Racist e-mail from a judge

[Glados]

Link

This goof actually thinks that "I'm not racist I just hate the president" is an excuse for sending a racist joke through e-mail. I agree with the article that a judge engaging in such poor decision making raises concerns for his decision making on the bench.

I am a huge supporter of not punishing people on the job for off the clock behavior but this blurs the lines for me. I cannot imaging that such intense hatred of the president would not impact his rulings. It also shows that he may have issues with ruling out of emotion rather than logic.

Thoughts?

[Hyena Dandy]

The real thing isn't that 'he heard a racist joke and found it funny' or even 'he forwarded a racist joke'.

Forwarding a joke like that is... I mean, it's inappropriate because it's stupid. But forwarding a joke like that from your official e-mail is inappropriate because you're not telling it as a private citizen, you're telling it as a judge.

[Rageaholic]

Yeah, that's beyond racist right there.

I guess he sent it to his staff and it got leaked. I don't know how severly he should be disciplined as of now, but I'm sure the voters will let him have it when he's up for reelection.

[Hyena Dandy]

Federal judges aren't elected, they're appointed.

And from what I understand, they all serve life terms unless thrown out by congress.

[mikoyan29]

I'm probably in a minority here but that joke is not racist. It is more or less portraying Obama's mother as loose. Basically, she's saying she doesn't know who his dad is because she had a wild night. That being said, the joke is in poor taste.

[Andara Bledin]

Well, whether you consider the joke racist or not is pretty irrelevant since the judge himself considers the joke to be racist. And he's still an idiot for not being smart enough to use his personal email.

I'm in agreement that the joke isn't really about race. It could have been, "Mommy, why is your hair blond, but mine is black?" with the punchline being unchanged.

Honestly, I don't see how this is anti-Obama at all, since it says nothing at all about him. It's like a "yo momma" joke told by someone who doesn't understand what "yo momma" jokes are about.

^-.-^

[Silverharp]

Either way, he needs to be removed from his position. A judge needs to be impartial, and a federal judge who admits hatred for the president has no place.

[DrFaroohk]

is pretty irrelevant since the judge himself considers the joke to be racist.

Since when does someone's personal opinion of something like that relevant? That's like "It's not racist cuz I said it's not", which seems to be shot down pretty frequently.

[crashhelmet]

Since when does someone's personal opinion of something like that relevant? That's like "It's not racist cuz I said it's not", which seems to be shot down pretty frequently.

If the judge believes the joke to be racist, then he more than likely sent it with racist intent, in addition to the derogatory insinuations that his mother is a "slut," as Rush would call her.

[DrFaroohk]

If the judge believes the joke to be racist, then he more than likely sent it with racist intent, in addition to the derogatory insinuations that his mother is a "slut," as Rush would call her.

So if the judge said it was not racist, would that be the end of it?

[crashhelmet]

So if the judge said it was not racist, would that be the end of it?

It would become a matter of public interpretation and debate. Many would call it racist because it was a white man insulting a black man, but only the one delivering the insult can say for sure.

[Andara Bledin]

So if the judge said it was not racist, would that be the end of it?

Regardless of opinion, the joke still isn't racist. The reason that point is irrelevant is because the judge sent it with the belief that it was racist, and his intent on the issue matters; not only did he do something that appeared improper, he did it with full knowledge of its impropriety.

^-.-^

[DrFaroohk]

Well, if this is the worst thing we can dig up on this guy....a joke...I think he's doing a pretty good job.

Generally if I was looking for a professional for something, I look at his abilities and such. I don't care if he sent what might've been a racist e-mail.

[jackfaire]

Generally if I was looking for a professional for something, I look at his abilities and such. I don't care if he sent what might've been a racist e-mail.

Except his abilities are in his thoughts, opinions and biases.

If he thinks himself as racist and your a different race than him. Well you aren't looking at a fair and impartial judge which is a basic job requirement.

In fact I tried to think of a job where someone being racist wouldn't have a negative impact on job performance and so far I haven't found one. Basically any job from teaching my kids to the guy spitting into burgers because he doesn't like the race of the person he is making it for impacts others.

There are actually very few jobs in modern society where Racism isn't something that would have bearing on the performance of said job.

[Hyena Dandy]

The point isn't the racism. >_> The point is mocking the president in his official capacity as a judge, as opposed to as a private citizen.