THIS OP-ED from my hometown newspaper is so unbelievably racist that I am almost speechless.
Do people still WRITE stuff like this any more? I am trying to decide how to respond.
ADDENDUM: Three days after that column ran THIS TERRIBLE THING happened there, in the same town.
Thursday
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Holy cow. What is this paper's editor thinking? (This is a columnist, not just a reader writing a letter to the editor, right?) Obviously he's picking on Hispanics to start with. Then he has no facts/figures to back up his assumptions. He says it's 'out of proportion' but doesn't show it and I bet his prejudice is informing his "facts". That's where I'd respond. Crying Racism (though it is clearly that) will just polarize everyone and he'll continue on his merry racist way. I'd find out the true figures and attack his assumptions. He also hasn't proved that racial profiling isn't at work. Racial profiling can't happen at night? I'd argue that one too. That there are uneducated people thinking like he does is bad enough. That he gets paid for what he does at a community newspaper is also disturbing. That he's encouraging people to think like he does is the worst. That's my three cents worth. tg
His writing ability is not...great. However, it seems like he might not be as bad as first appears. In the end of the article he states that he wants to help the Hispanics because the people whe recruit them are not doing so. He points fingers at the people who hire immigrants with no concern for their or their families' welfare. Or am I being too generous? Did I mention his writing is...not great?
As I look over my typos in my last comment and re-read the article I'm convinced I was too generous in my last statement. Is he really a paid staff member or just someone who contributes?
Paid staffer
Paid staffer...wow. Is this newspaper desparate for writers? Is there a chief editor, or someone, who should have read the article and said ,"gee, this piece is racist and offensive"? Could one of your family members, as prominent members of the community and writers, write a letter expressing shock and disdain for this sentiment?
The real question is how many redneck white guys are found lying around drunk in Bedford County.
I can answer that (having lived there): lots and lots and lots and lots.
-kag
How about a parallel piece about the UT (and most other uni) undergrads obvious alcoholism? Ageism?
Check out this one in the same paper on the same day.
http://www.t-g.com/story/1144271.html
And this one shortly after:
http://www.t-g.com/story/1144896.html
Also, see that author's posting on his own blog. What a racist!
http://spinswimming.blogspot.com/2006/02/meanwhile-in-11th-century.html
Compare the Tennessean article about the shooting to the article in the racist Times-Gazette link below:
http://www.t-g.com/story/1144433.html
The Tennessean story and the Times-Gazette article might have been about two different incidents. I'm sorry to see that blatant overt racism is alive and well and being perpetuated in a daily newspaper. The call for employers to provide treatment for ALL employees with alcohol or drug problems is a good one, but why single out Hispanics? Good heavens.
"redneck drunks"...I can't stop laughing! I almost spit my Budwieser all over the computer! haaa heee heeee haaaaa You hit the nail on the head, or beer bottle!
Another column in the Times-Gazette:
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
By Brian Mosely
Just two quick responses to some of the reactions about columns published last Friday by David Melson and myself over the drinking problems in our community:
"Using the race card means you are dealing from the bottom of the deck."
"You know you are over the target when you start taking heavy flack."
During a column at the first of the year, I wrote about how many are using "culture" as an excuse to explain away just about any type of human failing or misbehavior. I really hope we aren't going to get into this argument when it comes to issues of concern, but I'm betting that we will.
On a related topic, here's an interesting comment out of Georgia last Friday.
The Chattanooga Times-Free Press ran a story about how Hispanics were being urged to take a day off from work or school to protest a bill in that state's legislature that would deny some state benefits to illegal immigrants and penalize companies with undocumented workers on payroll.
Flyers were being passed around in Spanish, calling for the boycott of stores and the walk-out. The comment came from State Sen. Chip Rogers, who wrote the legislation that is backed by a large percentage of Georgia's population.
"If people want to protest their right to violate the law, I consider that strange," he said. "But they certainly have the right to do so."
Like I said: Interesting comment.
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