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Local mayor enters Sikh-owned conveniance store; tosses Sikh literature in trash

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D

Deified Data

Banned
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/indiana/garrett-mayor-apologizes-for-throwing-out-sikh-pamphlets

GARRETT, Ind. (WANE) The mayor of Garrett has apologized to a local business owner for an act that she herself called, "unrighteous." Our partners at KPC News reported the apology on Monday.

The manager and part-owner of Quickway in Garrett, Kulwinder Nagra, 38, said he put pamphlets about his Sikh religion on the counter of the store after the shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin .

“I just wanted to let people know who I am,” Nagra told KPC News. “After 9/11, there was a lot of misunderstanding. ”

Surveillance footage shows Hoeffel entering the store at about 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28. She bought a soft drink and walked away. She then returned to the counter, grabbed the small stack of pamphlets, took them outside and threw them into a trash bin.

Nagra said he went outside to ask the mayor why she took all four of the pamphlets that had been placed on the counter in front of the register.

“She said, ‘It’s against my beliefs,’” Nagra said. “She said, ‘This is against Christianity.’”

Hoeffel later said she disposed of the pamphlets because of a lack of personal interest, not as a statement about the religion.

Hoefell has since apologized, saying, "I just grabbed what was there. I just decided I didn't want it."

Hoefell and Garrett City Coucilman Brad Stump met with Nagra and his business partners on Monday to discuss the incident.

“I personally believe if you do something wrong, you go to that person,” Hoeffel told KPC news. “I apologized for offending them. I said I know they are a peaceful people.”

Nagra said the Sikh religion teaches forgiveness and the issue was resolved for him when Hoeffel apologized.
Click to expand...

Since I don't have a subscription to this news site, but I do have a copy of today's paper handy, I will attempt to fill in the blanks without copying the entire article wholesale. All quatations are lifted directly from the article.

Basically it plays out like this: Mayor Hoeffel stops at this Quickway for a soda. As she begins to walk out, she spies a stack of Sihk literature on the counter. She then proceeds to pick up the entire stack and throw it in a trash can outside. Hoeffel stated that the reason she did this was because "it didn't interest me". The owner of the Quickway, Kulwinder Nagra, a Sikh who began displaying the pamphlets after the recent Sikh temple shooting, says he confronted Hoeffel outside and asked her why she threw away his literature. According to him, she replied "It's against my beliefs. It's against Christianity". This runs contrary to her official statement of "it didn't interest me".

She has since apologized, and described her actions as "unrighteous". "I reject discrimination for any reason". Nagra has apparently forgiven her, though many people in my town have not. I'm of the personal belief that, as mayor, you represent your public in both your public and private lives. She had the nerve to walk into this man's private business, as an elected official, and discard his property as though it were her right. It reflects poorly on my community, and I want to do something about it other than bitch and moan.

I believe the topic is worthy of discussion in it's own right, though it pales in comparison to most of the shit GAF sees. The difference for me is that it's personal - I've met both of these individuals, and I'm employed by a branch of city government. Mostly I just want to ask, is there any way I can expose this story to a larger audience? I want to see this woman punished for her thoughtless actions, beyond a mere slap on the wrist. As an elected official, you cannot do such things with impunity, and I don't feel a mere apology is enough for this obviously bigoted act. Do any of you have experience with submitting small-town news stories to larger news venues?

Thanks for the help. And yes, she's a Republican. This is her Facebook.
 
U

Ultima_5

Member
Recon said:
Maybe he shouldnt have entered her personal space in public. Dumb store owner.
Click to expand...

What? It sounds like it was just out for people to grab one of they wanted. I see stuff for Christan churches constantly and it doesn't bother me. Wasn't like the store owner was handing them a flyer along with a receipt.
 
C

crazy monkey

Banned
fVAqj.jpg


I mean..
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
This world is so dumb.

"I have a set of words to describe this reality... How dare you use another set of words to describe it!"
 
N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
That was fucking dumb. An elected public official doing that boggles the mind. Like, for real?

