Racist rants and rhetoric from public figures deserve proper consequences | Norment

Racist rants by politicians and celebrities are by no means new to this country and our diverse, and often divided, culture. Yet, the racist rhetoric out of Los Angeles now resounding in the national news is troublesome.

Even more disheartening it that it is coming from Latinos and targets African Americans and indigenous Mexicans.

It is a lesson for all of us on multiple levels. And there are consequences as has been the case for others, but not all, who have chosen to spread bigotry.

In October 2021, Nury Martinez, then president of the Los Angeles City Council, made racist comments during a meeting with two fellow Latino City Council members and the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Union. During the meeting to discuss City Council redistricting, Martinez disparages a white councilman and his Black son, indigenous immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, a South Asian councilmember, and gays. The Los Angeles Times wrote about the recording on October 9.

Martinez called council member Mike Bonin “a little b----” and his son in Spanish “a little monkey” who “needs a beatdown.” She also cursed Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascon, then said “he’s with the Blacks.”

The words on the recording caused outrage, anguish and tears from some LA citizens, including Bonin who cried he was so devastated by the racism hurled at his child. The outrage flashed across the city and the country. Raucous protests at the next council meetings called for each of the three council members to resign.

President Joe Biden also called for their resignations. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last week that President Biden “believes that they all should resign. . . The language that was used and tolerated during that conversation was unacceptable and it was appalling.”

Martinez initially stepped down from her leadership role on the city council, but by the end of the week she resigned from the council. The president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Union, who hosted the meeting at the union’s offices, immediately resigned from his post.

It is significant that Martinez, who did most of the talking, resigned, for  that might lead to healing in the city that is mainly Latino. Many times, as hate speech has pervaded politics, elected officials suffer few consequences. As noted in an article at governing.com “Hardly a day seems to go by without revelations that a public official somewhere has said something racist, anti-Semitic or homophobic. In many cases, they either apologize or bluster their way through the situation. Only some choose to bring their own careers to an end – even when the calls for them to resign may be loud.”

A time where everyone has something to say

In recent years, it seems that racist rhetoric has become more public and in-your-face. People don’t try to hide their feelings and allow their disrespect to spew forth. And many seem to forget that what they say or write on social media is there for everyone and anyone to read. An increasing number of people are dealing with the consequences of their racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic social media posts and spoken words. They are losing jobs, friends and respect.

Some feel that former Donald President Trump’s blatant racist remarks have encouraged the actions and words of others. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump said of Mexican immigrants: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing  crime. They’re rapists.” He has retweeted false information claiming that African Americans are responsible for most murders of white Americans. We cannot forget Trump referring to El Salvador, Haiti and African countries as “shitholes,” and he put a target on Asians by repeatedly referring to COVID-19 as “China flu.”

A husband and wife were caught on video as they berated several Asians, blaming them for COVID-19. The wife, an employee of a prestigious Christian school in Temecula, Calif., was fired. Her husband, who worked for a municipality, was put on administrative leave.

In August, a Plano, Texas, woman spat out racist slurs at three Indian American women. She approached the women several times with her racist rants, and even hit one of them. She was arrested after the video went viral and charged with misdemeanor assault. The incident was investigated as a hate crime.

In Everett, Mass., near Boston, two city employees resigned amid public outrage after The Boston Globe reported the employees made racist comments when discussing how Everett officials might improve the city’s image after allegations of racism.

Celebrities are not above consequences

Over the years, numerous entertainers also have experienced the consequences of their verbal missteps. While some have continued their careers after apologizing, others have suffered the consequences of their loose lips and faded from the limelight.

Among them is Hulk Hogan. In a 2006 tape, the wrestling icon delivered a racist rant about his daughter and her relationship with a Black man. He used the N-word multiple times. The WWE fired Hogan.

As guest co-host on “The View,” Kelly Osbourne attempted to take a shot at Donald Trump for his mistreatment of immigrants. Osbourne misfired by asking who Trump thought would clean his toilets if he kicked out every Latino from the USA. As co-host Rosie Perez pointed out, Latinos aren’t the only people who clean toilets.

Mel Gibson made homophobic statements during a newspaper interview and anti-Semitic comments during a 2006 DUI arrest. Later, an audio recording further exposed Gibson’s racist tendencies and misogyny. That scandal killed Gibson’s once lucrative career.

Michael Richards, known as Cosmo Kramer on “Seinfeld,” has not recovered from his racial outburst at the Laugh Factory in 2006. After being heckled, the comedian dropped the N-word multiple times. Richards publicly apologized, yet this racist misstep continues to haunt him, and he seems to have left standup for good.

It’s not yet clear if Kanye West will suffer consequences for his most recent words and actions that have offended several cultures. At his recent fashion show, he featured shirts emblazoned with “White Lives Matter” and met Sean “Diddy” Combs’ criticism by saying Combs was controlled by Jewish people. Soon after, West posted on Twitter he would go “death con 3 on Jewish People.” Both posts were removed, and his Twitter and Instagram have been locked. News has surfaced that he has acquired conservative social media platform Parler.

While most people, including Donald Trump, do not face significant consequences for their biting, racist remarks, they should.

If this country is going to move forward and reclaim its status as the greatest nation, we must work harder to eradicate the depraved mindset that fosters racism.

Lynn Norment, a columnist for The Commercial Appeal, is a former editor for Ebony Magazine.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Public figures must be held accountable for spreading racist rhetoric