Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland acknowledged using the slur in an email to fellow police commissioners this week.

“I believe I did use the ‘N’ word in reference to the current occupant of the Whitehouse,” Copeland said in the email. “For this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such.”

 

I thought racism didn’t exist anymore?  Isn’t that why we can roll back voting rights protections? I guess this guy didn’t get the memo.

The real story is not that Mitt Romney has publicly condemned him, any decent American would respond in like.  The real story is that maybe this country still has racism running through its veins.  Sometimes its blatant, and sometimes it’s just so ingrained we can’t see it.

105 Thoughts to “Unapologetic Police Commissioner Calls the President of the United State the N word”

  1. Starryflights

    Sterling, Bundy and now this character show that racism is alive and well in America.

  2. Jack Brown

    ” Isn’t that why we can roll back voting rights protections?”

    What voting rights protections are being rolled back?

  3. @Jack

    Supreme Court did it. States continue to try to do it, with North Carolina being one of the most glaring states.

  4. @Elena

    “Sometimes it’s so ingrained we can see it” is critical here. I have known many people
    over the years who would swear they weren’t prejudiced or racist, and yet they don’t see it themselves. I am not just pointing at white people here.

  5. Elena

    Oh, and welcome to Moonhowlings Jack 🙂

  6. Rick Bentley

    Even understanding that this guy was a police commissioner …

    It’s not a meaningful discussion to take a story where one guy in a nation of 300 million uses the n-word, and claim it generalizes out. Any more so that it’s a legitimate news story to look at trolls on Twitter and claim that racist scrawlings are “News”. (The equivalent of a breaking CNN story about someone scrawling “All F*gs Must Die” on a toilet stall wall somewhere).

    I’d love it if this guy were terminated with extreme prejudice (no pun intended) and then we all stopped talking about him as a current issue.

    1. If this bothers you, how did Paula Dean hit ya? In the first place, anyone her age from the deep south who says they never used that word in any context is a liar.

      Now that, no me, was a hoopla over nothing.

  7. Andyh

    Moon, I love ya but racism will always exist. As long as people look, act or believe differently than someone believes they should, there will be someone that hates them for that.

    I take no joy in writing that but it’s what I think.

    1. I don’t disagree at all. Furthermore, I think all people are somewhat racist. It’s more about how it plays out than what people say.

  8. Rick Bentley

    It will always exist in one form or another, but it does mitigate over time I think.

  9. Elena

    Rick,
    My point is that we had Trayvon Martin, we had the incident where another young black teenage boy was killed for being obnoxious with loud music and the consequences for their death was not necessarily commensurate with their deaths in my opinion. We have a supreme court that decided racism was over so they chose to rescind the “teeth” in the 1965 voting rights act. When people in power are racist, it has a societal effect. I am not extrapolating that this commissioner represents anything but an obvious problem that still exists in this country.

  10. Rick Bentley

    Any of us on either side who fall into a debate about “is racism over” are falling into a meaningless semantics-based trap. No one can prove any case arguing about such a topic.

    What I most want to say is that the Martin case and serious issues aside … the trend of calling it “news” when people on Twitter say racist things is beyond absurd. CNN is doing this a lot. It’s akin to examining toilet stall walls in men’s room and issuing news bulletins based on the latest scrawls.

    When some possibly 16 year old kid somewhere picks up a phone in a K-Mart store in New Jersey, and knows the three-digit code to go loudspeaker, and says the n-word, that should not be news. Local story, maybe. National story, no. Serious indicator of a racist society, certainly not. Same thing when the kid’s friend goes bezerk on a Twitter account.

    1. I think people are way too quick to call racism and I also think it is often called over the wrong things.

  11. Rick Bentley

    Back on topic, IMO this story is playing out the way we should all hope. It wasn’t acceptable for this old crank to drop the n-word speaking of the President in a local diner, and there’s consensus that he shouldn’t be a police commissioner. What more do we want? Jail time for him? Slap him with a wet fish? Hold his eyes open “Clockwork Orange” style and make him watch “Roots”?

  12. Elena

    I’m not sure why you are reacting so strongly to this discussion Rick. He actually sent these comments in an e-mail and that he is in a position of power is actually a very meaningful discussion.

