Papandrea Saga - Step Down

[JohnH]

I googled and found the email on line. Papandrea should step down before he brings any more shame to the City and Democratic party.

http://www.examiner.com/a-696505~Fresno_school_staffer_resigns_over__Proud_t o_be_White__e_mail.html


You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You Call me "White boy," "Cracker," "Honkey," "Whitey," Caveman" ..And that's OK.
But when I call you, Nig..., Kike, Towel head, Sand-nig..., Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink...

You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You Have Yom Hashoah
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.

If we had WET (White Entertainment Television). We'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day ..You would call us racists. If we had White History Month
We'd be racists. If we had any organization for only whites to "advance" OUR lives

We'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, And then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that? If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships ... You know we'd be racists.
There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were "White colleges" ..
THAT would be a racist college. In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights.
If we marched for our race and rights.

You would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're Not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride ..

You call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society.

You call him a racist.

I am proud. But, you call me a racist. Why is it that only whites can be racists?

[Eastside Bill]

Papandrea can cause only harm to the Democratic leadership follow his e-blunder. He must go and the sooner, the better.

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

I've known Patsy for years... and have been a Democrat for life

All this crap over an E-Mail... SAD

I get REALLY offensive E-Mail everyday...and DELETE IT !

IF he wrote it... perhaps outrage is warranted

but...IMHO

#1 He is a good man... better than the agenda driven... ingrates
trying to bring him down.

#2 The E-Mail.... let's see one of you adress the materials of....

Is it RACIST to be proud that you are white.... I am. ... but I don't
have a bumper sticker on my car like the ones that say Proud to be
a Puerto Rican !

I don't understand why there are EBONY Awards... and not Ivory Awards...

For Christ sakes... is there NOT a BLACK Miss America!!! Lets see Trump
stage a White Miss America show... LOL To me... it's RACIST to have a
BLACK MISS AMERICA that excludes whites and Latinos. Does anybody
even know if a white girl can ENTER that show ? LOL

For years I have laughed out loud at the fact that being WHITE is
considered being RACIST in of itself !

Yes... passing the E-Mail was wrong...especially to people that mental
midgets with their own POLITICAL agenda. Shades of Imus all over.

Oh well... I've said enough.

You people throw out the baby with the bath water...sad.

Today I'm sad to be a registered Democrat. I guess being proud as a
white male means I have to become a Republican. Sad.


PS... To the Meriden Al Sharptons.... get a life.

Jeff

[tjohnl]

give me a break - can anyone [white] person tell me that they don't agree with at least ONE issue that was in the e-mail?? granted the wording was poor and possibly derogatory and perhaps the sender should have put more thought into sending it, but come on...
one more thing; has everyone forgotten about frredom of speech?

[Rose]

The reason there are still seperate activities for minorities is because people still feel free to send e-mails such as this. When people truely have empathy for others these seperate activities will no longer be needed. That starts when people refuse to tolerate racism in all its forms.

Proud to be white is different from proud to be Puerto Rican because white is not a culture but a genetic accident. Expressing pride in one's cultural heritage is fine; pride in skin color is stupid.

I have never thought the things listed in that e-mail. Instead I think about why people feel that is needed and what I can do to change it, so that all feel equally valued.

Lastly, the First Amendment deals with the government not being able to restrict speech. To my knowledge the government is not trying to imprison Papandrea. Other peole, however, have the right to decide if they want to be associated with that speech. Say whatever you want but take responsibility for the effect of those words. Even in an e-mail. If Papandrea had made a speech with the same words, there would be no debate over his resignation.

[EastSideres]

Hello...

I've known Patsy for years... and have been a Democrat for life

All this crap over an E-Mail... SAD

I get REALLY offensive E-Mail everyday...and DELETE IT !

IF he wrote it... perhaps outrage is warranted

but...IMHO

#1 He is a good man... better than the agenda driven... ingrates
trying to bring him down.

#2 The E-Mail.... let's see one of you adress the materials of....

Is it RACIST to be proud that you are white.... I am. ... but I don't
have a bumper sticker on my car like the ones that say Proud to be
a Puerto Rican !

