Are Mainstream Obama Haters Racist? One Heartfelt Data Point

Law professors like to harp on the importance of professionalism.  They also emphasize the dangers of social media and email.  Unfortunately, Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull of the District of Montana graduated before at least some of these warnings.  Or perhaps he was doing too many crossword puzzles in class.  

Judge Cebull forwarded the following email (the first part written by him): 

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"

The email was sent from his judicial account, according to the Great Falls Tribune.  The judge's response after being confronted with the email?

"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

Imagine what the email would have said if we weren't  a post-racial society. 

 

Comments

[Derek Black]

Thanks for this post. It is a nice contrast to mine last week on the chimp cartoon. There was enough ambiguity in the chimp cartoon that the racism/discrimination was in the eyes of the beholder. Maybe I am too blinded by my own eyes, but I don't see the ambiguity here (though I am sure some give him the benefit of the doubt). His attempt to raise ambiguity through his response is hard to believe. He is positing that one can knowingly engage in racist activity, but not be racist because he lacked racist intent. This streigned form of intent makes sense for undercover law enforcement, but very little elsewhere. Thus, the law as a general matter rejects this concept of intent. I would think that anyone with the experience and education of a judge would do the same.