Update Speak Up
In reference to my “latest” issue look what a “history” teacher wrote in a blog (below)……ouch!!!!
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history teacher says:
I'm sorry. How is this "racist"? It's okay to constantly criticize white people, especially if they're conservative! Was there ANY outrage when Sarah Palin AND her family were getting skewered DAILY?
Oh, and the imposters in the White House are ugly, anti-American, racist Communists!
Posted On: Saturday, Mar. 6 2010 @ 9:21AM
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JB says:
I'd like to say I'm shocked by this. But this is Tennessee.
The State that has a Park named after the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 5 2010 @ 10:07PM
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Michigander stuck in Tennessee says:
The truly sad part is that that kind of racist political trash comments are par for the course in TN. This is a state where people are outraged that former Vice President Al Gore is being torn to shredsin the blogosphere and talk radio shows for being given a honorary degree from UT. This is also a state that religious fanatics hand out flyers speaking against/ridiculing catholics religious beliefs and the blogosphere is overwhelmed with support for the fanatics. The same state where the majority of these same clowns believe bush was a good president and kept us safe from terrorists and believe that President Obama is the anti-christ. The same state where people say poor people are poor by choice and that homeless people should be ran out of town. Welcome to the state on TN. inbred, uneducated and proud.
Posted On: Friday, Mar. 5 2010 @ 8:17PM
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Wee Davey says:
I'm Canadian and have lived in the U.S. for 30 years.The first 25 in Arizona and the last 5 in Tennessee.The joke (?)was not only obviously racist ,but also not well written.(No plans to improve it)For the first 25 years in the U.S. I have heard almost n o racist rantings, or read racist material. The latter 5 years have been quite different. In Tennessee there seems to be a cloud or blanket over us spouting racist garbage by the boatload. Will it ever stop? As a "pure whitey" I believe your country coild use a good scolding e.g. From persons like Churchill, and similar folk who know how to carry on .
Posted On: Saturday, Mar. 6 2010 @ 3:14AM
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a reply from a “prominent” member of the community below....
Albie Del Favero
Nashville Group Publisher for The City Paper, Her Magazine, BusinessTN, nashvillepost.com,
and Nashville Medical News, all part of Southcomm, Inc.,
his blog response to the former Canadian and others….in defense of his friend….
Albie Del Favero says:
I feel compelled to weigh in here as a friend of Walt's and a recipient of the e-mail. And yes, SB, to give my friend Walt some cover.
Racism involves prejudice or discrimination or implies superiority of one race over another. This cartoon is considered “racist” only because we have been conditioned to believe that any comparison of African-Americans to monkees or apes,no matter how innocent the intent, is automatically an issue of comparative intelligence. If this photo comparison were part of a group of photos of other folks, black and white, with facial expressions that mimic animals, it would be funny and much less likely to be considered racist (although that would never happen because of our heightened racial sensitivity.)
But the point here should be whether Walt Baker is a racist. He is not. He may have done something stupid but he is not a racist.
And Liz, you're an excellent journalist, and I'd like to know if you have any second thoughts on whether this was newsworthy? (If Dwight Lewis weighs in on the subject tomorrow, we'll know it's not.) And, by the way, what happened to the days when the Scene toppled real douchebags like David Stringfield?
Finally, Wee Davey, please don’t expect me to believe that in your 25 years in Arizona, you never heard an unkind word about Mexicans.
Posted On: Saturday, Mar. 6 2010 @ 7:25AM
Please come to YOUR own conclusion,
Hospitality associations fire Walt Baker after racist email
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 5:16pm
Staff reports
Mercatus Communications’ contract with the Tennessee Hospitality Association and the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association has been terminated in the fallout from a racist email forwarded by principal Walt Baker.
Together, the state and local hospitality associations jointly expressed disagreement with the inappropriate email that compared First Lady Michelle Obama to a chimpanzee.
“Walt’s email reflects a deep misunderstanding of the nature of hospitality and our role as an association said Bill Mish, president of the board of the Tennessee Hospitality Association. “His email was sent in his personal capacity and not in his connection with the hospitality associations.”
Both groups, that together represent 280 hotels with 40,000 rooms across the state, 650 restaurants, have been busy with damage control since word of the email spread Friday.
The hospitality industry is the second-largest employer in the state and locally, employing tens of thousands of individuals.
“Diversity has always been a high priority in the hospitality industry,” said Pete Weien, president of the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association. “The email sent by Mr. Baker does not reflect the positive initiatives we have undertaken as an industry and organization, and therefore we are terminating our relationship with Mercatus and Walt Baker.”
American Hotel and Lodging Association board member Tom Negri stated: “The email sent by Mr. Baker is unacceptable and upsetting, both personally and professionally. It is not who we are as a hospitality organization and it fails to reflect that our industry is one of the most diverse industries in the state of Tennessee and, in fact, our country.”
