So now "monkey" will be known as the "M word"

[Rex_Goodheart]

And "lynch" is the "L word"...

"I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys."

I know, I know... it's Newsmax, but this woman's $75 fine is ridiculous. She didn't call the children monkeys. I see nothing racist nor alarming about the comment.

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_delegate_resigns/2008/04/08/86390.html

[hughee99]

1. So when my 2yo sees Curious George, I have to teach her to say

"M-word" instead of "Monkey"? That sucks.

[Bonobo]

2. Whaaaaat? What about the "B" word?

Bonobo.

[Bucky]

81. You're full of SE

"simian euphemisms"

[ismnotwasm]

3. Racism may or many not have been the intent

But Whites referring to Blacks as Apes and monkeys are a historical fact. I think the comment was disgusting, and I'm sick of white folks saying Blacks "overreact" to decades of documented overt, covert and institutionalized racism. It's bullshit.

[Mezzo]

5. and children climb in trees like monkeys all the time...that's historical too. nt

[Rex_Goodheart]

9. Yep. My own treeclimbing activities were described the same way.

[seabeyond]

22. goodness... i bet every kid, black included, "played" monkey as we swung on the tree

making the noises and scratching under our arms. the more i think about this, the more stupid it just has to be

why would we want to work sooooo hard to make comething racist. we have enough as it is.

[Rex_Goodheart]

46. The parents who called the cops are not doing their kids any favors

Training your kids to be offended over little things sets them up for a lifetime of bitterness and misfocus.

[pleah]

70. Why do we work sooo hard to make something racist?

:shrug:

[Hestia]

6. Yes, calling blacks monkey's is historical, but that was not her

intent at all. Why has it become standard for everyone to take a dictionary of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to say because 'someone might be offended or get their feelings hurt'? And why in the world did the parents call the freakin' cops? If you can't handle situations like that on your own, do you really need to be talking to ANYONE in the outside your bubble? Come on. Nothing will change if we everything word we say is taken out of context. And how dare anyone tell another they have to resign as a delegate! What about their day in court? Or have they all become Kangeroo courts now? (Is that okay to say, or will I hurt kangeroo's feelings?)

[jobycom]

41. Why do you assume it wasn't her intent?

The kids thought it was her intent, the parents thought it was her intent, the cops thought it was her intent, and even Obama seems to have thought it at least might have been her intent.

That's a lot of people to call irrational to believe one person, whom, according to the parents and the cops, had a history of such behavior.

[Hugabear]

60. Because - she didn't call them monkeys!

She said they were acting LIKE monkeys - you know, playing around in trees?

[Karenina]

72. That's what my mom called a "legalism."

We were strictly forbidden to call anyone names BUT we were allowed to express an opinion on behaviour. "You're acting like a jerk." would not get you punished. "YOU'RE A JERK!" would bring down her wrath.

However, in this instance, I find it amusing that so many are lined up to defend this woman with such scant information. 90% of language is non-verbal, which is why only the most sensitive in the dominant culture can empathize with those on the receiving end of the -isms.

Kids are climbing a tree. Parents are supervising. A woman accosts them verbally comparing the children to monkeys, a word that must be taken in context when referring to fellow human beings. It CAN INDEED be a racist reference. What was her tone of voice? Was it HER tree on HER property? Whose property was it? Did the owner object? Why did she not call the owner of the property if the wretched tree-climbers were out of bounds? Or even the police? What made her take it upon herself to confront people who were NOT disturbing her in any way?

Is there any history between her and the tree climbers' parents that they would decide immediately to call for back-up? How does being an Obama delegate absolve her of responsibility for her interactions? After all, so many are enthralled that HE'S NOT like THEM. Obviously the parents of these kids are THEMS.

The OP has spun this as those THEMS being oh so hypersensitive. Why are so many jumping on the bandwagon with SO LITTLE INFORMATION? Is there a difference between a loved one referring to a kid as a monkey and a white stranger referring to a black child with hostility as one? JUST ASKING. :shrug:

[Hugabear]

74. Without evidence to the contrary, I'm not going to call her actions racist

As you state, context is everything. Given that we don't know the full story, I'm not going to automatically assume that she had racist intent.

[Karenina]

86. Nor do I.

I also do not summarily discount the perceptions of those on the receiving end of her actions.

