Andrew Young...WTF?!

Andrew Young, the civil rights leader and former Mayor of Atlanta and UN Ambassador really put his foot in his mouth yesterday when making comments about WalMart and the big retailer's relationship with mom-and-pop stores. Young is currently the head of a WalMart advocacy group where he tries to promote a positive image of the popular store.

But when he was asked about WalMart's role in displacing mom-and-pop stores all over the country, this is what he had to say:

"Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom-and-pop' stores out of my neighborhood. But you see those are the people who have been overcharging us — selling us stale bread, and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs, very few black people own these stores."

It is quite shocking to see a man of Young's position and reputation as a civil rights leader to make such racist and stereotypical comments. He has since apologized and resigned from his WalMart position. But even his apology was not very satisfying. In his apology, he stated:

"I was speaking in the context of Atlanta, and that does not work in New York or Los Angeles."

So it's okay to defame the minorities in Atlanta? What the hell?

I found this news to be quite disturbing and just continue to shake my head at the state of the USA in terms of race relations. I mean, come on! When one of your supposed leaders makes comments such as these, what's everyone going to think?

This is just sad.