Not sure how I feel about this one after hearing the weatherman's apology. It doesn't seem like he meant to say the word - and why would he do it anyways? This guy's life is ruined. Link - ( New Window )
Fd up speaking, he shouldn't have lost his job but this is instant oatmeal America where you have 45 seconds to make up your mind and determine that someone or something is total shit based on a sound bite.
poster that helped us understand all the ramifications of the storms approaching our respective areas. Boy do I miss him and I am glad it wasn't him that was fired.
Reminds me of that Jeremy Lin "chink in the armor" guy at ESPN Â
for something like this only serves to create or further enforce division.
No idea how he could say this accidentally, but there are much better, more productive ways to gain vindication for the people offended by his comments.
which is what his detractors would seemingly have you believe. But hey, make a mistake and get fired (but only for certain offenses). Welcome to America!
How do you accidentally say "Martin Luther Coon King"?
When you trying saying “Junior” before “king” which is what I 100% think happened. When your thoughts are slightly ahead of your words, this happens and happens a lot. Just sucks that’s the combo of words he got tongue tied on.
Him being fired for that is a joke. He didn’t make a bad punchline, he clearly mixed up two words in the wrong order.
RE: RE: It sounded like he was saying two works at once Â
By blending King and Junior like ki-un. This is ridiculous.
Yeah, that's how I heard it as well.
I had to play it back multiple times to catch what people were talking about but then the person interviewed was outraged that it wasn't caught in time? Get the f outta here.
This isn’t like Jesse Jackson calling NYC Hymietown. There was real purpose with those comments.
To do something like that intentionally would be career suicide. Unless there is history with this guy to suggest this is part of his character, he doesn’t deserve this type of capital punishment.
It’s very sad where we are as a society with speech.
It doesn't really sound like he's blending stuff to me Â
Sounds like he accidentally said "Martin Luther Coon" (something folks have been known to say) and then realized that wasn't it and added "King Jr". I didn't hear any herky-jerky stop start.
Firing might be pretty strong, but I don't really know what he was thinking. Perhaps the folks he worked for had a better idea.
RE: RE: I mean , I get the sympathy for the guy but Â
How do you accidentally say "Martin Luther Coon King"?
When you trying saying “Junior” before “king” which is what I 100% think happened. When your thoughts are slightly ahead of your words, this happens and happens a lot. Just sucks that’s the combo of words he got tongue tied on.
Him being fired for that is a joke. He didn’t make a bad punchline, he clearly mixed up two words in the wrong order.
I didn't hear it that way. But I guess it's possible.
That slang used a lot by KKK followers to describe MLK? Ie do they replace King with the epithet?
Ultimately if it was really an accident I feel a bit bad for him but the word he used is highly offensive, it was in respect of a revered American and he’s in a very public job.
It sounds like just a innocent mistake, and that could be all it is but referring to MLK that way is unfortunately common among racist idiots. Maybe this guy has said it before or heard it said many times to where his mind went in that direction when trying to rush through his segment. There's no way to really know for sure.
Clearly the guy stumbled over his words. WTH would he have been trying to accomplish anyway by calling MLK "Coon" live on air, especially in this day and time? It's ludicrous to think for a second he did that on purpose.
Bunch of reactionary weaklings out there to allow this to happen. I hope he is rehired by a rival station for more money and that their ratings beat the hell out of his former employer.
is so ridiculously unnecessary. Apologizing to people he hurt? WHAAAT? This world ... wtf.
This comment on his FB apology thread hit it, for me:
Quote:
I don’t even watch the station but came across the story on fb. I’m a speech pathologist . You made what’s called a perseveratory speech error. Our brains mess up the sequence of sounds sometimes. Has nothing to do with your intent. It’s ridiculous what you and your family are going through!! What a terrible thing that station did to you for making an innocent mistake. These kind of errors happen all the time in conversation. I’m so sorry!!
People who don't normally use racial slurs doesn't "accidentally" say it at a bad time.
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
RE: It doesn't really sound like he's blending stuff to me Â
Sounds like he accidentally said "Martin Luther Coon" (something folks have been known to say) and then realized that wasn't it and added "King Jr". I didn't hear any herky-jerky stop start.
