Obama Delegate resigns over "racist" remark

[Danny White]

Trustee accused of racial slur resigns as Obama delegate

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=168584&src=5

Carpentersville Trustee Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski has quit her post as a delegate for presidential hopeful Barack Obama because of the flap over her statement likening black neighbors' children to monkeys.

Though Ramirez-Sliwinski did not return calls for comment this morning, a spokesman for Obama confirmed the trustee's resignation.

"We discussed it with her and given the incident, she decided to step down," said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Obama. "She will be replaced as a delegate."

Ramirez-Sliwinski was given a $75 citation for disorderly conduct Saturday after she told three black children playing in their yard, "This is not a tree for them to be climbing in like monkeys."

The mother of one of the children called the police.

The first-term trustee has maintained the comment was a mistake and not intended as a racist comment.

"It was not a hate-crime," Ramirez-Sliwinski said Monday. "It was not a racial slur. It was a misunderstanding completely."

Other article on this... according to this one, the Obama campaign pressured her to step down.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/883120,CST-NWS-trustee08.article

[WiPatfan]

Other article on this... according to this one, the Obama campaign pressured her to step down.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/883120,CST-NWS-trustee08.article


Ouch. I have to admit that I call my own white kids "monkeys" when they act like such. The comparison of primates to AAs, however, just cannot be said, and rightfully so. The historical context is too weighty.

If she had said "...like squirrels," she would have been fine.

Still, if this was not an election year, I think her sincere apology would be enough.

[zrinkill]

How the heck is that a racist statement?

This retarded PC culture is getting out of hand.

[DallasFanSince86]

This retarded PC culture is getting out of hand.

Agreed.

[vta]

The mother called the police??
Thats a bit ridiculous. :rolleyes:

[WoodysGirl]

Folks really need to address the intent of remarks before censuring people over them.

[ZeroClub]

Hard to judge what's going on here.

The woman who made the remark was issued a $75 ticket for "disorderly conduct" for the incident.

I could be wrong, but I just don't think that the average police officer would ticket a grandmother for an inadvertent poor word choice.

I'd like to think that before a police officer would have ticketed this woman, this woman would have acted in an obviously socially inappropriate way (e.g., getting so upset that she couldn't think straight, perhaps angrily repeating the word "monkey" in order to provoke the kids' mother, etc.).

At this moment, it would appear that I have more faith in police officers than grandmothers.
Frankly, this surprises me. :)

[silverbear]

How the heck is that a racist statement?

This retarded PC culture is getting out of hand.

Well, similar comments from politicians on both sides of the aisle have gotten said pols in serious trouble... so while it's silly, at least it seems to be even-handedly silly...

[heavyg]

How the heck is that a racist statement?

This retarded PC culture is getting out of hand.

That was my first thought. My goodness. This stuff is getting out of hand. :bang2: