Articles Feature Archives

Ugliness Among Trump Fans Spreads

by richard0807

Latino Writer Taunted; Second Reporter Complains

2 Attempt Break-In at Arab American News Office

Black Women, Latinas Paid Least at Dow Jones

L.A. Times Names 4 of Color to ‘Calendar’ Section

Chicago J-Lab Honored for Reporting on Police

Obama’s Job Approval at Highest Level Since 2013

‘Someday Hispanics Will Melt into the American Pot

W. Va., La., Calif. High on List for Hateful Tweets

Short Takes

 

John McGraw, 78, who is white, was charged with assaulting African American protester Rakeem Jones, who had been protesting at a Donald Trump rally in Fayetteville, N.C. "Jones was being escorted out by law enforcement when videos show McGraw punching him," NBC News reported. (Credit: NBC News)
John McGraw, 78, was charged with assaulting Rakeem Jones, who attended a Donald Trump rally  Thursday in Fayetteville, N.C. “Jones was being escorted out by law enforcement when videos show McGraw punching him,” NBC News reported. (Credit: NBC News)

Latino Writer Taunted; Second Reporter Complains

A reporter for the website Breitbart News filed a police report Friday alleging that she had been dragged down by the arm as she was asking Donald Trump a question at a campaign event at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla. It was the latest in a growing series of incidents of violence associated with the Trump campaign.

“Another reporter present said that the Breitbart reporter, Michelle Fields, had been grabbed by Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager,” Ravi Somaiya reported for the New York Times. The Trump campaign disputed her account.

[On Saturday, CBS News reported that CBS journalist Sopan Deb said “he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed, without notice or warning. Illinois State Police charged him with resisting arrest although there is no sign of that on the video. On the tape he identifies himself as a credentialed member of the news media. The arrest procedure continues, and Deb is placed in the back of a police van while his camera is left nearby. It was returned to Deb after his release. . . .”

[At a rally in Kansas City on Saturday, Trump called for protesters at his rallies to be arrested — “get ’em out!” — as violating the First Amendment rights of those who came to see him and continued to disparage the news media as “the most dishonest people in the world.”]

In the Boston Globe on Friday, editorial writer Marcela García told the story of Elvis Jocol Lara, a writer for El Mundo, the local Spanish-language newspaper, who was sitting in the media section at a Boston Celtics game on March 4 when Trump supporters began to hurl insults at Lara and anyone who would confront them. The impetus was New York Knicks point guard José Calderón — who is from Spain — committing a foul.

“Lara confronted the two fans and told them to be quiet. The two fans shouted back: ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and ‘Make me some tacos.’ Trump has given legitimacy to such ugly rhetoric,” García wrote.

Meanwhile, in Fayetteville, N.C., John McGraw, 78, who is white, was charged Thursday with assaulting Rakeem Jones, an African American at the Trump rally. “Jones was being escorted out by law enforcement when videos show McGraw punching him,” Ali Vitali reported for NBC News. “Jones told MSNBC that his right eye is ‘swollen and bruised’ as a result of the punch. . . .”

Contrary to some reports that called Jones a protester, Ronnie Rouse, who captured the assault on video, told Laurence O’Donnell of MSNBC, “We were there to spectate.” (video)

The show “Inside Edition” spoke to McGraw after he punched Jones, Vitali continued.

” ‘Yes, he deserved it,’ McGraw said in an interview. ‘The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization.’ ”

Security concerns grew so great in Chicago that the Trump campaign abruptly canceled his rally there on Friday night as protesters clashed with his supporters inside an arena where he was to speak, Monica Davey and Julie Bosman reported for the New York Times.

“Minutes after Mr. Trump was to have taken to a podium on the campus of a large, diverse public university just west of downtown, an announcer suddenly pronounced the event over before it had begun,” they wrote. “Hundreds of protesters, who had promised to be a visible presence here and filled several sections of the arena, let out an elated, unstopping cheer. Mr. Trump’s supporters, many of whom had waited hours to see the Republican front-runner, seemed stunned and slowly filed out in anger. . . .”

At the Republican presidential debate Thursday night, moderator Jake Tapper of CNN asked Trump, “Earlier today, a man was arrested and charged with assault after sucker-punching a protester in the face at your rally in Fayetteville, N.C. This is hardly the first incident of violence breaking out at one of your rallies.

