Rampant Racism at BOCC
There is no discussion in all of politics that I detest more than talks of race. The fact that it is 2013 and there are people who still find it necessary to insert race into the public lexicon is disconcerting.
Atlanta based rap/metal band Stuck Mojo said it perfectly, “No one with any intelligence will deny that a great atrocity was committed against the black race at the hands of white settlers of this country, but a wound cannot heal if it is continuously re-opened.”
Over the last week, some members on our very own Board of County Commissioners have been seriously picking at the scar.
We can begin at last Tuesday’s BOCC meeting during the talk regarding the eventual tax increase. Commissioner Ridenhour was referencing something that a previous Commissioner had said and was uncertain as to whether it was Commissioner Dunlap or Fuller.
In a bizarre offhanded comment, Dunlap suggested that “we all look alike”, referring to the fact that both he and Commissioner Fuller happen to be black and ascribing to Ridenhour that race was the reason he couldn’t remember who had said what.
Now certainly, an uncomfortable laughter followed, as well as boos from the audience (which can not be heard in the video), but the comment is absolutely no laughing matter and has no business being uttered in a public forum by an elected official.
Fast forward to last Friday where County Commission Vice-Chair Kim Ratliff suggested that in looking for a new County Manager (following the recent firing of Harry Jones) that the search should be focused on finding a “non-white male who can bring good working relations with all people.”
Deflecting push-back on her overtly race based comments, Ratliff defended her position by attempting to clarify. “I wasn’t saying for white men not to apply,” Ratliff told WBTV on Monday. “What I was saying was we had a white male county manager. We had a black male. It’s a given those two genders and races will apply. I’m saying to the ladies of every race – take a chance at it.”
So now, rather than seeking a race based discriminatory hiring practice, the defense postulated is that a gender based hiring practice is what she actually meant…as if that’s any better.
Both of these Commissioners need to join the rest of us in 21st century America. If the goal is for a color blind society where ability and content of character are the desired methods for hiring practices and if we ever hope to move beyond the days of “blame race first”, both Dunlap and Ratliff need to look hard in the mirror and learn that such arbitrary uses of race peddling no longer have a place in our society. They are causing more harm than good.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=14174