    I would add that much of the vitriolic sentiment regarding President Obama, in my opinion, revolved around him being an “other”. Different colored skin, different name, different family upbringing. There has been more than on remark made about him regarding his skin color, either blatant or implied.

    1. It is far more important if the commissioner actually has to deal with folks who are other. Otherwise, his lips are moving.

      I agree with you about the Obama sentiments. I have heard similar stuff from people who should know better. It is festering beneath the surface.

  13. Rick Bentley

    I don’t mean to be reacting to this discussion strongly. I’m more worked up about CNN and other people’s reporting, generally.

  14. Rick Bentley

    This discussion just happened to intersect with one of the 1001 things I have a definite opinion on and some measure of excitability.

  15. Starry flights

    This is a good example of the hostility Obama faces because he is black

  16. Kelly_3406

    I bet that it is possible to “prove” that expressions of racism in the workplace and in the public square are at historic lows. There is a legal framework to deal with race discrimination and a social network (boycotts, public condemnation) to deal with racist statements. Any objective analysis will show tremendous improvement over the last decade.

    Yet both the Administration and liberal news networks have chosen to focus on this during the last month. What’s the reason? There are two easy explanations.

    1) Obama is being hammered for the VA scandal and Benghazi. This issue has the potential to increase the noise level and drown out criticism of Obama. It also can possibly intimidate Obama’s opponents who might be called racist if they strongly criticize him.

    2) It can be used to increase turnout of minority voters in the upcoming midterm election. The midterm election looks grim for Ds. If racism is resurrected as a huge issue, it serves to remind low-information voters that Rs are usually racist and cannot be trusted.

    My analysis is that racial issues are being used yet again as a political weapon.

    1. Kelly said:

      Yet both the Administration and liberal news networks have chosen to focus on this during the last month.

      I disagree that the administration has focused on the story of the police commissioner. It isn’t old enough. Nor have they focused on Donald Sterling or Cliven Bundy. They have commented. The story is too big to ignore.

      Yes, the media (not necessarily liberal media) has focused on some of these stories. Wouldn’t you? Both are outrageous old codgers dealing with outrageous behavior that does affect a lot of different people.

      Seriously, an owner of an NBA basketball franchise making those kinds of outrageous racist statements and then piling it on every time he opens his mouth? Bwaaahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. Hardly liberal bias.

    2. So now the VA scandal is Obama’s fault? Too funny. Is there anything that you all aren’t going to pile on that guy over?

      I don’t recall the last VA scandal being piled on George Bush.

  17. Kelly_3406

    Correction: Rs are usually portrayed as racist by their opponents. For the most part, the Republican Party in reality has an excellent record on the big racial issues.

    1. Perhaps its one of those things that only those on the inside see.

      Kelly, to the rest of us, that big tent doesn’t look so big at all. I cite immigration reform as a place to start that examination.

  18. Rick Bentley

    “My analysis is that racial issues are being used yet again as a political weapon.”

    My counter evidence is that every bigoted white guy I know is a GOP voter and a FOX News Viewer.

    Which is why the Democrats garner 90% of the black vote consistently.

    Which is why when you have a whole TV channel (FOX News) of right-wing commentators making a living gleefully disrespecting the President, in broad daylight, it’s counter-productive to the GOP.

    1. Totally agree, Rick. I also find the same thing about bigoted old white women also. They also aren’t all old.

  19. Rick Bentley

    “In 2012, 18 percent of Republicans disapproved of blacks and whites dating each other, compared with 5 percent of Democrats.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/14/data-suggest-republicans-have-a-race-problem/

  20. Kelly_3406

    @Rick Bentley

    It is behavior that is important, not necessarily underlying beliefs. Civilization is defined by the ability to control one’s baser instincts. This poll does not address actual behavior toward different races.

    1. I think that the behavior is important but….many bigoted people simply avoid situations were they have to rub elbows with those not of their race. Its fairly easy to do.

      Once that avoidance is established, it is fairly hard to address actual behavior. The avoidance IS the behavior.

  21. punchak

    I just happened upon the movie “Gentlemen’s agreement” last night.
    It was made in l947. I have seen it several times, but it never fails to
    rouse my anger. That was about Jews, These days almost the
    same attitude remains about blacks and, to a certain extent, Latinos.

