Editorial
Shorty and His “Rags” Comment

There has been considerable comment on the Modoc County Daily News blog in reaction to our report that Supervisor Loren “Shorty” Crabtree traveled to Woodland for an auction, and he saw people from all over the world and said “they were wearing rags around their heads.”

Some of the comments posted to the blog defend Crabtree. Most either condemn him or attempt to bring reason to Crabtree’s supporters. We think the exchange is a good one and hope that it helps Modoc County advance into the real world.

Crabtree’s account of his venture to Woodland reads like an innocent child abroad for the first time.

“There’s a lot of those Hindus, a lot of them around that country down there,” Crabtree told us in an effort to explain the remark he made at the April12 meeting of the board. “Rick Rudometkin (Modoc County’s chief administrative officer) told me there would be people there from all over the world. I didn’t mean it that way. I didn’t mean it was a racial slur.”

Crabtree went on to defend his “rags” reference to the custom among various Middle East cultures where the turban or pagri is commonly worn because he didn’t know the name for the headdress.

“I don’t know what else you’d call it,” he said. “I never thought about offending any body or a racial slur. I didn’t mean to do that. If I did, I hope somebody didn’t take it that way. I’m not used to that stuff.”

We find it difficult to accept Crabtree’s excuse. We are hard pressed to give him credit for using the “rags” description as an original thought of his own. But let’s give Crabtree the benefit of the doubt.

Let’s say Crabtree, in his apparent naïve amazement of seeing people attending an auction at Woodland “from all over the world,” truly was a supervisor from a rural county lost in Wonderland. If that were the case isn’t Crabtree guilty of being at the very least disrespectful in calling someone’s religious headdress a rag?

Come on Crabtree, you can do better than that. We hope after your visit with members of the Sacramento Sikh Temple that you will realize your folly.

-- Ray A. March

The Rest of the World continued . . .

 Editor's Note: Supervisor Crabtree's "rags" comment goes state-wide.

http://www.publicceo.com/index.php/local-governments/151-local-governments-publicceo-exclusive/2842-after-qragsq-comment-sikhs-seek-meeting-with-supervisor

It’s Official: Crabtree To Meet With Sikhs

Supervisor Loren “Shorty” Crabtree, chair of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors, officially announced today that he will meet with members of the Sacramento Sikh Temple, after they complained of his “rags” comment.

Reading from a prepared statement before the board, Crabtree rationalized that his comment about people wearing “rags around their heads” at a Woodland auction was his way of saying there were people there from all over the world.

He said he intends to explain why he made the comment that has caused considerable concern among Sikhs in the Sacramento area, but he did not reveal what that explanation will be.

Following is Crabtree’s prepared statement in full:

"On the 12th of April at a board meeting I made a statement that has caused some people some concern. The circumstances were that there were people at the Richie Bros. auction from all over the world. I made a statement about the way some of them were dressed to demonstrate that there were people from all over the world.

“Some Sikh people (East Indian people from Punjub [sic], India) were upset. They called Assemblyman (Jim) Nielsen voicing their concerns. He put me in contact with a representative of their religion. I spoke to Amar Shergill and have agreed to meet with him in Sacramento.

“He wants to meet with me to explain their religion and I want to meet with him to explain the circumstances of my statement."

A representative of the Sacramento Sikh Temple declined to respond to Crabtree’s statement. At the invitation of the Sikh Temple members Crabtree is tentatively scheduled to meet with them Thursday.

(See “After ‘Rags’ Comment Sikhs Seek Meeting With Crabtree, April 25, 2011 and “Supervisor Crabtree: ‘Rags Around Their Heads’ Not Meant As Slur,” April 13, 2011.)

Supervisor Loren "Shorty" Crabtree

After “Rags” Comment Sikhs Seek Meeting With Crabtree

Members of the Sacramento Sikh Temple have asked for a meeting with Modoc County Supervisor Loren “Shorty” Crabtree after he remarked that people attending a Woodland auction were “wearing rags around their heads.”

"Given recent hate crimes and attacks against Sikhs in the Sacramento area, the remarks by Chairperson Crabtree are very troubling," said Amar Shergill, attorney and board member for the Sacramento Sikh Temple in an e-mail to the Modoc County Daily News.

Hate crimes and attacks against Sikhs in the Sacramento area referred to by Shergill include the fatal shooting last November of an Elk Grove grandfather who was gunned down during his daily afternoon walk with a friend who was also struck in the gunfire and remains in critical condition. Both were wearing turbans.

Last November a Sikh taxi driver in the Sacramento area was robbed and severely beaten by two men calling him Osama Bin Laden. The taxi driver was wearing a turban because he was Sikh, according to a KTXL-TV report.

"It is important that community leaders, like Mr. Crabtree and his audience at the meeting, understand that these types of offensive remarks have serious consequences,” Shergill continued. “It is up to us to educate our neighbors that the only group that wears turbans in the United States is the Sikh Community.

“Therefore, the Sacramento Sikh Temple has invited Mr. Crabtree and the entire Modoc County Board of Supervisors for a private meeting to discuss the remarks and learn more about the Sikh faith. Mr. Crabtree accepted our invitation. We trust that all parties will take this opportunity to deal with this issue in a constructive manner."

Crabtree confirmed he would meet with Shergill and members of the Sacramento Sikh Temple at a meeting tentatively set for Thursday, and that he intended to make a statement about his “rags” comment at tomorrow’s (April 26) Board of Supervisors meeting.

“They want to hear my side of the thing and what kind of guy I am and tell me about their religion and how it works,” Crabtree said. “Their religion doesn’t bother me a bit and I don’t know anything about it and I don’t want to know anything about it. What I said was a slip of the tongue, I guess. I’m just sorry I said it and I wish I could back it off.”

Representatives of the Sacramento Sikh community complained to Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, who represents Modoc County and he reportedly acted as a mediator in setting up the meeting, according to a knowledgeable source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for Nielsen.

Nielsen’s office did not immediately respond to repeated requests for a statement regarding his involvement.

It’s unclear if Crabtree -- or any of Modoc County’s supervisors -- will meet with the Sacramento Sikh Temple members on Thursday because he is scheduled that day to hold a subcommittee meeting on the county’s budget, according to Supervisor Geri Byrne, who is also on the budget committee.

Supervisors Patricia Cantrall, Jeff Bullock and Dave Allan did not immediately respond to e-mail messages inquiring if they intended to accept the invitation from the Sacramento Sikh Temple.

“Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world,” according to attorney Shergill. “Sikhs have been living and working in Northern California for over one 100 years. There are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs in the United States and about the same number in Canada. Approximately 40 percent of American Sikhs live in California. Sikhs keep their hair unshorn as part of their commitment to live in harmony with the will of God. Therefore, the turban has immense spiritual significance for all Sikhs."

-- Ray A. March

Cedarville - Boil Your Water

The Cedarville Water District is cleaning the city water tanks. They will be flushing lines with Clorox and ask that as a precaution citizens boil their drinking and cooking water until Friday. Notices will be posted at the post office and on this blog on Friday when the drinking water is safe to drink.