Firing might be pretty strong, but I don't really know what he was thinking. Perhaps the folks he worked for had a better idea.
Don't see that at all.
I see it and hear it more that he - as he says in his video, trying to jam a ton of info into a tight video window, he speaks very quickly - jumbled King/Junior and it started to sound like Coo, at which point he corrected to KING, with his emphasis.
I can see a very brief apology video, or even a very brief one for the mis-speak during a weather-cast with him in the studio, but holy shit, FIRED???
That's really fucked up, and I hope some TV exec somewhere will get this guy under contract asap. Enough of the nonsense.
quite sure some politicos who have idiotic followings will loudly proclaim that justice was served and that "we" won't stand for this type of blatant racism anymore.
This isn’t the first on air incident when this slur was used for MLK. Mine Greenberg’s of ESPN said it in 2010. And some Googling seems to suggest this slur seems to be sadly common in racist circles to describe MLK or MLK Day (replacingKing with the epithet).
from speaking quickly and his brain processing what he was saying before he said it.
Others have pointed out that he probably combined "King" and "Junior" which is possible. It could have also been the word before "King."
Both "Luther" and "Junior" have that long "u" sound, and I think he had a slip of the tongue applying it to "King" and as he was saying "Koooong" he cut himself short as soon as he realized he misspoke and said "King" properly.
The result was what we heard.
People, especially newscasters, get tongue-tied all the time.
This guy just had the worst possible luck in that the mispronunciation was a racial slur.
People who don't normally use racial slurs doesn't "accidentally" say it at a bad time.
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
from speaking quickly and his brain processing what he was saying before he said it.
Others have pointed out that he probably combined "King" and "Junior" which is possible. It could have also been the word before "King."
Both "Luther" and "Junior" have that long "u" sound, and I think he had a slip of the tongue applying it to "King" and as he was saying "Koooong" he cut himself short as soon as he realized he misspoke and said "King" properly.
The result was what we heard.
People, especially newscasters, get tongue-tied all the time.
This guy just had the worst possible luck in that the mispronunciation was a racial slur.
Agree. so we have...
-VERY plausible deniability
-no history of this type of stuff from the individual
-an apology that in no way seems disingenuous or inauthentic
let's take his job from him. that will really advance things forward for the society/community.
This guy gets canned, yet I see TV shows like "Blackish" & "The Neighborhood" use the words like "Cracka", "honkey" & "White boy" freely & without ridicule... One for all, all for one - But my opinion is that we all need to STOP being so damn overly sensitive!!!
The reality though, keeping this pot stirred keeps folks like Al Sharpton current & feed$ their wallet$.
A Freudian slip was more like when Shepard Smith talked reported on JLo and meant to say "folks are more likely to give her a curb job than a block party" and instead said "folks are more likely to give her a curb job than a blow job." At least with that, you knew it was an error but thought "what's on his mind?"
It also seems unlikely that this slur would be intentional. Forgive my ignorance, but I always associated that slur with something from the South from decades ago, but maybe that's because I've never heard it used outside of movies like Forrest Gump and Remember the Titans. Is it really a slur that would be prevalent in 2018 Rochester, NY, such that it would be on the tip of this guy's tongue?
I'm happy to be corrected on that previous notion.
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
People who don't normally use racial slurs doesn't "accidentally" say it at a bad time.
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
Hopefully one day your life isn't destroyed from talking too quickly.
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
RE: RE: RE: I think it was him being tongue-tied Â
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
I give you credit for admitting that your opinion on this is about some other racial agenda that has nothing to do with the weatherman who was fired from his job.
I think you'd do better to separate the two, but your thoughts are yours.
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
And I think it would be fair to put him on leave till there is a technical assessment as to what he said. But this has a much bigger down side for him if he is shown to be either a clueless racist or an out-and-out liar.
with this guy. Maybe he has never said anything like this on the air before, but if he is a guy that people heard use slurs before, or tell racist jokes, then I get it. It may not feel unintentional. But you would think the station would have noted that as a reason for why they fired him.
