I am not a racist

Note to everyone – if you have to say “I am not a racist” on the Larry King show, then chances are you are a racist. It seems that many people don’t realize what racism is. There is some misguided belief that unless you kill someone or assault someone physically, that you’re all well and good. That calling someone nigger or chink or whatever doesn’t rise to the level of racist behavior. Last week Boston Police officer Justin Barrett was suspended for sending an email were he referred to Henry Gates Jr. as a “banana eating jungle monkey” three times and referred to Boston Globe columnist’s article about the Gates arrest as “jungle monkey gibberish”. Yet he appeared on the Larry King show to say he is not a racist.  Really? Then – really, who is a racist?

“I am not a racist” has become a refrain that is all too familiar in these days of the “post-racial” society. Barrett’s lawyer contends that this was private communication from a private computer, to which I say that once it became public it doesn’t matter; Bartlett is a government employee and once his acts become public, then their review is fair. It’s what you do in private that identifies you as racist or not. Racists generally aren’t running down the streets wearing white robes and masks yelling “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” Racists at least are interested in self-preservation and keep their racist thoughts and speech to the like minded. It’s when this speech is moved public where action is demanded.  His lawyer says that cops that do cocaine get their jobs back and that Barrett doesn’t deserve to be fired. To that I say that drugs are an addiction, and there are many recovered addicts that are benefits to society. Officer Justin Barrett is a racist, and as such can not be recovered to the point to where they can be trusted to protect the public.

There are enough bad cops out there that we’re not sure of. Let’s get rid of the ones we know are bad.

69 year-old mother dies leaving her sons motherless

That headline wouldn’t be so horrible until you find out the mother gave birth a few months prior to her 67th birthday. The woman, Maria del Carmen Bousada of Spain, lied to physicians in Los Angeles about her age. She told them she was 55 (as if that’s not too old). She died recently of cancer leaving these children without their only parent.

If only we could choose our parents.

I guess people grow up without parents all the time – maybe these kids are better off; clearly their mother was a moron.

Trapped in the bathroom

I can only wait for R. Kelly to get a hold of this story. I challenge someone to comment with a crazier story than this.

A 35 year-old Wichita, Kansas woman had to pried off of her toilet after spending two years in the bathroom. Here’s the AP story:

ROXANA HEGEMAN

The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. – A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend’s toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said.

“She is an adult; she made her own decision,” said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. “I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.”

The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

“We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,” Whipple said. “The hospital removed it.”

McFarren, 36, said he can’t be certain how long Pam Babcock stayed in the bathroom because “time just went by so quick I can’t pinpoint how long.” He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.

“It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay , like it was a safe place for her,” McFarren said.

But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship , except it all happened in the bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy , like she didn’t know what was going on, except she was awake.

What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to mid-thigh. She was “somewhat disoriented,” and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

“She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,” Whipple said. “It is hard to imagine. … I still have a hard time imagining it myself.”

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

“She said that she didn’t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave,” he said.

Whipple said the county attorney will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

“And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,’” Whipple said. “According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.”

She was reported in fair condition Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Babcock has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves, and there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair, McFarren said.

James Ellis, a neighbor, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

“I don’t think anybody can make any sense out of it,” Ellis said.

Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.

“It really doesn’t surprise me,” Ellis said. “What surprises me is somebody wasn’t called in a bit earlier.”

They had to pry the seat off of her ass!

I love that they otherwise had a normal relationship. Seriously – your girlfriend has been locked in the closet for 2 years, seems like nothing else matters after that. She could be Suzy fucking Homemaker and all that matter is that you have to ask her to scootch over to take a leak.

I also have to note that these two weren’t married. What the hell? I’m sure this guy was thinking – “hell, it’s pretty quiet this way.”

RIP: Benazir Bhutto

I’m fairly well informed, but I really didn’t know Benazir Bhutto as well as I wished I had. The fact that she went back to Pakistan knowing that there were likely two choices – President or martyr, tells you what you need to know. I am more impressed with her now – and that’s a shame. Her father, her brothers, all suffered the same fate as she would. And the biggest benefiter of all this is our ally Musharraf. I’m not sure if he was complicit, but he sure as hell is doing a jig tonight.

Let’s hope Bhutto is ten times as powerful in death as she would have been leading Pakistan.

The following are a couple of interesting articles from Slate and Salon:

Benazir Bhutto, 1952-2007 (Slate)

We South Asians like our leaders dead (Salon)

A little more of my childhood died today

Evel Knievel, along with Muhammed Ali, was one of the bigger characters of my childhood.   Evel Knievel died today at 69. I remember having the Evel Knievel stunt cycle and annoying my parents to watch him do some crazy stunt on ABC’s Wild World of Sports.   It’s a wonder I didn’t break my neck trying to replicate one of his stunts.

RIP to Evel… as well as to my childhood.