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What’s Wrong Is Not So Black and White. Or is it?
By Matt Margolis | July 9, 2003
Follow ups are not normally my thing. I originally intended the following post to be a response to the comments previously posted in “When Left Is Right and Right is Wrong.” However, I kept writing, and I figured I’d just post this as a new blog entry. So, if you’re following the punditry regarding the parallels I’ve made between Savage and Baker, check up on both entries…
In anycase, previous comments made in “When Left Is Right and Right is Wrong” prompted me to respond with this:
The medical findings that may support Dusty Baker’s comments are irrelevant. We can debate whether or not this is common knowledge or if Baker was in fact aware of the medical research when he made his comments - but it’s not relevant to the issue I have brought forth.
The issue at hand here is the differences in the way comments like Baker’s are treated vs. comments like Michael Savage’s – or any white man’s comments towards or regarding minorities.
The reaction – or lack of reaction towards Dusty Baker’s comments is a clear example of how blacks and other minorities can get away with things white people can’t.
It’s not enough that they have more rights in America than white people do; they also have a monopoly on the P.C. Police.
You can make an argument that there may be medical evidence to support Baker’s claims… but can you not find truth in Savage’s remarks as well? A sodomite is a person who engages in sodomy. Do homosexuals engage in sodomy? Is or has AIDS been considered either a “gay disease” or at least a problem within the gay community especially? Michael Savages comments may have crossed a certain line for most people, however he was responding to a personal attack, and he believed that he had been taken off the air at the time.
There is a major difference in the sensitivity people have when it comes to comments made by minorities vs. whites.
Let’s just say, for the sake of my forthcoming argument, that Baker’s comments were justified and not racist because his comments can be supported by medical fact. Okay, fine.
But what about when white people use a perfectly legitimate English word and get shunned and labeled a racist for it?
White people can’t even use the word “niggardly” without finding themselves amid controversy.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word as
1. Grudging and petty in giving or spending.
2. Meanly small; scanty or meager.
If you were David Howard, you’d know that already. For those of you who don’t remember who he is, or his story, I’ll refresh your memory. He was the white aide of Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams, who is black. He used the perfectly good word in a meeting with two subordinates, (one white, and one black) when he said “I will have to be niggardly with this fund because it’s not going to be a lot of money,”
But that didn’t stop him from being accused of using a racial slur. It didn’t stop him from being forced to resign. This was a situation blow way out of proportion. Although Howard was eventually rehired after nearly a month of publicity and endless stupid controversy.
That’s what I’m talking about. Why does Dusty Baker get a pass for his remarks, but David Howard (temporarily) lost his job for using one particular English word?
If Baker’s words were innocent, that’s irrelevant. If he was white, he’d be out of a job right now.
Topics: Thoughts |
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July 9th, 2003 at 9:33 pm
You really are quite the whiner arent you? Do you honestly feel oppressed?
July 9th, 2003 at 11:45 pm
Um Yeah, is that all you can say? Is that the extent you can push your brain to come up with in a response?
They least you could do is try to make an argument.
July 10th, 2003 at 12:34 am
What kind of argument would you like me to make? Quit your Goddamn belly aching. Savage got fired for making a horrible horrible remark on air. And look at a dictionary Sodomy is not just Gay sex, Anything that is not man to woman vaginal intercourse is Sodomy.
July 10th, 2003 at 12:51 am
Um Yeah, think before you write sometimes.
The point was not who can or does engage in sodomy. The point was that regardless of political correctness, is it not accurate to called a homosexual a sodomite?
Try and say something intelligent in the future, or stop wasting my time.
July 10th, 2003 at 1:08 am
You know, in todays world of affirmative action, racism, unjust minority rights and “someone owes me something for my pain”, I am
feeling rather opressed as a plain ol’ white girl. Since when can a person not just work an honest, hard-working life to get what they “deserve”. Everything is being handed out, scores are being kept of who is the biggest victim. How bout this… work for what you want. I dont care if you are a damn Oompa Loompa for crying out loud. You don’t see me diggin’ up my history and Native American bloodline to get a freebie in this world. Anyone can get what they want, they just have to put a little “back” into it.