To me that sounded like a slip of the tongue, and if so he should have just apologized and it should have ended. But we all know in the current era of social media, he would just become the racist weatherman and the station would just be branded the guys who do nothing about their racists. From a business standpoint it would have taken some balls to stand up for the guy if they believed it was an innocent flub. Maybe they just didn't have the balls to do it?
RE: RE: RE: RE: I think it was him being tongue-tied Â
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
I give you credit for admitting that your opinion on this is about some other racial agenda that has nothing to do with the weatherman who was fired from his job.
I think you'd do better to separate the two, but your thoughts are yours.
Agreed. My linking them is merely to point out a certain loss of perspective, IMO, as to what brings out the sense of injustice.
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
I can sympathize with the private employee/employer angle. I agree that nobody is charging him with a crime.
I still think the employer in this case made a regrettable decision and that stuff like this gets us absolutely nowhere. Nobody is better off for this.
In the end, what kind of guy is he? If he's a good guy, he's genuinely nice and does his job I'd have to say the firing is over the top.
No idea how he could say this accidentally, but there are much better, more productive ways to gain vindication for the people offended by his comments.
IMO.
Martin Luther Ju, King Junior...
It was hard to hear for me. If he was going to use a slur, why that one? That's an odd word to use. Haven't heard it since Forest Gump.
Unfortunate if it was an innocent mistake and he was fired for it, going to have his life ruined over it.
Unfortunate that social media justice has so much influence nowadays.
Yeah, that's how I heard it as well.
When you trying saying “Junior” before “king” which is what I 100% think happened. When your thoughts are slightly ahead of your words, this happens and happens a lot. Just sucks that’s the combo of words he got tongue tied on.
Him being fired for that is a joke. He didn’t make a bad punchline, he clearly mixed up two words in the wrong order.
Quote:
By blending King and Junior like ki-un. This is ridiculous.
Yeah, that's how I heard it as well.
I had to play it back multiple times to catch what people were talking about but then the person interviewed was outraged that it wasn't caught in time? Get the f outta here.
To do something like that intentionally would be career suicide. Unless there is history with this guy to suggest this is part of his character, he doesn’t deserve this type of capital punishment.
It’s very sad where we are as a society with speech.
Firing might be pretty strong, but I don't really know what he was thinking. Perhaps the folks he worked for had a better idea.
Quote:
How do you accidentally say "Martin Luther Coon King"?
When you trying saying “Junior” before “king” which is what I 100% think happened. When your thoughts are slightly ahead of your words, this happens and happens a lot. Just sucks that’s the combo of words he got tongue tied on.
Him being fired for that is a joke. He didn’t make a bad punchline, he clearly mixed up two words in the wrong order.
I didn't hear it that way. But I guess it's possible.
Ultimately if it was really an accident I feel a bit bad for him but the word he used is highly offensive, it was in respect of a revered American and he’s in a very public job.
Bunch of reactionary weaklings out there to allow this to happen. I hope he is rehired by a rival station for more money and that their ratings beat the hell out of his former employer.
This comment on his FB apology thread hit it, for me:
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
Firing might be pretty strong, but I don't really know what he was thinking. Perhaps the folks he worked for had a better idea.
Don't see that at all.
I see it and hear it more that he - as he says in his video, trying to jam a ton of info into a tight video window, he speaks very quickly - jumbled King/Junior and it started to sound like Coo, at which point he corrected to KING, with his emphasis.
I can see a very brief apology video, or even a very brief one for the mis-speak during a weather-cast with him in the studio, but holy shit, FIRED???
That's really fucked up, and I hope some TV exec somewhere will get this guy under contract asap. Enough of the nonsense.
Disgusting.
#gofuckyourself
what the fuck are we doing??
Others have pointed out that he probably combined "King" and "Junior" which is possible. It could have also been the word before "King."
Both "Luther" and "Junior" have that long "u" sound, and I think he had a slip of the tongue applying it to "King" and as he was saying "Koooong" he cut himself short as soon as he realized he misspoke and said "King" properly.
The result was what we heard.
