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Title: Man gets fired for alleged racist gesture, but he says he was just cracking his knuckles. His accuser has changed his tune.
Source: The Blaze/RealClearPolitics
URL Source: https://www.theblaze.com/news/fired-racist-gesture-cracking-knuckles
Published: Jun 30, 2020
Author: Chris Field
Post Date: 2020-06-30 21:17:14 by Bill D Berger
Keywords: None
Views: 760
Comments: 13

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a new statement from SDG&E and a link to a petition in support of Emmanuel Cafferty.

A San Diego man lost his job recently after being accused on social media of making a racist gesture, but he says he was just cracking his knuckles. Now his accuser has backed off and said it might have all be a big mistake.

What in the world happened?

Emmanuel Cafferty lost his job with San Diego Gas and Electric last month after a stranger took a photo of him with his arm hanging out the window of his company pickup while he happened to be near a Black Lives Matter rally. The photographer then posted the image to Twitter, KNSD-TV reported.

The poster accused Cafferty, who is Hispanic, of making a "white power" hand gesture that has been made popular by many white supremacists. The gesture resembles the "OK" sign that includes the thumb and forefinger in a circle and the three other fingers extended.

The original tweet said, "[J]ust passed a bunch of kids walking on the sidewalk holding BLM signs, honked to say I am with them and this guy in the #SDGE truck pulls along side and flashes this at me for the next couple blocks."

Cafferty told KNSD that he was simply cracking his knuckles.

"I do that a lot when I'm driving," he said. "It has no racist intent behind it."

Shortly after the tweet with his image went viral, Cafferty was suspended from his job and told that an investigation was underway. A few days later, SDG&E gave him a pink slip and sent him packing.

Cafferty was flummoxed, telling KNSD, "When my supervisor said that I was being accused of doing a white supremacist gesture, that was baffling."

"I was confident that I would be able to — with my character — show SDG&E that I'm not a racist," he added.

"It's scary that you can be charged, tried, and convicted on social media without your permission, without no corroborating evidence of any type," he said.

And now Cafferty is despondent.

"I don't know how long it's going to take me to get over this," he told the station, "but to lose your dream job for playing with your fingers, that's a hard pill to swallow."

The outlet contacted Cafferty's original Twitter accuser about the incident. Apparently he has since realized that he may have ruined an innocent man's life.

The accuser has not only deleted the original post — he has deleted his entire Twitter account. And he told reporters that it's possible he just got "spun up" about the situation and misinterpreted Cafferty's motions. He added that he never intended for Caffery to get canned.

SDG&E released a statement, KNSD reported, saying: "We hold all SDG&E employees to a high standard and expect them to live up to our values every day. We conducted a good faith and thorough investigation that included gathering relevant information and multiple interviews, and took appropriate action."

UPDATE — June 17, 8:20 a.m. ET: SDG&E responded to TheBlaze's report with the following statement:

SDG&E employees are held to a high standard and are expected to live up to our values every day, whether in interactions with fellow employees or the public. We conducted a good faith and thorough investigation that included gathering relevant information and multiple interviews, and took action in line with those values. While we are not able to reveal the full circumstances surrounding our investigation and Mr. Cafferty's separation from the Company, we stand by our decision and will not be commenting any further.

In light of SDG&E's decision, a petition was launched at Change.org to urge the company to give Cafferty his job back.

On June 3rd, Emmanuel Cafferty was falsely accused of displaying a white power hand gesture via social media. Emmanuel had his arm extending out his window and was merely stretching his fingers unaware of any such hand gesture. This resulted in a wrongful termination on June 8th by his employer SDGE. Since these events the accuser, who had made the original post, has repudiated his position and deleted his account, claiming he never intended for Emmanuel to lose his job. Regardless, the damage has already been done. An innocent man has lost his job and the ability to provide for his family. Moreover, his character has been questioned in such uneasy times.

As a hard working man, this was not only losing a job but a lost opportunity in securing his future and providing for his family.

Emmanuel Cafferty was very thankful and excited to be working for a company whom he thought valued their employees, making this all the more difficult to accept. He is a proud Hispanic, San Diego native with a racially diverse family, including daughters of Laos, Italian, and Sioux descent. Furthermore, he has no history of any racist, or otherwise discriminatory, behavior or accusations. Had SDG&E done their due diligence, as they claim, it would've been evident that he is NOT a white supremacist.

We are asking that SDGE do the right thing and give Emmanuel Cafferty his job back and clear his name.

