Thread: Racist Label Editorial causing a storm..canceling papers/ad

This editorial was just published in our local newspaper by Dave Rutter. Many folks (subject of a local call in radio show) are pretty upset at the arrogance of it. It was written by our new editor/publisher of just a couple of months. I doubt he lives in our town or has any idea what we are going through. Below in red is his email (if he pisses you off too) and a comment from our board...



fedupinwaukegan,
The email address for David Rutter is:
drutter@scn1.com

sidebar: A caller on the Lenny Palmer show suggested that those upset about this op/ed contact some of the regular advertisers in the News Sun about their concerns as to how Mr. Rutter views many of his paying LAke County customers (or FORMER customers in my case!)
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http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S1.article


For racists, the song remains same

September 23, 2006

If you grew up where I did, you'd know about racists

They always sounded the same.

They often were indignant and very angry. It's a tone, a tilt and a particular tense that stuck with me for years.

Though it's not so useful a skill to possess, this long experience qualifies me as an expert

So, when I tell you this, don't take it personally, unless it applies to you and then maybe you should take it very personally

Based on my brief but happy time in Lake County, I'd say there are more racists here than you'd expect in a cosmopolitan, thriving county

Hard at the core, take-no-prisoners, pinch-faced racists, many of whom would argue that they are merely stand-up-for-the-red-white-and-blue Americans

But they kid themselves. They're the same sort who wore hoods and burned crosses when I was a young man. They all sound the same, think the same; value only what separates people. They all see the world from inside the same furrowed, petulant grimace.

And just with the racists of my youth, they almost never admit what they are because they're not adept at self-recognition. Racists always portray themselves as the good guys. The racists of my youth mostly were bigoted about blacks because they were the minority at hand, had very little besides their pride and desire to better themselves and they were easy to pick on. If there had been Vietnamese Boat People or Hmong or Haitians or any other folks with different pigmentation at close enough hand to rage against them, the racists I knew would have been racist about them, too. But those folks hadn't arrived yet.

Many of these pathetic patriots present themselves at the doorstep of this newspaper as letter writers, phone callers and e-mailers. In the spirit of knowing what's on people's minds, we even let some of them have their say because just because you're a repugnant, numbskullified idiot, that should not automatically disqualify you from public discourse

The targets in this county, of course, are Mexican immigrants

It must be difficult to be a local immigrant and know that so many white people dislike you so intensely for reasons that seem so patently preposterous and contrived

Racists always are toweringly angry about other people catching good breaks.

Yes, yes, I know that undocumented immigrants are violating the law, but thousands of born-here folks violate laws every day and never get caught -- or excoriated -- for their evildoingness. We don't execute cigarette company executives for killing millions of fellow citizens, but we prosecute terminally ill cancer patients for smoking marijuana. Go figure

If you are reading this and don't think it applies to you, ask yourself this question

Do you think your great-grandparents would not have leaped at the same chance to come here without properly signed papers?

Mine came from all over Europe. They had the right papers. But if my great-grandpas and ma'ams could not have made it here without breaking the law, without swimming across a shallow, dirty river at the nation's southern border, I bet they would have. They were a feisty, ingenious bunch. They had dreams. You often do what you must for your family. There's time enough later to worry about what people who wear white hoods will say.

jspeak
Advanced Member
1172 Posts
Posted - 09/25/2006 : 21:19:32
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After being a subscriber for 20 years, I cancelled my News Sun subscription today.


ShowMeTheMoney
Junior Member
112 Posts
Posted - 09/25/2006 : 21:34:13
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I will be cancelling as well.

Rutter is an ignorant fool! If I want 30 pages of trash and sleaze, I'll pick up the Inquirer. At least that's entertaining.





Fedupinwaukegan 163 Posts
Posted - 09/25/2006 : 21:55:50
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With their new website I can't find his email (and already threw out the newspaper). Anyone still have it sitting around? I just read this piece again and it doesn't get any better. Jspeak, money I hope you were able to pass on why you were canceling.

I want to post his email with this piece? at a national level. He needs to hear from some people... (Remember his piece about the Marquette Place -it was bizarre too).


Eamon Aho
Starting Member
22 Posts
Posted - 09/26/2006 : 01:03:54
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He's mostly right.


penguin40
Advanced Member
1026 Posts
Posted - 09/26/2006 : 01:09:33
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Quote from Rutter:The targets in this county, of course, are Mexican immigrants...end quote.

No, I think the targets are illegal immigrants.

I don't get the paper everyday. Like Kellyann, I pick one up here or there, but that sure is going to end. They will get no more money from me....This is just rediculous!

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Edited by - penguin40 on 09/26/2006 01:10:14


Palomablanca
Senior Member
735 Posts
Posted - 09/26/2006 : 05:41:17
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No, YOUR targets might be illegal immigrants, but if you look at others on this website, this is not the case. How often do we hear Mexicans clumped into a group and attacked with the justification: they're mostly illegals, anyway!" ?
How often do we see these attacks clumped together with phrases like "gangbangers", loud music, leeches and parasites? If someone is sitting in a waiting room, then they MUST be illegal and there for some flimsy excuse.
Truth sometimes hurts. I find it interesting how many flag wavers, "patriots" and parade haters (they were ALL illegals in the parade, don't you know?) are now supposedly cancelling their subscriptions rather than take a good look in the mirror to see if what was said applies to them.

My letter to him:

Dear Sir,

I am sorry you grew up in a racist environment. But that is not the case in many areas of this Country.

I grew up going to school with blacks and we got along fine. No problems! But then that was several years ago, when people seemed to respect each other more.

