Weatherman loses job for on-air 'slip' (Calls MLK "Coon")

[wndycty]

NORM: Weatherman loses job for on-air 'slip'

KTNV-TV, Channel 13, fired weekend weather anchor Rob Blair on Sunday, a day after he made an on-air racial slur about Martin Luther King Jr.

Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of KTNV, said Blair "stumbled" during a weather update at 7:55 a.m. Saturday but added that "this kind of incident is not acceptable under any circumstances, and I'm truly sorry that this event occurred."

Blair was delivering the extended forecast when he said, "For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s."

About 20 minutes later, Blair told viewers at the ABC affiliate, "Apparently I accidentally said Martin Luther Kong Jr., which I apologize about -- slip of the tongue."
-snip-

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jan-17-Mon-2005/news/25678882.html

[KittyWampus]

1. He Was Just Auditioning For Fox. What Century Are We In, I Forget?

[wndycty]

2. Either FOX or Sinclair

:kick:

[Ganja Ninja]

3. This guy will probably get his own show on clear channel. n/t

[chaumont58]

154. When is the next election for governor of Alabama?

Or maybe Georgia.

[Name removed]

173. Deleted message

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[tx_dem41]

185. Great avatar....

..for a great man. Nothing more need be said.

[chaumont58]

212. My post asks a simple question?

Why am I a jerk?

[QC]

264. "Jerk" is putting it a bit too mildly, my friend.

Do you not think there's been enough conflict and division here these past few months without you trying to gin up more of it?

Besides, if you're going to post slurs, you could at least try to make them a tiny bit witty and original, rather than just blurting out something so obvious and tired.

[KeepItReal]

4. Just like the rest, he is sorry some were offended...

He ain't sorry for what he said. SOB

"Blair, seated at the news desk with co-anchors Brown and Shawn Boyd, said, "On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday, and what I said was interpreted by many viewers as highly offensive. For that I offer my deepest apology. I in no way intended to offend anyone. I'm very sorry." "

[ashiebr]

22. I like that....

.."was interpreted by many viewers as highly offensive". Note he didn't agree it was offensive himself.

What a half-assed apology.

[spooky3]

66. the "apology" alone is a good enough reason to fire him

If he (a) doesn't "get it" and (b) won't take responsibility for his racist remarks, he will create a hostile environment, offend viewers, and put his employer in a terrible position again.

[ikojo]

117. The viewers of Channel 11 have spoken.

He is doing the will of the viewers, it is not his fault.

Move along now...didn't Brad and Jennifer break up?

[paineinthearse]

58. Martin Luther Kong Jr.?

"About 20 minutes later, Blair told viewers at the ABC affiliate, "Apparently I accidentally said Martin Luther Kong Jr., which I apologize about -- slip of the tongue.""???

This demonstrates:

1. He made the "coon" remark without thinking and
2. Has a treasury of racist names for King.

Even in his "appology" he made an apparently racist remark. Strike TWO. And you are OUT after strike one.

It will be interesting to see if/where this biggot lands.

[slor]

5. Slip-up my ass!...

and you just know they did not want to fire one of their good ol' boys, but they did it to avoid being inundated with calls.

[MaineDem]

6. No excuse for this racism

The guy deserved to be fired!

[blueknight]

7. he's sorry alright

sorry he got caught.

[NYC]

8. Slip? Stumble? Accident?

Utter bull. Blatant racism, not a slip.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[NYC]

10. I know nothing about rappers,

so you're asking the wrong person.

[wndycty]

13. That is a tired, tired line. . .

. . .first of all who can fire rappers?

[BikeWriter]

18. Yes, and their cop killin' and ho slappin' lyrics, too.

:(

[LiberalVoice]

20. If you have to ask that question...

you don't know enough about Rap or the culture from which it is derived to decide who needs "fired".

[Brundle_Fly]

21. um because you choose to buy a rap album...

like you would a george carlin album or whichever...and they are not on public airwaves, for the masses of unsuspecting viewers.

I don't see how you can even make the connection?

[TheWatcher]

29. Looks like another one of the flock got lost and ended up in the wrong

forum.

Culturally Ignorant Much?

[BikeWriter]

11. He has to be in the habit of saying that.

To have said it on air.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

12. That's the way I see it too

That's how he talks in private and he probably still can't believe he said it on air.

I hope he saw his whole career ending in slow-motion as the syllables left his lips.

[BikeWriter]

16. Yes'm, he lost it big time.

I hope he can flip burgers.

[pretzel4gore]

241. haha

don't worry, he'll land on his knuckles

[Southpaw Bookworm]

15. Just like Condi

Slipping up and starting to refer to the Shrub as her husband in a WH press conference.

Ewwwww!

[MaineDem]

23. That's exactly what I just said to my husband!

It was a slip of the tongue but only because he was in the habit of saying it.

[sandnsea]

157. What white people hide

behind closed doors. And then pretend racism doesn't exist anymore.

[yardwork]

182. Horrible insight into the way some people think, isn't it?

I have never even thought of calling MLK names - never even crossed my mind. I'm sorry I know this now.

[UL_Approved]

14. Oops...

Looks like somebody has a little pent up rage. Wonder if he had to sit in the back of the bus this morning?

[GOPFighter]

17. Bitch-slap!

At 6:11 p.m., co-anchor Christina Brown, who is black, announced, "Right now we want to pause for a program note. Rob?"

Blair, seated at the news desk with co-anchors Brown and Shawn Boyd, said, "On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday..."

Whoooo-eeeey, his later apology was introduced by the news team's black co-anchor, so I assume she was present when he made his "slip of the tongue." I hope she was giving him the bird the whole time he was apologizing!

[Ilsa]

19. Wouldn't it be great if he had to take a job in

Atlanta GA, or some other wonderfully integrated city?

[Berserker]

26. He should have said ..the truth is

"On a weather report earlier this morning, I made an accidental Freepordian slip of the tongue when talking about the Martin Luther King holiday..."

[SemperEadem]

235. Oh, he's not going to be working anywhere soon

he's going to be on ice for at least a year... and with the heavy background checks that stations do when they hire on air talent, all they have to do is google his name or search www.newsblues.com or www.tvspy.com 's archives and they will find all of this story. If the ABC station has a fan page, then it's going to be on that, too.

As long as there is an internet and Lexus-Nexus, he will never be free of this. He will have to leave the profession and write PR releases.

I agree with the above posters: he's used to talking like this off camera, it wasn't a slip of the tongue--he actually thought he was making a joke that would go over well, with Las Vegas being so close to Arizona and what not--and he's not in the least bit sorry for saying it. He's sorry that his ass got snatched up a notch and has to apologize to the viewing audience.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

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[youngdem]

27. The south is not that bad.

I moved from southern California to the south about ten years ago, I first thought that the south was all about racism. I was wrong. The south is trying, at least in my state, to rectify the image that has haunted it for so many years. I have noticed lately that the majority of racist comments are coming from other states.Living in the south has taught me that there are good people, then again I do not live in Texas. So no, I do not believe that he would have received a raise if living in the south. That comment would be tolerated for FOX network, not southern local affiliates.

[GOPFighter]

75. Welcome Youngdem

:hi:

You're right, many in the South do treat everyone with equal dignity, and others are working on it, but racism is still alive and well in parts of the south (and yes, the north). It's often dressed up in clever language though.