  22. Starryflights

    Kelly_3406 :
    Yet both the Administration and liberal news networks have chosen to focus on this during the last month. .

    Liar. To date, the Administration had said nothing about this. And the story is only a few days old, not a month.

    1. How about saying ” Kelly, I disagree.” Avoiding name calling tends to make what you say 100x more productive. Thanks!

  23. Wolve

    Starry, straighten up and fly intelligently for once. Kelly is talking about more than just that old fellow in New Hampshire. POTUS himself made a comment about the Donald Sterling situation in Los Angeles; FLOTUS just gave a talk on race to the main high school in Topeka, Kansas; and Eric Holder did the same at the Morgan State graduation ceremony this week.

    1. Why shouldn’t they give a talk on race at a graduation ceremony? Is race something we shouldn’t talk about? I believe Holder was at an all black college. Mrs. Obama also was speaking on the 60th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education.

      Why shouldn’t they address some of these issues that still haven’t disappeared?

  24. Rick Bentley

    “It is behavior that is important, not necessarily underlying beliefs”

    Behavior like gleefully trying to undercut every single thing the (first black) President does, gleefully trying to undercut every single thing the (first black) first lady does, and trying at every opportunity (on a national news channel) to make the name “Obama” into some sort of punchline.

    1. Bravo! Rick, you deserve a standing ovation for that last comment. It really hits the nail on the head.

  25. Rick Bentley

    My point is not that it’s right, or wrong. My point is, don’t be surprised when black voters by and large see the GOP as the enemy.

  26. Rick Bentley

    No overwrought speech by Eric Holder, no cynical strategy from Donna Brazile, no Axelrod/Obama triangulation strategy based on race has nearly the effect on voting patterns as the hostile show that people like Rush Limbaugh put on, in full view of the American public and with tacit support of the Republican party.

    1. @Rick or the very out in the open dealings going on in North Carolina. That tends to rally the troops.

  27. Scout

    Moon: a lot of the voter suppression efforts are not caused by Rs trying to remove protections, but by Rs trying to impose restrictions that don’t already exist. The effect can be the same, but the distinction is not unimportant. I don’t have any problem with photo or biometric voter IDs, and I’m sure most people don’t IF (and oh what an IF it is) it’s done in a way that includes the kind of massive outreach to ensure that no one who can lawfully vote now is blocked from voting the day after the new requirement goes into place. The test of the sincerity of advocates of new voter ID requirements is whether they are equally vocal, equally active, and as enthusiastic about spending the money to do the outreach bit. If not, then its just voter suppression. Frankly, and conceding that I don’t know about every single place this is happening, I haven’t seen any of that. And then you have the yokels like the examples in North Carolina and Pennsylvania who slip up and pretty much admit that the impacts are intended to be to drive down the Democratic vote. To me that’s no different than beating up a voter at the polling place.

    1. There are definitely places where it has been admitted, that’s for sure. I like your analogy.

  28. Cargosquid

    @Rick Bentley
    “Behavior like gleefully trying to undercut every single thing the (first black) President does, gleefully trying to undercut every single thing the (first black) first lady does, and trying at every opportunity (on a national news channel) to make the name “Obama” into some sort of punchline.”

    The fact that he is black is irrelevant. It is the duty of the opposition to undercut incompetent, corrupt policies that they feel harm the US. I would gleefully undercut everything he does because his policies harm Americans.

    The fact that she is black is irrelevant. Her ideas are being ridiculed, not because of her race, but because they disagree with her.

    And the name Obama, based upon the huge number of scandals, lies, and incompetent actions taken by this administration IS a punch line.

    For example, Congress could not get documents from the Administration about enrollment in the ACA….aka OBAMACare. Judicial Watch did under FOIA. On October 1, the total enrollment was ONE person. By Oct 2….FOUR. In one month…OCT 31….. Less than 31,000. This while the administration is bragging about millions enrolled.

    He is a joke.

  29. Cargosquid

    @Scout
    “To me that’s no different than beating up a voter at the polling place.”

    Or threatening to do so?

    Did you support Holder’s dropping of the voter intimidation case about the two men intimidating voters by holding clubs outside a polling place?