“Today, Hillary Clinton, your potential general election opponent, clearly indicated she sees this as an issue for the campaign. She said, quote, ‘this kind of behavior is repugnant. We set the tone for our campaigns, we should encourage respect, not violence.’ Do you believe that you’ve done anything to create a tone where this kind of violence would be encouraged?”

Trump replied, “I hope not. I truly hope not. I will say this. We have 25 (thousand), 30,000 people — you’ve seen it yourself. People come with tremendous passion and love for the country, and when they see protest — in some cases — you know, you’re mentioning one case, which I haven’t seen, I heard about it, which I don’t like. But when they see what’s going on in this country, they have anger that’s unbelievable. They have anger. . . .”

The candidate did not retreat the next day. “In a press conference Friday morning in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump defended attendees at his events who go after anyone who seems different,” Amanda Terkel reported for the Huffington Post. “He claimed that the protesters are the ones who are violent, and they deserve to be taken out.

” ‘It was a guy who was swinging — was very loud — and then started swinging at the audience. And you know what? It swung back,’ Trump said.

” ‘And I thought it was very, very appropriate,’ he added. “He was swinging. He was hitting people. And the audience hit back. And that’s what we need a little bit more of. Now, I’m not talking about just a protestor. This was a guy who should not have been allowed to do what he did. And frankly, if you want to know the truth, the police were very, very restrained.’

“It’s not exactly clear which violent incident Trump was referring to. (There have been so many.) But video surfaced Thursday of a Trump supporter sucker-punching an African-American man, Rakeem Jones, who was being escorted out of a rally by police. The cops then piled upon Jones. . . .”

The incidents have elicited varied reactions.

Shaun King of the Daily News in New York, discussing the Fayetteville incident, wrote Thursday of Trump, “From the mic, he has yearned for the good old days, where such violence was not deemed ‘politically incorrect.’

“Not only must McGraw be prosecuted, but we have crossed a threshold where Donald Trump must be held accountable for their behavior. He irresponsibly introduced and encouraged this violence. . . .”

However, the Fayetteville Observer dismissed the incident in an editorial Friday. “It was just one of many raucous moments, typical of Trump rallies, in part because the candidate himself thrives on stirring the angry pot. Observer reporters counted at least 17 protester interruptions of Trump’s nearly hour-long speech. . . .”

At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest said there was no justification for violence against a reporter at a political event, Andrea Mitchell reported for NBC News.

In her Boston Globe column, García continued her narrative of Lara’s experience. One non-Hispanic white fan who came to Lara’s defense was Nicholas Boretti, 28, of Boston’s South End.

Nicholas Boretti, left, a 28-year-old resident of Boston's South End resident, defended El Mundo writer Elvis Jocol Lara when Lara was taunted at a Boston Celtics game. (Credit: Latino Rebels)
Nicholas Boretti, left, defended El Mundo writer Elvis Jocol Lara after Lara was taunted at a Boston Celtics game. (Credit: Latino Rebels)

“Lara took out his phone and snapped a picture of the hecklers. But the two young men continued with the racially charged comments and cursed at the other fans. Lara then flagged down a couple of security officers, who swiftly confronted one of fans. He was escorted away and his friend soon followed. Both were presumably ejected from the Garden.

“When Lara got home he posted the image of the two ‘Trumpers’ on Facebook, with a brief description of the incident. (The post has more than 7,000 likes and has been shared more than 4,000 times.) Lara and Boretti say people were congratulating them after the two fans got ejected. There was far more denouncing of the fans’ behavior than Lara expected.

” ‘People have asked me about these two individuals, ‘Do you think they learned their lessons?’ said Lara. ‘But I think it’s much greater than these two. What I was hoping to accomplish with the [Facebook] post was to serve notice to others: You don’t have free rein. People will stand up and do what’s right.’

“Indeed. But we — Latinos and all immigrants — can’t do it alone. We need the denunciation coming from all groups, minorities and majorities alike. And in the end, Trump may very well go down in history as the best thing that happened to Latinos and immigrants, by stirring us into action.”

Lara told Facebook fans that he planned to write more about the incident in El Mundo.

2 Attempt Break-In at Arab American News Office

“Two men attempted to break into The Arab American News Office early Friday morning,” the Arab American News in Dearborn, Mich., reported.

“The majority of the staff was at the office, finishing this week’s issue when multiple bangs were heard coming from the back of the building at 2:33 a.m.

“Staff members originally believed it to be gunshots, as the backdoor had been damaged by what appeared to be a bullet hole.

“The staff immediately rushed to a safe area of the office and the police were contacted.

“Security footage revealed that the two men were lingering near the office minutes before they attempted to break through the back door.