[QC]

139. Welcome, youngdem! And the best thing to do with bigoted posts like the

one above is to hit the alert link in the lower left corner. Responding to them only dignifies them. (I should follow my own advice more often on that one, but sometimes it's very hard not to speak up when you see such hateful, knuckledragging ignorance on public display.)

[Tomee450]

226. I disagree

I have relatives living all over the south and they tell a different story. The south is still the most racist section of the country. In some of the small towns it's as if the Civil Right era never occurred.

[CottonBear]

81. No he would not have gotten a raise.

If that had happened here in Georgia, he would have been fired immediately. Please do not characterize all of us Southerners as racists. I am not one. We have excellent (and integrated: black, white, east-indian etc.) newscasters in the Atlanta area.

[NuttyFluffers]

25. did anyone else catch the 'kong' as in 'king kong' 2nd 'slip'?

i don't think that was a slip at all. 1 is ... believable, but terribly insulting and deserving of reprimand... but a second one right after? i think he had some racist friends back home giving him thumbs up for his 'courage in the face of the system.' this is disgusting, what country have we become? you'd think we regressed over 80-90 years in this country.

[peekaloo]

34. sorry didn't see your response.......just posted same thing.

[NuttyFluffers]

62. i think we might be in the minority, too...

:( like i said before, one freudian slip... hmm, well i can kinda believe it, even though 'martin luther coon king' is a rather hard slip to make (just doesn't follow the supplanting trend of freudian slips), but to follow with 'martin luther kong jr'? 2 slips, one right after the other, in such a short time?

i've tied my tongue several times in my life, but i don't think i've made a flub that bad or was that difficult to pull off. 'king kong' is a pretty complex, yet unsubtle, flub/epithet.

[AP]

35. I think he just didn't want to admit that he said Coon, and he thought

that calling him a big monkey was less offensive.

He was really limited in his choice of explanations. It had to be somethign that sounded like coon (or kuhn?) but seemed probable.

[Tomee450]

228. Not surprising that he thinks of blacks as animals.

I believe some cops in one of the police brutality cases referred to having gorillas in their midst.

[Name removed]

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[wndycty]

30. Well a racist slip . . .that was more than likely his true feelings is. .

. . .another thing. Obviously he has said that a number of times and it was his true feelings. Additionally he opened his TV station open to boycott and criticism. Let him keep his job, go right ahead support racism. Its a free country and I support his right to be a bigot.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

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[wndycty]

43. Martin Luther Coon King???

He just happened to slip a racist term in there?

He could have said "car" "cool" "moon" "tune" "boon" "soon" etc., but he lands on "coon" and its coincidence.

[AP]

31. But his job is so simple: talk without slipping up about the weather for 3

minutes a day.

If he can't do that without accidentally offending his audience, maybe he should get a different career.

People who can't control their subconscious like that -- regardless of what they say accidentally --shouldn't be doing live TV.

It's like when that guy on Fox made that sexual slip-up about Jennifer Lopez. He has no business being on live TV, but they keep him on because he's a reliable right winger.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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[wndycty]

37. Those words don't roll out of your mouth . . .

. . .if you are not prone to those kind of remarks.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

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[wndycty]

44. So he has tourettes syndrome. . .

. . .so firing him would be a violation of the Americans with Disability Act?

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

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[wndycty]

48. He said "coon" if it were just a mere slip . . .

. . .do you think of all the words for him to land on it would be racial slur?

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

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[tx_dem41]

65. Having spent a lot of time in the ...

Delta region of Mississippi, where racism is more overt (but not more prevalent) than the rest of the country, this "slip" is a very common phrase heard around this time (and other times). I don't think it (or the second slip..."Kong") was a "slip".

[TankLV]

96. Yeah - we push an agenda of some kind: TOLERANCE, EQUALITY

DIGNITY.

But you like to spend energy makeing excuses for racism and bigotry.

Uh - sure.

[Name removed]

110. Deleted message

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[livinginphotographs]

112. Are you being deliberately obtuse?

The guy "slipped" once, then "slipped" again during his half-ass apology.

I don't understand why you have such a problem with firing someone for making a racist comment about Dr. King.

[Name removed]

115. Deleted message

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[livinginphotographs]

120. Never mind. You just answered my question.

So why do you think he was fired?

[Name removed]

125. Deleted message

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[Liberal Veteran]

132. I guess you have to be familiar with US racial epithets to understand.

In racist circles Martin Luther King is STILL to this day referred to as "Martin Luther Coon". I have family members who still call him that.

Now of course, you'd LIKE to give this person the benefit of the doubt, but I think you are WAY too energetic in your trying to make excuses for this guy who somehow in the space of ONE broadcast managed not only to screw up ONCE but then again in his apology.

[livinginphotographs]

133. It was on live television. He said "coon" then "kong."

I haven't seen the site that reported this sued for libel yet, so you're argument is wearing pretty thin. By your logic, we can just ignore the news we don't like. Hell, I'd like to pretend that King George isn't starting his second term as pResident, but that doesn't make it true.

I know about giving people the benefit of the doubt, but you're really going way too far with it.

Have you read the numerous responses from people in this thread saying how it is a very common epithet for racists to use in referring to Dr. King? Or are you just ignoring them so you can continue playing devil's advocate for some reason?

[drdtroit]

213. You certainly attach a lot of power to "nuts", n/t

[tx_dem41]

114. But, in this case, its his employers who did know him and did see..

him everyday that fired him.

[Name removed]

118. Deleted message

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[tx_dem41]

121. What makes me think he didn't take the easy road?

That's an easy one, Frog. Right there at the beginning of the story in the OP:

"KTNV-TV, Channel 13, fired weekend weather anchor Rob Blair on Sunday..."

No where did it say he quit.

[Name removed]

123. Deleted message

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[tx_dem41]

127. As you said in an earlier post...how can we make such assumptions..

from short article? It works both ways, doesn't it?

They knew the guy and his past history. I will abide by their judgment. If the guy wants to sue, he has every right to.

[Name removed]

130. Deleted message

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[Karenina]

142. Yo, frog...

Check the thermostat of that water you be lounging around in.

[tx_dem41]

47. You know, reading another post of yours, I agreed...

when you called "Bullshit" when the poster said that he had obviously said this several times.

And now, to my utter dismay, you are doing the same thing. Where is there any evidence that the weatherman has Tourette's??

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

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[DrWeird]

90. Would you like to buy a bridge?

I'm selling a good one for cheap.

[SemperEadem]

236. if that guy had Tourette's syndrome

he wouldn't be doing live weather on an ABC affiliate station. Period.

Stupid analogy; a desperate grasp at irrational straws. Weak.

[AP]

52. People with Tourettes shouldn't be newscasters.

Unless it were the newstation's gimick to get viewers. But you'd be running the big risk of offending viewers.

[CottonBear]

83. My good friend has severe Tourette's Syndrome.

He would not spout out racist remarks UNLESS HE WAS A RACIST, which he is not. He takes medication for his condition. He would swear a good bit with the medication but he would not say racist things.

[Fiendish Thingy]

84. The Brain DOES work that way- Freudian slips can really happen...

the type of Tourette's where a person uncontrollably utters profanity is very, very rare. But much more common is the "Freudian slip" where someone substitutes another word that reveals his/her underlying thoughts/feelings. But Tourette's/Freudian slips are irrelevant in this case.
Look at it this way- if he had said "fuck" on the air, then apologized by saying "I'm sorry if I offended anyone when I said "cunt" a few minutes ago..." would that be OK? He is paid to control his language and give a professional broadcast; a mistake on the air is serious, and one that could/should put his job at risk.

