Magic Mountain sued for alleged race discrimination
Posted
Dozens of suits say Six Flags Magic Mountain is guilty of racial profiling by security. The plaintiffs in these suits say that the park selectively chooses African American and Latino guests and ejects them from the park.
Read more from The LA Times.
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I am a white person, but don't say for a second I don't know discrimination. Simply because of the fact that I have long hair, I'm looked at as someone who potentially could cause a crime, some rednecks out there want to beat me up, they've surrounded me before right before I told them off and pulled out a phone and hit 9-1-1 which afterwards, after they'd all ran away, the cops thought I made up the whole story and I had to pay a huge sum, and got a local police force that already looked at me bad to even dislike me more. That's one example, there's many others, I am a touch of red (Navajo), and I do put up with crap for staying close to those roots as well.
What am I saying? Well, I think my opinion is valid here, but you don't have to have faced racism to have a valid opinion on this. I think that we haven't heard the whole story yet. Living in Chicago, I hear too much of Jesse Jackson claiming racism on every little thing that happens that I may have lost some sympathy, but then again, minorities aren't the only ones who have faced racism, whites do face racism too. Remember the fairly recent riots in Cincinatti? Random white people were pulled from their cars and beaten by large groups of black people, and similar crimes occured throughout the riots, all because of the action of one white person. No, whites don't face the same racism as minorities, but there is some that they do face. Yet, I will still be brutally truthful here, there are a large amount of black people out there that are overly paranoid of racism too. Another Chicagoland area case in recent history was the case of three young black men who at a high school football game started a large brawl in the stands, there was videotape footage of it, and it was clear that they had started the brawl, but in comes Jesse Jackson claiming racism after the three kids had been expelled, if it were white kids, they'd have been expelled too, but Jesse Jackson somehow (I'll give him credit, he must be a very convincing man) got an entire group of people, white and black, claiming racism along with him when it was obvious that these kids were wrong and rightfully expelled, and the school did even go as far as to offer alternative schooling, but I guess that isn't good enough.
Those are just a couple of examples, I won't even go into how my mother can't even give 1/4 of her minority students detentions in her classes without racism being shouted at her, it's pathetic. It's not even the majority of the minority community, it's a small fraction, but they make all the others look bad with their whining.
Finally, I'm simply saying that there are two sides of the story, in any case, both sides have their story, and we haven't heard SFMM's side, and in any case, each side will leave out some of the other side's case, obviously not wanting to help them, it's always the case.
Now, just to set the record straight, I am not racist, I am actually involved in several anti-racist movements, but I don't believe in people crying racism at every little thing, I have several black, mexican, and any area of asian friends who'll back me up there, because it just makes all of them look bad.
What am I saying? Well, I think my opinion is valid here, but you don't have to have faced racism to have a valid opinion on this. I think that we haven't heard the whole story yet. Living in Chicago, I hear too much of Jesse Jackson claiming racism on every little thing that happens that I may have lost some sympathy, but then again, minorities aren't the only ones who have faced racism, whites do face racism too. Remember the fairly recent riots in Cincinatti? Random white people were pulled from their cars and beaten by large groups of black people, and similar crimes occured throughout the riots, all because of the action of one white person. No, whites don't face the same racism as minorities, but there is some that they do face. Yet, I will still be brutally truthful here, there are a large amount of black people out there that are overly paranoid of racism too. Another Chicagoland area case in recent history was the case of three young black men who at a high school football game started a large brawl in the stands, there was videotape footage of it, and it was clear that they had started the brawl, but in comes Jesse Jackson claiming racism after the three kids had been expelled, if it were white kids, they'd have been expelled too, but Jesse Jackson somehow (I'll give him credit, he must be a very convincing man) got an entire group of people, white and black, claiming racism along with him when it was obvious that these kids were wrong and rightfully expelled, and the school did even go as far as to offer alternative schooling, but I guess that isn't good enough.
Those are just a couple of examples, I won't even go into how my mother can't even give 1/4 of her minority students detentions in her classes without racism being shouted at her, it's pathetic. It's not even the majority of the minority community, it's a small fraction, but they make all the others look bad with their whining.
Finally, I'm simply saying that there are two sides of the story, in any case, both sides have their story, and we haven't heard SFMM's side, and in any case, each side will leave out some of the other side's case, obviously not wanting to help them, it's always the case.
