Disclaimer: The content and ideas represented by this post are entirely my own and no connection should be made between this statement and my position at Rothman for New Jersey
When I worked at a half-way house in Texas I learned the term "White Knuckle Alcoholic". The term refers to someone who knows they are an alcoholic and tries to give up the juice on their own - no support system, no medical or counseling help, nothing. They are trying to simply stop being an alcoholic by willing it away. Sometimes people can hold their addiction at bay through sheer force of will for years. More often, their addiction catches up with them - and often at the worst possible time.
I've come to believe that racism is merely an outward symptom of an inward addiction to supremacy. Like a drug, the feeling of superiority over entire classes of people gives a false image of being in control, of being powerful. Like an addiction, this core supremacy can be confronted, controlled, and ultimately defeated if a person is willing to learn the humility necessary to do so.
Earlier this week, State Senator Sonny McCullough was reported to have shared a racist joke with a reporter. On the heels of Senator George Allen's "macacca" comment and Don Imus' "nappy headed hoes" uproar, you would think that a public official would be a bit more careful of what they were saying. But that neglects the power of an addiction to bend the perception of reality so that denial can whisper its lies into the conscience.
McCullough's reaction to the uproar over his slip shows that he has been white-knuckling it. Like an alcoholic uncle who beligerantly tells his wife, "It's only one drink!" McCullough asks us to believe that a joke built on racial stereotypes was not meant as an ethnic slur.
You can spot the problem by the symptom - and the symptom is the unapologetic apology. McCullough tells us, "It was never said in a slanderous way toward African-Americans or the Chinese. If they took it that way, I certainly would apologize. I never took it that way." Don Imus told us, "I'm not a bad person, I just said a bad thing." George Allen told us, "I didn't know macacca was an ethnic slur."
That is the cry of denial, coming from someone who desperately doesn't want to be a racist, but who can't find the courage to face the core of supremacy from which the original statements spring. You can bet as surely as Sonny McCullough has told such jokes before that he would also not tell it in a room full of black or asian americans. At some deep level, he knows that it's wrong. He just can't admit it to himself, much less to us.
It's also the confused cry of someone the world has passed by. George Allen, who kept a noose on his desk and a confederate flag pin on his hat, couldn't understand what the sudden fuss was about. Don Imus, who had built a media presence by insulting and demeaning people, couldn't understand what the sudden fuss was about. I don't know what Sonny McCullough's personal background is like, but I'm almost certain that this joke didn't come from a vaccuum. Once, such humor was a means of showing comraderie. Now, it's just mean.
This isn't the 1st time Sonny has had problems and it does not mean that Sonny McCullough is unfit for office - no more or less than it meant George Allen was unfit for office or Don Imus was unfit for the airwaves. But it does mean that he is out of touch with the world around him. If he has the courage to confront the ugliness within himself - something neither Imus nor Allen had - then he could still issue a heartfelt apology and regain his footing in a world that never rests. If, for whatever reason, he is unable to see the beam in the world's eye for the mote in his own, then it is time for his constituents to ask if someone who is stuck in a quickly receding past can possibly lead them into the future.
During an interview last week with PoliticsNJ, State Senator Sonny McCullough shared a joke about "a Chinese couple and an African American baby". The joke wasn't published, and Democrats calling for an apology would not repeat it, but a quick google search turned up this:
Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a black baby? They named him "Sum Ting Wong"
Is this the joke Senator McCullough told? It's bad enough that it's horribly racist. But to think that it would be appropriate to share something like that with a reporter? Not even Senator Allen was that stupid.
Recently, the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) developed and funded campaign literature that stated that Deputy Minority Leader/State Assemblyman Kevin O?Toole (R-40) was ?the Republican Al Sharpton.? The paid mailer claimed that when it came to redistricting, O?Toole?s seat was protected because of his ?Asian/Korean? descent. The mailer included a grainy, black and white side by side photo of Assemblyman O?Toole and Reverend Al Sharpton. The photo of Mr. O?Toole is one that showed him a bit unshaven, so that his facial hair was comparable to Mr. Sharpton?s.
I just read about the results of an AARP study showing that half of Hispanics in New Jersey have to pay full price for their prescription drugs because they lack insurance. To make matters worse, 43% earn less than $20,000 year. I was going to talk about the moral and economic issues of allowing a significant portion of our population to go without health care, but then I read the comments some people had left in the article.
A sampling:
"And just how many of that 50% are here legally?"
"Good...now maybe they'll go back home and obey our laws."
"That's odd, because they sell 80% of the drugs"
"NONE OF THEM EVEN WORK!!!!! IT'S GREAT TO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY IF YOUR A FOREIGNER!!"
"Most hispanics get free medical paid for by the state. Come to Newark and see all the freebies they get. From free medical to free food, free rent even free bus passes. So I dont want to hear it."
"All they want is free free free----they don't think they should pay for anything. Close our borders"
Xenophobia, racism, and pure unadulterated hate. The common thread: "brown/poor people are lazy, selfish, and don't belong here."
My wife is a pharmacist, and while I don't usually like to bring her into things here, her experience is instructive. It completely contradicts the comments you read above.
Customers with insurance frequently complain that their $10, $26 or $40 copays are too expensive and should be, say, $5 instead (that's a whole discussion for another day). But at least in my wife's several years of experience, whenever an uninsured customer has come in - often for post-operation antibiotics - nobody has ever complained for having to pay for a prescription. They either pay full price in cash or if they can't afford it, just walk away quietly. A few will shell out several hundred dollars at a time for cholesterol medicine, but for most that's completely out of the question.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that these are real people with real dignity and they should be treated as such. Unfortunately, there are those, like the anonymous clowns in the comments, who will project their sense of entitlement onto those they view as inferior to them. And there are those who turn their legitimate frustrations with the health care system into unjust scapegoating of people who are different from them. If we're still trying to get over these hurdles, we've got a long way to go.
This past February, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that school systems are responsible for stopping bias-based harassment and found in favor of a former student who had been incessantly harassed because of his sexual preference while attending the Toms River Regional School District. A school district may now be held liable if it is notified of a “hostile educational environment” and does not take reasonable action to eradicate it. While New Jersey has one of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the Country, enforcement of the law is weak, particularly in New Jersey’s public schools. The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent decision should be viewed as a catalyst for change in its public schools. To avoid adverse court decisions and to create an educational environment free of bias-based harassment, every school district in the State should be required to provide mandatory sensitivity training to all students, faculty and staff.
Don Imus may be off the air, but his spirit lives on. Every day, the Jersey Guys on NJ 101.5 spread racist, sexist, bigoted, xenophobic and otherwise insensitive garbage through our public airwaves. Whether they actually believe their trash or are doing it just for ratings is irrelevant.
Their latest racist stunt called "La Cucha Gotcha" encourages listeners to turn in "friends, neighbors and 'anyone suspicious' to immigration authorities." There are people here illegally from all over the world, but they chose to name it after a Mexican song whose title means "cockroach." Assemblyman Caraballo said last month: "Scapegoating and stereotyping Latinos does nothing but give bigoted individuals a platform to make ethnic slurs and racist comments. It could even incite violence against Latinos. The campaign is clearly aimed at Hispanics. It describes us as bugs that must be squashed."
Thanks to pressure from Caraballo and several Hispanic organizations, advertisers are, uhhh... scurrying like cockroaches. So far, AT&T, Verizon, PSE&G, Dunkin' Donuts and the state of New Jersey have canceled their advertising from the Jersey Guys show, and the Star Ledger reports that "La Cucha Gotcha" campaign has been canceled more than a week before the planned Cinco de Mayo end date.
But none of this should come as a surprise, and as long as these clowns stay on the air it will continue to happen. Nobody appearing or advertising on their show can claim ignorance. They have a long record of hate.
2004: "The Jersey Guys advocate the bombing of Freehold "muster zones' where undocumented day laborers congregate in hopes of finding work."
September, 2004: Listeners are urged to call Six Flags Great Adventure and demand extra security at Muslim Day at Six Flags, implying that all people of this religious faith are terrorists.
January, 2005: The Jersey Guys ridicule Dick Codey's wife's post-partum depression: "What Governor Codey ought to do is approve the use of medical marijuana so women can have a joint and relax instead of putting their babies in a microwave. Then all they want to do is cook Doritos. Women who claim they suffer from this postpartum depression ... they must be crazy in the first place."
Advertisers pulling ads: Horizon Blue Cross, PSE&G and Flemington Car and Truck Country.
April, 2005: "[Craig] Carton attempted to incite violence towards people recovering from addictive illnesses by stating that he would burn down the homes of recovery patients, preferable with them in it, and shoot recovering patients in the head."
April, 2005: "Would you really vote for someone named Jun Choi?" Carton asked - pronouncing the candidate's name with a sped-up, high-pitched squeaky voice.
Egged on by Rossi, Carton proclaimed, "Here's the bottom line. No specific minority group or foreign group should ever, ever dictate the outcome of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never dictate the outcome of an election, Americans should."
