony Sperl. We believe that LTCC owes our organization an immediate retraction of its statement in the Rafu. But more importantly, we believe that LTCC owes Suehiro an apology for failing to publicly defend them against Anthony Sperl and a commitment to immediately begin exposing Sperl’s crimes to the wider Little Tokyo community. LTCC is welcome to disagree with JAS over the proper tactics for defending Suehiro from Sperl. But LTCC has no right to cover up Sperl’s crimes against Suehiro in the guise of criticizing JAS’s tactics. LTCC will never be capable of “ensuring a vibrant future for Little Tokyo” if it is afraid to confront those who would gentrify Little Tokyo. Our community deserves so much better.
“LTCC Statement on Flyers” in Rafu Shrimpo
More info about Anthony Sperl’s illegal eviction of Suehiro
Original Flyer:
