.Calif. GOP official apologizes for chimp email

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

.Calif. GOP official apologizes for chimp email
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press – 14 mins ago

IRVINE, Calif. – A Southern California GOP official who sent out an e-mail picturing President Barack Obama's face on the body of a baby chimpanzee issued an apology late Monday after a weekend of criticism that ended with a stinging, public rebuke from the local Republican Party chairman who also called for an ethics investigation into the incident.

Marilyn Davenport, a 74-year-old Fullerton resident and elected member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee, sent an email Monday afternoon asking for the nation's forgiveness for her "unwise behavior" as the GOP's central committee met for its monthly meeting at a hotel in Irvine, where the fallout from the incident was the hot topic.

"To my fellow Americans and to everyone else who has seen this email I forwarded and was offended by my action, I humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness of my unwise behavior. I say unwise because at the time I received and forwarded the email, I didn't stop to think about the historic implications and other examples of how this could be offensive," she said in the email.

"I am an imperfect Christian lady who tries her best to live a Christlike honoring life. I would never do anything to intentionally harm or berate others regardless of ethnicity. Everyone who knows me knows that to be true."



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110419/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_offensive_email

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http://www.gascoals.net.nyud.net:8090/Portals/1/Artwork/clothespin%20on%20nose.jpg

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Ms. Davenport, don't sully the word 'Christian'by applying it to yourself.

You make Jesus puke. ""I am an imperfect Christian lady who tries her best to live a Christlike honoring life. I would never do anything to intentionally harm or berate others regardless of ethnicity. Everyone who knows me knows that to be true."

[bluestateguy]

2. Not accepted. Rejected. Resign.

Only resignation will be taken seriously as a sign of Christian repentance.

[mitchtv]

3. Christian indeed

[EFerrari]

4. Orange County is so overdue for a smudging.

[PSPS]

5. This time, it's "unwise behavior." They just aren't wired to say that what they did was wrong.

Just another non-apology.

[yellowcanine]

17. Yes, plus the part about "(would not) intentionally harm". Apparently the email sent itself.

[alp227]

6. having a soft spot for intolerance really defines one's character

that is, being gleeful over black person/primate comparisons without immediately thinking about the racist connotations

[Bette Noir]

7. Interesting. She starts out by apologizing, but then takes it back

by saying that she's a terrific person who would never hurt anybody.

Fail.

[Blacksheep214]

8. Take Two!

The first non-apology said that IF anyone was offended.......

You're fired!

[truthisfreedom]

9. We did terrible things with bushler's image.

But we never made fun of him using ethnic slurs. What would that ethnicity have been again? Lizard?

[truthisfreedom]

11. Hang on a minute. That's a terrible insult. I humbly apologize.

To all lizards everywhere.

[sofa king]

14. It's true, we did. I did.

I happen to be responsible for a prime example:



But note several things. The image is a literal invocation of Hugo Chavez's description of George Bush as, "a monkey with a razor blade," and it is that well-known comment which forms the base reference for the image (rather than simply naked racism, which I try hard to avoid in my own thoughts and deeds).

It's true though that the image is supposed to evoke other qualities that GWB superficially shares with his evolutionary cousins. Both are violent, unpredictable, and capable of injuring themselves and others when left in charge. Both have a low ability to judge the effects of their actions compared to normal humans. Both read at the same comprehension level. Both practice "law of the jungle" economic policy. Both respond to their political opponents by shrieking and flinging feces.

Unfortunately for the Republicans, having invested a hundred years of racism and hostility to social outgroups into their political party, their image, and their plans, they simply cannot get away with similar outbursts. My work was not supposed to have any racial undertones, the place where I displayed it was where such undertones are unacceptable and which would be flagged if readers thought they saw such a thing.

Conservatives simply do not have a similar avenue of presentation, thanks to their own past. So yeah, it's totally unfair, but we get the monkeys and they don't. Because they've already proven themselves to be racist assholes.

[the_chinuk]

10. The only things that need be said here:

"I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Any other attempt to explain away this marks this "apology" as insincere. There is no explanation. There is no excuse. There is no defense. Poor people lose thier livelihoods over infelicities like this. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for a Republican.

How can you survive 74 years on Earth, in America, without grokking the fact that putting a man's face on a chimp - when that man has an African heritage and ancestry - is racist? It doesn't matter what you MEANT or what you UNDERSTOOD.

Just ask yourself this: when is the last time you saw any Republican "photoshop" (sorry, Adobe) a chimpanzee's face on a caucasian?

If you "didn't understand" that this is racist, you're stupid. If you can believe that and keep a straight face, you're a Republican.

Why, again, do we have to share this country with these people?

[Lefta Dissenter]

12. frankly,

I don't see this as something that can be "apologized" for (sincerely or not). I'm not as concerned with her poor judgment in stupidly forwarding a racist email as I am with the fact that she was not absolutely appalled and offended by the picture when she first received it.

I'm usually a pretty forgiving person, but I can't figure out how to "forgive" someone for harboring such hatred in her heart.

[calimary]

13. And she doesn't strike me as just a sweet little old lady who didn't know any better

and didn't realize what was so wrong about this.

I don't buy it. You don't rise to the level of having been elected a state party official by rolling off the turnip truck earlier this afternoon. You get there after putting time in and circulate at meetings, conventions, town halls, committee gatherings, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and other events where you wish to be seen by other party people, so they start recognizing you and you build political capital so you can run for one of these regional positions and win. You aren't a green naif by any means. You have to have put in enough time developing a level of political sophistication to become an elected party pol. Hard to believe this was just an innocent misjudgment call.

[leftynyc]

15. It appears pubs are incapable

of a real apology. Fail.

[yellowcanine]

16. "I didn't stop to think about the historic implications..." No kidding.

But the apology is still not quite "clean" indicating she still doesn't quite get it. A real apology contains no defenses, people! Nor do we want to hear about what a great Christian you are because your actions don't indicate that!


"I am an imperfect Christian lady who tries her best to live a Christ-like honoring life. I would never do anything to intentionally harm or berate others regardless of ethnicity. Everyone who knows me knows that to be true."


Apparently they don't know that unless you are saying you sent the email unintentionally and the length of time it took to get a real apology out of you plus the "just a joke" defense precludes that notion.

[No Elephants]

18. Davenport to English: "I'm sorry I got in trouble for this."

[queerart]

19. She Is So Very Sorry.....

That she got caught.......


But she is "Christlike", so please take note..... as once she has invoked the religion clause.... she can no loner be criticized.....


So everyone needs to shut up, and quit being rude enough to bring this little incident up..... now everyone needs to move on....


Christian Terrorists are a laugh a minute......

[skypilot]

20. "...imperfect Christian lady..."

"...Christlike honoring life."

:puke:

[snooper2]

21. 74 years old...

I'm telling you, things will be much better when these racists die off...

people born in the 30's and 40's wanting to go back to the "Great 50's"...

Back when those black folks knew their place

[Cirque du So-What]

22. In which of the Gospels did Jesus draw a caricature of a Samaritan as a chimp?

I must have missed that one :eyes:

This horrible woman better hope that Christianity is a bunch of hooey - otherwise, she's on Jesus' Shit List for claiming to be a good Christian after such a bigoted act.