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What do these 5 men have in common?
- Thread starter Libre
- Start date
MonkeyCatcher
New Member
So why list men who have been fired because of offensive comments (mostly racial)?
Stewart
Active Member
They all have in common the fact I've never heard of them. How do I add to a list of people I've never heard of because if I do then it's obvious that I've heard of them? Ooh, brainache!
Perhaps it is. I take it they are all Americans in some level of the public eye?
Shade
New Member
I was going to say what Stewart said: I haven't heard of any of them so it's hard to add another person I haven't heard of. So instead I'll say this.
Ron Atkinson. (Fired from sports broadcasting and newspaper column for saying of one player, "He's what some schools of thought would call a lazy fucking thick nigger." It's ironic as it's widely accepted that Atkinson in his football management career did a lot to bring black players into first teams.)
Ron Atkinson. (Fired from sports broadcasting and newspaper column for saying of one player, "He's what some schools of thought would call a lazy fucking thick nigger." It's ironic as it's widely accepted that Atkinson in his football management career did a lot to bring black players into first teams.)
Libre
Member
So, some of you never heard of them. Maybe there are some notable people that you never heard of.
They are *not* all Americans - but even if they are (or were) what of it? I'm an American and I'm aware of many non-Americans, like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ.
So maybe the connection is not obvious - do you want me to insult your intelligence by asking what George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln, and FDR have in common - oh, sorry, they're all Americans.
And they are not all sports figures - Earl Butz was the Secretary of Agriculture under Gerald Ford, and Tex Antoine was a TV Weatherman.
MonkeyCatcher is right - they all had distinguished careers, and were fired for offensive or tasteless comments - not all of them racial, however.
It's an interesting aspect of public life in society - we mostly all have some kinds of prejudices and ingrained stereotypes. I know I do, though I'm not proud of them, and I avoid voicing them most of the time - but now and again I slip.
Public figures have to be so so careful about what they say. They are judged more for what they say than what they do. A lifetime of good works can be erased by a thoughtless comment or a tasteless joke. Haven't we all made some? But the first reaction of their employers is to protect their own image, disassociate themselves with the culprit, express righteous indignation, and fire the offender to protect themselves - even though they (and many of us) might agree with what the stupid bastard said.
Okay, sorry. Someone else bring up something to discuss more thought provoking than privileged and powerful figures who precipitously descended into obscurity because they fell on their own swords - that happened to be their words.
They are *not* all Americans - but even if they are (or were) what of it? I'm an American and I'm aware of many non-Americans, like Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ.
So maybe the connection is not obvious - do you want me to insult your intelligence by asking what George Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln, and FDR have in common - oh, sorry, they're all Americans.
And they are not all sports figures - Earl Butz was the Secretary of Agriculture under Gerald Ford, and Tex Antoine was a TV Weatherman.
MonkeyCatcher is right - they all had distinguished careers, and were fired for offensive or tasteless comments - not all of them racial, however.
It's an interesting aspect of public life in society - we mostly all have some kinds of prejudices and ingrained stereotypes. I know I do, though I'm not proud of them, and I avoid voicing them most of the time - but now and again I slip.
Public figures have to be so so careful about what they say. They are judged more for what they say than what they do. A lifetime of good works can be erased by a thoughtless comment or a tasteless joke. Haven't we all made some? But the first reaction of their employers is to protect their own image, disassociate themselves with the culprit, express righteous indignation, and fire the offender to protect themselves - even though they (and many of us) might agree with what the stupid bastard said.
Okay, sorry. Someone else bring up something to discuss more thought provoking than privileged and powerful figures who precipitously descended into obscurity because they fell on their own swords - that happened to be their words.
Stewart
Active Member
Are you now calling a TV weatherman notable?
You're being silly now. They are all well known figures on the world stage, although Jesus Christ is still to prove Himself. Oh, and Albert Einstein was an American when he died.
Libre, I don't think that it's not though provoking. It's just that if you look at the initial post you made, it's practically cryptic. If you'd just started one called 'People Fired For ...whatever' then the whole thing would be much more obvious. I thought this area was for discussions - not riddles.
