Froth Slosh B'Gosh

WTAE Fires Wendy Bell

I'm rather suprised it took this long.

WTAE officials on Wednesday announced it fired television news anchor Wendy Bell, who came under fire recently for a Facebook post critics considered racist.

Hearst Television, the station's parent company, released the following statement: “WTAE has ended its relationship with anchor Wendy Bell. Wendy's recent comments on a WTAE Facebook page were inconsistent with the company's ethics and journalistic standards.”

"Considered racist?"  It was amazingly racist, a textbook display of white privledge and a shocking lack of awareness. For those who missed it, this is what she posted to Facebook last week (via VSB as the Facebook post was taken down):

You needn’t be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday. I will tell you they live within 5 miles of Franklin Avenue and Ardmore Boulevard and have been hiding out since in a home likely much closer to that backyard patio than anyone thinks. They are young black men, likely teens or in their early 20s. They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before.

And then she followed with this:

But there is HOPE. And Joe and I caught a glimpse of it Saturday night. A young, African American teen hustling like nobody’s business at a restaurant we took the boys to over at the Southside Works. This child stacked heavy glass glasses 10 high and carried three teetering towers of them in one hand with plates piled high in the other. He wiped off the tables. Tended to the chairs. Got down on his hands and knees to pick up the scraps that had fallen to the floor. And he did all this with a rhythm and a step that gushed positivity. He moved like a dancer with a satisfied smile on his face. And I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

By all means, read the VSB post unpacking Bell's comments, I cannot do justice to the awesomeness of Damon Young's analysis.

What, Exactly, Is A "Muslim Neighborhood?"

I've lived in the US all my life.  I've lived in New York, New England, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and of course, Pennsylvania.  I've traveled all over this country. 

I've seen neighboorhoods that certainly had an ethic flair, and in my own hometown we have a neighborhood that's considered the "Jewish Neighborhood" but it is by no means exclusivly Jewish, calling it "predominantly Jewish" is also a stretch, as it contains large numbers of other ethnic and religious groups.  I'm sure our "Polish" and "Irish" neighborhoods are predominantly Catholic, but again, they're defined not by religion, but by enthnicity.

My point being, while it is certainly common to see neighborhoods and sections of cities dominated by certain ethnic groups, I know of very few that are organized around religion.  I'm not saying they don't exist, but I can't even begin to understand the logistics behind determining what a "Muslim neighborhood" is.