July 09, 2004

• a more detailed account here.
• When you call a black child a "stupid dirty girl" it can be considered racism, but if she is white then you can dismiss it "with to err is human and to forgive divine"? If the basis for your objection is an assumption that "dirty" is a derogatory way of implying dark-skinned, then yes. He was being a jerk, not a racist.
• lol...honestly people need to take a chill pill... I keep telling everyone "not every mistake requires and apology"... funny enough, the one at the center of all this (little Isis) ain't even stressed over it. nanner nanner poo poo
• From what I read it was not the NAACP but Dymally who brought up the race factor of it all. Or does Dymally work for the NAACP?
• The most telling part of the article: "Did you know that my name actually means an Egyptian goddess?" (Isis D'Luciano) said with noticeable pride in her voice. Riordan looked somewhat confused for a moment or two before answering: "It means stupid, dirty girl." Trinity Lila said her daughter didn't correct Riordan because "she told me she didn't want to hurt his feelings. I got the impression she just didn't think he was very bright." Smart kid. She should run for education secretary. Or governor.
• As mayor, he once greeted hunger strikers outside his office eating a hamburger. In a speech to school administrators earlier this year, he told a story about a nun physically disciplining a student that startled some in the audience. Hmm. Democratic state Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, who had scheduled a protest by civil rights organizations, canceled the demonstration after an apparent mix-up over the girl's racial background. Dymally was quoted in the San Jose Mercury News Thursday saying the child was "a little African-American girl. Would he (Riordan) have done that to a white girl?" Yes, apparently. He was being a jerk, not a racist. I think that's the point. Thinking that the girl was black, they automatically assumed that "dirty" was being used as a racial slur rather than just dick-brained humor and were prepared to stage a protest. I agree that jerk is better than racist, but I think there's something worth noting in all these reactions. If the girl were black, he'd be publicly crucified right now, as most people would agree with the NAACP's initial position, when in reality he's just a stupid jackass.
• The NAACP and other civil rights groups had planned to attend a Capitol news conference Thursday called by Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, who was demanding that Riordan step down. Dymally's office abruptly canceled the event, however, after learning that the girl is white.
• arg. preview blogRot.... hit the damn preview!
• Holy Bouncing Jebus, will someone please tell me how these IDIOTS/assholes get into a position of power?
• There's gotta be something more important than this going on in the world...
• Yes, and somehow intellectuals are "unelectable."
• Where's this little girl's father? Because if it was my son or daughter that this disphit called stupid and dirty, people would be calling him the "Secretary of Education who just got his fucking ass kicked so hard he craps out his ears."
• "Did you know that my name actually means an Egyptian goddess?" she said with noticeable pride in her voice. Riordan looked somewhat confused for a moment or two before answering: "It means stupid, dirty girl." The kids groaned and giggled, before Isis again said her name was that of a goddess. "Hey, that's nifty," said Riordan... The kids groaned and giggled Haven't any of you ever talked to a 6 year-old? They love this stuff. It's not offensive to them, it's funny. They eat that stuff up. If you try being polite with them you just lose their attention. I'd say this guy has more insight into kids than all the other adults involved, combined. He's perfect for his position.
• Has anyone actually watched the video *in context*? He comes off as sarcastic, not mean-spirited. Watch it yourself.
• ...whereby Shawn lances the boil of inflated indignation. He comes off as somebody who seems to know his six-year-old audience. Pity that their parents are such 'tards.
• Um. Might the reason the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called off the protest when they found she was white be that, well, they're the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People?
• So flashboy? Why were they (NAACP) even ready to jump on this thing in the first place? Is any insult that is said to a person of color by a white person a racist comment? I don't think so. This is so over reacting. After a while, these things turn into so much "the sky is falling, the sky is falling..." It's one of the reasons that much of white America is having a hard time taking Al Sharpton seriously right now. Even if he is extremely knowledgeable and has some great ideas, he will always be tarnished by the Tawanna Brawley fiasco. We got to stop this knee jerk reaction of calling someone a racist for the most minor of offences and do it only when the situation warrants it. Otherwise it becomes so much background noise.