  30. Rick Bentley

    ” I would gleefully undercut everything he does because his policies harm Americans. ”

    EVERYTHING he does, huh? I find that un-American.

    1. So do I.

      I don’t feel that I have been harmed by President Obama in the least.

      What has he done to harm you, Cargo?

  31. Rick Bentley

    You’re entitled to that position, Cargo. It’s a formula for loss in the next few Presidential elections. Which is okay with me.

    Politics – at least, successful politics – at some point has to bring people together, not alienate 47% of them here and 21% of them there. The lack of respect for Obama is costing Republicans potential votes in 2020, 2024, etc.

  32. Rick Bentley

    Near as I can tell, the GOP stands for :

    – Occasional shutdown of government functions
    – Lower taxes, higher deficits
    – Desire to see poor people suffer
    – Some kind of wild fantasy about returning to the 1950’s

    They’ve gone a long way past ideas of streamlined government and empowering markets. Conservatism has become more akin to a religion than a workable philosophy at this point. Evn when it demonstrably fails (2007, 1991) there’s never any lesson learned. just endless finger pointing and fairy take nonsense.

    1. People now associate conservatism with ignorance. That’s really too bad. Anti-science, anti modern woman, anti poor, anti child (unless mommy and daddy are both there), anti vet, anti immigrant, shall I go on?

  33. Scout

    Silly question, Cargo. Of course I think it’s wrong to threaten to beat someone up at a polling place. I can’t imagine that someone with your recent academic achievements would even have to ask a question like that.

    I don’t know enough about the specific facts of the incident you describe to have an intelligent opinion as to whether the actions were prosecutable. But two guys making threats (sounds pretty bad to me) won’t do nearly as much damage as a state legislature that imposes new requirements that a large number of existing voters will have trouble meeting. It all corrodes the franchise and it’s all evil. It’s a matter of scale, I guess.

    1. I think Cargo is referring to some misbehavior on the part of the New Black Panthers in Philly. One incident. I believe some voting restrictions were placed on a couple of them.

  34. Rick Bentley

    I’m a registered voter who isn’t particularly sympathetic to much of the Democratic agenda. But the idea of voting for Republicans seems wholly irresponsible to me. Like an unpatriotic act that I would only commit if very disgruntled; like a big middle finger to America. These are not serious people, and they’ve left a trail of devastation. Instead of helping to clean up after one of their wild parties, they keep shoveling trash on and laughing at the guy who’s trying to clean the place up.

    The deficit they decry is very directly a result of the “Bush tax cuts”. You can do the math, you can add the numbers up. Those tax cuts are the reason for our deficit. The fact that they move forward without acknowledging or self-correcting shows me that they are not serious people and not good people.

    Bad people. I’ve increasingly come to see things that way.

    1. Tax cuts and a couple of wars will do it!

  35. Rick Bentley

    And if you watch FOX News for any length of time – I see it once in a while at work – and you have any knowledge of human psychology, you really can’t escape the knowledge that you’re witnessing and endless, ceaseless temper tantrum about the end of white male privilege.

    1. I used to watch Bulls and Bears. Even that is tainted with the Fox Pox.

      I just get in a vile mood when I watch it for more than 5 minutes.

  36. Cargosquid

    So, in other words, Rick, you really don’t have a realistic view of the GOP or the Tea Party, only bigoted stereotypes.

    And yes…everything he does. Name one thing that has helped Americans.
    How has his constant lying helped Americans? Where’s the accountability? For the various, numerous scandals?

    When was the last time there was a demand for the Democrats to compromise? I haven’t seen a single demand for that.

    1. Just off the top of my head, there was a huge compromise back in August 2012. You know, when so many of us lost a bunch of money in the stock market because of tea party stupidity.

    2. You haven’t told us what he has done to hurt the country. I don’t think he is a liar.

  37. Kelly_3406

    @Rick Bentley

    Your list of complaints is beneath your normal logical analysis. You cannot possibly look at yourself in the mirror and claim that Obama’s treatment is any worse than that of Bush, or even Clinton before him.

