I’ll dispute it.
As I’ve said before, one of things that is most striking to me is the way that members of this board view everything through the prism of race. And this is no different.
As more-or-less a foreigner, I’ll say this guy had one job: to speak clearly. From my position, insult, accident and evidence are irrelevant.
Dude he’s reporting the weather not building nuclear bombs, he had a slip of the tongue so what, his job is inconsequential, a bunch of manufactured outrage but he’s certainly feeling some unmanufactured pain from what amounts to being tongue-tied. If you think anyone can speak every day and not make a mistake you’re kidding yourself. The guy didn’t do anything wrong at all, he had what amounts to a brain fart but apologized anyway, he got screwed, and though it doesn’t affect me personally, and it won’t keep me up at night, I can easily see that it’s bullshit pc culture run amok.
I’ve done public speaking, lecturing, and radio announcing. I know how difficult it is, how easy it is to make mistakes, and also how difficult it is to think while talking.
That’s why I wasn’t paid for it, and professionals are.
There are some people who take a perverse delight in punishing people whom they know for a fact to be innocent as if they were guilty.
Right and if you watched any of the clips widely available on YouTube and other media you would know that paid “professional speakers” still make mistakes all the time, My God even professional actors who are paid millions of dollars make mistakes all the time, and bands who play live music, who are professionals make mistakes all the time. What else you got?
I agree with this and in my mind it represents a larger issue.
Implicit in this discussion is that if he is a secret racist in his personal life, then he is persona non grata and he should not only be shamed, but become unemployable.
I’ll put my hatred of racism up against anyone’s, but there in an inherent danger in marginalizing these people because it will simply force the beliefs underground where they will become more radicalized. I also object to such treatment in a country that values free speech and a free exchange of ideas, even loathsome ones.
And the definition keeps changing. Racism doesn’t have the traditional definition that I believe my race is superior to others. In almost every debate the allegations of racism and sexism are thrown around like beads at Mardi Gras. I fear that we are at the top of the slippery slope where if you do not agree with many left wing positions, then you are a racist, and therefore not eligible to pursue your career.
But, yeah, even if we assume that this guy is a member of the KKK, why should that matter as a weather reporter? Sure, don’t hire him for the Civil Rights Commission in the city, but let him report the weather.
Racism is not black and white (no pun intended), it is a spectrum. If he were literally an openly known member of the KKK then few employers would want to be associated with him. Several people lost jobs after being in the Charlottesville demonstration. If he sits in his living room with a beer watching football and says, “Yeah, they can run but they can’t play quarterback,” it’s certainly racist but not something you get fired for.
An ESPN reporter did the exact same thing in 2010 and was not fired.
I read about the incident before I saw the video, so I was biased going into it. But having listened a few times now, I hear a terribly unfortunate spoonerism. The guy immediately corrected himself, his apology seemed sincere, and “coon” is a pretty rare slur these days. I don’t think this is a racist who figured he couldn’t get away with the crooked OK gesture or slipping a 14/88 reference in, so he reached back to a 60s era slur. People who talk all day, even if they’re getting paid for it, sometimes flub their lines. I want racism driven out of our lives, too, but I don’t think that objective is served by crushing this guy for talking too fast.
Well, you say “would [not] want to be associated with them” but how much of that is the free choice of the employer or a reaction to society coming down on them like a ton of bricks if they do not take “appropriate” action.
In my business, putting aside the public scorn, if that were not present, I don’t think I would have a problem hiring a racist to work for me as long as he did a good job. I would tell him in no uncertain terms that he is not to treat anyone differently or bring his bullshit to the job, but what he believes or does on his own time isn’t my concern. If we were having some beers at work after hours, I would tell him what an absolute fucking fool he was for having those ideas, and maybe try to change his mind.
But those ideas are real and are largely a result of ignorance. If the only outlet for those views are sitting on the couch and bitching about black quarterbacks, his ideas are never challenged, and not only might they grow into extremism, but he is never given a real opportunity to hear the evidence and possibly change his beliefs.
I agree with your overall point, but I hesitate with the idea of having “racism driven out of our lives.” It just ain’t going to happen that way and it infringes on our ideals of free thought and personal autonomy. I want racism removed from society through reasoned debate and free discourse. If we do that, then you don’t have Charlottesville or a shooting in Pittsburgh at the Jewish Temple.
The easiest way to make someone more entrenched and more firm in their incorrect position is to demand that they change it.
I have to say, I was on the “slip of the tongue” squad, until I watched his “apology” video. Dude shows no concern whatsoever for people who may have been offended by his “slip-up.” He never says he understands why they are upset, or in any way rejects the idea that he might be a racist. He speaks nicely about Dr. King, and follows in the same breath with " . . . all that being said". In my experience, that phrase is like “but” everything that comes before it is BS.
What he does, in the guise of thanking everybody who has helped him, is: list all the people who have been supporting him, show off his lovely wife, declare himself a Christian, and pose very specifically in front of his certification wall.
These are all the things that those habituated to privilege do to “prove” that they “deserve” their positions. It is exactly the way I would expect a racist to respond. I fully believe it was a slip of the tongue; he never meant to let his true beliefs slip out on the air like that. I think he uses that phrase regularly, has been raised to do so, and is completely blindsided that making that public - however accidentally - has repercussions.
I see your point of view and think it’s well-reasoned, although I just have a different opinion. I am a senior manager at my company. I don’t own it, but I make a lot of hiring decisions. I would not hire a racist who publicly advocated violence against non-whites or marched for white supremacy, even if there were no repercussions from the public. It wouldn’t matter how good a job he could do, because there’s always someone else just as good. That doesn’t mean I screen for it, and like that line in The Witness I cannot see into their hearts. But I can see their actions and there are some things I can’t abide just as a human being.
We can’t rule out that it was intentional, but it definitely would have been an easy mistake to make, whether or not the person ever used that word in their life.
The “k” and “J” sound are made identically by the mouth with the exception that while the “J” sound involves the tongue being placed so the tip is at the end of the mouth, the “k” sound has the tongue up in the center of the mouth. This is also where the tongue is for the “i” and the “ng” sound. So just after saying a word a word entirely composed of sounds that involve the tongue in the back of the mouth, it is easy to accidentally keep it there when your start the next sound, changing “Junior” to “Kunior” But if you catch this mistake half way through and correct it you end up with King kun Junior.
Or you spoonerize it and get “Martin Luther Koon Jingler”. Which would be funny in a “Hoobert Heever” sort of way were it not for the unfortunate connotations.
Assuming this was just a pure tongue-tied accident, it’s really unfortunate, because it’s also the only context in which I’ve ever heard someone actually use the word “coon” as a slur.
Sort of reminds me of the time Rick Santorum spoke out against welfare because he’s against giving money to blah people. Yeah, right.
The media have surely been talking to anyone who knows him, including his friends, family and neighbors. If he uses that word or phrase regularly, don’t you you think someone would have noticed at some point in the past few decades?
I don’t know, I haven’t seen any reporting like what you describe. If you link them, I’ll take a look though.
That was kind of my point: I haven’t heard/read any such reports, either. It’s impossible for him to prove a negative (i.e. that he has never used the word “coon” in daily conversation), but given the media storm surrounding this incident, don’t you think the lack of any such reports by now is pretty strong indication that he does not use that word in daily life?
First, there needs to be someone who’s heard him say such things and has not thought “no big deal”. What are the chances of finding such a person?