Is it racist, or is it comedy? Both?
 

You can't make this stuff up. Enjoy.

SC Senator Defends Comments About Work of Blacks, Whites & Mexicans

COLUMBIA, S.C. --
State Sen. Robert Ford, who's black, is defending comments he made during debate on an illegal immigration bill about the work habits of blacks, whites and Mexicans.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Ford said the state needs Mexican workers who are willing to do jobs that blacks and whites are not willing to do.

An audio recording of the committee reveals that Sen. Ford said, “I know brothers, and when I’m talking about brothers I’m talking about based on race. Talking about black guys and they’re not going to do that work at Boeing with all that dirt and stuff to be hauled to build that plant. Ain’t no brothers gonna do that. Not like a Mexican will."

“A brother gonna find ways to take a break. They’re gonna find some breaks,” he added. He continued to talk about some Mexicans who did yard work at his house and did it quickly and cheaper than anyone else.

"Now you know my blue-eyed brothers, pale-skinned brothers ain’t gonna do no work. They ain’t gonna do that kind of work. And rightfully so. We have already paid our dues. Ever since this country was built, somebody came in and did the work for us. That’s America. It’s a country of immigrants,” he said during the meeting.

The state Republican Party says Sen. Ford should apologize for racist comments.

Sen. Ford told News Channel 7 Wednesday morning, "I said that, in most cases, about 99 percent of the time, the people who are doing the hard, hard, dirty work are Mexican immigrants. Because I said now as a black man, I'm not going to be doing what they do. I'm not going to be laying no foundation for no building, because I can't do that kind of work. I'm not going to get on top of no roof in 100-degree temperature. I don't do that kind of work. But they do it and now we should accept the fact that they've done more so than anybody else and make them citizens like everybody else that worked their way to American citizenship."He said he'd be willing to apologize to anyone who was offended, but says his comments were not a "racial thing."

He says he was simply talking about the history of this country and who has done the hard, dirty jobs that no one else wanted.

"When the Pilgrims came here, they brought with them indentured servants--other Europeans who had to work their way to freedom. Right after that, we brought in, our country brought in, Africans who became slaves for 246 years. Right after that, we brought in the Chinese workers to build the railroad, up until 1890. And then right after 1890, we brought in for the Industrial Revolution, Eastern European workers," he says.

"I said I'm asking my black brothers, my European brothers, my Chinese brothers and my blue-eyed brothers to accept my Mexican brothers because now they're trying to work themself up into citizenship," he says.

SC Senator Defends Comments About Work of Blacks, Whites & Mexicans | WSPA

Truth.

We're lazy.

Also funny. Sadly funny.

Wow - if a white guy said that.......

Chris Rock can do things and be funny that a politician probably shouldn't do...

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Politically incorrect is not racist, but had a White Republican said it, the Media and race whores would be calling for his head. State Sen. Robert Ford spoke the truth, and while Politically incorrect is not racist..

Something this whole board and society at large should remember is that there is a difference between being racially insensitive and being racist.

to be a real white guy you must have blue eyes and pale skin...

The only thing that I found offensive were the double negatives.

Catholic School, the gift that keeps on giving.

Who's black what? Black car? Black cat? Black chair? Seems that the Spartanburg paper is as bad at English as the senator is.

I don't know if it's racist or not. It certainly appears racist. But I do know this. This is the first time I ever heard a black man justify indentured servitude and slavery and describe them as pathways to citizenship, as an acceptable form of racial hazing if you will. Sort of. I think.

so once they are citizen's as he suggest we do..
who's going to do the work..
we can't all be sitting around now can we..

Rika

Wow. He got elected, huh? Was he the only one that ran?

I bet we could go after the Eskimos next!!!

Dude.

Call your 6th grade English teacher.

Who's is a contraction of who is and is correct usage here.

Whose would be the possessive.

But thanks for trying. Heh heh

You don't have trouble with that whole you're/your thing, do you? :D

Nope. But he got 82% of the votes in the final election. He's held that seat since 1992.

He's been struggling for 16 years to bring his state up from the bottom in education and stuff, too. From his website:

A New Beginning: It's way past time for our beautiful state to rise to the top instead of always occupying the bottom rungs on the ladder... on education, health care and quality of life. And it's time that we stop being near the top in poverty, unemployment, violent crime and youngsters who fail to finish high school. I believe in doing what's right for all the people of this state.

Dude, it wasn't a dig at you, chill out.

Seriously, imagine what would happen if Sarah Palin said those exact same words............

There would be warrants for her arrest throughout the country. Rewards in the hundreds of thousands to anyone who helped in her capture.
Her life would truly be in clear and immediate danger.

THAT is how screwed up the liberal left is.
I would love to see a social experiment on this one:
Have a blond-haired, blue-eyed person of western european decent get up on a stage at a tea party rally and speak these exact words and see how the media and the pinko left responds. They would be frothing at the mouth and calling for massive violent acts.
I would seriously love to see that.

I didn't take it as a dig, but while we're on the subject, I am totally chilled. :)

Project much?

Has anyone actually HEARD the tape yet?
Was this a case of him and the other senators sitting around BSing, and they got a little out of hand?
Or was this his standing up and making a quotable statement?

Context context context.

