Author Topic: Hell, I'll bet this guy has gotta be black.... (Read 3462 times)

-tronski- · « **Reply #45 on:** May 12, 2003, 12:44:35 AM »

I think this is the crutch of the story:

Since he began his career in journalism, Blair has been known for two things: being able to play the internal politics of an institution with uncanny skill and having a problem with accuracy.
MSNBC

Tronsky

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #46 on:** May 12, 2003, 01:04:06 AM »

But why is it biggoted to think that AA action played apart here when the executives at the times used him for PR purposes as an example of their successful outreach programs while he under serious performance review procedures. Its not that outlandishg a thought you know - diversity is a big buzzword and a major goodwill item these days in business. All I see from you is you calling me a racist for thinking AA had a large part to do with this.

Be straight forward do you deem all criticism of AA as racist?

funkedup · « **Reply #47 on:** May 12, 2003, 01:51:02 AM »

Grun if you had just said "has gotta be an affirmative action case..." you woulda had it made in the shade.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #48 on:** May 12, 2003, 02:04:25 AM »

Yea funked true and both my title and that mean exatly the same thing - I was criticizing a likely AA scenario gone wrong and not the guy as a black man. People are too uptight and afraid of race issues - it seeps out of every post here. Hell I bet most of the most vocal guys calling me a racist in this thread are prolly reformed KKK grand wizards so maybe they are trying to be more PC than Jesse Jackson.

( BTW that was a joke - I do not think you are former KKK members - I know them all personally and I dont recognize any of you <---- that was also a joke

)

Isnt it funny how they desperatly want to paint me as a racist when in reality it has more to do with their own insecurity and unseasiness to talky freely about the subject....

Maniac · « **Reply #49 on:** May 12, 2003, 02:09:20 AM »

Grunherz is an racist, afterall hes from Germany and we know that all Germans are racists! if not nazis.

Have a good day

Nash · « **Reply #50 on:** May 12, 2003, 02:15:03 AM »

Small correction Deja - the French passport story wasn't the Washington Post's, it was the Washington Times'. Which makes the whole thing that much more stupid. A two page thread and not one person stops to notice that the story their arguing about is total bunk. Heh, I was half expecting another lecture about my trying not to believe something after posting as much in that passport thread, but it turns out we agree. We also agree about this Grun thing... go figure.

And I reckon it makes no difference if Grun realizes it or not.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #51 on:** May 12, 2003, 02:17:11 AM »

So you agree that criticizing likely AA abuses ir racist? Thats the absurd argument MiniD is trying to make....

Makofan · « **Reply #52 on:** May 12, 2003, 07:49:18 AM »

Correcting an injustice with another injustice is just .. unjust

In other words, Affirmative Action is a discriminatory policy meant to redress previous discriminatory policies. Find another way!

Nash · « **Reply #53 on:** May 12, 2003, 08:06:13 AM »

You're now saying:

"But why is it biggoted to think that AA action played apart here when the executives at the times used him for PR purposes as an example of their successful outreach programs while he under serious performance review procedures."

When tronski called you on it, by pointing out that in the article you posted about and gave us the link for it said nothing about any outreach program (etc.), you replied that you read that in a different story, somewhere else.

The problem is, the story you initially read where your first thought was that he must be black still did not contain any of those details. Who cares if you read it somewhere else later.

It looks like you're dancin' when the replies here were not what you anticipated. No, it's not racist to criticize AA. The angle at which you aproached this is another story....

Arfann · « **Reply #54 on:** May 12, 2003, 08:42:17 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mini D
in the middle of all your blind bigotted rage,

Blind? Hardly. He may miss a lot of details but he sees color real good.

gofaster · « **Reply #55 on:** May 12, 2003, 08:58:57 AM »

Actually, when I read the article, the first thing that popped into my mind was an overly-educated white guy who knew how to suck up to his superiors by talking-up his Ivy-League or northern university education. Sure enough, he was a graduate of the Univ. of Maryland. For some reason, the northern papers fall all over themselves for northern university graduates but give southern and western school grads the "not one of us" brush-off. I think Katie Couric (love her or hate her) actually turned media eyes on the Univ. of West Virginia as a quality broadcasting program.

I got a kick out of these pieces from the story:

Quote

Blair started as an intern who was promoted to a full-time job covering police and eventually covered such high-profile stories as the Washington-area sniper investigation and the homecoming of rescued prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch.

According to the Times, no one in Lynch's family remembers speaking to Blair, even though he filed five articles, datelined from their hometown of Palestine, West Virginia, that vividly described them and their home. The article described the home as overlooking tobacco fields and cattle pastures, when it, in fact, does not.

Blair resigned this month after the San Antonio Express-News raised questions about whether he had plagiarized its story about the family of a soldier missing in Iraq.

The Times said its own investigation showed Blair's deceptions to be much more widespread, with problems in at least 36 of the 73 articles Blair had written since transferring to the national desk in October. The investigation is continuing into more than 600 articles he wrote, and the paper is urging readers who know of additional discrepancies to come forward.

In April 2002, Jonathan Landman, the metropolitan editor, was so concerned about the quality of Blair's work and the number of errors he was making that he sent an e-mail to newsroom administrators saying, "We have to stop Jayson from writing for the Times. Right now."

Blair was eventually promoted.

Blair, who is black, came to the Times as part of an internship program designed to help the paper attract more minority reporters. Times officials insisted that fact had nothing to do with his subsequent hiring and quick rise to full reporter status, despite editors' concerns about his work.

"He was a young, promising reporter who had done a job that warranted promotion," said Gerald Boyd, the paper's managing editor.

If there were concerns about his work and an editor said he had to be stopped, then how could he be doing a job that warranted a promotion? I want to work for the NY Times! I think it would suit my surfing the HTC message boards on company time quite well.

midnight Target · « **Reply #56 on:** May 12, 2003, 10:00:29 AM »

I'm just enjoying the heck out of Mini-D's posts here. You just keep on carrying the torch sir, well done.

And Grun.. I read about a bigoted student who is causing trouble up in the Bay Area.... I immediately thought.. must be Croatian!

Lance · « **Reply #57 on:** May 12, 2003, 10:07:09 AM »

Grun, you still don't get it. The article made the statement that this con-man's advancement in spite of "red flags" had nothing at all to do with him being black. You insisted that the opposite was true despite no evidence to support this conclusion other than the con was black and got promoted some before the higher ups caught on. Therefore, one can only assume that you are, if not a racist, prejudiced or biased and that this is why you see this as an example of a black guy getting preferential treatment.

And even if your idea had any factual merit, this would be as much an indictment of AA as Columbine was of gun ownership. Affirmative action didn't con the NYT, this guy did. Just like gun ownership didn't kill those people at Columbine, those kids did. If AA's time has past, this is not an example of why.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #58 on:** May 12, 2003, 10:27:50 AM »

Its not racist to think think its possible that an overzelous AA program was at fault.

It simply comes down to that.

capt. apathy · « **Reply #59 on:** May 12, 2003, 10:32:43 AM »

I don't really want to get into the whole AA thing again. (been there done that & changed nobodys mind, everyone still has the same opinion as before our last 4 page thread on the subject)

but just dealing with GRUNZ original post-he didn't HAVE to be black