Ahmed R.,

I think I know who this poster is. If you read carefully you might take an educated guess.

If I'm correct, we are talking about one of the guys who has done most of the actual work...REAL WORK...to get signatures for the petition.

I agree with almost everything he posts here and other places, despite how offenseive it might appear to his targets.

If it's true and it is offensive to the City, is it okay, Ahmed?

I again think this guy or anybody else should start posting their first and last names and quit using aliases. There's no reason to hide.

The truth is on ALL OF OUR SIDES if we could all just learn to accept some of the ugly truths about ourselves and admit to and repair our misunderstandings and misstatements.

However, some of us might easily never get along. I'm not kowtowing to any kooks; prove what you think and say is valued by a least a couple of Chicago cabdrivers.

Eventually, we will need a clear and relevant 12 or 25 to meet regularly and conduct two-way communication with the rest of the 10,000 plus cabdrivers in this City.

If you can't get cabdrivers to vote for you, then you aren't equal to those who can. Join and support one of their organizations. Like, yesterday and pronto.

Thanks for the kind comments about me, "whoever you are".

-Mike Foulks

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Replying to:

If you're the best, how about getting us a raise and decent working conditions. I spend my day trying to make sure I don't get fly by tickets and constantly am on watch for the Daley hit men (consumer service) If you haven't been wacked at least once by them you're not really a city driver.

Again, if you're the best, please get us our due! iF you know it all as you self attest to, please fix the wrongs. Thank you.

Ahmed R.,

I think I know who this poster is. If you read carefully you might take an educated guess.

If I'm correct, we are talking about one of the guys who has done most of the actual work...REAL WORK...to get signatures for the petition.

I agree with almost everything he posts here and other places, despite how offenseive it might appear to his targets.

If it's true and it is offensive to the City, is it okay, Ahmed?

I again think this guy or anybody else should start posting their first and last names and quit using aliases. There's no reason to hide.

The truth is on ALL OF OUR SIDES if we could all just learn to accept some of the ugly truths about ourselves and admit to and repair our misunderstandings and misstatements.

However, some of us might easily never get along. I'm not kowtowing to any kooks; prove what you think and say is valued by a least a couple of Chicago cabdrivers.

Eventually, we will need a clear and relevant 12 or 25 to meet regularly and conduct two-way communication with the rest of the 10,000 plus cabdrivers in this City.

If you can't get cabdrivers to vote for you, then you aren't equal to those who can. Join and support one of their organizations. Like, yesterday and pronto.

Thanks for the kind comments about me, "whoever you are".

-Mike Foulks
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Replying to:

If you're the best, how about getting us a raise and decent working conditions. I spend my day trying to make sure I don't get fly by tickets and constantly am on watch for the Daley hit men (consumer service) If you haven't been wacked at least once by them you're not really a city driver.

Again, if you're the best, please get us our due! iF you know it all as you self attest to, please fix the wrongs. Thank you.

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Replying to:

I agree, cabdrivers should work together but wolf loves seeing people get their throats slashed. He's a Wolf who wants to see blood like Dracula, because he's hungry as a wolf.

Mr. Enger, he looks and acts like those from the 1960's, protesting the Viet Nam war. You never see him without a bandana on his head. He's for human rights who goes shouting PEACE, but still wants war between cabdrivers groups.

Mr. Nathan, A former cabdriver who is now an attorney can't seem to look forward to his new career as a lawyer. He keeps looking back at what he use to do driving a cab, like he still wants to be a cabdriver and not an attorney.

Prateek, is not a cabdriver who gets paid by someone to get cabdrivers stirred up. He's never happy unless he sees cabdrivers fighting.

I like what Mr. Foulks is doing. At least he's being fair with other cabdrivers,to vote for who they want as their leader. Mike founded the CCO and he's wants to give others a chance to run the organization. You are doing a great job Mike, but you shouldn't hang around with Steve Weidersberg, giving you advice on how to run an organization.

Ted Budzynski is a cabdriver who is well respected and tries hard to keep peace between other cabdrivers organizations. Organizations wants other organizations to get along and work together, but seems that they don't want to, because they enjoy the bickering and name calling. Organizations should take lessons from Ted, because he's got the experience it takes to run a great organization. He gets angry at cabdrivers who complains they need a union, but don't want to stick together. Ted, you trying too hard and you can see how stupid these drivers are, so you should back off.

Melissa, a new cabdriver who is trying to get the city to treat these cabdrivers better, and quit targeting them for money. Melissa is a new cabdriver and if she can get the majority of drivers to go on strike, than she can do anything. So listen to Melissa.

George Kasp, is a veteran driver for over 30 years and never gives credit to people like Ted, who busted his rear end getting the most signatures on a petition for a fare increase, and make Ted feel like he doesn't want anything to do with him. When Ted wants to say a few words, he tells Ted to shut-up after all Ted has done for him. If it wasn't for Ted, George would never have the right amount of signatures needed to submit to the city for a fare increase. George is good for giving advice, but never wants to take it from others.

