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Rep. Sally Kern Apologizes for Racist Comments… Sort Of… Not Really
The full statement is on her official website, but the site server is down at the moment (presumably it was overloaded by the mountains of angry protests that followed her comments in Oklahoma’s state house yesterday). Right Wing Watch quotes from her statement of “apology.”
Yesterday [April 27], Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern made news when she “we have a high percentage of blacks in prison” because they don’t want to work hard and “didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”Naturally, that comment generated a lot of outrage and so last night Kern released a statement assuring everyone that she is in no way racist because “my husband and I serve in an inner city church ministering to people of every race because we love all people” … but mostly just accusing the press of misrepresenting his views by taking her statements out of context:
I want to humbly apologize for any statements last night about women and African Americans. My words were, obviously, not spoken correctly and for that I humbly apologize. Unfortunately, when we take “words or sentences” out of the total context of a speech debated on the floor, there can be false misrepresentations, but the most important part is to always go to the heart of the matter.
…
We live in a sound bite society and our media likes to take only a portion of a dialog and use just a slice of it. You can take a portion of something someone says and make it say anything you want it to say. Without a doubt, what I said was poorly stated and did not convey the meaning I wanted to get across for this I am truly sorry and humbly apologize.
The Tulsa World reported Rep. Kern’s comments on Wednesday. The article quoted from those comments, and also provided the video, from the Oklahoma state house floor, of the entire debate on the amendment that would rescind Oklahoma’s affirmative action law. Contained in that full, complete debate are Rep. Kern’s full, complete comments, from which the aforesaid quotes were taken. I have watched that portion of the video, heard Kern’s quoted remarks in their full, complete context, and that context did nothing to make her comments less racist. I say this because, in the comments section to my original post on this matter, one reader complained that the Tulsa World misrepresented Kern’s remarks by quoting them out of context — and having now heard that context, that claim falls flat. First, it’s not accurate to say the Tulsa World quoted Kern out of context, since the entire debate — not just Kern’s own remarks, but the entire debate — is there in that video that sits in that Tulsa World article. And second, that context does nothing to exonerate Kern. Her remarks are just as racist in context as they sounded in the part of her remarks that was quoted in the news coverage of this story.
I invite you to watch and listen for yourself. The Tulsa World article is here, and the video is in the article, clearly identified. You will have to download Microsoft Silverlight to view the video if you don’t already have it, but I downloaded it, and it’s well worth it. (The article says it’s slow to download — it wasn’t for me, but I guess that depends on the speed of your computer.)
25 Responses to “Rep. Sally Kern Apologizes for Racist Comments… Sort Of… Not Really”
OK, I agreed that she made an obviously racist comment.
Granted, she has not broken down in tears, nor cried out ‘it is true, I am a racist’, or the usual atonement, genuflecting to Reverend Jackson and/or Al Sharpton.
But she apologized for her comments. What more, exactly, do you want?
Getting an apology even when it is sincere begs the question of why someone who , “… serve in an inner city church ministering to people of every race because we love all people”, would making the statement in the first place. We love all people, sort of?
Apologizing is easy, it can be done hundreds of times after the hateful damage is done.
Plus, she didn’t really apologize. ‘Sorry if I offended anyone, but anyone can take anything out of context and make it say whatever they want,’ is not an apology.
Kathy
Because people do speak words from time-to-time that are not truly reflective of what they think.
People are not perfect, after all. They make mistakes.
I have disliked for years the tendency to believe that any offensive utterance is to be taken as the true judgment of a person, that no one ever speaks inadvertently in ways that do not reflect their inner feelings.
I feel the opposite, in fact. Only those who are doing their utmost to hide their true feelings are so completely on guard at every moment that they ensure nothing untoward ever comes out of their mouth.
She also said, “I want to humbly apologize for any statements last night about women and African Americans. My words were, obviously, not spoken correctly and for that I humbly apologize…Without a doubt, what I said was poorly stated and did not convey the meaning I wanted to get across for this I am truly sorry and humbly apologize.”
Again, only abject groveling will satisfy some, it seems.