I don't understand why there are EBONY Awards... and not Ivory Awards...

For Christ sakes... is there NOT a BLACK Miss America!!! Lets see Trump
stage a White Miss America show... LOL To me... it's RACIST to have a
BLACK MISS AMERICA that excludes whites and Latinos. Does anybody
even know if a white girl can ENTER that show ? LOL

For years I have laughed out loud at the fact that being WHITE is
considered being RACIST in of itself !

Yes... passing the E-Mail was wrong...especially to people that mental
midgets with their own POLITICAL agenda. Shades of Imus all over.

Oh well... I've said enough.

You people throw out the baby with the bath water...sad.

Today I'm sad to be a registered Democrat. I guess being proud as a
white male means I have to become a Republican. Sad.


PS... To the Meriden Al Sharptons.... get a life.

Jeff

Well done I think most people will agree with you Iy is sad that some chumps of the Dem party would take this to the next level

[jma]

I don't care if Patsy is harming the Democrats or Republicans. That's secondary. The primary issue is that this "public leader" just insulted many of the people he claims to represent. His excuse that he "thought it was a joke" is the real joke. This is an example of a Meriden "good ole boy" getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He has finally gotten caught doing something that scares the crap out of politians--being honest about himself. Reality is the worst thing that a politician can face. Sorry Patsy--you've been exposed as the racist you are. Can't wait to see how your son tries to distance himself from this one!! And any politican that tries to smooth this one over should be ashamed of themselves!!! Are you listening Benigni and Zerio??!!!??

[tjohnl]

Any politican that takes the side of wanting Papandrea to step down will never receive my support. When will the people complaing ever see that this kind of attention for these kinds of matters only fuels fires and NEVER solves anything.
Does anyone truly believe that this e-mail caused harm to anyone? Did this e-mail make anyone suffer? I would like to hear one person tell me that they felt their life was changed by reading the message, tell me their lifestyle was threatened by this, tell me their race suffered and spiraled backwards to the stone age because of this joke. The man sent it to people he considered his friends It was a joke - it was a bad joke- take the high road and get over it.

[collie]

:confused: I wasn't aware that there was a high road when it came to white supremacy.

[JohnH]

give me a break - can anyone [white] person tell me that they don't agree with at least ONE issue that was in the e-mail?? granted the wording was poor and possibly derogatory and perhaps the sender should have put more thought into sending it, but come on...
one more thing; has everyone forgotten about frredom of speech?

Freedom of speech does not seem to apply to people in the media or politics. Don Imus got canned after Rev Al got on his high horse and cried for all to hear. Opus and Andie got kicked suspended for a couple of weeks for slagging off politicians.

Thant being said, right now minorities are screaming for Pat's head and it will only get louder.

This whole saga is bringing the wrong kind of attention to Meriden that is why Pat should step down. I believe that the person, who waited a month before reporting the email as offensive, acted for other reasons.

[Rose]

Once again, The Bill of Rights states that "Congress shall make no law....abridging freedom of speech or of the press...." It doesn't not limit the consequences that can come from the public when someone exercises their right to free speech and offends or hurts others. Perhaps you need a civics lesson?

As far as not reporting the e-mail for a month, perhaps the person was weighing the consequences of releasing the e-mail and making a careful thoughtful decision. If Mr. Papandrea had done this instead of acting rahly and without thought, he would not be in this mess. Remember it was his action tht caused this and he only has himself to blame. Thank God there are people in this world willing to speak up when faced with racism. It must have taken a great deal of courage!

[JohnH]

As far as not reporting the e-mail for a month, perhaps the person was weighing the consequences of releasing the e-mail and making a careful thoughtful decision. If Mr. Papandrea had done this instead of acting rahly and without thought, he would not be in this mess. Remember it was his action tht caused this and he only has himself to blame. Thank God there are people in this world willing to speak up when faced with racism. It must have taken a great deal of courage!

From the RJ "Amy E. Filippides was disturbed by what she read. She contacted Papandrea, who apologized for offending her, and also sent a copy to Torres-Ferguson."

