'I am not a racist' ...riiiiiiiigggghhhhhhtttttttt
blackredyellow
Posts: 5,889
Did you guys see this idiot? I get annoyed when people pull the race card around every turn and call everyone a racist or blame affirmative action for everything, but in my opinion, this guy definitely qualifies as a racist (and incredibly stupid - but racists usually are).
Officer who sent 'jungle-monkey' e-mail: 'I am not a racist'
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The Boston police officer who sent a mass e-mail in which he compared Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to a "banana-eating jungle monkey" has apologized, saying he's not a racist.
Officer Justin Barrett, 36, told a Boston television station Wednesday night that he was sorry about the e-mail, a copy of which he also sent to The Boston Globe. He repeated his apology Thursday night on CNN's "Larry King Live."
"I would like to take this opportunity to offer fellow police officers, soldiers and citizens my sincerest apology over the controversial e-mail I authored," Barrett said on CNN. "I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such. I truly apologize to all."
Barrett was suspended from his military duties as captain in the Army National Guard and placed on administrative leave from the Boston Police Department pending the outcome of a termination hearing. VideoWatch Barrett apologize »
Barrett said he was moved to write the note because he felt The Boston Globe column about the Gates incident to which he was responding "seemed like it was biased.
"It did not show the roles and duties of a police officer and how dangerous it already is without having a debate about people getting in a police officer's face, which should never happen at all."
Asked what led him to choose to use such language, he said, "I don't know. I couldn't tell you. I have no idea."
He added, in response to a question, that he had never used such language before.
In a news conference Thursday morning, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis denounced the e-mail.
"We have a relationship to maintain with the community," he said. "Police officers certainly have First Amendment rights, but they can't cross the line. I believe this crosses the line." VideoWatch Davis say Barrett will be held accountable »
Davis also said he spoke Wednesday with Gates, whom he described as "gracious and incredibly thankful that we took action."
In his fiery e-mail, which he sent to some fellow Guard members as well as the newspaper, Barrett vented about a July 22 Globe column about Gates' arrest.
The African-American scholar was arrested July 16 and accused of disorderly conduct after police responded to a report of a possible break-in at his Cambridge home. The charge was later dropped, but the incident sparked a debate about racial profiling and police procedures.
President Obama stepped into the debate and drew criticism by saying the Cambridge police acted "stupidly."
Obama, who later said he spoke without knowing all the facts, tried to calm the debate, meeting Thursday with Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, for a beer at the White House.
"At this point, I am hopeful that we can all move on, and that this experience will prove an occasion for education, not recrimination," Gates said afterward in a written statement. "I know that Sergeant Crowley shares this goal."
"What you had today was two gentlemen agree to disagree on a particular issue," Crowley told reporters afterward. "I don't think we spent too much time dwelling on the past; we spent a lot of time discussing the future."
Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham, who wrote the editorial that sparked Barrett's e-mail, supported Gates' actions, asking readers, "Would you stand for this kind of treatment, in your own home, by a police officer who by now clearly has no right to be there?" VideoWatch Blogger Bunch: Is race discussion possible? »
In Barrett's e-mail, which was posted on a Boston television station's Web site, he declared that if he had "been the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC (oleorosin capsicum, or pepper spray) deserving of his belligerent non-compliance."
Barrett used the "jungle monkey" phrase four times, three times referring to Gates and once referring to Abraham's writing as "jungle monkey gibberish."
He also declared that he was "not a racist but I am prejudice [sic] towards people who are stupid and pretend to stand up and preach for something they say is freedom but it is merely attention because you do not get enough of it in your little fear-dwelling circle of on-the-bandwagon followers."
According to a statement from Boston police, Davis took action immediately on learning of Barrett's remarks, stripping the officer of his gun and his badge. Barrett's prior arrests and field investigations will be looked at for indications of racial bias, Davis said. The department will also delve deeper into the officers who received or viewed the e-mail.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/30/gates. ... index.html
My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
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1996 Merriweather, MD; 1998 Camden, NJ; 2000 Camden, NJ; 2003 Camden, NJ; 2005 Philly, PA; 2006 Camden, NJ(nights 1 & 2); 2006 Arnhem, NED; 2008 Camden, NJ(nights 1 & 2), Washington DC, MSG(night 2) 2009 Philly Spectrum Shows(nights 1,2,3,4) 2010 Hartford,CT and MSG(night 2)
ED Solo - 2008 Washington DC, 2009 Philly, PA(nights 1&2)*Met Eddie
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
see, we can agree on some things.
he also is an absolute idiot. sent that on to a newspaper? moron and racist.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
+1,000.
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
He's fishing for an invitation to the White House for a free beer.
Hail, Hail!!!
this happened in Houston too last year.
But, words can reveal character traits, right?
And equating black people to monkeys is one thing... if you are office worker lackey who sit in a cubicle under florescent lighting and works on an endless pile of paper work... and something completely different if you ride around in a car with red lights on the roof that can order any car of your choosing to pull over and deal with the authority you possess by your badge and enforced with your nightstick, taser and firearm... right?
Hail, Hail!!!
I don't even know what the fuck you are going on about. It's simple. Words only have as much power as you give them. That's a fact. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt or that it doesn't bother people but those words can only have so much power over you as an individual.
While it’s good to have tough skin, we as a civilized people can’t condone blatant acts of nastiness.
It's a pretty simple concept...
Your words reveal your character.
Someone who makes racial remarks is probably, more likely than not, to possess racist attitudes.
Your character makes a big difference if you possess power or influence over others.
Racist attitudes make a difference if you are an office worker lackey... or a cop on the street.
Office lackeys can't pull you over... cops can.
...
Basically... it all depends on who's saying those words.
Hail, Hail!!!
Caucasion people are also called inappropriate "racist" things, too. I guess if you're white - then this verbal assault is justified somehow. Not all whites participated in slavery, not all blacks are African American. ALL racism needs to end. I personally judge people (not seriously) by the way they politially lean. It's just really great to be able to discuss political issues - even with those whom have a completely different point of view from myself.
"Empty pockets will Allow a greater Sense of wealth...." EV/ITW
I served ISP diligently for 10 years so I am familiar with t he power one can wield with words, however, that is not the basis of this thread. The statement I made is directed towards the fact that we all must take responsibility for what we say and how much power we grant it. A average person or a cop is just as equal for that responsibility. If someone called you a nigger and you get angry then that's your reaction, If someone calls you a cracker and you get Angry then that's your response. Some how if a cop says it, he is held more responsible. That's not being responsible. We all wield the same equal amount of responsibility for our actions regardless of position. It's that type of behavior that some are not held as accountable and some are held more accountable because of so called status in our society that predicates the social distortions of racism in American society today. When I was young, Racism was common in my life and I found great anger and responded in likeness to it. As I grew older I learned that it still was bad but that my response only fed more ignorance and so I learned that the words spewed at me had no more power over me than I allowed them. So remember that your statement "Basically... it all depends on who's saying those words." is a generalized one and doesn't speak for every single person. It is our choice how we take the things said. The less power we grant such words and mentality the less power they possess over us. If you feed the hatred it will grow, if you starve it then it will die.
MY entire purpose here to make it clear without anymore assumptions or putting words into my mouth that never existed is that all must be accountable. All races and statuses. To achieve racial equality, all must be held to the same bar, regardless of skin color, status or any other difference. Racism is a problem for all races. Not just whites or black. We all must be more civilized and responsible.
Anyways, I meant no ill will or harm in my responses. Just from my personal experiences. Peace.
you have to be one to be the other ...