Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers. Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former President George W. Bush and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008. He insists he isn’t racist – he just doesn’t like Obama.
According to reports, Cibull sent the following email on February 20 to six people:
“A MOM’S MEMORY
Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’ His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’”
Obviously, the email insinuates that President Obama’s Negro (Kenyan-born) father is a dog. That means when President Obama’s deceased mother married his father, she committed bestiality. Cebull went on to clarify his true sentiments, which somehow got lost in the commotion:
“It was not intended by me in any way to become public. I apologize to anybody who is offended by it, and I can obviously understand why people would be offended. The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan. I didn’t send it as racist, although that’s what it is. I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.”
As someone of mixed Spanish, Indian and German ancestry, I’ve been the brunt of such callous remarks, although no one has been so stupid to denounce my parents – or anyone else in my family – guilty of bestiality. It’s typical of some extremist Caucasian conservatives to equate Negroes and Indians with animals. That’s how the first Europeans in the Western Hemisphere viewed the indigenous populations and it’s why they started importing slaves from Africa. They considered our ancestors nothing more wildlife, or at best, livestock.
The email came to light through the usual means. One of its recipients forwarded it to another person, who in turn forwarded it to another person. The email was eventually passed along to the Great Falls Tribune, who contacted Cebull for clarification and comment. Cebull said he was surprised the recipients of the e-mail passed it along with his name on it. Yes, of course! Who could have seen that coming?
