"WHAT BLACK MAN HOLDS A STEADY JOB FOR FOUR YEARS."

[kpete]

"To everyone who criticized Ferguson protesters: they were right, you were wrong"

It seems the investigation also uncovered additional disturbing material that suggests a culture of racial bias among those who hold power in the city: according to the Associated Press, the report includes a 2008 message — which appears to be an attempt at humor — from a municipal email account that says President Obama wouldn't be in office long, because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."

An unnamed source told NPR that the report contains at least one more racist quip found in an email between city officials. This joke concerned a black woman who received a check from "Crime Stoppers" two weeks after her abortion.

When it comes to these remarks, and the report's findings as a whole, it's safe to say "racially tinged" is probably an understatement.


more:
http://www.vox.com/2015/3/3/8144027/ferguson-investigation-obama-joke

[chervilant]

1. Racism

is ubiquitous in this "post-racial" United States.

[malaise]

2. Racism is ubiquitous

across the globe. The truth is that there is a lot less racism in America than in many other places. There is an element of meritocracy that remains live and well in America.

There are loads of contradictions but remember one thing - Obama would not be President anywhere in Europe.

[chervilant]

3. I interpreted this thread to be about the US,

not Europe or any other country. Furthermore, I find it difficult to quantify racism.

And, I have to wonder: to what ends did the corporate megalomaniacs (who control which candidates advance to compete for the lead role in our government) choose Obama?

Unlike you, I find the concept of 'meritocracy' a red herring. One need only look at the prevalence of anti-intellectualism (Richard Hofstadter has written excellent essays regarding anti-intellectualism), and the radical income inequity that is threatening our planet in myriad ways. My research to date supports my contention that it's about the money. It's almost always about the money, which is conflated with the false power we fragile humans presume we can have in abundance--as long as we amass wealth.

[malaise]

5. US universities and research institutes hire non-whites based on knowledge

I am not naive and I know that on any given day these folks can be stopped by racist cops, but I know too many really intelligent people who got top jobs in the USA based on merit.
Do they face institutional racism and indeed racism from some coworkers - sure - but they were hired on merit and promoted on merit.

[chervilant]

8. Anecdotal evidence

is seldom scientifically defensible. Furthermore, I did not suggest you are naive.

I think we've disagreed on issues before. I don't think it's necessary to establish whose perspective is "right." Instead, perhaps we can continue to share information so that we might contemplate new information. I guess that's the teacher in me, but the advocate in me acknowledges and supports that each of us will choose what information is relevant to us, and discard the rest.

Racism is a brutal manifestation of the "power over" paradigm, about which I've developed a defensible macro-level theory. The loud and ugly racism we're seeing since President Obama was elected is not surprising. It's as bullwinkle428 said herein below: the racists are emboldened to crawl out from under their rocks, in part because the GOP and others in power are letting fly the code words and phrases that their fellow racists recognize and relish.

[malaise]

10. I absolutely agree with you re the racists crawling out since Obama was

elected. And yes there are lots of racists but there are also lots of folks who are not racist and expose racism where they find it.

[bullwinkle428]

6. It's amazing how the "post-racial society" has enabled every racist slimeball to

slither out from under the rocks where they reside.

[chervilant]

7. In Harrison, AR

the racists have been emboldened enough to purchase billboards that promote their "white supremacy" rhetoric. This has made the national news.

And, one group has created a billboard that has "SECEDE" in giant black letters on a white background--as if our citizenry has forgotten the horror, death and destruction of the Civil War.

The anti-Obama fervor is reaching a fever pitch, and the "post-racial" racists are getting louder as we near the end of his tenure.

[nomorenomore08]

14. Are they seeing the demographic "writing on the wall" and getting desperate?

That could be one factor.

[Sheepshank]

4. attempt at humor has a gigantic fail.

in fact rather than humor, it a grotesque insult

[chervilant]

9. When I addressed my ex-boss' virulent and pernicious racism,

he thought it was 'cute' that he changed "n****r-rig" to "Obama-rig" whenever he was doing "maintenance" on the machinery in the shop. It should be noted that neither he, nor the owner of the company, had any respect for the tools they were using, so repairs were frequent and only briefly effective. Thus, I had to hear "Obama-rig" fairly often.

Needless to say, I got fired after I addressed his racism. Since the owner of the company is just as racist, I have no recourse. I find I am relieved not to hear their sullen, petulant racism, even as I suffer insomnia from being unemployed at 59.

[Sheepshank]

11. I am so sorry that your racist boss is also an asshole.

hope he rots.

[uponit7771]

12. Yes you do, if you were fired within 30 days of addressing the racism or any racism or

... any continuing racism go see a lawyer...

They'll know what to do...

Also, you can sign up for UE Benefits and state the firing as retaliation for complaint ...

you have options

[chervilant]

13. Yes, I did all that.

And, I am drawing unemployment. It's difficult to find work, though, as I'm 59 and seriously overqualified, like hundreds of thousands of other citizens in these troubled times.

BTW, if I were to pursue legal recourse against this scion of our tiny hamlet, I would virtually guarantee I'd never work here again.