[jobycom]

89. The word of the witnesses and the police investigation isn't evidence to the contrary?

Why isn't that evidence?

[jobycom]

90. She didn't call them flaming purple mushrooms, either. So?

She made a comment that the police and witnesses took to be aggressive and confrontational and racial. What does it matter what she didn't say?

[Cant trust em]

7. I think that it was more of an unfortunate coincidence

The kids were climbing in trees. Monkeys climb in trees. I don't think she was specifically trying to link these kids being black and them being monkeys.

[Donnachaidh]

8. oh please -- let's overreact about an overreaction!

From the story --

"The father of one of the boys told her it was none of her business, she told the Chicago Tribune, and "I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys."

NOTHING in that is racist. Period.

Now if you want to use your overactive imagination and make it racist -- what does that say about the parents who did exactly that?

[LondonReign2]

10. It had zero to do with their skin color IMHO

And everything to to with the fact that they were climbing in trees like, well, like monkeys. They could have been purple or green for all it had to do with the comment.

[Xithras]

11. I have never in my live heard or known anyone who has called a black a "monkey"

There may be some, but for the vast majority of us "whites", a monkey is simply a small fuzzy animal that makes a lot of noise in a tree, and runs around making messes and flinging poo.

What's bullshit is attacking people, and labeling them as racists, for making comments that were not intended or meant to be racist in any way. I call my own kids monkeys when they act like them. I call my friends kids monkeys when the act like them. Some of those friends are black. Am I a racist now too?

[jobycom]

104. Count your sheltered life as a blessing.

Maybe it's a southern thing. I've heard it ad nauseum, from my childhood in the 70s to current times. I once broke off a friendship with a co-worker because she called a friend's newborn daughter a monkey, as in "They all look like monkeys, don't you think?" (Come to think of it, she was from out west, not the south).

It's a common insult in the south and in Texas, where it's used to imply that African Americans are not humans, but a subspecies. I mean, it's used to explicitly state that. I still hear arguments from otherwise intelligent and decent white people that "it's scientifically proven that blacks are closer to apes and monkeys than to white people." Not the majority of people, to be sure. But enough.

I'm curious why you are so sure that the parents and kids who witnessed her words, as well as the police who responded to the call and spoke to both sides, are unreliable? And I'm curious why you seem so willing to dismiss the claims of the poster you responded to, who told you that the word is a common insult.

[DaveJ]

13. Racism may have been the intent of the Obama delegate??

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. I am with you

In fact I am stunned at the ignorance here about this racial slur.

[Rex_Goodheart]

17. Crying racism at innocuous and unintended expressions

diminishes seriousness about actual racism. It's the "boy who cried wolf" effect.

The M word used had nothing to do with race.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Go call an African American kid a monkey

and come back here and tell us all about it. :)

I have worked with AA kids for nearly 30 years and I would NEVER call them monkeys or say they are acting like monkeys. It is VERY offensive.

[Hugabear]

68. What if - they really were acting like monkeys?

You know, hanging from tree branches, hooting and hollering? What if any of them were making monkey sounds? You know, sometimes kids actually do that kind of stuff - imitating various animals they see on TV.

[proud2BlibKansan]

78. You can't think of any other words to use to describe what they are doing?

[TCJ70]

82. What other words for "acting like a monkey"...

...can you come up with?

[BigDaddy44]

25. "stunned" at the "igorance"

Yes, we should collectively be sitting, mouth agape, horrified, at the egregious words that came out of this womans mouth.

Monkeys climb in trees. Kids climb in trees like monkeys. Hence, they are referred to as monkeys. I see nothing offensive. In fact, I think she was niggardly in her condemnation, and should have called them even harsher names. Perhaps Koala's. Or even Lemures.

There, something for you to feign outrage about.

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. IT IS A RACIAL SLUR

And unless you are African American or familiar with that culture, you don't really have the authority to decide just what exactly does offend them.

I am not feigning outrage. I am not outraged at all. I just find it ignorant (and sad) that so many here are ready to decide just what is and is not offensive to a group of people they know so little about.

[BigDaddy44]

49. No its not.

You're proving the point of the original poster. Monkey is a racial slur? Even though all kids get called monkeys at one time or another? Do we need to rename the monkey cage at the zoo? Its a racial slur after all. What do you recommend we call it?

