Mayor to quit over Obama watermelon e-mail

[sabra]

Source: MSNBC/AP

Calif. politician says image sent to 'small group of friends' was in poor taste


LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - The mayor of a California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."

Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose issued a statement Thursday saying he is sorry and will step down as mayor at Monday's City Council meeting.

Grose came under fire for sending the picture to what he called "a small group of friends." One of the recipients, a local businesswoman and city volunteer, publicly scolded the mayor for his actions.
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Grose says he accepts that the e-mail was in poor taste and has affected his ability to lead the city.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29423045/

[slackmaster]

1. Will there be fried chicken served at the resignation ceremony?

:hide:

[Cleita]

29. No but I'm sure Confederate flags will be handed out. n/t

[Cleita]

30. Nevermind.

[Webster Green]

2. Good riddance to the racist fuckwad!

What a fucking dumbass! :thumbsdown:

[phantom power]

3. Good.

[Nickster]

4. Finally, some common sense from this guy.

[jobycom]

5. Thank you to the local businessman with the integrity to stand against furtive bigotry.

That's the worst kind of racism, because it is held privately but still affects every decision publicly made. Cudos to the businessman who refused to stay silent and to let it continue to fester in such a high public office.

A person who finds an email like that funny will let that attitude infect every decision he makes. That's where racism hides, and why this nation--despite tremendous gains--is a long way from an equal society.

[thecrow]

31. Kudos to that businessWOMAN who spoke out

and of course to every businessman who supported her :)

[jobycom]

32. Egads, you are right! Thanks for the correction! nt

[samplegirl]

6. Good Riddance

[flor de jasmim]

7. Hold your fire!

You have to admit, he's several steps above Bush/Cheney who did much worse and never considered resigning.
Having said that, I'm VERY GLAD that accountability seems to be coming back.

[Rashel]

13. I'm hoping he was forced to 'quit'.

[Shipwack]

8. You have to give him a small amount of credit, though...

1) There's a real admission that what he did was wrong, none of that mealy-mouthed "I'm sorry that people were offended" non-apology crap.

2) He's actually stepping down from his post and not digging his feet in until people grow bored enough to leave him alone...

Unfortunately, this embrace of personal responsibility and putting town before self disqualifies him from ever again holding a position in the Republican party.

[Rashel]

14. I don't give him any credit. He got caught. Otherwise he'd be on his merry bigot way.

[Matariki]

26. He did start with the 'mealy-mouthed' bullshit though

'sorry' people were offended, 'didn't know' that it was a racial stereotype, and other lies...

[jobycom]

33. Only if it can proven that he had a realistic choice to do otherwise.

Face it, this is exactly the type of bigotry that keeps this nation so segregated, because it's secretive. It's a perfect example of how the Old Boy Network works--racist mayor pretending to be otherwise, maybe not even convinced of his own bigotry, yet still making decisions with that skewed vision to guide him. There was no respect in that photo, there was no concept of equality, there was only a white supremacy that viewed non-whites as inferior and laughable.

Someone outed him, and no one would defend him. I suspect that privately all he was hearing was "You're done, bow out gracefully before you become a national pariah, and worse, unmarketable." If someone can indicate that he resigned out of honor or shame, I'll give him some credit. But until then, I don't. He hasn't earned it.

[liberal N proud]

9. There is no place for bigotry in America

It should be upheld at every level.

[prostock69]

10. Good!!!! I mailed a letter to him and the city council yesterday letting them have it over this n/t

[Arugula Latte]

11. It's hilarious how many of these people fail to understand the "forward" option on e-mail.

[SemperEadem]

25. he had enough hubris to believe

none of his small circle of friends would turn on him. The fact that someone would forward it or send it never crossed his mind. He felt a sense of safety to indulge this "episode" amongst these people. Little did he know...

[SomeGuyInEagan]

12. Quit?! Should've been promptly and publicly fired before he had the chance! (eom)

[DeadEyeDyck]

15. If we had elected Mario Cumo President

and someone sent around a cartoon saying somthing along the lines of, "guess the president will have to pardon a pizza for Thanksgiving, instead of a turkey" do you think we would be hear this much flap?

[Mrs. Overall]

17. Are you equating pizza and Italians to watermelons and African Americans?

You need to brush up on your history, Dead.

[DeadEyeDyck]

19. I think the equivocation is the same

they are both ethic cartoons.

Just as Eric Holter said, we are afraid of this dialog?

If we are going to treat people equal, we need to treat people equal!