Perhaps the "seven words you can't say on television" should be updated to eliminate the garden variety profanities that are so prevalent nowadays, and to include the racist terms that a tolerant society should find universally offensive... ;-)

[TankLV]

94. You are certainly a riot - I'm ROTFL watching you twist & squirm.

Are you for real?

Do you even listen to what you're spewing?

[NashVegas]

122. If Tourette's Is to Blame

He has no business in broadcasting. Period.

[Name removed]

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[americanstranger]

146. Hey, that's pretty funny!

Just a few posts ago you said, in response to someone speculating as to his racism:

How do you know? You read his mind? Guilty just on a hunch of yours?

And now you choose to speculate as to his being afflicted with Tourette's. So I have to ask:

How do you know? You read his mind? or he has Tourette's just on a hunch of yours?

Hehehe...

-as

[Name removed]

147. Deleted message

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[devilgrrl]

152. "the guy is about 25, he must not even know what Coon means"

Another lame excuse! I must say, I do find your defense of this abhorrent behavior mind boggling, I assume it's because you share the same opinions with the fired weatherman?

[Name removed]

155. Deleted message

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[devilgrrl]

160. You've said nothing that is clever throughout this thread

You're a punk with nothing better to do than stir shit up!

[americanstranger]

153. Sorry, dude. Will not wash.

As many people have pointed out, 'Martin Luther Coon' is a dumbass joke that stupid rednecks make to denigrate MLK. To this day.

Believe me, there are a lot of 25 year olds who know what 'coon' means.

And you brought up tourette's in your ridiculous defense of this guy. Why bring it up if it's not a suggestion that the guy may have it?

'Pseudo psycho pop culture,' indeed. We're wrong for calling him a racist, and you're the expert on American racism. Right.

-as

[Name removed]

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[americanstranger]

163. Pot, meet kettle.

You're pretty quick to judge all of us who think he should have been fired as 'intolerant' and 'too PC.' You won't even consider the voices of experience that are telling you that American racists use his 'slip-up' term all the time.

Mind if I drive my truck through that hole in your logic?

-as

[Name removed]

165. Deleted message

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[americanstranger]

168. Oh, puh-leeeeeeeeeeze....

Sorry, but that does not prove anything. It's jumping to conclusion. Why must he automatically be a racist?

Because a non-racist would not even consider saying what he said. Not on TV, not among friends, not ever. Every person I've heard use that term, I would classify as racist. This guy is not the exception to the rule.

You see, I worked for a long time in the broadcasting business to know quite well that nervousness, inexperience will make it more likely for people to "slip" by saying stuff they don't mean.

Yeah, I worked in broadcast, too. When people say things like this on the air, they get fired. Period.

And don't try to use 'inexperience' or 'nervousness' as an excuse. From the guy's own bio:

Rob has worked as a weather anchor/reporter in Palm Springs, California, anchor/reporter in Monterey, and as a weather forecaster in Chico.

This obviously was not his first day on the job. LV was his fourth job - I'd say the butterflies are pretty much gone at this point. If not, he shouldn't have had a job in broadcasting to begin with.

Just watch those bloopers specials on tv...

Yeah, ha ha. 'Martin Luther Coon.' Friggin' hilarious.

-as

[SemperEadem]

238. non sequitur

You see, I worked for a long time in the broadcasting business to know quite well that nervousness, inexperience will make it more likely for people to "slip" by saying stuff they don't mean.


I've worked 20 years in broadcasting and in that 20 years, I've known, as has every other person who calls themselves a professional, that you're being paid the money you're paid to be professional and to do your job with integrity and responsibility and not land the station in the middle of a PR fiasco or lawsuit.

Yeah, if you're laying something to tape, you make mistakes---but never have I heard anyone, even when laying tracks to tape, use racial slurs while reading their copy---because you never know who is going to be using the tape--and if you do make a racial slur on tape, it's going to the GM's office.

Inexperience and nervousness is indicative of a 'wet behind the ears' novice who has no idea of what he/she is doing. Someone who's worked at 4 stations knows better. They're paid to know better.

When the red light goes on, you're being paid to know what you mean and mean what you say.

All of the bluster you conjur doesn't change the fact that he was justly fired for making a hideously offensive slur and landing that station in the middle of a PR fiasco, with the possibility of losing viewers, sponsorship, advertising revenues and market credibility and standing. He took a swipe at their bottom line and for that, he cannot be forgiven.

[AP]

59. But even if they didn't...

...the guy's job is to speak without slipping up.

It's harsh, but I don't see how he can be too surprised that he got fired for this mistake.

[AP]

50. Settle down. Even without a guilty conscience, would you continue

to hire a buss driver who accidentally ran over a child?

I wouldn't fire a buss driver who slipped up and accidentally said "Coon" when interviewed about MLK on the local news station, and I wouldn't fire the weatherman if he accidentally ran over a child on the way to work.

But we're talking about making mistakes performing the job they're paid to perform.

And the weatherman's job is so simple: talk about the weather for 3 minutes a day. Don't make mistakes.

All he has to do is get to work a couple hours before the broadcast, decide what he's going to say, and practice it until he gets it exactly right.

[spooky3]

68. Another reason is in my post above...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1157838&mesg_id=1158176&page=

This kind of comment is merely a symptom of the problem.

[Jo March]

76. frogfromthenorth2, I'm from Alabama & this is how MLK is referred to

I heard it all of the time growing up.

I know what point you are trying to make but trust me on this - this was no "slip" due to some kind of brain disfunction. He just said what he has more than likely said quite a few times at home.

It's sad to say but it happens. He was fired for not being professional, as the mod points out below. He could seriously cost the company money.

I just heard this phrase too many times growing up in the South. It wasn't an accident that he said the phrase. Just an accident of timing.

We are not jumping at shadows here. We aren't calling racism where there is none. "Where there is smoke, there is fire."

[Orangepeel]

39. oh, bullshit--

First, it isn't like he simply misprounounced the man's name. He called him a racial slur that would be very awkward to say if you weren't used to it. Obviously, he didn't MEAN to say it THEN.

Second, if he's going to make a slip like that, he's not qualified to have a job where he goes on television and talks to the public. If he was an office supply salesman who 'slipped' at a staff meeting, that would be one thing. But on the public airwaves? Please. Of course he was fired.

[Name removed]

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[Orangepeel]

53. um... I did my damnedest to get him fired.

just for the record, but I don't see what one has to do with the other. Weathermen who make on-air racial slurs should get to keep their jobs because the president is a moron?

[AP]

60. A lot of Americans think he should be fired for those slip-ups...

...and I think they aren't slip-ups.

"Subliminable" wasn't a slip-up. "Subliminable" was a way to change the frame for that story from the Republicans using subliminal messages in their advertising to the idea that it was impossible to blame Bush for doing something he didn't even know how to pronounce.

[prayin4rain]

46. I assume you are being sarcastic.

This is unacceptable. You don't slip and say coon and king. Martin Luther coon day. Maaayyyyybbbbeee. (highly unlikely you would even slip and say that.) But Coon King day. Please. And yes, when people make big mistakes at work they often get fired. Dubya excluded of course.

[Name removed]

61. Deleted message

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[MaineDem]

69. Thank you so much

:eyes:

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

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[MaineDem]

74. Sorry, perhaps the outrage doesn't translate as well in Canada

This isn't meant as a slam of you but the racist tone that was used in this "slip" is something that was used quite a bit in the past. A past most of us don't want to see repeated.

