Official Announcement: Civil Rights Movement Can Declare Victory
The Civil Rights movement can officially declare victory, if this is the kind of racism being faced by African Americans today. Seriously, if the harms are really this trivial, let's move on to other issues. If there is still meaningful racism out there, let's stop clogging the courts and wasting our time with this kind of trivial BS and work the real issues.
Postscript: It could be that I am just not hip to modern lingo. I suppose that the words "please turn off your cell phones during the movie" is actually a well known code phrase meaning "back to slavery all of you" and I am just not aware. If I am missing something, please let me know so I too can feel appropriately victimized next time I go see a movie.
Don:
So the theater loses many hours of time and much cash to defend itself against BS charges, and I'm guessing nobody on said commission will be so much as called on the carpet for this.
Power corrupts...
March 10, 2011, 12:28 pmDan:
So this is the sort of case the ACLU is wasting its time with these days? They need to take a careful look at what they're doing and focus on the big-ticket items, like freedom of speech.
There is no Constitutional guarantee that you will never be offended by someone else, nor is there a right to collect damages because you feel offended by someone else's otherwise un-damaging speech. It's a shame that the ACLU demeans itself by taking up the cause of such thin-skinned people.
This case brings to mind that old Saturday Night Live fake commercial about the law firm that will sue for anything, no matter how outrageous. The ad went:
"Have you been in an accident? Have you witnessed an accident? Have you suffered psychological damage from hearing someone describe an accident he saw? Let us help you collect the money you didn't even realize you were entitled to."
March 10, 2011, 2:26 pmcaseyboy:
Gee, they make an announcement about turning off your cell phone at my church before Mass begins. I'll have to worn them that it is potentially offensive to a segment of the population.
We've come along way when someone has to go to this extreme to claim a racially motivated offense of this nature. Never mind that there was a lawyer willing to press the case.
March 10, 2011, 3:42 pmme:
I'm guessing that the man was tired of saying the same thing before every show just to have it ignored 5 minutes into it. Hence his "racial" tone.
March 10, 2011, 4:49 pmmarco73:
Its funny how the movie was made by an African-American who makes great fun of all the foibles of the African-American community. If a non-African-American were to make such a movie, he'd be tarred and feathered.
March 10, 2011, 5:03 pmIts all pretty simple if you just remember one thing: whatever an African-American says, thay are never racist. Whenever a non-African-American opens their mouth, they are racist.
Dr. T:
This wasn't an ACLU case. One of the attendees was a black female Delaware state government employee who felt that the announcement was racist and demeaning (because a verbal announcement wasn't made at every movie showing at this theater, and the movie being watched appealed mostly to a black audience). The woman got the others riled up, started a petition, and then got lawyered-up. They must have found a really bad judge who let the case proceed and awarded each black attendee $1500 in damages (based on a law about excluding minorities from open-to-the-public events). Thankfully (since I'm moving to Delaware soon), both appeals courts ruled that the first judge was totally wrong.
March 10, 2011, 8:03 pmIgotBupkis, President, United Anarchist Society:
two links make for a "link-rich comment"?
LOL.
March 10, 2011, 11:35 pmDan:
Dr. T:
Not an ACLU case? Then why does the ACLU's own web site (link below) reference the fact that they represented the patrons in the case?
http://www.aclu-de.org/legal_rs.html
March 11, 2011, 9:41 amMJ:
This case brings to mind that old Saturday Night Live fake commercial about the law firm that will sue for anything, no matter how outrageous.
The law offices of Green and Fazio, another Phil Hartman classic.
March 11, 2011, 11:20 amme:
On the other hand, we're no longer a democracy: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51390319-76/bill-compound-constitutional-curriculum.html.csp
*cough*
Just a quick show of hands - who can give me the exact definitions of republic and democracy and name the three most important distinctions?
March 12, 2011, 11:31 ambalanced scorecard:
There are few instances where racism still exists. However, many have accepted the civil rights of African-Americans already.
March 16, 2011, 12:19 pm