Racism tends to be a lot more subtle nowadays ”“ sneaking its way into realms such as hiring, housing and education ”“ but every once in a while it rears the full glory of its ugly head in the public sphere. The recent outcry over a New Hampshire police commissioner’s email is a perfect example: Robert Copeland, a white, 82-year-old elected official, was overheard using the dreaded “N word” in public, in reference to President Obama, and a resident complained about it to the town manager. Copeland’s response was not only to acknowledge the utterance, but also to reaffirm his commitment to it, saying the president “meets and exceeds my criteria for such.”
Having the gall to seemingly confirm yourself as a racist is shocking, no doubt, and the email has caused an uproar in the tiny town of Wolfeboro, which has about 20 black residents among its 6,300, according to the Associated Press.
When word got out, the Wolfeboro Town Hall was filled to the gills with protesters calling for Copeland to resign, and public officials joined in, too. They’ve even received letters from would-be tourists who said they would cancel their trips if no action was taken. Copeland finally resigned from his post Monday, after significant public outcry. The message from Wolfeboro’s residents was made clear: The use of the racial slurs is not socially acceptable, and we don’t want our elected officials using it, especially in public.
It’s an important message, indeed, and Copeland’s situation is a wake-up call for all of us to help change the culture. We may not have to show up at a town meeting like those in Wolfeboro, but we can all make a difference: Whenever a friend or family member uses a slur or racially charged word, we have an obligation to speak up and let them know we’re not OK with that.
The very public lesson he has learned is one for all of us to take to heart, even though he’s held to a higher standard as a public official. Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves: Many of us, from Copeland’s generation on up, grew up using racial slurs or anti-gay slurs with little thought. Let he or she cast the first stone who has never called someone or something “gay” or said they were “gypped” ”“ or worse. Most of us have learned that these terms are unacceptable and have scrapped them from our vocabularies, but old habits die hard. Especially in New England, which has the whitest states in the nation, many people don’t think much of letting a racial slur slip on occasion or sharing a racially charged joke.
We’d like to think that this man, who came of age in a very different time, doesn’t actually hate all people of color. We’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he just fell victim to a limited vocabulary; he’s obviously not a fan of the president, but perhaps did not know how else to describe his displeasure than to use the n-word. He could just as likely have called the president a rube, ignoramus, or even the antichrist, but he felt the n-word summed up his feelings best, without acknowledging the charged weight of the word.
There’s no need to bring race into the equation. If Copeland doesn’t like the president because of his policies, his handling of foreign affairs, his demeanor or any other factor, it’s hard to believe he’d feel any differently if the man’s skin color were different.
Copeland did have two defenders at the public meeting who conjured New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” motto in defending his right to say what he wants. As a private person, he does indeed have that right, so long as he is willing to deal with the consequences of his comments on his reputation and relationships with others.
As an elected official, however, he is representing the people of the state, and those people must be able to be confident that his judgment represents theirs. Indeed, it was not the comment itself that caused so much uproar, as it was the response to the complaint. If only he had acknowledged right off that it’s an offensive word and apologized for offending the woman, it would have been done with and never made national news. He could have gone on spewing racial slurs in the company of friends all he wanted ”“ and simply heeded the complaint as a warning that he needs to be more careful about his public actions since he is serving in elected office.
As it stands, however, we feel it was appropriate for Copeland to resign, since the public response has made it clear that those whom he represents as a commissioner do not feel that his stance on using the n-word allows him to accurately represent them.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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