Minnesota Republican Representative’s Racially Loaded "Don't Be A THUG" Op-Ed Sparks Uproar...

stringer bell
stringer bell Members Posts: 26,212 ✭✭✭✭✭
http://www.startribune.com/civil-rights-activists-decry-opinion-letter-written-by-gop-state-rep-tony-cornish/382281671/
Civil rights activists decry opinion letter written by GOP state Rep. Tony Cornish

Republican Rep. Tony Cornish of Vernon Center faced backlash Wednesday over commentary where he offered advice on "how to reduce the use of force by police."

Cornish, chairman of the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee, laid out his advice in a letter to the editor published Wednesday by the Star Tribune.

Among the advice offered was: "Don’t be a thug and lead a life of crime so that you come into frequent contact with police." In another bullet point, he wrote "Don’t flap your jaws when the police arrive. Don’t disobey the requests of the police at the time. If you think you are wrongfully treated, make the complaint later."

He ended his letter by saying: "Here endeth the lesson. No charge."

Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, decried the letter, saying its use of the word "thug" was a coded reference to black men.

"I'm disgusted that one of our state legislators would feel comfortable writing a racially-charged op-ed that reinforces negative stereotypes about African-Americans," she said.

In an interview, Cornish stood by his letter saying he was speaking out for "cops [who] haven't had any voice." He blamed political pressure for unspecified instances where he said cops have faced discipline for alleged misconduct.

He also singled out Levy-Pounds as the reason has motivated to write the letter. He criticized her reaction to the Department of Justice's recent decision to not pursue a civil rights prosecution in the 2015 fatal shooting by police of Jamar Clark. Cornish said that Levy-Pounds was trying "just to get more sound bites."

Levy-Pounds said Cornish "needs to understand, I will continue advocating for justice," adding that "the real reason [he singled me out] is what's in his heart. It has zero to do with me."

Joseph Chase Elliot, a 28-year-old organizer with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, a Minneapolis nonprofit, said Cornish's comments do not reflect the reality of many black residents in Minneapolis.

"A lot of people do exactly what police say," Elliott said. "They tell you to do certain things. People do it and still get harassed."

Elliott, who said he received a legal settlement in 2012 after a police misconduct complaint, added that Cornish's advice to not "hang out on the street after 2 a.m." ignores that some workers work late shifts.


The letter by Cornish, a former game warden, comes at a time when Minnesota law enforcement agencies are working to foster trust and improve relations between police officers and communities of color. The recent shooting of Clark, 24, in north Minneapolis last year led to months of protest and unrest.

The shooting highlighted the deep divides in racial views toward law enforcement, divisions that fall along racial lines, according to a January Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

Six in 10 black Minnesotans believe police are more likely to use deadly force against a black person than someone who is white, according to a Star Tribune Minnesota Poll. Among white Minnesotans, 28 percent felt that police were more likely to use deadly force against blacks.

cornish_advice.png

http://www.fox9.com/news/155941289-story
“By people calling me racist, they’re trying to minimize my message. They know my message is true. And it would help in almost all cases if those rules were followed,” [Cornish] said.

So why did he write it? Cornish says, “I just got sick of cops being used as a scapegoat when something goes wrong, and the cops are called to a situation they don’t really want to be in. And something goes wrong because they’re there, and right away, it’s the cop’s fault.”

On being called a “racist,” the state rep said, “I’ve got relatives that are black. I’ve gone to five different mission trips in the jungle. I spent big money helping women adopt black kids from Africa. I don’t fit the racist mold.
So they should give that a rest.”

Adolf Trump really has saltines feeling comfortable enough to remove their bed sheets...

Comments

  • Copper
    Copper Members Posts: 49,532 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Try to do these things to reduce police brutality:

    1. Be white & rich
    2. Be a swimmer
    3. ? a woman while unconscious behind a dumpster
  • TayGettem
    TayGettem Members Posts: 6,859 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ......I was gonna say something but nevermind the ridicule I'll receive isn't worth it
  • powerman 5000
    powerman 5000 Members Posts: 3,084 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I was willing to give that racist ? the benefit of the doubt until he said that ? about going on mission trips to the jungle... Just apply a little pressure to a racist and he'll show his hand....
  • huey
    huey Members Posts: 11,743 ✭✭✭✭✭
    On being called a “racist,” the state rep said, “I’ve got relatives that are black. I’ve gone to five different mission trips in the jungle.

    this ? ..
  • So ILL
    So ILL Members Posts: 16,507 ✭✭✭✭✭
    White people make my head hurt.
  • A Talented One
    A Talented One Members Posts: 4,202 ✭✭✭
    There is a racial subtext to this, and you can do all that and still be victimized.

    But would some of that help, at least sometimes? That is hard to deny.

    Also, it is interesting how many blacks now decry (as they should) 'thug' as a a racially coded term for young black men. But where were these people when so many of our young men used to identify as 'thugs'? A lot still do, though it used to be worse. Why didn't they decry that too?

    What I am saying is that it could have helped black folks if more blacks (esp. black leaders) spoke out against this 'I wanna be a thug' thing when this was all the rage.
  • the dukester
    the dukester Members Posts: 1,822 ✭✭✭✭✭
    These textual rants are the last howls of a ? structure watching the foundation become unhinged.

    According census demographers, by 2040, whites will be the minority in this country. This explains the rise of a Donald Trump, and how he can say, and do no wrong in the eyes of angry white men (who want their country back).

    Sunlight is the best disinfectant for corruption. Smart-phones, surveillance video, & police body cameras are slowly changing the narrative of the police being "squeaky clean" public servants.
  • 7figz
    7figz Members Posts: 15,294 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2016
    Some posters post similar ? .
  • leftcoastkev
    leftcoastkev Members Posts: 6,232 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It would be dope if more people started getting put the ? down shortly after pushing ? narratives to society.

    Like if life itself was deprioritized and more and more people were less afraid of death.

    5pm news: earlier today so and so said < insert racist policy objective here >
    11pm news: at 8pm so and so was pushed out a window and killed after stating < the above >

    But no, every body is scared to die while being scared of the repercussions of fighting. so we collectively try to string together the best life we can under who ever is bold enough to seek power no matter how ? up they are.