Indy Offense: Readers React, Publisher Apologizes, Is it Over?

No, not acceptable! I will never read the Independent again until Murphy is fired!

Stupid publicity stunt by a stupid man working for an even stupider "newspaper".

Cheat the public? Rick Murphy cheats the public with his deplorable attempts at writing. If anyone needs forgiving, it's Jerry Della Femina. Jerry, we will forgive you for hiring this consistently boring dolt, once you get rid of him. And no worries Rick, we can be bigger than you, just maybe not your overinflated ego.

I love Jerry's excuse. Because he was asleep, it's not his fault.

One would think, that in the wake of the Don Imus thing, these guys would have been on their toes about this type of thing... regardless, I think that the worst punishment for all concerned would be for them to keep their jobs and have to explain themselves for the rest of how ever long it takes. Keep 'em out in the open.

"I'm not a racist"? Sorry, lies don't make good apologies.

I haven't seen trash like that since I was growing up in the segregated South and the Klan put its vicious tracts where kids would find them. I can't believe this kind of outrage is being tolerated. The people responsible -- the editor and the publisher -- can't really believe we believe they're not racists of the worst kind.

There isn’t a hint of ‘parody’ in the entire piece.
What’s there is a TON of racist minstrel imagery that must’ve been written and rewritten awhile before it went to press. It’s certain that Della Famina believes in proofreaders. So this wasn’t just an oversight.

Pretending to be a thoughtful person who made a small faux pas after the fact is nearly as insulting as the crap you printed.

In plain English, you’re a pig in sheep’s clothing.

Rick Murphy should be fired. He is a racist. And if that does NOT happen Jerry Della Femina should be fired as well. NO EXCUSES!!!

What is Rick Murphy's definition of a RACIST?
Would he ever said, Yo Mama regarding Clinton, Edwards or any of the other NON WHITE CANDIDATES? I think he needs to do some soul searching.

That was a racist remark, and it was made to hurt an African American. Unless Mr. Murphy makes statements like this to his family, friends and colleagues, then it is totally inexcusable.

What I would like to know is, who approved this material? I do not believe that is was not reviewed before circulation. What? it just slipped by? I do not buy it! An apology??? NO! Not enough. It seems as if this particular newspaper show a pattern of abuse in displaying racism via a media venue. No character.....sad.

This is RACISM in the worst form. Words are powerful and these folks are speaking from their heart and spirit. It's nothing in here that is of a comical nature. I find it deplorable and disgusting. They need to be fired and hot tarred and feathered. Their readers are of the racist nature also because they think money can do it all. A word to you folks, "others in many places eyes are upon you and we will hit where it hurts...in your wallets." Be warned, be very warned.

I hope the women and African-American employees of this newspaper do some serious soul-searching about their willingness to continue to represent such a reprehensible excuse for a "newspaper." Curious as anyone else, I've gotten familiar with this episode only this morning. I looked at the archives of "Low Tidings" and can't believe how trashy it was before the Obama and Clinton column(s) ever hit. This Rick Murphy is one of the lowest characters I've ever seen published -- and I'm a former journalist who's known many! Misogynist? Absolutely. Racist? Absolutely. To the bone.

PULL ALL ADVERTISING, DO NOT READ IT. DO NOT STOCK IT ON YOUR SHELVES. PULL ALL SUPPORT FOR THE INDEPENDENT. THIS IS INTOLERABLE. THERE WAS NOT THE SLIGHTEST FUNNY THING ABOUT THE ARTICLE. DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH THIS.

Rick Murphy should be fired. His poor excuse of an apology is not accepted. All advertisers should pull their ads. How dare Jerry publallow this to obe published ...and Murphy using the excuse that it was his attempt at parody is unacceptable. I will not read the Independent again unless Mr. Murphy is relieved of his editorial duties.

Is Jerry Sorry?
Is Rick? Or are they sorry they must not be as clever as they thought they were?

In the infamous Obama issue, on the letters page, there is a respectful letter from one Chris Irvine asking if the Hilary column from the week before was a little over-the-top. The response from editor Murphy:

“Editor’s Note: Over the top? Us? No way. “Mockery” has always been one of our tried and true editorial policies, along with taking cheap shots at people too poor or old to defend themselves. We also teach our writers to criticize anyone who tries to do anything decent.”

Why wouldn't Della Femin fire him for that stupidity>? Here he tries to exaggerate his snideness so all might say, Äw, shucks, Rick, we know you are not like that." He doesn't get it that this is not funny, not humorous, not clever. His editorial comments on people's letters are usually only snide without trying to elicit any such "Äw shucks."

