University Of Kentucky Police Investigating Signs That Call Obama Racial Epithet

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Campus police at the University of Kentucky are investigating two incidents in which a sign was hung that used a racial slur to refer to President Barack Obama.

University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton says a professor found the first one on March 15 hanging on a door to the UK School of Law and turned it in.

A law student found another sign Thursday on a bus shelter.

Blanton says campus police could charge whoever posted the signs with third-degree criminal mischief. He says it's not clear whether anyone from the school is involved, but campus police are investigating because the first sign was on university property.

Comments

[trek15]

10:31 PM on 03/26/2011

It must be a bit hard to be a racist in Kentucky these days.

[enlightened45]

01:42 PM on 03/27/2011

Sure is, as well it should be...and the same should be applied to prejudices of all kinds, and these covert bigots should be rejected by responsible people...Hmmmm.......

[trek15]

04:29 PM on 03/27/2011

That's one of the lamest posts I've read in a good while. But nice try!

[calloy]

07:29 PM on 03/26/2011

racism is dying just as slow of a death as organized religion, but the world will be a much better place when they've both gone the way of the dinosaurs

[thesby tolbert]

03:02 PM on 03/26/2011

if that's what uk feels about obama give us back the four black hoop players that hepled uk beat ohio state last night!

[enlightened45]

03:58 PM on 03/26/2011

Most of the uninformed posters on this thread won't admit those players and many more, both black and white, have been proud to represent UK and even more pleased to take those lucrative jobs waiting for them after college ....or the even much more lucrative NBA careers.

[thesby tolbert]

07:31 PM on 03/26/2011

humm humm!

[thesby tolbert]

02:59 PM on 03/26/2011

if uk called obama a racial epithet give us back our four basketball back that hepled beat ohio state last night!

[JASONH0099]

02:00 PM on 03/26/2011

Before you play "pin the crime on perp." you may want to find out who the perp is. They might not belong to the group you think they do.......

[trek15]

03:32 PM on 03/26/2011

Yeah, the perps probably belong to the local chapter of the NAACP, or a local black church, or maybe local community organizing group. Yeah, that makes sense.
Or maybe it was latino group that did it?
Maybe a Native American or Asian group.
Out Mongolians?
Thais?
Incas?

[enlightened45]

03:49 PM on 03/26/2011

As I said before....bereft of usable am..mo...This battle is lost, trek....

[HoosierInMaryland]

09:53 PM on 03/25/2011

Many may wonder why, when referring to the state in this article, I call it Caintucky.

It's simple.

I grew up in the state of Indiana, and have always been a fan of Indiana University. A big rivalry for IU (outside Perdunk University), and therefore a hated foe, is the university that purports to represent the state mentioned in this article. I've cleaned up (to Caintucky) what the usual name IU fans have for that university and state, otherwise all my posts containing that name would not be allowed to appear.

And the contempt that people in the state of Indiana have for that state is not just limited to IU fans. It actually is not just a sports rivalry, but a contempt for the 'Southern' attitude of almost the entire state of Caintucky; the fact that Caintucky made sure the state line was the high water mark of the Ohio River on the north side of the river, not the usual down the middle of the river; and for other reasons.

I'm sure many people in Ohio and Illinois also can understand the 'dislike' (to put it as nicely as I can) that many people in Indiana hold for the residents in the state to the South. And I'm sure they can add their own reasons for that 'dislike'.

[jordanpalmerky]

03:35 AM on 03/26/2011

Be glad Kentucky did not invade Indiana (the Kentucky Militia was mobilized and ready) because Indiana held the person who assassinated our Governor in the early 1900's. 32 states have their own armies, navy, or air force that cannot be federalized per the U.S. Supreme Court.

Indiana is not know for equality, fairness, or public officials who actually do their job.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky works well with the State of Ohio and Illinois. After all, we gave you all the KASPER (Kentucky All Prescription Reporting System) because we invented it.

Grow up!

[HoosierInMaryland]

06:00 AM on 03/26/2011

I am glad, for Caintuckians, that Indiana was not invaded. If they had, though, maybe we would not have to be concerned with that state.

The Constitution clearly states that all states, upon petition from another state, shall extradite prisoners to another state. If Caintucky was ready to invade, they:
1. Either had not petitioned the state of Indiana, requesting the state to extradite the accused; or
2. Caintucky was trying to skirt around the Constitution then saying 'Ha ha. You can't do anything now." I'd have loved for them to have tried that, as the courts tend to have a very long memory, and don't forget slights to the Constitution.

