Council, column address Call reporter’s remark

The flap over an anti-Semitic remark made in an electronic communication by Kansas City Call reporter Eric Wesson seems to have simmered down, but not before a couple of more jabs were exchanged late last week, after The Chronicle went to press.

On Thursday, June 18, Councilwoman Beth Gottstein referred obliquely to Wesson’s remark (See story, Chronicle, June 19, for details) within the text of an “anti-hate” resolution she presented and which the Council approved 9-0 that day. (See full text of resolution at right)

“It was not really targeted at Eric,” Gottstein said this week. “It was more talking about the impact of language and the cycle of events and how we need to be mindful.”

The resolution also condemned the June 10 murder, allegedly by a white supremacist, of a security guard Stephen Johns at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Gottstein said that “some good learning has come” out of the Wesson affair. “I visited with Eric and we pledged to find some ways to work together.”

More room for dialogue
For his part, Wesson penned a long opinion piece in the June 19-25 edition of The Call, Kansas City’s historically black newspaper.
Wesson’s column is titled “It’s Getting’ Hot in Here,” and the latest installment is headlined “Let’s Talk About The Elephant In The Room.” After calling attention to a number of perceived racial injustices around town, and without repeating the remark itself, Wesson gets into the controversy spawned by his remark about the Cordish family of Power & Light District infamy: “like all jews they look at money not black or white.”

That original e-mail was allegedly sent by Wesson while he was acting as a private citizen, and not as a Call reporter. However, Gottstein and other public figures received it, and it was posted at the Tony’s Kansas City blog.

“I admit that my wording and comments were inappropriate because I lumped a religious group (Jews) together and said they were ‘all’ a certain way,” Wesson writes in his column. “That was wrong. And my timing could not have been worse given it was around the same time that Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s comment that Jews were keeping him away from seeing President Barack Obama; the murder of a black security guard at the Holocaust museum and the sentencing of Bernard L. Madoff who swindled billions of dollars from countless numbers of American retirement funds.

“I’m like whaaaat? Have we all said or thought similar comments about Jews? Were my comments something that no one has heard before? Raise your hand if you have ever heard someone say, ‘Jews killed Jesus.’ ‘All Jews care about is making money. That is why they move their businesses into the black community.’ ‘Asians are the new Jews.’ ”

Wesson then rehashes the Supreme Court’s 1978 decision in the Bakke reverse-discrimination/affirmative-action case before returning to himself:

“My comments were not original and I am not trying to minimize the impact that those type of statements have on Jewish people. But, I don’t know of any black person in the country who has not heard any of those statements at least once in their lifetime. In all honesty, I don’t believe there is a Jewish person who has not heard those statements before. My statement was viewed as anti-Semitic.

“Although I have often heard the words anti-Semitic, I admit i never really knew what it meant. I always thought it was along the lines of a racial slur like the ‘n’ word or publicly trying to get all Jews killed. In fact, until recently, I thought using the word Jews was like using a racial slur.

“I can say that I am not against Jews or anti-anything but foolishness. I would view my comment as offensive, but hateful, no.”
When Gottstein read Wesson’s column Tuesday, she responded by saying “There may be more possibilities for learning.”

RESOLUTION NO. 090533, Condemning hate crimes and hate speech.

WHEREAS, on June 10, 2009, an armed assailant with ties to white supremacist organizations, a conviction for a violent crime, and a history of anti-Semitic and racist activities opened fire at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; and ...

WHEREAS, Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who had worked at the Museum for six years, was fired upon by the gunman and later. tragically succumbed to his wounds; and
WHEREAS, on the morning of June 11, 2009, a member of the Kansas City media distributed personal emails to several City Council offices, in which he made offensive, anti-Semitic comments; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation records show that law enforcement agencies reported 7,624 hate crime incidents involving 9,006 offenses in 2007; and
WHEREAS, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported in February 2009 that the number of hate groups had risen by more than 50 percent since 2000, from 602 to 926; and

WHEREAS, hate speech can be defined as speech intended to offend a person or group of people based on their race, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability language ability, ideology, social class, occupation, appearance (height, weight, hair color, etc.), mental capacity, or any other distinction that might be considered by some as a liability; and

WHEREAS, hate crimes are criminal acts or hate speech when motivated against an individual because of his or her status; and

WHEREAS, hate crimes and hate speech do not belong in a civilized society, and must be condemned; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council of Kansas City, Missouri condemn the violent attack on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on June 10, 2009, honor the bravery and dedication of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum employees and security personnel, and denounce all communications written in bitterness or naiveté, which express intolerance or hate, or perpetuate stereotypes of any kind.

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