What this guy said was not "nothing". Trust me.

[shanti]

91. it isn't "nothing"!!

IF you understood the racist history of the united states, MAYBE you would get it.

:grr:

[Name removed]

93. Deleted message

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[MaineDem]

95. You're making no sense now

No reason for me to read any more of this.

[Name removed]

97. Deleted message

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[americanstranger]

156. 'Intolerance?' Holy fuck.

We're intolerant for calling a guy on a racial slur?

What world are you living in? I've told good friends to go fuck themselves for shit like this. You think I'm gonna give some guy on TV a break on this?

If that's intolerant, too bad.

-as

[livinginphotographs]

70. Did you read the article?

He called it "Martin Luther Coon King Day," then in his half-ass apology, referred to him as "Martin Luther Kong." He deliberately used two very common racial epithets when referring to Dr. King.

But if you want him up north, feel free to take him. We've got enough bigots and bigot-apologists down here, thank you very much.

[prayin4rain]

77. So, you are angry that Dubya has NOT been fired for doing a bad

job, but think this guy should keep his job, despite doing a poor job? This really doesn't make sense. He did a bad job. I can't see how you are missing this point. In the big world sometimes if you f**k up badly enough, there are consequences. It is funny you are so condescending about Dubya not getting fired for a bad job and on the other hand are ATTACKING people here for saying this man should be fired for doing a bad job. Are you since Dubya hasn't been fired this guy shouldn't be either? I voted to fire Dubya and I vote to fire this guy too. You have to do your job well if you expect to keep your job.

Also, you are making it sound like this man and his family are going to absoultely STARVE to death over this. I don't know where you are coming up with this. Nothing in the article suggest this is the one and ONLY job this man is capable of getting or doing.

You are not making any sense to me and really you just sound overly angry that people think if you don't do your job well, you should be fired.

[prayin4rain]

79. Yeah, the absolute worst in the world. You are irrational.

[fob]

78. First of all, to help with your english, where you typed "loosing",

it should be "losing", big freeping difference there, so be careful with that one. Try this, if the word you are trying to spell has a "z" sound for the "s", use 1 (one) "o", if the "s" retains it's "s" sound give it an extra "o".

Did you LOSE your keys again?
No matter how tight I tie my shoelaces, they keep coming LOOSE.

Like you replied below, How do you KNOW this guy "slipped"? You ridicule others who believe there's more to this guys comment, but defend yourself with the same speculation. I can only suspect as an english-as-a-second-language speaker the obvious verbal clues to this guys "slip" are lost on you.

[Name removed]

89. Deleted message

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[fob]

100. Well when there where sig lines in the posts frog had a line that said

something about learning english. Not sure where the sig lines went though. Do they turn off at a certain post count? Anyone?

[Name removed]

111. Deleted message

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[Orangepeel]

143. criticizing your English is unfair, IMO

signature lines automatically turn off if the board gets too busy

[Name removed]

145. Deleted message

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[TankLV]

92. Ummm - yeah - sure - WTF?????

Are you lost?

[nashville_brook]

99. it's the nature of the job -- if he "slipped" at the watercooler working

as a mortgage originator -- not a problem.

the slip on-air, which paints the whole station as rascist... big problem. anyone in broadcasting knows this. it's the nature of the job.

another example -- if you "slip" and make a mistake on a report for your boss.... no big deal. if you are an editor or designer and make a mistake in a printed brochure that costs $40K to reprint, you could easily lose your job. it's the nature of the "slip."


this TV station cannot risk their advertising money by keeping a (now known) racsist as the face of weather. weather is their big money-maker! it's the frontline of local tv broadcast news. he didn't give them a choice.

[devilgrrl]

119. Uh yeah, I think he INTENDED to offend people!!!!!

Just as some english speaking Canadians INTEND to offend French speaking Canadians by calling them frogs! Don't think it doesn't happen either!

Git!

[yardwork]

187. Sorry, but his job description requires that he NOT make slips like this

He's a newscaster. He's not supposed to make on-air slips that offend people. He made not one but two. For that he got fired, justifiably so.

Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, which I am disinclined to do, he violated the requirements of his job.

[peekaloo]

32. He apologizes for saying coon and then calls MLK "Kong"?

Doesn't sound like a "slip" to me.

Douchebag.

[Ganja Ninja]

55. Doesn't sound like an apology either. n/t

[Stepup2]

33. Umm well this does not have an "honest"

slip feel to it. More like a Freudian slip, which opened a portal into his racist mind.

Half ass'd apology in my mind too.

[NVMojo]

41. Another example of how America has taken major steps backwards

since the new millenium began ...fry the racist!!!

[Boosterman]

51. Theres some irony here

Anywhoo he sounds like he deserved to be fired. If he had apologized differently I might be able to see his side but I hate those apologies where they dont admit any wrongdoing. Did he really say Kong? How Bizarro.

No offense meant at all by the irony comment.

[NashVegas]

57. He Wasn't Fired for Being a Racist

He was fired for being unprofessional.

You can't be fired for your thoughts. But you can be fired for not being able to concentrate enough to refrain from putting an inappropriate thought on the air.

The guy was a risk to the station's business.

[Boosterman]

63. Yeah thats exactly what I was thinking. n/t

[Twillig]

98. And fired for lying

He had the chance to come clean about saying 'coon' and instead grabbed at the chance to weasel into a lesser evil of 'Kong.'

That's it, hit the bricks pal, you're fired.

[DrWeird]

170. He was fired based on the content of his character.

Which is a damned good way to judge somebody.

[OKNancy]

54. My husband mentioned Martin Luther Coon Day this morning

Just this morning I had this discussion with my husband.

He said, "Oh god, I'll have to listen to the idiots at work say 'why can't we get off on Marting Luther Coon day?' "
I said...They say that!
He says, "Yes they say it every year to get under my skin."

My husband is the resident liberal on a construction crew.

So, if anyone defends this as a little slip, it isn't. It's a common thing the asshole racists say.

[paineinthearse]

64. Rob Blair biography & contact information

Contact

1. Rob Blair is still listed as an active employee on their website: http://www.ktnv.com/weather/
Action Weather - Join Nate Tannenbaum on weeknights, Mark Pfister on Action News This Morning, and Rob Blair on weekends for the most accurate forecasts in Southern Nevada.

http://www.ktnv.com/aboutus/anchors/rblair.asp



Rob Blair
Weekend Weather / Anchor
While other kindergartners woke up to watch cartoons, Rob Blair was wide awake watching the morning news. There was never a question that his passion for communication would some day become his career. Rob started in radio at the age of 14 in Indianapolis. From there, he became one of the youngest top 40 DJ's in the country. Rob then moved to Orange County, California to attend Chapman University. While there he hosted weekend shows on Top 40 radio in Los Angeles. Rob has worked as a weather anchor/reporter in Palm Springs, California, anchor/reporter in Monterey, and as a weather forecaster in Chico. "I have one of the best jobs in the world. I get to give important information in a weather forecast and hopefully sprinkle a little bit of humor to put a smile on the viewers' faces as they head out the door. What a blessing and privilege to have this job and to live in the wonderful community that is LAS VEGAS."

2. "You can send your comments or questions directly to 13 Action News. We want to make our station better for you, so drop us an e-mail today.

