posted on March 5, 2001 12:35:06 PM
West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, Congress' resident historian and the Senate's senior Democrat, stunned a national TV audience with comments about "white niggers" in an interview aired yesterday.
Byrd was answering a question about race relations on "Fox News Sunday" when he used the offensive term.
"There are white niggers," Byrd said in the interview, taped Friday. "I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word."
A spokesman for the senator said Byrd's remarks were aimed not at African-Americans, but at whites.
"It's a phrase that Sen. Byrd learned when he was growing up. He recognizes that it certainly wasn't the best of words," said spokesman Tom Gavin.
"He meant to criticize members of his own race, people who are aggressively mean about race. He's 83 years old. It just popped into his head."
But critics weren't so forgiving, recalling Byrd's former membership in the Ku Klux Klan and his vote against the 1964 Civil Rights Act....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) allowed on
Monday the Ku Klux Klan to participate in a state ''Adopt-A-Highway'' cleanup program in
which volunteers pick up litter along a highway in return for a sign acknowledging their
efforts. VeryModern Space Junk
posted on March 5, 2001 01:03:35 PM
Odd...there seems to be very little said about this...um...tiny gaffe? It'll fade quickly, I'll bet. Kinda like Hymie Town did for Jesse J.
Still...I saw a clip of Byrd making this comment. It must be some form of senility. No politician in full control of his faculties would say such a thing. Thinking it...another matter.
I had no idea any member of the Senate was ever a Klansman. Good god.
posted on March 5, 2001 02:43:14 PM
From the Ku Klux Klan FAQ (it's full of goodies like this, but I don't think I should link to it):
"Q. You say you don't hate minorities, but they can't join The Knights. Doesn't that make you all prejudice [sic]?
A. To be prejudice means you are pre-judging a matter before receiving all of the evidence. It is usually others who are guilty of pre-judging the Klan, not vice versa. It is a fact that America was founded as a white Christian nation. You may not like it, but it is still true. The Knights appreciates this concept because it leads to peace. It is the means to self-determination for all people regardless of race.
Minorities can't join The Knights because we do not believe in integration or social mixing. There are many organizations working for the advancements of different races. There is nothing wrong with this. If a person doesn't care about their racial family then they should be ashamed. However, there is nothing wrong with white Christians working to advance their people either. Those who say there is something wrong with this are promoting a double standard.
We do want to point out though that while it may come as a shock to many there are blacks who believe in racial separation. Marcus Garvey was a black nationalist who led millions of his fellow American born Africans on a mission to return to their homeland. The government shut them down. Today the black Muslims, unlike the integrationist NAACP, support separation and are opposed to race mixing and homosexuality. Roselyn C. of Philadelphia, PA is a black female supporter of The Knights and works diligently in her community against the integration efforts of the city and has received widespread publicity. Robert Brock, the black director of the American Committee Against Integration, based in Washington D.C. has been a financial contributor of The Knights. Not everyone is for integration. The politicians and media just likes everyone to think so.
Membership in The Knights is reserved for white Christians, however, those of other racial backgrounds who support our political platform can be Official Supporters. Official Supporters will receive a certificate verifying them as Official Supporters of The Knights and receive a subscription to The White Patriot News Report. However, Official Supporters can not attend private functions of The Knights."
posted on March 5, 2001 09:10:19 PM
sheesh... so disappointing to hear from a Senator no less.
I have to say though and I hope I don't get moderated for offering this information... I live in the South and it's a slang term around here, not one I approve of, but I have heard people use the term wigger to mean the exact term the Senator used.
posted on March 5, 2001 11:21:22 PM
I live in Michigan and recall this happening about 10 years ago.
About 40 miles north of Detroit, there is a small town called Algonac, Al-go-nack. This is a very small city with a population of about 2,500 people. The city supervisor who was in his 70's at the time, was in an official town meeting. They were discussing something very controversial in this meeting. So how do you guess the eldery supervisor summed up how puzzled he was about this situation?
He said, "I smell a Nigger in the wood pile." This saying was used to make a point about something that you though was odd or out of order. The local newspaper scorned him heavily for his choice of words. He said that he never meant to be mean spirited to enyone who is black, but it was just an old saying that many people used when he was young.
edited to say!
I beleive that this saying came about during the days of the undergrond railroad. Many slaves, who were trying to gain their freedom, often rode in the bottom of a deep wagons that were filled with wood piled up on them. The people who opposed freedom for slaves would often check these wood hauling wagons for slaves buried deep under the wood. Black history is very interesting.
