Overstock Founder Hit for Comments
(AP) SALT LAKE CITY - The founder of Overstock.com rejected the NAACP’s demand for an apology Friday after an Internet video surfaced of him saying that Utah minorities who don’t graduate from high school might as well be burned or thrown away.Patrick Byrne’s comments were posted on YouTube. The video clip was from a debate two weeks ago in Provo, where he was speaking in favor of vouchers, public aid for families sending kids to private schools.
A statewide voucher program that would grant $500 to $3,000 per child based on family income is on the Utah ballot Nov. 6.
On the YouTube video clip, Byrne says: “Right now, 40 percent of Utah minorities are not graduating from high school. You may as well burn those kids. That’s the end of their life. That’s the end of their ability to achieve in this society if they do not get a high school education. You might as, just throw the kids away.”
Byrne has made similar remarks in other debates. He said Friday he had no intention of apologizing and claimed his comments were taken out of context.
“These folks have been selective in their editing,” Byrne told The Associated Press. “I very clearly said the system is throwing away 40 percent of the minority kids because they’re not graduating. I’m saying that I’m against throwing kids away.
“People against vouchers are in favor of throwing the kids away,” Byrne said.
Jeanetta Williams, a voucher opponent and president of the NAACP’s Salt Lake branch, said the videotaped comments shocked her and she believes Byrne meant that minorities who don’t graduate should be burned or thrown away.
“Those were his words, not mine,” she said.
Williams noted that Byrne didn’t mention white children who don’t graduate. Utah is 83.5 percent white, 11 percent Hispanic and 1 percent black.
“It says he’s not sympathetic to the minority community and he means exactly what he said,” Williams said of Byrne’s lack of an apology.
Byrne, chief executive of Utah-based Overstock, has long been a voucher advocate and has donated several hundred thousand dollars to the voucher movement in Utah.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opposes vouchers, saying they could lead to segregated public schools. It says tuition still would be out for reach for many minority families because a voucher wouldn’t cover the entire cost of private school.
Damm how many times and how many ways can white folks express how fucked black children who don’t graduate are?
I understand what dude was saying and I don’t think his intent was evil or anything, however it’s obvious when white people go on TV or radio and say shit about the plight of Negros they inevitably fuck it up and come off racist or mean spirited.
Note to whitey: Stop talking about Negros without written permission, or take a Negro with you on your next interview so we can clear any potential insensitive comments you might make.
Also NOBODY in Utah is qualified to talk about Negros, the only Negros in Utah play for the Jazz and their kids go to private schools.
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October 30th, 2007 at 10:15 am
If we need a negro shield to talk about our fellow Americans this country has a serious problem, and it isn’t white folks. The only thing that should matter is whether or not he was telling the truth.
October 30th, 2007 at 10:53 am
“The only thing that should matter is whether or not he was telling the truth”
I agree 100 percent. Again it’s intent.
The problem with political correctness is that while folks are being interviewed, they have brain farts and come up with analogies that may not be “accepted” by segments of a population who are just looking for something to be outraged about.
All dude had to say was, if you don’t get an education, “you are screwed!”
Everybody understands that.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Take it from me Mel, anyone who tries saying “what Blacks need to do is…” who isn’t in fact themselve Black (or Muslim, or Catholic , or Irish, etc.) they are going to get made fun of and/or hate mail. It is almost impossible in today’s hyper PC climate for someone to get away with targeting one group of people for their comments, UNLESS they are a member of that particular group. SO, the moral of the story may be, if you want to have your message heard, do not target any one group. Stick with the facts, and let them speak for themselves!
October 31st, 2007 at 9:54 am
To both responses I offer a correction to clarify my point:
“If we need a (PC) shield to talk about our fellow Americans this country has a serious problem, and it isn’t the speaker. The only thing that should matter is whether or not they are telling the truth.”
Both of your responses appear to acknowledge the inherent harm political correctness is doing to this country, then argue we must work within that framework. That kind of attitude is a big part of the reason Repulicans continue to be on the losing side of the communication war. The answer to PC obfuscation of the facts through victimhood distractions is to challenge and condemn the faux-victim as to the truth behind the target of their outrage. Only in that way will the perpetually offended learn to think before protesting.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
And of course as standard operating procedure, the person who is quoted at the end of the artical is calling for the beheading of the messenger instead of accepting the truth and trying to find out a way to fix it. Typical and par for the course.