Posted on 07/07/2004 2:12:51 PM PDT by ElkGroveDan
No one ever accused Richard Riordan of being a prisoner to political correctness, but the feisty former mayor of Los Angeles and now the state's education secretary may have outdone himself last week when he called a youngster at a book event a "stupid, dirty girl." The incident took place Thursday at the Santa Barbara Central Library, where Riordan stopped in to promote a summer reading program. After reading a picture book to preschoolers and young elementary school pupils, he chatted with some of them. One girl asked whether he was aware that her name was that of an Egyptian goddess. ....... "It means stupid, dirty girl," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Should read Riordan, not Reagan! My own brains require questioning, too, apparently.
I wouldn't know the specifics for this girl, but SB city has mostly white people.
I've never liked Riordan, but I've also never known him to do something this mean to a child. Something's definitely wrong with him. He needs to see his doctor.
Arnold claims he ran for governor because, after lunch one day with this old fool, he was convinced he was going senile. After reading this story I can only conclude that Arnie may have been right. Sheesh.
Then again, maybe it's Tourette's Syndrome.
Fogeyism...
I love how all the RINOs maintain the belief that he could have beat Grayout in '02...
Yeah and if we had only nominated Tom Campbell for Senate in 2000 he would have beaten Feinstein.
Oh, wait a minute, we DID nominate Campbell and he got 34%.
She was black.
You see? It's easy once you get the hang of it!
Being a product of public schools, you'd think I'd know Socialist Liberalism 101.
Knight Ridder Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - A lawmaker who had called for Education Secretary Richard Riordan to resign for joking with a 6-year-old that her name meant ``stupid, dirty girl'' abruptly backed off Thursday after mistakenly suggesting that race was a factor in the quip.
Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Los Angeles, canceled a news conference today with civil rights groups after learning that the girl subjected to Riordan's joke was white, not African-American.
An aide to Dymally said the assemblyman had seen conflicting news accounts of the girl's race. In a press release canceling the news conference, Dymally, who is African-American, said Riordan had apologized to clergy in Los Angeles for the gaffe.
``It should be noted that race is not a factor in this issue,'' Dymally said in the statement, stressing that he wanted to meet with Riordan to further discuss the matter. ``It is time for us to move on.''
...
Riordan later apologized for the joke. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the comments ``unacceptable in any context'' but said he was satisfied that Riordan's apology was sincere.
On Wednesday, Dymally, D-Compton, was far from satisfied, saying the Republican governor should seek Riordan's resignation. At the time, Dymally told the Mercury News that Riordan ``needs to do more than just apologize. And I have to inject: This was a little African-American girl. Would he have done that to a white girl?''
Isis' mother, Trinity Lila, was baffled both by Riordan's statement and Dymally's actions.
``Does it matter that she's white?'' asked Lila, who isn't sure if Riordan should step down, given his apologies. ``If he feels that the man should step down, does it matter that she's white?''
More: SJ Mercury News (reg. required)
Riordan: (prepares next idiotic foot-in-mouth blunder)
Racist pig.
Politicians please note: The "little people" are equipped with amazing powers of "common sense," not to be underestimated by the titans of the ruling class.
How does this make him look? He could have gained kudos for himself if he had the smarts to hold that press conference and blasted Riordan for what he said.
Now he just comes across as a leftover from the 70's -- a black racist who is only interested if the story involves blacks. He could have gained a lot of respect from everyone. It's all about acting in a decent manner towards children whether they are black, white, or purple. Just because Riordan is a jerk doesn't mean Mr. Dysmally has to follow suit.
Precisely.
"It does not sound like he called her, personally, stupid, dirty girl, he was talking about what her name meant in Egyptian
Rhino or not, this is not reported properly."
Wow, do you expect a 6-year-old to understand that distinction?
"Reagan is a dunderhead no doubt."
You just outed yourself, DU Troll!!!
I just about died laughing when I heard this on the radio tonight. Unfortunately, FoxNews still led at the top of their 8:00pm PST news tonight with the misinformation that the girl is black.
At the risk of whatever...
What a maroon!
OK, I'll go back into my cave now.
CRIMINAL? Really? Tacky, uncalled for, maybe. But criminal?
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