I see what you mean, Amy E. Filippides showed the same courage as Linda Tripp did when she recorded her phone conversations with Monica.;)

The following article is worth reading .. "When Good people say bad things"

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/elder072100.asp

[mysharona]

I am offended
you are offended
we are offended
he, she, and it is offended

My God, everybody is offended these days!! Can't say a darn thing, lest you OFFEND someone!! We used to be a "sue" happy country, now we are a "OFFEND" happy country!!

I have never heard of anything so STUPID in my life. How many times have I myself, skimmed an e-mail and just hit send to all, many times! Sure hope I didn't offend anyone!!

I don't think Mr. Papandrea intended to offend anyone, otherwise why would he have been so lame as to send it to the two women that were sooooooo offended?? Please give me a break!!!

Just for the record, I do not know Mr. Papandrea.
Also, I am not a racist!!

In closing, I feel that Mr. Papandrea, briefly read the e-mail, and hit the send button. That is really all he is guilty of. Asking him to step down, borders on lunacy and stupidity!!!!! So, I think that you should all step down!!!!!

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

I think Patsy does a greater good for Meriden by NOT stepping down
to a Lynch Mob of " concerned " citizens.

Stepping down is an admission of guilt and the END of a lifetime
of flawless public servive. Do you think for one minute that the
greater good is served by trashing Patsy only to be replaced by
someone who's ego allows for this kind of abuse.

The punishment should fit the crime... and where there is NO crime...
there should be NO punishment.

I've said enough on this subject.

I'm either " preaching to the choir..." or wasting my time communicating
with a bunch of mental midgets.

[UNiRAC]

Well done I think most people ...next level
I still say !Hang Andy Rooney or Tony Blair ! for sayin' this humorous/tongue in cheek /satiracle /internet-- grab-yer-inner-politicalsized-ID analogy

[tjohnl]

first things first here- all supremecy is wrong; white - black or plaid. to compare the e-mail, and my post about taking the high road, is ludicrous and not worthy of mention again
second -Imus did what he did in front of millions of listeners, Mr Papandrea forwarded an a message to some people he thought were his friends. the olny thing Patsy did was choose poorly when it came to picking friends.

[Eastside Bill]

My uneducated guess that it is mostly white people who find the e-mail inoffensive and think that Papandrea is being wrongly pilloried. I am sure he meant no offense, but he did offend. His response is not "Gosh, that was insensitive of me and I apologise for forwarding it and that the e-mail does not reflect my feelings on race at all." Instead, his response was that he is being victimized. A proper response could have undone much of the damage. His "they're turning on me and are out to get me" response just shows that he doesn't get it. He had an opportunity to redeem himself and foolishly didn't.

[collie]

I found the e-mail sickeningly offensive which is why I can see no "high road" to be taken. The "Proud to be White" e-mail represents white supremacy; I suspect the ignorance displayed is maliciously designed to sucker people in. Ignorance is no excuse though. I'll be relieved when Papendrea steps down. He doesn't understand, and so don't a lot of other people apparently, why some people feel the email is absolutely terrible, sick and unacceptable. I get emails forwarded to me by people I know but they tend to be religious in nature, things that pass a blessing on, inspirational stories, etc. I must live my life in such a way that my friends and acquaintances share my values. Unfortunately, it looks as though Papandrea's values are opposed to mine and I chose not to remain silent, unpleasant though it may be, in stating I think he should step down.

[Man in the Middle]

If Patsy Papandrea is as politically astute as his experience would imply, he will resign his state central seat. And perhaps he should, because his value as a contributing member is now all but eroded. But he's being tried in the court of public opinion. As I understand it, he was accused of being a racist and asked to resign by the town committee chair and two of the state delegation, without the courtesy of a warning. He was not told "we have a problem with this email you sent, come to a meeting prepared to explain yourself." It was sprung on him by surprise, after his opinion was consulted on replacing a minority on the BOE he helped get elected in the first place! Where's the fairness that Democrats loudly proclaim?

