Stupid Dirty Girl

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nbc, I respect what you are saying here...I just have to ask you though...and please don't take offense to this...but would you be saying the same thing if this guy was a democrat?
 
You know,all this talk about names and their meanings encouraged me to do some investigating. In my studies, it appears that the name Riordan has several different interpretatoins, the exact origins of which are unknown. The most common, however, appears to be: *@#$%@# $(#$@*#$ !@#^%()$%..... :ohmy: I'm sorry - it looks as though my Californina Tourette's is acting up again.


Here's my 2 cents in the Wolfeden/NBC debate: all people, even those in public office, should have the right to speak their minds. However, with that freedom comes the responsibility to measure your comments BEFORE they are made and try to filter our the blatantly offensive ones......unless, of course, your intent is strictly to offend. And if that's the case, do we really want someone in public service (whether elected or appointed) who can't or won't think before blurting out their next bon motes? (spelling???? French isn't my stong suite)
 
LoveTown said:
nbc, I respect what you are saying here...I just have to ask you though...and please don't take offense to this...but would you be saying the same thing if this guy was a democrat?

Yes. I am fully aware that the standard applied to Democrats would/should be applied to Republicans. Party affiliation makes no difference.
 
nbcrusader said:


A little research would show you that the "slippery slope" argument is often used when arguing constitutional rights cases.
I don't see what could be so slippery about this

Education Secretary + calling a child "dirty little girl" = wrong man for the job = find another job


the only pecedent this could set would be (as one example) if the Secretary of Agriculture would call farmers stupid hicks:
Secretary of Agriculture + calling farmers stupid hicks = wrong man for the job = find another job

which sounds about right to me
 
nbcrusader said:

Shall we act on principle or do we get to pick and choose who gets to be the subject of the witch hunt?

As for setting precedents, responses to action of political figures are often duplicated for others. To suggest that demanding Riordan's resignation will have no impact on other politicians in the future is simply ignorant.

I certainly hope that the outcry does have an impact on other politicians. I hope they learn to think before they speak. I don't think that requiring our so called leaders to have basic respect for all people (even children) is exactly a "witch hunt." He and all politicians (and all people really) need to know this type of behavior is completely unacceptable.

And if you want to talk about setting precedents -- what kind of precedent does allowing him to remain set? You can say whatever you want as long as you say "oops, sorry! I didn't mean that?" Unless she is the most tough-skinned kid alive, she's going to think he meant it (and he very well might have), so the damage has already been done.

And face it, people in the political arena are give the axe all the time for saying the wrong thing, so I don't really see the sippery slope scenario coming to fruition.
 
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Salome said:
Education Secretary + calling a child "dirty little girl" = wrong man for the job = find another job

:confused: I thought he was talking about the meaning of her name, not about her as a person.

It was, at best, a bad joke. The child and the mother of the child have accepted his apology. The rioting villagers should look for their pound of flesh elsewhere.
 
wolfeden said:
I Was Wrong, btw --
Info released today indicated that the child was in fact "white with blond hair" whereas I had insinuated that the child was likely black or hispanic.. blame the Boston cynic in me, but I wanted to clear it up.


Well, you weren't the only one. The NAACP held a news conference denouncing the Secretary and had planned to protest outside the Capital but called it off....when they discovered she was white.
 
NAACP - "Calling a child a "stupid, dirty girl" is WRONG!!!! We are OUTRAGED!! The Secretary should resign. The govenor should DEMAND his resignation!!!!

Press - Pssst. The little girl is white

NAACP - "Never mind"
 
The dangers of playing the race card too early

From the
Sacramento Bee:


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.

Dymally, who is African American, was quoted in Thursday's San Jose Mercury News stating that the girl was African American and asking whether Riordan "would ... have done that to a white girl?"
 
*shakes head*
stupidity is met with....more stupidity.

hopefully people are just as disappointed with this Keystone Kop-like behavior of that chapter of the NAACP and Dymally as with Riordan and Arnie.

*beats head on desk*

heh, you know something, it would have really made a statement if they'd gone ahead with it after the fact...

*mutters about why I ain't a Democrat....*
*wonders if the whole thing was a set-up*
 
At least Dymally can be voted out.... :shifty:

I didn't read this clearly before. I gotta give props to the NAACP for issuing this statement in the wake of the embarrassment of Dymally's double faux pas:

"It is abusive to use such language toward a child, regardless the gender, race, socioeconomic background or national heritage," Alice A. Huffman, president of the California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a statement.

I really was serious, I hope Riordan gets a neuro checkup ASAP. The sooner you act on senility disorders, the better chances you have of keeping some semblance of control of your life, and blurting out something that horrifically inappropriate is a classic symptom of such.
I think I'd be more disturbed if he turned out NOT to have a disease process, actually. :|
 
wolfeden said:
At least Dymally can be voted out.... :shifty:

I didn't read this clearly before. I gotta give props to the NAACP for issuing this statement in the wake of the embarrassment of Dymally's double faux pas:



I was REALLY hoping someone from the NAACP would speak out and clarify that this was wrong, regardless of the race of the child.

I really was serious, I hope Riordan gets a neuro checkup ASAP. The sooner you act on senility disorders, the better chances you have of keeping some semblance of control of your life, and blurting out something that horrifically inappropriate is a classic symptom of such.
I think I'd be more disturbed if he turned out NOT to have a disease process, actually. :|

Watching the tape of his comments, I have to agree. He seemed a little disoriented.

I wouldn't wish dementia or any other disease on anyone but if he is okay and just said this to be funny, that is disturbing.
 
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nbcrusader said:


:confused: I thought he was talking about the meaning of her name, not about her as a person.
well, he couldn't seriously have thought that was the meaning of her name, could he?

if he did he should actually follow any kind of education himself instead of being a Education Secretary

so he still should lose his job
 
I'm actually going to do a departure here, and am willing to let this go. I'm partially convinced that this is really just a bad joke gone awry and taken completely out of context in print media. By all indications, it looks like Riordan really was just teasing her, but, like I said: the fact that print media inherently strips out any form of context is why this looks very bad.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/08/girls.name.ap/index.html

The conversation, videotaped by KEYT-TV, took place July 1. The girl, 6-year-old Isis D'Luciano, asked Riordan if he knew her name meant "Egyptian goddess."

Riordan replied, "It means stupid dirty girl."

After nervous laughter in the room, the girl again told Riordan the meaning of her name.

"Hey, that's nifty," he said.

A day later, Riordan issued a statement that said he "teased" the girl. "I immediately apologized to her, and I want to do so again for the misunderstanding," Riordan said.

The governor's chief spokesman, Rob Stutzman, said Thursday Riordan had not been asked to resign and, "That's the end of the issue, as far as we are concerned."

The girl's mother, Trinity Lila of Goleta, said her daughter was fine, and she considered the issue over.

"Obviously it hurt her feelings, but she didn't take it personally. She knew he was wrong and she let it go," Lila said. "I'm not going to sue them for therapy bills."

"He's already apologized repeatedly," Lila added. Although Riordan's office has tried to contact her, "I don't see what else is to be done."

If the mother of the child is satisfied with Riordan's apologies, then so should we. If Riordan should be removed from his position, let it be for other reasons (and I'm sure he has others). As far as I'm concerned, though, it really is time to move on.

Melon
 
oh jeez, i am putting my two cents in and agreeing with melon. i had heard about this and didn't actually see it on the news until friday. but it truly appeared that he was just teasing her, although it was an in appropriate remark, i don't think there was any malice intended. i likened it to one of my brothers teasing me. plain and simple.
 
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