Our small town in So. Ohio, had a black Dr. who found out a bus load of out of state, black caucus of protesters, were coming to our town.

This Dr., met the bus when it pulled into our town. He told them to get back on the bus, we had no problems and didn't want them here starting problems we never had before. They did leave.

Now, as for ILLEGAL aliens being here, yes, they are lawbreakers by being here, yes, they are depressing wages for many Americans. Have you bothered talking to American construction workers that cannot get hired, due to illegals working cheaper?

Have you talked to home owners that have 20 to 30 men living next door to them, that have but one bathroom and use the neighbor's yards?

Since when is it ok for someone to break into one's Country, then demand we change our laws to suit them?

You need to issue an apology to all citizens who are against ILLEGAL immigration; we are not against legal immigration.

With the outsourcing of so many of our jobs, and insourcing cheap labor, American's need to have a voice on what is happening in our Country.

I would hope you would do more investigative reporting on this subject.

If Mexicans knew anything about immigration of the various ethnic groups in the early history of the United States, they would know there was a lot of discrimination and stereotyping. For examlple the Irish were considered alcoholics and undesirables. The only difference in those cases is that they came here legally. They were hard working, learned English if they didn't speak it and integrated into our culture. Their children were given the opportunity for a better education and a better life than that of their parents. They did not use social services as many did not exist and if some did, many were to proud to use them. In other words they were not a burden on the taxpayers.

Palomablanca wrote:

"How often do we hear Mexicans clumped into a group..."

I agree with you that this is becoming a problem with some of the posts on this website to the point that it is counterproductive and doesn't help the cause of fighting illegal immigration. It only helps those who lack the moral highground on this issue, like the idiot who wrote the editorial, because it gives them racecard ammunition. He fells justified in making the statement that ALL people against illegal immigration are racists because off-issue and irrelevant comments about diet choices and musical tastes are tolerated. Being hateful towards a group of people will destroy the credibility of the movement besides just being wrong. We are right on this issue because of the erosion of the rule of law and need not bother with the rest as it only bolsters the arguments of open border advocates.
However, not everything can be traced back to racism as one of the reasons that illegal Mexicans and Americans of hispanic descent are being lumped together in the mind of many is becase of the lack of vocal opposition by Hispanic-Americans to illegal immigration. In fact it is being portrayed as something the hispanic-American community desires in order to gain power for their demographic group. I don't know if that is true or not for the majority, but I do hear a lot of hispanics talking about Mexicans as "their people" which understandably leads to defensivenes by non-hispanics. Most Americans see this as an instance of "if they are not with us( as Americans) they are against us. (as Mexicans)" It can't be both ways. Boatloads of illegal Irishmen arriving tomorrow would go a long way towards reinforcing my demographic position, however I would view them as an assault on "us" Americans and would be calling for their immediate removal and not defending them as my people. You can not be one with both sides when the two are in conflict and many Americans feel hispanics have chosen the other side and so then lump all Mexicans together.

However, not everything can be traced back to racism as one of the reasons that illegal Mexicans and Americans of hispanic descent are being lumped together in the mind of many is becase of the lack of vocal opposition by Hispanic-Americans to illegal immigration. In fact it is being portrayed as something the hispanic-American community desires in order to gain power for their demographic group. I don't know if that is true or not for the majority, but I do hear a lot of hispanics talking about Mexicans as "their people" which understandably leads to defensivenes by non-hispanics. Most Americans see this as an instance of "if they are not with us( as Americans) they are against us. (as Mexicans)" It can't be both ways. Boatloads of illegal Irishmen arriving tomorrow would go a long way towards reinforcing my demographic position, however I would view them as an assault on "us" Americans and would be calling for their immediate removal and not defending them as my people. You can not be one with both sides when the two are in conflict and many Americans feel hispanics have chosen the other side and so then lump all Mexicans together.

Thanks for that statement. You said what I feel.

My note to him:

This is not about RACE, its about LEGALITY, something criminals will ignore. Obviously you are a criminal only you haven't been caught yet.

If "long experience" is all that's needed to make one an expert on this topic, I guess I'm an expert too. I didn't grow up in Chicago or wherever, I grew up in Louisiana. Believe me, racism isn't a one way street by a looong shot.

If you are reading this and don't think it applies to you, ask yourself this question

Do you think your great-grandparents would not have leaped at the same chance to come here without properly signed papers?

Not at all. My great-grandparents were born here.

I will give the guy credit for one thing only. He's got the traits of a racist down pretty accurately.



[/quote]

ALC wrote:

Being hateful towards a group of people will destroy the credibility of the movement besides just being wrong.

I take issue with this statement. Personally speaking, I don't hate the illegal aliens of whom we speak of on this board. What I do feel for them is ANGER, RESENTMENT, and FRUSTRATION. My posts reflect these feelings.

But even more important, it is I who feels hated....by the Hispani illegal aliens in my country. They must hate me in order to do the things they do to me and my fellow Americans. It's all about them. They don't give a damn about me. They break the law to sneak in here, they steal our ID's, they commit fraud to obtain goods and services that we the American taxpayers pay for, they bring with them, and expose Americans to, long-ago eradicated diseases, and they are completely destroying the American culture and replacing it with their own.

That, my dear ALC, makes me feel hated.

They are destroying this country and are racist against us. In Miami if you are an illegal from any non Hispanic country, you cannot easily get a job as they all do. The sick part is that even businesses that hire legals only are advertising that both English and Spanish speakers are needed. This way they can legally hire their own people exclusively.