Vice President & General Manager - Jim Prather, [e-mail]
News Director - Craig Hume, [e-mail]
Or write to us at 3355 S. Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 8910"

[paineinthearse]

67. Chapman College

http://www.chapman.edu/about/chapfacts/history/default.asp

Chapman is a secular university, though it was founded by a religious denomination.

Founded in 1861, Chapman University is one of the oldest, most prestigious private universities in California. Originally called Hesperian College, the school later merged with California Christian College in Los Angeles. In 1934, the institution was renamed in honor of C.C. Chapman, an Orange County entrepreneur and benefactor of the school. The college moved to its current location in downtown Orange, Calif. in 1954. In 1991, the college again changed its name to Chapman University, reflecting its evolution into a comprehensive institution of higher learning.

While ecumenical and open to all, Chapman remains a church-related institution, in covenant with its founding denomination, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

[paineinthearse]

71. Note to Chapman & auto-reply

Subject: Chapman's Ask Us
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 07:49:24 -0800

Thank you for your question. It has been submitted to the proper
department and you will be hearing from our university very soon. In
the mean time, please feel free to review the Most Frequently Asked
Question section of our website, at
http://liquidmatrix.chapman.edu/admission/faq/faq_search.asp.
------------------------
Name: me
Phone: 978-xxx-xxxx
Question:
---------
I read of a Chapman alumni now working at a Las Vegas TV show made two
on-air comments, calling Martin Luther King: "Martin Coon King" & "Martin Luther Kong".

Would you care to comment in light of your institutions teachings and
values?

See
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jan-17-Mon-2005/news/25678882.html

[Name removed]

73. Deleted message

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[theoceansnerves]

181. you're fucking kidding right?

you think chapman university had something to do with this guy being a bigot? are you lost?

[Orangepeel]

82. What's the point of this? The man was fired. Leave the station alone.

[Fleshdancer]

80. "slip of the tongue"?????

Funny, my tongue slips are never racist. :eyes:

[blueblitzkrieg]

85. Fox News to pick him up as a new commentator...

I expect to hear that next.

[StuckinKS]

86. In 1995, Repug House Majority Leader Dick Armey made a similar "slip"

in referring to Mass. Congressman Barney Frank as "Barney Fag." I seem to remember that there were similar pleadings about the word fag not being in Armey's vocabulary but then finding out that he used anti-gay language all the time.

As in this current case, I have to wonder about the odds that in the case of an "accidental slip," the word landed on would be a slur in the appropriate context. If the offenders said "Barney Flank" or "Martin Luther Kink" or some such, it is accidental. With fag, coon and kong, they are saying something they have said before.

I think Blair's punishment could have been light had he not fucked up his apology by reciting a "non-apology" and then reoffending.

What a dumbshit.

[Rockerdem]

87. This country has come far but has a long way to go

This is why today is so necessary. Remember, dont desecrate it by shopping or going out to dinner. Spend it in a worthwhile manner honoring Dr. King.

As a side benefit, it starves the beast for a day also.

[Guns Aximbo]

88. That is called a freudian slip

which means that is what he was actually thinking.

[nashville_brook]

102. he got a freudian pink slip

nyuk nyuk

[americanstranger]

172. HA! Good one.

I like that.

-as

[no_to_war_economy]

101. Apparently I accidentally

wore my white bed sheet and hood to work today

what a dolt!

[aden_nak]

103. Who even says "Coon" anymore? At least be a racist in the proper century.

[Name removed]

104. Deleted message

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[Merlin]

124. Please. The guy is a fucking racist. The more of them who are fired

from broadcasting the better.

Let him make sandwiches at the 7-11.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

131. Deleted message

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[devilgrrl]

134. Ciao ciao stronzo

e arrivederci!

Cazzo!

[arikara]

137. I'm sorry, but you have no point

Coon is a racial slur. The fact that he used it on the air in the "proper" context and then made a very lame apology left the station no other option than to fire him. He deserved it. If he had really made an error, he would have apologized sincerely and then maybe he wouldn't have lost his job.

[Lorien]

105. Where did that slur come from, anyway?

"coon" is short for raccoon-but how did it become a racial slur? Or is it short for something else? It's not something I ever heard growing up in Ohio (when anyone said "coon" in my neighborhood, they were talking about a ringed tailed omnivore). But then again, I never heard a white person use the "n" word until I moved to Florida. :-(

[aden_nak]

106. I've heard several explainations.

One that it referred to dirty animals, another that it referred to the racoon's "mask" around the eyes, because that patch of the fur is very dark, and it makes the eyes seem whiter by comparison. To behonest, I'm not sure. I tried looking at Word Origins but they usually don't have offensive racial slurs listed.

[put out]

136. The explanation I have been given.

A bunch of men with guns and maybe dogs running down a coon in the woods. Coon hunting.

Also, used when a bunch of men with guns and maybe dogs were running down a black man in the woods. Coon hunting. Code for a (black) man hunt.

I hope I'm wrong.

[Lorien]

221. Ugh. Unfortunately, I think you're right

all this time I was trying to think of why being likened to a raccoon was such an insult; I have backyard raccoons; they're beautiful, very clean, intelligent, great parents, fun loving...a bit like foxes, and being "foxy" is a good thing.I didn't think about the barbaric practice of coon hunting. Now it makes sense as to why I had never heard the word used as a slur in my liberal northern town; coon hunting is a rural southern tradition practiced by the very kind of people who gather at clan rallies. It's not a hunt for food; it's a hunt for the "fun" of terrorizing and killing an animal. The slur then is more of a threat; the one using it is saying "I could hunt you down and kill you for sport".

:puke:

[Liberal Veteran]

107. Oh please...I still have members of my backwards family that say "coon"

....when referring to MLK. They all live in rural Georgia.

Of course I did get a certain amount of satisfaction when one of my cousin's daughters got knocked up out of marriage and the baby's father was black. I still recall some nasty racial slurs she made while I was growing up. (On the upside, she seems to adore her grandchild, so maybe it taught her a lesson about her own racism.)

[aden_nak]

116. Yikes, really? People still say it?

I honestly thought it had disappeared years ago. I stand corrected.

[Merlin]

126. Now THAT'S what I call a non-violent conversion.

MLK himself would be proud that a one-time racist now understands the humanity of all God's children--even in "...the Red Hills of Georgia..."

[sonicx]

108. pretty amazing "slip"

"Good evening Mr. Wetback...opps I meant Sanchez"

[Liberal Veteran]

109. Exactly...there are an infinite number of "slips" he could have made.

But he comes up with EXACTLY the "slip" that is the slur that almost every racist uses when referring to MLK?

Just a little too coincidental if you ask me.

[devilgrrl]

113. He "slipped" not once but twice!!!!

Un-fuckin'-real! :puke:

[Maddy McCall]

135. Wow. In California? I thought racism was confined to the south.

Now maybe some of those here who condescend to us southern DUers because of anecdotes they hear about racism in the south will reconsider how they approach us. :D

[QC]

140. Maybe it happened in Las Vegas, Mississippi!

Yeah, that's surely what happened!

[Megahurtz]

138. That's an antiquated word

what fucking trunk did he pull that one out of?:wtf:

[da_chimperor]

141. That's despicable. It seems a little too dumb to be intentional though

and it's career suicide after all. I've had quite a few slips of the tongue, but never resulting in a racial slur. He should have expected to be fired, whether it was intentional or not.