Its only a racial slur to those looking for racial slurs around every corner. And i'm sure as an Obama supporter she was a HUGE bigot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. Okay once again - go call a group of AA kids monkeys

or tell them they are acting like monkeys. Then let us know how well that worked for you.

You are proving you know nothing about that culture.

[BigDaddy44]

61. "that" culture?

What group are you referring to? Do "they" have their own culture? They're homogenous? All the same? Generalize much?

Oh, and for anyone who may have been offended by the word "homogenous", i was in no way referring or alluding to homosexuals. (After all, they are so easily offended........)

[proud2BlibKansan]

79. Yes there is an African American culture in this country

You didn't realize that?
:eyes:

[BigDaddy44]

83. Really. "An", as in one, culture. That all AA's ascribe to.

This is fascinating. I'm learning more every day. Care to describe it to me?

[proud2BlibKansan]

97. Google is your friend

http://www.google.com/search?q=african%20american%20culture&sourceid=mozilla2&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[Hugabear]

62. There is a HUGE difference between "monkeys" and "acting like monkeys"

Monkeys are small animals that spend a lot of their time in trees.

Saying that kids are acting like monkeys because they're playing in a tree isn't racist.

Are we no longer allowed to use similes to describe anyone?

Here's the PC version of what she should have said: Hey, quit playing in that tree like a bunch of kids playing in a tree.

[last_texas_dem]

63. To me, there is an important distinction here

If the woman had walked outside of her house, seen young black kids standing around in her yard, called them "monkeys", and told them to get out of there- that would seem to be a definite display of racist sentiment.

However, the woman walked out, saw kids, who happened to be black, playing in a tree like monkeys, and told them to stop playing in the tree like monkeys. It seems to be a pretty universal expression to compare kids climbing trees, swinging on branches, etc. to monkeys. Is it somehow not acceptable to classify monkey-like behavior as monkey-like if the kids doing it happen to be black, simply because, used in another sense, "monkey" is a racial slur for blacks?

[proud2BlibKansan]

80. This link is to NewsMax; is there any other source?

All we have here is the woman's version of events. Before we go any furthur, I would want to know exactly what she said, and from someone else who was there besides her.

But to answer your question, no it isn't appropriate to use the word "monkey" when describing AA children. As I have said before, I would NEVER do that and I spend my days (for nearly 30 years now) with AA kids.

[Rex_Goodheart]

50. Huh?

We obviously know what offends them because they called the cops. Of course I don't have the authority to decide what offends you... but I can criticize you for your choices.

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. WTF does that even mean?

:rofl:

[Rex_Goodheart]

59. You apparently have a problem with English.

[BlooInBloo]

51. Yes we do. The winners get to write the rules, the history books, and everything else....

i LOVE guarding the henhouse - WOOT!!!

[truebrit71]

85. So when my mum called me a monkey when I was in a tree she was being racist?

How about that fact that both she and I are white...still racist?

No?

Didn't think so.... :eyes:

[Karenina]

99. In linguistic terms it's called "register."

How about if a stranger called you, in your mum's presence, a "potato eater?" I realize it's a lame comparison as there are just SO FEW derogatory words to describe you and SO MANY to describe the children in question.

[seabeyond]

100. there would have to be some relevancy. the point you miss kids=clim trees=monkey

it isn't that a derogatory name was thrown out without any other meaning, or it would be clear racism

[Karenina]

101. Neither of us can judge this situation.

I will say that had a hostile white woman approached my children, referring to them as "like monkeys" I certainly would NOT consider the term endearing. Please do think this through again. The story has been spun like cotton candy.

[LanternWaste]

54. I would that you actually did...

I would that you actually did take the above posters advice-- find an African American kid climbing a tree and call her (or him) "monkey". Report back to us and let us know if her outrage was feigned as well...

[Richard Steele]

102. Niggardly? Real subtle flamebait, there.

:eyes:

[Mike Daniels]

67. Just because a relatively innocuous word may have been used as a racist slur

doesn't mean everyone who uses it is using it in a racist context.

This is about as inane as the case where someone got bent out of shape over a city official using the word "niggardly".

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. dupe

[BlooInBloo]

23. Hey! Stick with White Unity! Black people are oversensitive!

:rofl:

[Igel]

103. At the mall last year I watched as a couple

of parents rescued one of "their own" from a heinous racist attack.