July 10th, 2003 at 1:27 am
If you ever have done anything except traditional intercourse you are a sodommite. Which is besides the point, he said he told the caller in question to “get AIDS and die,”. You are being a dumbass for trying to compare that to someone talking about how Blacks can handle the heat better than Whites.
July 10th, 2003 at 12:10 pm
The only difference is between what obvious and whats subtle. But both were offensive none the less.
July 10th, 2003 at 2:44 pm
Here’s my story.
I am black. I graduated my school with a 3.87 GPA. I was in several extra-curricular activities. I applied to Harvard, and M.I.T. I didn’t get in to either…. Sound strange don’t it? Why is it strange? A black guy with a high GPA not getting into eiter of the two previously mentioned Affirmative Action Universities?? I thought they would be glad to have me. I was probably #1 or #2 in my program. What’s the story?? What an injustice!!!
Actually, I’m a white male. But all the rest is true. This is our burden. I likely got put in the rejection pile to make room for a minority who didn’t work as hard as I did.
Story don’t seem so strange now that you know I am white.
July 10th, 2003 at 2:45 pm
Courtney, I mean,im trying to be polite. But if you are offended, and feel that is as bad as being called a filthy soddomite and being told to get AIDs and die then there is really no hope for you.
July 10th, 2003 at 3:07 pm
Java cry me a River. They cant take everyone who had above a 3.5 GPA.
July 10th, 2003 at 3:14 pm
if i was black.. i’d be in.. can’t deny that. They would have begged me to enroll. I’d be lavished with gifts. Scholarships… you name it. that’s the way the world works right now. get with it.
Right now, I’m actually glad I don’t go to such liberal universities as Harvard and MIT… but I wouldn’t mind a diploma from them that would be a key to a great job.
July 10th, 2003 at 3:29 pm
Java what exactly were your extra curricular activities?
July 10th, 2003 at 4:01 pm
Dean’s List
President’s List (3.75 or better GPA)
Merit-based scholarships
Alpha Lambda Delta National Honors Society
Tau Alpha Pi National Engineering Technology Honors Society
National Collegiate Engineering Award Winner
Alpha Chi National Honors Society
Student Council President (Ward College @ Univ. of Hartford)
Radio Station (DJ and Executive Board Member)
Hillel
Program Council
Work Study
Is that enough? or did I need just one more activity or achievement??
July 10th, 2003 at 4:26 pm
oh wait… no sports… I didn’t play any sports…. no wonder I didn’t get in anywhere!
July 10th, 2003 at 5:51 pm
Java–You forgot to include that your mom told you that you were special.
July 10th, 2003 at 6:04 pm
At least we can all rest assured that the subtleties of race relations are fully comprehended by georgie bush…
“It’s very interesting when you think about it, the slaves who left here to go to America, because of their steadfast and their religion and their belief in freedom, helped change America.”— George W. Bush, Dakar, Senegal, July 8, 2003
Fucking moron…
July 10th, 2003 at 7:45 pm
Um Yeah, I was not referring to that comment when I said I was offended. Personally, I think its pretty damn funny. Besides, come on, it was a prank caller. Ya think they really gave a crap? Like I said the difference in the stwo comments was one was subtle and one was pretty frank.
Java, I know what you mean. I had a friend who graduated highschool with me. We both graduated with about the same GPA/class rank. She however claimed she was Hispanic. And indeed she was, 6th generation American sort of hispanic. Shoot, I’m 6th generation American and therefore I’m a white american girl. I went off to school off my own cash. She got a full ride to FSU.
Its just how you work it and unfortuantely people “work it” all too often.
I guess what I am trying to say is that people come to this country for a better chance at life. They come here for freedom and opportunities that they may not have been able to take advantage of in their own land. Thats great. But too many people do exactly that… take advantage of their rights and play the victim. By all means, if youre that hurt and held back… go home.
