Tancredo Did Us a Favor (UPDATED)

Thank you, Rep. Tancredo.

Thank you very much.

I'm not being sarcastic, folks. Tancredo's Miami-bashing the other day has caused something that I haven't seen here in quite a while.

It has stirred up Miamians to speak out about the positives of our city.

Finally. It took a moronic comment from an outsider, but finally many of us are realizing that not all is "bad in paradise", nor are our many problems unsolveable with a little effort and care.

Normally, it takes one of our local sports teams winning a championship to make us feel good about our city. But that's usually rather superficial and fleeting from a civic pride perspective. The reaction to Tancredo's comments has the potential to be longer-lasting and effective.

For once, people appear to be showing a fair amount of civic pride. We're not ignoring our problems, mind you, but instead pointing out the many positives and acknowledging that if we work together we can go a long way towards solving our problems.

Of course, there are still many locals who see Tancredo's comments as a refreshingly honest and accurate take on Miami, without admitting to the flip-side argument or that Tancredo ignored many positives. That's OK. They have a right to feel that way. But today they appear to be more irrelevant than ever.

Miami's image has taken a hit the last several days. You had Tancredo's comment coupled with an earlier Time Magazine story (link courtesy of Stuck on the Palmetto). Slaps to each side of the face.

It sure woke us up.

It makes this self-admitted and proud homer happy to see articles like the one Herald writer and local blogger James Burnett wrote for today's paper. And this one by Michael Lewis of Miami Today. Even Leonard Pitts, who's no longer a South Florida resident, joined in with a good column. It makes me happy to see people realizing what's good about us, and the potential that exists here. Something that I've always tried to promote despite all the screaming negativity.

UPDATE: Three more spot-on articles:

Gabe from Transit Miami delivers an excellent post well worth reading here.

Boom or Bust: Miami chips in with two posts: one perspective-filled piece from last week and another one from today in response to Tancredo.

UPDATE (2): Jim DeFede joins in with some good comments.

And although many of you know I have been critical of SoTP Rick's often negative tone with regards to South Florida, I will publically state that he has stepped up and posted several pieces rebuking Tancredo's comments and placing proper perspective on the topic. For this, Rick deserves credit as well.

All this proves what I've known for a long time - a positive attitude doesn't mean you overlook or ignore the bad, it means you're better equipped to deal with and offer solutions to the problems we face.

It's a good day to be a homer. Thank you, Tom Tancredo, for making me realize this.