A white kid had the temerity to call a black male "boy".

Of course, the black kid was 3-4 years old. But the white kid *had* to be racist. I mean, in black culture, I guess, "boy" when spoken by out-group people can only be a slur. They glared at the white boy and his parents as they swooped in to rescue their beloved child; as they left, the father turned around to glare at the white boy again. It was personal. The black man was mad and protective. He was a bigot.

The white boy is apparently unaware of what black culture is, it's true. He'd also call a 3-year-old black man climbing a tree a "monkey", showing how ignorant he is. The black kid also was unaware of black culture: He answered with his name, and was asking, "What's your name?" when his parents swooped.

Of course, the white kid has an excuse for his lack of awareness of black culture: He was 3;0. He called everybody with short hair or noticeable facial hair "boy", and all people with long hair or protruding breasts "girl" (thankfully he now knows that "boy" and "girl" only go up to a certain age, sparing us the embarrassment of his encountering short-haired women and long-haired men): "Hello, boy, what's your name?" was a standard opening line. Still is, when he's among boys and girls. But he's learning to drop the "boy" and "girl". You can do that in Czech; it's a bit rude in English, even intraracially

But the black parents showed a lack of awareness of white culture: Not every white, by any means, intends "boy" to be an insult. And most 3-year-olds can't be assumed to be racist, it takes training to get them racist at that age. I have to assume their excuse is that they've been warped by "society". However, in this case, racism was entirely in the perception, and they were too warped to recognize its absence. The string of sounds in English "boy" doesn't inherently "mean" anything, offensive or otherwise: It can be intended to be offensive or interpreted as offensive; if the hearer and speaker disagree on the word's meaning, there's no real communication. Of course, good will usually overcomes the problem. But there was none available. Not even for a kid who had turned three the previous week. Like I said, "warped". The white kid looked confused for a minute, and then found something else to distract him.

The white kid is now 4;4. The only abuse he knows to hurl is "silly head" (courtesy of a kid at a playground), "you're not being nice" or "you're not my friend." I'm still not going to tell him that blacks consider "boy" to be an insult, that he has to treat people differently because of their and his skin colors. Just not going to do it. He'll learn quickly enough, I'm afraid.

[jobycom]

24. Good post. nt

[DCKit]

27. PC has gone completely over the top, insane...

and it's taken too many people with it.

Is it really worth the time and energy to perceive slights in every comment? What is gained? Is it a power trip to be able to criticize and demean others, to manipulate their words for an agenda? What is the agenda? The faux outrage is glaring.

The victims of these attacks - and, yes, they are attacks - are weary of the PC crowd. A bully is a bully, no matter what they claim as their motivation. PC does not defend "the little guy", we are ALL "the little guy".

PC does nothing to defeat racism, sexism or any other "ism", it just pisses people off while providing a pulpit for people who perceive themselves to be our moral superiors and sustenance for their egos.

Do us all a favor: Tear that page out of your playbook and give it back to the Republics then concentrate on those comments that are, in fact, intentionally racist, sexist and homophobic. Your time will be better spent, and you won't be pissing on/off those who would otherwise be your allies.

There's enough ugliness in the world without the PC hate/guilt mill.

[BlooInBloo]

29. There ya go! White Unity! W00t!!!

[DCKit]

57. Are you calling me a racist? Is that really called for?

It would be something if you'd taken the time to dissect my argument, but your retreat to juvenile name-calling does nothing but prove my point that the vocal PC crowd is largely made up of a bunch of immature bullies that need their egos stroked and willingly fabricate conflict where none exists in order to receive wholly undeserved, inappropriate attention.

Thanks for playing.

[jobycom]

31. Speaking of Republican playbooks...

Wow.

[LanternWaste]

58. Why don't we simply all

Why don't we simply all make it our responsibility to not offend anyone? It may not be as fun, and it may not let a lot of people feel as clever as they otherwise would, but it seems to me that going out of our way to avoid hurting anyone's feelings makes us better people at the very least...

[Mike Daniels]

71. Why don't we all just keep our mouths shut and never speak?

Are people now supposed to know every archaic reference that's been either been used directly as a racist term or perceived as a racist term because people in some backwater part of the country use it in that context?