Libre
Member
Stewart-
I didn't realize that thought provoking, cryptic riddles were out of bounds in this section.
I thought some of our members enjoyed a bit of obscurity, now and then, based on many of the threads I've read.
These men were ALL notable, based on the media and public reaction at the time - but it is true, it was local.
They were notable for the fact they were fired for their speech. In a country that guarantees, free speech, that makes them notable - not as notable as Einstien or JC, though.
I don't mean to quibble - I do understand where you are coming from. I just started a thread, to see the reaction.
Now I've seen it.
I didn't realize that thought provoking, cryptic riddles were out of bounds in this section.
I thought some of our members enjoyed a bit of obscurity, now and then, based on many of the threads I've read.
These men were ALL notable, based on the media and public reaction at the time - but it is true, it was local.
They were notable for the fact they were fired for their speech. In a country that guarantees, free speech, that makes them notable - not as notable as Einstien or JC, though.
I don't mean to quibble - I do understand where you are coming from. I just started a thread, to see the reaction.
Now I've seen it.
lenny nero
New Member
I remember Jimmy the Greek getting fired and what he said. I liked The Simpsons character based on him, Smooth Jimmy Apollo.
Ronny
Well-Known Member
I don't recognize all the names either but we had a local radio personality in Seattle get fired and stir up a similiar debate about freedom of speech. He had choose to air some mocking clips about the soldier that was beheaded in Iraq, he offended most of his listening audience (a large portion was military) and was quickly and publicly canned. Seattle is pretty liberal and I think had his listening audience not cared about the joke he would not of been fired but they did.
When you are in the public eye, you are also at the mercy of the public whim. If they turn against you, you are no longer an asset and as such fired. I don't think that violates your freedom of speech, you can still say what you want, you just may have to deal with the backlash of it.
When you are in the public eye, you are also at the mercy of the public whim. If they turn against you, you are no longer an asset and as such fired. I don't think that violates your freedom of speech, you can still say what you want, you just may have to deal with the backlash of it.
MonkeyCatcher
New Member
I must admit that I cheated and looked the names up on Wikipedia 
For those who aren't familiar with them, here are the comments that each of them made:
Earl Butz:
In 1976, Butz became the center of a controversy when it was revealed that he frequently told jokes that demeaned various racial and religious groups; he reportedly ridiculed Pope Paul VI for his stand on birth control, quipping that "he no play-a da game, he no make-a da rules."Butz also allegedly uttered the following comment while on board Air Force One during Ford's 1976 re-election campaign: "I'll tell you what the coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight pussy; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit." American newspapers and news magazines wanted to cover this, but they felt that the statement was too obscene and offensive to print.
Tex Antonie: On November 24, 1976, his weather spot came up just after a report of a violent rape of a five year old girl. Tex thereupon quipped: "With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of Confucius: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'"
Al Campanis: Nightline anchorman Ted Koppel had just asked him why, at the time, there had been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball. Campanis' reply was that blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager" for these positions; elsewhere in the interview, he said that blacks are often poor swimmers "because they don't have the buoyancy."
Ben Wright: He was quoted as saying, "They're [lesbians] going to a butch game and that furthers the bad image of the game." He was quoted as saying that homosexuality on the women's tour "is not reticent. It's paraded. There's a defiance in them in the last decade." And, "Women are handicapped by having boobs. It's not easy for them to keep their left arm straight, and that's one of the tenets of the game. Their boobs get in the way." Wright, the story said, believes that the LPGA's homosexual image hinders corporate support; that the tour's leading players, including Michelle McGann and Laura Davies, lack charisma; and that modern women pros are wrong to emphasize power over finesse.
Jimmie the Greek: On January 16, 1988, he was fired by the CBS network after commenting to a reporter that African Americans were naturally superior athletes because they had been bred to produce stronger offspring during slavery:
"During the slave period, the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid—that's where it all started."