    The behavior of MSNBC toward R’s is no different than that of Fox News toward D’s. Except for your liberal harangue about white privilege, one could substitute MSNBC for Fox News and Bush for Obama and the same emotion-based complaints would still hold. One could argue that MSNBC is throwing temper tantrums because the system of race-based preferences and set asides is coming to an end. Society is increasingly color blind, and a black president is proof of that (although my choice of black president would not be the incumbent).

    I find your arguments about minorities taking offense to Obama’s treatment to be a racial. I have come across plenty of blacks who think that criticism of Obama is valid and on point. Surely the vast majority of minorities is saavy enough to distinguish the rough and tumble of politics from racism. I have confidence that most people have the ability to figure out when they are being manipulated, which is what the D’s are trying to do.

    1. I don’t know any black people who support Republicans over Obama. The blacks I know are a fairly educated bunch.

      As for MSNBC, what difference does it make? It has much less time on the air than Fox and it has quite a few Republicans on it, just not idiot Republicans. The Huntsman daughter is a regular, as is Michael Stone. Joe Scarborough is an R and so are many of his guests.

      Are there parts of the day that are strong liberal? Yes. But there are also balanced programs.

      No one could be more courteous to guests than Rachel Maddow.

  38. middleman

    Nice try, Kelly, on the “D’s are using racism to political benefit” thing (#22). The only places Obama is being “hammered” on Benghazi or the VA is on Fox News and by the usual right-wing talking head suspects. Most Americans would like their leaders to LEAD, and to address the issues affecting our country, like immigration reform, infrastructure jobs, unemployment compensation, minimum wage, etc. There is overwhelming support on these issues from Americans, and the GOP continues to try to hide behind the curtain of made-up scandals instead of acting on the actual issues. The Wizard of Oz’s got nothin’ on these GOP folks! It’s not the D’s that are employing diversionary tactics- they don’t need to, they are with the majority of Americans on the issues.

    There’s no doubt that racism is still alive and well and holding our country back, but what’s surprising is your conclusion in #2 that assumes that if racism is “resurrected” as an issue (as if it ever went away), it would primarily negatively affect Republican candidates (a statement I agree with). You attempt to buffer your assertion with “low information” language, but could it be that these folks actually follow events and know what the R’s stand for?

    My “analysis” is that minorities will vote in big numbers because they know what’s at stake and they know who is on their side. And it ain’t the R’s.

  39. Rick Bentley

    “You cannot possibly look at yourself in the mirror and claim that Obama’s treatment is any worse than that of Bush, or even Clinton before him.”

    I didn’t say that. I just claimed that the constant efforts to belittle him are politically counter-productive. Obviously they are. Black people don’t vote overwhelmingly Democratic because they are less conservative on most issues. nor because of some giant welfare conspiracy. The main reason they do so is their perception that people in the GOP are bigoted and biased.

    If my thesis is correct, then the GOP is engaging in insane behavior … and that’s what I see. Increasingly their spokespeople are becoming disconnected with reality.

    They like to think they can chase the Latino vote – which is doubtful – but continue to cede the black vote at a 90% rate.

  40. Rick Bentley

    “I don’t know any black people who support Republicans over Obama. The blacks I know are a fairly educated bunch.”

    As we’ve discussed previously, I know and talk to as many black people as white people …

    I know plenty of black people who hold conservative positions on many issues but wouldn’t vote GOP. Because that’s the party that the bigots sit in.

    And I know plenty of black people who aren’t especially political, but who when they talk through an issue are as likely to side with a conservative position as a liberal one. But who wouldn’t vote GOP. Primarily because that’s the party the bigots sit in.

    1. @Rick

      That’s pretty much my experience also. Many I know are fairly conservative, especially on social issues but wouldn’t vote R. The ones I know are particularly conservative on immigration issues or at least current ones.

  41. Wolve

    @Moon-howler

    What Kelly said. Certainly looks to me like they are trying to use a few recent public incidents as a means to deflect away from all the current administration scandals and the continuing drag on the economy.

    1. We obviously see things VERY differently. Remember, I am not a Democrat. I often support Republicans in local elections. Correction: selected Republicans

  42. Wolve

    I’m an equal opportunity critic. I think President Obama’s White side is as incompetent as his Black side.