[Mrs. Overall]

21. So, give me an example of an Italian depicted with a pizza that creates the same outrage

as an African American depicted with a watermelon.

I disagree with you. I am married to an Italian American and his family has never expressed hurt or outrage over the many commercials showing Italians eating and enjoying their pizzas.

What if there were commercials depicting African Americans sitting around at a table enjoying their watermelons?

There are some ethnic associations that have social and historical implications that indicate deep and inherent racism.

[DeadEyeDyck]

22. I agree that this guy was an idiot and what he did was

stupid. I would fire him on those grounds alone.

It wasn't until I read this that I understood what the AG meant. We are all on hair-triggers, and dancing in mine-fields with blind-folds on. With Obama in the Whitehouse, we can finally get past this. But we need to normalize. We need to see each other just as people.

Look, I am black. I am a light-skinned black which brings in a whole different set of dynamics I understand the joke of the email. It is no big deal.

[Rashel]

27. I don't think he was an "idiot" and "stupid". He's a bigot. He knew what he was doing.

And my lighter skinned daughter just ended a supposed friendship yesterday over bigotry.

Light or dark skinned, don't think for a minuted that this dink of a person doesn't include you.

[noiretextatique]

35. please...it's an offensive and tired stereotype

the type of thing that prevents the dialogue the attorney general was talking about.

[MadMaddie]

39. I am black and I am offended on many levels.

I am in Leadership at my company, by accepting a position of leadership or power along with it comes responsibility. How could this mayor not know that this was inappropriate? How could he send this to people outside of his office to people in the community?

You and all citizens should have higher expectations of elected leaders. Higher expectations for CEO's of big companies. Higher expectations for our representative government.



Since the Reagan years the Republicans have warped this countries sense of decency and common sense. People in power that break rules get an excuse because it was a mistake or it wasn't well thought out and they got to keep their jobs because it was "no big deal". If it were an average joe, someone who is not in power that person would have been fired.

It is a big deal.

[KamaAina]

37. How about if it said

"Guess the President will have to tell the Godfather to pardon the turkey this year"?

[DemWynner]

16. If this email and how he messed up is any sign

of his intelligence, then they should be happy he is stepping down. First he makes the poor choice to send it out, second, he chooses a black woman to send it to, third he said that he didn't know it was racist. If he did not know it was racist, it also shows he is an idiot and out of touch and should not be mayor anyway.

Conclusion, he is an idiot and should not be mayor anyway.

[sansf]

18. When I sent my email

I never thought that he would be gone before 2010. As hurtful as this and any degradations are, more and more politicians just cannot keep their mouths (and keyboards) quiet. If this gets rid of more of them, I hope they keep talking/writing.

[Mrs. Overall]

20. I agree--let them keep talking and revealing themselves. Welcome to DU!

[BadGimp]

23. A Republican with a sense of accountability - I'm shocked

Good on him for caving to the pressure and not acting like an ass.

[damntexdem]

24. Good. And I hope it leaves him feeling melon-choly.

[U4ikLefty]

40. lol....good one

[carlyhippy]

41. maybe next time he will use his melon before he sends racial emails

but I have the feeling his melon is full of mushy rot.

[Ikonoklast]

28. The Immortal Bard says it so well...

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his owne petar."

-- Shakespeare, Hamlet III iv.


BOOM! goes the political career!

:nuke:

[No Elephants]

34. I wonder if people picketed his business, or something of that kind.

[PassingFair]

36. I am so proud of America--that we are calling people out on this shit!

My children do not tolerate racism, even
when it's comments from their "elders".

I was too "well raised" to "contradict my elders"
in public, but my kids call my mother and aunt
out IMMEDIATELY when they slip into their childhood
"the wogs start at Calais" bullshit.

[Cha]

38. Who knew all it would take

would be a watermelon to bring down this guy. He sounds really lovely.:silly:

[struggle4progress]

42. Mr. Watermelon E-Mail Wants to Stay on Council

By BONNIE BUCK
Updated 9:47 AM PST, Sun, Mar 1, 2009

Dean Grose is set to resign from his mostly ceremonial post of mayor of Los Alamitos at Monday's City Council meeting, but he intends to stay on the council, despite an expected torrent of criticism for forwarding a racist e-mail.

City officials expect an extra large turnout at Monday night's meeting. An additional police presence is planned, Los Alamitos police Capt. Bruce McAlpine told The Orange County Register ...

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Mayor-Who-Sent-Watermelon-E-Mail-Wants-to-Stay-on-Council.html