The beers are on Mayor Bloomberg.
Invoking President Obama’s White House “Beer Summit,” Mayor Bloomberg suggested that a black city councilman and a top city aide, also black, get a beer with the police officers who threw them to the ground and handcuffed them during Monday’s West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn.
“I assume it’ll probably turn out to be just a misunderstanding,” Bloomberg told reporters in Lower Manhattan Wednesday morning. “The police have a job to do and the city councilman has a job to do and hopefully, every once in a while, if there’s a misunderstanding, that they have a beer together and work it out.”
Williams, a nonbeer drinker, isn’t buying Bloomberg’s benign description of the Monday encounter that left him in NYPD handcuffs.
“Those misunderstandings seem to happen primarily if you are black and Latino,” the Brooklyn Democrat said. “We have never heard of this happening to a white elected official.”
The Council member has said his appearance – “young, black, with [dread]locks and earrings” – was definitely a factor in the way police treated him.
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(Source: Daily News / Huffington Post)
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6 Responses
NOT A CHANCE, JW, if you succumb to this, you’ll lose ALL my respect!!!! Beerburg’s gotta go!!!!!
Yeah, he’s not a beer drinker. Only hard alcohol, like whiskey and vodka. He dresses like a criminal, but wants to be treated like a politician. Here’s a tip; if you want to be respected, stop dressing like a 17 year old, and grow up!
lonestar – if you ewant to be respected by anyone other than a zenophobic Jew, clean up your act. You have neither the knowledge, the standing, nor the right to talk this way about this fellow. And I bet you woulddn’it stand for it for a minute if if a frumme politician were hacked at by a non-Jew
On these pages I read so many entries excusing criminal behavior if it’s ill gotten gains benefit mosdos, giving serious felons the benefit of unreasonable and unpardonable doubt, but only if they’re frumme Yidden, excoriating abuse victims for publicly outting their abusers, shamelessly laying name calling, insult and argumentum adhominum on the President, and on anyone else who doesn’t follow the Limbaugh or Pravda (Hamodia or Yated) lines…or who is “merely” a Goy. What have we become?
In 2001 in Trenton, I was approached by a person I stand for when he enters a room and asked, I suppose because of my black yarmulka and beard, whether I would use my official capacity to help unlawfully steer public benefits to yungeleit in Lakewood… Again, what have we become?
Gross
Mr. Williams, whom I have met through klal-work, is a really nice guy, and the comment above about his style is written out of sheer ignorance.
People in our community should be the first to respect others and not form silly opinions based on whether they dress like us or not. As an insider, you know that many Jews who dress ethnicly may seem unusual to outsiders, but are very kind and decent peolple when you get to know them. If you got to know Mr. Williams, you would respect the message of decency that he brings to his entire constituency, including youth to whom he teaches self-respect and a path to a worthy life, despite the obstacles that many of them may face.
If he dresses in a way that shows his community that he shares their culture, then I think he should be praised, not handcuffed for walking down the street.
Talmid Vasik
“Those misunderstandings seem to happen primarily if you are black and Latino,” the Brooklyn Democrat said. “We have never heard of this happening to a white elected official.”
Of course you never hear of this happening to a white elected official. 1) They dress the part so they act the part. 2) If they would “cross the line” as you (JM) did, they would accept the consequences for their deeds and not make up stupid excuses about racial bias.
Sorry for the incomplete post. Please ignore. Here is the complete one:
There is nothing (traditionally/inherently) ethnic about the way he (JW) dresses. The Jew’s yarmulke, headdress, tzniyus, long coats, etc. these have all been part of our dress for centuries even if some of the styles change. Dread locks was adopted by certain blacks who refuse to be part of society either because they don’t want to be part of it (the very same society that freed their grandparents and supported their parents), or because they want to test it (i.e. Will you accept me even though I don’t accept you). We grow up knowing we are not really part of the global society. 1) HaShem said v’avdil eschem and 2) Eisav sonei es Yaakov. We were, are, and will be different. Our differences do not reflect on how we feel about the medinah shel chesed that provided was fertile ground upon which to replant the seeds of Torah. They refuse to join and then blame bias for why they are treated differently.