    1. The fact that you perceive he has “sides” speaks volumes.

  43. Wolve

    Even before he was sworn into office, the current POTUS knew that there was a problem with the quality of service given by the VA health system and promised to fix it. General Shinseki, as a flag military retiree and war veteran, was appointed in 2009 as Secretary of Veterans Affairs to accomplish just that. Five years later, POTUS awakens to a VA scandal which has become criminal as well as embarrassing. Where were he and his staff during those five years that they seem to have missed the mess in their own house until somebody else exposed it? And this at a time when are still in combat in Afghanistan.

    These people in the Oval Office do not seem to know what managerial oversight is. Surprised by Fast and Furious. Surprised by Benghazi. Surprised by the disaster of the ACA website. Surprised (allegedly) by the IRS scandal. Surprised (allegedly) by the NSA scandal. Seems to me like that crowd is too often asleep on watch. And then come the lies. Nothing to do with the color of skin. I would say a hell of a lot to do with a lack of competence and integrity.

    1. How in the hell do you know what he was aware of and what he was not aware of. You left out ACORN.

      It appears to me that “scandals” are anything the GOP wants to make them.

      I am just going to start laughing at you all. You are stuck with President Obama unless you can work up a large enough “scandal” to have him impeached. If you ever do get your own POTUS, I expect people will have long memories.

  44. Rick Bentley

    I agree that the VA operations really is or should be a scandal.

    1. I don’t. The VA has always had problems. Is this “scandal” any worse than any of the others have been? I would say it is a huge problem that needs fixing. This problem can and often does appear during any administration. Typical of a country who loves to chest pound and go to war, with dewy eyes over supporting the troops, until it comes time to pay the piper.

      The VA is where the country has to pay the piper and treat all the people it once once entranced with. It has to heal them and pay to put them back together again. [hear the wallets snapping closed as we speak?]

      Someone is always trying to cut corners when there just isn’t enough money to go around. Think back to Oliver Stone’s Born on the 4th of July. Not all that was fiction. We have old soldiers dating as far back as WWII who need to be fixed. We will continue to short change them because we are cheap.

  45. Rick Bentley

    The Obama Administration has not been especially good stewards of government; I agree with Wolve on that.

    Which makes for 13 years and counting since we’ve had anyone in charge who proved capable.

    1. Rick, truthfully, how can we tell? How on earth would anyone know what Obama could have done? He has been stonewalled at every turn.

      Remember, I was a Hillary supporter, not Obama. I think it is shameful how this administration has been treated.

  46. Rick Bentley

    Perhaps it’s a problem for America that we are so polarized into attacking/defending the clowns we elect, that we can’t collectively demand competence from our government.

  47. Cargosquid

    @Moon-howler
    There was no compromise by the Democrats. The compromise was by the Tea Party.

    @Moon-howler
    You don’t think that he’s a liar?
    He lied to our faces repeatedly about the ACA, Benghazi, terrorism, immigration……
    What has he done that’s harmful?
    NSA spying
    spying on reporters
    The VA
    The ACA
    Benghazi and the subsequent arming of terrorists
    Support for the terrorists in Syria
    Gun Walking and protecting Holder
    Demonizing business
    Restricting energy development
    Insulting traditional allies
    Unrealistic budgets that were shot down by the DEMOCRATIC Senate
    Stonewalling the IRS scandal
    generally lying to the citizenry.
    Illegally attacking Libya
    Making international threats while stating that he wouldn’t carry them out.

    Need I add more?

    @middleman
    “Most Americans would like their leaders to LEAD, and to address the issues affecting our country, like immigration reform, infrastructure jobs, unemployment compensation, minimum wage, etc. ”
    Too bad that the President isn’t leading
    Immigration reform by Presidential decree is wrong. Infrastructure jobs? You mean those non-existent shovel ready jobs? Unemployment compensation? You mean…99 weeks isn’t enough? Minimum wage…..well, if you want to kill MORE unskilled job opportunities….

    1. I am laughing. Good right wing talking points. You should have just written “everything.”

      The American people will have a long memory.

      As for compromise, you seem to have a short one. From here on out I hope he never compromises. What difference does it make.

  48. Wolve

    @Moon-howler

    Obama is a disgrace to the Oval Office. Can’t believe you swallow all those WH lies and keep grinning about it.

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