George Lutfullah is a great guy. George owns a newspaper for cabdrivers that keeps drivers informed what the city plans for drivers in the future. A few drivers complained about George's story he wrote, about someone who was undermining everything good that George was trying to do for the cabdrivers. If it wasn't for George's newspaper, we would never know what the city is doing behind the cabdrivers back. At least he has reporters to go down and get the scoop. Who else would have a newspaper for cabdrivers if it wasn't for George. So give George credit. George, get your radio program back.

Jonathon Bullington writes good positive stories for George's newspaper. The problem is that some drivers take positive stories and turns them into negetives.

Drivers start getting along!

That's what we need. Three white men to show us darker people how to govern ourselves. Having been through that in my home country already, I resent the insinuation.

We need guys like Ravi to perpetuate bigoted white male racist remarks?

Words from the wise:

"So act as always to treat man, both in your own person and in that of another, as an end, never solely as a means." (Immanuel Kant)


"Men fought and lost the battle, and the thing they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes it turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris)

Ravi,

I don't think your observation is a fair one. I believe that all three of the people you mentioned work with others of different ethnicities/nationalities.

Perhaps their comfort with the English language is why they are the people you most often hear and read.

However, I would like to see a more drivers come forward to express their opinions.

Please think about this.

George Lutfallah

I'm not castigating all white people but the way all three of these gentlemen (Enger, Weiss and Foulks) conduct themselves on this message-board is obviously more about control and domination than cooperative progress. That is Western European thinking and I wonder if all three of them happen to be of German extraction.

mr. ravi,

i suspect i have more principles and political positions in common with you based on what you have posted here than you might suspect. i don't believe any of my posts do constitute any aims of dominating or controlling anyone or anything. please let me know if you suspect me of any such behavior, as i have attempted in my long activist career of eliminating those types of behavior or speech.

i try to make it a habit also not to respond to unprincipled accusations or pointed attacks on my person. i do also have taken issue with how certain persons have used this forum to attack other drivers or each other. i find it to be an unproductive enterprise

you may reach me at 773 550 7921 if you want to discuss any matters of politics or principles of organizing as it pertains to our driver community here in chicago. i hesitate to post too much of my or our (UTCC) political positions here, as it seems to bring antagonistic responses from people who disagree with our positions. it wouldn't be a problem if they would keep the discourse on point and politicized, but it too often degenerates into personal attacks, which as i said before, i find to be unproductive.

respectfully, peter ali enger

"i don't believe any of my posts do constitute any aims of dominating or controlling anyone or anything."

Then why do you need to monitor the election of the CCO? It's an innate need to dominate and control.

Why in the devil did you consider running in the election of the CCO? From your postings it does not appear that your intentions were pure.

By the by, was your position as Secretary of the UTCC elected or did an elite few decide that elections should be suspended?

Allow me to say that I believe that you honestly believe you hold your proclaimed principles. That is to say that I do not believe you are overtly lying when you talk about your principles.

However, allow me to point out further hypocrisy in what you are saying.

You wrote the following:
"i hesitate to post too much of my or our (UTCC) political positions here, as it seems to bring antagonistic responses from people who disagree with our positions. it wouldn't be a problem if they would keep the discourse on point and politicized, but it too often degenerates into personal attacks, which as i said before, i find to be unproductive."

To paraphrase, you will keep the masses in the dark because a few people will say things you don't like. Dissenting opinions will not be heard because some of them you will find unpalatable. That's a version of Collective Punishment that Oppressive White People use.

Therefore the best thing that you, as the White Male can do, is to protect me from my own thoughts and opinions. Decisions are to be made for the rest of us for our own good. Our knowledge and consent is not necessary. Only a hand-picked elite few will decide what we should be doing and thinking. No need to include everyone in the discourse that affects all of our lives because somebody might say something that you, the White Man, do not like. You wouldn't want us to be troubled with alternative ideas. Our inferior brains might not have the capacity to process these ideas properly which might pose a danger to us.

It is your kind of thinking that justified the creation of laws prohibiting Slaves in this country from learning how to read.

Please do not patronize me by asking me to call you privately. We don't know each other. There is nothing you can say to me in private that you can't say to everyone in public. Or is there?

You can talk about your principles all you like but your actions do not match.

ravi your response was an unproductive antagonistic response that disagrees with the utcc. how dare you disagree with the utcc! now go to your room. good luck getting a response

Ravi,

I hope you don't consider this too "patronizing", but I'm starting to like you.

I don't know if this makes me any less "white", but I agree with much of your criticism here.

I hope that Peter Enger can be more accepting of it coming from you.

Most importantly, I'm glad you share my attitude of keeping as much of the discussion/discourse/discord as possible "out in the open" and "on record".

-Mike Foulks

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Replying to:

"i don't believe any of my posts do constitute any aims of dominating or controlling anyone or anything."

Then why do you need to monitor the election of the CCO? It's an innate need to dominate and control.

Why in the devil did you consider running in the election of the CCO? From your postings it does not appear that your intentions were pure.

By the by, was your position as Secretary of the UTCC elected or did an elite few decide that elections should be suspended?