[Name removed]

144. Deleted message

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[da_chimperor]

149. Someone has to be responsible for their actions and words

intentional or not. A person who accidentally hits a pedestrian while driving home is still responsible for their injury or death though they never intended to hit the person. He's responsible for making a racial slur regarding MLK whether he meant to or not. All he can do is apologize for his words and see what happens. You're right in saying that despicable is too strong of a word, but that was a result from typing in haste. I think unfortunate and/or regrettable would be a better choice.

[Name removed]

150. Deleted message

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[Bluebear]

148. It's interesting the zeal with which some will defend this weatherman

I can see it already, everyone is too "PC". It was just an "accident". Folks will spend hours upon hours commenting on this one story alone.

[livinginphotographs]

151. This zeal is really only coming from one poster

Who has yet to make a consistent point.

[Bluebear]

161. I knew someone would pick that up

:toast:

[ecstatic]

162. I hope you're right

about it only coming from one poster. Maybe he/she is afraid that he/she might "accidentally misspeak" one day too?

[Orangepeel]

169. in defense of that poster

he/she appears to be a non-American with English as a second language who doesn't quite "get" the implications of the slur.

I think he/she believes it is like that guy several years ago who got in trouble for using the word "niggardly" at a school meeting. Either that or that it is like someone who slipped and called MLK something completely innocuous like "Martin Luther Kling"

Of course, it isn't like that at all, and if I were that poster, I'd accept I was wrong and stop trying to defend myself, but I don't think he/she really has malicious intent.

[Bluebear]

177. If it weren't for the "frog" bit I might buy it

But the user's name uses a slur to begin with so I see why this is no big deal to them.

[Name removed]

178. Deleted message

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[theoceansnerves]

186. you need to pick your battles dude

and defending this idiot bigot shouldn't be one of them.

[Name removed]

192. Deleted message

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[chimpy the poopthrower]

194. Then I'll add my voice to "Frog's"

I don't like to see these comments insinuating that FrogFromTheNorth must be a closet racist simply because that poster wants to examine the possibility that the weatherman really just did make a slip of the tongue. Have any of you actually watched the video of the weatherman's slip? I can't even get to the original article, and unless I'm the only one having that problem, I suspect a lot of people posting on this thread have not read the entire article. I found this other article covering the same story and I see that already important details are changing.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2005/jan/17/518137390.html

I'd like to make a few points. First, without seeing the actual video, how can everyone be so certain that this slip was made with racist intent - or even that the slip was made exactly as reported? I remember during an MLK ceremony at the White House several years ago, Bush made a sly comment about a portrait of MLK -- that he couldn't wait to "hang" it. There was some discussion about that remark on DU and if you didn't actually watch the video it would be easy to assume it was a harmless comment. But I think the case that this was a reference to lynching was made much stronger when people actually watched the video, listened to the inflection in Bush's voice, saw the twinkle in his eye, heard the nervous laughter in the room... Watching the video revealed important clues that weren't available if you just read a textual account of the incident.

Second, people are taking their own personal experiences and projecting them onto this situation. OK, apparently a lot of DUers have heard the word "coon" and even the phrase "Martin Luther Coon." But I seem to recall that when those two airline passengers sued the airline for saying "eeny meeny miney moe" that a lot of DUers who had never heard the original racist version of the rhyme assumed that the women were just getting upset over nothing. Even after some other DUers confirmed that many people ARE aware of the racist version, and even that the racist version is their main association, some people still insisted that the flight attendants could not have had any racist intent. Why are people so quick to assume they know a person's intent in a situation where so little information is provided?

Let me throw out one possible scenario. I'm not saying this is what happened, just that it is a possibility: the weatherman was just reading his cue cards. He made a simple verbal flub -- he took the "oo" sound from Luther and said it in place of the vowel sound in King. Hence, Martin Luther Koong. I make this sort of verbal slip all the time. Maybe a lot of viewers heard "coon" instead of "coong". Or maybe he really did say the "ng" sound as more like an "n". If you forget about the meaning of the words for a minute, it doesn't seem at all like an improbable slip. Perhaps when he stumbled, he immediately corrected himself and said "King" right away. Now suppose this weatherman has never heard the word "coon" in his life but is told the station is getting a lot of calls because of his slipup. He assumes people think he said "Kong" instead of "Koong" because that's the only racist thing he can think of that sounds like the slip. So he apologizes for "Kong."

I know a lot of people are going to say my hypothesis is a stretch, but I don't think it is. I don't know who this guy is, and I'll bet most of the posters in this thread don't either. I've simply learned not to always believe the first account I read in the news (remember Parlock, everyone?). And I don't like people who jump to conclusions just because it's easy. I especially don't like to see other poster being attacked or called racists simply because they believe in getting the facts before making judgements, particularly when a person's livelihood is at stake. If anyone has the actual video, please share it with the rest of us since that would certainly shed some light on the incident.

[Name removed]

196. Deleted message

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[americanstranger]

197. What 'important details' are 'changing?'

I found this other article covering the same story and I see that already important details are changing.

Don't look much different to me.

-as

And I'm not calling the defender of this guy a racist, BTW. I've got no problem calling the weatherman a bigot, since the only people I've hear use that particular slur are bigots.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

204. well, for one thing...

The original story said he said "Martin Luther Coon King" and the other said he *replaced* King with Coon.

And it is certainly possible to make a verbal slip that transposes sounds and end up saying something that is a racial slur or a profanity. Coon and King are not as far off as people are pretending. The vowel sounds are different, of course, but being next to "Luther" can explain the vowel slip. And "ng" and "n" are so similiar that some dialects don't even distinguish between them. I'm sure that as a weatherman, this person DID normally distinguish between them, but he may have stumbled in this case, especially if he was halfway through the word and realized he was saying it wrong.

[devilgrrl]

207. Oh for Christ's sake!!!!!

More bullshit excuses!

Coon and King are not as far off as people are pretending. The vowel sounds are different, of course, but being next to "Luther" can explain the vowel slip. And "ng" and "n" are so similiar that some dialects don't even distinguish between them.

UN-FUCKIN'-BELIEVABLE! :eyes:

[DrWeird]

200. Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the woild.

Except for a nice MLT, a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They're so perky, I love that. But that's not what he said. He distinctly said "to blave." And, as we all know, "to blave" means "to bluff." So you're probably playing cards, and he cheated...

[devilgrrl]

201. Froggy has been silenced... you're defense of him puts you...

on rather thin ice.


Anybody who did what that weatherman did, did so for a reason and it wasn't to joke around about it. He knew what he was doing, I don't have to see any footage to come to such a conclusion.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

205. well, if he was "silenced" for posts on this thread, that's a shame.

I didn't see any posts on here of Frog's that violated DU rules. And I still believe that the weatherman in this case COULD have made an innocent mistake. He also could have been making a deliberate racist statement for some reason. I'm not arguing in favor of one scenario over another, just against the automatic jumping to conclusions based on secondhand accounts. As I said, if someone has footage of the incident they'd like to share...

[Name removed]

206. Deleted message

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[chimpy the poopthrower]

211. You're right, I didn't see them.

Apparently he insulted someone in French, and since I don't speak French, I wouldn't have understood it anyway. I don't like to be told I'm "skating on thin ice" (not by you) for simply expressing an opinion that in no way violates DU rules. Whether or not Frog violated the rules at a later point, I didn't like to see the piling on and nasty insinuations that were made against Frog on this thread.