July 10th, 2003 at 9:23 pm
Java did you apply to M.I.T. and Harvard after you entered another college?
And Courtney … one was an insult subtle or not get a clue.
July 11th, 2003 at 2:37 am
They’re both insulting. And youre a democrat on a republican website telling me to get a clue? Please.
July 11th, 2003 at 12:13 pm
One wasnt just “Insulting” One was an actual venomous insult. Get a clue.
July 11th, 2003 at 12:15 pm
To some who obviously couldn’t have given crap. It was a prank caller, not some 90 year old grandma. He was trying to piss him off as much as he had been pissed off. You get a clue.
July 11th, 2003 at 1:02 pm
Um Yeah, you’ve repeatedly questioned Java’s credentials and the circumstances regarding his attempt to be admitted into Harvard or MIT, and in response to each you find some other thing to which to judge him on to “justify” his denied admission to Harvard or MIT.
This process is only going to stop when you finally find something, regardless of how trivial it is, by which you’ll choose to serve as the basis for his rejection.
Whether you admit it or not, Java’s credentials are good. You know why he wasn’t accepted to those schools, but you keep dancing around that issue with further criteria that you want to judge him on.
Sorry, Um Yeah, it’s hard to argue when superior credentials have been obviously overlooked because of his white skin.
July 11th, 2003 at 1:10 pm
I didnt see the entire transcript and they bleeped whatever it was the caller said, but if Weiner cant handle a crank caller without resorting to insults like that then he doesnt deserve to be on the air. Matt I asked Java what his extra curricular activities were, he gave me almost all College ones. His grades were good but not Harvard and M.I.T. good and since its not like they called him up and went “We decided to give the spot to an uneducated black man because we hate whitey” Java is being an ass.
July 11th, 2003 at 1:13 pm
Not an ass, realistic. You don’t have to have a 4.0 for Harvard/MIT at the graduate level…. it’s different than undergraduate admissions. You can’t doubt that if a black person had my exact record and credentials, they’d be welcomed with open arms.
July 11th, 2003 at 1:17 pm
Um Yeah,
FYI, the stated minimum GPA for acceptance into Harvard or MIT is 3.0. You’d see this in the admissions packet for either of these schools.
With this in mind, can you explain how amongst a diverse group of extra curriculars and a near 3.9 (out of 4.0) GPA isn’t good enough????
July 11th, 2003 at 1:41 pm
Maybe I went to a really good public school but there were like over 50 kids in my Graduating class with a 3.9 or 4.0. If every single one , hell every single Valedictorian applies to Harvard they couldnt accept them all. The tie-breakers usually go to economics or The Extra Curriculars (Extra-Curriculars only usually matter if they take up a lot of time or require dedication i.e. Sports, Mock Trial).
July 11th, 2003 at 4:25 pm
” ‘Don and Mike’ should take over your show so you can go to a dentist appointment, because your teeth are really bad.”
That was the quote that made Savage go off the deep end. His absurd reaction to that comment shows how fucking crazy he really is.
Which begs the question… why would any of you want to listen to this nutjob, let alone read his book?
July 11th, 2003 at 8:58 pm
because he may be a nutjob, but he is an entertaining nutjob, unlike you.
July 12th, 2003 at 6:16 pm
Matt posted:
“Do homosexuals engage in sodomy? Is or has AIDS been considered either a “gay disease” or at least a problem within the gay community especially? Michael Savages comments may have crossed a certain line for most people, however he was responding to a personal attack, and he believed that he had been taken off the air at the time.”
Some probably do. If you still consider AIDS a gay disease, you’ve been living under a rock. AIDS might be a problem in the gay community, but its also a problem in Africa. Is Africa considered to be the world’s largest gay community? No. Therefore, don’t pin the AIDS problem to a sexual orientation. Matt, you of all people should know from SAM that if you don’t have anything good to say in an air studio, you shouldn’t say anything. Why didn’t you tell us Savage thought he was off the air earlier? Savage shouldn’t have thought he was off the air. That’s a lame excuse. He obviously meant what he said if that’s his excuse.
