# It was a WHITE girl? Never mind then...cancel the protest **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 9, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300 "2004-07-09T16:04:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/21 "2004-07-09T19:45:34Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > That’s too funny. Why in the hell would Dymally think the girl was black? There’s like about 4 black people in Santa Barbara, and that’s counting Oprah and Michael Jackson. One could argue that Michael Jackson doesn’t count. He’s in Los Olivos anyway. We don’t count him among our own. 😛 Haj ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/22 "2004-07-09T19:56:42Z")
> [@cdnguy](#): > > So the Americans are fixated on race, the English on the class system, so I guess that means the Canadians, and to paraphase the Simpsons, possibly the Australians, have it right? > > 😃 Heh…you crazy Canadians and your strange fixation on an outmoded game played on ice. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/23 "2004-07-09T20:05:54Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > One could argue that Michael Jackson doesn’t count. He’s in Los Olivos anyway. We don’t count him among our own. 😛 > > Haj O.K., 3 black people, then. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/24 "2004-07-09T20:45:09Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > Thank you for correcting that, it was too close to my last name the way it was spelled at first. > > CIVIL RIGHTS DO NOT EQUAL RACIAL RIGHTS!!! Civil Rights are for ALL people, EQUALITY means everyone is involved. > > Dymally and Sharpton and their ilk are racist fucknuts. A-freakin-men! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/25 "2004-07-09T21:54:55Z")
> [@cdnguy](#): > > So the Americans are fixated on race, the English on the class system, so I guess that means the Canadians, and to paraphase the Simpsons, possibly the Australians, have it right? Naah. Canadians are fixated on language issues. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/26 "2004-07-09T22:31:45Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Neurotik- irrespective of this incident I didn’t and don’t think he is suitable for the job. It really has nothing to do with his latest gaffe. Ah, well. Fair enough then. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/27 "2004-07-09T22:41:47Z")
Riordan made a gaffe, but given his squeaky-clean record in the past, I’m willing to just accept his apology and conclude it was a silly joke that went wrong. Mervyn, howeer, is a weenie twice over – first for trying to turn the molehill into a mountain, then for backpedaling like a craven coward when it turned out the girl was Caucasian. Pick ONE position and stick to it, you :wally ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/28 "2004-07-09T23:35:27Z")
This mess helps to confirm why I rank AACP right up there with PETA. Too tired to pit, but I think AACP=PETA is bad enough. :\ ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/29 "2004-07-10T01:00:47Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Why in the hell would Dymally think the girl was black? Perhaps because “Isis” was the name of the sassy black head-cheerleader of the East Compton Clovers in **Bring It On**? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/30 "2004-07-10T01:40:47Z")
Australians are fixated on … sheep? ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/31 "2004-07-10T01:45:07Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Riordan made a gaffe, but given his squeaky-clean record in the past, I’m willing to just accept his apology and conclude it was a silly joke that went wrong. Yeah, that’s how I see it. My gosh, that man must have the worst case of foot-in-mouthitis, but I’ve never heard anything really grievous about him. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/32 "2004-07-10T02:35:43Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Australians are fixated on … sheep? No, crocodiles. Sheep is New Zealand. 😃 D ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/33 "2004-07-10T02:51:48Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > That’s too funny. Why in the hell would Dymally think the girl was black? Egyptian-goddess name. And “of course”, :rolleyes: “everyone knows”, only black africans can make Ancient Egyptian cultural references… (Wasn’t he around in the late 70s to catch the “Mighty Isis” kid-TV show? Girl was white!) ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/34 "2004-07-10T03:42:31Z")
I’ve always been uncomfortable with people getting fired for shooting their mouths off, but I’d make an exception in this case. Look at it this way: Riordan answers to Governor Schwarznegger, who answers to the people of Calfiornia. Now imagine your boss’ boss brings his eight-year-old daughter into work. “This,” he says, “is my daughter, Brittney.” “Brittney,” you reply, “means stupid, dirty girl.” How long do you expect to keep that job? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/35 "2004-07-10T03:57:30Z")
Isn’t there a word for exacerbating a situation when your intent is to solve the problem? Good thing these people are constantly reminding us that everyone’s equal, and that a person’s race has nothing to do with the degree of outrage generated by a few loudmouths. Racism will disappear when people fucking let it. No sooner. The past never disappears, and unless something is done in the present, the future will be the past repeated all over again. Also, the girl made that dude look like a jackass. That’s always good. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/36 "2004-07-10T04:30:40Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > … Mervyn represents South Los Angeles. That’s 110 miles away from here and none of his fucking business in the first place. Some how he got the notion that little Isis is a black girl. I’m not sure why. Maybe “Isis” sounded black to him, although her last name is D’Luciano. Maybe he received bad information. It really doesn’t matter. Mervyn decided that he was going to have a protest. A civil fucking rights protest… > Haj As a state assemblyman, the public behavior of state officials IS part of Mervyn’s business, quite aside from the quality of judement he displayed. Is this Riordan an appointee? Maybe confirmed by the legislature? Or elected in his own right? If there truly was some form of unacceptable behavior, it seems plausible the Assembly would have a role in determining the consequences. But I can’t claim any knowledge of how California law covers discipline issues of state officials. And of course it DOES matter how he got the idea she is a black girl. Perhaps it was fed to him to provoke an inappropriate response. Or by a reporter looking for a sensationally stupid-sounding quote. Not that I believe either of these things – he’s probably every bit the idiot you think he is. But still, the source of the idea does bear some weight IMO. An the last thing I’ll say is, at least he did cancel the thing when he learned the facts. He would have looked WAY stupider if he actually held the demonstration. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/37 "2004-07-10T04:56:31Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > As a state assemblyman, the public behavior of state officials IS part of Mervyn’s business, quite aside from the quality of judement he displayed. That’s a good point. I agree that it is his business. > [@](#): > > An the last thing I’ll say is, at least he did cancel the thing when he learned the facts. He would have looked WAY stupider if he actually held the demonstration. 😛 It would have really been funny if they had the rally and an hour or so of ranting before they brought Isis out. I would pay good money to see the look on his face when he saw Isis for the first time. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/38 "2004-07-10T05:12:32Z")
Never happen… all the sudden Isis would become “in seclusion” and unavailable to the press. Mervyn would pay for the family to spend a week or two in Disneyland hoping it would all go away. Or he’d start her on a heavy program in a tanning salon. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/39 "2004-07-10T05:34:41Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Isis, however, rocks! A-bloody-men! (Her mother gets high points, too, for raising a kid with such compassion.) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300/40 "2004-07-10T06:45:27Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > Yeah, that’s how I see it. My gosh, that man must have the worst case of foot-in-mouthitis, but I’ve never heard anything really grievous about him. Having seen [the footage](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0709041riordan1.html) in question tonight, I can only conclude that he meant it as a teasing joke. Here’s the exchange: > [@](#): > > ISIS: “Did you know my name means ‘Egyptian princess’?” > RIORDAN: (grins) “Uhm… it means ‘a stupid, dirty girl.’” > > (kids laugh) > > RIORDAN: (chuckles) “No, what does it mean?” > KIDS: “Egyptian goddess.” Can’t find any malice there; just an adult-style “smackdown” joke that didn’t quite work on a six-year-old. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-white-girl-never-mind-then-cancel-the-protest/254300.md?page=3)