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March 20, 2010

The Dangling President

Justin Katz

Let's order things clearly: It was objectionable for a Central Falls high school teacher to dangle an Obama doll upside down with a sign saying "Fire CF Teachers," because it involved the students in a union dispute. Talk of its being a hate crime is utterly outlandish:

To Clifford Montiero, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP, the effigy represents a lynching of a black man, and brings back painful memories of decades of injustices.

"In my mind, this is a hate crime, and the teacher should be charged," Montiero said. "This teacher feels he can demean the president of the United States, an African-American who has overcome all this hatred. It is wrong. And when you take a nonviolent environment like a classroom, and introduce violence and hatred into it, you have crossed the line."

Even calling the thing an "effigy," as the Providence Journal does, goes a bit far. I look at the picture and I think Laugh In, not Mississippi Burning, with the President popping out to offer a one liner.

Comments

I never heard Cliffy Monteiro utter a word about the school house lynching of James Perkins. Not a peep!
A fine educator had his career destroyed by Cicilline and Brady and Uncle Tom never said a word.
Justin it's funny how 'Laugh In' comes to mind whenever Cliffy Monteiro opens his mouth.

Posted by: Tim at March 20, 2010 6:28 PM

Well, it appears that when you talk about the modern tea party and conservatives - that where there is smoke, there id most definitely fire.

The tea party likes to say that it is only a few outsiders who hold those racist signs at their rallies. Bunk! BS!

Here is what they did today - yelled en masse at one of the most famous and respected lawmakers in the country.

They, and you if you in any way try to make excuses for them, should be very ashamed. Very.

" Saturday (today) tea party" protesters outside the Capitol hurled racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a former civil rights leader who was nearly beaten to death during a 1965 march, as he headed out of the building on his way to President Obama's final health-care rally."


Hmmmm.....Justin, you can't run and hide. Maybe you didn't yell 'em, but your movement does and did and will in the future. As I mentioned before, I have some friends who attended tea party events when they were sincerely interested in joining the movement - and they were shocked at the racism expressed outright by the other participants. They are still conservatives, but they have disassociated themselves with those lynch mob racists who call themselves the tea party.

Posted by: Stuart at March 20, 2010 6:45 PM

Stuey you have attention deficit disorder don't you? Better hurry up and get your meds before Obamacare shuts you off. Poor boy! lol

Posted by: Tim at March 20, 2010 6:52 PM

I agree with most of what Justin says. I also believe that there should be no such thing as a "hate" crime on our books.

However, I applaud Cliff Montiero for his consistency. If, say, an ironworker who was registered Republican and a Tea Partier had done the same thing (to protest health care reform, for example), Mr. Montiero would have made the same accusation against him. Good for him for not pulling his punch in the case of a far more touchy-feely job (and, presumably, someone who is not registered Republican).

Posted by: Monique at March 20, 2010 7:21 PM

Speaking of redneck racism, I was driving down 95 today behind a van towing a motorcycle.
The logo on the van said:
Lynch Mob Racing
and there is a large noose in the center of the logo.

Now, I am sure that you and them don't think there is any reason to suggest that this means anything racist!

I looked them up on the net - sure enough, they have lots of nice nooses on their web site.

I know conservatives want to turn back the clock, but I figured by now they would over the "all men aren't created equal" views they so commonly used to hold.

Posted by: Stuart at March 20, 2010 7:41 PM

It's been suggested that there are teachers who oppose the union leadership's stance. I don't doubt that's true.
There's no way that one of those teachers did it as a way to embarrass the union - absolutely no way.
But then again, given Gallo's itch to fire teachers, I'd have thunk she would've turfed the offender by now.

Posted by: rhody at March 20, 2010 8:44 PM

"Here is what they did today - yelled en masse at one of the most famous and respected lawmakers in the country."

OK, that does not sound particularly illegitimate. What were they yelling? Was it racist? Or, could it "be taken as racist"? I think the distinction is larger than many seem to.

Posted by: Warrington Faust at March 20, 2010 8:49 PM

Uh, Faust.....

