Worst Racist of the Year award goes to a New Jerseyan. A police chief no less.

link

The former chief of a small township in New Jersey has been arrested on federal hate crime and civil rights charges for what federal authorities described as a pattern of racist comments and behavior — including slamming an African American teen’s head into a metal door jamb and saying that black people are “like ISIS.”

Frank Nucera Jr., 60, who had been chief of the Bordentown Township Police Department, was arrested, and the charges against him were unsealed Wednesday. The allegations are notable for the blatant racism they describe in a law enforcement leader.

According to a criminal complaint in the case, filed in federal district court in New Jersey, Nucera frequently referred to African Americans by racial slurs and espoused violence toward them. In November 2015, for example, when he was talking to a subordinate officer about an African American man he believed to have slashed the tires of a police vehicle, Nucera said, “I wish that n‑‑‑‑‑ would come back from Trenton and give me a reason to put my hands on him, I’m tired of ’em. These n‑‑‑‑‑s are like ISIS, they have no value. They should line them all up and mow ’em down. I’d like to be on the firing squad, I could do it,” according to the complaint.

Nucera also used police dogs to intimidate African Americans, bringing canines to high school basketball games when his department was providing security and positioning them near the entrance to the gym, federal authorities alleged.

Who are these people?  What to do about these Klan types filling the ranks of PDs?

It's amazing that this guy, in this day and age, managed to rise to become police chief, because I'm sure his racist mouth hadn't been shut in his earlier career. But I guess everyone thought it was ok and they were afraid of being politically correct.

If only that guy were actually in contention for the Worst Racist of the Year award.  He is appalling but he wouldn't even make the quarter finals.

Really? I can't think of a worse racism story this year. What did you have in mind?

Klinker said:

If only that guy were actually in contention for the Worst Racist of the Year award.  He is appalling but he wouldn't even make the quarter finals.

drummerboy said:

Really? I can't think of a worse racism story this year. What did you have in mind?

Klinker said:

If only that guy were actually in contention for the Worst Racist of the Year award.  He is appalling but he wouldn't even make the quarter finals.

Sessions?  Trump? About a million other people.  If you think this kind of stuff is remarkable, you haven't been traveling our country enough.  Sure I am appalled but I don't see anything unique in this case that would make the guy a contender.

I mean, think about it.  This guy said some really offensive stuff and he has probably hurt a fair number of people over the years but Trump has left millions living in darkness, drinking contaminated water and scrounging for food because they happened to be born brown and far away.  If that doesn't win the Worst Racist of the Year Award than they should get rid of the award.

Maybe there should be leagues.  Trump could take the Pro League and this guy could contend in the semipro league (although it does sound like being a racist was an integral part of his professional life).

we had a rally with actual, real-life Nazis earlier this year.  and they killed somebody.

drummerboy said:

Really? I can't think of a worse racism story this year. What did you have in mind?

Klinker said:

If only that guy were actually in contention for the Worst Racist of the Year award.  He is appalling but he wouldn't even make the quarter finals.

ok. uncle.

but c'mon, coming from NJ, this is a pretty nutty story.

A prominent white nationalist who helped organize the Charlottesville rally is the focus of this article by the New Yorker. The article references to his upbringing in suburban NJ...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/16/birth-of-a-white-supremacist/amp

but seriously, Trump et al are one kind of racism, and Charlottesville was another. This guy has probably been telling his co-workers about his thoughts about black people for some years now, and not only did he retain his policeman job, he became police chief. And doesn't speak well for the town of Bordentown.

I wouldn't belittle this story too much. It points to something a lot more insidious than most acts of revealed racism.

Not really. Anyone who grew up in the suburbs of NJ knows how much racism there is. Sadly, this story didn't surprise  me.  

drummerboy said:

ok. uncle.

but c'mon, coming from NJ, this is a pretty nutty story.

it surprised me. I don't personally hear that kind of language from people in authority.

but ok. just business as usual. nothing to see here I guess.

Why did it take so long for this guy to get taken down? He was probably doing this sh*t for years.

I've come to the conclusion that racism is part of the fabric of this country. It is the default setting. It's how we started out.

It takes extreme vigilance to keep racism in check. Those in power must model non-racist behavior and promote non-racists laws and regulations. If not, it bubbles up and overflows.

drummerboy said:

it surprised me. I don't personally hear that kind of language from people in authority.

but ok. just business as usual. nothing to see here I guess.

That's a straw man. No one is suggesting that. It's just that no one should be assuming that NJ is some bastion of enlightened thinking on race, because it isn't. 

Well, it takes extreme vigilance to deal with the more subtle aspects of racism, like the effects of drug laws and stuff like that.

It doesn't take much vigilance to understand that the cop yelling "ni**er this" and "ni**er that" maybe should be removed from their position.

shoshannah said:

I've come to the conclusion that racism is part of the fabric of this country. It is the default setting. It's how we started out.

It takes extreme vigilance to keep racism in check. Those in power must model non-racist behavior and promote non-racists laws and regulations. If not, it bubbles up and overflows.

drummerboy said:

It's amazing that this guy, in this day and age, managed to rise to become police chief, because I'm sure his racist mouth hadn't been shut in his earlier career. But I guess everyone thought it was ok and they were afraid of being politically correct.

Much like any other profession, they shield their own. Irony is that the police often bait and intimidate citizens to snitch on their neighbors, co-workers and family, yet, so many of them keep their mouthes shut for decades on fellow officers who are wife beaters, thieves, and racists. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

shoshannah said:

I've come to the conclusion that racism is part of the fabric of this country. It is the default setting. It's how we started out.