The full petition is available to read and sign here. (1 image)

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#1. To: Bill D Berger (#0)

As a life-long knuckle-cracking cracker, I fully support Mr. Cafferty and his right to crack whenever he needs to do so.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2020-07-01   0:12:18 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Bill D Berger (#0)

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡

"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." -- Thomas Jefferson

ghostdogtxn  posted on  2020-07-01   0:14:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: ghostdogtxn (#2)

Cafferty is not a traditional hispanic surname.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2020-07-01   0:23:20 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: Lod (#1)

I fully support Mr. Cafferty and his right to crack whenever he needs to do so.

OK, I don't get this - he made a supposedly "racist" hand sign, however he is a proud Hispanic, San Diego native with a racially diverse family, including daughters of Laos, Italian, and Sioux descent.

So how can a mixed race minority guy even remotely be accused of being a racist and making a "right wing" alt-right, white supremacist, etc political statement?

Bill D Berger  posted on  2020-07-01   1:43:00 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Bill D Berger, 4um (#4)

So how can a mixed race minority guy even remotely be accused of being a racist and making a "right wing" alt-right, white supremacist, etc political statement?

Hey, it's the new paradigm. How can I have lived through the great depression, WWII, several police actions, the New American Century, not to mention 2020, without a great imagination and sense of humor?

Just kidding, Bill. I'm insane now.

Aunt Jemima lives with me now. Bitch doesn't even get welfare or food stamps. Too old, no kids, you name it.

Living with a rich, old white guy isn't doing either of us any favors.

The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long. - Dr. Eldon Tyrell

Godfrey Smith: Mike, I wouldn't worry. Prosperity is just around the corner.
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)

Esso  posted on  2020-07-01   1:54:52 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Bill D Berger (#4)

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡

"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." -- Thomas Jefferson

ghostdogtxn  posted on  2020-07-01   8:33:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: ghostdogtxn (#6)

the chica’s bastards are all still messkins.

I knew a kid in Chicago who had a Polish father and a Mexican mother. He had red hair and called himself a Chicano. ;)

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke

BTP Holdings  posted on  2020-07-01   8:39:13 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: BTP Holdings (#7)

Maybe he was self-identifying before it was popular?

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2020-07-01   8:47:07 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: ghostdogtxn (#6)

Or chiclets, white on the outside, gummy inside.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2020-07-01   8:52:37 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#10. To: Lod (#8)

It was as ghostdogtxn said, if the chica is not married the bastards are all Mexican. ;)

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke

BTP Holdings  posted on  2020-07-01   9:59:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#11. To: Esso (#5)

the great depression

My Mom told me during the Depression they all got coal in their stockings at Christmas since the family had no money. :-/

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke

BTP Holdings  posted on  2020-07-01   10:15:03 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#12. To: Bill D Berger (#0)

Here is the Jewish Anti-Defamation League webpage for the "okay" hand symbol.

https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture

From this website:

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/06/california-man-fired-over-alleged-racist-hand-sign-said-he-was-cracking-his-knuckles/

"...The traditional sign for “okay” has been used for as long as I can remember. But these rights groups claim that white supremacists have only recently used it as a white supremacist sign “to form the letters W and P.”..."

Had SDG&E done their due diligence, as they claim, it would've been evident that he is NOT a white supremacist...

[Some of the comments argue the basis or not for a lawsuit for DEFAMATION]:

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/06/california-man-fired-over-alleged-racist-hand-sign-said-he-was-cracking-his-knuckles/

BTW, the ADL has a list of "hate symbols", 99% of them or more attacking "White Supremacism", in spite of their claims here:

Get ADL’s HATE ON DISPLAY SYMBOLS Printable Summary

This database is a widely used resource – by law enforcement, by schools, and by individuals – as an overview of the symbols most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist groups and movements, as well as some other types of hate groups.

Over the past two decades, Hate on Display has regularly been updated with new symbols and images as they have come into common use by extremists.

We show these symbols as extremists actually use them: on signs and clothing, graffiti and jewelry, and even on their own bodies as tattoos and brands.

https://www.adl.org/get-adls-hate-on-display-symbols-printable-summary

Found this interesting and revealing of their hypocrisy:

The Aryan Fist

The Aryan Fist symbol is a white supremacist symbol adopted from the "black power fist" used by black nationalist groups in the 1960s and 1970s.

Note this list is in alphetical order.

