Support NeoGAF

[IpsoFacto]

Clint Tarver, who makes a living as a travelling hot dog salesmen, comically referred to as "The Hot Dog Guy" saw his entire business crumble when a group of racist thugs demolished his stand.

Link to the full article and select quotes:

Source: The Detroid News

During Tuesday's mass demonstrations that attracted an estimated 10,000 to the Capitol lawn, protesters of the right-to-work law the Legislature was passing and voting on tore down a tent rented by the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity. Witnesses and Internet videos show protesters, some wearing union clothes, using knives or box cutters to cut the tent's ropes.

Clint Tarver, owner of Clint's Hot Dog Cart, said he was trapped inside as the tent came down and damaged about $400 in catering equipment. Tarver's hot dog cart, which is usually parked outside Lansing City Hall along Capitol Avenue, was not on the Capitol grounds during the incident.
(...)

Tarver, who had to crawl out of the collapsed tent on his knees, was overwhelmed Wednesday by the outpouring of support.
"I had no idea so many people cared about 'the hot dog guy,'" Tarver said.
Tarver, who is black, said the protesters called him an "Uncle Tom" and the n-word for working for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group supporting the right-to-work law.
"I've been called worse than that," he said.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

How do I help? I like hot dogs, and this guy is doing god's work.

 

[shadyspace]

So he's a conservative black man and was treated like shit for it? Right?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

goons.

glad to see he's come out so far ahead.

 

[Ducarmel]

I'm surprised there are enough white people left in Detroit to have this happen.

I did not read the whole article yet but I never heard white racist use the term Uncle Tom, imo I would think a white racist would embrace uncle toms

edit: I see your edit, so they are likely white liberals?

 

[speedline]

said the protesters called him an "Uncle Tom" and the n-word for working for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group supporting the right-to-work law.

Should the title be more like "racist liberals bully conservative business owner"?

 

[Deleted member 47027]

So he's a conservative black man and was treated like shit for it? Right?

Read between the lines, man. Depressing stuff.

Should the title be more like "racist liberals bully conservative business owner"?

Well, pretty much.

 

[Router]

Those 6 white people left in Detroit have balls man.

 

[SmokyDave]

"Uncle Tom"?

I always thought that was a black-on-black insult, for want of a better term.

Either way, nice to see people helping the guy out. The world needs hot dogs.

 

[Trin]

What a bunch of idiots. Not that it matters because that shit is ridiculous, but maybe he's not even conservative. Maybe he just wants to sell freaking hot dogs.

 

[IpsoFacto]

@Sunflower

They've set up a charity account for the guy:

http://www.gofundme.com/1o8toc

 

[Deleted member 47027]

@Sunflower

They've set up a charity account for the guy:

http://www.gofundme.com/1o8toc

Awesome, thank you.

 

[I H8 Memes]

@Sunflower

They've set up a charity account for the guy:

http://www.gofundme.com/1o8toc

I donated bootstraps.

 

[speedline]

Do we know that the thugs were white? They could have been, but I don't see it mentioned in the article. It very possible they may have been black considering the Uncle Tom remarks and the n-word is used by blacks even in casual conversation, so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

Should the title be more like "racist liberals bully conservative business owner"?

not necessarily.

 

[Count Dookkake]

I'm surprised there are enough white people left in Detroit to have this happen.

These posts are among my favorite.

 

[The Technomancer]

Well I'm sure the community will make these racists life a living hell, and the natural social controls on this kind of stuff will do their job.

 

[PhoenixDark]

So he's a conservative black man and was treated like shit for it? Right?

Never been to Detroit I see. There are hundreds of thousands of white people in Detroit, as in most other cities. Detroit has urban areas (where white people reside as well) plus the whiter metro and suburban areas.

 

[IpsoFacto]

There's this small documentary about Clint Tarver:

http://youtu.be/jzfwj7Eb8cA

He's a local celebrity.

 

[krae_man]

How do I help? I like hot dogs, and this guy is doing god's work.

Tell him to follow Homer Simpson:

 

[Proxy]

If there's video of the incident it should be pretty easy to verify what transpired. However I don't see any video linked in the article. Anyone have a link?

