Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, say it's racist

[Roo]

Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, say it's racist - CNN.com

Black Philadelphia police sue over message board, say it's racist

• Story Highlights
• Cops claim police message board "infested with racist, white supremacist" remarks
• Boards reference swim club incident, calls black kids "ghetto monkey faces"
• One post describes "no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing" black women
• Lawsuit seeks for site to be taken down or have cops stop posting during work

(CNN) -- A group of black Philadelphia police officers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against their department, alleging an online forum geared toward city police is "infested with racist, white supremacist and anti-African-American content."

The suit alleges white officers post on and moderate the privately operated site, Domelights.com, both on and off the job.

Domelights' users "often joke about the racially offensive commentary on the site ... or will mention them in front of black police officers," thus creating "a racially hostile work environment," according to lawyers for the all-black Guardian Civic League, the lead plaintiff in the suit.

A look at the site's forums Friday for racist comments found several possibilities.

Reads one: "In urban areas, it seems [African-Americans] living on welfare in paid for housing is ingrained in their culture as well as fighting. ... Kids, along with adults can't speak proper English or spell at a 3rd grade level, but they can sing among "theyselves" the lyrics to a rap song."

Said another Domelights user of an African-American woman: "She is a classic example of that exact non tax paying, no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing, all the whitey's are racist black women."

The site's tagline is "the voice of the good guys."

"Every time African-Americans do or say something in our city, we get this backlash of cops who think they're anonymous on this Web site -- just racist, nasty, hurtful things about what we do," said Rochelle Bilal, the president of the Guardian Civic League and a 23-year veteran of the force.

The league's attorney said other black officers echo Bilal's statement.

"We've heard the same story over and over again, which is that [African-American officers] witness in the workplace Domelights being used and discussed [in a racial manner]," said Brian Mildenberg, whose firm is also representing several campers from a mostly black Philadelphia day camp that recently gained national attention when its members were turned away from a swim club.

He said it was "a gift from the heavens in a way that the two things happened at once."

While Mildenberg and Bilal said they had been monitoring the 10-year-old Web site for years, the pool incident did seem to play into the timing of the lawsuit.

"When they said something about our pretty, brown, young, innocent children and called them monkeys because they wanted to go swimming, that was enough," Bilal said.

She may have been referring to this comment posted on Domelights: "Maybe the people who work for a living didn't want to swim with a bunch of ghetto monkey faces."

The lawsuit also highlights comments made on Domelights by the site's founder and administrator, a sergeant in the Philadelphia police force who goes by the online handle "McQ."

A statement from McQ that Mildenberg described as "racially abusive commentary" reads, "Blacks and other minorities frequently don't have the resources that white people have. Consequently, blacks may not be able to keep their vehicles inspected, registered, and roadworthy."

McQ is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. Asked why McQ bears responsibility for the racist remarks of his site's anonymous commenters, Mildenberg said it was because "he started it."

The person known as McQ did not respond to a request for comment, but posted a message on the site citing the lawsuit. McQ wrote that the suit may cause the Web site to be suspended, but added his statement was not an admission of wrongdoing.

"I categorically deny any wrongdoing on my part," the message reads. "I did not make racist posts. I did not maintain the Web site on city time."

Ideally, Mildenberg said, his clients would like to see the site shut down. Failing that, they want Philadelphia police officers to be prohibited from posting comments on the site, particularly during working hours.

The plaintiffs in the class-action suit also are seeking unspecified financial damages available under the Civil Rights Act for Philadelphia's 2,300 African-American police officers, according to Mildenberg.

Shelley Smith, Philadelphia's city solicitor, said. "The lawsuit is about a private Web site. It's not a police department Web site. It's not operated or overseen by the police department. The allegations against the city and police department are misplaced."

[meela188]

This is sad, and to think the "monkey face" comment came from a police officer paid to uphold the law.

[JAN!]

So childish and ignorant.

[ayla]

Originally Posted by Roo

Shelley Smith, Philadelphia's city solicitor, said. "The lawsuit is about a private Web site. It's not a police department Web site. It's not operated or overseen by the police department. The allegations against the city and police department are misplaced."

Could someone clarify, if say - you act agressively to a police officer while he is off duty (e.g. assault), is it considered assault on an officer ?

If private citizens could be held to a higher standard - perhaps the reverse should also be true ?