Strangely, the BLACK POWER FIST is not on the list...should be on this same page:

Hate on Display™ Hate Symbols Database

This database provides an overview of many of the symbols most frequently used by a variety of white supremacist groups and movements, as well as some other types of hate groups.

https://www.adl.org/hate-symbols?page=1

Expanded definition:

Alternate Names:
White Power Fist, White Fist

The upright clenched fist has long been used as a symbol (both graphically and as a hand gesture) to represent themes such as defiance, unity, and power. In the 1960s and 1970s, black nationalist groups in the United States and elsewhere often used a dark-skinned clenched fist gesture or image as a "black power" symbol. By the 1980s, white supremacists in the United States and elsewhere had appropriated this symbol, substituting a white fist. White supremacists frequently claim that they use the symbol to represent "white pride" or "white power."

https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/aryan-fist

Here's another one found on page 5...this is the expanded version:

White Lives Matter

Hate Slogans/Slang Terms

Alternate Names:

WLM

“White Lives Matter” is a white supremacist phrase that originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which arose to protest against police brutality against African-Americans and garnered considerable publicity in 2014 for protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson police officer.

Since 2015, white supremacists in several states, especially members of the Texas-based white supremacist group Aryan Renaissance Society, have promoted the slogan “White Lives Matter” with flyers and protests, forming a loose campaign to popularize the phrase.

By 2016 other white supremacist groups, including Ku Klux Klan groups, were also using the slogan, and it soon became a staple among white supremacist mantras, continuing even after the original campaigners ceased their activities.

https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/white-lives-matter

Note that Black Lives Matter is not listed as a hate group on page 1.

https://www.adl.org/hate-symbols?page=1

ADL is also behind the censoring/control of farcebook, and no doubt TWITTER as well...but I didn't look for Twitter...facebook was on their current news page.

see this as just one example of ADL's war on truth:

https://www.adl.org/news/letters/an-open-letter-to-the-companies-that-advertise-on-facebook

==========================

ADL has been working hard to destroy America and Christianity [ADL's Foxman warns of efforts to 'Christianize America' https://www.haaretz.com/1.4880535 "..."No effort is made to hide their goals or their ambitions, and their vision of America is far different from ours..." - Abe Foxman. ] for a long time, going back to their parent the B'nai B'rith.

Piece of latest news:

Immigrant & Refugee Rights
LGBTQ Rights

LGBTQ+ Employment Rights, DACA, and the Way Forward: What Last Week’s Supreme Court Rulings Mean

June 22, 2020

Last week brought two major civil rights victories from the Supreme Court -- two bright lights even as protests for racial justice continue, healthcare for transgender people is undermined, and asylum law and process is under attack. As an organization that has long fought for civil rights, including for LGBTQ+ and immigrants’ rights, ADL is proud to have joined the struggle and raised its voice in support of both cases that the Court ruled on and we celebrate these historic victories.

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Bostock v. Clayton County that it is illegal for “an employer to discriminate against employees for being homosexual or transgender” under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition against workplace discrimination based on sex. This case marked the first time that an openly transgender lawyer, Chase Strangio, argued before the Supreme Court. Before this ruling, employment protections for LGBTQ+ individuals were only guaranteed by law in 21 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This meant that, in over half the country, it was legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation or gender identity. ADL joined a coalition of 59 civil rights organizations on an amicus brief arguing, among other things, that the legislative intent and statutory text of the law supported application to sexual orientation and gender orientation and that such an interpretation was also necessary to prevent backsliding on existing Title VII protections against racial discrimination and other forms of discrimination. Indeed, LGBTQ employees of color are among those in most need of such protection.

This historic ruling was especially bittersweet in light of the recent death of Aimee Stephens, one of the plaintiffs in this case who passed away before seeing her victory in court. The fight for equal rights is far from over, however; the ruling leaves open the possibility that employers could fire LGBTQ+ employees if the employer has a religious objection to having LGBTQ+ employees. Moreover, the struggle for justice continues outside of the workplace. As the Black Trans Lives Matter rally highlighted, Black trans people continue to be targets of hate and violence and we mourn the recent murders of Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells and Riah Milton.

Giving the civil rights community more reason to be hopeful this week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 18, 2020 that blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in a 5-4 decision. The DACA program was created by President Obama in 2012 by executive order and granted work authorization and relief from deportation — subject to eligibility and agency approval — to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children before 2007. The current Administration’s decision to rescind DACA unjustifiably and cruelly disrupted the lives of the approximately 800,000 DACA recipients and their families. ADL joined a coalition of civil rights organizations in an amicus brief supporting DACA recipients in challenging that decision.