Now, just to set the record straight, I am not racist, I am actually involved in several anti-racist movements, but I don't believe in people crying racism at every little thing, I have several black, mexican, and any area of asian friends who'll back me up there, because it just makes all of them look bad.
Nice Job Pantera, thats what I was trying to get at, but I didn't have enough to back it up. To clear up my above post, I was using THEM as the KIDS. I am not a racist, but I just don't understand why people can say, "that it was because of our race..." Yes, it happens. Am I saying that some people lie, yes. Not all though. I think if the kids did something wrong which caused them to be ejected from the park, then the park did the right thing. If it was because of their race, then the park should take the blame. In some of these cases, some people blame it on their race to get money, and that is a flaw in our justice system. Here in NJ, many people of the same race were being pulled over on the parkway or the turnpike (can't remember) for speeding, and they blamed it on the cops for being racists, when in fact they were speeding. Its not like they dont pull over any other people.
PP: First off that school was in Decatur, Il about 2hrs away from Chicago. Two, some might say that the Cincy riots were an example of "chicken's coming home to roost", the angst being the result of a series of racial events. Three, being from Chicagoland, you should know that racisim is very much alive. Need I remind you of those 3 teenage white boys who beat up the little black boy who only "crime" was riding his bike in Bridgeport?
Nitro: If you're going to say that the whole story isnt out yet, then you shouldnt be making any conclusions as to whether they are lying or not. Please! I would much rather be left the hell alone than have someone pay me a whole lot of money AFTER they humiliated me.
There are some serious issues with our justice systems in general. Fully 77% percent of this Country is classified as "white", yet they make up well less than half of the prision population. Are minorities more prone to commit crimes or are they simply more likely to be prosecuted for those crimes? Something stinks there and it aint a jock strap!
lata,
jeremy
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01
Nitro: If you're going to say that the whole story isnt out yet, then you shouldnt be making any conclusions as to whether they are lying or not. Please! I would much rather be left the hell alone than have someone pay me a whole lot of money AFTER they humiliated me.
There are some serious issues with our justice systems in general. Fully 77% percent of this Country is classified as "white", yet they make up well less than half of the prision population. Are minorities more prone to commit crimes or are they simply more likely to be prosecuted for those crimes? Something stinks there and it aint a jock strap!
lata,
jeremy
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01
I don't think he can make it any clearer! He isn't trying to say anything. He is saying that the prison population in disproportionately black compared to the overall US population.
Why is that? Two reasons: One is the statistical fact that black people are more likely to be convicted for a crime than white people for the same crime, and two, because it is a statistical fact that the average income of black people in this country is significantly lower than white people, which in turn means that there are more black people who live in lower income neighborhoods where people are statistically more likely to participate in crime. Why is that true? Because it is a statistical fact that black people are paid less for the same job than white people.
So when you look at it from a pure statistical view, the "overly black" prison population can be attributed to racism.
Now, I hope I'm not the only person here who finds it ridiculous that any white person could even possibly understand the discrimination committed against blacks and Latinos. I'd be insulted. I'm a white, heterosexual, Christian male who paid more in taxes last year than most people grossed. I'm not even going to begin to try and understand what kind of discrimination minorities face.
And by the way, my two best friends are black and Filipino. That doesn't give me bonus points or insight to know what the discriminatory practices of society are like.
OK, all of that aside, can we even begin to speculate on this lawsuit? Of course not! We don't know the facts. Let it go until we hear what the court has to say.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Why is that? Two reasons: One is the statistical fact that black people are more likely to be convicted for a crime than white people for the same crime, and two, because it is a statistical fact that the average income of black people in this country is significantly lower than white people, which in turn means that there are more black people who live in lower income neighborhoods where people are statistically more likely to participate in crime. Why is that true? Because it is a statistical fact that black people are paid less for the same job than white people.
So when you look at it from a pure statistical view, the "overly black" prison population can be attributed to racism.
Now, I hope I'm not the only person here who finds it ridiculous that any white person could even possibly understand the discrimination committed against blacks and Latinos. I'd be insulted. I'm a white, heterosexual, Christian male who paid more in taxes last year than most people grossed. I'm not even going to begin to try and understand what kind of discrimination minorities face.
And by the way, my two best friends are black and Filipino. That doesn't give me bonus points or insight to know what the discriminatory practices of society are like.