He doesn't see the unfairness of his responding to people's letters without giving them the chance to respond the same week and not wait until the following issue, where people will not be able to follow the sequence.

When Della Femina starts to hear from his advertisers how much they appreciate being associated with this kind of swill, you can bet Rick's days will be numbered. You can hasten that day by calling advertisers, like the real estate companies who keep it afloat.

Unbelievable!

No, wait...worse than that, it is believable, and it's tragically horrible that it's believable.

I'm am so frigging sick of all the "I-am-not-a-racist" racists that, at this point, I'm hoping for a fascist dictatorship government in the U.S. that will throw racists in jail and torture them for a decade or so every time they rear their ugly souls like this.

We don't deserve a free press and free speech in this country. We can't handle democracy. We're disgusting.

Go away, Rick Murphy. Go away, Jerry Della Femina. Your disease is virulent and it's contagious. We've got more than enough troubles already.

I saw this coming years ago when the Shinnecocks were his target... oh yeah, also when people who suffer from breast cancer were his targets... oh, right, there was also that icky issue where Rick tore apart the gays prompting Della Femina to (sound familiar?) offer FREE ADVERTISING SPACE to the offended as well as add a column written by a gay man called "My Gay View". How forward thinking Della Femina is! I say we, as a town, are DONE with these cavemen. And let's not forget the Hilary comments only one short week prior to the Obama article. Women everywhere (I hope enlightened men join in) should be up in arms. I am so sick and tired of the comments flung at Hilary that would NEVER be considered for her male counterpart. I personally, as a "white ho" don't like being "bitch slapped", nor can I say that I care for anyone calling me a "ho"... can we PLEASE be done with that word???!!!! We have a problem here people. We are somehow letting America be defined by the idiots like these two who don't think before speaking and who believe that hate speech is quality writing that deserves a place in a community newspaper. Yes, local businesses PULL YOUR ADVERTISING, if you write for The Independent rag, take your talents elsewhere, and DO NOT SET FOOT IN THE BIGOT DELLA FEMINA'S RESTAURANT. Be aware that this is not the first, second or third time these guys have overstepped and filled this community with their hate. Do a little research, it is a pattern of ongoing behavior. We can make change by out actions. Take some.

It seems like very few folks get it. The column was sick and inappropriate, but mostly it was juvenile. Of course, as such it is little different than the mainstream tripe we hear from popular conservative commentators and, sadly, politicians, almost daily. Those of who clamor to suppress these voices only serve to perpetuate them with free publicity and increased circulation.

Calling for Murphy to be fired is not only absurd, it is un-American. Those of us on the left, at least, should know better. Call for him to be ignored. Call for advertisers to pull their accounts, but please please please don't try to gag him. The First Amendment guarantees Mr. Murphy the right to come out as a flaming idiot, but that doesn't require anyone to listen.

If you don't like the paper with Murphy in it, by all means send your comments saying so, then make your message clear by refusing to patronize the paper. The market will demand what the market demands. Sadly, it's quite likely that this incident has caused a spike in readership for The Independent--it's certainly generating a lot of Internet Traffic, and that's what the advertisers care about: how many people are reading.

So, Best Action: Stop reading. The beauty of capitalism and media is that if you ignore the annoying they will indeed eventually go away. In my perfect world, there's far more justice in the idea of these egotistic hysterics desperately quaking to an ever-diminishing audience than would be gained by simply censoring them off the airwaves and pages of our media.

http://oakleafmold.blogspot.com/

Since when is it "un-American" to fire someone for doing a crappy job, Oakleaf Mold?!

And regardless of your alleged position on the so-called political spectrum (this "right" and "left" business is wearing *very* thin), assuming that you've graduated from high school and therefore have been required to earn a passing grade in some form of rudimentary American government class, you should know that "the First Amendment guarantees Mr. Murphy the right to come out as a flaming idiot" only in the face of government censorship:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

If those objecting to Mr. Murphy's journalistic pathology were clamoring for his arrest, or petitioning the government to shut down the newspaper, only then would First Amendment issues arise. Please, educate yourself! It's important! We're no longer a thriving and vital nation largely because of our citizens' collective ignorance, egoism, greed, and brash stupidity (tune in to any talk show for abundant evidence). Unfortunately, capitalism and electronic media have only contributed to our decline: Don't tout them as an antidote to our tragic failure!

And seriously, hip yourself to the Constitution, would you please?