What was the “right list”? That’s the question that occurs to us regarding the initial response of Tennessee legislative staffer Sherri Goforth to a blogger’s identification of her as
the source of the “Historical Keepsake Photo” which went into state-government e-mail boxes last week. The picture, a
facsimile of any number of shlocky commemorative photos familiar to us all, showed all the American presidents to date in 44 panels. All but one, Barack Obama, who was represented in the 44th panel by a pair of white goo-goo eyes against a black field.
Once she was pinpointed as the person who sent the e-mail containing
the offending photo, Goforth, an aide to state senator Diane Black
(R-Gallatin), made an apology of sorts, explaining that she had
inadvertently sent the picture to “the wrong list of people.” The idea
was that the government employees and officials who actually got the
e-mail were accidental recipients, and they certainly were “wrong” in
the sense that one of them at least was alarmed enough to tip off the
West Tennessee blogger Newscoma. Newscoma’s post on the matter led to
outrage which led in turn to sleuthing by other bloggers and finally to
Goforth’s outing.
So what did Senator Black do about it all? Well, she, too,
apologized — sort of, telling CNN, “I want to be sure that
everyone understands that the communication was sent without my
knowledge, and it absolutely does not represent the beliefs or opinions
of my office.” Going further, Black identified Goforth’s transgression
as being the “violation of an e-mail policy by the state.” Oh. Well, we
wondered what could be the problem with the thing, and that surely
explains it. Black made the further assurance that, to her certain
knowledge, Goforth, a veteran employee with a “stellar record,” was, to
the senator’s certain knowledge, kind to “people with black skin.”
Finally, she said she had placed a “strongly worded reprimand” in
Goforth’s employee file.
The whole affair is so disgusting that it’s an effort for us even to
sustain an air of irony about it. The e-mail was improper if sent to
us. It was improper if sent to you or to anyone else. And, yes, to send
it out to people in government via a state e-mail account made the
offense all the more egregious.
Should Goforth have been fired? Not necessarily (although a
Democratic legislator’s staffer was discharged shortly afterward
for his own e-mail, containing some ethnic mockeries that were much
less serious). We incline to the opinion of state representative John
DeBerry (D-Memphis), chairman of the legislature’s Black Caucus, who
said that scapegoating Goforth (or anyone else) would not resolve the
problem and that a “culture change” was more in order. How to bring
this about, of course, is a monumental problem in itself.
One promising sign: Very few of the people we know — with skin
of any color — were amused by the “Historical Keepsake Photo.”
And that’s a start.
