Evon Reid, who is black, was waiting to hear about his application for a job with the Ontario government as a media analyst when he received the email Friday.
"This is the ghetto dude that I spoke to before," Aileen Siu, a cabinet office worker, wrote as she forwarded a query from Reid about the job to another person.
Reid, a 22-year-old political science major and self-confessed "political junkie" who remains interested in landing the media analyst job, said yesterday the reference to "ghetto dude" is the kind of slight that keeps young black men from getting a job in the first place.
"This isn't a Confederate flag in a pickup truck," he said. "But it's the kind of private view that affects decisions about someone like myself in the job market."
It is shameful that such an event would take place within the circle of the Ontario government. No word yet on whether or not Dalton McGuinty will apologize in person on behalf of the government.
6 comments:
It was a stupid remark by Ms. Siu. However I will not label her racist, or for that matter label the government of Ontario racist because of a stupid comment made by 1 low level individual.
I guess that 'ghetto dude' is the new 'n word'. Classy. All the same racist rhetoric and none of the taboo! Yay!
exactly how wasn't that comment racist?
I agree with the first poster. I'm not willing to label the Ontario government racist because of this incident. This was one low level individual who made a stupid, reprehensible comment, which isn't reflective of the entire government.
I'm not one to defend the Liberal government - however, calling the entire government racist is jumping about ten steps to forward for my liking.
Further, saying that 'ghetto dude' is "the new racist rhetoric and none of the taboo" comes dangerously close to the political correctness train running off the tracks.
This was one person who made indefensible comments. She should be fired for it, and I agree, a public apology is required. However, I don't think she was reflective of the entire government.
Good question.
Suggesting that the motto of the Ontario government was 'black males need not apply' was tongue in cheek. I won't go as far as saying that the entire government is racist, but ceertainly racism exists within the realm of the Ontario government.
"Ghetto dude" is definately not politically correct, and it certainly has some amount of racism tied to it.
But should she really be fired? Discipline should be corrective, and not punative. Perhaps a letter of warning and mandatory sensatively training would be a more appropriate punishment and would teach this individual a great deal about racism and its effects on those who are targetted. This would hopefully prevent further incidents.
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