• BTW, you are all a bunch of stupid, dirty girls and boys. So there!
• Hi, peeples. Nice place. First comment. Riordan: 1, News-cycle idiocy: 0. Laughing kids are the final arbiters of taste, even bad taste. I don't know if I'd have cackled myself were I in the room, but my 5 year old daughter would have, you can be sure of that. Even better if old Isis had gotten a gentle 'thonk' on the head with a rolled up newspaper. How would THAT have played in the media? The girl loves her Stooges. Notice how it takes him a beat to think of it? Wonder if he's thinking "I'm going to hell for this one" or if he's just gettin' warmed up. I'm seriously glad he's not our Governor here in old Californee, but he's got the funny on this one. Tempted to send him a 'something' of support.
• hookers and beer rule!
• did I say that out loud?
• squid, I was just saying that there was no double standard in their withdrawing of the protest - because once it became apparent the girl was white, it wasn't their area of responsibility any more. That it was a dumbass over-reaction nearly on a par with the "niggardly" nonsense, I don't dispute... (I possibly misunderstood the point of your post.)
• Here's ) for Hookers & Beer, or as I will refer to you from now on, "A Few of My Favorite Things." Welcome.
• Oh yeah, kids love being called stupid and dirty.
• Hookers and beer, you remind me of a fine Zappa song.
• I can say this with all honesty: I like Hookers & Beer!
• I think his comment would be unacceptable if the six year olds were more realistic - perhaps they were been desensitized by television? Personally, when I was six I hated this kind of condescension. He could easily have said something harmless and more fun. Perhaps the word "dirty" may have been a subconscious reaction to the unchristian name Isis? That's what I thought when I read this quote in the second article: Mayor Richard Riordan has extended another apology ... and expressed his regret to me by way of a Los Angeles bishop
• Reading waaaaaaaay too much into it, if you ask me.
• I think an adult calling a kid "stupid" is sort of the equivalent of the "N" word for six year olds; being able to escape the loaded connatations of that word is nearly impossible unless you've been given some sort of implicit acceptance as part of that group. Since we saw no images of him playing or interacting with them in any position other than a position of authority, it came off as mean-spirited instead of an endearing attempt to relate to the kids. However, if he'd used "stupidhead" or "doodyhead" or even "stupid doody head", he might have come off as less of a jackass and more endearing. Monkeyfilter: Stupid doody heads.
• Rocket88: In listening to it no way does that come off sounding teasing or funny to me. Sounds like he was taking a dig at the kid. Yea, it might have been funny when Little Ricky was five. It's too bad mom didn't comeback with "And Roirdan means Asshat." All in the spirit of fun and games, of course.
• Look, let's just face it: It's wrong to call kids stupid, and if you're an adult and you do it you're an asshole. And if you call the kid stupid because you think it's "funny," then all you are is an asshole who isn't funny.
• If he had said that to my son, I'd do everything in my power to see he was forced to step down. Sure, some kids may have found it funny. Some kids may have just thought he wasn't too bright, as apparently little Isis did. But some kids would have been hurt and offended. It was totally inappropriate behavior. And he's the Secretary of Education. If he doesn't know better, he's too ignorant to do his job.
• Serious question: Why would the NAACP give two shits about a white girl? It's the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. Coloured. A white kid doesn't come into it. Yes, the comment was fucked up. Yes, people's disatisfaction should result in his being removed from office through due process, if so many people were offended. But to take issue with the NAACP for not acting for something clearly outside of their charter is ridiculous. Why would they act? They're not about equality. Or am I missing a hidden mission statement?
• They're not about equality. Terrible weather we're having lately.
• Terrible weather we're having lately. Snark? Either way, are you saying they are about 'equality'?