Regarding "Before the next vote, pro-HERO folks need their own slogan" (Sunday City & State), a sure sign that you've lost the argument is to explain away the defeat of the HERO ordinance by rationalizing, and columnist Lisa Falkenberg's article is a textbook example. According to Falkenberg, Mayor Parker's initiative to codify civil rights protections for various groups failed - in part - because only 27 percent of registered Houston voters cast ballots. It failed because social conservatives waged a campaign of lies about men being allowed into women's restrooms. It failed because pro-HERO group Houston Unites didn’t have enough time to rally its base.
The problem is that when you're done blaming opponents, proponents and the electorate, you've pretty much run out of people to blame, and you still haven't explained the colossal margins by which HERO was defeated. HERO failed because it was badly written and way too ambitious, but rather than change anything, HERO proponents tried to bully it past Houston voters and got their hats handed to them.
If proponents of HERO want to understand why it was defeated, they should take a look in the mirror. And if they want civil rights legislation to pass, they need to offer sensible, well written legislation. They also need to engage voters and the opposition rather than lecture and demonize them.
Pete Smith
Cypress, TX
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