OK, all of that aside, can we even begin to speculate on this lawsuit? Of course not! We don't know the facts. Let it go until we hear what the court has to say.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Both my father and brother are police officers, and I've even had the opportunity to shadow the police in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland. Although the population is overwhelmingly white, nearly half of the crimes are caused by minorities, many of which aren't actually from Parma. I've seen some pretty weird instances, like where three black ladies were beating each other with the Club car security lock and macing each other. As soon as the police tried breaking the fight up, they called the police "honkys" and said they were only trying to stop the fight because of their skin color. As for Cincinnati, it seems a lot of people when they hear the police shot a black suspect that immediately the police are portrayed as villains, when in the vast majority of the incidents, the suspects had numerous previous arrest records and either attacked the police or tried to run from them. Of course there are police that are racist, but because I belong to a family of police who aren't, it really bothers me when people play the race card on them just to get what they want. In this case, I agree with Jeff, that we should all see what the court decides. . .
I agree with most of Jeff's comments. However, saying that whites couldn't possibly understand racism is a little too general. Holocaust survivors might beg to differ. White kids who grew up in neighborhoods where they were a minority, like yours truly, might beg to differ. (although hatred at the hands of kids is a bit different than hatred at the hands of adults)
But, I'd imagine that I have a much easier time getting work than minorities. Racism exists and needs to be dealt with in this country for sure.
As for this case, let's stay posted.
My 2 cents: I think that regardless of race, security keeps a closer eye on guests who look menacing (countenance) than those who just seem to be having a good time. The southern California parks tend to have very diverse guests. I've never seen anyone getting thrown out or bothered by security. Which means of course that I wasn't there wehen the plaintiffs were removed from the park. So what do I know?
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Yeeee Haaawwww! *** This post was edited by janfrederick on 8/15/2001. ***
But, I'd imagine that I have a much easier time getting work than minorities. Racism exists and needs to be dealt with in this country for sure.
As for this case, let's stay posted.
My 2 cents: I think that regardless of race, security keeps a closer eye on guests who look menacing (countenance) than those who just seem to be having a good time. The southern California parks tend to have very diverse guests. I've never seen anyone getting thrown out or bothered by security. Which means of course that I wasn't there wehen the plaintiffs were removed from the park. So what do I know?
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Yeeee Haaawwww! *** This post was edited by janfrederick on 8/15/2001. ***
"First off that school was in Decatur, Il about 2hrs away from Chicago."
Yes, that's true, but it was all over the news in Chicago, and that's what I was getting at.
"Two, some might say that the Cincy riots were
an example of "chicken's coming home to roost", the angst being the result of a series of racial events."
Your point? That doesn't make what happened right, they had no right to randomly beat on people just because they were white, neither did the cops have rights to do the things they did, but they shouldn't have taken the law into their own hands and there's no real way you can condone their actions.
Three, being from
Chicagoland, you should know that racisim is very much alive. Need I remind you of those 3 teenage white boys who beat
up the little black boy who only "crime" was riding his bike in Bridgeport?
Yes, I know that there is racism, I ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, but seemingly every time something bad happens to a minority it's screamed out as racism when that's rarely the case. I've been to SFMM, at first when I read the headline, I thought there was a chance that the case would be white people claiming they were treated unfairly at the park, because that was the impression I was given of the security when I was there. None of us know the exact story, but there is two sides of the story, I still think the chances are that racism is not involved at all. I'll post more later, I'm in a hurry to get out of my house right now.
Yes, that's true, but it was all over the news in Chicago, and that's what I was getting at.
"Two, some might say that the Cincy riots were
an example of "chicken's coming home to roost", the angst being the result of a series of racial events."
Your point? That doesn't make what happened right, they had no right to randomly beat on people just because they were white, neither did the cops have rights to do the things they did, but they shouldn't have taken the law into their own hands and there's no real way you can condone their actions.
Three, being from
Chicagoland, you should know that racisim is very much alive. Need I remind you of those 3 teenage white boys who beat
up the little black boy who only "crime" was riding his bike in Bridgeport?
Yes, I know that there is racism, I ACKNOWLEDGED THAT, but seemingly every time something bad happens to a minority it's screamed out as racism when that's rarely the case. I've been to SFMM, at first when I read the headline, I thought there was a chance that the case would be white people claiming they were treated unfairly at the park, because that was the impression I was given of the security when I was there. None of us know the exact story, but there is two sides of the story, I still think the chances are that racism is not involved at all. I'll post more later, I'm in a hurry to get out of my house right now.