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Do we know that the thugs were white? They could have been, but I don't see it mentioned in the article. It very possible they may have been black considering the Uncle Tom remarks and the n-word is used by blacks even in casual conversation, so I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm not a pro when it comes to Right-To-Work Laws, but aren't they sort of created in favor of big business owners? I took the "Uncle Tom" line to accuse the dude of selling out as he was against Right to Work.

Really don't think "racist thugs" should have been in the title here. It seems like he was caught up in mob violence by angry Union Members.

 

[IpsoFacto]

There isn't a whole lot of footage right now, just this 40 second news clip:

http://youtu.be/eNaaG04F01g

 

[Slayven]

I'm not a pro when it comes to Right-To-Work Laws, but aren't they sort of created in favor of big business owners? I took the "Uncle Tom" line to accuse the dude of selling out as he was against Right to Work.

Really don't think "racist thugs" should have been in the title here. It seems like he was caught up in mob violence by angry Union Members.

Umm it's still racist. If they were just accusing him of selling out they would have called him "Scab".

 

[Rentahamster]

:/

Interview with the guy about the incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asl_JkAY8gY

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Umm it's still racist. If they were just accusing him of selling out they would have called him "Scab".

Yeah, but the title makes it sound like a group of racists specifically went after the guy for no reason, when in fact it was part of a protest and he was caught in the middle of it.

I'm not defending the people who made the comments or condemning the Hot Dog guy, I'm just saying the title misrepresents the actual situation and takes away the point of the violence in the first place which was protesting the Right-To-Work Law.

 

[Row]

@Sunflower

They've set up a charity account for the guy:

http://www.gofundme.com/1o8toc

$28K sofar :O

Doubt he minds what happened to him much now

 

[Angry Fork]

Wrong thing to do but I have little sympathy for people who support anti-union laws. The man who punched that fox news guy was in the wrong too but it's not something I'd protest about.

That's assuming this is only about the right to work stuff, if the people were white and racist then it's different.

 

[Rentahamster]

Yeah, but the title makes it sound like a group of racists specifically went after the guy for no reason, when in fact it was part of a protest and he was caught in the middle of it.

I'm not defending the people who made the comments or condemning the Hot Dog guy, I'm just saying the title misrepresents the actual situation and takes away the point of the violence in the first place which was protesting the Right-To-Work Law.

Guy was called "Uncle Tom" and "Nigger"; it adds a racial element to the hostility.

Punching people and tearing down the other side's tent doesn't have much to do with civil protesting the proposed legislation.

if the people were white and racist then it's different.

Huh?

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, but the title makes it sound like a group of racists specifically went after the guy for no reason, when in fact it was part of a protest and he was caught in the middle of it.

I'm not defending the people who made the comments or condemning the Hot Dog guy, I'm just saying the title misrepresents the actual situation and takes away the point of the violence in the first place which was protesting the Right-To-Work Law.

Irrelevant.

A black man had his property destroyed and was called a nigger and an Uncle Tom by those doing it.

In regards to the title "misrepresenting" the situation, does it really matter if the initial anger was because of a political stance he had, when events take that sort of hideous turn?

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Guy was called "Uncle Tom" and "Nigger"; it adds a racial element to the hostility.

Punching people and tearing down the other side's tent doesn't have much to do with civil protesting the proposed legislation.

I agree that the protesters are in the wrong, but I bet you pennies to dollars (or however that phrase goes) that this single incident will be used in the future to demonize Union Groups as racist thugs who attack hard-working Americans.

You can see that occurring by looking over the comments in the article, too.

In regards to the title "misrepresenting" the situation, does it really matter if the initial anger was because of a political stance he had, when events take that sort of hideous turn?

Because Right-To-Work Laws that are Anti-Union probably support institutionalized racism and probably hurt more African Americans than they help?

 

[andycapps]

Irrelevant.

A black man had his property destroyed and was called a nigger and an Uncle Tom by those doing it.

In regards to the title "misrepresenting" the situation, does it really matter if the initial anger was because of a political stance he had, when events take that sort of hideous turn?

Yup. I wonder with the names that he was called if this would qualify as a hate crime. I would think so. It seemed to be racially motivated.

I listened the radio interview with the man in question, and he sounds like he's taking it really well. Which is great.