People, especially newscasters, get tongue-tied all the time.
This guy just had the worst possible luck in that the mispronunciation was a racial slur.
what the fuck are we doing??
What we are doing - or what we have done - is flipped innocent until proven guilty to guilty until proven innocent.
And the road to get to innocence is more difficult than ever, especially in the court of public opinion.
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
I love amateur pusychology.
Others have pointed out that he probably combined "King" and "Junior" which is possible. It could have also been the word before "King."
Both "Luther" and "Junior" have that long "u" sound, and I think he had a slip of the tongue applying it to "King" and as he was saying "Koooong" he cut himself short as soon as he realized he misspoke and said "King" properly.
The result was what we heard.
People, especially newscasters, get tongue-tied all the time.
This guy just had the worst possible luck in that the mispronunciation was a racial slur.
Agree. so we have...
-VERY plausible deniability
-no history of this type of stuff from the individual
-an apology that in no way seems disingenuous or inauthentic
let's take his job from him. that will really advance things forward for the society/community.
I really don't like what we have become.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
The reality though, keeping this pot stirred keeps folks like Al Sharpton current & feed$ their wallet$.
A Freudian slip was more like when Shepard Smith talked reported on JLo and meant to say "folks are more likely to give her a curb job than a block party" and instead said "folks are more likely to give her a curb job than a blow job." At least with that, you knew it was an error but thought "what's on his mind?"
It also seems unlikely that this slur would be intentional. Forgive my ignorance, but I always associated that slur with something from the South from decades ago, but maybe that's because I've never heard it used outside of movies like Forrest Gump and Remember the Titans. Is it really a slur that would be prevalent in 2018 Rochester, NY, such that it would be on the tip of this guy's tongue?
I'm happy to be corrected on that previous notion.
I really don't like what we have become.
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
I teach in an urban school district with a high percentage of minority children, and I do not ever worry that I'm going to accidentally say a racial slur.
Hopefully one day your life isn't destroyed from talking too quickly.
Quote:
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
Quote:
I really don't like what we have become.
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
I give you credit for admitting that your opinion on this is about some other racial agenda that has nothing to do with the weatherman who was fired from his job.
I think you'd do better to separate the two, but your thoughts are yours.
Quote:
In comment 14253891 Jay in Toronto said:
Quote:
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
And I think it would be fair to put him on leave till there is a technical assessment as to what he said. But this has a much bigger down side for him if he is shown to be either a clueless racist or an out-and-out liar.
To me that sounded like a slip of the tongue, and if so he should have just apologized and it should have ended. But we all know in the current era of social media, he would just become the racist weatherman and the station would just be branded the guys who do nothing about their racists. From a business standpoint it would have taken some balls to stand up for the guy if they believed it was an innocent flub. Maybe they just didn't have the balls to do it?
Quote:
In comment 14253881 bigbluehoya said:
Quote:
I really don't like what we have become.
I agree with this but for me it's much more about >2 million people in jails, many waiting for trials and there cause they are too poor to make bail. And one-and-done measures re drug use.
I give you credit for admitting that your opinion on this is about some other racial agenda that has nothing to do with the weatherman who was fired from his job.
I think you'd do better to separate the two, but your thoughts are yours.
Agreed. My linking them is merely to point out a certain loss of perspective, IMO, as to what brings out the sense of injustice.
He'd have a solitary cell in Sing Sing waiting for him.
Quote:
In comment 14253891 Jay in Toronto said:
Quote:
I heard no stumbling or correcting. That's the way I heard it. In my mind he said it. I guess the technology exists to analyze it further.
To me it's a one-and-done offense. I guess only he knows the truth of what he said and why; we may never know.
just so we're clear -- you agree that "guilty until proven innocent" is the right MO?
Interestingly, though I am on the other side, I find myself compelled by the argument that he is a private employee and judged to have done something that is offensive to many customers (argument made by owners re kneeling players).
I can sympathize with the private employee/employer angle. I agree that nobody is charging him with a crime.
I still think the employer in this case made a regrettable decision and that stuff like this gets us absolutely nowhere. Nobody is better off for this.