applecruncher
SF VIP
- Location
- Ohio USA
I was watching 20/20 last night and they had a report about Vester Flanagan, the man who murdered the 2 newscasters in Roanoke, VA then killed himself.
First of all, it was clear to me that this guy had problems at every job he worked at…..problems getting along with people, confrontations, feelings of being persecuted and ridiculed because he was black and gay.
Of course, we don’t know all the details of every incident, but they told of two:
There was going to be some kind of luncheon and Vester walked in and saw an ice chest with a watermelon on top of it. He flew into a rage and complained about it being racist. (huh?)
Victim Alison Parker mentioned that a friend of hers lived on Cotton Hill Drive. Vester felt she was making a racist joke. (huh?)
I personally don’t see any racism whatsoever in either of those incidents.
However:
April 1968: It was my senior year in high school. My older brother worked in a factory. A few days after MLK assassination he was in the cafeteria and heard one of the upper echelon managers telling a joke that included the “N” word. My brother marched up to the president’s office and complained. The man was called in, as were several witnesses. The man apologized, but my brother didn’t accept it, and the man was fired on the spot.
Sometimes people say “well, blacks use the “N” word themselves.” Yes, some do, and most black people will tell you they don’t like that either.
I once called out a co-worker who had a habit of making pejorative remarks about Jewish people. I know of some incidents that were clearly racist, and I know of some which were taken to be racist but (imo) were not. People need to be careful – one never knows who someone is married to, friends with, etc. And one can’t always be categorized by the way they look.
How about you? Do you let a racist remark/slur slide or do you openly object to it?
First of all, it was clear to me that this guy had problems at every job he worked at…..problems getting along with people, confrontations, feelings of being persecuted and ridiculed because he was black and gay.
Of course, we don’t know all the details of every incident, but they told of two:
There was going to be some kind of luncheon and Vester walked in and saw an ice chest with a watermelon on top of it. He flew into a rage and complained about it being racist. (huh?)
Victim Alison Parker mentioned that a friend of hers lived on Cotton Hill Drive. Vester felt she was making a racist joke. (huh?)
I personally don’t see any racism whatsoever in either of those incidents.
However:
April 1968: It was my senior year in high school. My older brother worked in a factory. A few days after MLK assassination he was in the cafeteria and heard one of the upper echelon managers telling a joke that included the “N” word. My brother marched up to the president’s office and complained. The man was called in, as were several witnesses. The man apologized, but my brother didn’t accept it, and the man was fired on the spot.
Sometimes people say “well, blacks use the “N” word themselves.” Yes, some do, and most black people will tell you they don’t like that either.
I once called out a co-worker who had a habit of making pejorative remarks about Jewish people. I know of some incidents that were clearly racist, and I know of some which were taken to be racist but (imo) were not. People need to be careful – one never knows who someone is married to, friends with, etc. And one can’t always be categorized by the way they look.
How about you? Do you let a racist remark/slur slide or do you openly object to it?
