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RandySF

(57,591 posts)
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 01:35 PM Nov 2013

SF Supervisor "clarifies" Batkid criticism.

UPDATE: Noting that the words he tweeted were "not meant to diminish how special today was," Supervisor Eric Mar sent SFist the following statement clarifying his minor Batkid social media snafu. He says:

"It is truly remarkable to see the City coming together around BatKid to support such a lovable and brave little boy and in doing so creating an indelible moment in our history.
I am proud of San Francisco and the thousands of volunteers and donors for rallying around Miles, and I salute the Make a Wish Foundation for the incredible and inspiring work they do bringing joy to the lives of so many other brave children.

The words that I tweeted today regarding this event are not meant to diminish how special today was. I simply wanted to urge that we, as a City, find similar amounts of love, compassion and empathy for children living every day in dire circumstances who, in the vast majority of cases, will not be supported or even recognized by our society.

I salute and send much love to Miles the BatKid and his family and call on those who supported him to also think about taking the Snap Challenge with me as a way of gaining a greater understanding of how it feels to go hungry in one of the richest cities in the world. If even a fraction of those who took action on behalf of the BatKid today take concrete steps to eradicating hunger in San Francisco, that will also be something we can all be proud of.

Supervisor Eric Mar"


http://sfist.com/2013/11/15/supervisor_eric_mar_tries_to_ruin_b.php

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IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
1. I don't know exactly what the man tweeted first; but actually, I'm not sure I want to know.
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 01:51 PM
Nov 2013

His clarifying apology struck important notes of inclusion, and I certainly do applaud that. Sometimes people express themselves in the worst possible way w/o bad intentions, and if not habitual and extreme offenders, they deserve a chance to be more eloquent.

I'm sharply aware also of how many times people will take a perfectly innocent statement and twist it into a pretzel just for spite. This happens to President Obama a lot; I'm sure he's not the only victim of this perverse bit of human nature.

That said, I'm so proud of San Francisco and Bat Kid as well, along with the Make A Wish Foundation, which figures prominently in my will. I wish every child received so much love and support. They deserve it. Nothing you do for a child is ever wasted.

RandySF

(57,591 posts)
2. Original remark
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 01:55 PM
Nov 2013

Waiting for Miles the BatKid & Wondering how many 1000s of SF kids living off SNAP/FoodStamps could have been fed from the $$. Join us 11/21 for the SNAP Challenge & Food Security Task Force hearings! #onlyinsf ##sf

http://sfist.com/2013/11/15/supervisor_eric_mar_tries_to_ruin_b.php

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
4. Ungraceful to say the least. Certainly worthy of a demand for correction.
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 02:02 PM
Nov 2013

That said, now give the man a break. It's not as if any of us have never misspoken, is it???????????

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
3. I don't use twitter myself, but really, if you are a public official or celebrity, you should
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 01:55 PM
Nov 2013

automatically wait a few minutes and rethink anything you are about to tweet. Or show it to someone else.

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
6. I agree, I don't think the guy should be bashed too much, it was just a
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 02:25 PM
Nov 2013

poorly-thought-out thing to say--we all do that.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
7. I think the entire snafu was a work of unintentional genius.
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 02:51 PM
Nov 2013

He did a "spell my name right" type attention-garnering thing; and he got press attention for a cause near-and-dear to his heart.

He hopped on the Batkid bandwagon and in essence, took one for the team--slick move!

Gotta love it! Even if it wasn't 'Plan A.'

MADem

(135,425 posts)
9. Well, that's why I said "unintentional."
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 05:08 PM
Nov 2013

It worked out brilliantly, even if that wasn't the plan.

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