Coun. Elliott no misogynist

Re: Citizen files complaint after Elliott tells fellow councillor to ‘man up,’ by Trevor Wilhelm, May 9.

Jessica Bondy offers nothing of importance to the civil discourse in Windsor city politics. I say this very firmly but very blatantly because this fact needs to be emphasized for the point I’m about to make.

Coun. John Elliott is a man of impeccable integrity who has done and continues to do a great service for the City of Windsor. I was fortunate to meet John when I was 15 years old, back when he was running an after-school program for underprivileged youth growing up in the west end. I saw first-hand the time, effort and devotion he gave to those kids.

After reading several stories in Windsor media outlets calling this man a misogynist because he used the term “man up” to another city councillor (also a man), I became infuriated. There’s been a trend going on in Windsor lately, where soggy politicians are usurping the term “feminism” to promulgate the idea that their political opponents are misogynists. Whether it’s the Caboto Club, a great Windsor institution that has hosted countless fundraisers and charities, or in this case, John Elliott, a very decent man who sets a bar of human compassion few of us — including myself and Jessica Bondy — can live up to. This trend is silly, and the people of Windsor should recognize its deceitfulness and cynicism.