A Collapsed Star is Now a "White Hole" - Dallas Courtroom "Science"

[Toro]

A special meeting about Dallas County traffic tickets turned tense and bizarre this afternoon.

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term. A black hole, according to Webster's, is perhaps "the invisible remains of a collapsed star, with an intense gravitational field from which neither light nor matter can escape."

Dallas City Hall Blog | The Dallas Morning News

 

[busara]

i am stuck somewhere between disbelief and intense anger over this

 

[manifold]

Just a funny misunderstanding. Not sure what's to disbelieve of get angry about.

 

[busara]

Just a funny misunderstanding. Not sure what's to disbelieve of get angry about.

misunderstanding? everyone knows what a black hole is. Price is so obsessed about race that he takes a commonly understand term as being offensive purely because 'black' is in the word. he then changes it to 'whitehole.' if the term 'blackhole' truly is offensive to him, by changing it to 'whitehole' he is then using a term he has categorized as offensive and uses it to criticise white people. he could have changed it to anything, but he choose the word 'white.' he isnt concerned with racial sensitivity, merely with putting white people down. and that is incredibly racist.

and Jones backs him up? yea, need to support your own race even if theyre being rediculous. it is crap like this that keeps racism alive in this country.

 

[manifold]

I don't assume "everyone" knows "anything."

It's quite possible he actually didn't know what a blackhole is.

 

[busara]

I don't assume "everyone" knows "anything."

It's quite possible he actually didn't know what a blackhole is.

if he doesnt know what a commonly understood science term means, he really shouldnt be in office. and the point still stands about him changing it

 

[manifold]

Why do you assume it's a commonly understood term? Maybe you're just smarter than the average bear. And even if it is, why would that be a prerequisite for public service?

 

[busara]

Why do you assume it's a commonly understood term? Maybe you're just smarter than the average bear. And even if it is, why would that be a prerequisite for public service?

it is taught in the outer space curriculum in public schools, usually during 3rd or 4th grade science. not in depth, but it is mentioned and all the kids say 'cool.' also discussed during physics, basic, AP, and college level.

i didnt say it was a prereq. but it is common knowledge (like it or not, it is). someone who doesnt know about a black hole didnt study in school, didnt go to school, went to a less than steller school, or has a horrible memory. (maybe im missing a reason). should someone like that be in office?

and again, the point about him changing it still stands

 

[manifold]

I didn't say I wasn't a bit surprised by him not knowing it, just that it's not impossible to be an otherwise educated person but for some reason to have never acquired this tiny nugget of information.

As for the changing it point, I really can't argue with you. However, I'm not ready to condemn someone that believes they've just been racially insulted for firing one back themselves. I have to believe he feels like a horse's ass. That's good enough for me.

 

[busara]

I didn't say I wasn't a bit surprised by him not knowing it, just that it's not impossible to be an otherwise educated person but for some reason to have never acquired this tiny nugget of information.

As for the changing it point, I really can't argue with you. However, I'm not ready to condemn someone that believes they've just been racially insulted for firing one back themselves. I have to believe he feels like a horse's ass. That's good enough for me.

if he didnt know what a blackhole is, then im sure he does feel like a bronco's backside. if he did know, then he is infatuated with race. lets hope its the first one. i just find that very hard to believe

 

[manifold]

He's just keepin it real.

 

[busara]

He's just keepin it real.

haha, i guess he is

 

[Shogun]

I betcha Joyce is having a laugh over this one.


I'd expect people in professional municipal roles to react better than firing off retributive racism even if they thought they were slighted. It was his mistake and this doesn't forgive lashing back with actual racist statements.

 

[BrianH]

I don't assume "everyone" knows "anything."

It's quite possible he actually didn't know what a blackhole is.

Come on manny, he's a judge. And the other is a commissioner.

 

[BrianH]

it is taught in the outer space curriculum in public schools, usually during 3rd or 4th grade science. not in depth, but it is mentioned and all the kids say 'cool.' also discussed during physics, basic, AP, and college level.

i didnt say it was a prereq. but it is common knowledge (like it or not, it is). someone who doesnt know about a black hole didnt study in school, didnt go to school, went to a less than steller school, or has a horrible memory. (maybe im missing a reason). should someone like that be in office?

and again, the point about him changing it still stands

Exactly, everyone knows what a black hole is. THat's probably one thing that everyone remembers about 3rd and 4th grade science.

 

[Abelian Sea]

Yeah, I didn't really get the impression from the article that there was any confusion about what the term "black hole" means.

To me it sounds like a case of petty bickering that went further than it should have. I rather suspect that there was a good bit of background tension between those involved to begin with.

 

[BrianH]

Yeah, I didn't really get the impression from the article that there was any confusion about what the term "black hole" means.

To me it sounds like a case of petty bickering that went further than it should have. I rather suspect that there was a good bit of background tension between those involved to begin with.

Yeah, I grew up in a town where the Mexican Army massacred 342 Texan prisoners. This is common knowledge. There is no dispute on the definition of massacre, however, a couple of years ago, a majority of the hispanic population in the area were "up in arms" about histories labelling of it as a massacre. They were all trying to get it changed to the "Battle of Goliad, even though there wasn't a battle. The prisoners were marched there from Fannin, told they could go, and then shot in the back...massacred. It became a racial issue for the hispanics in the area....they believed that the term massacred made Mexicans look bad. It was pretty ridiculous.

 

[Diuretic]

I'm simply bemused. What's so bad about a "black hole"? I only know a little about the theory but apparently the term is used to describe a place in the universe where light sort of collapses into an area and can't get out, or something like that. It's been called a black hole for many years. So I can see the analogy, that a bunch of correspondence (the "light") disappears and is never seen again, an apt analogy.

Now I'm not completely disingenuous, I think I know what's going on. A black person is upset at the use of the analogy? Is that it? Then I have to ask if that's the case then that person is overly sensitive about racial issues and should think about counselling. But if the person is effecting racial sensitivity to score political points then that person needs to think about their sense of integrity and whether or not they should be occupying a public office.