Shouting the N word among others at the civil rights leader and congress person:
"Demonstrators outside the US Capitol, angry over the proposed health-care reform bill, shouted "nigger" Saturday at US Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon who was nearly beaten to death during an Alabama ..."

I guess it depends on what the meaning of is is is is.

We are not talking about one person here - we are talking about the mob.

Anyone who supports these lynch mobs should be ashamed of themselves, but somehow I doubt they are.

Posted by: Stuart at March 20, 2010 8:54 PM

Justin,

I agree with you 100% and for the record I would like to explain something, when Hawaii talks about native son President Barack Obama is referred to as our native born Hawaiian son.

Everyone living in Hawaii and all ethnicities' are considered a minority. There is no majority living in Hawaii. Also, slavery was never practiced in Hawaii on the plantations because it was all contract labor. The mainland civil war was never fought nor discrimination practiced on Hawaii soil.

For those of you who like to say Hawaiians discriminate against white people by calling them "haole". Before the arrival of Captain Cook Hawaiians greeted each other by touching nose-to-nose and saying "Alo-Ha". "Ha" meaning "breath of Life". You greeted each other in such a manner you passed your breath of life on to the other person and vice versa.

When Captain Cook arrived followed by the missionaries from New England, they shook hands as a greeting hence the word "haole" meaning "without breath of life" and it has stuck ever since. A more modern explanation is people living in Hawaii don't like people coming from the mainland telling islanders how to do things or treating local people as second class.

Only on the mainland do you people refer to President Barack Obama as African-American or Black.

The civil war ended over 200 years ago! Can't you people on the mainland stop classifying and labeling people by race, Democrat, Republican, Left, Right, Conservative, etc, and just treat each other as people and what each of you bring to the common table?

I copied the so call RISP photo and blew it up. The doll is not hanging from a rope but somehow attached to the whiteboard upside down holding a sign that is right side up and readable. So to liken it to a "lynching" and hate crime is going overboard and trying to incite and inflame the situation.

Was the teacher wrong? I don't know what point the teacher was trying to make or if the doll was to be included in a class discussion or learning assignment. I have not personally talked to the teacher to hear that side of the story so who am I to judge on hearsay!

All I can say is the international news media has been having a field day.

For all the wrong reasons only in RI can so much negative international news media be generated about the smallest state in the union!

Posted by: Ken at March 20, 2010 10:01 PM

I know this guy well. Stupid act...absolutely. Racist? No way on Earth. To Boot he's an avid fan of Alan Keyes. He's an extremely conservative guy so it didn't take the firing of the teachers to make him attack the president.

Poor taste is an accurate description. Hate crime, there's no such thing.

Posted by: dirk at March 20, 2010 10:42 PM

Bob Perkins,a Black man who was my daughter's former supervisor.was fired at the behest of two Hispanic supremacists,Grace Diaz and Juan("Where's My Weiner")Pichardo.The reason?He was anti-Hispanic.My daughter is half Hispanic and had nothing but admiration for Mr.Perkins,who himself is married to an Hispanic woman.
Cliff Monteiro stood by along with the other Black "leadership"in this city.I guess Mr.Perkins didn't kiss Monteiro's ass,so he got zero backup from him.
Just about every comment Monteiro makes is racist in tone.I don't know if Monteiro is a racist or not.It's a bad accusation to make.I stand by what I said about Diaz and Pichardo because I think they want to put Hispanics above everyone.
Cliff Momteiro is desparate to remain relevant,so he spews out his garbage,thinking it will help him be a major player in Rhode Island.
I wonder how many of Stuart's friends set off bombs in the Sixties while he looked the other way?
Something about Stuart's comments reeks of exaggeration similar to that of Jack McConnell and Matt Jerzyk-the OUTRAGE!!
Easy enough to see through.
This teacher needs some time off without pay.What he did is unacceptable in a school setting.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 20, 2010 11:30 PM