July 12th, 2003 at 8:26 pm
Shaggy,
You’ve managed to quote my words, change the meaning of them, then say exactly the same thing I said to support your own thesis. I did not “pin the AIDS problem on sexual orientation” as my words which you quoted show.
Nevertheless, I’ll continue to address your remarks.
I did not previously state that Michael Savage believed he was off the air because at the time of my original post, I had not heard that claim. My local station which carries Savage had taken him off the air for one night in response to the incident to discuss ceratin issues with the syndicators. The night that Savage was back on my local station I heard him explain his side of the story… not the media’s side of the story, or your view of the story.
What I do know from my radio experience on WSAM is that you can’t prevent people from being offended by your words, that you can’t always be in control of your listeners or callers, and when something is live, anything can happen, even an outburst of anger.
Try again Shaggy.
July 12th, 2003 at 11:14 pm
Matt,
I will try again to make you see the light. You’re sidestepping the issue (something Republicans are good @). Of course you can say something on the air and offend someone. His excuse of “I thought I was off the air” is absurd. When you are in an air studio, unless you control the on air/off air switch, you always assume you are on the air. You should know this. This isn’t about how an alleged crank caller created an anger outburst. This is about studio conduct. Besides, people don’t say things like this unless they mean it, crank caller or not. Apologizing is just a formality.
July 12th, 2003 at 11:19 pm
Shaggy,
I never sidestep an issue, I trample over it and make the issue dead. Just because you don’t like the result doesn’t mean I sidestepped it.
In anycase, from the words of Michael Savage’s mouth, upon his realization that the the caller was a prankster, he signalled the techs to cut him off, and the mics went dead, telling Savage that they were off the air.
I would’t try to equate our radio experiences with television. Two different things all together.
July 14th, 2003 at 11:24 am
I did not… have… sexual… relations… with that woman.
July 14th, 2003 at 1:54 pm
Well you probably havent had sexual relations with any woman. Besides that Bush’s lies actually caused the death of several thousand people.
July 14th, 2003 at 1:56 pm
Java did you apply to Harvard and M.I.T. while in another college or out of highschool? I still cannot get over the fact I asked you what your “several Extra-Curriculars” were and you gave me stuff from college.
July 14th, 2003 at 2:02 pm
I applied to Harvard and MIT for their grad programs. It was not a transfer… learn to read.
July 14th, 2003 at 2:04 pm
Bush’s “Lies” as you call them, probably saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Don’t forget, your cohort Saddam Hussein is no longer in power, unless hiding in your tree house constitutes power.
July 15th, 2003 at 12:17 am
Why not go for the Gold? Say Bushs lies saved a million people? Why not a billion? But for now the count is over 200 hundred soldiers and (Fairly Conservative estimate) over a thousand innocent Iraquis dead.
July 15th, 2003 at 9:25 am
come on, be a real democrat and piss and moan about the human rights violations committed by Saddam’s regime…
Don’t even talk about the soliders losing lives. If we never entered a war because of the potential loss of life, then that is the attitude of a someone who wants to see their country crumble. If the US didn’t liberate the concentration camps because they might lose some soldiers in the process… what good is the military? I’m not depreciating the lives of our soldiers… but honestly, they are aware of the risk, they are willing to put their lives on the line for our country. It’s something that I am not sure I could do myself, but we can’t lose sight of the big picture.
July 15th, 2003 at 1:16 pm
Liberate as in walk in and free the Concentration Camps. We did not Bomb the Concentration Camps, or Napalm them or MOAB them or Cruise Missile them.
