# Anthony Cumia of "Opie and Anthony" fired for "racist tweets" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 5, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381 "2014-07-05T00:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/41 "2014-07-05T05:24:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think the OP was clear that that is a topic for [a different thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=727668). This thread is about what happened not the implications of the incident. Well, that seems a bit restrictive, but I’ll bite. His story strikes me as bullshit. I suspect he was deliberately taking pictures of the woman in question, she reacted the way many if not most women would react and he couldn’t handle getting his white ass spanked by a black woman and then whined like a bitch to his sheeplike followers who reacted like trained seals. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/42 "2014-07-05T05:35:17Z")
It’s a strange story but my first instinct is to believe Cumia. My thinking is why would anybody make up a story like this about himself? ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/43 "2014-07-05T06:03:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Yes, they’re all members of the black community. Did you read your own quote? “A group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc.” > > But don’t stop now. You’re really making things clearer with every post. I still disagree that Maya Angelou and the members of Boko Haram belong to the same community. But if they do, then I guess that all of the Australian Aborigines also belong to that same community, since they have similar tans. Do you mind if I ask you to describe your skin color? I’m just curious as to whether or not you and I belong to the same “community”. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/44 "2014-07-05T13:24:06Z")
I’m only seeing one thread, which is all that’s needed – and I’ve put it in GD, where it belongs. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/45 "2014-07-05T13:55:16Z")
This is why we don’t talk about the racist incidents that happen to us. because every time, no matter how blatant, some body comes along and whines “That wasn’t really racist, here is what he meant.” Yes, this was damn racist! ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/46 "2014-07-05T14:07:01Z")
Well, I either totally screwed up making a different CS thread last night, or the 2 threads got merged. Anyway, here is a new CS thread to discuss his version of the events: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17521841#post17521841](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17521841#post17521841) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/47 "2014-07-05T14:14:36Z")
So clearly racist it boggles my mind someone can think it was anything else. The crux of all his tweets are “Black People are animals.” Yes he is talking about this specific woman but his argument is “See, it’s because of black people like this crazy woman that we can’t have nice things.” Even if you take every word of his account as true and concede she said things about him being White that doesn’t change the fact that what he said was racist. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/48 "2014-07-05T14:28:44Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I still disagree that Maya Angelou and the members of Boko Haram belong to the same community. But if they do, then I guess that all of the Australian Aborigines also belong to that same community, since they have similar tans. > > Do you mind if I ask you to describe your skin color? I’m just curious as to whether or not you and I belong to the same “community”. The term in the tweets is clearly meant as " Afroamericans, particularly those with lower incomes".That’s how I read it, and I don’t think he meant anything else. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/49 "2014-07-05T14:29:44Z")
No way that guy was just taking pictures of scaffolding. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/50 "2014-07-05T14:46:11Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I still disagree that Maya Angelou and the members of Boko Haram belong to the same community. But if they do, then I guess that all of the Australian Aborigines also belong to that same community, since they have similar tans. > > Do you mind if I ask you to describe your skin color? I’m just curious as to whether or not you and I belong to the same “community”. So despite living in America your entire life—?—you really have no idea what “black community” means when we’re talking about Americans in America. Riiiiiiight. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/51 "2014-07-05T14:53:15Z")
If you think one person is inferior by virtue of that person’s race, that is racism. You don’t need to think that every single member of that race must be inferior. Does the OP seriously not understand that? Were white segregrationists of that thankfully bygone era not racists if they believed that there were some good African-Americans out there among all the others that they didn’t like? **Rucksinator** , I sure hope you’re only arguing this because you’re a fan of that radio show and you’d like to make an excuse to keep them on the air. Because those tweets were extremely offensive, and very racist. It’s not even a debate. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/52 "2014-07-05T15:52:49Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > …there were some good African-Americans out there among all the others that they didn’t like? Now, Patrice O’Neal; _he_ was a credit to his race. -Anthony Cumia (maybe) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/53 "2014-07-05T16:29:17Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I still disagree that Maya Angelou and the members of Boko Haram belong to the same community. I suspect **Little Nemo** glazed over Boko Haram at the end there. But the first four names there are all without question part of the African American community. Not because of their skin tone, at least not directly, but because having that skin tone, in this country, generally means that there’s a common baseline in their experience. Such as, for example, having to deal with overt racists like Anthony Cumia, and the people who defend them, such as yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/54 "2014-07-05T16:48:13Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > Do you mind if I ask you to describe your skin color? I’m just curious as to whether or not you and I belong to the same “community”. I’m white. As in red neck, white trash, and blue collar. I’m eligible for membership in the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party, and the Aryan Brotherhood. I have all the qualifications to be a racist except stupidity. So you and I belong to the same community. Because I don’t have to ask what race you are. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/55 "2014-07-05T16:51:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] **Rucksinator** , I sure hope you’re only arguing this because you’re a fan of that radio show and you’d like to make an excuse to keep them on the air. Because those tweets were extremely offensive, and very racist. It’s not even a debate. [/QUOTE] Yeah, this is very interesting. I’ve noticed a lot of people taking this “third way,” acknowledging that Cumia has regressed views, but what he said on Twitter wasn’t racist _per se_. This is the “at least I’m not in the Klan!” defense. First, it’s fairly likely that this guy was taking pictures of a woman without her consent. The legality of this is irrelevant. It’s creepy behavior. It appears (from his description) that other people noticed this and berated him as well. Which makes me glad that other people won’t stand by and let this kind of behavior go unchecked. As a father, husband, and son, I would hope other people would jump in if one of my loved ones was being harassed by some random. If he was in fact attacked by the woman unprovoked, he should have filed a report. Plain and simple. It seems to me that he knew that he’d been busted for taking perv pictures and wouldn’t get much sympathy from NYPD. Simply, he behaved like a cad and was treated thusly. This unhinged, racist rant that he conducted simply proves that he’s got plenty of opinions on this subject, and fans of the show don’t seem to be surprised in the least that he said those things. I think the surprise to him is that global companies like SiriusXM actually don’t think it’s profitable or good business to employ unrepentant racists. This, to me, is the amazing thing about White privilege. All of this “First Amendment!” discussion is rich because most of us are well aware of the fact that if we embarrass our employer through our behavior, on the clock or otherwise, we’ll likely face strong consequences. Cumia actually thought that Twitter was an extension of his show. Nope, dumbass, it’s a public forum, and your tweets can be read by anybody. And he’s surprised to learn that many people find his views repugnant and regressive. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/56 "2014-07-05T16:52:38Z")
Calling black people (or even a single black person) a variation on monkey, ape, savage, primitive, inhuman, not human, etc., has history behind it. These terms, used against any black people, are racist terms just as the more obvious racial slurs are. That’s not all Cumia said, of course – among other things, he blamed the black community for his attack. Just like blaming the Jewish community for Bernie Madoff’s crimes would be bigoted, blaming the black community for the actions of individuals is also bigoted. None of this should be in any doubt. The OP is very, very wrong. If most Republicans feel the same way, than those Republicans hold racist views. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/57 "2014-07-05T16:52:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I suspect **Little Nemo** glazed over Boko Haram at the end there. But the first four names there are all without question part of the African American community. Yes, I saw Boko Haram and I know they’re not Americans. And Barack Obama is actually biracial. But I figured they’re all part of the “black community” to a certain mindset. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/58 "2014-07-05T17:04:28Z")
Most people seem to be skipping over this part of his Twitter rant: ’ I called her a fucking "&$;;-:"cause that’s what she WAS!’ Seems pretty clear what ‘6-letter word with two repeated letters in the middle’ he was referring to. So he was also being a hideous racist _during the actual incident_. I’m surprised that didn’t turn out well for him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/59 "2014-07-05T17:52:30Z")
> [@planetcory](#): > > Most people seem to be skipping over this part of his Twitter rant: ’ I called her a fucking "&$;;-:"cause that’s what she WAS!’ > > Seems pretty clear what ‘6-letter word with two repeated letters in the middle’ he was referring to. So he was also being a hideous racist _during the actual incident_. I’m surprised that didn’t turn out well for him. See, there you go making assumptions. The OP will no doubt be along to explain Cumia might have been calling that woman a hobbit. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381/60 "2014-07-05T18:24:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > See, there you go making assumptions. The OP will no doubt be along to explain Cumia might have been calling that woman a hobbit. Or a rabbit! It could be anything! > [@](#): > > I didn’t read anything racist, but he was certainly pissed and called her everything except the n-word. Yeah, you’re wrong. Almost certainly including that last bit as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthony-cumia-of-opie-and-anthony-fired-for-racist-tweets/692381.md?page=4)