Seattle Office of Civil Rights

"Civil Rights" is a hot phrase bandied about all the time. What exactly does it refer to anyway?

Since my last visit here, I had become concerned with the violation of civil rights of ordinary citizens who have been victims of violence. Would the Seattle Office of Civil Rights help them?

The first step of my "investigation" began with actually calling the office. The person who answered was very nice and tried to answer all my questions to the best of her ability. First impressions are important!

Nonetheless, I was disappointed that this government office does not intervene in cases of clear discrimination in "public accommodations" (meaning "public spaces") which result in physical injury or even death in some cases.

The staff person I spoke with had never heard of "Tuba Man."

The person I spoke with offered to send me their annual report, which will hopefully shed light on exactly what groups the Office of Civil Rights helps and for what reasons.

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I'm not sure how much courage it takes to be part of this organization.

The irony of the near half-century existence of this organization is its hypocritical silence when the civil rights of non-African-Americans is concerned.

African-Americans constitute a "protected class" according to SOCR, but who exactly needs to be protected?

What about the civil rights of Tuba Man? Or James Paroline ("the traffic circle gardener")? Or former Mayor Schell (hit in the face with a microphone)?

Or most recently, Danny Vega?

Seattle Office of Civil Rights: Ask those who ride the No. 7 Metro bus (downtown - Rainier Valley) who they need protection from.

An untold story:

The experience of being viciously shoved, smacked, glowered or yelled at by an African-American for no good reason is one not easily forgotten. (This is not just a few anti-social individuals, either). A bus driver, man-on-the-street, store clerk...

And I thought only children could be bullies.

"Hey, look, you ain't givin' no orders 'round here. I am. GIT IT? "

"Dy'I tell ya to close yo' mouth, or didn't I?"

"Who the hell asked you? You mind yo' own business. Otherwise I'm gonna kick yo'ass."

"And shut your goddamn mouth."

"You mus' want yo' ass kicked R-E-A-L hard."

"W-e-ll, who-o the hell are you? You ain't nobody. You ain't sh--. And I'm gonna blo' yo' ass soon as..."

"You damn' right I am. I ain't takin' that sh-- from you. I gonna kick yo' face in, UNDERSTAND?"

"Hey, he's a fag. Yo' know what a fag is? (laughing) He suck di--! Hey, man, do you suck di--? Goddamn! How many di-- you suck today, fag boy?"

There is no way to seek redress in Seattle.

So if this organization were really worth its salt, it would redress the grievances of minorities (in particular, Asian-Americans but also gays) and an acquiescent, placating majority (Caucasians) in the face of daily harassment, barely veiled--if at all--threats (both psychological and verbal), and demeaning treatment meted out by self-righteous, lip-curling, sullen/hostile African-Americans.

[Don't confuse hard-working African immigrants with African-Americans].

See
http://sgn.org/sgnnews...

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What about bringing a collective lawsuit against the City of Seattle, the Seattle Public Schools, and the Seattle Office of Civil Rights for failing to protect the civil rights of the thousands of Caucasian and Asian-American students in the Central District on April 5, 1968, when African-American students roamed the hallways, bathrooms, and grounds of the middle schools and high schools with cocked umbrellas, beating and kicking non-black children?

I was one of them.

No one cared (or dared) to say anything then or since.

But the memory of the rain of blows coming down on this child cannot be erased.




8/9/2009
My experience here was a raw, unsettling, discouraging one.

From being open to hearing the details of my experience at one veterinary clinic, this organization went to, in the end, becoming extremely legalistic and unsympathetic to my situation.

In fact, I was met with flippant sarcasm and "brushed off" by the young attorney who investigated my case and completely vindicated the business. She seemed unduly delighted to rub it in my face.

My six-page appeal was met with, as could be expected, with stony silence: a short pro forma letter that did even bother to address the dozen points I brought up.

This throw-back to the '60's--it was actually founded during that turbulent decade--the Office of Civil Rights is a bureaucracy, one whose creaky wheels turn on pretty opaque treads.

(The Seattle Office of Human Rights occupies the very same suite of offices, though the two are--at least on paper--separate organizations. Go figure).