Second - ALL states are able to have National Guard units. And when the President determines there is a need, they can be called up into National Service. NONE are exempt. It might behoove you to read Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. If you can't understand what it states, please have someone explain it to you.

Cutting to the chase, IF Caintucky had sent ANY military force into any other state, all the President would have had to do is call that military force into federal service, then as Commander in Chief, tell them to go home, and to go home as quickly as possible. Alternatively, he could have told them to march directly to the nearest federal military prison, and await a military courts martial on the charge of disobeying of orders.

[enlightened45]

11:48 AM on 03/26/2011

What rivalry? The Bobby Knight era of throwing chairs and slapping UK Coach Hall in the back is long gone and the glory days of IU basketball are but dim memories...Time to move on....

[HoosierInMaryland]

10:07 PM on 03/26/2011

Everyone was saying that Indiana's glory days were over in the late 1950s into most of the 1960s, even into the early years of the 1970s.

Funny thing is that Indiana has won more NCAA basketball championships since 1970 than they won prior to that date.

Oh, and I guess you've never heard of Hoosier Hysteria?

[NoWayMan]

07:05 PM on 03/25/2011

the following is a list of all the african american senators and congressmen elected to represent the state of kentucky in the history of the US:

[enlightened45]

12:25 PM on 03/26/2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans_in_the_United_States_Congress#List_of_African_Americans_in_the_United_States_Congress

Many other states are not on the list, but that did not play into your biased agenda....remember, the whole truth and nothing but the truth....NoWayMan...

[skyewriter]

01:26 PM on 03/26/2011

But I thought internet sources weren't reliable as you chastised me for below? As a college prof, if you submitted wiki as a source you would fail my class. Like I tell my students, the button on google reads "search" not "RE-search."

I am always unsurprised by your snark toward others who have a smaller fan-base and your obsequiousness towards those at whose feet your worship... (i.e., people with more fans than you).

[NoWayMan]

01:49 PM on 03/26/2011

HAHAHAHA!!!

first, if you want to talk about the "whole truth" then know that many of those states, like wyoming and montana, have pretty much zero representation for african americans anyway. so no one is expecting a possible black senator or congressmen from those states.

kentucky has a sizeable black population.

second, you can put up as many links as you like, but that won't the fact that kentucky has elected zero african americans to a nat'l post, won't make that fact any less true or any less meaningful.

keep trying.

[jordanpalmerky]

12:38 PM on 03/26/2011

So what? The Commonwealth has a ton of Black people in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

[NoWayMan]

01:50 PM on 03/26/2011

its good to hear kentucky is beginning to catch up, slowly but surely.

[jordanpalmerky]

06:46 PM on 03/25/2011

Oops, no, I made that comment to Kentucky Guardian. Here is the Kentucky Equality Federation post about what happened: http://blog.kyequality.org/2011/03/university-of-kentucky-sign-how-do-you.html

[jordanpalmerky]

06:41 PM on 03/25/2011

Obama has also been compared to Hitler (massive Billboards in the Arizona, Colorado, and other States), etc. Due to the passage of his Healthcare Act which the U.S. House of Representa­tive have vowed to repeal. In addition, some States have condemned and nullified the federal legislatio­n. - I took that comment from Kentucky Guardian.

[SIMPLICIMUSS]

12:44 PM on 03/26/2011

Methinks Goering had a special waiver !!

[drjuluka]

12:47 PM on 03/26/2011

I must admit that the conservative style of argument that rests on pseudo-logic and juxtaposition can be very effective, particularly in a society that seems determined to set the lowest educational standards possible. Good job Jason! I mean seriously, bud, the one fav I see is something to be proud of. Keep up the great work! A+

[jordanpalmerky]

06:36 PM on 03/25/2011

This is horrible, but does not reflect the opinion of the entire Commonwealth.

Like the Westboro Baptist Church, they are protected by freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the United States of American, in addition to Kentucky Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court Decisions.

As President of Kentucky Equality Federation, I do not see White, Black, Asian, Latino, Gay, Straight, etc. All groups deserve Equality under law. People need to be tough the building blocks of our Commonwealth and Republic: Diversity, Tolerance, and Acceptance. We must stand firm again all forms of discrimination.