July 15th, 2003 at 1:22 pm
You’re not getting it Um Yeah, the Nazis were the enemy, not the Jews. We attacked targets with the intent of taking out Saddam’s regime…
July 15th, 2003 at 2:45 pm
Matt you are saying we liberated the Concentration Camps the same way we “Liberated” Iraq but we did not drop tons of explosive ordnance on the Death Camps.
While we are on the subject of Jews and Nazis. Id like to point out a link you have. The one that says “STOP IMMIGRATION NOW” one of the options on the form letter is not to allow political refugees in the country “End political asylum immigration - Should people who can’t fix their own country be given a free pass to our open and democratic society?”
Um I dont know if you ever really thought this through all the way. But a lot of Americans said the same exact thing and wouldnt allow Jewish refugees in the U.S..
July 16th, 2003 at 1:26 pm
Bombs were used back in WWII you moron. It’s the intended target that is the true issue here.
You’re insinuating that we targetted Iraqi civilians specifically, and if you really do believe you clearly have more of a bias against Bush and Republican than you do a desire for truth.
You care more about attacking Bush for any civilian deaths than you do about Saddam’s regime deliberately placing themselves within the civilian population to potentially cause more civilians deaths. This is how Saddam works and plans things. You are merely a pawn in the game Saddam plays with the court of public opinion…
July 16th, 2003 at 5:35 pm
We targeted military targets in a populated city, Some were bound to die, close enough.
July 16th, 2003 at 6:35 pm
Yes Um Yeah, “close enough”
That’s right, when your argument is so incredibly stupid and partisan that even you can’t justify it, you have to say “close enough.”
Oooooh. Good one Um Yeah.
July 21st, 2003 at 6:17 pm
UY,
And what was your graduating GPA in high school?
July 21st, 2003 at 10:37 pm
3.65 something I also played Football threw shot for Winter Track and did some charity work.
July 22nd, 2003 at 12:12 am
3.65 (!!!!!)
No s**t? What grade did you get in English?
July 22nd, 2003 at 1:45 am
B’s and A’s mostly got a 690 on the verbal part of my S.A.T.s and remember I wasnt delusional enough to think I could have gotten into Harvard,Yale or M.I.T..
July 23rd, 2003 at 12:07 pm
Java didn’t apply to Harvard or MIT for an undergraduate program, but rather a graduate program. Nevertheless, Java’s credentials in college were far superior to your high school ones.
Also Um Yeah, you can’t deny that if Java was black, with the grades and activities he had in college, that he’d have gotten into the graduate program at those schools without a struggle.
July 23rd, 2003 at 12:26 pm
Far superior? Give me a break at least my extra curriculars actually took up some time. Maybe he might have if he was African-American. Maybe if he was a poor white kid from East Bumblefuck. Its such a sad persecution complex, Java just knows he couldnt get into Harvard and M.I.T. for being white, not only does he “know” he didnt get into because of some unnamed minority he also “knows” the unnamed minority worked less than him.
July 23rd, 2003 at 1:07 pm
my Extra curriculars did take time, so get off that track. the whole point of an “extra curricular” is that it is outside your normal academics.
Affirmative Action is supposed to help underprivileged minorities get into good schools… and more often than not, a minority student with B’s and C’s could get into a school over a white boy with A’s. Now, last I checked, A’s were better than B’s and C’s. You gotta work hard for the A’s. Not to say that the said minority didn’t work hard for a B or C, but for crying out loud, doesn’t the ability the excel in your academics mean anything anymore?!?!
July 27th, 2003 at 5:13 pm
Sutty,
Just like you “know” there are know WMDs. Just like you “know” there’s no evidence of an Iraq/Al Qaeda connection?
Just like you “know” all the Dixiecrats went to the GOP?
Just like you “know” all the allegations against Clinton were B.S.?
Just like you “know” that Ann Coulter’s new book is a “Big Book O’ Lies and Inaccuracies”, when you’ve never read it yourself?
Just like you “know” that it’s rare for newspapers to print party affiliation?
Just like you “know” that our military targeted Iraqi civilians deliberately?
Just like you “know” you’re always right?
Uh huh…