Trent Lott: Lott said, "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Since Thurmond had explicitly supported racial segregation in the presidential campaign to which Lott referred, this statement was widely interpreted to mean that Lott also supported racial segregation. As a Congressman, he voted against renewal of the Voting Rights Act and opposed the Martin Luther King Holiday. Lott also maintained an affilation with the Council of Conservative Citizens, which is described as a hate group by the ADL, NAACP and SPLC.
For those who aren't familiar with them, here are the comments that each of them made:
Earl Butz:
In 1976, Butz became the center of a controversy when it was revealed that he frequently told jokes that demeaned various racial and religious groups; he reportedly ridiculed Pope Paul VI for his stand on birth control, quipping that "he no play-a da game, he no make-a da rules."Butz also allegedly uttered the following comment while on board Air Force One during Ford's 1976 re-election campaign: "I'll tell you what the coloreds want. It's three things: first, a tight pussy; second, loose shoes; and third, a warm place to shit." American newspapers and news magazines wanted to cover this, but they felt that the statement was too obscene and offensive to print.
Tex Antonie: On November 24, 1976, his weather spot came up just after a report of a violent rape of a five year old girl. Tex thereupon quipped: "With rape so predominant in the news lately, it is well to remember the words of Confucius: 'If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it.'"
Al Campanis: Nightline anchorman Ted Koppel had just asked him why, at the time, there had been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball. Campanis' reply was that blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager" for these positions; elsewhere in the interview, he said that blacks are often poor swimmers "because they don't have the buoyancy."
Ben Wright: He was quoted as saying, "They're [lesbians] going to a butch game and that furthers the bad image of the game." He was quoted as saying that homosexuality on the women's tour "is not reticent. It's paraded. There's a defiance in them in the last decade." And, "Women are handicapped by having boobs. It's not easy for them to keep their left arm straight, and that's one of the tenets of the game. Their boobs get in the way." Wright, the story said, believes that the LPGA's homosexual image hinders corporate support; that the tour's leading players, including Michelle McGann and Laura Davies, lack charisma; and that modern women pros are wrong to emphasize power over finesse.
Jimmie the Greek: On January 16, 1988, he was fired by the CBS network after commenting to a reporter that African Americans were naturally superior athletes because they had been bred to produce stronger offspring during slavery:
"During the slave period, the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid—that's where it all started."
Trent Lott: Lott said, "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." Since Thurmond had explicitly supported racial segregation in the presidential campaign to which Lott referred, this statement was widely interpreted to mean that Lott also supported racial segregation. As a Congressman, he voted against renewal of the Voting Rights Act and opposed the Martin Luther King Holiday. Lott also maintained an affilation with the Council of Conservative Citizens, which is described as a hate group by the ADL, NAACP and SPLC.
Libre
Member
Yes - an amazing display of verbal stupidity.
It's hard to pinpoint which of the statements is the worst - since they're all so bad. Each has a different characteristic of repugnance.
Earl Butz' statment was cruel and nasty;
Tex Antoine's was insensitive;
Al Campanis' was moronic;
Ben Wright's was annoying and embarassing;
Jimmy the Greek's was speculation may have been right - I doubt it but who knows? But, he souded like an ignorant fool, who clearly knows zilcho about genetics.
Worst of ALL-
Trent Lott. The Senate Majority Leader speculating how much better off society would be if they hadn't outlawed segregation - and who knows, maybe slavery as well. In the days that followed, as the public outcry got deafening, Lott tried to put other spins on it, but he had hung himself. There is just NO other interpretation.
It's hard to pinpoint which of the statements is the worst - since they're all so bad. Each has a different characteristic of repugnance.
Earl Butz' statment was cruel and nasty;
Tex Antoine's was insensitive;
Al Campanis' was moronic;
Ben Wright's was annoying and embarassing;
Jimmy the Greek's was speculation may have been right - I doubt it but who knows? But, he souded like an ignorant fool, who clearly knows zilcho about genetics.
Worst of ALL-
Trent Lott. The Senate Majority Leader speculating how much better off society would be if they hadn't outlawed segregation - and who knows, maybe slavery as well. In the days that followed, as the public outcry got deafening, Lott tried to put other spins on it, but he had hung himself. There is just NO other interpretation.