There's tons of shops out there that distribute literature for all types of groups. That just seems hypocritical if the "It's against my beliefs" bit is true. Plus, that's private property, the hell?
 
R

Raguel

Member
Recon said:
Fun story, I have yet to read that thread.
Click to expand...

Then maybe you should read the OP instead of being stupid? Or were you being sarcastic?

Regarding the story, what the hell is wrong with that mayor? As an elected official, she should not even think about doing that.
 
C

Cyan

Banned
Back when I was in school, the mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates, went around campus one morning trashing all the school newspapers he could find because it endorsed his opponent. Fun times.

A lot less racist but a whole lot funnier.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
Raguel said:
Then maybe you should read the OP instead of being stupid? Or were you being sarcastic?

Regarding the story, what the hell is wrong with that mayor? As an elected official, she should not even think about doing that.
Click to expand...

The fact that a Republican mayor of a small town is racist doesn't surprise me. What's shocking is how she thought she could do something like this without any consequences whatsoever. Did she not realize convenience stores have cameras? Did she not realize it would make it to the paper? Did she think her status as mayor would scare away anyone looking to retaliate? It's astounding. I wish I could know her mental processes at the time.
 
C

commedieu

Banned
beaten :(

Hoefell has since apologized, saying, "I just grabbed what was there. I just decided I didn't want it."

Hoefell and Garrett City Coucilman Brad Stump met with Nagra and his business partners on Monday to discuss the incident.

“I personally believe if you do something wrong, you go to that person,” Hoeffel told KPC news. “I apologized for offending them. I said I know they are a peaceful people.”

I think we should try and get this out. This woman needs to be removed from any sort of job where taxes pay her salary.
 
B

Brinbe

Member
Man... that backpeddling is some BS. Own your bigotry, lady, don't run from it. At least have some convictions in your terrible beliefs.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
commedieu said:
beaten :(
Click to expand...

lol, no, I think we did it at the same time. That article appeared in the last 30 minutes.

Brinbe said:
Man... the backpeddling is some BS. Own your bigotry, lady, don't run from it.
Click to expand...
My thoughts, as well. There's no good way to lie your way out of this. She did a bigoted thing and she should apologize for the bigotry, and not try to paint it as a happy accident. As though she picked up the entire stack of pamphlets on a whim. Bullshit.
 
Meus Renaissance

Meus Renaissance

Member
To me, it sounds like she picked it up out of curiousity and having misinterpreted it for a pamphlet advertising the Sikh religion, threw it in the bin as she was not interested in it. People often do this when they are given leaflets on the street. When they have no interest in it, they simply throw it in the nearest bin.

I don't believe the mayor intended to simply dispose of them when she picked them up as a statement
 
C

commedieu

Banned
Deified Data said:
lol, no, I think we did it at the same time. That article appeared in the last 30 minutes.


My thoughts, as well. There's no good way to lie your way out of this. She did a bigoted thing and she should apologize for the bigotry, and not try to paint it as a happy accident. As though she picked up the entire stack of pamphlets on a whim. Bullshit.
Click to expand...

well, I emailed a few sources. Job is done.. she should be fired.

Jason Raize '75 - '04 said:
To me, it sounds like she picked it up out of curiousity and having misinterpreted it for a pamphlet advertising the Sikh religion, threw it in the bin as she was not interested in it. People often do this when they are given leaflets on the street. When they have no interest in it, they simply throw it in the nearest bin.

I don't believe the mayor intended to simply dispose of them when she picked them up as a statement
Click to expand...


“She said, ‘It’s against my beliefs,’” Nagra said. “She said, ‘This is against Christianity.’”

furreals yo?
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
Jason Raize '75 - '04 said:
To me, it sounds like she picked it up out of curiousity and having misinterpreted it for a pamphlet advertising the Sikh religion, threw it in the bin as she was not interested in it. People often do this when they are given leaflets on the street. When they have no interest in it, they simply throw it in the nearest bin.

I don't believe the mayor intended to simply dispose of them when she picked them up as a statement
Click to expand...

Wait ... did she pick up one pamphlet or the stack. Your version would have more creedence with the former rather than the latter.