[livinginphotographs]

208. He violated the rules

by personally attacking someone. It was in French, but it was still a personal attack.

[frogfromthenorth3]

224. Thanks again for the support...

Seems that common sense went down the drain....

[devilgrrl]

164. Oh, I know...

I've also alerted the mods about five million times too. So much for the "alert" button. :eyes:

[0007]

166. 0 Give frog a big fat Zero

0

[DrWeird]

167. And who has an ethnic slur in his user name.

Wonder if he speaks fluent french.

[Name removed]

174. Deleted message

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[DrWeird]

175. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I really believe you.

[Name removed]

184. Deleted message

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[DrWeird]

188. You lost the benefit of the doubt....

by defending an obvious bigot.

[livinginphotographs]

191. It is against DU rules to personally insult other posters

even if it is in French.

[Name removed]

193. Deleted message

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[livinginphotographs]

195. We shall soon see.

But I don't think he's being a jerk just by calling you out for tirelessly defending a racist.

[Name removed]

198. Deleted message

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[livinginphotographs]

199. I never implied you were a closet racist.

I just think you're incredibly misguided in defending this man, and honestly can't understand why you're so inclined to do so.

[DrWeird]

202. Not closet, no.

Occam's razor. Which is more likely, that he, for all lack of explanation, can not see how blatantly racist this is; or that he knows full well that it's racist and is OK with that?

[Bluebear]

179. As I mentioned, someone would drag out the "PC" thing

That's always the last refuge of someone who tosses around slurs and then complains that people are too "PC".

By the way, is "PC" a common saying in your "native language"?

[tx_dem41]

189. PC is pretty universal now (at least getting there), especially among..

people who frequent politically-oriented Internet forums.

[Bluebear]

190. Maybe so. But this one has spent 4 hours defending a bigot.

I ain't buying it.

[tx_dem41]

214. Understand. n/t

[ally_sc]

159. just when you thought you'd heard it all...

people all people need to respect all people..i believe that was the teachings of Dr. King...wonder what was up with this guy?

[Bouncy Ball]

171. I tried to say what he said

to see if it could accidentally just rattle off my tongue.

No way. It's a whole extra word. It doesn't flow very easily at all. You have to really TRY to add that word in there.

Shame on him, seriously. That's disgusting. Glad he lost his job.

[rodeodance]

176. yes, glad he lost his job.

[americanstranger]

180. I think the 'extra word'

might have been a result of his saying 'coon' and catching himself and saying 'King' in order to correct himself.

-as

[Bouncy Ball]

183. Oh and I've had a slip of the tongue before

but I've never ONCE had a slip of the tongue that resulted in a racial slur. Much less TWICE.

[ally_sc]

242. yeah..he needed to lose his job however...

what kind of mentality is that? jesus..it would seem he wanted to get fired and did that as an excuse...i just can't think of any logically reason except deep rooted hate.

[Stuckinthebush]

203. Yeh...that'll do it.

Bigot

[scottxyz]

209. 'frogfomthenorth' thinks this is an 'innocent' slip...

...which is ridiculous.

Several Southerners here have pointed out that racists often use the phrase "Martin Luther Coon" to express their dislike of MLK.

So it's a "slip" - but not an innocent slip. Probably that weatherman was in the habit of referring to MLK that way all the time, and so it "slipped" out. It's accidental - but it just means that he got caught using his disrespectful name for MLK in public. This is not appropriate on the public airwaves.

To take a similar example: many people try to make fun of homosexuals by referring to openly-gay Massachusetts Congressman "Barney Frank" as "Barney Fag." If a broadcaster or politician were to "slip" and refer to him this way, it would also be inappropriate.

"Frogfromthenorth" has also mentioned that English is not his/her first language. Maybe Frogfromthenorth is French Canadian - and possibly aware that "Frog" is a less-than-respectful term for a French person? Maybe "Frogfromthenorth" enjoys these kind of little ethnic slurs, but they are not appropriate for a weather broadcast.

I suggest FrogfromtheNorth should look at today's digby.blogspot.com and corrente.blogspot.com for some more inspiring references to MLK. MLK was a great man and it is rude and vulgar to refer to him with a slur in a broadcast medium. I, like many others on this board, am glad the weatherman got canned. Frogfromthenorth needs to stop wasting time defending this sort of bad behavior, and try reading up on why MLK was so important instead.

[Name removed]

210. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Swamp Rat]

215. It was like watching him carelessly swim in a pot of boiling water

Good bye FrogMan! :hi:

[StuckinKS]

261. I just watched Sissy Spacek in "The Long Walk Home"

and heard a character refer to "Martin Luther Coon." I've also heard others use that name when denigrating his holiday. Someone in our local paper just decried the fact that there was no "JFK Day" in place of "MLK Day." They said it must be some racial thing

Idiots and Bigots.

[Catherine Vincent]

216. What an asshole.

[Swamp Rat]

217. Yeah!

This dude MEANT to say "coon," and I say BS to the "slip of the tongue" defense. They should hire an African-American weatherman to fill his spot. Now, THAT would be justice! :)

I got here too late to get involved with the disruptor who was defending this bigot. He got tombstoned... I wish this mod was there when the rebel flag threads had their relentlessly staunch defenders.

[Catherine Vincent]

218. It was a slip of the tongue alright. You know he probably had said

it before in private conversations.. Did anyone get a pic of this guy? I've got to see what he looks like.

[Swamp Rat]

219. Let me know if you find a pic of him...

:D

[Judi Lynn]

227. I think this is the guy. It's from when he was still working in California

His current employer (or his last one) mentions in his bio. that he had worked in Las Angeles before going to Indiana.



Caption:Rob Blair, weather reporter for local television station NCN, interviews Zeta Beta Tau President Elgin Frye Monday at City Plaza for NCN's morning show.
The Orion/Jason Halley

http://www.orion-online.net/vnews/display.v?TARGET=showImage&article_id=402986ac461ac&image_num=1

[Catherine Vincent]

262. Thanks, Judi Lyn.

[Riding this Donkey]

220. Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of KTNV

Should be fired himself for even repeating the lame excuses of Blair. Sometimes I am ashamed to be white!

[Zynx]

222. I hope he never gets hired again. n/t

[jonnyblitz]

223. i just opened this thread and saw all these deleted posts...

wow. I don't even want to know... :eyes:

[Lautremont]

231. Just a dumbass who I'm sorry to say is from my country.

Now I know how you guys feel whenever His Royal Chimpness says something.

[Bluebear]

237. Please. Just because he used your flag

doesn't mean he is from your country. :toast:

[hiley]

232. me neither

;(

[Eric J in MN]

225. Firing him was too harsh. Who knows if it was just a slip

or not.

It would have been more fair to give him 1 week unpaid suspension than to fire him.

[Judi Lynn]

229. Two acts of vicious nastiness, meant to be cruel.

Apparently some people DO see the scum element of our population as having a mandate, but they're wrong.

He can be as stupid, and offensive as he wants to be on his own time. Misusing the public's right to clean news stations is simply not the place. It's truly shabby, and shows his utter lack of value.

There is no excuse, no way to dodge it. Arguing in favor of the preposterous "mistake" is an insult to D.U.

[Eric J in MN]

230. What two acts? (nt)

nt

[DrWeird]

234. calling him "coon" and then calling him "kong"

It's remotely conceivable that the first could have been some crazy faux pas brought about by nerves. The second makes it inconceivable.

