Coronado Bigot’s Big Mouth Gets Him Busted
Coronado is too often portrayed as an idyllic retirement community. It’s not.
This weekend via a video on Tik Tok, Roger Miller, Coronado’s $170,000-a- year Director of Recreation and Golf –which is a big deal in a retirement haven– and his wife decided to lay some racism on Asian humans while leaving an Orange County mall on Saturday.
They didn’t have to do this, just like the swastika wearing nazis didn’t have to terrorize citizens in Orlando this weekend. They weren’t provoked. They did it because they could.
Here’s the commentary posted along with the original video, which had 40,000 views as of Sunday morning, via San Diegoville.com.
"My girlfriend and I were just shopping around Fashion Island in Newport when a couple walks by us, makes eye contact with looks us, and say 'oooh COVID is gonna get you,' 'those Chinese spreading COVID,' and continuously talks between them but purposely loud enough for us to hear the racial slurs and comments," explained the alleged victim who wishes to remain anonymous.
"Then they loudly blurt out racial commentaries as about another Asian couple and baby walk by. As we walk behind them, the couple continues to be racist saying 'go back to China,' 'stop spreading COVID,' 'oooh look at me touching the stair railing I’m gonna die from all the germs,' 'I’m glad we’re not communist,' 'those Chinese.' When we confronted them, they saw no fault in their actions and instead proudly and continuously blurt out racial commentaries attacking us."
The City became aware of a recording of a City employee and alleged comments made," reads a statement posted by Tina Friend, Coronado City Manager. "The City took immediate action to look into this report. As this is a personnel matter, I cannot discuss specifics at this point. This is a serious matter and I am taking appropriate action. The City of Coronado is a welcoming place for all."
Lest anyone think this incident is an outlier, I refer you to the August 26, 2020 article at Voice of San Diego (reposted at KPBS) about pushback for the city’s school system to be more inclusive of minority viewpoints in its curricula. This turned into an inflammatory debate on the virtues of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.
Some told the school board in comment cards at last week’s board meeting there is no need for change because their students never witnessed racism in Coronado schools – even though students of color have come forward in recent months to share stories of their racist encounters.
Or I could refer readers back to the “we’re not racists” incident whereby tortillas were tossed at a visiting high school basketball team that happened to be primarily Latino. That incident cost Coronado High School a California Interscholastic Federation regional basketball championship title.
I’m not saying everybody on Coronado is a racist. I’m saying it’s a community that needs to wake up to a systemic problem.
And this gets to the heart of the ginned up faux Critical Race Theory ‘controversy.’ Racism, according to racists, is an individual expressing bigotry. Yes, there are plenty of them to be had, but they wouldn’t have the ability to inflict their intolerance on others if they weren’t (or thought they were) protected.
By saying it’s a systemic problem with deep roots in every part of our economy, history, and culture requiring consideration by every American, means a critical examination of those aspects is very threatening to those with vested interests in preserving the status quo.
This systemic problem manifests itself in the Coronado City government’s defiance of state requirements about making way for low income housing.
Oh, and by the way, the individual at the heart of this latest controversy lives in Temecula.
Wait! There’s more!
His lady friend in the video works at the Linfield Christian School in Temecula, which includes a large population of Asian-American students. The school has issued a statement similar to the City of Coronado, i.e., they’re aware, and it’s a personnel matter they won’t comment on.
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Why am I making a big deal about this? I thought you’d never ask.
The incidence of openly racist verbal and physical attacks continues to escalate in tis country. It’s having the effect of numbing the public consciousness. The more numb we get, the more outrageous the behavior that gets tolerated.
I’m sure this guy has enough connections to get some public relations/crisis management help. As far as he’s concerned, this incident is all about “me-me-me.”
He’s just an asshole. It’s no secret; he’s already got the reputation. So the real soul-searching should be taking place in the people around him who enabled his presumption that he was above reproach.
It should start with the City of Coronado. It needs to include every institution he overlaps with. The question should be “how can we do better?” not “how can we deny the existence of racism?”
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Remember when parties and candidates had platforms?
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com