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.

Our Post-Racial Society

So glad we exist in it!  Oh...wait.

 

Learned Behavior

No child is born racist, racism is learned, and perhaps at a younger age than once thought.  I haven't seen too much published at this time about the shooting suspects upbringing, but living in the deep south, and in the state that exepmplifies sedition, where the symbols of racism are unavoidable, is it any surprise that Dylann Roof holds odious views?

This was an act of terrorism.  It was a hate crime.  It was not an attack on religion, despite the protestations of those on the right.  How many churches did the killer drive past on his way Emanuel A.M.E., a church steeped in history and symbolism?  If it was an attack on religion, why didn't the killer launch his attack on a Sunday, when the churches are full? 

And the most odious?  Blaming the victim, as an NRA board member did.

So where to start?  How do we begin to address the posion of racism?  Ta-Nehisi Coates made a modest suggestion.

Learned Behavior

No child is born racist, racism is learned, and perhaps at a younger age than once thought.  I haven't seen too much published at this time about the shooting suspects upbringing, but living in the deep south, and in the state that exepmplifies sedition, where the symbols of racism are unavoidable, is it any surprise that Dylann Roof holds odious views?

This was an act of terrorism.  It was a hate crime.  It was not an attack on religion, despite the protestations of those on the right.  How many churches did the killer drive past on his way Emanuel A.M.E., a church steeped in history and symbolism?  If it was an attack on religion, why didn't the killer launch his attack on a Sunday, when the churches are full? 

And the most odious?  Blaming the victim, as an NRA board member did.

So where to start?  How do we begin to address the posion of racism?  Ta-Nehisi Coates made a modest suggestion.

Banned For Life

I must say, I am surprised and pleased with NBA commissioner Adam Silver's decision to ban Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life due to his recent racist remarks.  Of course, the lawsuits will fly, but Sterling owns a franchise, and just as the owner of a car dealership or a fast food restaurant can have his franchise license revoked, I suspect the same applies to a sporting franchise.

And I'm sure the usual idiots will complain that Stermilng's "free speech rights" are being violated, but of course, they're not.  He's still free to spout whatever bigoted crap he chooses to.  We, as private citizens, and the NBA, as a private business, do not have to put up with it.

I'll add that I'm amused that the two people I referenced are named Sterling and Silver.

So This Happened

The KKK posted recruiting posters in my neighborhood.

There is outrage in Emsworth after someone posted signs trying to recruit people to join the KKK.

Police say the signs aren’t illegal, so people in the neighborhood are taking some action of their own.

None appeared on my street, even though we're just a block away from Center Ave.  The telephone numbers listed on the poster bear area codes for North Carolina and Virginia, but that doesn't rule out a local being responsible.  I've lived here in the same house for over 18 years, I know all the neighbors well, and I'm not aware of anyone with racist attitudes.  If I see any of these odious posters pop up, I'll be tearing them down.

Dreaming Of A White Santa

The stupid, it hurts.

Fox News host Megyn Kelly on Wednesday assured children viewing her program that both Jesus Christ and Santa Claus were white men even though some liberals were trying to make them black.

Fox, reporting what's really important!  I'll add that Santa, at least in his current configuration is a totally fictional character.  I'll also add that there is scant evidence for a historical Jesus as well, and even if such a person did exist, it is unlikely he looked like a European.

KKK in Gettysburg

It looks like the KKK is planning on holding a rally on the Gettysburg battlefield the afternoon of October 5th, near the site where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.  I'm planning on donning my blue suit and standing in protest against this hate group. 

Who will join me?

UPDATE: Rally cancelled due to government shutdown.  Kind of funny in a way!

Holocaust

I went here.  I consider miyself a student of history, and I've read quite a bit on WWII, Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw here.  Absolutly horrific and terrifying.  I was struck by some of the personal items carried by the condemned into the death camps, particularly a small metal cup, with a hand painted scene of a little girl pushing a baby carriage, clearly a child's possession.  Yes, it CAN happen here, and when it does, as Sinclair Lewis said, "it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.".  Everyone needs to visit this special place.

Don't You Dare!

Don't you DARE call them racists!  Seen near Manassas VA.