When a caller complained about the number of "Orientals" and "Indians" who have "taken over Edison," Carton sympathized by responding: "Damn Orientals and Indians! ? It's like you're a foreigner in your own country isn't it?"
"I don't like the fact that they crowd the goddamn black jack tables in Atlantic City with their little chain smoking and little pocket protectors. 'Ching chong, ching chong, ching, chong.'"
Advertisers pulling ads: Hyundai, Cingular, Applebees, Bank of America, Bombardier Recreational Products
June, 2006: The Jersey Guys "out" over a dozen supposedly "closeted" New Jersey politicians.
February, 2007: What started out as "harmless" banter morphed into the "Jersey Guys," the afternoon jock shocks, calling me [Senator Raymond Lesniak] a "gay Polack" politician and quickly turned into vicious religious hatred. The on-air incident demonstrated that starting down the road of bigotry only leads to the depths of hell. [...]
The Polack bashing then took a particularly ugly turn when one of the 101.5 jocks said half the Polacks became Nazis to kill Jews, a sentiment that kindles hatred and opens old wounds that the Jewish and Catholic communities have worked so hard to heal, Poland being a predominantly Catholic nation.
The Jersey Guys can claim they are equal opportunity because they wont discriminate against discriminating. Their targets include Muslims, Latinos, Asians, Indians, women, gays, those with mental illness or substance addictions, etc.
In 2005, Congressman Steve Rothman wrote the FCC to denounce the racist hosts and New Jersey's Senate voted to censure them. When they ridiculed Acting Governor Codey's wife, he confronted Carton saying "I wish I weren't governor. I'd take you out."
Two years later, Dick Codey and other elected officials continue to call into and support their show. This is at least the third time in three years that companies are pulling ads due to the show's content. Sometimes, the Jersey Guys even apologized for their racism and promised to change. PSE&G apparently believed them because this is the second time they're pulling ads - the first was in 2005.
Benjamin Franklin famously said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The history of hate is unmistakably clear. New Jersey's leaders must decide whether they will continue to support and enable this behavior or whether they will take a stand against unmitigated hate before they are "surprised" once again.
This is the video in two parts from the Lady Knights press conference earlier today. These women make me proud to be a Rutgers grad and they put Imus to shame.
Coach Vivian Stringer of the Rutgers women's basketball team at a press conference this afternoon:
"These young ladies are the best this nation has to offer, and we are so very fortunate to have them at Rutgers University," Stringer said of her players. "They are young ladies of class, distinction. They are articulate, they are gifted. They are God's representatives in every sense of the word."
"It's not about them (players) as black or nappy headed. It's about us as a people," Stringer said. "When there is not equality for all, or when there has been denied equality for one, there has been denied equality for all."
David Liss was blogging the press conference and has some statements from the players themselves.
NBC just announced on the Nightly News Broadcast that Imus has been suspended for two weeks following his racist Rutgers comments. He apologized again today. This is a response to liberal pressure.
Since this is an announcement by NBC, I presume it does not apply to WFAN 660AM.
Update (by Juan): Just hours ago, Senator Shirley Turner had issued a statement calling for his show to be suspended for a month:
"CBS Radio and MSNBC should suspend Don Imus and his show for a month to show that there are real consequences to such deplorable acts. And if they don't take action, it is up to the companies that advertise on his show to pull their ads and show America that they do not condone racism or hate speech.
I'm surprised no one else flashed on this story. It's from Sunday's Home News Tribune.
Not that any of this is news, exactly, or that any immediate plan can be derived from this information, but it is both fascinating and horrifying to note just how segregated New Jersey's communities and school districts are.
This is the legacy created by the middle and upper classes, who have whole-heartedly abandoned the cities; and the many of whom, who once in the suburbs, whole-heartedly embraced private and home schooling, all the while decrying the burden placed on them by taxes to support the public schools. This is WHY we have the Abbott districts -- to redress the inequities of the system. This is why I'm always of two minds about school vouchers -- on the one hand, I always favor choice, on the other, what's left of a system wherein everyone who can afford to does opt out?
How one begins to reverse this trend I have absolutely no idea. But when we go searching for the magic key to solving the tax relief mystery, it's worth keeping in mind that though our inner city schools systems may represent vast sinkholes for money, they also represent the absolute failure of generations of politicians to deal with real human need, right under their very noses.
