James Taranto describes below an ironic case of hyper-sensitivity. (Lines in bold are Taranto's observations; those in normal case are the passages from the Sun-Times story. Also in normal case is my own comment at the end of the post.)A Barack Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention was "ticketed for calling her neighbor's African-American children 'monkeys,' " reports the Chicago Sun-Times. (We didn't realize this was against the law, but the Chicago Tribune explains that the charge was disorderly conduct.) Here is what happened, according to the Sun-Times:
[Linda] Ramirez-Sliwinski "came outside and told the children to quit playing in the tree like monkeys. The tree was not on Ramirez-Sliwinski's property," Carpentersville Police Commander Michael Kilbourne said.
Ramirez-Sliwinski admitted she used the word "monkeys," but said she did not intend racism. She said she was only trying to protect them from falling out of the tree.
"Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski said she saw the kids playing in the tree and didn't want them falling out of the tree and getting hurt. She said she calls her own grandchildren 'monkeys,' " Kilbourne said. The mother of one of the children did not see it that way, noting she and Ramirez-Sliwinski have clashed before. "She felt it was racist because of the fact the children were African-American," Kilbourne said.
Told of the incident Monday by the Sun-Times, Obama's campaign called Ramirez-Sliwinski and persuaded her to step aside as a delegate because the campaign felt her remarks were "divisive and unacceptable."
Ramirez-Sliwinski admitted she used the word "monkeys," but said she did not intend racism. She said she was only trying to protect them from falling out of the tree.
"Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski said she saw the kids playing in the tree and didn't want them falling out of the tree and getting hurt. She said she calls her own grandchildren 'monkeys,' " Kilbourne said. The mother of one of the children did not see it that way, noting she and Ramirez-Sliwinski have clashed before. "She felt it was racist because of the fact the children were African-American," Kilbourne said.
Told of the incident Monday by the Sun-Times, Obama's campaign called Ramirez-Sliwinski and persuaded her to step aside as a delegate because the campaign felt her remarks were "divisive and unacceptable."
Finally, someone Barack Obama can disown! Let this be a lesson for other Obama delegates: If someone is bothering you, shout at the top of your lungs, "God damn America!" You know Obama will stand by you then.
My note: Couldn't the racism here be the kid's mother assuming that "monkeys" was a reference to African-Americans?
I remember bothering neighbors too when I was a kid and a few of the unpleasant names thrown at me. They included "idiot," "clown," "juvenile delinquent," "bum," "thug," "creep," and an awful lot of things I can't repeat here. Even names taken from the animal class were pretty common. "Ape," "baboon," "rat," "pig," "hyena," "slug" and "jackass" all come to mind. Now I certainly took these as terms derisive of my character, (a fair cop, that) but I never dreamed of interpreting the names as being derisive of my race.
So, in the matter of deciding who was the racist in the Sun-Times incident, perhaps, just perhaps, the Carpentersville Police wrote the ticket on the wrong person.
My note: Couldn't the racism here be the kid's mother assuming that "monkeys" was a reference to African-Americans?
I remember bothering neighbors too when I was a kid and a few of the unpleasant names thrown at me. They included "idiot," "clown," "juvenile delinquent," "bum," "thug," "creep," and an awful lot of things I can't repeat here. Even names taken from the animal class were pretty common. "Ape," "baboon," "rat," "pig," "hyena," "slug" and "jackass" all come to mind. Now I certainly took these as terms derisive of my character, (a fair cop, that) but I never dreamed of interpreting the names as being derisive of my race.
So, in the matter of deciding who was the racist in the Sun-Times incident, perhaps, just perhaps, the Carpentersville Police wrote the ticket on the wrong person.
