You have no doubt heard about the racist conversation recorded among certain LA City Council members. It was terrible and a number of those involved have stepped down. (Not all have realized that it’s just a matter of time…) This is what happened:
Behind closed doors, Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez made openly racist remarks, derided some of her council colleagues and spoke in unusually crass terms about how the city should be carved up politically.
The conversation remained private for nearly a year, until a leaked recording reverberated explosively Sunday and turned the focus of a sprawling metropolis toward Los Angeles City Hall.
By Sunday evening, three of Martinez’s council colleagues had called for her to resign. The leak had quickly become a new and incendiary issue in the coming Nov. 8 election, with candidates — some of them endorsed by Martinez — having to stake out positions.
Martinez and the other Latino leaders present during the taped conversation were seemingly unaware they were being recorded as Martinez said a white councilmember handled his young Black son as though he were an “accessory” and described Councilman Mike Bonin’s son as “Parece changuito,” or “like a monkey.”
Council President Nury Martinez makes racist remarks about Councilmember Mike Bonin’s young son while others chime in during this section of the conversation. The group was discussing a dispute between Councilmembers Curren Price and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who were at odds last year over whose district would represent USC and Exposition Park once the new maps were finalized. The clip begins with Martinez recounting a conversation she allegedly had with businessman Danny Bakewell.
During the conversation with Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, Martinez described Bonin at one point as a “little bitch,” according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The Times.Martinez also mocked Oaxacans and said “F— that guy … He’s with the Blacks” while speaking about Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón.
De León appeared to compare Bonin’s handling of his child to Martinez holding a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Every prominent Democrat from Mayor Eric Garcetti to President Biden demanded they resign. The party simply doesn’t stand for this kind of talk. It’s disgusting.
Meanwhile, when Republican US Senator Tommy Tuberville said this at a huge rally in public the crowd cheered wildly and nobody in the GOP said a word:
I’m pointing this out for no specific reason other than to reiterate once again that fundamentally America’s two parties can be easily defined as racist/anti-racist. It’s not that the Democratic party doesn’t have its share of racists. Obviously, it does. But the party doesn’t endorse it and condemns it when it comes to light. The Republicans cheer.
I know it’s obvious but it’s rare that we see such a perfect contrast in real time.