[QUOTE=masraum; Wow. He got elected, huh? Was he the only one that ran?[/QUOTE]

perhaps him having so many brothers & sister's working for him ..
did the trick..

Rika

I'm proud of you, you put down the crayons for that post. It's a good first step.

That was a dig.

Check the second paragraph.

That might be a dig.

Where? What? It says no where the context of what he said and how he said it. I don't care that they were sitting in a judicial meeting, that doesn't preclude them from BSing during a meeting, or maybe right before or after. Did they get a bit out of hand talking about the subject, and maybe got a bit off color? Did he start on a rant and the rest of them sat back and said to themselves "WTF is this guy doing??"

Actually listening to the tape would clarify a lot of this.

Oh yeah. It's that 'context' bugaboo again. And what difference does it make how the rest of them reacted? The guy was clearly demonstrating his thought processes or whatever.

Inuit - puhlease

I think not. A quickly little search shows me that statements like this is kinda strange for Ford. He's the one with the "ban saggy pants, violent rap and profanity" laws. He doesn't strike me as the type to sit around, speak in that dialect and say such things unless he was making a point.

The statement (as posted) by Sen. Robert Ford is not racist. He's simply stating a fact about races and their work ethic based on his observation. I don't think it would harness much negativity whether it were a Republican or Tea Party elect making the same statement within the same context. Now if MSNBC and FOX anchors choose to evaluate and comment on it based on their respective agendas, then they might have race being the issue.

"I notice while driving through Lake Forest and Irvine, Ca. that all the people working in the Agriculture fields of S. California, seem to be all of Mexican origin. Im sure no African American, Asian or Caucasian would be working as hard, for so little." It's not a racist statement, it's just a factual statement and observation based on race.

I think we're reading into his statement way too much. :confused:

Yeah, yeah, yeah... during the meeting, in a debate during the meeting, it doesn't matter. It's still hilariously bizarre.
______________________________
Robert Ford: “Brothas” Don’t Work

On Tuesday, S.C. Sen. Robert Ford (D-Charleston) unleashed a racial firestorm when he claimed that “brothas” were lazy – and that “Mexicans” are the only people in America willing to do manual labor.

“I know brothers – and I’m talking about black guys – they are not going to do the dirty work at Boeing,” Ford said, referring to the construction of a new aircraft manufacturing facility in North Charleston. “A brother is going to find ways to take a break.”

Ford said that the Boeing plant – which is being built in his Lowcountry district – is being built by “Mexicans.”

“American’s not going to do no hard hard work,” Ford said in a follow-up interview with WLTX TV 19 (CBS – Columbia, S.C.) “The foundation for industry is going to be laid by Mexican workers, that’s a matter of fact. Now they got some people upset about that, they better learn American history and they better get a life.”

Ford’s comments – which were made in the context of a debate over a new illegal immigration bill – have drawn sharp rebukes from Republican and Democratic leaders in South Carolina. Even the state chapter of the NAACP has called his comments “unfortunate.”

We agree – although it’s hard to say there’s not a kernel of truth regarding his assessment of the immigrant work ethic.

A former Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Ford has been an aggressive supporter of parental choice – which has made him a target of the Democratic establishment (particularly the NAACP). His blunt commentary is often refreshing, but it’s often borderline nonsensical.

For example, Ford once referred to email as a “tool of the aristocracy.”

In related news, a Twitter page lampooning Sen. Ford is enjoying a sudden surge in popularity. The Twitter page – called “ShizSenatorFordSays” – says it is dedicated to the “accidental wit, wisdom and strange sayings from the five-term state senator from Charleston. And jokes.”

Robert Ford: “Brothas” Don’t Work :: FITSNews

Wanna bet....
Whttp://www.adversity.net/special/niggardly.htm

Agreed. He made several points Mike. And a white guy using that technique to make points would end up in a discussion with Sharpton, Jackson, Lee and Waters, LLC no matter the 'context'.

I doubt that. White guy say such things daily on forums all across the web. It gets said here.

Speaking of Lee, I got to see her this weekend at a groundbreaking. It was special. :eek:

OF COURSE the statements are racist. He is drawing conclusions that are based entirely on race. There may be some factual accuracy in what he says, but it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with economic and social issues. Farm-labor Mexicans are no more hard-working or lazy than whitey or darkie, they're just more desperate. Second generation Mexicans, as they assimilate, become less willing to bust their hump in the fields.

I do not think the statements he made were particularly racist. Much of what he said I believe is the truth. What I find racist is that a person who is part of a "minority group" can speak words like that with no ramification. If you are not from a minority group you dare not speak those words or be labeled.

Racist and ignorant...

Seriously, one of my Canadian friends has a conniption every time she hears "Eskimo".

Of course, she's from "Eastern" Canada, and Blue eyed, Blond and very paled skinned...

So to sum this whole thing up:

The good senator said that black workers are lazy and will find a way to get out doing the hard work, white workers were above that kind of thing and don't have to do hard work because they are entitled to better jobs, but mexican workers work really hard at the crappy jobs and that's what they deserve, and none of that was racist because the senator is black and it's OK for a minority to say what ever he thinks is true but everyone else is bound and gagged with the PC rule.

Does that sound right?

So he is PROFILING then???

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Your Mexicans can write? Where did you get them?