Daily Archives: August 2, 2012

A skateboard company is being accused of “profiting from racism” by selling T-shirts which refer to Asian men as “gooks”.

The shirt features two Asian men in a car under the title “Gooks of Hazzard”, in an apparent pastiche of the Dukes of Hazzard series.

A strap above, with an apparent dig on the stereotypical Asian accent, identifies them as: “Good orr boys Nuge n’ Shimeez”.

“Nuge” refers to professional skater Don “The Nuge” Nguyen – who is sponsored by Baker Skateboards.

A spokesman for the Asian American Justice Center told TMZ: “It’s unacceptable for Baker Skateboards to create a depiction of Asian Americans which uses racial slurs and perpetuates racist stereotypes.

“Baker Skateboards, and the outlets that sell this shirt, should be aware that use of the term ‘gook’ on their apparel is offensive and quite simply amounts to racism for sale. No one should seek to profit from racism.”

Matthew Collins of Belfast-based Hope Not Hate, told Huffington Post UK the T-shirs were “vulgar and tasteless”.

He added: “We don’t hear the term so much over here, but unfortunately we have equally foul words to describe East Asians.”

Paul Kearns, of anti-racism education charity Show Racism The Red Card, said: “We would say that T-shirt is obviously racist and we agree with the comments that suggest this is essentially a case of racism for sale.

“We hope to see it withdrawn in the very near future. It promotes racial stereotypes and it is unacceptable.”

Requests for comment from Baker Skateboards are as yet unanswered.

‘The G**ks Of Hazzard’: Is Skateboard Company ‘Profiting From Racism’ Or Is Asian Slur Simply ‘Tasteless’?.

Judge Mary Devins

The Integration Centre has said it will make a formal complaint to the Gardaí after a District Court judge commented that the social welfare system is a “Polish charity”.

Judge Mary Devins made the remarks at a sentencing hearing last week at Claremorris District Court.

In a statement last night, Judge Devins said no offence was intended and apologised if any insult was taken from her comments.

But the Integration Centre has said her comments were “False, bigoted and borderline racist”.

The centre’s CEO Killian Forde has said a formal complaint will be lodged with the gardaí this afternoon.

Mr Forde said: “We are going to make a formal complaint to the gardaí under the racism reporting mechanism that was set up by the guards and we will be doing that in the city centre after lunch today.

“We hope that the gardaí will look at the possibility that she is in breach of the prohibition in the Incitement to Hatred Act from 1989.

“Our reading of the act would be that she has breached section two, therefore would be liable to prosecution.”

Centre to report judge for ‘borderline racist’ comments | BreakingNews.ie.

A lawyer for a Rapid City-area hospital being sued by a blind man who says the letters KKK were carved into his stomach during surgery said the accusations were contrived by other people and that every scar "is explained by the medical procedures that he underwent to save his life," according to court documents filed Wednesday.

Vern Traversie, a 69-year-old Lakota man living on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, filed a federal lawsuit last month against Rapid City Regional Hospital, its board of directors, several physicians and others. He claims he was left with scars on his abdomen in the shape of the three letters following heart surgery last year.

YouTube videos featuring Traversie went viral in Native American communities earlier this year. In them, Traversie talks about being mistreated at the hospital and shows his abdomen. Although he is blind, Traversie said he was told by others that the scars form the letters.

A May rally in support of Traversie drew hundreds of people, many of whom said his story exemplifies the racism that Native Americans experience in Rapid City. But others said they couldn’t make out the letters, including police who investigated his allegations. No criminal charges were filed.

The defendants in the lawsuit said there is no medical evidence to suggest that anyone burned or cut letters into Traversie.

"Every mark on Plaintiff’s abdomen is explained by the medical procedures that he underwent to save his life," Jeffrey Hurd, one of the defendant’s lawyers, wrote in response to the lawsuit. "Indeed, the allegations of a `KKK’ scar were apparently created by a group of unqualified people in Plaintiff’s home town, who simply discussed why Plaintiff had certain surgical scars."

The lawyer noted that the people who told Traversie about his scars considered several possibilities, including a single "K," a bite mark, the word "oink," or four "K"s, before settling on the three-letter acronym.

"After reaching this decision through speculation and conjecture, and with no attempt to consult with Plaintiff’s healthcare providers … they told Plaintiff that he had been victimized," Hurd wrote.

The hospital also refutes claims that Traversie was denied pain medication, and noted that he was told to have a home health nurse inspect and care for the incisional wounds after he got home.

Reached by phone at his home Wednesday, Traversie said he could not comment on the case and referred questions to his pastor, Ben Farrar, who is acting as his spokesman. Farrar said he wasn’t aware of Wednesday’s filing but that he expected the hospital to deny the claims.

Farrar said heart surgery patients can expect to be left with a vertical scar down the sternum and a few horizontal scars where drainage tubes would be inserted _ as can be seen in photos of Traversie.

"What we cannot expect is haphazard slashes all over the abdomen as well as some cuts that seem to form letters of the alphabet. This is not what can be considered normal," Farrar said, adding that Traversie and his attorney will decide what action to take next.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/aug/02/us-surgery-scars-racism/