It takes extreme vigilance to keep racism in check. Those in power must model non-racist behavior and promote non-racists laws and regulations. If not, it bubbles up and overflows.

@shoshannah for the win.

It does in fact take extreme vigilance as well as a slightly more sophisticated understanding of the nature of racism and white supremacy. Racism is the default here because it is acceptable to the majority of Americans. The racist ideas espoused by the Bordentown cop come from the same place as racist tweets from the president. The same racism is evident in the newly compassionate politicians who recognize the need for intervention and aid for struggling white opioid users, but championed criminalization, imprisonment and disenfranchisement for struggling Black and brown crack cocaine users and heroin users before them. The same racism marched kids to Irvington, poisoned the water in Flint and ignored lead in Essex county. The same racism is starving Puerto Rico and the Caribbean right now.

A more sophisticated understanding would mean that we recognize that in this case the problem is not only with the police chief but with the institution. So, firing the cop who espouses and acts on racist ideas without addressing the reasons why those ideas are allowed to flourish institutionally is a waste of time. The cop is only the manifestation of a racist society. Eliminating him only redirects his ideas and actions. We (and by 'we' I mean white people) have to understand that racism is part of the engine that propels our society and until we accept this and agree to dismantle the engine to some degree- nothing will change. 

Until then being 'surprised' and amazed by a police chief saying '******' in a world where policemen murder Black Americans with no fear of punishment defies logic and signals a privilege that seems to both blind and paralyze.

drummerboy said:

It's amazing that this guy, in this day and age, managed to rise to become police chief, because I'm sure his racist mouth hadn't been shut in his earlier career. But I guess everyone thought it was ok and they were afraid of being politically correct.

There's the real question here. How TF does a guy like this get so far?

This seems directed to me. I was going to respond, but the fact is that you've mangled my position in such a way that I first have to correct it, which I don't really care to do.

flimbro said:

...
Until then being 'surprised' and amazed by a police chief saying '******' in a world where policemen murder Black Americans with no fear of punishment defies logic and signals a privilege that seems to both blind and paralyze.

Suit yourself.

You are not the only person here who is 'amazed' that there's racism in law enforcement. 

The quote you selected was directed to anyone who in 2017 feigns 'surprise' and 'shock' when confronted by racism as if there's been some recent cessation or abatement. There hasn't been. 

it's not a question of being "confronted by racism". please. But there are some incidents of racism which, in this day and age, are beyond the pale. This is one of them.

There clearly has been an abatement of overt racist behavior in yours and my lifetimes. To say otherwise is silly.

flimbro said:

Suit yourself.

You are not the only person here who is 'amazed' that there's racism in law enforcement. 

The quote you selected was directed to anyone who in 2017 feigns 'surprise' and 'shock' when confronted by racism as if there's been some recent cessation or abatement. There hasn't been. 

What kind of racism are we living through right now if not overt?

...and who sets the standard to determine the severity- what's just run of the mill and what's 'beyond the pale'.

are you trying to tell me that there has been no progress in reducing racist behavior. If not, then what's your point.  Are you saying that behavior that was quite acceptable years ago is no longer accepted, and has therefore diminished in frequency?

Not really sure of your point. My many posts on this subject make clear that I think racism is still widespread and pernicious - that doesn't mean I haven't seen improvements. And I'm sure you have too.

+10

drummerboy said:

are you trying to tell me that there has been no progress in reducing racist behavior. If not, then what's your point.  Are you saying that behavior that was quite acceptable years ago is no longer accepted, and has therefore diminished in frequency?

Not really sure of your point. My many posts on this subject make clear that I think racism is still widespread and pernicious - that doesn't mean I haven't seen improvements. And I'm sure you have too.

If only the people who worried about climate change as an existential threat would acknowledge that there have been improvements and let progress take its course, despite the shocking influence of deniers in this day and age.

Same question- What kind of racism are we living through right now if not 'overt' and who decides what qualifies as progress for African Americans?

Although I'm sure your heart is in the right place, I'd suggest caution when taking on the task of deciding what and what isn't an improvement- for Black and brown people anyway. There's no chance of me being hobbled for running away from a plantation, but there is a real possibility that I will be shot at a traffic stop by a policemen who is 'afraid for his life'. And statistically there is an overwhelming possibility that the officer will go unpunished. Is that progress? To an outsider perhaps it is. For me, someone who was never in danger of being hobbled in the first place- no, it is not. It's simply a trade off, updated for the times we live in.  Instead of gauging my station based on standards from the 19th or even early 20th century, I choose to compare and contrast my life to what is or should be available to Black and brown people right now- this very moment.  

Now, if your examination concerns society as a whole and in a general sense your point is that we've all progressed because we no longer mail each other postcard pictures of lynchings, I would suggest that you search for and watch the footage of Philando Castille dying in front of his girlfriend and daughter. Which is worse- smiling congregants wearing straw bowlers in front of a charred and castrated corpse or listening to a woman narrate a murder as her man whimpers, bleeds out and dies with her baby crying in the back seat - or a man begging for breath as he's strangled to death on a dirty city sidewalk? 

Which one best exemplifies progress? Which one depicts the greatest distance from the way it used to be way back when those smoky lynching pictures were all the rage?

I choose to see the world as it is. I'd love to have the luxury of being shocked by a police chief ranting about how much he hates *******, but I know that there's nothing out of the ordinary about him and I know that he's only the current version- soon to be followed by another and another and another. And I know that feigning surprise at his ascension, as if our society wasn't built on precisely the sentiment that he verbalizes, is a weak, disingenuous and dangerous diversion that we all apply too often.