Allow me to say that I believe that you honestly believe you hold your proclaimed principles. That is to say that I do not believe you are overtly lying when you talk about your principles.

However, allow me to point out further hypocrisy in what you are saying.

You wrote the following:
"i hesitate to post too much of my or our (UTCC) political positions here, as it seems to bring antagonistic responses from people who disagree with our positions. it wouldn't be a problem if they would keep the discourse on point and politicized, but it too often degenerates into personal attacks, which as i said before, i find to be unproductive."

To paraphrase, you will keep the masses in the dark because a few people will say things you don't like. Dissenting opinions will not be heard because some of them you will find unpalatable. That's a version of Collective Punishment that Oppressive White People use.

Therefore the best thing that you, as the White Male can do, is to protect me from my own thoughts and opinions. Decisions are to be made for the rest of us for our own good. Our knowledge and consent is not necessary. Only a hand-picked elite few will decide what we should be doing and thinking. No need to include everyone in the discourse that affects all of our lives because somebody might say something that you, the White Man, do not like. You wouldn't want us to be troubled with alternative ideas. Our inferior brains might not have the capacity to process these ideas properly which might pose a danger to us.

It is your kind of thinking that justified the creation of laws prohibiting Slaves in this country from learning how to read.

Please do not patronize me by asking me to call you privately. We don't know each other. There is nothing you can say to me in private that you can't say to everyone in public. Or is there?

You can talk about your principles all you like but your actions do not match.

Ravi,

You make some interesting points but, sorry to say this, your views are somewhat extreme.

It seems that you're trying to paint these guys as racist and oppressive. From my experience with both of them, that's just not the case. Both of them do care about Chicago cabdrivers, regardless of skin color. As I've said, both of them work with people of different ethnicities and nationalities.

They are both outspoken, in part, because they both have a certain comfort with the English language.

In addition to that, they are both outspoken because they understand the rights they have as Americans that may not be understood by people who come from countries controlled by oppressive regimes that don't afford the same rights this country has.

George Lutfallah
Chicago Dispatcher

Ravi,

Admittedly, Wolf Weiss and I frequently have hit each other below the belt. With and without good reasons. It takes two to tango. Wolf's biggest problem is he doesn't like me stepping on his brainstem.

If you read me a little more carefully, I think you can find many instances where I am seeking "co-operative progress".

I'm going to object to your over-simplification that "Western European thinking" is "about control and domination". I actually see very little economy in a dissertation about the differences in generalizing statements about East/West culture.

For the record, my paternal grandmother was a German from Mexico.

If you read yourself carefully, you are still "castigating" most white people with your statement in its entirety.

You may have over-sensitized me with your earlier remark, but to me, this still just looks like an racial "identifier" comment and nothing that progresses an understanding of whatever further point you might be trying to make, other than "We're Red and You're Blue".

Please continue, as I don't like to let Peter Enger wiggle away from whatever "Whiteness" you have seen in the three of us of obvious European descent.

Whatever handicap that the myriad of cultural differences give those of us cabdrivers who are trying to organize ourselves isn't any particular groups "fault"...you do understand that, don't you?

It is our shared challenge to overcome that, in whatever way(s) possible. Or should I be using "embrace" instead of "overcome"?

Do I get any points for "shared"?

-Mike Foulks

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Replying to:

I'm not castigating all white people but the way all three of these gentlemen (Enger, Weiss and Foulks) conduct themselves on this message-board is obviously more about control and domination than cooperative progress. That is Western European thinking and I wonder if all three of them happen to be of German extraction.

"It takes two to tango. Wolf's biggest problem is he doesn't like me stepping on his brainstem."

I have to say nothing to prove my points. If this were a playground you would all be kicking each other in the shins and fighting for the top of the monkey bars.

What you wrote was mostly malarkey.

Yeah, but this isn't the playground and there's more than malarkey involved in these messages.

I think you need to be more specific...nothing proves nothing.

Why don't you start focusing on the non-malarkey and ignore my retarded friend...he's got "special needs" sometimes.

Whatever you do, don't say the word, "flyer". It makes him upset.

-Mike Foulks

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Replying to:

"It takes two to tango. Wolf's biggest problem is he doesn't like me stepping on his brainstem."

I have to say nothing to prove my points. If this were a playground you would all be kicking each other in the shins and fighting for the top of the monkey bars.

What you wrote was mostly malarkey.

Ravi,

Peter Enger insinuated he isn't "white". He's more "Korean". Ask him yourself.

I'm not "showing (you) darker people how to govern (yourselves)".

Where the hell did you get that impression?

If you think that my white skin makes me "untouchable" to the rest of Chicago cabdrivers who might have a deeper shade of beige or brown, then you are a "credit to your race" (NOT!), you reverse-racist!

Better yet, how do you say "schlong" in your language?

If you are a running as a racist, then show us how much power that gets you...run in the CCO election this Wednesday!

I will respect the openly-made votes of the current Chicago cabdrivers. And so will many others.

-Mike Foulks

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Replying to:

That's what we need. Three white men to show us darker people how to govern ourselves. Having been through that in my home country already, I resent the insinuation.