March, 2008 — Sally Kern
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBmCA4z8Yzc
Everybody makes mistakes.
OK, she is homophobic.
How does that invalidate her apology for racist remarks, or prove she is really a racist?
Sometimes the pool becomes so shallow that it is just a puddle.
Yeah, connect the dots was one of my favorite word games growing up.
Kathy
Maybe what’s needed is Communist-style “confession” along with flagellation or other physical entertainment accompanying the requisite lurid spectacle of gross over-espression of Guilt [tm].
(As Obama at one time wanted from Fox and the liberal media?)
Maybe a forced attendance at the 2012 bizarre far-Left event:
(it’s too late this year — the 2011 wacko conference was earlier)
http://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com/
kathy
can’t wait for cgotharn to argue his point that she was taken out of context. she’s not a racist, it’s a cultural perspective we just don’t honor on the left. as usual, cultural diversity means you have the right to hate, belittle, and mock people of any race creed or color, truly the American way.
One of the commenters in the Tulsa World article used the phrase, “birdbrain” to describe this woman. I think that was apt, and I also think her worldview must have stopped developing sometime in the 50′s. It’s disturbing that people like this are in state govt. and even more disturbing that people actually elect them. More dumbing down combined with bigotry is what it is. But that is Oklahoma and her views aren’t exactly unrepresentative there.
“It is unfair to accuse Rep. Kern .. w/o having first viewed the videos linked by kathyk. In the main video, Kern begins speaking just after the 1:16 mark, and speaks for just under 9 minutes.”
Greg, did you read my post before writing the above? I *did* view Kern’s full remarks on that video. Are you aware of what I concluded about the question of whether her full remarks exonerated Kern from the charge of racism? Because you didn’t address those conclusions. I’m puzzled by why you just repeat your request that readers watch the entire video w/o addressing the conclusions of one who did do that — namely, me.
“Something else: don’t you WANT people to watch the video? Were I employing your type of logic against you, I would say: “kathyk is trying to hide something! She doesn’t want people to watch the video and see the truth for themselves!”
I’m not sure how asking me why I don’t want people to watch the video would be logical from any point of view, given that that I linked to the video.
Kathy
“My opinion: The Tulsa World’s inclusion of the entire video is commendable – I give them points for it. However, it does not excuse misquoting, inaccurately summarizing, and misrepresenting. Someone at The Tulsa World ought be fired over this.”
The Tulsa World did not “misquote.” They quoted Kern’s exact words. And then they provided the video for context. I have no idea what grounds for firing someone you are seeing here.
Kathy
Jeez, what an opening. You are not Henry Fonda. Yes, I have seen Henry Fonda in “12 Angry Men,” and Greg — you are no Henry Fonda.
Kathy
The truth is that Rep. Sally Kern holds beliefs that are clearly racist. That is really not open to debate by any reasonable person.
Kathy
This is not true. I have specified what Kern said that was a hateful racist generalization repeatedly in this discussion. You simply don’t agree that saying there are more blacks than whites in prison because blacks don’t want to work or study hard is a racist generalization. Not much I can do about that.
Yes, clearly.
I don’t know what you mean by “is it possible.” It’s not true. Whether it possibly could be true in an alternate reality is a separate question.
Number one: National test scores do not show or prove anything about how hard the students tested work. The two are not related — at least, not in any direct way.
Number two: Yes, it is racist to say so.
@Kathy
Was it just 3 days ago that you made this statement about Ms. Kerns speech:” I’m eagerly looking forward to being instructed on why this isn’t racist (emphasis is in original):”?
Has anyone been able to spin it or twist it to convince you otherwise?
They certainly are trying.
It’s really only Greg. Everyone else has pretty much agreed that what Kern said was racist, even if they are not as adamant about it as I am.
LOL DLS said:
Maybe a forced attendance at the 2012 bizarre far-Left event:
Will Limpbaugh, Beck. Bortz or Alex Jones be the featured speakers at the “far-Left event.” Of course this list is Marxist radio talk hosts…
Osama bin Laden dead!!
[...] sounds somewhat familiar. I’m sure I’ve heard this kind of apology before. [...]