Unbelievable. And of course, the only reason it was caught is because the Wisconsin state fair is held outside Milwaukee, one of the most liberal parts of the state. Locals would have known about this cow all along. It took being around a broader spectrum of humans for the insult to be called out:
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âThe letter JâŠâ took me a second of reviewing the racist version of the alphabet in my mind to figure out itâs probably the one ending in âboo.â
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'Twas Police Academy that introduced me to that one. If you want an example of an (at the time) relatively progressive comedy from the 80s that has NOT aged well in terms of its depictions of race (and specifically Blackness), look no further.
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I just cannot wrap my head around this kind of shitâŠ
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All part of the playbookâŠ
FTA above:
Although there was no intended malice involved, the assembly was carried out in a way that doesnât reflect the districtâs values,
No intended malice, my ass. FTA below:
The Black students were referenced in a section titled âThe Problemâ
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Nah, Iâm good; the original movie wasnât ever that funny to me, let alone the 8000+ sequels they made.
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TW: though somewhat redacted, racial slurs are quoted.
The whole article is kind of incredible. I am compelled to include a few excerpts.
⊠During the brief time he had access to town hall, Braxton retrieved two boxes. At the time, he thought the boxes were full of junk, but he decided to keep them away. When he and Lewis went through them later, they found documents that outlined how the lame duck council had kept their positions. Through the haphazardly tossed box, Braxton and Lewis were able to make a timeline of events.
Despite knowing his intention to run for mayor and despite knowing he had followed all of the legal procedures for his candidacy, the former mayor and his city council were shocked that Braxton was successful in his efforts. So they did something about it.
Shortly before Braxton was sworn in, the former city council held a secret meeting, in which they acknowledged they had made a mistake in not filing their paperwork by the deadline.
To resolve their âmistakeâ, the lame duck councilmembers decided to have an election, for which they would all run for office. The councilmembers filed all of the necessary paperwork, albeit late, and, 10 days later, declared themselves councilmembers by default because no one else ran in the election.
The problem is that no one else even knew about the election, as there was no printed notice. âŠ
A significant percentage of Newbern residents, Black and white, live below the poverty level. When Lewis, who was born in Newbern, moved her family back to the area, she decided to open a non-profit that would provide needed services, like food distributions, to people across Hale county.
She found out that Braxton was still trying to take his seat as mayor. And she joined forces with him to remedy the chaotic political situation, largely by themselves.
In October of last year, Lewis took her children to the movies. The evening quickly turned horrific as they arrived back home.
Lewisâs house was on fire. The family arrived just in time to see the second story collapse.
âWhen something like that happens, you lose everything,â she said. âAnd weâre just trying to pick up the pieces.â
The cause of the fire is still undetermined. There is a GoFundMe to help her family get on their feet.
Lewis said it wasnât until she began receiving hate mail that she realized there might be a connection between the fire and her support for Braxton. One note she received readsâŠ
Braxton, too, started experiencing retaliation after he won. He has been ostracized by some members of the white community in town, though, some support him and still consider him both a friend and their mayor.
When Black families called in to report fires, he would be the only firefighter to show up to the call. He would have to call firefighters from neighboring towns to helpâŠ
Later, a Black woman flagged Braxton down to tell him her elderly sister had gone into cardiac arrest. Braxton ran to the fire department to get a defibrillator, but he had been locked out of the building. He drove home, returned to the department, got the machine and tried to revive the woman, but it was too late.
Following the incident, Stokes and the council served Braxton, who has won awards for his service as a firefighter, with papers for suspension from the department, accusing him of theft and not showing up for trainings. After the Hale county emergency management agency director intervened, Braxton was reinstated.
Braxton has also spotted drones following him and his wife around town, at their home and at his motherâs home. At one point, he said, a white man attempted to run him off the road.
Braxton said the intimidation and response to the fair election has been âdisappointingâ, but he hopes he is encouraging younger generations.
âIâd like for young people to follow in my footsteps and know thatâs why Iâm fighting,â he said.
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this story has come up on the bbs a couple times and it keeps getting worse and wilder. i imagine the state hasnât done anything because alabama. but now itâs sounding more and more like democratic terrorism. the fbi really needs to step in and quick
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Yeah I have been posting bits and pieces of it⊠hoping it gets some traction on bOINGâs front page, etc.
The whole story is just horrific.
Setting peopleâs houses on fire, and all the threats of, and actual, violence?
Very Faulkner: âthe past is never dead. Itâs not even past.â
Damn.
etc.
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apparently this interview is a couple years old but i heard it the first time today. i always thought of things like this as âthe pastâ. thatâs the way it was always presented in school. when actually the sole survivor is still alive and paying medical bills from this. still
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Just existing while Black. Honest to God, it gives me stress to read about what you guys have to live through. How you make it out your door is amazing to me.
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