[LanternWaste]

88. It's a simple matter to not offend people...

It's a simple matter to not offend people. it's not difficult at all.

I imagine if you concentrated, you could do it for an entire day. And if you did that repeatedly, it would become habit. And then inferred insults could be dealt with much more gently than they are currently...

It's not that tough to examine one's words and the people around him before one speaks. Honest. It used to be called civility. Now, I realize it's not very indicative of everybody's favorite and trendy neo-cynicism, but it does actually work...

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

32. Right who cares what her intent was

or the fact the term gets used for all kinds of things...

My father called our white mechanic a 'grease monkey'
When I worked in a server farm I referred to myself as a 'rack monkey'
When I worked in IT development as an engineer we would refer to the ops folks who were less than competent as 'crap slinging operations monkeys' (I think all but one was white)

This is huge overreaction..

[floridablue]

4. St Petersburg police chief some years ago fired

for saying (paraphase) someone they were trying to remove from his car and arrest wrapped his arms around the steering wheel like an orangatang.

[Bluzmann57]

12. When we were little, my grandpa used to call us monkeys

My sister and I. He meant no harm, that was just his way.

[leftynyc]

16. My grandpa called me monkey my

whole life (may he rest in peace). I think I'm going to need a list of stuff I'm not allowed to say anymore.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

33. No my friend

You need a *book* of things you're not allowed to say anymore..

[leftynyc]

38. You said a mouthful

Is that still allowed?

[LibertyLover]

21. My 7th grade social studies teacher

called us untrained little house apes when we acted up in class. This was in a school in Northern New Jersey that was 99.9% white - no racial overtones intended beyond the fact that we were behaving badly. When the kids in the family, or my own 5 year old daughter for that matter, act up, I'll call them untrained little house apes, with nobody in the family saying anything to the contrary. I guess I can't do that anymore in case someone might be offended.

[Wilber_Stool]

18. I guess calling children

yard apes is out too. That was one of my favorites.

[Mike Daniels]

77. I saw the term "yard ape" in Bloom County referencing the white children characters

Some old man yelling at Milo and Binkley for goofing off.

I guess Berke Breathed is up for a time-delayed boycott.

[seabeyond]

20. what about the 5 little monkeys jumpin on the bed.... refering to kids climbing

anything, all things as being monkeys has been forever.

whomever wants to makes this racist is working too hard at it. and there is too much of an issue, to not be honest when it isnt, and standing up and saying it isnt.

there is nothing about this woman to lead anyone to believe she is racist
there is everything about this woman to suggest she is not racist

monkey for kids climbing is too normal and common

[azmouse]

26. This was posted about many, many times yesterday.

[jobycom]

28. There was apparently a history involved, this wasn't an isolated event.

Some of the parents said they had had run-ins with her before.

Realize that the kids weren't hers, and the tree wasn't hers. She was telling someone else's children to get out of someone else's tree. We don't know the tone of voice, but the kids do, and the parents do. Contrary to some opinions around here when these issues pop up, black people are not stupid or irrational, and they can tell the difference between an insult and an innocent statement.

It's possible this politician just didn't think about her words, and meant nothing, but the cops weren't called just because of this one word. They were called because the parents had a history with her, and that history led them to believe she meant her words as an insult. The kids felt threatened, they said. Notice that the cops agreed with the parents, or else they wouldn't have given her a ticket.

[BlooInBloo]

30. There's no such thing as history to white folks.

[jobycom]

36. Some of us get it, but wow, this thread has depressed me.

I don't know what I expected. I was always a Democrat because of my hatred of bigotry and ignorance, no matter who it was directed at. There are times I can't tell the difference between DU and FR, with all the sexism, racism, homophobia, and other forms or hatred around here.

I'm not even upset that some people think the woman was unfairly criticized. But the way some are expressing that is beyond belief.

[BlooInBloo]

37. It's standard. It's not just "a few bad apples".

EDIT: But yah - it is depressing when the realization first hits you.

[jobycom]

43. Yeah.

It's not so much that the realization just hit me, it's that I keep hoping it will change, and it doesn't, even in places you hope people will get it if it's explained to them enough. Doesn't surprise me, just deflates.

And I'm white. It only affects me when I let it. You know?

