Sunday, December 18, 2011

Ohio Landlord Refuses To Apologize For Posting ‘Whites Only’ Pool Sign Because It’s ‘Historical’









In September the Ohio Civil Rights Commission ruled that a white landlord, Jamie Hein, had violated the state’s Civil Rights Act by posting a sign by the pool of her duplex that read “Public Swimming Pool, White Only.”
A black tenant filed a discrimination complaint with the commission after Hein accused his teenage daughter of using chemicals in her hair that made the water “cloudy.” Days later, she posted the sign on the gate to the pool.
Hein has so far been unapologetic, and is asking the commission to reconsider their ruling. “If I have to stick up for my white rights, I have to stick up for my white rights,” she said. She recently defended her actions to ABC News, giving the curious excuse that the sign was merely “historical”:
An Ohio landlord accused of discriminating against an African-American girl with a “white only” sign at her swimming pool told ABCNews.com that the sign was an antique and a decoration.
“I’m not a bad person,” said Jamie Hein of Cincinnati. “I don’t have any problem with race at all. It’s a historical sign.”
The sign in question reads, “Public Swimming Pool, White Only.” It is dated 1931 and from Alabama.
Hein, 31, was unapologetic about the racist origins of the sign that she displayed at the entrance to her pool. She said she collects antiques and was given the sign as a gift. She also said that even though the sign seems to indicate that the pool is public, the pool is on her private property and “everybody has to ask before getting in my pool.”
Landlords and business owners are subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and Fair Housing Act, which prohibits them from discriminating against customers and tenants on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, handicap, familial status or national origin.

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Tim Tebow Issue Is Complicated ... Favoritism, Football, Race, Religion



by Sandy Gholston



Tim Tebow, of the Denver Broncos, is generally either loved or hated by people who are loyal followers of the National Football League. First and foremost, Tim Tebow is not hated because he is a Christian. That assertion is the biggest bunch of garbage that I have maybe ever heard come out of the media. Turn on pro and college football, watch it for any number of hours, and you're bound to see numerous players (of all races) kneeling in prayer, thanking God and otherwise expressing their faith. It is absolute garbage to say or imply that Tebow is the victim of some anti-religious media bias. Now, as we know, that doesn't stop the right-wing nuts at Fox News from advancing such an absurdity. A panel of the disgraceful and disgracefully-biased Fox News Watch program tried to turn it into a Christian-Muslim issue on a couple of occasions. Again, this is absolutely absurd. In this clip, the right-wing panelists, either through their ignorance of bias, never talked about the many prayer huddles that happen before and after games, prayers that other players have after touchdowns or how players thank God in post-game interviews.They could not do that ... you see, it doesn't go with their agenda to portray Tebow as a victim of religious or Christian bias. Twice in that clip they invoked Muslims and even evoked the black Muslims led by Elijah Muhammad, who was followed by boxing great Muhammad Ali. This was not an accident. It was a subtle injection of race.
Tebow is criticized or disliked for the following reasons:



1. People do not like having stars shoved down their throat before they feel like an individual has truly earned that praise.



2. Defenders of Tebow irrationally shove his modest early success down the throat of people who are either neutral or critical.



3. He is winning with a style that is unorthodox and some people think is unsustainable.



4. He is getting all (or the vast majority) of the credit for the Broncos' success in spite of a strong running game behind Tebow and a strong defense.



5. He is getting praised where black quarterbacks (Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick as examples), historically, have been criticized. For example, University of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is "winning" but is roundly criticized while Tebow is "winning" and gets national praised heaped on him. This has caused resentment.



6. Some people tend to want their sports free of religion.
Tebow is having success and I hope it continues for him. I just don't think his style is sustainable, but we will see. History will be the ultimate judge of Tim Tebow.