As usual, the accusation made by CNN about abusive language aimed at Rep. Lewis is a lie. This article describes the genesis of this lie and shows video of the congressman walking past the protesters.

http://thedanashow.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/video-debunks-lib-accusations-that-slurs-were-shouted/

Posted by: BobN at March 21, 2010 4:39 AM

BobN-ever notice how professionally offended like Jerzyk,McConnell,and Stuart are always trying to use the occasional nitwit as exemplars of "right wing" thinking?
Jerzyk once wrote on a blog to me that while he didn't believe I was a racist,I needed to "repudiate" those people opposing illegal immigration who WERE racist.How stupid a remark is that?I'm responsible for what I do-what anyone else does or says is their rsponsibility alone.
In any event,I haven't noticed that supporters of enforcing existing immigration laws are at all racist.I can't read minds like thr progressives apparently can,but i've found these people are motivated by economic,national security,and language factors.Not race.
People don't want another Canada situation in terms of language.
In Canada and Belgium language causes deep divisions in the absence of racial differences.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 21, 2010 5:48 AM

"Bob Perkins,a Black man who was my daughter's former supervisor.was fired at the behest of two Hispanic supremacists,Grace Diaz and Juan("Where's My Weiner")Pichardo."

That was a completely unacceptable handling of the flag incident. A small group of people leaped to conclusions before all of the facts were in and before Mr. Perkins was permitted to explain the incident from his perspective. The result is that the Providence school system lost a good administrator and tax payers are unnecessarily out some settlement money. Diaz, Pichardo and the other hysterics - I specifically include the superintendent in this list as he had the authority - should be made to reimburse the city that money.

Posted by: Monique at March 21, 2010 7:54 AM

You know Monique,my daughter taught bilingual special ed and also served a sthe literacy coach at that school.She told me she credited Mr.Perkins for maintaining the necessary discipline that enabled learning to take place.
She has no dog in the fight as she is currently teaching at a university outside RI.She thought the people who victimized Mr.Perkins were vicious manipulators serving their own purposes.
I have to agree.The fact is Mr.Perkins was in the midst of a chaotic situation and it is 99% likely he wasn't thinking of the flag being the Dominican in particular when he threw it on the floor.The fact is that the kids were running wild and he had to bring it under control.
I have noticed that in Roger Williams Park the Dominican flag flies at the same leevl as the US flag,and according to flag etiquette NO foreign flag is to be flown at the same level as the US flag.I know that such a thing means squat to the left wing nattering nabobs who infest this site.
Or maybe Roger Williams Park has been annexed by the DR?I wouldn't put it past Cicilline.
I'm joking here people.Save your outrage for something real.
I'll just bet Bob Perkins didn't bow and scrape before the exalted Mr.Monteiro and thus became an invi
sible Black man to the race hustlers who exploit every situation possible with the aim of self aggrandizement.
Not all race hustlers are "of color" either.
Jerzyk,Crowley,McConnell,our own Stuart(actually I have no idea what Stuart looks like but I tend to guess he's White),or Rhody.I haven't dumped on Rhody for awhile.Gotta stay in practice.
Hear that,Jeff?

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 21, 2010 9:36 AM

We need to abolish racism. A good way to start is to abolish affirmative action. Then the NAACP. Then Progresso Latino, or whatever their name is. They are the ones bringing attention to their minority status. Most people don't care what ethnicity people are, as long as the person has respectable content of character. And the people who do care about a persons race, and yell nigger or the like sound like such moronic cavemen that nobody takes them seriously.

And furthermore, while I'm in the abolishing mood, we need to get rid of (fire) any teacher that hangs a doll, effigy, dummy, voodoo doll or any reasonable facsimile of any President of the United States in his or her classroom.

Posted by: michael at March 21, 2010 11:17 AM

Joe, it's good to see you haven't given up the tomfoolery. BTW, I still keep my car lcoked at all times, so don't get any ideas :)

Posted by: rhody at March 21, 2010 12:04 PM

It was union rules that prevented Sup. Gallo from firing the idiot on the spot, right?