EDIT: or are you being sarcastic and my meter is broken.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
Jason Raize '75 - '04 said:
To me, it sounds like she picked it up out of curiousity and having misinterpreted it for a pamphlet advertising the Sikh religion, threw it in the bin as she was not interested in it. People often do this when they are given leaflets on the street. When they have no interest in it, they simply throw it in the nearest bin.

I don't believe the mayor intended to simply dispose of them when she picked them up as a statement
Click to expand...

If she picked up one pamphlet, I'd agree with you. She picked up the whole stack. There's really no other way to interpret this.

Fenderputty said:
Wait ... did she pick up one pamphlet or the stack. Your version would have more creedence with the former rather than the latter.
Click to expand...
Yeah, she picked up a stack of 4. It should have been abundantly obvious that they were 4 of the same item. And if she saw what it was and didn't want it, she'd have put it back on the counter. She's not going to pick up a pamphlet for no reason without first knowing what it's even remotely about.
 
K

KevinCow

Banned
Hoeffel later said she disposed of the pamphlets because of a lack of personal interest, not as a statement about the religion.

Hoefell has since apologized, saying, "I just grabbed what was there. I just decided I didn't want it."
Click to expand...

"Yeah, I just picked up this giant stack of papers that I saw for whatever reason. Then two seconds later I changed my mind and decided I didn't want them, so instead of putting them back where I found them, I just tossed them in the trash.

"How dare you insinuate that this somehow had to do with my lack of tolerance of other religions. That fact is completely irrelevant-- er, I mean, I'm totally tolerant!

"What? You're saying that I'm only apologizing because I got caught? That my apology is insincere and I'm only doing it because people far more intelligent than me said that I should for PR reasons? Why I never!"
 
O

Osiris

I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
Jason Raize '75 - '04 said:
To me, it sounds like she picked it up out of curiousity and having misinterpreted it for a pamphlet advertising the Sikh religion, threw it in the bin as she was not interested in it. People often do this when they are given leaflets on the street. When they have no interest in it, they simply throw it in the nearest bin.

I don't believe the mayor intended to simply dispose of them when she picked them up as a statement
Click to expand...

Reading comprehension man, apply it! :p

OP said:
She bought a soft drink and walked away. She then returned to the counter, grabbed the small stack of pamphlets, took them outside and threw them into a trash bin.
Click to expand...

She walked away, came back and took the whole stack and binned them, it's not like she casually picked one up and changed her mind. :p
 
C

commedieu

Banned
KevinCow said:
"Yeah, I just picked up this giant stack of papers that I saw for whatever reason. Then two seconds later I changed my mind and decided I didn't want them, so instead of putting them back where I found them, I just tossed them in the trash.

"How dare you insinuate that this somehow had to do with my lack of tolerance of other religions. That fact is completely irrelevant-- er, I mean, I'm totally tolerant!

"What? You're saying that I'm only apologizing because I got caught? That my apology is insincere and I'm only doing it because people far more intelligent than me said that I should for PR reasons? Why I never!"
Click to expand...

"I even look forward to Bubba's speech!"
 
S

SaintR

Member
Yaboosh said:
Or maybe your post wasn't quite as clever as you seem to think it was.
Click to expand...
Now the thread is about how some of us can't distinguish sarcasm from sincere thought. I mean it's an obvious ridiculous statement, for it to be misconstrued as anything else is mind-boggling. I mean I loled.
But on the topic, as an elected official, this bad publicity in of itself is pretty damning.
 
D

Deified Data

Banned
This woman used to be an administrator for the local school system. As a library assistant I often had to cross paths with her to use a shared copy machine (that just happened to be in her office). She would just sit there, sighing, staring at you impatiently and asking you if you were done yet. She really has a way with people. I have no clue how she won.
 
N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
commedieu said:
well, I emailed a few sources. Job is done.. she should be fired.




“She said, ‘It’s against my beliefs,’” Nagra said. “She said, ‘This is against Christianity.’”

furreals yo?
Click to expand...

I highly doubt she'll get fired.

Though no doubt someone will bring this up next election.
 
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