"Love Louisville Campaign": Don't Worry, Be Happy!"

LOVE LOUISVILLE CAMPAIGN: DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

By Tecumseh Brown

There is only one way to spell ‘asinine’, but many ways to demonstrate it. If you don't get that, spend some time in Louisville Kentucky, where Martina Kunnecke claims “asinine” and the “art of the faux” reigns supreme.

Let's break it down.

First, hit the dictionary:

as·i·nine ˈasəˌnīn
"stupid, foolish, brainless, mindless, senseless, idiotic, imbecilic, ridiculous, ludicrous, absurd, nonsensical, fatuous, silly, inane, witless, empty-headed; half-witted, dimwitted, dumb, moronic... “
e.g. "an asinine stunt"

The young girl in the photo above is neither the President of NPP or Martina Kunnecke. Kunnecke is more grandmotherly, more African American and less enthused about the “Love Louisville” campaign. True, she enjoyed a good laugh over the mistaken identity, but only for 5 minutes. Shifting quickly into “NPP” mode, she labeled the general campaign ‘asinine’. She considers the placement of the "It's in the air" billboard on the Swift grounds in Butchertown “ particularly tacky”.

“NPP” is an acronym for “Neighborhood Planning & Preservation, Inc.” It is a volunteer, grassroots organization advocating for neighborhoods metro-wide in the areas of preservation, environmental protection, economic justice, governmental transparency & accountability. “Its boils down to genuine quality of life and respect for neighborhoods” she says.

On the Butchertown billboard, she speaks from a unique perspective. NPP’s co-founder and Ms. Kunnecke’s predecessor, the late Jim Segrest, was once called “the Mayor of Butchertown”. He, along with other Butchertown residents and people living in Clifton and Valley Station started NPP 12 years ago this month. They believed neighborhoods uniting forces could self-protect against politicians, bad developers and anyone feigning interest but flashing a big checkbook---ready to exploit our many wonderful neighborhoods.

For years, Butchertown and its friends have fought to protect it from many assaults. This includes the 11-lane highway now being constructed as part of the Ohio River Bridges project downtown. This bridge--which arguably few taxpayers wanted--will soon rumble over Butchertown, shaking some of Louisville's oldest structures to their very foundation. Butchertown residents already think about their foundations a lot-- as thousands of trucks, heavy with screaming pigs approaching their own slaughter, careen towards the Swift meat packing plant weekly. Owned by a South American concern, this company outgrew its 19th century foot print decades ago. Promises to relocate the massive operation elsewhere have fallen flat.

And though she now lives miles away, Kunnecke still remembers the stench of this ------ enterprise, from her nightly walks home to Clifton from her office downtown. “Living in Clifton drove me to soy bacon.” She admits.

Here’s another angle. Ms. Kunnecke, a professional researcher by trade, knows marketing. She recognizes a poorly conceived Band-Aid hastily slapped on a gaping wound--Louisville's reputation. Losing the annual Future Farmers of America convention was rough, but pink billboards is what we get? “Other cities are bringing billboards down. They are low impact in terms of effect and are visual pollution. In Louisville, we are using them to appeal to 'tech savvy' millenniels? Wow, welcome to the 1950s. ”

Methodology aside, did anyone consider how the general public would react to the campaign? Do the ads and billboards trivialize the polluted air, lack of a good transportation system, an economy bogged down with low paying jobs, the streets so long and treeless that walking them is a like crossing a heated hell? Who knows? But the attempt to direct the narrative to a "don't worry, be happy" theme is what Ms. Kunnecke, calls ‘the art of the faux’ .

Ok, (sigh) back to the dictionary:

Faux ˈfō’
not genuine; fake or false.
e.g. "their faux concern for the well-being of the voters didn't fool many"

In the absence of the transformational successes they claim, Louisville officials resort to hyperbole, slogans and window-dressing to downplay deeper problems they fail to address. Kunnecke wonders if they even tested this campaign among a cross section of residents?

According to the WDRB piece, probably not. In fact, Ms. Stacey Yates of the Louisville Visitors & Convention Bureau (LVCB) cautioned the campaign is “not for everyone” and that LVCB is purposely targeting the "millennials" who know what “hash-tags” are.

Target an age group who don't understand yet what it means to have your neighborhood degraded by corporate bullying? Is it really OK to unwittingly engage them in a cheer-leading exercise that ignores legitimate neighborhood concerns?

According to Ms. Kunnecke millennials aren’t stupid. “They know we have bad air and our roads are unsafe for cyclists. They know getting a well paying job is nearly impossible and that the high point in Louisville is eating out and getting drunk on bourbon---if you can afford it. “

They may not know how many slogan campaigns have been trotted out over 40 years, but they do know about “quality of life” . Many “love Louisville”, but move away frustrated and in pursuit of real opportunities and a better quality of life.

Regarding WDRB's incorrect label on the photo Ms. Kunnecke chuckles, “Hey, Mercury is in retrograde and things happen.” Besides, that small mistake brought the more serious ones to her attention. Like most, she usually ignore billboards and only half watches TV ads. A Butchertown activist brought it to her attention and she is glad for that. “ First, I don’t want people to think NPP endorses this campaign. Second, “$100,000 spent in this silly way really is a waste of money. We need to let the public know.”

To the Louisville Visitors & Convention Bureau, she suggests they develop sensitivity to the taxpayers. “Who is paying for this? If the Visitor’s Convention Bureau is using public funds to make light of substantial neighborhood problems, even inadvertently, then something is really wrong. “

What ever the funding source, Kunnecke contends this $100,000 could have been much better spent. Half-joking she suggests, "Why not provide oxygen masks for those driving past Butchertown or provide air purifiers to area residents? Seriously, we have real problems. Every cent should go towards really solving the issues, not pretending they don’t matter.”

Grinning, she admits, "I am not a millennial" and despite her ‘advanced’ age , “I know what a hash tag is. Do Ms. Yates and LVCB know what a travesty is?”

Probably not and it's hard to deny that the “Love Louisville" campaign ranks high on both the “asinine” and the “faux” scales. For those who actually love Louisville and fight each day to make it better, no wonder their patience is wearing thin.