One of Boston's Finest Racists Sues
A police officer in Boston is suing the city because he is a racist asshole. Justin Barrett filed a lawsuit against Boston because he was suspended for sending an email that criticized Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for over reacting to Officer James Crowly. That doesnt seem right; he was only expressing his opinion. Well it doesnt seem right until you find out his criticism was that professor Gates was a banana-eating jungle monkey. Charming, huh? Its even more charming when you learn he sent the email out to a bunch of other officers, oh, not to mention the Boston Globe.
Barrett later sent a mass e-mail about the encounter to other officers and to the Boston Globe newspaper.
Officer Barrett seems to have his panties all in a bunch now because the city suspended him with pay pending a termination hearing. Oh, hes also a member of the Army National Guard; they put him on administrative leave. I guess hes a little pissed off that you cant call a highly respected professor a jungle monkey without some people getting all uptight about it these days. It also seems that hes taking a page from the Sarah Palin playbook and claiming that his First Amendment rights were violated. I say that because apparently neither one knows what the First Amendment says. Let me give enlighten you:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Yup, thats it. The Cliff Notes version is that the Federal Government cant throw you in jail or otherwise censure you for what you say. Other citizens calling you a douchebag, members of the evil, liberal media calling you out for what you say and/or lie about or terminating you because you violated the ethical standards imposed on you because you are a police officer and a member of the Army National Guard dont count as violating your free speech. Of course, Officer Barrett isnt a racist at all because his lawyer says so.
"The choice of words were poor; but they weren't meant to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle monkey," attorney Peter Marano said. "They were meant in a response to behavior and characterizing the behavior. Not the person as a whole."
Absolutely! Calling a black man a banana-eating jungle monkey is totally nothing like being a racist. You were addressing his behavior and everyone knows that when a jungle monkey eats a banana they get all rowdy and in your face. Yes, everyone knows that except me and everyone who isnt a total idiot racist.
Asked what led him to choose to use such language, he said, "I don't know. I couldn't tell you. I have no idea."
The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. The I dont know why I did it defense didnt fly when I was 3 and have no idea why he thinks it would apply to a adult, especially one in a position of authority.