[BlooInBloo]

45. Same.

[Rex_Goodheart]

39. Nothing like a ridiculous generalization based on race, eh?

[Hestia]

87. To get off the racist crap, look at this as a property owner...

if I saw some kids climbing a tree (from the story, it's on her property line?) and if they fell in my yard the first thing I would think is a 'lawsuit'. "Said defendent saw children climbing tree and said nothing...blah, blah, blah".

"Magnolia's" (do magnolia's even grow in IL?) are very weak limbed and brittle, and then some kids starts swinging around on the branches, yeah, I sure would say something. What if she owned the house next door, or has a tacit agreement with the property owner that kids need to stay off the property, including trees? Parents had run-in's how? Were their kids running through her yard? Broke a window (like my house) and she was angry?

[seabeyond]

91. couple more things. parents there, but not sounding like parents property

not parents tree i would be telling my kids to get out. if it is their tree, neighbor keep mouth shut. why was the cops called. no threat. nothing but a woman saying something. wtf are cops being called because of nonthreatening words. that is the worst so far

secondly, .... kid says he was scared because of the words said. wtf with that. what kid is going to be scared by words. not threat. there wasnt a threat so kid couldnt say scared of woman. had to be scared of what the woman said. that doesnt make sense. "One of the boys told police he was scared by her comment"

further to be scared with both parents sitting there

doesnt make sense.

[jobycom]

93. Do so. The tree was in the kids' yard, the parents were watching

The culprit crossed into their yard and while the parents were watching told them to get out of the tree. The parents told the culprit to mind her own business, and she made a comment they took as racist and aggressive.

As a home owner, I'd have called the cops if someone started ordering my kids around in my yard. The lawsuit thing is silly--the parents were there, and it was their tree.

The details are in the story, it's not some mystery.

[seabeyond]

95. i didnt get that it was parent property, but re reading for third

time, yes, probably was their property (could have been, was it?) and no reason for the woman to open her mouth what so ever. as a parent i would have issue a neighbor coming over and telling my kids to get out of their tree. lol. that is stupid.

i still wouldnt call cops. dont know if she was being racist or not. i dont. i cant take monkey with kids and climbing trees, but maybe.... if so... shame on her. if it is butting in where doesnt belong and not racist... then so be it

dont know

[DS1]

34. What happens when they're playing on the monkey bars?

[Rex_Goodheart]

40. Good point

I guess they're called something else by black people????

[jobycom]

44. That's when you go with the assumption that black people are intelligent and rational

and can tell the difference between a racist attack and a simple utterance of a word.

[BlooInBloo]

47. Pfft. Like white folks would EVER take a black person's word...

... The whole POINT of being the fox is that you get to guard the henhouse.

[Blue-Jay]

76. I've started a website to rename them "Swingin' Happy Bars".

So far, only bored wives and husbands have logged on to make suggestive comments. Weird.

[Aviation Pro]

35. Here's the proper response to someone who feigns....

...outrage: oh, give it a fucking rest, asshole.

[Rex_Goodheart]

48. You know... even if the women meant to call them monkeys

in a racist metaphorical fashion (which I don't believe) she shouldn't be fined.

What about free speech? It's not like she endangered them.

[Political Heretic]

55. Ok THAT is ridiculous.

Holy crap.

[Horse with no Name]

56. I call my granddaughter "monkey"

She is white as the driven snow...blonde hair, blue eyes, porcelain white skin. I was playing with someone else's child and was laughing and called them a monkey as well. My granddaughter was pretty indignant...told me that SHE was my only monkey. I had to correct myself.
I think context is very important.

[Gormy Cuss]

64. Yeah, "monkey " is the new "M" word

"Macaca" is so 2006.

:sarcasm:

[devilgrrl]

65. NewsMax: What a credible source!

:sarcasm:

Who are you trying to kid with this BULLSHIT?

:nuke:

[DCofVA]

66. Does this mean I won't be able to call Bush the "Mad Monkey" anymore?

:(

[depakid]

69. Not just in the states

ANDREW Symonds has been subjected to yet another round of monkey chants, this time by sections of the Wankhede Stadium crowd during Wednesday night's seventh and final one-day international.

The incident occurred on the same day that the Board of Control for Cricket in India finally relented and pledged to investigate racist crowd behaviour, having initially attempted to dismiss the issue.

