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August 18, 2006

I Don't Think This is Quite What Wal-Mart Wanted

...when they hired Andrew Young.

Civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired to help Wal-Mart Stores Inc. improve its public image, said early Friday he was stepping down from his position as head of an outside support group amid criticism for remarks seen as racially offensive.

...In the Sentinel interview, Young was asked about whether he was concerned Wal-Mart causes smaller, mom-and-pop stores to close.

"Well, I think they should; they ran the `mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood," the paper quoted Young as saying. "But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."


Whoa! Lucky thing for him he wasn't a WHITE guy named...um...Allen or something.
...Allen’s gaffe earned him plenty of bad press, especially from the Washington Post which has thousands of readers in northern Virginia.

Democrats and Democratic-allied groups have pounced on Allen’s blunder, aiming to weaken him as he heads into his Nov. 7 contest against Webb.

Allegation of racism
“Republicans have used racism to try to win over voters for decades, but this kind of pandering has absolutely no place in our politics,” said Nita Chaudhary, a staff member of MoveOn.org in an e-mail to MoveOn.org members Thursday.

Moveon.org and its PAC, a group which backs Democratic candidates, is urging the Republican National Committee to withdraw its support from Allen.

“The sting of Sen. Allen's words upset me personally,” Chaudhary wrote.

Chaudhary's parents emigrated from India and she was born in the United States.

“I'd hoped to see his colleagues in Washington censure him for this display of bigotry. But just yesterday, Sen. John McCain stood with him at a town hall meeting. Race-baiting continues to be a time-tested tradition for the Republican Party in the South.”


Well, no one's 'pouncing' by the 'thousands' on Mayor Young. (Although the WaPo is carrying the AP story, sans incisive commentary and excoriation.) Sadly, I guess that's because powerful Democratic blacks can never, ever be 'racist' in this society. Having that 'victim' placard firmly attached to their indignantly puffed chests, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Reverend Al and their ilk have the race baiting down to a science. But there is enough smug hatefulness to go around, knowing full well the consequences will never, ever be equal to the offense...if any at all...a veritable 'get out of jail free card' from the media. They're immune from the public pillorying that accompanies a simple misspeak for the rest of us, less mind a full blown statement à la Mr. Young*. As one man (and yes, in the interest of full disclosure, he is a Joo...) pointed out in the MSNBC piece...
The remarks surprised Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, who pointed to Young's reputation of civil rights work.

"If anyone should know that these are the words of bigotry, anti-Semitism and prejudice, it's him," Hier said. "I know he apologized, but I would say this, ... during his years as a leader of the national civil rights movement, if anyone would utter remarks like this about African-Americans his voice would be the first to rise in indignation."


Oh, indeed, sir. We're all in this together. T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R.

We're past the point where the 'Reverends' and the remaining vestiges of the 60's Civil Rights Leadership get to brandish those laurels to protect themselves from what their mouths are REALLY saying. Now luminaries in the public sector just have to find the intestinal fortitude to call them on it in a BIG way, as rapidly and vociferously as the protestations for, say, Senator Allen.

Settle in. I've got a feeling it's gonna be a while.


* 'McKinney' is a suitable substitute

Posted by tree hugging sister at August 18, 2006 09:38 AM