That story was all over the news "everywhere" I live in DC and I saw it. It was really interesting to me because I have friends/family that live in Decatur.
True, it *DOES NOT* make it right. But seriously, when you get crapped on over and over and over, a soul can only take so much. There will be an explosion. I dont condone it, but like Chris Rock said "I understand".
And I would disagree with you on whether or not racism is "rarely" the case. I think it is a contributing factor FAR more than the majority is comfortable with admitting to. But if you like, we can agree to disagree here. I've had far too many firsthand experiences with racism to ever be able to agree with your allegation.
love peace and hairgrease
jeremy
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"I propose that a smart death ray be designed to smite any who attempt to smoke in a line queue. " - Figaro
True, it *DOES NOT* make it right. But seriously, when you get crapped on over and over and over, a soul can only take so much. There will be an explosion. I dont condone it, but like Chris Rock said "I understand".
And I would disagree with you on whether or not racism is "rarely" the case. I think it is a contributing factor FAR more than the majority is comfortable with admitting to. But if you like, we can agree to disagree here. I've had far too many firsthand experiences with racism to ever be able to agree with your allegation.
love peace and hairgrease
jeremy
-------------
"I propose that a smart death ray be designed to smite any who attempt to smoke in a line queue. " - Figaro
love peace and hairgrease
I'm gonna start out by saying that when I read that line, I laughed pretty hard, I like it.
Yet, going into the issue, yes, there is a lot of racism out there, but especially in the Decatur case, it wasn't there, those kids clearly acted up and got what was coming to them. My mother is a teacher, and she can't give a kid a simple detention without the parents calling up and whining about how the school is so racist. In fact, I'll give a specific case that is a good example of how bad it's gotten.
Another teacher at the school, who is black, gave a black student a detention. The student had been caught red handed throwing a large amount of food in the cafeteria. The mother of this student didn't know that the teacher who gave her kid a detention was black, automatically cried racism and was just so sure that my mom's school was the most racist school in the town. She came in for a conference, and when she came in, my mother was standing there, and all my mother could tell me from there that the look on her face was priceless, the woman tried to swerve the story around to involve other teachers, which it didn't and keep the racism thing going, but to no avail, the kid had his detention, and it stuck.
Then again, black parents aren't the only ones who whine and complain when their kid's given a detention, white parents too will try to claim that the teacher's, "Out to get my kid!" It's pathetic how much the responsibility factor in this country's actually gone down, everything's everyone else's fault.
And about the thing in Cincinatti, even when that explosion comes, why take it out on innocent people? Those people were acting no different than those people we consider monsters out there for holding a small group of people hostage in different places. I understand that they're really ticked off, but there is NO EXCUSE for taking it out on innocent people, if you want to get your point made, go straight to the authorities, go to the governor, the chief of police, but it's plain sickening and stupid to go after innocent people just trying to make their living.
I'm gonna start out by saying that when I read that line, I laughed pretty hard, I like it.
Yet, going into the issue, yes, there is a lot of racism out there, but especially in the Decatur case, it wasn't there, those kids clearly acted up and got what was coming to them. My mother is a teacher, and she can't give a kid a simple detention without the parents calling up and whining about how the school is so racist. In fact, I'll give a specific case that is a good example of how bad it's gotten.
Another teacher at the school, who is black, gave a black student a detention. The student had been caught red handed throwing a large amount of food in the cafeteria. The mother of this student didn't know that the teacher who gave her kid a detention was black, automatically cried racism and was just so sure that my mom's school was the most racist school in the town. She came in for a conference, and when she came in, my mother was standing there, and all my mother could tell me from there that the look on her face was priceless, the woman tried to swerve the story around to involve other teachers, which it didn't and keep the racism thing going, but to no avail, the kid had his detention, and it stuck.
Then again, black parents aren't the only ones who whine and complain when their kid's given a detention, white parents too will try to claim that the teacher's, "Out to get my kid!" It's pathetic how much the responsibility factor in this country's actually gone down, everything's everyone else's fault.
And about the thing in Cincinatti, even when that explosion comes, why take it out on innocent people? Those people were acting no different than those people we consider monsters out there for holding a small group of people hostage in different places. I understand that they're really ticked off, but there is NO EXCUSE for taking it out on innocent people, if you want to get your point made, go straight to the authorities, go to the governor, the chief of police, but it's plain sickening and stupid to go after innocent people just trying to make their living.
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