I think while the racial biases aren’t all that damning, some are definitely there, playing to the stereotype of blacks being lazy, lustful, childish and poor money managers.
We have a photo of a middle-aged graying black man sitting on the edge of a tidy bed room we know from the helpful subheadlines he hasn’t paid for. He looks healthy and able-bodied, and that alone is enough for some people to get pissed at him for not working.
The reporter editorializes Johnson “isn’t that motivated to leave,” has “lazy lust” for Halle Berry, offers that “when he has to, he’ll go outside and beg for change” but that “he doesn’t like to do that,” leaving the impression it’s because of more laziness, and perhaps a sense of entitlement and not, say, humiliation or possible mental or physical problems. The reporter claims Johnson spent the all of $9,000 in housing aid FEMA sent him to buy “booze,” <---- note the perjorative word – cigarettes, new clothes and food – summing THAT up as “partying.” Yet who’s he partying with? Larry the diabetic? There’s no corroboration from the hotel, no mention of illegal drug use. Just some depressed guy away from home sleeping and watching TV in a hotel room. Also what’s not mentioned is that $9,000 in “housing aid” does NOT equal 9K in cash, which means he’s not just frittering away money – I’m betting most of it went to pay the hotel until it ran out – and is yet another misleading part of the article. The reporter claims Johnson would take the last $1,200 of a (presumably cash) buyout to stay “a few more days” and "have some fun’ – but this extraordinary claim isn’t in Johnson’s own direct quotes, which leaves open the ugly possiblity these might not be things he’s actually said.
Sharon the caseworker isn’t identified by age, job occupation, last name, ethnicity or agency, so we don’t even know 100% if he’s being dealt with by the city’s social services or a FEMA rep or even a hotel steward. This not fully identified source is quoted as saying Johnson was offered a ticket home to New Orleans which he turned down – no reason given. I wonder why, as no reason being known seems unlikely. There is mention of a “little house” in NOLA’s Third Ward, but it might even be there anymore in habitable condition. We don’t know about his job skills, his possible losses, his support network (or lack thereof).
The article ends with a description of Johnson in bed moaning after Halle Berry.
It’s an unflattering one-sided portrayal, and the few likely racial digs are hard to ignore. More reasoned people would see this as just four people out of 300 taking advantage, but it’s enough to make a bigot or racist say, “See? See what these laxy-ass people are like?”
So **roger thornhill ** isn’t the only one who smells a whiff of racial bias in this largely uninformative blurb.