Cincinnati used to have a giant jazz/soul/R&B festival in the old Riverfront Stadium every year (the “Ujima Cincibration” referenced in the article I linked). There were some big names - I seem to remember both Aretha and P-Funk playing one year.
This event was rather unique for Cincinnati, in that it attracted tens of thousands of well-to-do black people from all over the country.
In 2000, Ruby, among a handful of other restauranteurs, decided to close his Downtown eatery for the weekend, without making any announcement in advance or giving any reason why.
Many of the aforementioned well-to-do black people were fairly pissed off when they discovered that their choices in dining were thus limited during their visit.
When the inevitable accusations of racism started flying in the local media after the closings came to light, Ruby defended his actions by saying, essentially, and I’m paraphrasing “I’m not racist - this was a business decision. Black people don’t tip.”
I knew this was bullshit. The previous year, I had been employed by the local Crowne Plaza, and helped out the valets during the weekend of the festival. I cleared over a thousand bucks in tips over twenty hours from the same demographic that Ruby sells to - people who buy overpriced hotel rooms, overpriced cars, and overpriced steaks. Every last one of my guests that weekend was black.
OJ may be a shithead, but Ruby is a fuckhead. They deserve each other.
Reminds of a murder I once covered as a reporter. One family member killed another because the victim ate a Little Debbie pastry belonging to the perpetrator. A homicide detective joked that the incident could generate an effective advertising slogan: “Little Debbie - the snack cake to die for”.
Nope, that’s what the winky smilies and the use of the word “funny” were meant to convey! No serious attempt was being made to undermine or rebuke your outrage at OJ.
I was talking about a different technicality. OJ and Blake murdered people. They were found not guilty for some reason. Manson was never accused of killing anyone. He was convicted of ordering peoples deaths, not actually doing the deed.
Excellent idea, if he’s hit with a half a million dollar judgement, he’d now owe $33,500,000 in damages that he won’t pay.
Actually, I find this rather frightening. OJ has money from his pension that seems* to be judgement proof, so he can hammer anyone who gets in his way with a lawsuit, knowing that a countersuit is a waste of time. This restaurant owner probably can’t even countersue for his legal expenses and actually see the money.
*I hope I’m wrong about this, and that there’s some reason the Goldman money isn’t getting paid, that won’t necessarily apply to other people who sue OJ.
Hey, man, I’m just listing possibilities.
Don’t kill the messenger.
[sub]Hah! KILL the messenger! Get it? Because OJ kills people? Hah! I SLAY me! Did you see that? I did it AGAIN! I piggybacked one joke about killing on top of another! Thank you! I am here all the week! Try the veal! It’s excellent! And don’t forget to tip your waitress![/sub]
Courttv.com - AP news item
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — O.J. Simpson won’t take legal action against a Louisville restaurateur who booted from a steakhouse on the eve of the Kentucky Derby after all, Simpson’s attorney said Saturday. . . .
. . .Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, said Ruby is using the episode for publicity.
“If we had our druthers, this would have died that night and been over,” Galanter said from his Florida office. “We are not pushing it.”
Your “druthers”? It would have died that night if OJ had just dropped it then.
