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« Beijing 2008--A half-century of persecution | Main | Should He Stay or Should He Go? » April 08, 2008The Illinois speech police?A Barack Obama delegate in Illinois has resigned after being accused of making a racist remark about black children in her neighborhood. Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski says she told the father of one of two boys who had been playing in a small tree that "the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys." Given the context, I very much doubt she used the word "monkeys" as a racial slur, but I understand why her resignation was necessary from a political perspective. What I really don't like is the fact that Ramirez-Sliwinski was issued a $75 ticket for disorderly conduct after one of the boys' mothers complained to police. Now, I understand the "fighting words" exception to the right to free speech, but do we really want police to be handing out tickets for racial slurs even when there isn't a doubt as to the intent of the speaker? What's next, a Verbal Morality Statute? Posted by Eric Seymour at April 8, 2008 05:24 PM CommentsLet's see... I am white and my mother referred to me as a monkey when I was climbing trees building a fort years ago. We even had a jungle gym known as the monkey bars at my elementary school.Unfortunately, Posted by: Pinky at April 8, 2008 11:18 PM | permalink In the age that I grew up -- in the 1960's -- "climbing around like a bunch of monkeys" had no racial overtone that I was aware of and our parents and neighbors frequently asked kids to stop such climbing. Language changes, so now I wear "flip-flops" instead of what I used to wear, even though they look the same. So maybe "bunch of monkeys" is used differently today, but it doesn't seem that this "felon" intended a racist remark. The fine is outrageous and I would question the constitutionality of the ordinance as it is written. Posted by: Joel Betow at April 9, 2008 11:59 PM | permalink Post a comment |
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