Posted on 12/21/2005 7:48:44 PM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK - The war of words over the transit strike took an ugly turn after Mayor Michael Bloomberg described union heads as "thuggish," a remark some said was racist in the context of a predominantly black union. During his first briefing on the strike Tuesday at City Hall, Bloomberg complained that union leaders had "thuggishly turned their backs on New York City and disgraced the noble concept of public service."
A group of City Council members and black leaders said Wednesday that Bloomberg's comment was racist because it was directed at leaders of a union that is less than 30 percent white.
"We resent the idea that you would characterize a predominantly black and Latino union as a bunch of thugs," said City Councilman Charles Barron.
Ed Skyler, the mayor's spokesman, replied: "It's despicable to inject race into this situation."
Bloomberg has no official role in the labor negotiations, since city subways and buses are managed by the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But he is responsible for keeping New York running during the shutdown of the nation's largest transit system.
The Rev. Herbert Daughtry, an influential black minister, said the mayor, governor and MTA leaders were risking comparisons to Eugene "Bull" Connor. The Birmingham, Ala., segregationist police commissioner turned fire hoses and police dogs on black civil rights marchers in 1963.
Daughtry said Bloomberg was using as his "bully club" the state law prohibiting strikes by public employees.
"Be cautious how you use the law to beat people into submission," Daughtry said.
In the past, Barron and Daughtry have used the word "thug" to describe white attackers involved in bias crimes. Barron stressed that the context of the predominantly black union is what made Bloomberg's comment racially insensitive.
Transport Workers Union President Roger Toussaint stopped short of joining the accusations of racism, but said Wednesday that the "thuggish" remark showed the mayor's "lack of respect" for his members.
"We wake up at three and four in the morning to move trains in this town," Toussaint said. "That's not the behavior of thugs and selfish people."
The Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven, for example, was supposed to be set in and around a mythical frontier town called Big Whiskey, Wyoming -- and yet the entire movie was filmed in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in southern Alberta.
The lady I saw on the news tonight, who was walking from 88th tsreet in Manhattan to Canarsie, Brooklyn (a distance hubby estimates to be at least 15 miles) was black. I wonder if she finds the strike an act of thuggery.
These people have NO SYMPATHY from the working man and woman around here. This union must be broken, completely.
PS, I also saw a white guy who said "I wish Reagan was back, he'd fire the lot of them" or words to that effect. I know he spoke for many.
If the ski mask fits...
I saw a black woman on the news who had to walk 23 blocks in the freezing cold to get her cancer radiation treatments yesterday.
TWU workers are worse than thugs. They are inhumane selfish bastards.
One entry found for thug.
Main Entry: thug
Pronunciation: 'th&g
Function: noun
Etymology: Hindi thag, literally, thief
: a brutal ruffian or assassin : GANGSTER, KILLER
Funny, no mention of race. They must be using a different dictionary. Yeah, that's it.
That's one for the ages there.
Can the city just drop the Union all together and start hiring people in their place? I would like to check that out, I may want to go get a job there driving one of those subway trains.
You're not being called a selfish thug because you get up at 3 a.m. to move the buses and trains. You're being called a selfish thug because you illegally decided to screw everyone else in town by NOT getting up at 3 a.m. to move the buses and trains.
And by the way, you don't get up at 3 a.m. to move buses: you are a union boss, which makes you an overpaid chief thug who probably gets up around 10 a.m. and does no useful, honest work whatsoever.
If you need any further clarification about what you are, feel free to give me a call.
I've always wanted to drive a bus since I watched that movie Speed. Maybe they'll let me drive one there. Whaddaya think?
If he calls them "wrong," is that also racist?
He was distinctly remembering the Air Traffic Controllers strike. Those guys got their butts handed to them by Reagan, and my dad was laughing the whole time. I kind of remember the look on the Union reps face when Reagan told them they would all be fired if they didn't get back to work. He knew the President wasn't bluffing. It was classic.
Here, this link will give you much more info on the
thuggies:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Thuggee
but...but...he is the new Rosa Parks, doncha know?
FIRE THEM ALL.
Although I doubt Bloomberg has the authority, I think he aughta lean on some people do to just that.
The union is definitely feeling the heat. The public in NYC hates them with a passion now.
If the race card has been dealt from the bottom of the deck now (and it has), the union is acting like a cornered animal.
Even the famous Ed Koch trooping across the Brooklyn Bridge image was largely symbolic.
Nevertheless, he, along with Pataki, is the public face of our side.
The flaccid response from both is disappointing, to say the least.
If it was Roger Toussaint (sp?) that you heard, I'm surprised you could understand a word he said. Where's he from again?
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