Tom Kean jr has spent the last year desecrating the only asset he had, his last name, by running a campaign void of ideas and full of smears. The only reason he was ever taken seriously is because of daddy. His father came into office by the slimmest of margins thanks to a blatantly racist voter intimidation campaign, so it shouldn't be surprising that Junior chose to end his campaign in a similarly racist fashion.
Junior is blanketing the state with last-minute race-baiting robocalls, trying to connect Bob Menendez to illegal immigration. This desperate Hail Mary pass is the modern equivalent of the Southern Strategy. Racist campaign tactics aren't just for Tennessee any more. Appealing to people's darkest, most hate-filled instincts is the Tom Kean jr and the Republican party's only hope for success. Pathetic scum.
"Now he wants us to give your Social Security benefits to illegal migrants. New Jersey seniors deserve far better than having your money go to those who broke the law. You can stop the Menendez plan to give your money to illegal migrants by voting for Tom Kean."
"Each year hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants are crossing our borders. And the threat of terrorists entering our nation is very real which is why in the Senate I will fight for secure border and more border patrol. My opponent supports amnesty and has voted to give out Social Security benefits to illegal migrants and I believe that is unacceptable."
It seems that Tom Kean Jr. has no problem with being surrounded by those with questionable backgrounds when it comes to racial slurs, and he has a spotty record in the state legislature when it comes to civil rights to boot.
In this morning's 'Courier Post,' Gregory Volpe states that "U.S. Senate candidate Thomas H. Kean Jr. employed on the state's dime a former state Department of Labor employee who had used the racial slur "wetback" during a meeting in front of several state employees." The Kean Jr. employee, Harry Pappas, states that Kean Jr. knew that he was being sued for using a racial slur but that Kean Jr. kept him on the campaign anyway.
This is part of a larger problem, arguably, with Tom Kean Jr.: He has a record of going against basic human civil rights and legislation that would protect the disenfranchised. When Bob Menendez gained the endorsement of an influential group of black ministers in the state, an unsavory moment in Kean Jr's voting record came to light as part of the black ministers' oppostion to Kean Jr.'s candidacy. According to Tom Hester, writing in 'Newsday,' "As an assemblyman in 2002, Kean voted against an early version of a state bill to ban racial profiling." Racial profiling is a major problem in this state and our country, but Kean Jr. obviously doesn't share such concerns for African Americans targeted for no other reason than their skin color.
Combine these two revelations with recent remarks and legislation concerning equality for gay and lesbians -- Kean Jr. wants to write discrimination into the state constitution, and he voted against a bare minimum domestic parternship law in the state senate --, and we have a senate candidate with a problem: Judging from his record and hiring practices, Tom Kean Jr. doesn't support civil rights.
Bob Menendez is STILL losing the New Jersey U.S. Senate race. At this rate, Menendez is set to be the nation's highest profile failure of affirmative action policy. Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to say that!
Someone should let them know their sheet is showing...
Yes, Virginia, the are ordinary, garden variety bigots in New Jersey, and there are also extraordinary, organized racists in New Jersey. The Southern Poverty Law Center keeps track of the latter.
This is a sobering reminder that even in progressive New Jersey, racism is alive and well. The latest example, Riverside (ht to TPM):
Opponents of a local law cracking down on illegal immigrants clashed on Sunday with residents chanting "go home" as both sides proclaimed their loyalty to the United States.
An estimated 300 to 400 people gathered outside the town hall to protest a recently passed ordinance that bans hiring or renting to illegal immigrants, who are accused of overburdening local services such as schools and hospitals without paying taxes.
The protesters, representing the largely Brazilian immigrant community of Riverside, were heckled by about 500 counter-demonstrators kept at bay by police on the other side of the town's main intersection.
As immigration supporters accused the town's council of racism, opponents chanted "USA, USA" and waved placards saying "Scram" and "Stop Illegal Immigration." A passing pickup truck drew loud cheers by flying a Confederate flag with the motto "The South Will Rise Again."
They're motivated by hate - nothing more. Racist dolts. TPM also reminds us that Wildwood has become one giant racist merchandise store.
We hear time and again from right-wingers that their stance on immigration is truly color-blind: it's sheer coincidence that the people they're most angry about happen to have dark skin. It's always been tough to hear that argument and keep a straight face, and it became damn near impossible this week as the Wide World of Wingerdom gave us a top-to-bottom glimpse of its racial views. From a much-touted GOP presidential possibility named George Allen to Judi Franco paddling in the sludgy, bottom-feeding depths of New Jersey 101.5, race-baiters at every level of wingerdom let their white sheets slip for a moment, and what we got to see wasn't pretty.
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