U.S. Common Sense

I need to create a category on “stupid news.”

Last Saturday, Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski was enjoying a nice day at home when she noticed two kids next door climbing in a small magnolia tree in her neighbor’s yard. Being concerned for the kid’s safety (and the health of the tree), she went next door and addressed the parents of the kids. She said, “the tree is not there for them to be climbing in there like monkeys.” This resulted in the police being called and Ramirez-Sliwinski being issued a $75 ticket for disorderly conduct.

Disorderly conduct? The justification for this was the fact that she was on private property (her neighbors) and her conduct “disturbs or alarms people.” This was met by the one of the children reported that he was scared by her comment. Ramirez-Sliwinski plans to challenge the ticket. However, that isn’t what makes this “stupid news.”

Who is Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski? She is a trustee in the Chicago suburb of Carpentersville and an Illinois Delegate for Barack Obama. What is so special about the kids involved in this case? They are both black. So when she referred to the two kids playing around in the tree as monkeys, the implication that it was a racial remark was made. And in a campaign that has already had the spotlight placed on it due to racism, the Obama campaign came out and announced that Ramirez-Sliwinski was stepping down. Unfortunately, the campaign failed to share that information with Ramirez-Sliwinski. She came out later today saying that she intends to stay on as delegate and that her comment was not racist. The Obama campaign has since corrected their earlier announcement by saying, “it is clear the incident was a misunderstanding.”

This is ridiculous. People need to learn that most statements made are in no way based on racism, and this politically correct world that turns everyone into a victim needs to come to an end. I’ve never seen people so weak-skinned until recently. Delegate Ramirez-Sliwinski has nothing to apologize for, let alone considered stepping down from the campaign. And the fact that the Obama campaign was ready to let her go (without talking to her about the issue to verify her intention) really draws the question of how serious Obama is about resolving the racism issues in our country. If his campaign was not going to step up to the plate to defend Ramirez-Sliwinski on the racist angle of this story (her actions do violate the laws of the state for disorderly conduct), how is President Obama going to help the nation transcend racism into the 21st century?

For some additional reading, check out these sites:
FOX News - “Obama Delegate Stays With Campaign After ‘Monkey’ Remark”
HOI News - “Illinois delegate resigns after ‘monkey’ remark”
WBBM News Radio - “Monkey Comment: Obama Delegate Not Quitting, Mayor Warns Of Backlash”
Pantagraph - “Illinois delegate for Obama resigns after ‘monkeys’ remark”
The Daily Journal - “Obama delegate staying on despite ‘monkey’ remark”

For some additional reading across the web, check out these blogs:
Diary of a Poor Black Milwaukee Ghetto Screwup! - “Obama delegate fired for calling black kids monkeys.”
Narcissistic Views on News/Politics - “Obama delegate resigns over monkey remarks.”
Too Sense - “Department of Over-Sensitivity?”
Freedom Eden - “Monkey: The M-Word”
Jack Lewis - “How hypocritical are Democrats?”