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Shirley Sherrod, former Director of Rural Development for Georgia, resigned from her position after clips of her speaking at an NAACP conference, saying she refused to fully help a white farmer avoid foreclosure, were released by conservative writer Andrew Breitbart, taking the Internet by storm.
Sherrod said she was forced out of her position by the White House, but according to USDA secretary Tom Vilsack, the decision had nothing to do with the White House and was his responsibility.
In an era where people rely on headlines and 140 character tweets to find out what's going on in the world, it is becoming increasingly easy for the public to be manipulated by soundbites and 30-second clips.
Sherrod's resignation from the USDA over a clip taken from a video shows how easy it has become to manufacture a racially orientated media firestorm.
As someone who has also had their words taken out of context in the national media and seen the ensuing reaction, I know how easy it is to create a storm in a teacup by only presenting a tiny portion of an article or a speech as if it is a true representation of a person's views.
The very nature of a short clip means that it cannot possibly provide the reader or listener with a true understanding of what was said. At its best, it can provoke a knee jerk reaction, which is what seems to be the intended outcome in cases like these.
The very nature of a short clip means that it cannot possibly provide the reader or listener with a true understanding of what was said. At its best, it can provoke a knee jerk reaction, which is what seems to be the intended outcome in cases like these.
I'm not saying that Sherrod was right. I don't know. And neither does anyone else - because we haven't seen the whole video. Until the entire video is seen, it is not possible to garner from that clip the exact context of what she was saying. You cannot understand anything without understanding its context. I also wonder how valid it is to have people resign from a current position in which they are considered to be performing effectively based on incidents that happened decades ago.
This is the very same type of incident that happened with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with her "wise Latina" comments. When one actually listens to what Sotomayor said in full, it is nothing like the divisive, inflammatory comment that it was portrayed as. Sherrod's case also has parallels with Van Jones and Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
Unfortunately, the White House's willingness to force resignations without seemingly understanding the full range of the issue also stokes up the idea that short clips and soundbites carry weight. According to Sherrod, she was called 4 times by the White House administration and asked to resign.
Admittedly it is problematic that anyone in a high-ranking position would say that racial reasons prevented them from "[giving] the full force of what I could do." However, Sherrod has said that the clip had been selectively edited and that the point of the speech was to show that she'd learned that race was not the issue at all.
Personally, I'm tired of this lazy form of "journalism," which seems to only stoke up tensions, fears and sensationalism rather than promote any critical discussion or thinking. If Sherrod was acting inappropriately, she should be dealt with based on the facts, not on soundbites.
Unfortunately, the White House's willingness to force resignations without seemingly understanding the full range of the issue also stokes up the idea that short clips and soundbites carry weight. According to Sherrod, she was called 4 times by the White House administration and asked to resign.
Admittedly it is problematic that anyone in a high-ranking position would say that racial reasons prevented them from "[giving] the full force of what I could do." However, Sherrod has said that the clip had been selectively edited and that the point of the speech was to show that she'd learned that race was not the issue at all.
Personally, I'm tired of this lazy form of "journalism," which seems to only stoke up tensions, fears and sensationalism rather than promote any critical discussion or thinking. If Sherrod was acting inappropriately, she should be dealt with based on the facts, not on soundbites.
Comments: (39)
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By: rik on 7/20/2010 6:00PM
I read her story, and its a shame. Talking about being thrown under the bus, but not only the white house but the NAACP.
The wife of the whate farmer, refers to sherrod as a friend who helped saved their farm. Now the NCAAP say's they are reviewing the information. They should have done that before issueing the intial statement condeming Ms Sherrod.
I dont blame the sound bit, I blame the folks who didnt do their homework.
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By: Calvin on 7/21/2010 6:40AM
we are all to fast to jump on the band wagon,without knowing all the facts,I feel sorry for all who got caught up in this.I really feel sorry for the President,one time in his life he could have stood behind one of his workers,and he didn't ,because he was worried about what the contry was going to say about it.Know your Facts,before Jumping in.
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By: alie on 7/21/2010 12:27AM
I listened to the ed show on msnbc, apparently fox news edited and doctored the full tape, shame on them and all news stations who do this kind of thing, sound bits should be banned, the white farmer she saved our supporting her, no doubt fox news will give a apology not! racism news channels
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By: alie on 7/21/2010 12:26AM
the naacp are a waist of time, they have been bought by the whitehouse just for black votes!
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By: jr on 7/20/2010 7:15PM
Why exactly was she fired? I watched the 2-minute clip and it seemed to me that years ago she made the mistake of letting her emotions, about a farmer's race, color her decision about how much aid that man was going to get. However, she then states that she learned her lesson, realizing that his race was not as important as his humanity.
None of us are perfect. In this case, very few of us would have a job because we have all made assumptions based on race at some point in our lives.
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By: bigjeans on 7/20/2010 9:03PM
Please listen to the hold video, not part of it
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By: Cecil Jones on 7/20/2010 8:10PM
What upsets me about this "Bacodebus" story is "Now they will look for a reason to justify the conclusion they reached." If this woman ever farted in a meeting she's toasted. Will the NAACP admit they are too active on race now?
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By: irisluvalot on 7/21/2010 9:56PM
So Sad,and petty this is what our nation is showing the rest of the world.trying to show how far we have come only to have it turned around and undermined by people who clam to be true patriots. America the truth is we have a wonderful chance to show that we truly have evolved, That we are a nation as great as our founding fathers,and mothers hoped. that our civil rights leaders and ancester's on all sides fought and died for this nation was built by Indians,Whites,Blacks,Latinos,Chines,Japanese,and all the other beautiful races and creeds and colors of people that enrich this country every generation of people has had to find away to move this nation forward and race has always been a thorn that we keep kicking against.It's like trying to swallow a camel when were gagging on a nat.We all have times that we say or do something that we may not be so proud of it's called being humane God bless our sweet and beautiful America and help us to grow and prosper. Amen
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By: MeritaBread on 7/20/2010 10:28PM
A perfect "rush to judgment" case by the NAACP, the USDA, and, the White House. Looks like the NAACP and the White House bent over backwards to prove how fair minded and sensitive they are to what might be deemed reverse racism. President Obama, being the great compromiser and people pleaser that he is will probably never again come to the defense of another Black person after the outpouring of vitriol following the Professor Gates debacle. The only RIGHT thing to do here is to reinstate this woman to her job; stand up to Fox (pseudo)News and this Breitbart character who manufactured this story. What was done to this woman is no different than what was done to countless African Americans during the Jim Crow era and the fight for civil rights. The shame here is that the perpetrators of this miscarriage of justice were able to manipulate the very agency that was so instrumental in bringing about an end to Jim Crow and the administration which is a crowning achievement of the Civil Rights Movement into partaking in this woman's unfair dismissal. If this dismissal stands, she needs to file a claim with the Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Despite what she said, that farmer did NOT lose his farm. His wife acknowledges that WHAT she did, even if not all she could do, was enough to keep them out of foreclosure. She counts this woman a "friend for life." Ms. Sherrod used that incident as a teaching moment in her growth as a better human beings and these evil practitioners of hate have taken her statement out of context and used it to crucify her.
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By: alie on 7/21/2010 5:36AM
well said i watched the full video what did she say that was so wrong, i think president obama should listen more carefully to the facts before he jumps and makes a decision, he probably needs a holiday, it seems to be clowding his judgement!
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