Posted by: BobN at March 21, 2010 12:44 PM

Thanks for correcting my error Joe. James Perkins is my cousins stepfather. lol That's what I get for talking on the cell when I'm trying to post a comment.
Once again you're on the money Joe. It's outrageous how Robert Perkins has been treated and the only people who've come to his defense are the people on this blog, his lawyer and Dan Yorke. Nothing from a race hustler like Uncle Tom Monteiro and nothing from the white lib community, a community who pays lip service to minorities when it suits their political needs but who are as genuinely bigotted a group of people as you'll find anywhere.
Please note their collective stance on the very minority, very urban, very failing Central Falls High School pre/post lilly white teacher union coming under fire.
(Btw has Matilda Jerkzyk produced that list of the minority union leadership/minority union membership #'s I asked her for months and months ago? She pulled a Bob Walsh didn't she?? Don is STILL waiting for NEA Bob to simply answer his very reasonable question with actual facts. Like Matilda J, Bobby W ran away too. lol)
Pre firing - total indifference to a failing urban high school
Post firing - outrage over teacher firings and feigning concern for students they're completely indifferent to.
Straight out of the white liberal playbook.
That's why they fight educational reform particularly in the inner city at every turn. They do not want urban minority communities to thrive.
Hurts their Democratic party voting block.
Look no further than the public education system to know the absolute truth of that statement.
But oh how they care.....

Posted by: Tim at March 21, 2010 12:56 PM

Rhody-I really hope you're being funny,because if you think I would take it into my head to harm someone over a debate on a blog,you need to see a psychiatrist.Anyone with half a brain can find out where I live.That's ok.
They would be relly stupid to act on it.
I actually had to do some serious damage to people out of necessity,and I don't enjoy it.If you'd had to,you wouldn't make sophomoric comments like you did.(I did enjoy it once,but the guy had tortured and nearly murdered a 7 month old girl.)

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 21, 2010 3:54 PM

Joe, there's no point in treating the lib provocateurs here any better than they treat us. You can't reason with them, because they are incapable of reason.

Posted by: BobN at March 21, 2010 4:01 PM

Joe, it must really suck to go through life humor-challenged. I don't know what it's like to bust heads, cause it's never been a priority for me, or a source of kicks, or something to brag about to others.

Posted by: rhody at March 21, 2010 4:23 PM

Rhody-obviously you can't read.I don't brag about anything.The guy I referred to had both hands free and was about my size.I guess what I did to him was the only punishment he'll ever get,because he posted bail and screwed back to his country.
Unlike some crybabies masquerading as cops,I almost never charged anyone who attacked me with assault.I left it in the street.I made exceptions for stuff like ADW and Attempted Murder.
I have a real good sense of humor-only I don't think you'd appreciate it.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 21, 2010 6:16 PM

BobN-I'm just screwing with them-I like it when they get all PMS about it.
Oh,I mean OUTRAGED.
LOL

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 21, 2010 6:19 PM

So when do you think Stuart will apologize to the Tea Party for accusing us of racism based on a lie that is conclusively disproven by video evidence?

Posted by: BobN at March 21, 2010 7:39 PM

I say it once again....

A subset, and a relatively large one, of the tea party is/are racist and nationalist (in the fascist manner).

No apologies there!

Video evidence? Funny....maybe it was taken by that guy in Jail - you know, the guy who doctored the Acorn videos!

You guys are funny funny. What you don't understand is that, one by one, you are turning people off with your mob mentality tactics.

You get one vote each. Take your best shot. You lost last time, and chances are that RI will lose forever.....

Live with it, or move. As I said, I just drove through the south and saw plenty of Confederate Flags, John Birch Society Billboards, Folks in Confederate Uniforms (the War of Yankee Aggression!) as well as the aforementioned "Lynch Mob Racing" with the noose logo.

Posted by: Stuart at March 21, 2010 8:35 PM

The opponents have no one to blame for defeat but themselves.
Example; Rep. Steve Dreihaus (D-Ohio), one of the Stupak 12. Even though he voted their way, earlier this week, opponents ran an ad to keep the heat on him that used his daughters.
Any wonder he decided to change his vote? He probably figured with friends like that, who needs enemies?