The Supreme Court ruling says that the decision to stop the DACA program was “arbitrary and capricious” - in other words, it was made without a valid justification. The ruling restores the DACA policy and enables current recipients to renew their enrollment and new applications to be submitted. The ruling leaves open the possibility that the Administration could still try to end DACA again in the future by giving a proper justification. There is still a lot of work to be done in urging the Administration to continue the program and provide permanent legal status to DACA holders. This ruling represents the culmination of years of hard work by courageous DACA recipients, young immigrants, and their allies to fight for the rights of immigrants.

The struggle is far from over. For Black immigrants in particular, the consequences of systemic racism - and the disproportionate policing and contact with the criminal justice system that go with it - can be severe. Contact with the criminal justice system can make someone ineligible for immigration status and ultimately lead to them being deported. Like many other types of immigration relief, DACA is often not available to people who have had contact with the criminal justice system.

Congress must pass meaningful immigration reform to provide permanent protections for DACA recipients that cannot be undone on the whims of any Administration. While we urge the United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) to begin processing DACA applications and renewals immediately, we also call on Congress to pass meaningful reform that will provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA holders. And while our nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, DACA holders should be safe from deportation as well as protected by any Federal stimulus packages. You can support immigrants in your community by advocating for a permanent solution; educating yourself about immigration issues like DACA, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and detention; and talking to the people in your life about these issues.

Ultimately, while there is still work to be done, these decisions represent major civil rights victories that we can all celebrate.

https://www.adl.org/blog/lgbtq-employment-rights-daca-and-the-way-forward-what-last-weeks-supreme-court-rulings-mean

They won't be happy until they have completely destroyed Christianity and Christian America. It's been their Klan's plan for 2,000 years.

"...as long as there..remain active enemies of the Christian church, we may hope to become Master of the World...the future Jewish King will never reign in the world before Christianity is overthrown - B'nai B'rith speech http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/luther.htm / http://bible.cc/psalms/83-4.htm

AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt  posted on  2020-07-01   10:33:00 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#13. To: Bill D Berger (#4)

OK, I don't get this - he made a supposedly "racist" hand sign, however he is a proud Hispanic, San Diego native with a racially diverse family, including daughters of Laos, Italian, and Sioux descent.

So how can a mixed race minority guy even remotely be accused of being a racist and making a "right wing" alt-right, white supremacist, etc political statement?

Not sure, but...I had a hard time finding the article ADL's Foxman warns of efforts to 'Christianize America'. Most just had a lead-in with a link to the original article at Haaretz which you have to subscribe to.

However, a comment at stormfront might shed some light on it...

"...The awful Christians are a threat to the jewish led gay rights movement and they will interfere with sodomite marriages that jewish led gay rights organisations have been demanding. The jewish ADL leader is afraid that the Christians will turn the country around and return us to the old fashioned boring Christian values that reject the depravity that jewish led organisations have worked so hard to dump on us...

There once was a guerilla movement that would poison local wells until the poison spread throughout the aquifer and began poisoning them. The Jews corrupted Christianity and were proud of it when the once Christian Churches started calling themselves Judeo Christian Churches. The Jews never bothered to look down the road to see the logical outcome of their poisoning. The Judeo Christian churches supported the Zionist Jews and supported Israel thinking that the reestablishment of the Jews in the Middle East would be fulfilling Bible prophecy. Ahem..... the Jews missed the part in the Bible prophecy where Israel must be destroyed. The Jews also saw Christianity as just strictly a White religion and thought that they would dilute its values and the White race with an influx of non Whites. While the Jews have enjoyed a limited success in both of those arenas they never counted on the non Whites accepting Christianity and promoting its values, especially amongst the Hispanic population. What’s scary to ol’ Abe is he knows that most of the Hispanics have White DNA in them and he is unsettled that the acceptance of Christianity is still in the mixed White DNA; oh well, back to the drawing board for ol’ Abe and his fellow parasites. Sometimes when you poison a well it will poison you as well."

www.stormfront.org/forum/t753421/

"...as long as there..remain active enemies of the Christian church, we may hope to become Master of the World...the future Jewish King will never reign in the world before Christianity is overthrown - B'nai B'rith speech http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/luther.htm / http://bible.cc/psalms/83-4.htm

AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt  posted on  2020-07-01   10:42:45 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


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