A judge gave Brett Haines a choice Friday: Go to jail or go to church. The Anderson Township man, convicted of disorderly conduct, immediately chose six weeks of Sunday worship over 30 days in the Hamilton County Justice Center. But there’s a catch. Haines, who was accused of using racial slurs and threatening a black cab driver, must attend services at any one of Cincinnati’s predominantly African-American churches. “It seems readily apparent to me that you don’t like black people,” Judge William Mallory Jr. told Haines. “That’s OK with me. But you have to understand that you are at the whim and authority of a black judge.” That’s when Mallory offered church as an alternative sentence, an option he said that might broaden Haines’ cultural awareness and, in some small way, could help heal Cincinnati’s “racial divide.” “If you want to get out of jail, you’re going to have to raise your black consciousness,” the judge said. Mallory said he was concerned about maintaining a separation between church and state, so he asked Haines if the option would offend his beliefs. Haines said he was not a church-going man but would like to give it a try. http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/NEWS01/301120001/-1/CINCI
If it were the other way 'round, a black man having to attend a white church, the black community would be screaming "Racism!", and the ACLU would sue the shit outta' the court, and blacks would be demonstrating and rioting all over the nation! Baron Max
I think it makes sense. The judge gave him a choice. If he hadn't been racist in the first place then he wouldn't be in that situation. It is not racism it is offering a racist man a chance to see and learn about what he hates so he can then make a more educated decision about whether or not he will continue to hate black people. If he didn't want to do that then he could have gone to jail like anybody else would have had to do. If it had been a white judge and a black man then i doubt he would have been given the opportunity to learn before being locked up. I'm not trying to set up an argument about it. This is just how i see it.
He should have not been given any choices other than jail....more black people there to learn from right!?
That judgement was unconstitutional on so many levels... And I agree whole-heartedly with Baron Max. They like to scream about how we (whites) need to appreciate black culture but do they make any attempt to appreciate the white cultures? Hell no. They lump us all in as "caucasians" and peg us as golf-playing suburbanites whose idea of a wild time is to mix regular coffee in with the decaf or else as sibling-screwing summer-toothed hillbillies. Somehow this isn't racist. But just for fun: What I want to see in the interest of fairness (and to give poll-takers a migraine) is a slight change to those questionnaires that ask about your ethnic background. I want to see every ethnic group listed, not just Caucasian Black Asian (Oriental) Middle Eastern Native American Eskimo Other I want to see things like Celtic, Pict, Slav, Nordic, Congolese, Nubian, Moorish, etc. Since most of us are mixed-breeds anyway, just check the dominant one. How many are there, anyway? (My brother used to check Other and write "Klingon".)
Name one. The man wasn't forced to attend the church, he was given a choice, and was asked if it went against his ideals, to which he responded no (of course he would, I would rather be sentenced to church then jail!). Also, he got a much easier sentence then jail time. Instead of being locked up, he only has to go to church with Black people to address his racism, a sentence he chose. There was no violation of church and state, there was no racism at the hands of the judge, and the man was given the choice to decline and just be sent to jail if he wanted to. It's that way because you make it that way, Go ask any random 10 "White" people on the street what their "ethnicity" is and the majority will say "White". Remember, you Caucasions, European-Americans, or any other term you would like to be called run everything, including the colleges, corporations, the census, and any other institution that asks for your ethnicity. You can change it whenever you want.
"Go to church or get butt-raped in a cage while the guards play solitaire in their office." Some choice. Kind of like "Worship the Catholic God or get burned at the stake." Gee, which one are you gonna take? So, tell me, how does the word "white" make us all successful middle-class?
You are acting as if the jail sentence was unwarranted. He committed unorderly conduct using racial slurs, he was given a choice of jail (for committing a crime), or interaction with African-Americans in a church (to address his racism), of which he chose the church. If a "Black" man was given a choice like that, for example if a Black guy hit a White guy and called him a "cracker" so the judge gives him a choice of jail or daily attendance of an all White church in a suburb, you all would be screaming that the judge is letting the "Black" guy off easy. I never said that, so I won't respond to your challenge.
As I never said the jail sentence was unwarranted. He threatened someone else, so he should be punished according to due process of law. What we have here, however, is a court endorsing religion as a means of correcting socially unacceptable behavior. It should never have been offered. He should have done his time and then be left on his own to decide if he wanted to modify his feelings towards another race. I doubt this would even come up. It seems that racial slurs against white people are not considered racism by society in general.
Why go there when he can attent services with reverend al sharpton and hear all about the evils of the white man...
Or make him go to New Orleans as a laborer ....a white laborer in a vast ocean of "chocolate"? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Baron Max
Let's see, sentence him to jail, or try to educate his ignorant ass? The judge did the right thing. But do you deny that if a Black man was given a similar sentence you would be screaming that Blacks are being let off easy?
A black man would never, ever have even been arrested for that same crime ....since no one, no police officer, would want to be responsible for starting riots that would destroy whole sections of the city!! Baron Max
It's been a long time, but that's because the cops have wised up ....and don't arrest blacks like they used to do. See? But arresting whites is still okay, because whites don't riot if one of their members gets arrested. Baron Max
QuarkMoon Does the name Rodney King ring a bell? I'm not saying that the LA riots were unjustified, but what point does it make to torch your own neighborhoods? As far as "educating" the guy, what they're trying to do is get him to like certain people. You can't force someone to like someone else. Maybe he has his own reasons for not liking black people. We're all a little prejudiced based on our own experiences. It's just a question of whether or not we keep those prejudices to ourselves or give them voice. We just have to accept the fact that not everyone likes everyone else, for whatever reason. They should have just applied the law, left the church out of it, and moved on with life. If he wants to appreciate "black culture", he'll find his own way, and it will be a more rewarding experience. Max I think the reason most whites don't riot like that is that most white people don't have this false sense of entitlement that, in my experiences, seems to run rampant through some of the other races.