Posted by: rhody at March 21, 2010 9:47 PM

Stuart and rhody both sound like parrots who've been fed the 'progressive"talking points and can't really present an original thought.
I just wonder if Stuart is selling mutli-million dollar businesses and busy driving through "the South"being outraged where does he get time to blather ad nauseum on this blog?
I think all he's selling is wolf tickets.
I spoke to Rep.David Segal once and he's a young guy,close to 30,and he had the same rancid talking points about overthrowing the Arbenz regime in Guatemala(in 1954!!)that the homegrown commies spewed out when I was growing up.The ingrate bastards who swarmed into the WPA "intellectual and arts"jobs like rats in the 30's and used the opportunity to advocate the overthrow of the country.
They,like Stuart loved to wax on about "the poor and disposssessed"but never gave up the wine and cheese lifestyle.
Ever want to examine the life of a miserable commie ingrate?Check out Lillian Hellman.the Stalinist who lived in luxury on 5th Avenue in NYC.
They screeched about fascism,but most of them wouldn't put on as uniform to oppose it.
Howard Zinn was a notable exception,but most hid out here at home.
Intellectuals are useless dingleberries on society's butt.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 22, 2010 2:31 AM

Stuart

I'll bet a week's pay that BobN has a Ayn Rand sticker prominently displayed on his vehicle. The best comments from the Journal article was those of the students.

Posted by: Phil at March 22, 2010 5:56 AM

White liberal bigotry is very deeply ingrained.Only these people are unaware of just how prejudiced they are.It doesn't take the form of epithets at all.It manifests itself in patronizing people.
When a Black or Hispanic accomplishes something outstanding,or breaks a barrier,the White liberals start crowing and bragging like the person was a very bright pet or something.It's f**king disgusting and it's been going on for a long time.
I notice this attitude doesn't extend to Asians(including East Indians)because almost all of them the average White liberl would encounter are in business,professions,or highly skilled occupations.Some SE Asian refugees are exceptions,but White liberals seldom have much to do with them.Actually,Jerzyk has done a lot of activism with SE Asian youths,but generally they are unnoticed.
Actually,most SE Asian refugees do pretty well in this country because they are thankful to be away from the horror story places they escaped.
Kinda like the White refugees who came here after WW2 and those who escaped communism later on.
Years ago I met a man who was the first Black police District Commander in the Chicago PD.This was in the 1940's that he held the rank.I was truly amazed because Chicago was still a very racist place when I lived there in the 70's and 80's.MLK called it the one place in america where he encountered hatred of a level he had seen nowhere else.I was in awe of this man because he had beaten impossible odds.I certainly didn't feel patronizing,because I wouldn't have made a pimple on his rear end.At the time we met(we were doing a routine background check on a former resident of the neighborhood)this man had both legs amputated due to diabetes and he was a widower with only a nice neighbor lady for company who helped him out.He liked having the company and gave us coffee and cookies and showed us pictures and articles from his career.He didn't need help from any White liberals to get where he did when he did.He was just that good a cop.
Judge Sotomayor was the subject of much White liberal patronizing,gushing from such turds as Sheldon Whitehouse.Why?Whether I think she's too liberal or not is immaterial-she had more experience as a judge than any SCOTUS nominee in recent memory.She didn't need the White liberal pandering,but she got it anyway.
Don't the Stuarts of the world understand how demeaning it is to treat a successful Black or Hispanic person like they're "special"or exceptional?It devalues the thousands upon thousands of people of those backgrounds who just normally live successful lives.
As I said before,these same White liberals would find it shocking to be told they are every bit as racist as some Klan scumbag.

Posted by: joe bernstein at March 22, 2010 6:20 AM

Stuart doesn't know what he is talking about. He obviously doesn't know any Tea Party members.

Posted by: BobN at March 22, 2010 8:33 AM