[elle1777]

It is so scary what you can find on the internet. The internet allows racist,misogynist, etc. creeps to be themselves. Our local craigslist page is full of awful racist rants :( . It is discouraging to come across these kinds of things

[~Fabulousity~]

Originally Posted by ayla

Could someone clarify, if say - you act agressively to a police officer while he is off duty (e.g. assault), is it considered assault on an officer ? If private citizens could be held to a higher standard - perhaps the reverse should also be true ?

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by meela188

This is sad, and to think the "monkey face" comment came from a police officer paid to uphold the law.

i know, it's shocking to hear that people actually have this mentality.

that's why i hate reading the commentaries on newsites that accompany any racial-related newstory (e.g. the pool incident). because there's always people who post the rudest, most bigoted comments yet they try to come off as moral and upright citizens.

to be quite honest, i would almost rather hear people be upfront and admit they were blatant racists and believed in supremacy etc than to hear people insist "they're not racist at all" yet say the most bigoted thing on the planet. I guess what bothers me the most is people who think they're so hard-working, honest and deserving yet the comments they make (IRL, or on an online forum) clearly indicates the opposite.

anyway, regarding the website & lawsuit, i don't know if there's really anything that can be done, since it's a private website and i'm all for First Amendment. However if the cops posting to the site while on the job is actually something that is happening, maybe something can be done about that. Though I think it would be hard to prove and to monitor that.

[bagaholic85]

i dont understand how that can be anyone's reaction to children being discriminated against. unbelievable.

[print*model]

What the hell is up with Philly lately?! But I'm not surprised. How disgusting. Not that I trust cops anyway, because I generally don't but speaking as a parent, how are you to trust police officers on any level when you know that some of them look at some children no differently than they do animals? "To Serve And Protect" my ass.......

No disrespect to anyone here who lives in or loves Philly but this is just another reason why I hate that city.

[goodmornin]

The internet is full of EXTREMELY disturbing content. I wish these police officers luck because stuff like this needs to be controlled in one way or another.

I was reading a regular blog once and clicked a link in the comments section which took me straight to the most disturbing site I have ever been to.. (stormfront.org)

I nearly threw up after reading a couple of their forum threads.

[nathansgirl1908]

Originally Posted by sweetneet

to be quite honest, i would almost rather hear people be upfront and admit they were blatant racists and believed in supremacy etc than to hear people insist "they're not racist at all" yet say the most bigoted thing on the planet. .

I feel the same way. In fact, I tell people all the time that the most dangerous racists are not always the ones who tell you they are racist. It's the ones who smile in your face, but work to enact legislation that is racist or something similar. It is the subtle racism that is the most difficult to combat.

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by nathansgirl1908

I feel the same way. In fact, I tell people all the time that the most dangerous racists are not always the ones who tell you they are racist. It's the ones who smile in your face, but work to enact legislation that is racist or something similar. It is the subtle racism that is the most difficult to combat.

so true. it's not really klan leaders or what not who are the ones who keep prejudices alive in this country, it's more "everyday" people like teachers who automatically dismiss a student from taking advanced classes because of his/her race or gender, or swim club board members who vote to kick a group of kids out of a pool. thing is, racism and sexism today is not as explicit as it was back in the 60s (there are no blatant signs, people are not as vocal about their views) so it is a lot harder to prove in various situations. that does not mean that it does not exist, however.

a recent study published in Science showed that most people have implicit prejudices without even being aware of it.

You may be more racist than you think, study says - CNN.com

the reality is, most people have prejudices, whether they admit to it or not. there's another thread on here that describes a study indicating that taller people earn more money, probably because most people have their own preconceptions about people who are taller (they are assumed to be more capable, have more leadership ability, etc). if people make assumptions about someone based on height, it's not surprising that people also make assumptions about people based on skin color, gender, etc.

[~Fabulousity~]

Originally Posted by nathansgirl1908

I feel the same way. In fact, I tell people all the time that the most dangerous racists are not always the ones who tell you they are racist. It's the ones who smile in your face, but work to enact legislation that is racist or something similar. It is the subtle racism that is the most difficult to combat.

very true

[Swanky Mama Of Three]

Legally, I would assume, and I have no idea, that the jobs of the folks on there are irrelevant UNLESS they post during/from work.
They're so ignorant and uneducated spewing such hate



I'm scared for my friends move to Philly

[Jahpson]

Quote:

"She is a classic example of that exact non tax paying, no car insurance driving, bad weave wearing, all the whitey's are racist black women."

in her defense, I can understand why she would think that (see this article). that officer isn't very smart.