Town's White Police Official Calls Obama N-word - Refuses to Apologize

Okay here we go again. An ALLEGED 'racist' fella, this time it's the police commissioner of a town in New Hampshire, had a private conversation in a restaurant. He said the 'N word' about President Obama to the person he was eating with. The waitress overheard. She complained. He refuses to apologize and says his statement to his friend is justified. Now the town is having meetings to decide what to do, if anything, about the racist police commissioner.

- Does he have a right to his private conversation?
- Is the waitress correct in making a formal complaint or should she mind her own business?
- The man is sticking to his opinion and refuses to apologize about using the 'N' word in his private conversation. Should he be forced to resign for doing that?
- Now that the town knows he's a 'racist', (alleged racist) should he be forced to resign because he may not be able to effectively do his job? His job entails hiring, firing, discipling and job salaries of officers. There have been no complaints of this mans conduct on the job (that I could find).
- In the case of the racist Clippers owner, the conversation was recorded (either secretly or with his permission, we don't know for sure) on tape, but in this case the waitress over heard a private conversation and then complained about the contents of that private conversation. Should SHE be fired for not minding her own business, or for slander, or that kind of thing?

** He is in an elected position so I think he can't be fired .. he has to resign or a vote of 'no confidence' would have to be held. (I think)

Town's White Police Official Calls Obama N-word - Refuses to Apologize

A police commissioner in a predominantly white New Hampshire town says he won't apologize for calling President Barack Obama the N-word, and he sat with his arms crossed while angry residents at a meeting called for his resignation on Thursday.

Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Robert Copeland, who's 82 and white, has acknowledged in an email to his fellow police commissioners he used the racial slur in describing Obama.

Town resident Jane O'Toole, who moved to Wolfeboro four months ago, said she overheard Copeland say the slur at a restaurant in March and wrote to the town manager about it. Copeland, in an email to her, acknowledged using the slur in referring to the president and said he will not apologize.

"I believe I did use the 'N' word in reference to the current occupant of the Whitehouse," Copeland said in the email to his fellow police commissioners, part of which he forwarded to O'Toole. "For this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such."

ETA .. forgot to put my position. The guy has a right to a private conversation and to his opinion in that conversation. Unless there have been complaints about his work, then the town shouldn't force him to resign. And so far ... no complaints about his work. The waitress is in the wrong.

Just to be clear on this...

If the police official was black, this would be okay... Right?

Yeah... I can't keep score anymore...

A PRIVATE conversation is just that...PRIVATE.

In which he has the right to speak however he wants.

This PC crap is getting ridiculous.

WE HAVE RIGHTS TO OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND CONVERSATIONS...Period.

Peace

originally posted by: FlyersFan
- Does he have a right to his private conversation?

Yes, but if he wants it private, he should make sure no one else is hearing. And while he has a right to private conversation, he does not have the right NOT to deal with the consequences of his actions.

- Is the waitress correct in making a formal complaint or should she mind her own business?

Her decision. Not ours.

- The man is sticking to his opinion and refuses to apologize about using the 'N' word in his private conversation. Should he be forced to resign for doing that?

It's up to his employer.

- Now that the town knows he's a racist, should he be forced to resign because he may not be able to effectively do his job?

It's up to the locals and his employer.

Should SHE be fired for not minding her own business, or for slander, or that kind of thing?

Is it in her job description that she mind her own business? Again, it's up to her employer.

The waitress' statement is hearsay. There was no crime committed, aside from maybe liberals believing a thought crime has been committed. But so far that isn't officially a crime. Yet.

a reply to: FlyersFan

He has a right to his private conversation...but he doesn't have immunity to consequences.

It is up to the voters in that area what they want to do, if they decide he should resign then he should resign.

I personally would push for his resignation, because people need to learn that outdated racist views will not be tolerated anymore.

originally posted by: Mirthful Me
Just to be clear on this...

If the police official was black, this would be okay... Right?

Yeah... I can't keep score anymore...

What?

Sure, show me where a black politician or elected official has called someone a racial slur and it has been defended by anyone.

This false meme of whites being persecuted has got to end.

originally posted by: jude11
A PRIVATE conversation is just that...PRIVATE.

In which he has the right to speak however he wants.

This PC crap is getting ridiculous.

WE HAVE RIGHTS TO OUR OWN THOUGHTS AND CONVERSATIONS...Period.

Peace

Most crimes are committed privately...does that excuse the person from the crime? If a man beats his wife in the privacy of his own home, is he justified just because it was "private"?

I don't understand this "privacy" argument...besides...he was out in PUBLIC when he said this.

You have a right to your own thoughts and conversations, but that does not make you immune to consequences. Other people have the RIGHT to react to your thoughts and conversations.

racism is bad and deplorable. yes.

Trying to force people to not speak a certain way in public is worse.

I remember an interaction I had with black Hebrew Israelites. In case you havent heard of them, they are extremist black racists.