In 2008, two college-age men were arrested after hanging an effigy of Obama from a tree on the UK campus with a noose around its neck. All charges against the people behind the 2008 stunt was dismissed as being protected by the Kentucky Constitution's Freedom of Expression, and they graduated from the University of Kentucky.

Obama has also been compared to Hitler (massive Billboards in the Arizona, Colorado, and other States), etc. Primary due to the passage of his Healthcare Act which the U.S. House of Representative have vowed to repeal. In addition, some States have condemned and nullified the federal legislation.

[skyewriter]

06:32 PM on 03/25/2011

According to the 2009 FBI report on hate crimes (http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2009/data/table_13.html) here are the top five states in terms of overall racially motivated hate crimes:

CA (1), NJ (2), MI (3), NY (4), OH (5) (all blue states 2008). All in top eleven in terms of population, too: CA: 1th, NJ:11th, MI: 8th, NY; 3rd, and OH, 7th.

Top five states with *percent* of hate crimes *racially* motivated per the same report:
MS: total hate crimes: 1 of 1 racially motivated=100%
KY total hate crimes: 95 of 150 total racially motivated=79%
WV: total hate crimes: 18 of 24 racially motivated =75%
LA: total hate crimes: 9 of 12 racially motivated= 75%
ND: total hate crimes: 10 of 14 racially motivated= 71%

[skyewriter]

06:44 PM on 03/25/2011

I forgot to add the the top 5 states in terms of racially motivated hate crimes were red states in 2008.

[trek15]

07:07 PM on 03/25/2011

Thanks.

[jordanpalmerky]

03:28 AM on 03/26/2011

The Kentucky Bureau of Investigation, Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, and the Kentucky State Police did not agree with these statistics. Kentucky issued their own. I have lived all over the Commonwealth and race has not a huge problem here. But, it is in Ohio, and California, I know from first hand experience from Black friends.

[skyewriter]

11:54 AM on 03/26/2011

Hi, Jordan,
I see you are new to HPo. Welcome.

Two things:
A. It helps if you cite sources (not blogs or commercial sites... try to cite credible sources).

B. "Experience" from *someone else* is not *first hand* experience... that'd be second hand experience. If you are white, you cannot possibly know what racism is *personally* because you don't experience *racism* yourself.

Good luck.

[itschuck2c]

04:41 PM on 03/25/2011

State Rankings In Hate Crimes

# 1   California:597 
# 2   Michigan:477 
# 3   New Jersey:358 
# 4   Virginia:200 
# 5   Ohio:184 
# 6   Massachusetts:167 
# 7   New York:145 
# 8   Maryland:135 
# 9   Texas:124 
# 10   Florida:114

Chart provided by the Federal Bureau Of Investigation

7 0f the 10 are in the north, and from the 2008 presidential election, only Texas was considered a red state.

[eroy22312]

05:03 PM on 03/25/2011

Provide a link. Are these reported hate crimes? Convictions? Do they include crimes against gays?

[trek15]

05:04 PM on 03/25/2011

Doesn't change a thing about racism in Kentucky does it?

[Momklok]

04:22 PM on 03/25/2011

Can we charge Tea Partiers and half the Republican Party with thrid degree criminal mischief please?

[Raoul Duke2]

04:52 PM on 03/25/2011

Sometimes it's not worth the effort. In the early 70's Donald Segretti went to Portland
with a suitcase containing $500,000 in black bag money for dirty tricks against
Nixons opponent. He only got 4 months and disbarred for planting hookirs in the Demo's hotel.

[trek15]

04:16 PM on 03/25/2011

Generalizations of racism in a state can often be quite accurate. See the Souther Poverty Law Center for more detailed information.

[enlightened45]

04:30 PM on 03/25/2011

How scientific can you possibly be in your data? Generalizations can often be quite accurate...That has the ring of legitimate research, for sure.....

[trek15]

04:44 PM on 03/25/2011

It's not my data. It's the data and research of the Southern Poverty Law Center, arguably the most sophisticated and accurate research center of its kind in the US. If you are interested to know more about their methods I suggest you first check out their website and their publications.

[khountrygirl]

03:25 PM on 03/25/2011

My sister lived in Louisiana for many years and subsequently moved to Ohio. She was amazed and appalled at the amount of racist comments she witnessed in Ohio. This statement is not meant to condemn the entire population of Ohio, but to show that generalizations about groups of people in a given region are too simplistic to be accurate.