It’s tempting to think that George Wallace-esque overt racism is dead and we are now mostly dealing with the more subtle forms of institutional and structural racism. It’s vital to deal with those things, of course. They are at the root of racial inequality. But no one should believe that the old-fashioned, in-your-face racism and hate has disappeared.
A case in point:
A Lafayette, Louisiana, city court judge resigned Friday over a video that surfaced earlier this month showing people using racist language at her home.Michelle Odinet apologized and took a leave of absence after the video became public. It showed surveillance footage — being played on a television at her house — of an outdoor altercation with a burglary suspect.As the unseen spectators watch the video, they comment on the footage while repeatedly using a racial slur, CNN has reported.
“I take full responsibility for the hurtful words I used to describe the individual who burglarized the vehicles at my home,” Odinet wrote in her resignation letter to Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer.
“After much reflection and prayer, and in order to facilitate healing within the community, I hereby resign as judge of the Lafayette City Court effective immediately,” she wrote.
Her language wasn’t euphemistically offensive. It was full-on All-American, Jim Crow-style grotesque racism:
Earlier this month, the Lafayette Police Department said, two vehicles were burglarized in the driveway of a home owned by Odinet and her husband. One of the victims was returning home when she or he saw the suspect exit one of the vehicles, police said. The suspect was pursued, caught and held down till officers arrived, police said.
In the video from Odinet’s home, which circulated online, people appear to be watching footage of the incident on a TV. A male voice is heard saying, “Mom’s yelling n***er, n***er.” A female voice then says while laughing, “It’s a n***er, like a roach.”It’s unknown who recorded the video or how it became public.Odinet apologized and said she’d been “given a sedative,” according to CNN affiliate KATC. She had no “recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it,” she said.
This woman was a judge. She was a prosecutor before she was a judge. She is an unreconstructed racist. Nobody talks like that who isn’t one.
And yeah, they need to take a look at her cases.
New Orleans’ DA will review old cases that were handled by a prosecutor who’s now a judge over a video with racist language
And I think it’s pretty clear she is far from alone.