Papandrea is definitely guilty of poor judgement, and perhaps insensitivity, for sending a hackneyed, misanthropic email that pops up on the internet like a bad belch. But for all he's done for Meriden and his party, he deserved better. I really don't think people believe he is bigoted or a racist; his record shows the opposite (and it was good that the R-J posted supportive letters for balance). Unfortunately, it's a tag that will now follow him for a long time, and that type of sentence is a lot worse than relinquishing his seat on a committee that not many know or care about. Once again, the Democrats prove themselves masters of self-destruction. No good will come out of this for anybody, except perhaps the media, which has another juicy story on its plate, and the Meriden Republicans, who had an issue handed to them on a silver platter.

[tjohnl]

I found the e-mail sickeningly offensive which is why I can see no "high road" to be taken. The "Proud to be White" e-mail represents white supremacy; I suspect the ignorance displayed is maliciously designed to sucker people in. Ignorance is no excuse though. I'll be relieved when Papendrea steps down. He doesn't understand, and so don't a lot of other people apparently, why some people feel the email is absolutely terrible, sick and unacceptable. I get emails forwarded to me by people I know but they tend to be religious in nature, things that pass a blessing on, inspirational stories, etc. I must live my life in such a way that my friends and acquaintances share my values. Unfortunately, it looks as though Papandrea's values are opposed to mine and I chose not to remain silent, unpleasant though it may be, in stating I think he should step down.

Why can't I be proud of being white? why do i have to be afraid to show my pride and express my opinions when every other race/color is publicly supported for voicing their thoughts?
do you really want to bring religion into this? what do you think has caused more harm in the world; white suppremacy, or difference in religious belief?

[Man in the Middle]

And any politican that tries to smooth this one over should be ashamed of themselves!!! Are you listening Benigni and Zerio??!!!??

JMA, why jump on Benigni and Zerio? Because they rose to defend a friend, one who has been there for them? Far as I can tell, neither approved of the email, but they also sought fairness. And I didn't see any "smoothing" going on, either. For this you challenge them? For once a couple politicians take a stand without waiting to see which way the wind blows, and they get called on it. And then people wonder why you can't get any one decent to run for local office.

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

I've always had a problem with knee-jerk responses. Imus provided a
means of reaping MILLIONS of dollars to sponsor SIDS, and his Ranch
that helped kids (of all races ) who would not see morethan a few more
years before an early death took them from this life.

Now he's gone and while some activists swell with pride over taking him
down, the real loosers.. are the kids. Well done " Rev " Al.

I feel the same about Patsy... while the writers of the Record Journal
take the moral high road and join the " correctiveness" of destroying
this poor guy and his family... who looses. We do. Well done to those
who throw gas on the fire.

So if Patsy caves... we loose, he's replaced by someone that will "look
good...sound good... never make an error in judgement... " but we will
never replace the man.

With all that is wrong with Merided...Patsy is the LEAST of our problems.

[cantspeakspanish]

Any politican that takes the side of wanting Papandrea to step down will never receive my support. When will the people complaing ever see that this kind of attention for these kinds of matters only fuels fires and NEVER solves anything.
Does anyone truly believe that this e-mail caused harm to anyone? Did this e-mail make anyone suffer? I would like to hear one person tell me that they felt their life was changed by reading the message, tell me their lifestyle was threatened by this, tell me their race suffered and spiraled backwards to the stone age because of this joke. The man sent it to people he considered his friends It was a joke - it was a bad joke- take the high road and get over it.

Right on dude, it's about time SOMEBODY injects some common sense into this non-issue.

There are plenty of actually important things to talk about instead of wasting everybody's time worrying whether somone has been offended by this so-called "racist" e-mail. Give me a break. What's next? Should we get the "honorable" Rev. Sharpton down here to cry about this horrific example of racism? Now that is the pot calling the kettle black...pun intended. It was an attempt at HUMOR people. Quit your incessant whining and try to toughen up a bit ok?

[melto]

If you look at the posts here and the letters to the editor that have recently been published you might noticed a few things:

1 - about 80% defend him, while 20% are offended - sounds like aminority to me.

2 - those 20% seem mostly to be those who were personally offended by the email. Those who were not offended don't seem to get it.

