My first experience with Andrew Young came when I arrived at college the week he was to speak at the student union. He was mayor of Atlanta, and the Atlanta child murders were all the news. Across the union stage was the banner "Stop Racist Murders."
A noble sentiment in general, but the presumptuousness of attaching it specifically to this crime was galling. A few months later a non-racist Wayne Williams was arrested for the crimes.
Young is back in the limelight, this time for making an unfortunate remark while serving as an image-builder for Wal-Mart:
Andrew Young, the former United Nations ambassador and mayor of Atlanta, said Thursday he has resigned as head of Working Families for Wal-Mart, a Washington-based group that supports the retail giant.His resignation followed the publication of comments he made to a reporter about Jewish-, Asian- and Arab-owned businesses.
...
In an interview published in Thursday's Los Angeles Sentinel, Young was asked to comment on whether he is concerned that Wal-Mart causes mom-and-pop stores to close."Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood," the Sentinel, a newspaper serving the African-American community, reported. "But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us — selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores."
Young made a lovely apology and should be given credit for resigning with grace. He's had a bit of practice resigning under fire, and it has served him in good stead.
Good luck on your next endeavor, Andrew!
(Via Lucianne.)
Posted by floridacracker at August 18, 2006 11:14 AMOMG!!! I wondered where that strong wind came from. Now I know. It was the heads of Wal-Mart's upper management spinning around out of control!!!
Posted by: Tammi at August 18, 2006 01:11 PMIt's not like they didn't know Young was controversial when they hired him. They rolled the dice and they lost.
Posted by: Donnah at August 18, 2006 02:17 PMAt the core of every race-baiter is a racist and we've long known this to be true of Andrew Young.
Maybe, when Wal-Mart opens a store in Hell, Andrew Young will get a job there as a door greeter. It probably won't look much different than some of the Wal-Marts I've walked into but every item will be a price check and there will only be one parking space left.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not wishing Young ill (wow, that sounds North Korean name). I just can't resist the mental image of Andrew Young welcoming Joe Biden, who has arrived to buy a speech (by Neil Kinnock), Jimmy Carter in search of a clue (Sorry, still out of stock), or Hillary, standing in the returns line with her and her husband's campaign contributions and fees for sitting on Wal-Mart's board.
Posted by: tfhr at August 18, 2006 06:42 PMth Wl-Mrt frm hll, hh..??
Our Wally World has an IHOP and a Hooters in the parking lot..now if the whole complex was re-opened in Hell.. I can see Zell Miller standing on the porch of Hooter's shouting at the greeter (in this situation, Young)
much the same as they do during halftime, here.