[Eric J in MN]

239. Maybe he thought that was his slip.

His whole career shouldn't come down to a slip or two on one night.

[hiley]

233. that's right it

is a insult to d u and MLK too

[SemperEadem]

243. no, they did the right thing

if they gave him one week suspension and then put him back on the air, then the advertisers would have pulled their spots, no one would buy airtime on the station and offended viewers would launch boycotts of the station.

TV runs on advertising revenue. They need to sell commercials to stay on the air. If consumers tell a company/store/business that they will boycott their business and will tell everyone they go to church with to boycott their business because they're advertising on that station, then guess what? If that company/store/business wants to stay in business, they're going to pull their money out of that station.

The GM of the station saw that scenario and fired him, which, in light of the position that Blair put them in, was the only fiscally prudent thing he could do. KTNV's managment isn't going to sacrifice the livelihood of all of their employees by keeping an association with Blair. As Mr. Spock said: "The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few".

Blair affected their bottom line, and that's something that can't be forgiven.

[American liberal]

245. He got exactly what he deserved, Eric J (is it Johansen?) in MN

That was no slip. Ask 12% of the U.S. population who have been subjected to those sorts of pejoratives to this day, ask them if THEY think he should have been fired. Frankly, Eric J of MN, and with all due respect, your opinion doesn't mean much in this case.

[Piperay]

240. THAT kind remark is NO slip ...

in order to say that you have to have lots of practice and I would bet anything the is the way he refers to MLK in his real life all the time! This is the 21st fucking century and some people need to get out of the 19th century and get with the program...ASSHOLE! :mad:

[LostinVA]

244. Okay, I've been Reading this thread all day, and I want to say something

I lived in NC for 17 years, and heard the "Martin Luther Coon" thing about 1,000 times. Literally. Ha ha ha. Isn't that funny. I have lots of redneck relatives in NJ that love flying confederate flags, and use the "n" word all the time... and they, too, love saying "Martin Luther Coon." And, ha ha ha, it's so funny to THEM, too. And, I've seen their eyes kinda glaze and their speech hesitate when they ALMOST say either one in front of someone they shouldn't. It's creepy.

So, this was NOT an innocent slip of the tongue, this was something he's used to saying -- ha ha ha -- said it on air, was Like, Fuck!" and slipped in the "King." Then, he tried to cover it. He should be fired. He represents the station. I fired an employee once for saying something very similar to a another employee on the sales floor. He also "apologized" by saying it just slipped out.

Sorry. You're allowed to be a racist, but not at work. Unless you work for the Klan or the Neo Nazis. You have to check it at the door, especially if you're a public figure.

[phrenzy]

246. Possibly A Mistake.

I don't think using racist words MAKES somebody a racist at heart. I laugh guiltily at many racist jokes about my own race as well as other races. But, when out in the world race plays no role in my interaction with other people other than the unavoidable surface prejudices that we ALL have - (if you claim you don't have some kind of prejudice you are a liar)

That being said, and while it is totally possible this guy slipped up twice - It is the truth that the tv station really can't give a shit if this guy was the local leader of the NAACP - Because he made this comment on the air, they really can't afford to try to defend him.

Who knows, it's possible he will get work somewhere else - if he is able to really explain himself and demonstrate that he does not feel this sentiments whatsoever.

Anyway, I have had my share of horribly embarrassing slip ups. And have seen many others have them to. I always cringe and actually feel bad for the people - because we all know it can happen - and even a horrible thing can slip out of our mouths because of nerves.

At the extreme end - Anybody who says the word 'Nigger' is not in their vocabulary is a liar. It is in ALL of our vocabularies no matter how much you want to call it the 'n' word. We all know it - we all know it's seriousness and how terrible a word it is. This actually IMO makes it possible for such a word to come out subconsciously - it CAN happen. But, once again, as was said earlier in this thread - if a Bus Driver hits a kills a kid - you can't expect to continue being a bus driver. It may have been a legitimate freak accident - you looked one way for a split second - but it's kind of goes with the territory.

[LostinVA]

253. That Word is NOT in the vocabulary I use

I never think it, Phrenzy. I think of it when I hear someone say it. Just like I never think of a slew of other racist, sexist, whatever words. I DO think "bitch," and have had that come out in times of stress, and well as fuck and Jesus Christ, etc. Because I THINK of them, I USE them

"Coon" and "Nigger" are known to me, but they are not words I use in any way. Writing them right now is something I was loathe to do. Using these words in my mind would make as racist as someone who says them.

Am I perfect? Hell no. Do I have mu prejudices? Of course I do -- as much as I wish I didn't. But, I can safely say that I would never "slip" and say "Happy Martin Luther Coon Day!"

[Name removed]

256. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LostinVA]

260. No, I wouldn't

And, if you were indeed my friend, you would know that. The "steer" "store" thing does happen to me all of the time -- the brain gets a word you normally use and replaces it. I do not even THINK of these words. If the guy said "Dred Fuckworth" instead of "Fred Duckworth," that also would make sense. Or, if you or I did that.

I have never said coon in my life. I said "nigger" once when I was six. In front of my mother, after hearing a schoolmate say it. Trust me, that's the last time in my life I ever said it.

You're stretching to make a point here, awalker. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're this guy's friend.

[Name removed]

247. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

248. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

251. Deleted message

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[Bluebear]

249. Why are you mentioning that he is 'openly gay'?

Or that you met him specifically through a black friend? Just askin'.

[Name removed]

254. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

255. .

.

[Name removed]

257. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

258. .

.

[Trajan]

250. Chico CA ? ...

Not exactly a hot bed of racist philosophy, granted ....

Here is the problem though: The word passed his lips ....

NO ONE forced that word to emerge from his vocal cords: NO ONE made him say it .... NO ONE placed the word into his heart, or mind, or soul, or lips, or tongue: except his own volition ....

You know ? ... THAT word, like the other words used by racists, NEVER is emitted by my lips ...... ever ....

NEVER has the 'n' word suddenly flew out .... I simply never use that word ....

NEVER has the word 'coon' ever suddenly catapulted off of my tongue and into the air ....

Why ? .. because I NEVER USE THE WORD ....

Now we have one man who claims it was an accident, and one friend who 'knows' him, who swears this is out of character for that friend to say such a thing .... the fact remains: He DID say it ....

And he said it in a racist context, where a racist would use it, iffin he were in fact racist ....

You have to wonder HOW such an accident could happen, dont you ?

I understand you trying to be a good friend, but you certainly must admit: such words dont simply fall out of the sky .... they are thought ....

I have said some stupid things in my life: NONE of them included racist terms accidently spoken ....

It may have been an accident to say it on air, but it is no accident that the word, and the idea, existed in this man's mind before the word emerged from his lips .... It cannot be any other way ...

[TheWebHead]

252. of all the wire reports on google news

only Worldnetdaily put the slur in the headline....

Martin Luther 'Coon' Day gets TV weatherman axed
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42421

[TheWebHead]

259. Here's his resume

before he headed to Vegas:
http://www.tvspy.com/membership/viewresume.cfm?user_id=25502437&fromag=1


...he used to be a top 40 DJ. KNTV already scrubbed their bio page for him:
http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:VtalL3on7bsJ:www.ktnv.com/aboutus/anchors/rblair.asp+%22Rob+Blair%22&hl=en

[Blue_State_Elitist]

263. Perhaps he is a member of this site

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/showthread.php?t=178709

[Moderator]

265. Locking

enough flames, already.