I personally found the email offensive, but that's not what I find most offensive about this whole situation. I find it far MORE offensive that a public figure would forward such an email without any thought.

For those the don't think the email was all that offensive, or that in only posed some truths, why don't you consider some other truths:

"Black Colleges" exist because blacks were not permitted in the other colleges ages ago. Further, they are now known as "historically black" colleges, and they invite anybody with the appropriate academic qualifications to attend. Meanwhile in plenty of "white" colleges - you know the ones - while they do admit minorities, the odds are stacked against them. Few minorities have relatives who attended who can put i a good word with the admissions offices - few minorites get "points" added to their applications because they are legacies. I know not all white applicants get those same point, but NONE of the minorities benefit from such policies.

"Black Pride" is about culture, not skin color. "White Pride" IS about skin color.

Racism is not a two sided issues - people are not either "racist" or "not racist." There is a continuum. On one end are the blatant racists (I don't care about them, they are easy to identify and as long as they're not violent they're entitled to what I consider an ignorant opinion). On the other end are those who would not only not utter a racist comment but always call anyone else who does to task. Most people fall somewhere in between.

Face it the email was racist, and as the adage goes, actions often speak louder than words. Forwarding the email exposed a side of Mr Papandrea that maybe was never before exposed. It makes people wonder - so how does he "really" feel? The fact that he thought it was a joke worth forwarding is even more offensive than the email itself.

[collie]

I was so turned off by the comments of "can'tspeakspanish" I had to walk away from the conversation. Someone from California picked the topic up and started a new conversation over the email Papandrea sent and I joined that instead.

[cantspeakspanish]

I was so turned off by the comments of "can'tspeakspanish" I had to walk away from the conversation. Someone from California picked the topic up and started a new conversation over the email Papandrea sent and I joined that instead.


Gee, I'm sorry, did I offend you Collie? I dont know Mr. Papandrea, never even heard of him until he forwarded that unspeakably evil, racist e-mail. He sure must have hid his racism well in the 27 years he's held some type political position.

Bottom line, even good people make mistakes on occasion, get over it. NO argument anyone can make for being offended is going to hold water and I, for one, am sick and tired of all the cry-baby BS going on in this country. If my opinion, to which I am entitled, offends you, too bad. Don't go away mad, just go away.

[Eastside Bill]

Thank you Melto for your well thought response (and yes, that is why black colleges were established ... because blacks were not admitted to other colleges!). The e-mail was racist and sends a message that not all are welcome in the Meriden Democratic Party. It is an exclusionary message and that can't be tolerated.

[jma]

Thanks, Melto & Collie, for your posts. I agree with it all! It's refreshing to see posts that are well thought-out and intelligent, rather than ignorant rants. I've noticed that people frustrated by truth and honestly tend to lash out with insults and anger. People like "Cantspeakspanish" make me grateful I was brought up to be open-minded and considerate of others. Peace!!

[cantspeakspanish]

Thanks, Melto & Collie, for your posts. I agree with it all! It's refreshing to see posts that are well thought-out and intelligent, rather than ignorant rants. I've noticed that people frustrated by truth and honestly tend to lash out with insults and anger. People like "Cantspeakspanish" make me grateful I was brought up to be open-minded and considerate of others. Peace!!

Show me some truth and honesty just once and I'll be happy to take my closed-minded inconsiderate views elsewhere.

[catnap]

I'm white - I never gave being "proud to be white" much thought - Most white people don't need to take the time to think about their skin color. I am not either proud to white, or proud NOT to be white...I'm just white..well sorta pinky beige more like.

It really wasn't that long ago - only 150 so odd years that many many Blacks were slaves, to heal that psychic scar takes time. When a race of people actually feel the need to affirm pride in their skin color, it means there must be some shame in it. So I understand the whole Black Pride thing. Its a way for the American Black psychie to heal.

What we need here is some Black American perspective...on this Politico and topic.

Personally - I don't know enough about Papandrea to make a judgement, nor do I know enough about exactly what happened to make a judgement. I do know tho - that with all this hi-tech information and communication - we all have to be prudent with what we say....and where. Things get twisted very easily.