 

[Cagey]

I agree that the protesters are in the wrong, but I bet you pennies to dollars (or however that phrase goes) that this single incident will be used in the future to demonize Union Groups as racist thugs who attack hard-working Americans.

You can see that occurring by looking over the comments in the article, too.

Ask yourself if your initial reaction would be colored with such concerns if this took place at a protest for a cause normally associated with the American right, as opposed to the American left.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Even if their cause is good, they were willing to employ racist and criminal tactics to thwart the free expression of a black dude.

Eff 'em.

 

[dcdobson]

Irrelevant.

A black man had his property destroyed and was called a nigger and an Uncle Tom by those doing it.

In regards to the title "misrepresenting" the situation, does it really matter if the initial anger was because of a political stance he had, when events take that sort of hideous turn?

Actually, I think it is relevant. When the thread title claims that this was a racist attack and the victim of the attack is black, the natural implication is that it was carried out by non-black people for racially motivated reasons. I was confused, personally.

 

[Angry Fork]

Huh?

I assumed they were black protestors because of the uncle tom comment and thought they said ni**a in passing not ni**er with ER and thought the reporter didn't know the difference.

 

[Dali]

Should the title be more like "racist liberals bully conservative business owner"?

How do you know he's a conservative business owner? He's going where the money is. Just because he's selling to anti-union conservatives doesn't make him one.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Ask yourself if your initial reaction would be colored with such concerns if this took place at a protest for a cause normally associated with the American right, as opposed to the American left.

At first I WAS angered by what happened to the hot-dog vendor because the initial title and selected quotes portrayed it as a specifically malicious, racist act caused by a few thugs.

And I admit my view would be different, for instance, had the Hot-Dog Vendor been selling hot-dogs supporting OWS and was called the n-word, I'd criticize the people attacking him more so. But then in that case there'd be a difference between the social standing of his attackers, and what they support.

EDIT: And it's not just the OP...I've seen other sites that more or less had the title as "Racist Union Thugs/Goons Bully Small Business Owner". The narrative they're going for is pretty transparent.

 

[Rentahamster]

Kinda reminds me of this thread

I just realized I'm racist

I was listening to Tell Me More on Friday, and I missed the beginning of an interview with a Republican congressman from Florida.

He sounded a bit smug and I thought he was a dick, just as a stupid snap judgement. And at one point, as he and Michel Martin were discussing Newt Gingrich's food stamp comments, he said that maybe these politicians, before speaking about issues that are "somewhat peculiar to the African-American community" should check in with a leader or high-profile figure in the black community, to make sure things sound ok.

Before this sentence was over, I thought this sounded incredibly racist, and I was getting fairly worked up. Then, he finished off with "and get us involved in the dialogue and let us help them understand how you communicate these issues" and I realized he is one of the African-Americans he was talking about.

I had assumed he's white, and when I found out he is black, I instantly felt ok about the comments he made. Furthermore, I started thinking he sounds respectable, reasonable, and relate-able, instead of "a dick," as I had previously thought.

And, I mean, this change in my opinion was instant. I was kinda disgusted at myself.

I started analyzing why it happened. Part of it is a bias against Republicans (personality-wise, a lot of them are dicks, even though I like minimal government), so that's probably why I started with a more negative opinion than I should have had. But when I found out he's a black Republican, I took it as a statement of ambition and ballsiness. Ugh -- I can't believe I typed that. That's so freaking racist. I was probably also happy that he sounded smug and confident, and not just trying to "be nice" and being overly apologetic. Fuck.

I'm really sorry to humanity. I just discovered this about myself and I'm going to try to work it out of my system.

 

[pigeon]

Regardless of any opposition to the right-to-work law this is obviously racist bullshit and I hope they catch the thugs.

 

[IpsoFacto]

The person who set up the auction posted the following message:

Friends - again, thank you so much for your kindness and support. After going far, far above and beyond the initial $2000, I would like to announce that we will be closing donations at 12 EST tomorrow (12/14/12). Clint has decided not only to replace his equipment, but to upgrade his cart, and the remaining funds will be donated.

I'd also like to share this photo of Clint back at work today outside the Capitol - when I visited him the line was about this long as well! Great to have you back, Clint!