Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, on the far left (obviously). ;)
Posted on 04/08/2008 4:43:39 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Delegate for Obama quits over remark
CARPENTERSVILLE, IL
Says when she called black kids 'monkeys,' she was asking them to get out of tree
April 8, 2008
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com
Moving to nip in the bud some potential bad press, White House hopeful Barack Obama's campaign persuaded a delegate to step down after she was ticketed for calling her neighbor's African-American children "monkeys."
Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, a Carpentersville village trustee, was elected as an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She sports an Obama sign in her front yard.
On Saturday, two neighbor children were playing in the tree next-door to her house.
Ramirez-Sliwinski "came outside and told the children to quit playing in the tree like monkeys. The tree was not on Ramirez-Sliwinski's property," Carpentersville Police Commander Michael Kilbourne said.
Ramirez-Sliwinski admitted she used the word "monkeys," but said she did not intend racism. She said she was only trying to protect them from falling out of the tree.
"Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski said she saw the kids playing in the tree and didn't want them falling out of the tree and getting hurt. She said she calls her own grandchildren 'monkeys,' " Kilbourne said. The mother of one of the children did not see it that way, noting she and Ramirez-Sliwinski have clashed before.
"She felt it was racist because of the fact the children were African-American," Kilbourne said.
Told of the incident Monday by the Sun-Times, Obama's campaign called Ramirez-Sliwinski and persuaded her to step aside as a delegate because the campaign felt her remarks were "divisive and unacceptable."
"Given the incident, she is stepping down as a delegate and will be replaced," said campaign spokesman Ben Labolt.
Ramirez-Sliwinski did not return messages seeking comment Monday. She told the Daily Herald she meant no racism with her comment but that "after this incident, I will not run again" for trustee.
The only Hispanic on the board, Ramirez-Sliwinski has been a strong voice for Carpentersville's 40 percent Hispanic population. She and Village President Bill Sarto opposed an English-only proposition and an ordinance to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Opposition leader Judy Sigwalt said, "We are elected officials. We are in a position where people look to us for leadership and professionalism. We have to be diplomatic at all times."
Sarto said he hopes Ramirez-Sliwinski will plead "not guilty" to the $75 charge and stay on the board: "Frankly, I don't see a law that was broken here. She's a good neighbor. She went over to caution the children to be careful not to fall out of a tree. We have a trustee who has been convicted on four counts of domestic battery and refuses to resign from the board."
Don't you love it when a sancturay city backer gets bounced from Obama's campaign for alleged racial remarks.
Finger pointer should look into a mirror April 7, 2008
"Carpentersville trustee Linda Ramirez Sliwinski, who says she’s the Latino leader and has a very bad habit of calling anyone who opposes illegal immigration, as RACISTS and BIGOTS, has shown her true colors. "
http://carpentersvilleplayhouse.wordpress.com/
So, it's illegal to say "monkey" now?
"ticketed"?! WTF?
Wow, sticks and stones.
Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, on the far left (obviously). ;)
NOI member?
She broke the law! Ask George Orwell.
The irony in this story is enough to write a book about.
Good thing she didn’t call them cotton-picking monkeys.
This is so stupid. I used to call my kids “monkeys”.
I was watching Geraldine Ferraro on O’Reilly last night. She was “deeply hurt” by charges of racism over the past few weeks.
I don’t have much sympathy for these libs. They are the ones that started and encouraged this nonsense, and now that it has reached impossible proportions, they are shocked, just shocked.
I guess Mr. Obama has never listened to rap music......a place where very “creative” labels for black americans can be found.
Maybe she threatened to spank the monkeys.
While I can somewhat agree with your premise, I personally am fed up with the PC crap. WE call our own daughters “monkey” and many other names on occasion.
While in this PC world, calling black children “monkeys” when they are climbing a tree would seem innocent, nothing is any more. Rather depressing thought.
Typical white lady.
I truly wonder what kind of world my kids are going to inherit when I read stories like this.
They will never have the chance to know how good we had it when we were growing up.
“She broke the law! Ask George Orwell.”
...”The idiot liberals betray their incredible inability to reason or be honest through their positions. Think about it. On the one hand they claim their goal is a “color blind” society - yet, at the very same time, they preach preserving every archaic and mostly useless custom, tradition and myth for every culture that comes through America’s broad and welcoming door. Well, which is it, you idiots? Are we all the same? Or is each so uniquely different we need to indulge stupidity like Kwanza, or Cinco de Mayo through national declaration? Because, what you morons haven’t figured out, or won’t admit, is that you can’t have it both ways.”...
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