Symonds has been portrayed as a villain by the Indian press in recent weeks, and he was jeered loudly by spectators both on his way to the centre and his return to the pavilion. But it was the monkey taunting following his dismissal that will most upset the Queenslander and his teammates, all of whom had hoped the issue was close to being resolved.

An Australian photographer captured several images of monkey taunting from the crowd, providing for the first time evidence of Symonds's earlier claims. A racist thread has weaved its way through the latter stages of this series, and any further attempts by the BCCI to bury heads in the sand will presumably be met with scorn by the International Cricket Council.

Several Indian media outlets have gone to great lengths this week to explain that monkey chants in Indian cricket, unlike in European football, are not intended to be racially derogative....

http://www.smh.com.au/news/cricket/symonds-racially-abused-yet-again/2007/10/17/1192300859647.html

[petronius]

73. "...the ordinance bans conduct that disturbs or alarms people." WTF?

That's either a really stupid law or a very poor explanation from the cop. By that standard, the kids disturbed the woman, so they should have gotten a ticket, too...

[Hugabear]

75. Using this law, we'd have to lock up almost everyone on DU

Especially anyone who posts in GD:P. :P

[truebrit71]

84. I hope she sues the shit out of the city....

...what a tempest in a tea-cup this is... :eyes:

[geek_sabre]

92. man, if I knew you could get people ticketed for offending

I'd call the cops every time I cross a repuke

[seabeyond]

94. i am not getting why they called cops in first place and why cops came out

words, non threatening words.

[HuffleClaw]

96. wow, what a load of malarky

i just bet that had one of those kids had fell out of the tree those parents would have sued.

"the parents were outside supervising the children"??? 'supervising' their kids playing on someone else's property?

a nice little case of manufactured outrage imo. and obama's campaign sure isn't helping the situation by reacting before the issue is settled.



ON EDIT : will school playground now have to find another name for MONKEY BARS ?

[Nine]

98. This is about the third time this story's been posted (previous not Newsmax) but I'll comment again.

First, I'm a Hillary supporter, and I don't think this story reflects in any way on Obama, good or bad. His campaign did ask her to resign as a delegate, which I think was a reasonable course of action. On to the story...

I'm amazed at how many people on here are SOOO certain they know exactly what this was all about, what was in this woman's mind. It's true that "monkey" is often used innocently and affectionately to refer to children behaving boisterously. It's also true that there is a well-documented history of monkey comparisons being used as racist slurs. It's nice for some of you (though surprising to me) that you have never heard of this type of racist insult, but believe me and the others who have posted that the history does indeed exist. Now was this woman using the term innocently or maliciously? I don't think we have enough information to know. Karenina asked some relevant questions upthread: “What was her tone of voice? Was it HER tree on HER property? Whose property was it? Did the owner object? Why did she not call the owner of the property if the wretched tree-climbers were out of bounds? Or even the police? What made her take it upon herself to confront people who were NOT disturbing her in any way? Is there any history between her and the tree climbers' parents that they would decide immediately to call for back-up? How does being an Obama delegate absolve her of responsibility for her interactions?”

I won't assert that this woman is definitely a racist without having more information. But neither will I assume that the parents of the children were overreacting. I do think that the parents were probably upset not just at the use of the term but also by the fact that the woman chose to yell at the kids when their parents were right there in the vicinity (and not on the woman's property) and that she persisted even after they asked her to mind her own business. That seems a bit aggressive to me.

I was curious to see how Newsmax would spin the story - would they choose to use it to trash Obama or would they make it about political correctness gone out of control? They seem to have chosen the latter. I'm just astounded at how many DUers are accepting that spin. It's also interesting how the same essential story posted several times can elicit a different group reaction each time. Are people reacting only to the slightly different spins given by the different articles or to the reaction of others in the thread. It would make an interesting study.

[orleans]

105. the parents were pissed off that someone else told their kids to behave

"She said the parents were outside supervising the children, but she went over and told them to get out of the tree because she was concerned about the boys' safety and because the small magnolia tree was being damaged."

at least, imo that is why the police were called

"I calmly said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys."

gee, i guess she could have said the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like birds or snakes or squirrels or chipmunks or vines.

maybe this woman is a real racist (even tho she is an obama delegate?)
but to me, comparing ANY kid climbing a tree to a monkey hardly smacks of racism