Posted on 03/22/2008 10:49:53 AM PDT by Sir Gawain
FBI investigates noose at business
Sea Ray Boats says man who hung rope has been fired
By Jim Balloch Saturday, March 22, 2008
The FBI is investigating an incident at Sea Ray Boats' Riverview plant in which a white employee placed a noose where it was seen by a black employee.
"They were contacted (Wednesday) by the FBI concerning this matter," said Dan Kubera, spokesman for the boat manufacturer's parent company, Brunswick Corp. of Lake Forest, Ill.
"We will be meeting with the agency and cooperating in the investigation."
Also, Kubera said, the company was notified March 17 that a complaint has been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "We are reviewing that matter and will respond accordingly," he said.
The FBI declined to comment, citing its policy of neither confirming nor denying ongoing investigations.
Kubera said a maintenance employee who admitted he had hung the noose was fired after Sea Ray's own investigation of the incident.
The white employee had placed the noose in his work area, and "its presence offended an African-American employee," Kubera said.
Sea Ray employees removed the noose, and the white employee told company investigators it was "meant as a prank, and not as any type of racial statement or threat directed toward any particular co-worker," Kubera said.
"We also believe that this was an isolated act and is in no way representative of the work environment at Sea Ray," he added. After the incident, employees were reminded of company policy prohibiting such activity.
The incident occurred around Jan. 31 at the company's plant at Forks of the River Industrial Park, Kubera said. It was brought to the attention of Richard Lambert, special agent in charge of the Knoxville FBI office, at a February meeting of the East Tennessee Civil Rights Working Group, according to minutes of that meeting.
"During this incident, the victim discovered a noose in the work area on more than one occasion," the minutes stated. Lambert "emphasized that the FBI investigates all 'noose' incidents and he clarified that federal law does not require that the victim suffer bodily injury or physical pain."
Lambert is chairman of the group, in which representatives of law enforcement agencies and community representatives meet to discuss hate crimes and other issues of prejudice.
Let’s investigate this charge as a fraud.
Enough of the falsified “hate crimes”.
Yours truly,
The Woim
Can we have a noose in the privacy of our own home?
This is beyond rediculous. So someone hung a damn noose?? Get some thicker skin!
The guy was fired, too. What do you people want? A public lynching??
For now that is allowed but it won’t be long before the government writes a new law to prevent second hand noose in the home....
No more eating watermelon in public, either. We know that is used by Whitey to intimidate and stereotype.
Guys,
There are so many fraudulent hate crimes out there - we all know of the professor in the San Diego area who spray painted swastikas on her car - she was a convert to Reform Judaism (how would anyone know of her conversion and who would care) - so let’s look out for the large number of fakes out there.
However, if someone really does put up a noose then that person should face disciplinary actions. Of course, very very very very very few blacks have ever been wrongly hanged. The noose is also a sign of a strict disciplinarian judge in the old west - everything isn’t a “black thing”.
How can we be brothers if your black leaders are always preaching hate?
Yours truly,
The Woim
Its becoming very clear that we need better rope control laws.
What kind of a society is this where we permit just anyone to have access to rope with no background checks, no waiting period, no license or permit and no document trail?
Yep, then we will be closed down for those cartoons of bomb-in-the-hat Mohammeds. Part of the problem is the bureaucratic interpretation of some laws which allow agencies as far down as local police departments to define the silliest stuff as “terroristic threats”.
A very dear friend of mine who is black had another white friend who put a Confederate flag decal on the bumper of his truck as a prank. My black friend’s response? Leave it there and laugh. Probably been driving around with it for 3 or 4 years now.
They have a nose for noose.
(sorry)
My thoughts exactly. Why aren’t they going after the openly racist Revrum Wrong? Oh, because his hate speach is “typical”.
The blog at KnoxNews was quick to blame the VRWC on this heinous crime.
The FBI? Sometimes I have to wonder how miraculous it is we haven’t been hit by terrorists in a long while.
Be careful, I heard there were toity doity poiple boids, choiping and boiping and EATING woims on the coiner of toity toiid street.
Why should someone face disciplinary actions for putting up a noose?
We have to keep up the idea that white people are racist whether its true or not.
This racial obsession that began with confederate flag bans is now on nooses and maybe even watermelons will be next.
Its a modern day witch hunt.
Sounds silly now, but the permanent victim class in the country needs something over which to be constantly aggrieved. I would not be surprised one day to read that growing, possessing, or eating watermelon is a hate crime; to be investigated by the FBI, no doubt.
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