“They [peeked] through the window, where the majority of the staff was visible, yet still proceeded with their attempt.

” ‘We don’t know why these men came here, but what matters is that everybody is safe,” Arab American News reporter Hassan Khalifeh said.

“Khalifeh speculated that the suspects were armed.

” ‘They knew we were inside,’ he said. ‘There were 11 people in the newsroom. They wouldn’t confront us if they did not have guns.’

“Dearborn Police arrived at the scene and are conducting an investigation. . . .”

Black Women, Latinas Paid Least at Dow Jones

After 25 years, “there has been little progress” in the pay gap between men and women at Dow Jones Co. properties, the Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America reported on Tuesday, with black or African American women ranking lowest and Hispanic women or Latinas next to lowest.

The Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, the Guild unit at the properties, wrote, “As of the end of 2015, the male/female split among full-time IAPE-represented employees narrowed by a single percentage point — women now make up 47% of the Union workforce. Average salaries have more than doubled since 1991, but our analysis shows that women are still paid only 86.8% as much as their male colleagues. . . .”

The union represents 1,400 rank-and-file workers in the United States and Canada at such Dow Jones properties as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Factiva and Dow Jones Newswires in all departments, including sales, production, administration, technology and news.

Asked for the company’s response, a Dow Jones spokesperson who did not want to be named told Journal-isms by email Friday, “Building a diverse workforce is critically important to us and we absolutely remain committed to fostering an inclusive work environment at Dow Jones.”

The union’s report also said, “Perhaps more glaring than ‘just’ salary is a lack of diversity in the workplace in general, and especially among senior titles.”

For example, it said, “Currently, there are 26 IAPE-represented Special Writers and 29 Sr. Special Writers in the IAPE bargaining unit — however, only seven non-white employees are included among that group (four Special Writers, three Sr. Special Writers). Of course, even in the Reporter ranks only 18% of the Union-represented workforce is non-white. . . .”

Tim Martell, the unit’s executive director, told Journal-isms by telephone that the solution to the pay inequity lies with a mobilized membership and stronger language in the contract. The current agreement expires in June with bargaining expected to begin in May.

The study showed:

“All Titles — Average Salary Rankings:

“1. White Male — $1,773.05 per week

“2. Asian Male — $1,748.52 per week

“3. Asian Female — $1,617.70 per week

“4. White Female — $1,497.34 per week

“5. Other Female — $1,404.12 per week

“6. Hispanic/Latino Male — $1,320.68 per week

“7. Other Male — $1,294.68 per week

“8. Black/African-American Male — $1,227.88 per week

“9. Hispanic/Latino Female — $1,176.51 per week

“10. Black/African-American Female — $1,141.31 per week”

Brenda Rodriguez, left, Marc Bernardin and Sara Rodman
Brenda Rodriguez, left, Marc Bernardin and Sara Rodman (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

L.A. Times Names 4 of Color to ‘Calendar’ Section

“Three editors are joining The Times, and some veterans are taking on new roles in a revamped Calendar department,” Deirdre Edgar, readers’ representative at the Los Angeles Times, wrote on Thursday. Four of the six named are journalists of color.

Greg Braxton
Greg Braxton

“Brenda Rodriguez has been named arts and entertainment editor, Marc Bernardin is the new film editor, and Sarah Rodman is coming aboard as TV editor.”

In addition, “Richard Verrier is being promoted to Company Town editor and Rich Nordwind is our new Sunday Calendar editor,” Davan Maharaj, the Times editor who is taking on the additional duties of publisher, wrote staff members. “Greg Braxton will become deputy TV editor, and arts and entertainment editor Laurie Ochoa will take on an expanded portfolio that includes overseeing Books coverage.”

Maharaj also wrote, “Brenda, who starts this week, will lead our breaking news coverage across entertainment and help build our online readership with fresh new content.

“She has spent the last decade of her career covering entertainment, initially as a showbiz reporter and deputy film editor at People and then as the executive editor of entertainment websites Wonderwall.com and Moviefone.com. Before that, she worked as a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News. . . .

“Marc, who started Monday, comes to us with deep experience in entertainment and digital journalism. He has held senior editing positions with the Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly, and more recently he oversaw the online entertainment vertical for Playboy.com. . . .

“Sarah comes to us after 10 years at the Boston Globe, where she has been a TV and pop music critic. . . .

“Greg came to The Times in 1982, working in the suburban and San Fernando Valley editions before joining Calendar in 1992, covering television for most of that time.