They stand on corners and SCREAM at other races as they pass by. They use every derogatory term including the N word to continental Africans or non supporting African Americans.

They are legally permitted to do this. Cops were called, I looked into it and sure enough they have every right.

This guy and everyone else has the right to think and say what they please. If your liberal ethos takes issue with this then leave the country. The idea of free speech is one our most successful and fundamental ideologies.... that people will not be told how to think or what to say.

Dont like it? Then deal with it or leave. No one is going to change FOR YOU.

a reply to: FlyersFan

If he was a janitor at Walmart, no it wouldn't matter. But he represents the law. Enforcing that law, without bias regarding race, is paramount to his job. Nobody should be surprised when people freak out about a racist cop (because they are so rare, right? Hah!).

If anything, this just makes me look forward to AI-controlled law enforcement. I'd rather risk a robot making an error than dealing with a cop who actively hates me because of my skin color. In this case, it's better the devil you don't know as opposed to the one you do.

He is a elected official, who had a private conversation in a public place, he used a racial slur and admitted to it, he made the racial slur where other(s) could here it. Are you all gonna vote for kkk members?? You could use the same arguments your using for this offical?

originally posted by: kruphix
He has a right to his private conversation...but he doesn't have immunity to consequences.

If there are 'consequences' then his right to a private conversation was taken away. The waitress is going around repeating conversations she over hears her customers having. That's not exactly a good work ethic for her to have. People expect to be able to be served in a restaurant without the waitress-police repeating their private conversations. I wouldn't be surprised if the business at the restaurant suffers because of this. Who wants to go eat someplace where the wait staff won't mind their own business and just do their job?

a reply to: LDragonFire

so dont vote for him if this is your community. That should be the only fall out.

HE is also a citizen, did you forget that?

And as a professional in the hospitality industry I can say: you dont do what this waitress did. I have heard plenty of conversations over the last 15+ years. I will NEVER repeat them. There is a privacy issue that MOST businesses in the hospitality industry must respect. If not we would go out of business in favor of private clubs and private venues where idiots cant blab about the things they see and hear.

She COULD have confronted him personally if she was so upset. She chose to capitalize on her 10 minutes of fame to try and ruin an institution as old as her country.

I bet she is not even a future hospitality worker for the long run- You do realize that no public official or important person will eat at her restaurrant now. Anyone there that needed the money to support their families will have to look for work in a crappy job market...right?

You need that money. Joe and Jane doe dining out on the weekends doesnt cover rent for most of us in this business.

Of course the right sees nothing wrong with this. It is an everyday word they use in private all the time..not to mention the other racial slurs they most likely use.

PC is a term used for common sense..but to them it is a term used to make them out to be evil because we all know, when it comes to common sense..the right has none.

This old idiot needs to be out..his views, along with the rights are stuck in the wrong century.

This century..people other than white straight males have every right to live and have rights.

a reply to: Cuervo
His job isn't to enforce the law. His job is to hire, fire, discipline and pay officers. He was just reelected to that position. And there have been no complaints from any police or applicants about this man. So how do you force a resignation of a man who has done his job well ?

He shouldn't hold office.

Why?

Because its bad enough the current level of police authority over citizens, with out one thinking its okay to use racially derogatory terms that denigrate an entire section of the population.


I mean, How low of a bar do we want to set for those that are supposed to protect us?

Sub 110 Iq, already happens in municipalities as a requirement.

Lets not add openly racist to the mix,

I am all about free speech, especially when it exposes someone in authority for their ignorant views.

I hate Obama as a president, I really do, I didn't vote for him, I would never vote for him.

But I can at least be bothered to come up with genuine intellectual arguments to hate his administration, and find the mans moral compass to be as Repugnant as any other politician.

This man, has plenty of real reasons to hate the president, but hes just ignorant enough to stick with race.

I don't want that man having authority over another citizen.

originally posted by: Onslaught2996
Of course the right sees nothing wrong with this. It is an everyday word they use in private all the time...

ugh ... I could say ...
of course the left sees everything wrong with this. They dont' care about free speech.
But let's not do that silly dance ...

a reply to: tadaman

His job is to enforce the law for all races, he admitted using the word and he is not apologizing so what is he? A racist? or not? He has violated the public's trust imo

originally posted by: kruphix
Most crimes are committed privately...does that excuse the person from the crime? If a man beats his wife in the privacy of his own home, is he justified just because it was "private"?

Having a private conversation with a friend over a meal at a restaurant in which you call the POTUS a name isn't a 'crime' Well ... except to those who really don't approve of a person having a right to a private opinion.

Frankly as a public figure/authority figure in public, he was out of line. I would say the same if he were Black as well.

Public/Autority figures have (IMO) the duty to act as role models in public in the very least - and in all aspects of their lives if they are true servent leaders. These people are role models for the rest of us (all gods help us) and should take their responsibility seriously.