Justin Barrett was so touched by the Henry Louis Gates incident that he decided to send him an email. First off, if you're not familiar with Barrett, he is a police officers out of Boston, Massachusetts. Henry Louis Gates on the other hand, is an African American, Harvard Professor, who was recently arrested for breaking into his own home.
Long story short, Gates called the police officer who arrested him that day a racist. However, there is now from the day of the arrest that proves otherwise. So this is where Justin Barrett comes in.
The Boston Police Officer decided to send out a mass email which called Gates a banana eating jungle monkey. Lol. It's the funniest thing. I've never even heard of that word, but I think it's freakin hilarious. If someone called me that, I would laugh my butt off. The problem is, Barrett's not laughing, as he was suspended on July 29th, 2009, for using a "racial slur." Since when is "banana-eating jungle monkey" racist?
In a recent interview with WCVB-TV, Barrett said "I did not mean to offend anyone... The words were being used to characterize behavior, not describe anyone." Boston Mayor Tom Menino wants Barrett fired for the email. WHAT? Menino said, "G-o-n-e. I don't care, it's like cancer. You don't keep those cancers around." You've got to be kidding me.
Is "banana-eating jungle monkey" racist to anyone? Honestly? Is it racist to you? This is a joke. Maybe you have to see the email, but as far as I know, there is nothing racist about "banana-eating jungle monkey."
If Justin Barrett gets fired over a stupid email, it will be extremely ridiculous. Let's take a good cop off the road folks. Let's take him off our streets because he sent out a stupid email. Give me a break. Seriously, give me a break.
6 comments:
I read the entire email and yes it is racist. Based on your iron clad closed mine it would be
a waste of time to tell you the many reasons why
it is.
Obviousl you've never been told to go to the back
of a bus or been refused service at a place of business just because of the color of your skin.
No, you would never understand.
Like the person above, I was also alive during the "back of the bus" times. As he may or may not realize, things have changed, and they have changed for the better. Sure, the E-Mail was out of line, but so are a lot of things in life.
The person who wrote this article more than likely wasn't alive during our time, and you're right, he'd never understand what we went through. However, it is truly ignorant to insult this man's intelligence when nothing is truly known about him.
If he is not fired, and he EVER gives out a ticket to or arrests a person of color, this email will come back and bite the city of Boston on its collective ass.
Barrett is now an unaffordable liability to the department and the city. Racist bastard should have kept his poison to himself.
I'm a white man, 24 years old, from Virginia. I find what that officer said to be not only racist, but a disgrace to the profession of police officers and the human race in general.
His termination was a Good Move but the fish rots at the head:
http://touchfmboston.blogspot.com/2010/02/kingcast-and-touch-fm-blog-applaud.html
http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2010/02/kingcast-boston-phoenix-touch-1061-fm.html
In February, 2009 Dan Conley refused to speak to a former State AAG and newspaper editor who blogged 35 videos of a contentious murder trial in the death of Revere Officer Daniel Talbot. In this YouTube video he put his finger in this black man's face and asked him for "credentials" even though he was aware that Judge Patrick Brady had given the man such credentials to roll video, take audio and still pictures and to provide commentary.
Mr. Bernstein shed some light on why DA Conley gets so pissy when you challenge him, particularly when he knows you've been a successful trial lawyer. Here's a 2005 Story by Bernstein "The Worst Homicide Squad in the Country."
(more, much more at links)
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