“He was a member of the reporting teams that won Pulitzers for coverage of the 1992 L.A. riots and the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge quake. Greg will continue to report TV stories, but his knowledge and experience will allow him to provide critical backup and editing support to Sarah as she launches into her new position. . . .

“Richard [Verrier] has been leading the team on an interim basis since late last year, skillfully guiding the group through one big breaking news story after another. . . .

“Rich Nordwind, a Calendar stalwart for 18 years, has been leading the film team since 2013. . .”

Rodriguez, Bernardin, Rodman and Braxton are journalists of color.

Meanwhile, Time magazine announced 14 personnel changes in its editorial team, Chris O’Shea reported Thursday for FishbowlNY. Time spokesman Daniel Kile did not respond to inquiries about whether any of them are African American or Latino.

In 2012, the National Association of Black Journalists awarded Time its Thumbs Down Award “for its lack of diversity within its reporting corps.”

O’Shea reported, “Kelly Conniff has been promoted to director of features. She has been with Time since 2012.

“Sam Lansky is now Hollywood editor. He joined Time two years ago from Idolator.

“Chris Wilson becomes director of data journalism. He joined in 2013.

“Sarah Begley, Nolan Feeney and Justin Worland have all been promoted to writer.

“Diane Tsai has been named producer. She joined Time in 2013 as an intern.

“Arpita Aneja and Julia Lull have both been named associate producer.

“Justine Simons joins as coordinating producer for video. She comes to Time from The New York Times.

“Robin Hilmantel joins Time as senior editor of motto. She most recently served as deputy editor at WomensHealthMag.com.

“Jessie Van Amburg joins Time’s motto as associate editor. She previously worked for Family Circle.

“Melissa Chan and Katie Reilly both join Time as news reporters.”

While Time has had a lower profile in the digital age, MPA — the Association of Magazine Media listed the publication with a circulation of 16,623,000 in print and digital editions for January, down from 17, 179,000 in January 2015.

Chicago J-Lab Honored for Reporting on Police

Darryl Holliday
Darryl Holliday

“Yana Kunichoff, Sam Stecklow, Darryl Holliday of City Bureau, and Robin Amer of the Chicago Reader win the March Sidney Award for revealing that Chicago’s police union has long served as the propaganda arm of the Chicago PD, often misleading the public in the wake of police-involved shootings,” the Sidney Hillman Foundation announced on Wednesday.

“When Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times by a police officer, Fraternal Order of Police spokesperson Pat Camden told the media McDonald was armed with a knife and that the officer shot in self-defense. A dashcam video and an autopsy report would later disprove the police account, but, by then, media outlets had already reported Camden’s version as fact.

“Camden disseminated misinformation about 15 of the 35 shootings the union has commented on since 2012, the winners’ investigation found. . . .”

The foundation’s Lindsay Beyerstein asked Darryl Holliday, editorial director of City Bureau, how the bureau collaborated with the Chicago Reader.

” City Bureau is a journalism training lab aiming to revive media coverage of the South and West Sides of Chicago by training a new generation of young reporters,” Holliday replied. “City Bureau collaborated with the Chicago Reader on this investigative cover story and on several other pieces related to policing and criminal justice in Chicago — the City Bureau team partners with local and national media outlets to provide on-the-ground coverage of the city’s most pressing issues.”

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mrs. Grégoire-Trudeau to the White House this week. (Credit: Pete Souza/White House)
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama welcome Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, to the White House this week. The Atlantic magazine released a 19,000-word examination of Obama’s foreign policy. (Credit: Pete Souza/White House)

Obama’s Job Approval at Highest Level Since 2013

“President Barack Obama earned a 50% job approval rating for the week ending March 6, his highest weekly average since May 2013,” Andrew Dugan and Frank Newport reported Thursday for the Gallup polling organization.

“Obama’s current 50% weekly average exceeds the 46% he averaged in his seventh year in office, which ended on Jan. 19 of this year. This latest rating also exceeds his 47% average since taking office in 2009, spanning nearly two full terms.

“Throughout his seven years in office, Obama’s ratings have been among the most politically polarized of any modern president. His current higher overall rating continues to reflect an extreme degree of party polarization, with 87% of Democrats approving of the job Obama is doing as president versus 11% of Republicans. . . .”

Meanwhile, “Fresh chum was tossed into Washington’s foreign policy fishbowl Thursday with publication of ‘The Obama Doctrine’ by The Atlantic,” the Voice of America reported.

