Geisha

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/...girls.name.ap/

It's kind of old news, but the "race card" was brought up in another thread and I found this apropos but I didn't want to hijack the thread:


The one point this article glosses over is that the Secretary made the comment after the girl repeatedly interrupted him during his speech to ask him if he knew what her name meant. Greg heard an audio clip... I'm guessing the Secretary is just one of those people who's comments sound a whole lot funnier in their head before it comes out of their mouths and they realize their mistake.

leejo

LOL. Speaking of what words mean, my parents always said "tattoo" is greek for "you're on your own."

Fait_Maker

While his comment was inappropriate, the girl's mother said he apologized to her and Isis for it and in her mind it was over.

The thing that disturbs me is the fact that they WERE all ready to hang him until they found out she was white. Wrong is wrong. Right is right. Why is it suddenly ok, in their mind, that he did it, since it wasn't a black girl?

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Geisha

Exactly. That's why the term "reverse racism" not only doesn't make sense, but implicitly indicates a double standard on the part of a person using it.

From the NAACP's standpoint, after starting a campaign on a falst assumption (possibly even a stereotyped assumption based on the girl's name!), they couldn't end it gracefully in any manner. Their very title and probably their charter makes it impossible for them to support any group's rights other than African-Americans (they don't help Hispanics, Aleutians, etc). So they couldn't really stick up for the white girl without offending vocal members of their own group. But on the flip side, by immediately dropping it when they found out she was white, they look just as bad from a global human-rights point of view, as well as unintentionally implying that a white girl isn't worth the fight. Once started down the path, they were screwed either way. But I really don't feel sorry for them, because the NAACP seems to go overboard in a lot of cases.

I'm really glad the media publicized this, because to me the most important point is actually that THE PARENTS ACCEPTED THE APOLOGY AND DROPPED IT. Thus proving that people can make mistakes, be forgiven, and a career doesn't have to be permanently ruined because of a single thoughtless comment. The sad thing is that if Isis had been ANY sort of minority, the minority support groups in question probably wouldn't have allowed the parents to accept the apology and let it lie...

Fait_Maker

I'm not sure about that. The best way for them to recover would have been "It's still wrong. While we did think it was a black girl we were talking about, he was still wrong." Then they would have been accused of going overboard asking for his resignation but viewed as being on the side of right. That's just this man's opinion, though.

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NewsWrthy

I have to say that as much as I wish it were untrue the NAACP has gone from an organisation that would and could help to a groupe of hacks ho have Hijacked it. I would say that it now stands for " National Association Against Caucasion People" When they came out against Justice Thomas' apointment to the Supreme Court, it should have been an eye opener. seems they do not back honest hard working conservitives no matter what color thier skin is.

Zebra

So they should have backed Thomas just because he's black? But wouldn't that make them even more Against Caucasian People?