“Using President Barack Obama’s decision to back away from the red line he drew over Syria’s use of chemical weapons as a central theme, author Jeffrey Goldberg gave readers tremendous insight into Obama’s decision-making process and how he thinks U.S. muscle should be flexed.

“Goldberg reveals details of Obama’s sometimes curt interactions with his national security staff, his disdain for Washington’s think-tank establishment and his admission of failure with regards to Libya.

“It’s not a light read; more than 19,000 words (some of which are, shall we say, salty.) And thousands more words have already been written in reaction. . . .”

‘Someday Hispanics Will Melt into the American Pot’

“Last month, my son brought home a note from the ‘Sociedad de Latinos’ — the Hispanic student organization at his high school — asking if he’d like to attend an upcoming informational meeting,” Esther J. Cepeda wrote Wednesday for the Washington Post Writers Group.

Esther J. Cepeda
Esther J. Cepeda

“He gave me the slip of paper and told me, in no uncertain terms, that he did not want to (and he did the air quotes thing with his fingers) ‘get in touch with his Latino roots.’

“I was 100 percent OK with that. He’s as in touch with his roots as any kid with a Hispanic mom, two grandparents from Latin America, and several trips south of the border can be.

“I didn’t grow up stuck on ethnicity labels — evidenced by the fact that I married a white guy and no one in my family even batted an eye — and don’t have an ounce of wistfulness that both my sons see themselves as more white than Hispanic.

“And I’m not an anomaly. In my reporting life, I come across a whole lot of Hispanic people and, when it comes to labels and identity, I’ve spoken to way more who believe in the melting pot than those who think that ‘melting pot’ is a loaded political term synonymous with cultural genocide.

“The same goes for the issue of whiteness. There are some Latinos who have no problem noting their race as white — unless, of course, they are black, Asian or consider themselves Native American — and others who are averse, disgusted by or fearful of being mistaken for, or in any way, classified as white. . . .”

Cepeda concluded, “And the very promise of America is that anyone can be whatever, or whomever, he or she wants. Is it any wonder that each successive generation chooses differently than what might be expected?

“People scoff — or just plain get angry — at the notion that someday Hispanics will melt into the American pot just like the Germans, Irish and Italians before them. But like it or not, that day is undoubtedly coming.”

The Abodo study also included which states produce the most tweets with slurs against Hispanics, women LGBTQ, disabled and overweight people, and which states were most neutral.
The Abodo study also included which states produce the most tweets with slurs against Hispanics or Latinos, women, LGBTQ, disabled and overweight people, and which states were most neutral.

W. Va., La., Calif. High on List for Hateful Tweets

“Trolling and harassment are not just an online phenomenon,” Kimberlee Morrison wrote Tuesday for Social Times. “There have always been bully antagonists, catcallers and other such toxic behaviors plaguing our society. Social media has helped to shine a light on these issues and give a voice to populations most often targeted by harassment and abuse.

“While there is a concerted effort to reduce the negative and abusive behaviors online on the part of technologists and social platforms, perhaps it’s worth examining where tolerance reigns and where prejudice is rampant.

“As part of a ‘Best Places to Live’ study, apartment hunting app Abodo analyzed 12 million tweets to find out which areas are the most and least tolerant.

“At a rate of 1,115 tweets per 10,000, Louisiana was the origin of the most ‘slur-containing’ tweets. The report defined slurs as derogatory language against blacks, Hispanics or Latinos, women, LGBTQ, people with disabilities and the overweight. Texas, Nevada and even California made the list of states with high rates of derogatory language. . . .

“West Virginia had the highest rate of anti-black tweets overall, with Baltimore, Atlanta and New Orleans ranking as cities with the most tweets containing slurs against black people. Interestingly, these are all cities with some of the largest populations of black residents.

“This pattern carried over when looking at the data for anti-Hispanic tweets. California, Arizona and New Mexico — which are among the top five states for Hispanic and Latino populations — also ranked among the highest for tweets containing anti-Hispanic slurs. . . .”

Short Takes

Follow Richard Prince on Twitter @princeeditor

Facebook users: “Like” “Richard Prince’s Journal-isms” on Facebook.

Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the Internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column. Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity.
Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms-owner@yahoogroups.com

To be notified of new columns, contact journal-isms-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and tell us who you are.

Related posts

Meghan and Harry Touch Nerves on Racism

richard

Whose City Gets to Be Called ‘Black’?

richard

Gruden’s Out, but What About the Rest?

richard

Leave a Comment

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.